25th Santa Barbara Int Film Festival – 4th February

Once again, sunny Santa Monica is about to be flooded with films as the 25th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival kicks off on February 4 and runs through the following Sunday, February 14. whether you love spotting Hollywood stars, need to hear insiders share the stories behind the latest blockbusters, want to learn about how to make it in the industry, or simply enjoy watching great, hard-to-find films on the big screen, there’s a lot for everyone.

Cine mexicano en Vancouver Latin American Film Festival

The Vancouver Latin American Film Festival is pleased to join with Pacific Cinémathèque and the Consulate General of Mexico in Vancouver in presenting ¡Viva el Cine Mexicano!, a major retrospective of classic and contemporary Mexican cinema. This 15-film exhibition has been organized to commemorate two major Mexican milestones that will be marked in 2010: the 200th anniversary of Mexican independence, and the 100th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution.

Foreign films in Palm Springs fest

At last year’s Palm Springs International Film Festival, the Japanese movie “Departures” won the audience award before going on to take home the foreign-language Oscar statuette.

The Mojave Desert event (running January 5-18), founded in 1989 by then-Mayor Sonny Bono, has become a screening shop for most of the foreign-language Oscar hopefuls. During its two-week run, in fact, 195 films from 60 countries will screen on 15 screens at five venues.

Movie about Lula opens Brasilia film festival

The 42nd Brasilia Festival of the Brazilian Cinema opened Tuesday with a screening of Bruno Barreto‘s Lula, O Filho do Brasil (Lula, the Son of Brazil), a biographical movie about President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The film festival runs through November 24 and will show more than 300 films. An amount of 470,000 reais (about $275,000) will be given in prizes, among which 65,000 reais ($18,800)will be awarded for digital short films.

Besides movie screenings, workshops and seminars will be held during the festival in Brasilia.

According to local press, 800 tickets had been given to federal officials for the opening of the festival, which is restricted to 1,200 guests.

“The president asked that all staff working with him should be invited. He wants waiters and secretaries to be in the session,” Silvestre Gorgulho, federal district secretary of culture, told local press.

However, President Lula himself will be unable to attend the premiere, since he is participating in the World Summit on Food Security in Rome, Italy.

Barreto, director of the movie, told local press that US President Barack Obama had already expressed interest in watching the film.