“I wanna be where the boys are…” sings K8 Hardy as she makes her way to the final TigerPro discussion at the 2016 Rotterdam International Film Festival. She’s a panelist in a 90-minute panel discussion, “Commodifying the Queer,” and her attitude walking in is guarded. “Lately, my perspective is just, you know, treat me like a man,” she sighs before the panel begins. Gender, feminism, queerness, and identity are all subjects in Hardy’s work as an artist and filmmaker, but being “called upon as the radical feminist lesbian,” as she says once the panel begins, is stifling. “It’s so minimizing […]
by Taylor Hess on Feb 22, 2016You may have read over the weekend about the Chinese government shutting down the Beijing Independent Film Festival. This isn’t the first time something like this has happened: the Associated Press’ Didi Tang has a solid overview of this year’s events and past context here. As writer/critic/curator Shelley Kraicer pointed out on Twitter, the shutdown also included a raid on the Li Xianting Film Fund, the festival host which “has (had?) likely the most comprehensive collection of independent Chinese films.” A statement co-signed by the heads of the Rotterdam International Film Festival and heads of other major fests including the […]
by Vadim Rizov on Aug 25, 2014Opening this year’s Rotterdam International Film Festival is Michael Imperioli’s directorial debut, The Hungry Ghosts, a gripping look at five New Yorkers all struggling to satisfy their physical and spiritual needs while facing down their own – and society’s – flaws. Best known for his Emmy-winning portrayal of Christopher on The Sopranos, Imperioli has over the course of his 20-year career worked with such top directors as Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee. He’s also built a sub-career as a screenwriter, having penned numerous episodes of The Sopranos and Lee’s Summer of Sam, which originally Imperioli was going to direct. For […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Jan 21, 2009Following last year’s Rotterdam Film Festival, Simon Field, the fest’s illustrious director, announced that the 2004 edition would be his last. This year’s festival more than lived up to the high standard Field set when he joined Rotterdam eight years ago, and now Field has revealed his next endeavor. He’ll be joining the U.K. production company Illuminations, run by Keith Griffiths and John Wyver, and will be executive producing a series of music, architecture and film pieces commissioned by the City of Vienna on the occasion the Mozart anniversary in 2006. Theatre and opera director Peter Sellars will be artistic […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 5, 2004