Paul Giamatti (American Splendor, Sideways, Cinderella Man) will come to Israel as the guest of the Haifa International Film Festival 2010 for the screening of Barney’s Version, along with the film’s producer Robert Lantos of Serendipity Point Films (Being Julia, Sunshine, The Sweet Hereafter). Giamatti stars as Barney Panofsky, an apparently ordinary man who tells the story of his life – lived on two continents, with three wives (Rosamund Pike, Minnie Driver and Rachelle Lefevre), his best friend (Scott Speedman) and his father, played by Dustin Hoffman. Based on a novel by Mordecai Richler, the film version was written by Michael Konyves and directed by Richard J. Lewis (CSI). Haifa is the next stop on the film festival tour for Giamatti, Lantos and Barney’s Version, after the film’s participation in the Venice, Toronto and San Sebastian film festivals.
French director Julie Bertucelli comes to the festival L’Arbre (The Tree) starring Charlotte Gainsbourg. Chosen as the closing film of the 2010 Cannes Film Festival in May, it is an adaptation of Judy Pascoe’s novel Our Father Who Art in the Tree and was shot in Australia. The story of a family mourning the death of the father, it is Bertucelli’s second feature film, following Since Otar Left (2003). French/Israeli director Yael Fogiel produced both films and will be coming to Haifa to present On Tour, directed by Mathieu Amalric. Amalric, who starred in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) stars in this film as well, which won the award for Best Director at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.
Italian director Francesca Comencini comes to the festival with her new film Lo Spazio Bianco. The film tells the story of Maria, dealing with the emotional upheaval of an unexpected pregnancy, followed by a premature birth. With her child in an incubator, unable to do anything to control the turn of events, Maria retreats into an inner world. Comencini is the daughter of renowned director Luigi Comencini, with whom she worked for many years. Her first feature film, made when she was 23, won the De Sica Award for young Italian cinema at the Venice Film Festival.
La Nostra Vita, will come from Italy to the festival with director Daniele Luchetti and producer Riccardo Tozzi. The film, which participated in the competition at Cannes, tells the story of Claudio, whose happy family life is disrupted by a dramatic event that leads him on a fight to overcome the injustice that befell him.
Hungarian filmmkaer Benedek Fliegauf returns to the Haifa festival for the second time with Womb, a futuristic love story, and his first English language feature. Fliegauf is a founder of the ‘Raptors collective’ and also involved in sound and set design. A self-taught filmmaker, who has worked with Miklos Janco, he is a leading figure of the new generation of Hungarian filmmakers. Fliegauf came to Haifa in 2004 with Dealer, his second film.
Alexei Popogrebsky comes to Haifa with his latest film How I Ended This Summer. The film focuses on the daily routine and relationship of Sergei (Sergei Puskepalis who also starred in Simple Things), a man in his fifties, and his new eager young partner Pavel (Grigori Dobrygin) who take readings from the partly radioactive surroundings of a meteorological station in the Arctic. At the 2010 Berlinale, the film received the award for Best Cinematography and the actors, Grigori Dobrygin and Sergei Puskepalis shared the Best Actor award. Popogrebsky, who started out as a set designer, began collaborating with Boris Khlebnikov in 1994. Following their first short film, their first, award-winning feature Koktebel participated in the Haifa IFF 2003. Simple Things, Popogrebsky’s first independent feature, was screened in the 2008 Haifa IFF.
French director of photography
Phillipe Ros will be present at the screening of Oceans, and will talk about making the film from his personal and professional perspective, as someone who was involved throughout the process. Ros will also conduct a master class at the festival: Cinema and Television Photography in the Digital Age. Using his experience creating Oceans, Ros will discuss the different aspects of digital processing and the significance of the choices involved. The master class is for professionals, by invitation only. Ros is Director of photography, AFC and Digital Imaging Supervisor/Consultant. Recently, he was Digital Imaging Director on Oceans, directed by Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud. Ros is a member of AFC, French Association of directors of Photography, The Imago Technical Committee and UP3D, French association of 3D specialists.
Producer Sharon Harel will come with her film Tamara Drewe, which opens the festival. An Israeli producer living and working in London, Harel is on the jury of the Israeli Feature Competition. Harel is the producer of filmmaker Avi Nesher’s work – including cult classic The Troupe (1977), and his latest film Once I Was (2010.
