A blog for the voice of Minmei

Rebecca Forstadt, probably better known for being the voice of Lynn Minmei in Robotech (under the name Reba West)—but she is also credited for over eighty voiceworks on the IMDb, has just started a blog and a Facebook group:

http://rebeccaforstadtanime.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=22293804834

Tony Curtis at the World Film Festival

This is the highlights of the Tony Curtis press conference at the Montreal World Film Festival 2008, held on August 24th. With his wife he was introducing their movie “The Jill and Tony Curtis Story.” (19 min. out of a 48 min. conference).


You can also view it on my BlipTV page.

Bad Jokes

That explains a lot...

Thanks to Brigitte for the link.

Your Name Here

Since I am pretty busy I usually check only the Japanese films at the Montreal World Film Festival (because I like them and for work). If I have the opportunity, I may--from time to time--screen some Iranian or French movies just for “l'amour de l'art.”

A friend of mine just pointed out to me a USA film in competition that seems to be a weird sci-fi movie based on the life of my fetish & favorite writer, Philip K Dick. It's worth checking:

Your Name Here, directed by Matthew Wilder and starring Bill Pullman, Taryn Manning, Harold Perrineau, Traci Lords (!), M. Emmet Walsh and Ivana Milicevic. “The lines between reality and perception blur in this comic journey into the life and mind of one of science fiction's most brilliant authors” ( IMDb )

Montreal World Film Festival 2008

Today, in a press conference, the Montreal World Film Festival has announced the program for its 32nd edition. The festival will be held from August 21 to September 1st in four locations (at the Imperial Theatre, Maisonneuve Theatre, Quartier Latin Cinema and Cinema ONF). Tickets are sold for $10, but are available in 10-coupon ($60) or 30-coupon booklets ($150). A Cinephile Pass is also available for $300.

This year the festival will offer 234 feature films (105 of which are world or international premieres), 13 medium-length films and 208 shorts. That includes 32 films in World Competition (20 features, 12 shorts), 17 in the First Films World Competition, 30 Hors-Concours, 192 in the Focus on World Cinema (84 features and 108 shorts), 63 documentaries, 15 tributes movies, 18 in the Cinema Under the Stars, 15 in Our Cinema at Radio-Canada and 73 in the Student Film Festival!

The Festival will offer a posthumous tribute to Mrs Kashiko Kawakita, founder of the Kawakita Memorial Film Institute, for her work promoting Japanese Cinema abroad. To commemorate her 100th anniversary, the festival will be presenting a sampling of significant works by prominent postwar Japanese directors, each a winner of the Kawakita Award:

• Gishiki (The Ceremony) by Nagisa Oshima (b&w, 1971).
• Hukushu Suru wa Ware ni Ari (Vengeance is Mine) by Shohei Imamura (1979).
• Ikiru (To Live) by Akira Kurosawa (b&w, 1952).

There will be ten Japanese films shown at the festival. Two are in Official Competition:

• Okuribito, directed by Yojiro Takita (Onmyoji, Mibu Gishi Den, Ashura). A young cellist who suddenly finds himself out of work when his orchestra disbands, moves back to his hometown and takes a job as an undertaker. It's not a job his wife appreciates, but his daily encounters with death teach him about life. ( IMDb / Official web page )

• Dare mo Mamotte Kurenai (Nobody To Watch Over Me), directed by Ryoichi Kimizuka (writer for Parasyte Eve and the Odoru Daisosasen TV series & movies). The Funamaras seem a typical suburban family until the police knock on the door one day and arrest their 18-year-old boy for murder. His teenage sister and the cop assign to protect her must hide out from a relentless public braying for blood. ( IMDb / Eiga Wiki / Official web page )

Three in the First Film World Competition:

• Der Rote Punkt (The Red Spot), directed by Marie Miyayama, is a Germany/Japan co-production. ( IMDb )

• El Regalo de la Pachamama (Pachamama), directed by Toshifumi Matsushita, is a Bolivia/Japan/USA co-production.

• Yume no Manimani (Dreaming Awake), directed by Takeo Kimura. (Trailer / Asian Media Wiki / Official web page )

One in the Hors-Concours / World Greats category:

• The Magic Hour, by Koki Mitani (Uchoten Hotel). A gangster having an affair with the wife of his boss is found out, but promises to save face by recruiting a famous hitman. Instead, when he can't find the real thing, he hires an actor to fill the role until he can find a suitable replacement. ( IMDb / Wikipedia / Official web page )

And four in Focus on World Cinema:

• Umikazi ni Fukarete (Carried on a sea breeze) by Tokishi Sato.

• Hyakuman Yen to Nigamushi Onna (One Million Yen Girl) by Yuki Tanada, starring Yu Aoi. ( IMDb / Eiga Wiki / Trailer / Official web page )

• After School by Kenji Uchida. ( IMDb / Eiga Wiki / AsianMedia Wiki / film.com / Official web page )

• Yashi (Tears) by Sano Shinju (a Kazakhstan/Japan/Russia co-production).

More details will be added as soon as they are available.

Here's the highlights of the press conference (10 min. out of the 60 min. conference -- in French, sorry):

Click to play

And a picture of Serge Losique (Festival's president) and Danièle Cauchard (Directeur Général) with this year's poster:

[Updated 2008/08/15]