Film-Forward

About Kent Turner

Kent Turner, the editor of Film-Forward, learned the ropes of the festival circuit at the San Francisco International Film Festival and has worked in film production and acquisition in Los Angeles. He is currently the director of programming at the Monmouth Film Festival.

I Wish

Edited, Written & Directed Hirokazu Kore-eda
Produced by Kentaro Koike & Hijiri Taguchi
Released by Magnolia Pictures
Japanese with English subtitles
Japan. 128 min. Not rated
With Koki Maeda, Ohshiro Maeda, Ryoga Hayashi, Seinosuke Nagayoshi, Kyara Uchida, Kanna Hashimoto, Rento Isobe, Nene Ohtsuka, Joe Odagiri, Yui Natsukawa & Masami Nagasawa
Never for a moment did I think that the two boys […]

By |May 11th, 2012|Japanese, Top Picks|0 Comments

Wagner’s Dream

During its final days, the Tribeca Film Festival world premiered three New York-centric fine arts documentaries. The most penetrating of the trio, Wagner’s Dream is an engrossing look behind the curtain of the Metropolitan Opera, and is the perhaps best film about that art form, fictional or otherwise, though it may have that field […]

By |May 7th, 2012|Arts, Music, Top Picks, Tribeca Film Festival|0 Comments

Tribeca Film Festival 2012

Could the higher quality in this year’s world narrative competition be the result of administration changes administration, namely the appointment of Frédéric Boyer, formerly of the Cannes Film Festival, as artistic director of the Tribeca Film Festival? Whatever the reason, there has been a step up in this section, which has in years past been […]

By |April 25th, 2012|Tribeca Film Festival|1 Comment

Monsieur Lazhar

Written & Directed by Philippe Falardeau, based on the stage play by Evelyne de la Chenelière
Produced by Luc Déry & Kim McCraw
Released by Music Box Films
French with English subtitles.
Canada. 94 min. Rated PG-13
With Fellag, Sophie Nélisse, Émilien Néron, Danielle Proulx & Brigitte Poupart
Director Philippe Falardeau certainly sets his sights high, meeting a challenge head-on: […]

By |April 14th, 2012|DVD/Streaming/On Demand, Foreign, Top Picks|0 Comments

We Have a Pope

Directed by Nanni Moretti
Produced by Moretti & Domenico Procacci
Written by Moretti, Francesco Piccolo & Federica Pontremoli
Released by Sundance Selects
Italian with English subtitles.
Italy/France. 104 min. Not rated
With Michel Piccoli, Jerzy Stuhr, Renato Scarpa, Franco Graziosi, Camillo Milli, Roberto Nobile, Ulrich von Dobschütz, Gianluca Gobbi & Margherita Buy
What if the 180-member College of Cardinals held a papal […]

By |April 6th, 2012|Comedy, Foreign|0 Comments

New Directors/New Films 2012

 

This year, New Directors/New Films shakes up its usual art house lineup a little bit. The 41st edition jumps on the animated 3D bandwagon with The Rabbi’s Cat and steps into the grindhouse with a kill-a-thon from Indonesia, The Raid: Redemption. In what is another first, a surprise selection closes the series on April 1, […]

By |March 23rd, 2012|Festivals|Comments Off on New Directors/New Films 2012

The Kid With a Bike

Written & Directed by Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
Produced by the Dardennes & Denis Frey
Released by Sundance Selects
French with English subtitles
Belgium/France/Italy. 87 min. Rated PG-13
With Cécile de France, Thomas Doret, Jérémie Renier, Fabrizio Rongione & Egon Di Mateo
In an act of grand thievery, debut child actor Thomas Doret makes off with The Kid With a Bike. […]

By |March 16th, 2012|Drama, French|0 Comments

Rendez-Vous with French Cinema 2012

You can talk all you want about the director as the film’s main auteur, but casting remains paramount to a film’s success in most of the entries in New York’s annual Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Unifrance. A film series like this offers a glimpse into a […]

By |March 7th, 2012|Festivals, French|0 Comments

Santa Barbara International Film Festival

 

For those outside of Southern California, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival is a well-kept secret. Sorry to blow it.  Though popular on the weekends (it’s an easy daytrip from Los Angeles), there was plenty of ticket availability during the week. An added screening of the Oscar-nominated Bullhead was held in the cavernous 1931 movie […]

By |February 22nd, 2012|Festivals|0 Comments