News BG Reporter - Ivan Varbanov - Sofia, October 20, 2023 / I start my report
with congratulations to Jacqueline Wagenstein - the founder and selector of the
cinema-literary festival "Cinelibri" for the courage, will and drive
to successfully develop this unique of its kind , a notable and
authoritative film forum. Unparalleled worldwide. In fact, the festival
is dedicated entirely to adaptations - the only one in the world, which is a
privilege and a well-deserved source of pride. Admirations that in today's extremely difficult and difficult
time, in a time when the world is in a situation of two wars, Jacqui Wagenstein
gives wings to the creators who create and are part of the unique magic of the
seventh art. For the ninth year in
a row, Cinelibri keeps the flame of cinematic metamorphoses of literary works
alive. Today, October 20, is important for the festival, because in the
evening, at 7 p.m., in hall 1 of the NDK, the international jury, headed this
year by the film legend William Baldwin, will announce its decisions on which
of the international film productions that are in competition will awarded the Grand
Prize this year. The international jury met with media and journalists to raise
the curtain on their work, on the topics and discussions that are held during
the evaluation of the films, on the impressions of the productions, to share
their personal emotions and cinema news. "Lyubo", "One Love", "Passions in the
Kitchen" are in the top 3 of the competition program, the tape
"Passions in the Kitchen" for the jury is the tape with the brightest
metamorphoses - actor, director, cinematographer. The jury will choose from among eleven strong competition titles,
most of which premiered at the festivals in Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Toronto. Judges with William
Baldwin are: Canadian casting director and producer Bruno Rosato
("Fragments of a Woman's Life," "Mafia Inc.",
"Confessions of a Dangerous Mind"); the French film
director and actress Lea Todorov ("The New Woman", "Russian
Utopia", "Memory of Pain"), daughter of the world-famous
philosopher, literary critic, semiotician and culturologist Tsvetan Todorov; acclaimed Spanish TV
and film actress Carla Nieto; the actor Ivan Burnev
("I have served the English king", "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's
Nest"). The Cinelibri festival has a competitive nature, containing a
competitive and parallel program. The metamorphoses of
literature into cinema are diverse in their content, they are good models for
adaptations on the big screen, and each is strong in its genre, with notable
actors. Most films come after
their presentation at the biggest festivals. There are also
first-run films. Two winners will be
announced - in the full-length competition and in the documentary. The president of the jury, William Baldwin, announced that he was
impressed by the achievements of the mastery of actors, directors, producers,
cinematographers who demonstrated their achievements in the selected films of
the competition program. The jury's discussion
was complex and heated before the winner was announced. "I've never been
to Sofia before. I've been working a lot in the region lately. I've worked in
Romania, in Belgrade, Pristina, Tirana, Greece. After the end of the pandemic,
I visited the Balkans quite a few times. I like working here, I like the
people, the history, the culture , the food,"
William said. "If you love
cinema and your work, everything is easy. And when there is passion. We create
works that resonate in the hearts and souls of millions of people. I hope that
we manage to reach heights that will be remembered. Screen Actors Guild of
America is huge. But only 3%
of actors make their money practicing the profession. The other 97% of them
support themselves by working as waiters, taxi drivers, bartenders. It was only
in the last 15 years that I got the confidence that I could support myself by
acting. You finish one project
and you don't know when the next project will come. Now I say my job is to get
a job. We all feel the uncertainty of freelancing, the feeling that when the
director says 'Filming over,' we have our anxiety of anticipation - when will we be
engaged again. Carla Nieto offered her compliments to Bulgaria and Sofia,
stressing that the ten films are equal and strong. For me, the biggest
transformation was a love story. It is a coincidence
that the motto of the festival "Metamorphoses", which pays homage to
Kafka, is undeniably the film "Wretched creature" by Yorgos Lanthimos
is a symbol of the strongest metamorphoses, the whole is a vivid metaphor. Lea Todorov thanked for the opportunity to show her complete
feature film in Sofia. She shared that she is
impressed by how filmmakers have their own unique approach to turning literary
texts into their films. I think it's easier to
make a film in France because there we have strong support from the state. Success depends on
funding. In some European
countries we are lucky, and France is one such country where there is strong
funding. The strongest
metamorphosis as an impression for me is "Passions in the Kitchen".
Bruno Rosato has an extremely extensive experience in cinema and
is known for being the casting director of some of the biggest movie stars in
world cinema. "You are
privileged to have Jacqueline, who puts Bulgaria on the world stage of film
festivals. It is among the best. You have something to show and what to show,
thanks to Jacqueline. The films that have been selected are very interesting. I
have always been fascinated by how much the people of
this region, and Sofia in particular, value cinema, theater and the arts. For
such a small country to have such a large presence in the respective arts is
very impressive!". Yes, the strongest
metamorphosis for us, perhaps, is the film with exemplary direction,
cinematography, acting is "Passions in the Kitchen". Ivan Burnev, in turn, shared with a smile that he likes to watch
movies, but also to participate in them. As a member of the
jury, he distinguished the worthy participation of the Bulgarian film
"Plague". He acknowledged with
interest the in-depth work of the judges, inasmuch as it was composed of
different artists, with different professions, and the angle of discussions for
each one and the evaluations were equally different. Emma Stone is the most brilliant acting metamorphosis, with the
film that opened the festival. The two strongest industries in Europe remain Italian and French. And that's why
Cinelibri shows both Italian and French films. The film industry is
dependent on money to the extent that making films remains an expensive
pleasure. In Bulgaria, we have
talented teams that work in the field, exceptional actors, directors,
operators, professionals. Cinema funding
mechanisms need to be optimized to work better, to be adapted. Cinema is not a
solitary activity that requires many people with experience and great resources. "Passions in the kitchen", according to the members of
the jury, seems to bring the most and vivid metamorphoses that impress. Passions in the
Kitchen is France's official entry for the Best International Feature Film
category at the 96th Academy Awards in 2024. Vietnamese-born French director
Tran Anh Hung brings to the stars of French cinema Juliet Binoche and Benoit
Magimel, former life couple. The action takes place in 1885. The main character,
Eugenie, has been working for twenty years as a cook for a famous culinary chef
and sophisticated gourmet named Doden Buffan. Over time, a passion
arose between the two, the unique expression of which is the unique dishes that
attract customers from all over the world to the restaurant. In this tempting film
with an unforgettable atmosphere, the focus is on culinary art and the
invention of new recipes. Through them, Buffan
explains himself in love to his assistant, whose talent is no less than his. This year, the production won two prestigious awards - for
directing at Cannes and the award for best film from the San Sebastian Film
Festival in the Culinary Zinema Award category, was nominated for the
"Golden Palm" and received a nomination for best feature film from
Jameson CineFest – Miskolc International
Film Festival. WHO WILL WIN THIS YEAR'S CINELIBRIE GRAND AWARD FOR FEATURE FILM
- TO FIND OUT. AS WELL AS IN THE DOCUMENTARY CATEGORY. AND ANOTHER RELATED NEWS: WILLIAM BALDWIN IS FILMING IN SOFIA William Baldwin often photographed in the region - Romania,
Albania, Greece. He has two shooting
days in Sofia with the director Andy Deliana, who is not coming to Bulgaria and
Sofia for the first time. He is impressed by
everything he sees in Bulgaria. The new production,
which he filmed as a director, is "My Mother - Cosmonaut", which
tells about the lives of people in the 90s. It is aimed at an
audience of Eastern European countries that have gone through the same
analogous historical challenges, stages and events. WE ARE WAITING FOR THE CELEBRATIVE CINEMA GALA AND THE JURY'S
DECISION ON THE WINNERS ...!
(Ivan Varbanov, Sofia, October 20, 2023)