‘A Picture to Remember’ Review: A Scrapbook of Memories From a Ukraine Under Attack

Dennis Harvey Film Critic A movie directed by the berserk “Muppet Show” character known as Animal couldn’t be any more unruly than Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s new film of that title. This sporadically fun but exhausting hot mess provides 202 minutes of hyperventilating overkill for star Ranbir Kapoor as a tycoon’s favorite son whose anger-management (as well as daddy) issues are off the charts.

Early this morning a video began gaining steam online purporting that Danny Trejo refused a paid PR visit to Ukraine because President Volodymyr Zelensky‘s office wanted a “kickback” from the sum paid to the Machete actor for the visit.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The Match Factory has announced sales to key territories for Michel Franco’s latest feature “Memory,” which stars Jessica Chastain. The Academy Award winning actor is serving as jury president at this week’s Marrakech Film Festival, where she spoke about the film (see here). “Memory” premiered at the Venice Film Festival and was awarded with the Coppa Volpi for best actor to Peter Saarsgard.

The Match Factory has posted a raft of deals for Michel Franco’s drama Memory, starring Jessica Chastain and Peter Saarsgard, who won the Coppa Volpi for Best Actor in Venice following its world premiere there in September.

Aramide Tinubu Projects like “Arrested Development,” “The Office” and even “The Hangover” film trilogy have prompted writers to infuse hysterical beats with satire as a way to examine the state of 21st-century American society. These shows and films comment on everything from race and sexuality to work and class. “Cobra Kai” creators Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg and Josh Heald put a satirical spin on the action comedy in Netflix‘s Las Vegas-set, “Obliterated.” Unfortunately, instead of an uproarious commentary on the culture of drugs and drinking and the various factions of the U.S.

Sheynnis Alondra Palacios Cornejo became Miss Universe 2023, Miss Spain Athenea Paulinha Pérez was named Miss Congeniality. This award goes to the friendliest contestant and is the only honor determined by a contestant vote.Miss Philippines Michelle Dee, one of the top 10 finalists, won the award for Voice for Change alongside Miss Angola Ana Coimbra and Miss Puerto Rico Karla Guilfú.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered his autumn statement in the House of Commons on Wednesday (November 22) saying the country's economy is "back on track".

The Peasants would already be a daunting project in the best of times. Like their previous film, Loving Vincent, directors Hugh and DK Welchman oversaw a team of animators painting each frame of the film based on live-action reference material. Hugh, who came to Los Angeles from Poland just for his 12-minute Contenders panel, said The Peasants also had to work around COVID and the Ukraine War.

Will Tizard Contributor Sean Pean says the cost in human lives of Russia’s continuing war on Ukraine is on “all of us.” Political dithering in the West has given Russia great advantages in the conflict, Penn argued, speaking to the audience Friday in Torun, Poland, after screening “Superpower,” his documentary on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Camerimage cinematography film fest. If Ukraine had been supplied with enough military support to control its airspace early on, Penn argues, the war that began with Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion last year could have been ended by now.

Andy Burnham has set out plans to bring together a network of cities and charities to support the recovery of Ukraine after the war.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is set to buy a minority stake in Manchester United after his failed Chelsea takeover attempt.

International Documentary Festival Amsterdam has long enjoyed a reputation as a politically engaged festival – standing up for artists and speaking out for freedom of expression. For instance, IDFA forcefully advocated for Ukrainian filmmakers at last year’s event, making no secret of its position on Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine.

Dennis Harvey Film Critic Feel-good stories out of Gaza are not exactly plentiful at present, making “Life Is Beautiful” something of an anomaly. Though the predicament depicted — Palestinian filmmaker Mohamed Jabaly’s unplanned long exile due to closed borders and political shifts — is hardly upbeat in outline, his ebullient personality insists on emphasizing humor and warmth. Thus this chronicle of a one-month visit to Norway that drags on for seven years ends up an incongruously charming footnote to a much larger conflict that just keeps escalating.

Film Movement has acquired U.S. rights to Maciek Hamela’s In the Rearview, winner of well over a dozen awards at film festivals around the world, including the top prize at Sheffield DocFest.

Caroline Brew editor Film Movement has acquired the U.S. rights to Maciek Hamela’s “In the Rearview,” following its Cannes Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival premieres. Film Movement has a theatrical release and awards campaign planned with the documentary’s producers and Polish Film Institute, which co-financed the film.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Rise and Shine World Sales has acquired In-Soo Radstake’s “Selling a Colonial War,” which world premieres in the International Competition section of documentary festival IDFA in Amsterdam. “Selling a Colonial War” looks to encourage the Dutch government and society to accept responsibility for their actions as a colonial power in Indonesia – and especially their actions when fighting a war in Indonesia after the country declared independence in 1945. The Dutch government still refrains from using the term “war crimes” to describe their actions as this would have great impact on calls for reparation.

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor How does it feel to have your feature debut open one of the largest documentary festivals in the world? To director Olga Chernykh, whose “A Picture to Remember” opens the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), it feels like a “gift from the universe.” “A Picture to Remember” is an essay-style account of the war from the perspective of three generations of women within the director’s family. Chernykh, who was granted financial support from the festival’s Bertha Fund and was part of this year’s IDFA Project Space, is thrilled to have her debut premiere at the festival that so greatly supported her filmmaking journey.

EXCLUSIVE: The story of Alice Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt’s the unconventional and strong-willed daughter, is being turned into a scripted podcast.

CNN Max is attracting users who are “20 years younger” than traditional TV viewers, according to Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav.

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor For the second year in a row, the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) launches against the backdrop of a major war. Last year, the festival took place at the height of Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, this year it runs as the Israel-Hamas War rages.