Munich - British director Terry Gilliam,'s latest film 'The
Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus' starring Heath Ledger and Christoph
Plummer opens the 27th Filmfest Munich on Friday, setting an
international tone for the some 2,000 pictures to be screened.
Gillian gained fame as a member of the Monty Python comedy group.
His latest film was overshadowed by the death of Ledger during the
shooting, but the British director was able to fill the gap after
actors Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell filled in for scenes
not yet filmed.
'We are very pleased that Gillian will be in Munich for the
opening ceremony,' festival director Andreas Stroehl said. 'We have
the best new films from the whole world.'
Movies from more than 30 countries and all continents will unspool
in the International Section, featuring films starring Johnny Depp,
Justin Timberlake, Jeff Bridges, Joaquin Phoenix, Emmanelle Beart,
and Penelope Cruz, besides many others.
The section will be highlighted by a showing of 'Moon,' the debut
film of young British director Duncan Jones, son of David Bowie.
In the section Focus Far East, Stroehl and his team have lined up
current films from China, South Korea, Japan, the Philippines,
Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The popular American Independents section presents so-called
'indie' pictures, including among others, Steven Soderbergh's 'The
Girlfriend Experience' and the Damani Baker-Alex Vlack directed film,
'Still Bill,' a portrait of the world renowned musician Bill Withers.
In the series Nouveau Cinema Francais, a little-known French film
starring Romy Schneider will interest film buffs and fans of the late
actress. The 1964 movie 'Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno' was never
finished.
Meanwhile the section Visiones Latinas will offer the latest from
one of the world's most innovative film regions, featuring films from
16 young Latin American directors, including exciting productions
from Chile shot in 2009.
The latest movies in the important German section boasts the
imposing title New German Cinema Films: Rebellion and Comedies
Against the Crisis.
In a series of interesting and thrilling discoveries of the new
German Cinema 2009, films depict the rebellion of young people
against the establishment as well as events dating back to the 1968
generation of rebels.
Section scout Uli Maass reviewed some 100 movies and selected ten
feature films and seven documentaries for the section.
'The Day Will Come' toplines Iris Berben, who plays a terrorist
gone underground. The section is highlighted by Andreas Dresen's
melancholic comedy 'Whisky With Vodka.'
The Cinemerit Award goes to Munich-born filmmaker Michael Haneke,
recent winner at the Cannes film festival for his 2009 'Das Weisse
Band' (The White Ribbon).
Haneke's best-known movies, 'Funny Games U.S.,' 'Cache,' 'Code
Inconnu,' 'Wolfzeit,' and 'The Klavierspielerin' (The Piano Teacher)
will also be screened and the director will meet the public and press
in the 'Filmmakers Live' section of the filmfest.
In the Retrospective, 16 films from British director Stephen
Frears will be shown, as well as his latest opus 'Cheri' toplining
Michelle Pfeiffer, in advance of its official release in Germany.
Frears will also be present at the festival.
Filmfest Munich will close on July 4 with Belgian director Felix
van Groeningen's 2009 social comedy, 'The Misfortunates.'
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