by Laxmi Birajdar.

A powerful underground artistic movement is taking shape in a post-Taliban Afghanistan, said critically-acclaimed and award-winning Afghan filmmaker Siddiq Barmak. “Cinema is still not considered a part of Afghan art and culture by our government.

But our people love films. There’s a powerful underground artistic movement developing in Afghanistan as 75% of our society comprises young people who are looking for societal changes and creative breakthroughs after emerging from the ravages of wars,” said Kabul-based Barmak during a press interaction on Saturday. He was accompanied by film critic Latika Padgaonkar.

Read the rest of this article from Times of India.

Sign up now for your own FREE monthly subscription to “The Director’s Chair” filmmaking ezine and get the first 30 pages of my 220 page Film Directing Multi-Media Online course, “The Art and Craft of the Director Audio Seminar.”

by Adam Daniel Mezei.

The other day I was discussing the perils of the “democratized filmmaking era.” I outlined a few scenarios how the mere fact of having unlimited choice or unfettered access to contents, technology, and gear wasn’t necessarily all it was cracked up to be.

But after thinking about the issue some more, I realized there might be people who don’t know what I’m talking about when I use the words democratized filmmaking. Like, is that filmmaking in the Western world during the Cold War? Is it anti-Communist filmmaking? Is it more of that White House newspeak? Terminology Time? What is it?!

What are some of the key characteristics of the democratized filmmaking era? What distinguishes it from the era which immediately preceded it? And is so-called “democratized filmmaking” better than what was, on the cusp, as we are, of a much brighter time in the world of indie film, or not quite so?

There are going to be debates about this, depending on whether the system has worked to your advantage. So what are some of these characteristics?

Read the rest of this article from Adam Daniel Mezei.

Sign up now for your own FREE monthly subscription to “The Director’s Chair” filmmaking ezine and get the first 30 pages of my 220 page Film Directing Multi-Media Online course, “The Art and Craft of the Director Audio Seminar.”

by Dr. Film.

I get a little tired of people telling me that Citizen Kane is the greatest film ever made.  Don’t get me wrong; I love the film, but calling it the “greatest ever” seems a little hard to swallow.  I’ve seen a lot of Welles films, but certainly not all of them… I have to tell you that I don’t even think Kane is the best Orson Welles film.  I tend to like Touch of Evil better.  It seems a much more relaxed and confident film to me.

(For the record, I’m frequently interviewed by people who ask me variations on this… “What is your favorite film?”  “What’s the greatest film ever made?”  I don’t have an answer for this.  The greatest film ever made, and my favorite, is moldering in a can somewhere, waiting for me to find it.  I have a real weakness for auteurish films by obscure people like Max Davidson, Warren William, or Charley Bowers.)

Citizen Kane could hardly have been a bad movie if it tried.  Welles was a first-time director, but he was given a great cinematographer (Gregg Toland), a great composer (Bernard Herrmann), a great editor (Robert Wise), a great co-screenwriter (Herman Mankiewicz) and a great cast.  He was protected from studio interference by contract and they adhered to it.

Read the rest of this article from Dr. Film.

Sign up now for your own FREE monthly subscription to “The Director’s Chair” filmmaking ezine and get the first 30 pages of my 220 page Film Directing Multi-Media Online course, “The Art and Craft of the Director Audio Seminar.”

by William Bibbiani.

Most sequels suck. Most threequels suck more. But the third film in a franchise can sometimes surprise you.

These are the Top 25 Movie Threequels! (Part One)

These are the Top 25 Movie Threequels! (Part Two)

Sign up now for your own FREE monthly subscription to “The Director’s Chair” filmmaking ezine and get the first 30 pages of my 220 page Film Directing Multi-Media Online course, “The Art and Craft of the Director Audio Seminar.”

Today is November 11, 2011 (11-11-11) – Remembrance Day.

“Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day, Armistice Day) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. This day, or alternative dates, are also recognized as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries.” Wikipedia.

To reflect on this day of remembrance, please leave any comments below on what this day means to you.

by Oliver Pfeiffer.

From a controversial horror featuring a sadistic bushranger, to a Melbourne-set gangster saga, to a raucous documentary on 70s Ozploitation flicks, you’d have to have your head buried in the outback to have not noticed the sterling work going on in Australian cinema.

And in case you thought Wolf Creek, Animal Kingdom and Not Quite Hollywood were some sort of fleeting mirage, check out the impressive directorial debuts from Patrick Hughes (the suspenseful neo-western Red Hill), Leon Ford (Griff the Invisible – a remarkable romantic ode to superhero flicks) or Ben C Lucas (Wasted on the Young – a nightmarish social networking thriller).

They’re all evidence of fine Aussie film-making talent that proves you don’t need special effects nor mega bucks to make intelligent, provocative cinema.

Read the rest of this article from The Guardian.

Sign up now for your own FREE monthly subscription to “The Director’s Chair” filmmaking ezine and get the first 30 pages of my 220 page Film Directing Multi-Media Online course, “The Art and Craft of the Director Audio Seminar.”

by Andre Seewood.

It would seem that the more different people tell the same lie, the easier it is for others to believe it as the truth.  I have already discussed in several articles and in my book, Slave Cinema: The Crisis of the African-American in Film, that there is a segregated relationship between how African-American films are funded, distributed and exhibited vis-à-vis how white American films are funded, distributed and exhibited.

It is this racially segregated and unequal relationship that aids in holding back African-American films (independent and commercial) from the narrative and stylistic advances often explored in white American and international cinema.  To understand this aesthetic segregation we have to first acknowledge that there is always –every year- a certain amount of white films produced and distributed for prestige (Academy Awards, international awards and noble causes) rather than for profit.

Read he rest of this article from IndieWire.

Sign up now for your own FREE monthly subscription to “The Director’s Chair” filmmaking ezine and get the first 30 pages of my 220 page Film Directing Multi-Media Online course, “The Art and Craft of the Director Audio Seminar.”

by Ajit Balakrishnan.

Steve Jobs, co-founder, visionary and CEO of Apple, whose creations much of the word craves, left centre stage in August this year. He is only 56. His 142-word resignation letter was as minimalist as the design of Apple products. It read: “I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.”

News items about retiring CEOs feature almost daily nowadays and I, for one, barely look at them. But I must confess to shedding a silent tear when I read about this one.

A kaleidoscope of images flashed through my mind: the TV commercial that introduced the first Macintosh; the unveiling of the iPod in 2001 that inaugurated the era of gadgets connected to the Internet; the 2007 launch of the iPhone instantly rendering all other mobile phones obsolete; and, most of all, Mr Jobs’ moving speech at Stanford in 2005.

Read the rest of this article from Business Standard.

Sign up now for your own FREE monthly subscription to “The Director’s Chair” filmmaking ezine and get the first 30 pages of my 220 page Film Directing Multi-Media Online course, “The Art and Craft of the Director Audio Seminar.”

by Matt Singer.

indieWIRE’s Press Play blog has a must-watch 2-part video series this week entitled “Chaos Cinema: The Decline and Fall of Action Filmmaking” by Matthias Stork. In it, Stork uses extensive clips from movies past and present to argue that action films have fallen on hard times as a result of their trend toward what he calls “chaos cinema,” a style recognizable for its hyperquick cutting and hypershaky camerawork.

Here’s Stork’s video essay in full.

Sign up now for your own FREE monthly subscription to “The Director’s Chair” filmmaking ezine and get the first 30 pages of my 220 page Film Directing Multi-Media Online course, “The Art and Craft of the Director Audio Seminar.”

by Justine Frazier.

The tent was overflowing with an eager audience ready to soak up the wise words of two of Australia’s best filmmakers.

Gillian Armstrong is an award-winning creator of feature films and documentaries. Her films include My Brilliant Career, Oscar and Lucinda and Charlotte Gray.

Paul Cox was born in The Netherlands and moved to Australia in 1965. He is an internationally acclaimed filmmaker and is the author of Tales from the Cancer Ward. In 2009 he was the recipient of a liver transplant which is the subject of a documentary made by local filmmaker David Bradbury.

The session began by journalist, crime writer and chairwoman Liz Porter asking Gillian Armstrong how Hollywood came to be calling. It was the success of My Brilliant Career that saw an onslaught of actors’ calls and scripts landing in her lap, but Gillian initially turned down Hollywood offers to remain with her winning team.

Armstrong and Cox dished out the dirt on Hollywood and the challenges that come with keeping your integrity, admitting that most filmmakers have to ‘sell out’ to make a living.

Read the rest of this article from ABC.

Sign up now for your own FREE monthly subscription to “The Director’s Chair” filmmaking ezine and get the first 30 pages of my 220 page Film Directing Multi-Media Online course, “The Art and Craft of the Director Audio Seminar.”