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E. Nina Rothe

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The Diaries, because sometimes life needs more. 

Jason Isaacs in a still from ‘Heavyweight’ by Christopher M. Anthony, photo © Tiernan Hanby, used with permission

Raindance to kick off in London with the world premiere of 'Heavyweight' featuring Jason Isaacs

E. Nina Rothe June 15, 2025

The 33rd edition of the UK’s leading indie film festival will run from 18 – 27 June at host cinema Vue Piccadilly and will close with the international premiere of Camilla Guttner’s art school drama ‘The Academy’. But there are also loads of cinematic gems screening in between!

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In Cinema, Festival Tags Raindance Film Festival, London, Heavyweight, Jason Isaacs, The While Lotus, Tiernan Hanby, Vue Piccadilly, Camilla Guttner, The Academy, Celia Imrie CBE, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Bridget Jones, Christopher M. Anthony, Nicholas Pinnock, Jordan Bolger, Jamie Bamber, Sienna Guillory, Blake Harrison, Joplin Sibtain, Elliot Grove, Canon Europe, BAFTA, One Ninetyfour, Canon Lounge, VR, VRChat, Resonite, Orion Drift, Best Live Action Short, Best Documentary Short, Best Animation Short, Oscar-Qualifying festival for short films, Ashley Walters, Adolescence, Netflix, Cristo Fernández, Ted Lasso, Emily Beecham, Hail Caesar!, Into the Badlands, Waad Al-Kateab, For Sama, Kemal Akhtar, Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain, Martin Sheen, Maja Tschumi, Immortals, Palestine Comedy Club, Iraq, Palestine, Alaa Aaliabdallah, Saint Damian, Gregorio Sassoli and Alejandro Cifuentes, Paternal Leave, Alissa Jung, Luca Marinelli, Somewhere in Love, Morgan Simon, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Félix Lefebvre, Lubna Azabal, Maja Bons, Andreas Lust
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Jafar Panahi, after his Palme d’Or win for It Was Just an Accident

Jafar Panahi & 'The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo' take Cannes top prizes -- in Competition and Un Certain Regard

E. Nina Rothe May 25, 2025

At a festival where everyone was told to avoid political statements, the juries made their views loud and clear by choosing films to award with their activists caps on.

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In Cinema, Festival Tags Festival de Cannes, The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo, Jafar Panahi, Once Upon a Time in Gaza, Tarzan and Arab Nasser, I’m Glad You’re Dead Now, Tawfeek Barhom, Palestine, Iran, Iraq, Hasan Hadi, The President's Cake, It Was Just an Accident, Sentimental Value, Joachim Trier, Sirat, Oliver Laxe, Mascha Schilinski, Sound of Falling, The Secret Agent, Urchin, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Wagner Mour, Nadia Melitti, The Little Sister, Harris Dickinson, Gaza, Diego Céspedes, Chile, Frank Dillane, Qumra, Doha Film Institute
Comment

Cannes' sidebars -- Critics' Week, Directors' Fortnight and ACID selections announced

E. Nina Rothe April 15, 2025

Among the titles which stand out to me immediately are two beautiful projects, one selected for Critics’ Week and the other in the Fortnight line up, which participated in the recent DFI Qumra industry incubator. And I included the shorts in Critics’ Week!

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In Cinema, Festival Tags Critics week, Cannes Film Festival, festival de Cannes, Quinzaine de Cineastes, Directors' Fortnight, ACID, Cannes, Harmony Korine, The President’s Cake, Hasan Hadi, Leah Chen Baker, Qumra, DFI, Doha Film Institute, Barry Jenkins, Dangerous Animals, Sean Byrne, Kokuho, Lee Sang-il, Eva Victor, Sorry Baby, Daniel Kaluuya, Guillermo Galoe, Sleepless City, Ciudad Sin Sueño, Spain, Iraq, Madrid, Kaouther Ben Hania, Sylvain George, Life After Siham, Namir Abdel Messeeh, Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, Sepideh Farsi
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Qumra 2025 projects include an outlaw Bedouin bandit couple adventure and a Palestinian dystopian sci-fi thriller

E. Nina Rothe March 6, 2025

Also included in the extensive line up of projects participating in the upcoming industry incubator organized by the Doha Film Institute is the follow up by Algerian helmers Damien Ounouri and Adila Bendimerad to their award winning epic ‘The Last Queen’, as well as Suzannah Mirghani’s highly anticipated feature debut ‘Cotton Queen’.

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In Cinema, The Diaries Tags Qumra 2025, Doha Film Institute, DFI, Damien Ounouri and Adila Bendimerad, Suzannah Mirghani, Cotton Queen, Qatar, Sofia Djama, Quarter to Thursday, Larissa Sansour, Palestine, Algeria, In Memory of Times to Come, Tunisia, Erige Sehiri, Marie & Jolie, The Joyful 1926, Speak Image Speak, Pary El-Qalqili, 1972 Munich Olympics, Sari & Amira, A.J. Al-Thani, Wadi Sakheema, Flower of the Sand, Morocco, Jaouad Babili, Sudan, Atlas Workshops, The President's Cake, Iraq, Hasan Hadi, Saddam Hussein, Souraya Mon Amour, Nicolas Khoury, Souraya Baghdadi, Maroun Baghdadi, Lebanon, Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, The Pearl, Noor Al-Nasr, In the Name of Safia, Safia Kessas, Love 45, Anas Khalaf, Sound of Silence, Joyce A. Nashawati, Syria, The Fin, South Korea, Syeyoung Park, The Reserve, Mexico, Pablo Pérez Lombardini, Roqia, Yanis Koussim, Sleepless City, Spain, Guillermo García López, Fatna a Woman Named Rachid, Hélène Harder, Mother of Silence, Zahraa Ghandour, Once Upon a Time in Shiraz, Iran, Hamed Zolfaghari, The Day of Wrath: Tales from Tripoli, Rania Rafei, Jodari Meno, Dr. Jamal Rashid Al-Khanji, Al-Michelin, Abdul-Rahman Sakr, Jordan, Dirty Hands, Georges Hazim and Maya Dagher, Task Force: Apocalypse!, Dana J. Atrach and Anne Sobel, El’Sardines, Zoulikha Tahar, Villa 187, Eiman Mirghani
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A still from ‘Salted Skins’ by Nicolas Fattouh, courtesy of the DFI

The Cannes Diaries: Doha Dreaming with multiple DFI projects in the Cannes Official line up & Spring 2024 upcoming grants

E. Nina Rothe May 23, 2024

It’s all in a week’s work for the Doha Film Institute, the greatest cinematic organization in the MENA region.

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In Cinema, The Diaries, Festival Tags Doha Film Institute, Qatar, DFI, H.E. Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Rendez-vous avec Pol Pot, Rithy Panh, Cambodia, Qumra, Iréne Jacob, Grégoire Colin, Cyril Gueï, Cannes Film Festival, Critics' Week, The Brink of Dreams, Nada Riyadh and Ayman El Amir, KEFF, Locust, Taiwan, Morocco, Across the Sea, Saïd Hamich Benlarbi, Egypt, East of Noon, Hala Elkoussy, Mahdi Fleifel, To a Land Unknown, Erige Sehiri, Marie and Jolie, Joyce A. Nashawati, Sound of Silence, Venice Film Festival, Ameer Fakher Eldin, Yunan, Elia Suleiman, MENA region, Hanaa Issa, Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, Al-Dana, Nora Al-Subai, Running With Beasts, Leila Basma, Lebanon, Syria, The Settlement, Mohamed Rashad, Nomadish, Yassine Marco Marroccu, Agora, Ala Eddine Slim, Żejtune, Malta, Alex Camilleri, The Botanist, china, Jing Yi, Another Birth, Tajikistan, Isabelle Kalandar, Horizon, Colombia, César Augusto Acevedo, Tale of the Land, Indonesia, Loeloe Hendra, The Fin, South Korea, Syeyoung Park, Flying Elephants, Mona Khaouli, Munir Khauli, Just Like a Dream, Corine Shawi, Beirut, Road Trip, Linda Qibaa, Speak Image, Speak, Palestine, Pary El-Qalqili, Flower of the Sands, Jaouad Babili, Climbing the Mountains, Algeria, Sabrina Chebbi, She Was Not Alone, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Hussein Al-Asadi, Those Who Watch Over, Karima Saidi, Ground Zero, collective shorts project, Moondove, Karim Kassem, Cutting Through Rocks, Iran, Sara Khaki and Mohammad Reza Eyni, Requiem for a Tribe, Marjan Khosravi, Badr on the Moon, Jordan, Aisha Al-Jaidah and Kholoud Al Ali, Film, TV Series, Web series, Last Words, Antoine Waked, Palmyra, Carol Mezher and Gabriela Flores, Rent-a-Mama, Dania Bdeir, New York, The Dry Kingdom, Dana J. Atrach, Echoes, Marie-Rose Osta, El'Sardines, Zoulikha Tahar, Before the Day Breaks, Amal Al-Muftah, If Only, Ali Al Anssari, Little Man, Hajri Gachouch, Salted Skins, Nicolas Fattouh, The Heaviness of Absence, Zizou, Jalal Maghout, Khaled Moeit, Maha Al-Thani, Eman, Please Pause, Lulwa Al-Thani, The Star, Ingrid El Zoghby, Another Day Shall Come, Aida Kaadan
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A still from ‘Mirrors of Diaspora’ by Kasim Abid

A still from ‘Mirrors of Diaspora’ by Kasim Abid

Cinema with a Conscience: The Independent Iraqi Film Festival kicks off August 21st, free & online

E. Nina Rothe August 21, 2020

When we think of Iraq these days, we hardly think of poetry, art and cinema. It’s a land that evokes visions of war and destruction, not the land of the iconic architecture of Mesopotamia anymore.

But living around the world, making up the diaspora from the Region, there are quite a few wonderfully creative Iraqis who continue to provide humanity with the beauty of their work. Among them, personally I can name at least two — both dear friends and wonderful innovators. And one of those happens to be Shahnaz Dulaimy.

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In Cinema, Festival, The Diaries Tags Iraqi cinema, Independent Iraqi Film Festival, Arab cinema, Samir, Baghdad in my Shadow, London, Iraq, Uk, Saddam Hussain, The Survivors of Firdous Square, Adel Khaled, Qarantina, Oday Rasheed, Baghdad, Feminism, Short films, Mirrors of Diaspora, Kasim Abid, Roisin Tapponi, Ahmed Habib, Habibi Collective, New Wave cinema, Iraq: War Love God and Madness, Mohamed Al Dardji, Shahnaz Dulaimy, Haneen Hadiy, Israa Al-Kamali, Róisín Tapponi
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68 Berlinale poster

The Berlinale Diaries: Karim Aïnouz, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Murray, Bob Balaban, Bryan Cranston and Liev Schreiber, oh boy!

E. Nina Rothe February 17, 2018

The day started with a long, leisurely talk with Algerian-Brazilian, NYC-based filmmaker Karim Aïnouz and the two men who are the center of his latest film, 'Central Airport THF' -- Ibrahim Al Hussein from Syria and Qutaiba Nafea from Iraq. I won't talk about the film itself until it premieres tonight since the festival here in Berlin is quite strict about embargoes and more power to them for that! But I will say that some films really grow more special and important once the intention of their filmmaker becomes clear. In simpler words, sitting down with Aïnouz made his latest project wildly more interesting, because of who he is but also because of his subjects' backstories -- both refugees who are in Germany after escaping from their war-torn countries.

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In Cinema, The Diaries, Festival Tags cinema, Berlinale, Karim Ainouz, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Murray, Bob Balaban, Bryan Cranston, Liev Schreiber, Isle of Dogs, Federico Fellini, Wes Anderson, cinecitta, Berlin, Eddielicious, Central Airport THF, Ibrahim Al Hussein, Qutaiba Nafae, Syria, Iraq, refugee crisis, Golden Bear Lounge by Glashutte, Glashutte, Glashutte Original Documentary Award
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PHOTO BY NEILSON BARNARD/GETTY IMAGES FOR DIFF

PHOTO BY NEILSON BARNARD/GETTY IMAGES FOR DIFF

The Dubai Film Festival Diaries: Rob Reiner’s ‘Shock & Awe’, Claes Bang, Q’orianka Kilcher and Working Through the Madness

E. Nina Rothe February 6, 2018

When the whole Hollywood sexual predator news broke back in October, I received a message from a colleague I’m connected with on Facebook. He pointed to the fact that as a woman, in light of the recent revelations, I would now find it much “impossible” to get one-on-ones with male stars and directors. The statement hit me and I felt an immediate pang of anxiety. I mean, my job as a woman, a blogger, someone who holds on to her personal opinions and is proud of going against the current if need be is already pretty difficult as it is. To add to that burden — because lets face it, even when diversity and/or equality are celebrated and demanded in the arts, it never really manages to trickle down to the media side of things — would only make my work impossible.

But DIFF has proven my colleague wrong, of course. I’ve never had more access, and more professional intimacy than what I’ve experienced here so far. I mean, the kind of face to face talks that mean so much to a writer, because in the end, you know they will help the pieces write themselves. The kind of great human connections that we all strive to create, across cultures, with different personalities and among our fellow humans.

What’s that saying DIFF? “Film Will Find You”? Yes, it always does, and helps me to discover the way back.

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In Cinema, Festival, The Diaries Tags DIFF17, Dubai, Dubai International Film Festival, Jumeirah, Madinat Jumeirah, Mina A'Salam, Claes Bang, Ruben Östlund, Best Foreign Language Oscar, The Square, Sweden, Shock and Awe, Rob Reiner, Woody Harrelson, Jonathan Landay, Iraq, Warren Strobel, Michael Marsden, fake news, NY Times, Washington Post, Q’Orianka Kilcher, Find Will Find You
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