News [Archives - 1st quarter 2006]

• Emir Kusturica made yesterday, friday 24 february, the opening of the Belgrade Film Festival :
  

”It's a great honor for me to be here tonight. You see, I have a military costume, but this time, it's a Dior-Military. It can be very dangerous ! (…) I remember the time when Miloš Forman was here, twenty years ago. He had insisted that I was here too, in Belgrade, to open the festival with him. It was a real honor, and I was very happy to be on his side. He was 25 years older than me, and I considered him already as an old man. I'm here tonight, and I'm 51 years old, but I tell to myself that I grew older at the same time than this festival. We created this festival under the communism, and we can thank Tito for that. For us, american movies were so far away ! We're here today to help this festival to find its own path. My wish is that this festival remains on the auteur cinema.”
With the Belgrade festival, there is also a photo exhibition by Wim Wenders at the Belgrade Contemporary Art Museum.

• New concerts by the No Smoking Orchestra were announced :
  • 7 april : Berlin (Arena)
  • 8 april : Munich (Muffathalle)
  • 9 april : Zürich (X-tra)
  • 11 april : Wien (Wu)
• The first shots of the new film Promise me this were done on 20 february… but the shooting stopped after two days. Work should start again in april. During the press conference at the Belgrade Festival, Emir Kusturica promised the film would be ready for Cannes 2007. It would be the first time he ends a film that quickly ! Let's note Ranko Bozić (scenario writer of Life is a miracle) signed the script of this new film.
• At the Berlin Film Festival, this year, the golden Bear was given to young Bosnian filmmaker Jasmila Zbanic, for her film Grbavica, in which Mirjana Karanović has a lead role.
• Last : for the fun, and for the party, I recommend the excellent CD Balkan Beat Box.

• The website of the French producer Palass confirms the adaptation by Emir Kusturica of an opera based on his film Time of the Gypsies, with a music by the No Smoking Orchestra. Settings are scheduled at the Opéra Bastille in Paris, in july 2007.
• Aleksandar Manić, the director of Underground's making-of Shooting Days has made a documentary on the Rroms of Šutka (the largest Rrom “city”, in Makedonia, near Skopje) : Knjiga Rekorda Šutke. We meet again “actors” from previous films of Emir Kusturica (Black Cat, White Cat and Time of the Gypsies).
• On 20 february, Emir Kusturica shall start filming in Serbia his new film Promise me this. The casting is not known yet, but rumours speak of Spanish actor Javier Bardem.
• On 24 february, Emir Kusturica will open the International Film Festival of Belgrade. His friend Wim Wenders will be at the closing ceremony, on 4 March.
• Last, but not least, I can announce you the very soon release of a book I've written on Emir Kusturica. Published in France, it is entitled Le lexique subjectif d'Emir Kusturica (the subjective lexicon of Emir Kusturica). The book deals more about the man than his work, and tries to draw a portrait made of contrasts, little and big stories, oppositions, fights and friendships, in short : a collection of anecdotes and selected interviews extracts that should allow everyone to better understand the man who hides behind his films. Written as an homage to Milorad Pavić's The dictionary of the Khazars the book is made of various entries, alphabetically sorted, allowing a linear or a transversal reading, at your choice. Complementary to the website, the book should still learn many things to anyone who has already read all the pages, and reciprocally. The book is written in French, and no translation is scheduled for the moment. It will be available in French bookshops and on amazon.fr around mid april.

• The first European Film Festival is taking place these days (from 18 to 27 january) in Algiers. Among the 11 selected films, there is Emir Kusturica's last film Life is a miracle.
• The No Smoking Orchestra is currently working in the studios to record the soundtrack of Emir Kusturica's next film : Promise me this. The shooting should start in february in Serbia.
• Rumours say Maradona could be presented at the next Cannes Film Festival. The film should then be released in theatres, on 23rd may. After Emir Kusturica, the president of the jury this year will be Wong Kar Wai. Last information : it's The Da Vinci Code that will open the festival.
• The DVD of Life is a miracle is now available in Italy and in Germany.
• The website of the producer of the CD and DVD Live is a miracle in Buenos Aires is brand new : palass.fr.
• Emir Kusturica and Monica Bellucci, this is the rather strange casting of Luigi Perelli's next film. This Italian directory shall soon shoot in Serbia the movie Last Lap in Monza - 2 (Poslednji krug u Monci 2), which is the sequel to the film of the same name, released in 1989, telling the story of a Belgrade mafia boss obliged to move to Italy to continue his business. Ennio Morricone shall make the music of this film.