Hello from the city of the little bear. I’m writing this from the halfway mark of the biggest international festival in the European winter. Luckily, the weather in Berlin this year has been comparatively mild, making for much less injury from slipping over in the ice and for greater running capabilities between screenings. Fellow MIFF programmer Al Cossar and I have been hitting the festival pretty hard and while there have been no single stand out films so far, it’s a pretty strong year. Favourites from me thus far are: Andrew Bujalski’s completely bizarre VHS-shot COMPUTER CHESS, Matt Porterfield’s mysterious I USED TO BE DARKER, Nicolas Philibert’s brilliantly-constructed LA MAISON DE LA RADIO, Sebastián Lellio’s compelling GLORIA, Wong Kar-wai’s magisterial THE GRANDMASTER and the fun bolshie-romp FOR MARX.... 

And there is still much to come, I’m personally very curious about Brazilian artists (the late) Hélio Oiticia and Neville d’Almeida’s only-to-be-experienced-in-a-swimming-pool installation at the Liquidroom, as well as installations from Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel (Leviathan), part of Forum Expanded, the festival's section devoted to a film-art.

MIFF’s own Geoffrey Rush is here and will walk the red carpet for the International Premiere gala screening of Giuseppe Tornatore's THE BEST OFFER and there is a great array of Australian and New Zealand films in the NATIVe (a brand new Indigenous section of the festival), Shorts and Generation sections. Retrospectives this year are dedicated to Weimar Cinema and Claude Lanzmann and still to come in the Competition, we have new films from Bruno Dumont, Hong Sang-soo, Jafar Panahi, Steven Soderbergh, David Gordon Green and Pia Marais.

Undoubtedly we will present a good healthy selection from the Berlinale at MIFF this July (only five months away!)

MIFF Artistic Director

In this edition of WIDESCREEN

• Vale Frank Nicholls, founding father of MIFF

• MIFF Members - Astor News

• MIFF Members - February  Screening

• 2013 Submissions Deadline

• Giveaways

- Speakeasy Cinema

- West of Memphis

- ACMI: Focus on Jeanne Moreau

- The Sweeney

- Amour

VALE FRANK NICHOLLS

MIFF pioneer Frank Nicholls has died at the outstanding age of 97.

The Board and staff of MIFF wish to offer condolences to his family and acknowledge his enormous contribution as the leading light behind the inception of the original Film Festival at Olinda in 1952.

"We are sad to hear about the passing of Frank Nicholls. As one of the Festival's founders - President of the Melbourne Film Festival Committee that established MIFF in 1952, and first Chairman thereafter - Frank will leave a lasting impression on MIFF, and myself personally, as I was touched and inspired by Frank's generosity, smarts and incredible life," said MIFF Artistic Director, Michelle Carey.

MIFF MEMBERS - EXCITING NEWS!

MIFF is pleased as punch to announce that the ASTOR THEATRE has come onboard as a partner cinema for the MIFF membership program!  Current members will now be able to gain concession entry to sessions at The Astor with your MIFF membership card (excluding special events).

Not only that, but The Astor will also be offering us special members screenings throughout the year featuring films from their premiere retrospectives seasons, where you will be able to experience beautifully restored classic films before anyone else!

MIFF MEMBERS - FEBRUARY SCREENING

To celebrate our new cinema partner The Astor, we are thrilled to present the Hitchcock classic North by Northwest in this month's exclusive MIFF Members screening, on Tuesday 26 February, 7pm at The Astor Theatre, St Kilda.

Spruced up with a brand new 4K DCP Restoration, it screens for the first time in 4K format and 5.1 Surround Sound.

One of MGM’s few movies to be shot in the expansive Vistavision format, North By Northwest features the trademark Saul Bass opening credit sequence, noted for its early use of kinetic typography. 

The Astor will present a strictly limited engagement, with three general public screenings only from 14-16 March, but MIFF Members can go here to book their ticket for the 26 February Members screening.

Not a MIFF Member? You goose! Go here and sort it out now.

2013 SUBMISSIONS DEADLINE

Time is fast running out to submit your film to MIFF for 2013 consideration. The deadline for regular submissions is next Thursday 21 February, so get cracking!

The team at MIFF considers and programs films from all over the world. We accept all types of feature length films as well as short fiction, documentary, animation and experimental films.

Eligible short films are screened in competition in the Shorts Awards, which are Academy®, AACTA and BAFTA accredited and come with cash prizes. Submit your film now!

SPEAKEASY CINEMA

Non-profit bar/cafe SHEBEEN and our pals SPEAKEASY CINEMA present MOONSHINE CINEMA, a selection of music-oriented films, including BLANK CITY, GIRL WALK/ALL DAY and VALTARI FILM EXPERIMENT.

Thanks to Speakeasy Cinema we have 3 double passes to giveaway to BOMBAY BEACH, screening Thur 28 Feb, 8pm at Shebeen. A stylised documentary about a trio of misfits whose lives take place around the Salton Sea, a dying man-made water body stranded in the Colorado Desert, it sets their personal stories against dreamlike dance elements. Features original music by Beirut's Zach Condon and songs by Bob Dylan. To win, email widescreen@miff.com.au with your full name and the answer to this Q: Bombay was the former name of which capital city?

WEST OF MEMPHIS

Produced by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, WEST OF MEMPHIS is a powerful and provocative look into the untold story behind the infamous case of the West Memphis 3 - three teenagers who were imprisoned for a heinous crime, despite overwhelming evidence of their innocence.

Acclaimed filmmaker Amy Berg (Deliver Us from Evil) chronicles their trial, conviction and the subsequent investigation that generated the movement to prove their innocence, which involved everyone from grassroots supporters to celebrated artists and musicians. The documentary features original music by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. Opens February 14 exclusive to Cinema Nova.

Thanks to Sony Pictures Releasing, we have 10 double passes to giveaway. To win, email your name & address to widescreen@miff.com.au with the answer to this Q: Name another film with a soundtrack by our Nick and Warren.

Jeanne Moreau in Elevator to the Gallows

ACMI: FOCUS ON JEANNE MOREAU

ACMI presents a tribute and survey of the rapid rise to stardom over a single, intense period of France’s greatest New Wave actress, Jeanne Moreau.

The program includes Malle’s The Lovers (1958), a film that cemented Moreau’s star status and guaranteed her roles in  works by Vadim, Buñuel, Antonioni, Demy and Truffaut. The season runs from Thur 14 to Tues 28 February at ACMI Cinemas, Federation Square.

Thanks to ACMI, we have 3 in-season doubles to giveaway. To win, email widescreen@miff.com.au with your name & address, and the answer to this Q: Who famously once said: "I’m still pretty dumb about girl stuff. For a while I said, 'Ah, girls are stupid'. But after seeing all these Jeanne Moreau movies, I think being a girl is where it’s at."

THE SWEENEY

Legendary Detective Inspector Jack Regan (Ray Winstone) and his loyal partner George Crater (Ben Drew) are old school crime fighters enforcing the law in a modern undreworld. With a bank heist in progress and his old enemy making a re-appearance on the London crime scene, Regan will do whatever it takes to get the job done, even defying orders from his no nonsense Guv (Damian Lewis).

Tearing up the streets of London, THE SWEENEY is a stylish, exhilarating action thriller. Opens nationally on 14 Feb.

Thanks to Hoyts Distribution, we have 10 in-season doubles to giveaway. Email widescreen@miff.com.au with your name & address and the answer to this Q: Actor Ben Drew is more famously known as a musician under the moniker...?

AMOUR

From celebrated director Michael Haneke comes the internationally award winning (and MIFF2012 pick)  AMOUR, starring Jean-Louis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva and Isabelle Huppert. 

Winner of the Cannes Palme d’Or, a Golden Globe and nominated for five Oscars, Amour is Michael Haneke’s astonishing tale of love and loss. In cinemas from February 21.

Thanks to Transmission Films, we have 20 in-season double passes to giveaway. To win, email widescreen@miff.com.au with your name & address, and the answer to this Q: How many times has Haneke won the Palme d'Or at Cannes?