The best in film this week from new trailers to documentaries and festivals
DOCUMENTARY OF THE WEEK: Cinema Komunisto directed by Mila Turajlic
A bizarre account of Yugoslavia’s film industry with rare archive footage in which Hitchcock, Sofia Loren and Orson Welles flit past, appearing in ‘super productions’ commissioned by Yugoslavian dictator and film-obsessive Marshal Tito. Actors, producers, secret police and Tito’s personal projectionist describe eccentric, fact-meets-fiction stories – including using the country’s entire armed forces for celluloid battle scenes, and Tito’s hiring of Richard Burton to play himself in a biopic. A week of screenings kick off tonight at the ICA.
FESTIVAL OF THE WEEK: Nordic Film Festival 2012
Proving that Scandinavian cinema is more then just Bergman and von Trier, the first annual Nordic Film Festival launches this year, bringing a host of new northern films to London, from dark indies to frothy rom coms. Look out for Oslo, August 31st, a bleakly beautiful Norwegian film about the day in the life of a recovering drug addict. You can also catch Oscar-winning Danish director Susanne Bier's new film, Love Is All You Need, and Babette's Feast, the first Danish film to win an Oscar back in 1987.
NEW FILM OF THE WEEK: Turning by Charles Atlas and Antony and the Johnsons
A special screening of haunting spectacle Turning, which documents innovative video artist Charles Atlas’ 2006 collaboration with Antony and the Johnsons. A multi-layered blend of live performance, hypnotic projections and lush music, the film features intimate portraits of 13 women from New York, some of whom are transgendered, all of whom are friends and inspirations to the singer. Screens at the Curzon on 27 November at 6:20pm.
TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Jimmy’s End by Alan Moore
Rarely, if ever, happy with other directors’ takes on his work, Moore has stepped behind the camera himself, in collaboration with Mitch Jenkins. The noir-ish, hallucinatory Jimmy’s End promises to be something of a British Twin Peaks, following an occultist who attempts to take control of other people’s dreams. The 30-minute film is due to be unveiled on 25th Nov.
OLD FILM OF THE WEEK: The Cremator by Juraj Herz
An obsessively neat, deranged cremator who thinks he’s the Dalai Llama goes on a killing spree in 30s Prague amid the rise of the Nazis. Banned on its premiere in 1969, this surreal, celluloid nightmare from Czech new wave director Juraj Herz has been unearthed by Second Run and rereleased this week. With its haunted waxwork museums, zoo-animal flashbacks, and pitch-black humour, it’s been described as a cross between Dr. Strangelove and Repulsion. Out Nov 26 on Second Run.