Farewell, Christian Carion's film with Emir Kusturica will be released in France and Belgium on 23 septembre.

On 13 novembre, Emir Kusturica will be awarded the prize “8½” at the Torino Film Festival, which 27the edition will be held from 13 to 21 November. Created in homage to italian director Federico Fellini, the “8½” awards directors who have contributed to “renew the cinematographic language and to spread new trends of contemporary cinema”. Emir Kusturica will receive the prize at the opening ceremony of the festival, headed this year by Gianni Amelio, and where will be screened never-seen-before scenes of his films Arizona Dream and Time of the Gypsies, as well as a long version of Underground. It is also funny to note that Francis Ford Coppola will be awarded in this festival too. Knowing the complex relationships of both directors, made of respect and tension we can wonder what they will talk together.

Some news from Pancho Villa : Emir Kusturica has announced that he was going to build a 1000m² cinema studio in Küstendorf to shoot the interior scenes of his next movie. The beginning of the shooting should be end of next year, last six months, and then be continued in the South of Spain. The studio should also be used for the other project on which Emir Kusturica is working on : A bridge on the Drina.

Küstendorf Film and Music Festival : The 3rd edition is approaching. If you want to participate, you have until 1st November to send your film. All the details on the festival website : kustendorf-filmfestival.org. Next edition will take place in January 2010 and the Iranian director Asghar Farhadi (About Elly) will be invited.

Some news from Goran Bregović : the second part of his alcoholic diptych (Champagne) is delayed to next year, for Guča's festival 50th anniversary. Meanwhile, Goran works on an opera “Orpheus” with Slovenian director Tomaz Pandur, and on a creation for the Basilique de Saint-Denis (near Paris, in France) “diary of a sad queen”, about the life of Queen Margot.

No Smoking Orchestra : the tour continues…

Some news of Pancho Villa :

Emir Kusturica has held a press conference with the serbian minister of culture, in order to officialize his help to the Yugoslav Kinotek : it is no less than 3 theatres that will be equiped with both digital and 35mm film projectors by the end of the year, in order to pay homage to the yugoslav film patrimony back until 1902 : ”We must proove to people here that these films are not “Hollywood hamburgers”, but pictures of life which can create reality. This will be the place for authors who are not on blockbuster lists.”

No Smoking Orchestra : the tour continues !

Finally, let's mention that the short film Alice au pays s'émerveille is in the official selection of the Locarno film festival (from 5 to 15 august). Pierre-Emmanuel Le Goff, the producer, explains the positive consequences this selection might have : ”Locarno is a “A category” festival [the best one], the film will be automatically selected to the Oscars, if we win in Locarno.”.

Here is the poster and the trailer of Farewell. An official photo gallery has also been added to the page of the film. The film will be released in September 2009.

After a show in France, Nele Karajlic declared : ”we are going to present the opera based on «Time of the Gypsies» in all the Zénith of France by the end of 2010. It's a very heavy project for us, because it represents a hundred of persons, and forty on stage. And this opera is five years of work. Then we will tour in Europe, but we want to start in France.”

In July, will be released worldwide the film “Public Enemies”, by Michael Mann, where we can find the delicious Branka Katić (Ida in Black Cat, White Cat) next to Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, but also Lili Taylor (Grace in Arizona Dream). Branka told that Johnny Depp made her laugh with the Serbian that Emir had taught him on the shooting of Arizona Dream…

No Smoking Orchestra : the tour continues !