Fests and events, 5/4.

By David Hudson on 05/04/2009

"Taking a fresh look at [Jim] Henson's TV shows and movies 20 years later - now possible thanks to a terrific new Northwest Film Center retrospective playing throughout May - I realized that Henson accomplished much the same thing with the Muppets that Charles M Schulz accomplished with 'Peanuts' and Chuck Jones accomplished with Looney Tunes." Mike Russell: "Henson controlled a commercially profitable set of characters that somehow managed to reflect his soul, humor and philosophy, did it across several different media, and pulled it off for decades. And the fact that he was producing, writing, directing and performing in projects this technically complex is jaw-dropping."

Andre Soares has the award-winners from the Torino GLBT Film Festival.

The Austin Chronicle's Kimberley Jones has the list of Cine las Americas award-winners.

While Tribeca wrapped over the weekend (roundup entry forthcoming), the San Francisco International Film Festival rolls on through Thursday. Darren Hughes has posted a roundup; SF360 has news and pix; and Brian Darr carries on posting an entry a day. His latest: "Truthfully, a dark film can be like a burst of light if it's made with the evident care and precision of a master. I'm up for seeing one of those at any point in my festival fatigue. For me, 'Home' fit the bill. It's hard to believe that its director, Swiss-born Ursula Meier, had never made a feature before, so confident is its unity of content and form, so complicated its shooting must have been."

"The Jury Un Certain regard 2009 will be presided by the Italian director and screenwriter Paolo Sorrentino, awarded the Jury Prize in 2008 for 'Il Divo.' He will be surrounded by Julie Gayet (actress, France), Piers Handling (director of the Toronto Festival, Canada), Uma Da Cunha (journalist and festival programmer, India) and Marit Kapla (journalist, Göteborg Festival, Sweden)."

And: "The 2009 Camera d'or Jury will be presided by the French actor Roschdy Zem, who directed in 2006 his first film 'Bad Faith.' He will be accompanied by Diane Baratier (cinematographer), Olivier Chiavassa (Federation of Film Technicians), Sandrine Ray (director), Charles Tesson (Critics' Syndicate) and Edouard Waintrop (Fribourg Film Festival, Switzerland)."

And: "The Indian actress Sharmila Tagore will complete the Jury of the Competition, presided by Isabelle Huppert."

The other night Stewart Home "was down at the BFI on the South Bank (the nearest thing you'll find to a real rock 'n' roll club in London these days) to catch the first screening in a series dedicated to notorious underground/art film-maker Stephen Dwoskin, a one time contemporary of Andy Warhol. The first night of this month long season was given over to 5 early underground shorts. After an introduction by William Fowler which laid out Dwoskin's role as a pioneer in both the New York and London underground movie scenes, the films were screened in chronological order, so 'Asleep' (1961) came first."

"'The Hunt for Gollum,' which has its premiere at the London International Festival of Science Fiction,'" writes Richard Rogers in the Observer, "is an example of a new genre of high-production amateur films. Once the preserve of spotty 'Star Wars' fanatics, 'fan films' are currently undergoing an internet-led renaissance."

Kristin Thompson and David Bordwell look back to the highlights of this year's Ebertfest.

[Photo: Kermit the Frog]

Tags: Cannes 2009, Cine Las Americas, Ebertfest 2009, Jim Henson, SFIFF 2009, Stephen Dwoskin