Movie Magazine International Blog

By Moira Sullivan Kim Novak Lifetime Achievement Award, September 1, 2025 © La Biennale di Venezia The 82nd Venice Film Festival in 2025 ran from 27 August to 6 September 2025. Venice is the oldest film festival of international film festivals, and a distinguishing attribute is that it is an artistic film festival attracting independent filmmakers and scripts that are complex and layered, provoking intelligent introspection. Theatrical productions that are attractive to general audiences are also screened, but most of the films are selected to be appraised by a talented group of film critics and a distinguished jury. Unlike Cannes, any critic who wants to attend the press conferences is allowed entrance. The reviews reveal a multiplicity of viewpoints even if the most commercial of these forums are backed by big business blogs such as Deadline Hollywood, Hollywood Reporter, and IndieWire. Deadline Hollywood is a focused blog on the entertainment industry acquired by Penske Media...

By Moira Sullivan This report was part of the September 6 broadcast of Annakarinaland. Ingrid Bergman's birthday is August 29 and this year she would have been 110.  The year 2015 was the centennial celebration of the birth of Ingrid Bergman in Sweden. The festival poster for the 68th Cannes Film Festival featured a picture of her in part because of the world premiere of Swedish filmmaker Stig Björkman's documentary, Jag är Ingrid" ( Ingrid Bergman - In Her Own Words, Sweden 2015.) "Ingrid Bergman -In Her Own Words" highlights the work of a woman who dedicated her life to film. Though she was a phenomenal artist, so little is out there about her life on film. Stig Björkman co-wrote the documentary with Dominika Daubenbüchel and producer Stina Gardell. Swedish vocalist Eva Dahlgren, who also sings the final ballad of the film, coordinated the Super 8 footage, and Ingrid's letters to her friends are read by actress Alicia Vikander. The film came about through Björ...

By Moira Jean Sullivan Radio broadcast #1, Annakarinaland, May 31, 2024 KXSF.fm PROGRAM Homage to Monica Sullivan, producer of Movie Magazine International and Shoestring Radio Theatre. Monica leaves us a profundity of radio plays she produced and wrote, 'scathingly brilliant' film criticism, novels, short stories, and scrapbooks. Her legacy is fortunate for us as we continue to rediscover her genius, her creativity, and her passion. Monica Sullivan was a true champion of the printed and spoken word, a powerhouse for justice, for the rights of children and young people, and furry felines. She challenged me and enchanted me. As children, Monica and I put on plays and puppet shows, saw films at the local theatre, watched TV shows like The Man From UNCLE, The Avengers, and all the new season TV shows, and went backstage to meet actors such as Diana Rigg and Maggie Smith in theatre productions in LA. Diana remembered Monica, who was sitting in the front row, because s...

By Moira Sullivan The 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival opened on May 13 with the selection of an exceptional jury and a spirited press conference that set the tone for a politically and socially engaged festival. In the opening night of the Cannes film festival, Robert De Niro took the stage to accept an honorary Palme d’Or and he took the time to criticiz the tariffs on film produced outside of the US. Meanwhile Tom Cruise - who did not go to film or acting school - has built a successful international franchise on Mission Impossible The Final Reckoning", which is not subject to tariffs. "Mission: Impossible" is a fictional multimedia franchise, imported or exported between countries. The opening of the film was exciting for the cast and crew and a jubilant Cannes public. Main Competition Jury Presiding over this year’s main jury is acclaimed French actress Juliette Binoche, whose career spans four decades and more than 70 films. Binoche won the Best Actre...