Ari Folman Archives - The Playlist

‘Where Is Anne Frank’: The Past Speaks To The Present In Ari Folman’s Spellbinding Animated Revelation [Cannes Review]

Carlos Aguilar — Fri, 09 Jul 2021 16:39:17 +0000

A storm rages in Amsterdam, but that doesn’t deter visitors from lining up outside of the Anne Frank House to get a glimpse of her famous diary and gaze upon the rooms she once inhabited. A home address refashioned as a must-see tourist attraction for quick photos and perhaps some short-lived introspection. Outside its doors, a family of refugees becomes homeless when the inhospitable weather tears apart their makeshift shelter.

READ MORE: Cannes Film Festival 2021 Preview: 25 Films To Watch

That’s how Ari Folman’s spellbinding animated feature “Where Is Anne Frank” opens, a storytelling epiphany that reframes the past and interrogates our present.

Continue reading ‘Where Is Anne Frank’: The Past Speaks To The Present In Ari Folman’s Spellbinding Animated Revelation [Cannes Review] at The Playlist.

‘Where Is Anne Frank?’ Trailer: Oscar-Nominated Director Ari Folman Puts A New Spin On Anne Frank’s Story

Charles Barfield — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 14:22:41 +0000

The diary of Anne Frank is an item that most people are very familiar with. Whether it’s something you studied in school or perhaps a story that you’ve seen adapted in films and TV series, the story of a young girl being hidden away from the Nazis during World War II is one of the most well-known in modern history. But her story has never quite been seen like it is in the new animated feature, “Where is Anne Frank?

Continue reading ‘Where Is Anne Frank?’ Trailer: Oscar-Nominated Director Ari Folman Puts A New Spin On Anne Frank’s Story at The Playlist.

Cannes Film Festival: Gaspar Noe, Bill Murray. Ari Folman, Titles Added To Lineup

Edward Davis — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 12:26:10 +0000

Another early morning, another early announcement from France. As promised by the organizers previously, new titles have been added to the Cannes Film Festival, nine of them in total. Highlights include new films by Israeli filmmaker Ari Folman, Argentinian/Italian provocateur based in France, Gaspar Noé, a new project from Bill Murray, and the directorial debut from French actress Noémie Merlant (“Portrait Of A Lady On Fire“).

Continue reading Cannes Film Festival: Gaspar Noe, Bill Murray. Ari Folman, Titles Added To Lineup at The Playlist.

Harvey Keitel, Danny Huston & Paul Giamatti Confirmed For Ari Folman’s ‘The Congress’

The Playlist Staff — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 13:43:19 +0000

Harvey Keitel, Danny Huston & Paul Giamatti Confirmed For Ari Folman's 'The Congress'

Continue reading Harvey Keitel, Danny Huston & Paul Giamatti Confirmed For Ari Folman’s ‘The Congress’ at The Playlist.

Kodi Smit-McPhee Joins Ari Folman’s Animated Sci-Fi Pic ‘The Congress’

The Playlist Staff — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 10:31:12 +0000

Kodi Smit-McPhee Joins Ari Folman's Animated Sci-Fi Pic 'The Congress'

Continue reading Kodi Smit-McPhee Joins Ari Folman’s Animated Sci-Fi Pic ‘The Congress’ at The Playlist.

Sneak Peek At Ari Folman’s ‘The Congress’

Edward Davis — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 18:45:00 +0000

Ari Folman’s directorial debut “Waltz with Bashir” blew us away. It was unlike anything we’d seen before, in the documentary medium or otherwise. We’ve been waiting with bated breath for a better glimpse of Folman’s next effort “The Congress” after being teased with a still in January and we finally have an opportunity to look at a little less than a minute of footage. Sadly that isn’t much to work with, but what it shows can safely be called expectation exceeding, visually stunning and flat out awesome.

Continue reading Sneak Peek At Ari Folman’s ‘The Congress’ at The Playlist.

First Look: Ari Folman’s ‘The Congress’ Based On Stanislaw Lem Story Starring Robin Wright

Kevin Jagernauth — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:55:00 +0000

We have to admit, Ari Folman’s follow-up to “Waltz With Bashir,” completely fell off our radar but due to some nice work at over /Film, we’ve got a first look at forthcoming film “The Congress,” and it’s beautiful.

Based on the short story “The Futurological Congress” by Stanislaw Lem (best known as the author of “Solaris,” which was obviously made into a movie, twice: once by the great Andrei Tarkovsky in 1972 and once by Steven Soderbergh in 2002 ) about a man ” “who is propelled into a world where hallucinogenic drugs have replaced reality,” the actual film seems to have taken a kernel of that idea and expanded it into a story about “the world of an actress (Robin Wright).

Continue reading First Look: Ari Folman’s ‘The Congress’ Based On Stanislaw Lem Story Starring Robin Wright at The Playlist.

Sony Pictures Classics Picks Up Venice Winner, ‘Lebanon’ And ‘Get Low’

Rodrigo Perez — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:21:00 +0000

Sony Pictures Classics has continued its domination of the indie, foreign prestige-circuit this year (read: Cannes films) and has picked up the U.S. rights to “Lebanon,” the big winner of this year’s Venice Film Festival.

Winner of the Golden Lion, the top prize in Venice, the Samuel Maoz directed film is evidently a harrowing military drama, and much like Ari Folman’s “Waltz with Bashir,” it’s based on his personal experiences serving in the Israeli army during the 1982 Lebanon war (SPC put out ‘Bashir’ stateside as well).

Continue reading Sony Pictures Classics Picks Up Venice Winner, ‘Lebanon’ And ‘Get Low’ at The Playlist.

Composer Max Richter Talks The “Haunted” Music Of ‘Waltz With Bashir’

Rodrigo Perez — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 15:15:00 +0000

Composer Max Richter wrote one of our favorite film scores in 2008 for the deeply haunting Israeli film, “Waltz With Bashir.” The Ari Folman-directed documentary, which uses animation to discuss its dream-like subjects is about the 1983 Beirut massacre. Why animation to depict a well-known atrocity? The film is told and “remembered” through the hazy and submerged recollections of Folman’s first hand memories as a member of the Israeli army. The film is the frontrunner in the Best Foreign Film race and is poised to win the Oscar this weekend.

Continue reading Composer Max Richter Talks The “Haunted” Music Of ‘Waltz With Bashir’ at The Playlist.

Soundtrack: ‘Waltz With Bashir’ Also Hits Early

Rodrigo Perez — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:42:00 +0000

Soundtracks keep coming out quietly on the sly. Add Ari Folman’s soundtrack to the excellent animated film about the 1983 Beirut massacre, “Waltz With Bashir.”

We failed to write a proper review of this documentary based on Folman’s personal nightmarish-dreams about the tragedy (he was an soldier in the Israeli Army in the war with Lebanon), but we did note its commanding effect and its examination of the staying-power of guilt.

We also wrote about the music.

Continue reading Soundtrack: ‘Waltz With Bashir’ Also Hits Early at The Playlist.

‘Man on Wire’ Among The Five IDA Documentary Finalists

Rodrigo Perez — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:38:00 +0000

The IDA documentary finalists were announced yesterday as well, making it two for two in one day for James Marsh’s apparently amazing documentary “Man on Wire,” about Philippe Petit who walked between the Twin Towers back in the 70’s with nothing but his strength of spirit and a tightrope keeping him from falling. Gonzalo Arijon’s beguiling “Stranded,” which only got a U.S. release last week, which documents the incidents before, during and after the 1972 Andes plan crash as reiterated by the survivors, “Young@Heart,” about a chorus of golden oldies performing pop hits on the daily to take their mind of stuff like their future which is not eligible for the Best Doc award at the Oscars, “Waltz with Bashir,” Ari Folman’s animated doc chronicling his wartime memories of the Israel/Lebanon conflict of 1982 which isn’t eligible for the Oscar either, and finally “Kassim the Dream,” which tells the story of a Ugandan child soldier who defied the odds and became a world champion boxer, all received spots on the IDA finalist list.

Continue reading ‘Man on Wire’ Among The Five IDA Documentary Finalists at The Playlist.

Lame: ‘Waltz With Bashir’ Not Eligible For Best Documentary Film At Oscars

Rodrigo Perez — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:24:00 +0000

A change in already Arcane Academy Awards rules and politics have made it so Ari Folman’s animated look at the 1983 Beirut massacre, “Waltz With Bashir,” won’t be eligible to run in the Best Documentary Film Oscar category according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Evidently the change stipulates that a documentary “requires a one-week qualifying run in New York by Aug. 31,” which has rendered Folman’s much-buzzed about (and excellent) documentary ineligible.

This is a shame.

Continue reading Lame: ‘Waltz With Bashir’ Not Eligible For Best Documentary Film At Oscars at The Playlist.

Trailer: ‘Waltz With Bashir,’ Plus The Music Of The Film

Rodrigo Perez — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:29:00 +0000

We haven’t had a chance to spit out a proper review of Ari Folman’s frank animated film, “Waltz With Bashir,” about the 1982 Beirut massacre, but it is playing at the New York Film Festival which starts proper for the public this Friday. So hopefully we’ll have a chance to spit out a review before we take off for vacation this week, but until then we can say the film is candid, powerful, but not entirely mirthless film about a little-discussed atrocity from the war with Lebanon and the brutal staying-power of guilt.

Continue reading Trailer: ‘Waltz With Bashir,’ Plus The Music Of The Film at The Playlist.