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★★★★☆ From Boris Khlebnikov, one half of the directing duo responsible for 2003's Koktebel, comes A Long and Happy Life (2013), a pensive and meekly existential drama about one man's solitary fight against corruption and turmoil in Russia. Sasha (Aleksandr Yatsenko) has recently moved from the city and bought a farm in order to start up a new life away from the hustle and bustle of modern life. However, whilst he's managed to escape the frantic pace of urban living and met a local sweetheart in which to share his dream, the bureaucracy and political corruption that infects Russian society has already taken hold of this isolated idyll.

The state is buying up local land from small agricultural businesses, offering a lucrative compensation, yet failing to consider the lives of the families who have harvested this land for generations. The villagers begin to rise up in rebellion against this attempt to buy up their homes and Sasha,...

The Sundance Film Festival is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, the festival is a showcase for new work from American and international independent filmmakers. The Festival has changed over the decades from a low-profile venue for small-budget, independent creators from outside the Hollywood system to a media extravaganza for Hollywood celebrity actors, paparazzi, and luxury lounges set up by companies that are not affiliated with Sundance.

Now the festival is getting ready for the 2012 edition and today they announced the jury members for this year’s Festival. They include Shari Berman, Scott Burns, Charles Ferguson, Nick Fraser, Mike Judge, Justin Lin, Anthony Mackie, Cliff Martinez, Julia Ormond, Dee Rees and Lynn Shelton.

Here is the official press release:

Park City, Ut — Sundance Institute announced today the 22 members of the six juries awarding prizes at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival,...

Critics' Week has already begun celebrating its 50th anniversary by posting 50 video interviews with directors and actors who've seen their work debut in this section at Cannes. We're celebrating, too. In association with the 4+1 Film Festival, Mubi is presenting a retrospective of some of the greatest films first seen in Critics' Week over the past half-century. And even though the first 1000 views of each of the films will be free to you, the viewer, the rights holders will carry on receiving their duly earned revenue.

The retrospective encompasses over 100 titles in all, but please do keep in mind that rights issues can get complicated and not every film can be available in every country. That said, here's a quick overview of just some of the highlights:

Over in the Garage, a La Semaine Blogathon is already on the roll, starting with Kj Farrington's entry on Miranda July's Me and You and Everyone We Know,...

SOCHI, Russia -- Academy Award winner Renee Zellweger will present Chris Noonan's Beatrix Potter biopic, Miss Potter, at the 42nd edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic, organizers said Thursday.

The actress, who has won acclaim for roles in such films as Chicago and Bridget Jones's Diary, will tread the red carpet in the Bohemian spa town and take the stage to present Potter, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination for her performance as the children's writer and illustrator.

In a separate development, Russian director Alexei Popogrebsky, whose debut as a solo director, Simple Things (Prostye Veshchi), is screening this week in competition at the 18th edition of the Russian national film showcase Kinotavr, confirmed Thursday that the film will unspool in the main competition at Karlovy Vary.

Popogrebsky, whose Koktebel, co-directed with Boris Khlebnikov, won Karlovy Vary's East of the West sidebar in 2003, said another joint work, Free Floating (Svobonoye Plaviniye), also will screen in that category at this year's Karlovy Vary event.