Daniel Kasman

1 month ago | mubi.com | Daniel Kasman

The festival is shrinking, and that may be a good thing. The Berlin International Film Festival is shrinking. Not in the number of films shown—in fact, like Toronto and Rotterdam, it would greatly benefit from judicious slimming—but in the grandeur of its selection. The “big” films at Berlinale—in terms of stars, major auteurs, visionary scope, fervid anticipation—seem fewer each year, as most vie, for promotional reasons, to premiere at Cannes or Venice. This is perfectly fine.

Sep 19, 2024 | mubi.com | Daniel Kasman

The cinema is a house. Part of the beauty and potential of this house is that it is at once material and metaphorical. The projection of a film onto a screen always denotes a living space around it, whether physical walls and roof or a more nebulous zone, as outdoors under a night sky. This space is inclusive of some things and exclusive of others; its center looks different than its perimeter.

Jun 13, 2024 | mubi.com | Daniel Kasman

Find all of our Cannes 2024 coverage here. Those fearing cinema’s obsolescence in the face of more popular media—an anxiety that now seems an existential characteristic of the art—will be glad to find in Cannes the obligatory films that court relevance and awards by centering on an Important Topic. These are the loud films, which anticipate being pounced upon with flash-pan hot takes. But other movies at the festival are playing a longer and subtler game.

May 24, 2024 | mubi.com | Daniel Kasman

Quentin Dupieux’s latest and Jean-Luc Godard’s last interrogate the death and life of great cinema. For more Cannes 2024 coverage, subscribe to the Weekly Edit newsletter. There is a filmmaker who makes movies that are above all conceptual, with the story but a brittle skeleton barely holding the thing together.

Mar 26, 2024 | mubi.com | Daniel Kasman

How does one determine the success of a film festival? There is no single definition of success, but rather a range of competing interests.