Swiss artist H. R. Giger dies at the age of 74

The renowned Swiss artist H. R. Giger, passed away yesterday in a hospital located in Zurich due to injuries sustained in a fall. He was 74 years old.

Hans Rudolf Giger was a surrealist painter, sculptor and set designer. He was widely known for his creatures and sets created for Ridley Scott's Alien films. As a result, he was awarded with an Oscar for special effects in 1980.
Giger also contributed with his work for Poltergeist II - The Other Side,  Tokyo - The Last Megalopolis, among several other films, as well for the computer game Dark Seed (1995).
He also did some work for recording artists and colaborated with Ibanez Guitars  for the H. R. Giger Signature Models.

Born in 1940, Giger moved to Zurich in1962 where he studied interior and industrial design at the School of Commercial Art in Zurich (from 1962 to 1965).
He had a relationship with Swiss actress Li Tobler untill 1975, when she commited suicide. In 1979 he married Mia Bonzanigo, but the divorced a year and a half later.



The work of the American horror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft had great influence on H. R. Giger's art. Such is this that his compendium of images Necronomicon (there's a version with an introduction by Clive Barker) is a clear refererence to Lovecraft's made up book with the same name.
The original signed book is housed in the H R Giger museum at the Château St. Germain in Gruyères Switzerland.
Ernst Fuchs and Salvador Dali, to whom he was introduced by painter Robert Venosa were inspirations sources for Gigger who was also a personal friend of Timothy Lear.

Giger started with small ink drawings, then progessed to oil painting. During his career, he worked predominantly in airbush, but also created works with pastels, markers and ink.
Much of his work depicts surreal and monochromatic dreamscapes, often with biomechanical human bodies interconnected with a mechanical world as well as alien species and nightmarish elements. Several erotic references can also be found in his works.

The H. R. Giger Museum, housed in the Château St. Germain in Gruyère, Switzerland, holds a permanent repository of his work.  The artist lived and worked in Zürich with his wife, Carmen Maria Scheifele Giger, who is the Director of the museum.

IndieLisboa'12

The 9th edition of the International Independent Film Festival IndieLisboa started today and will run until 6th May, offering a vast reportoire of  independent cinema from all over the world.

Regarded as the main Portuguese film festival, IndieLisboa'12 seeks to bring to the public new films and new directors from the universe of independent cinema, focusing on the author's creativity and independence. This objective is complemented by a programme that includes a seminar, debates, master classes, special screenings and the chance for the public to meet the authors of their favourite films.

The younger audience was not forgoten. The IndieJunior includes screenings from a competitive section catered for children between three year-old and fifteen year-old,  presented to school pupils and to the general public
IndieLisboa'12 also offers a video library comprising more than 3000 submitted films for the present edition, available in specially reserved booths to accredited professionals.

Worth mentioning is Viennale's 50th anniversary this October. IndieLisboa will honor the moment with a program showing five films, one for each decade, a selection based on what organizers feel to be the Viennale's essence.
During its exhibition, the public will have the chance to learn how creativity can overcome the financial budget and present a product that can compete with some major productions; if not in terms of marketing, at least in terms of quality.

Please refer to the Information section for useful info, namely on how to purchase tickets, contacts and accomodation.

Luis García Berlanga and Sacha Guitry at the Cinemateca Portuguesa

Next month, the Cinemateca Portuguesa (Portuguese Cinematheque) will present a retrospective dedicated to Luis García Berlenga and Sacha Guitry.

In partnership with the Instituto de Cinematografia y Artes Audiovisuales, the Filmoteca Española and Guimarães 2012 European Capital of Culture, the Cinemateca Portuguesa will present 10 films from restored copies by the Spanish film director and screenwriter Luis García Berlanga Martí.

This will be one of the first public presentations worldwide, including some famous films from the 50's: "Esa Pareja Feliz", "Bienvenido, Mr. Marshall! / Benvindo, Mister Marshall" and "Calabuch."



"El Verdugo" (1963); "La Escopeta Nacional" (1978); "Vivan los Novios" (970); "Todos a la Carcel" (1993), are some of the titles that the public will be able to enjoy from 1 to 21 of February 2012.

The retrospective dedicated to the French film director Alexandre-Pierre Georges (Sacha) Guitry, will take place from 20 of February through March, also presenting 10 films.



"Le Roman d'Un Tricheur" and "Faisons un Rêve" (1936), "Désiré" and "Quadrille" (1937/8), "Le Comédien" and "Le Diable Boiteux" (1948), "Aux Deux Colombes" (1949) and "La Poison" (1951) will be shown during the month of February.

Born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Sacha Guitry was also a stage actor, film actor, screenwriter, and playwright of the Boulevard theatre.

To learn more about the retrospective dedicated to Luis García Berlanga and Sacha Guitry, you can call (351) 21 359 62 66.