SOFIA: The Executive Director of Bulgaria's National Film Centre (www.nfc.bg) Alexander Donev resigned on 23 December 2010. Donev was elected to the position in May 2009. It was the second major administrative change in the area of film, following soon after Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov fired the deputy minister of culture Dimitar Dereliev on 11 December 2010.

This month we interview Katrin Rajasaare manager of the Tallinn cinema Artis.

The Hungarian parliament has decided to dramatically cut funding for the Hungarian Motion Picture Foundation (MMK www.mmka.hu) in its 2011 budget. The move has also put the future of the Hungarian Film Week traditionally held in February in doubt. The MMK board has decided to postpone the event until the end of April when it hopes to be able to secure funding for the event.

VENICE: Director Francois Ozon reviews his successful collaboration with actress Catherine Deneuve who turns in a sparkling performance in this adaptation of Barillet and Gredy's French boulevard comedy. Set in 1977 in northern France, Deneuve plays Suzanne the "trophy wife" of wealthy and conservative industrialist Robert who runs an umbrella factory.

VENICE: Director Aleksei Fedorchenko brings a poetic and very Russian vision to the screen with this beautifully shot film. Profound and deeply moving the film is destined for a long life of international festival appearances.

VENICE: Sofia Coppola's family drama is one of those films where seemingly nothing much happens but at the same time it captures a piece of life that we all recognize. Movie star Johnny Marco is comfortable, drifting and uses both woman and drugs as casual entertainment. His life in Los Angeles is going nowhere but at least he is going there in a Ferrari.

VENICE: Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski deservedly won the Venice film festival's Special Jury prize for the courageous film that is a directing tour de force. The film begins with shots of the dry and desert lands of Afghanistan where the main character, Mohammed, a Taliban fighter, is captured and transported to a secret detention center in central Europe.

BERLIN: Director Darren Aronofsky's has followed up his successful film The Wrestler with Black Swan a psychological thriller in the world of ballet. Speaking at the Biennale press conference the director said: "The more I looked into the world of wrestling and the world of ballet I saw that they were very much related to each other. Both have performers who use their bodies in these very intense physical ways. I always considered them as companion pieces.

WARSAW: Polish director Andrzej Wajda has been awarded the Russian medal of the Order of Friendship by Russian president Dmitry Medvedev during his visit to Warsaw. The medal was in honour of over 50 years of service to the movie industry.

When the Royal Film Commission of Jordan wanted to put Jordan on the map both as an international shooting location and to open a window of opportunity for local filmmakers they invited internationally known novelist and scriptwriter Mohydeen Quandour to Jordan. The result was the film Cherkess.