Meanwhile, the usually meticulous director films the grand political stage with a generic studio realism.

NEWYORKER: The Sun

The Romero films concentrate on the social and political breakdown that something like the dead coming back to life would cause.

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Only the inclusion of some films from Tel Aviv, Israel, sparked a glimmer of controversy, with a petition rebuking the festival's political insensitivity and the regrettable withdrawal of two Egyptian films.

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But his political career did not last and he is making a comeback with films like Lal Badshah (1998) and Mrityudaata (1997).

BBC: Bollywood star tops the poll

Peace-building activities (prayers, concerts, roadshows, talk shows, plays, films etc.) have been legion, competing for overloaded national political bandwidth during this hectic electioneering period.

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As Mr Bergan movingly recounts, Eisenstein developed a curious mixture of audacity and cunning, always pushing his films towards an ideal state which he must have known could never be realised, for political or economic reasons, yet managing to remain employed and to launch yet another project after the previous one had collapsed or been compromised or sabotaged.

ECONOMIST: Film��s great might-have-been

The star of such films as "Double Jeopardy" and "Kiss the Girls" is known for her liberal political views and she would have been running in a largely conservative state where Republicans hold both Senate seats and five of the six seats in the U.S. House.

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His films are as much about place as they are about people, and have often drawn attention to the political and social problems facing Brazil.

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But she was not merely the dominant political personality of her generation - she was a transcendent cultural figure who inspired more songs, books, plays and films than any other British leader since Oliver Cromwell.

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