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    Portfolio Review Russia

    Dasha Zhukova touts FotoFest international photography review at Moscow-Houstonpress conference

    Clifford Pugh
    Aug 24, 2011 | 2:22 pm
    • Dasha Zhukova
    • Houston panelists joined their Moscow counterparts in an international videoteleconference to tout the upcoming FotoFest Portfolio Review Russia.
      Photo by Clifford Pugh

    For most bleary-eyed reporters, 7 a.m. seemed awfully early for a press gathering. Speaking from Moscow Wednesday where it was a more civilized hour (4 p.m.), FotoFest co-founder Fred Baldwin deemd it a "miracle" that so many people had shown up so early at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Houston for a joint video teleconference spanning two continents.

    "But we're in the process of creating another kind of miracle," Baldwin said.

    Baldwin and FotoFest co-founder Wendy Watriss joined Russian art and government officials in Moscow at the teleconference organized by RIA Novosti, Russia's largest news agency, and beamed back to Houston, where local officials appeared with Russian contemporary art collector Dasha Zhukova to tout next week's FotoFest international portfolio review.

    Nearly 200 photographers from Russia, the Ukraine and Belarus will have their work reviewed by 50 experts from 18 nations at the Garage Center for Contemporary Culture in Moscow Aug. 29-Sept. 2. It is the first time that FotoFest has organized such a review in Russia.

    Noting the excitement over the event, Baldwin said that when such a review was held in China a few years ago, around 1,000 photographers vied for the slots. In Russia, more than 2,400 photographers applied.

    "This makes it possible for the world to discover the new faces and new photographers from Russia," Baldwin said.

    "The idea of the Portfolio Review is to create international world opportunities for young talent and that's what we hope to do," Watriss added. "As you know, Russian photographers led the world in the 1920s and 1930s. There is no lack of talent here."

    Some of the Russian photographers discovered at Portfolio Review Russia will show their work in Houston next year at the FotoFest 2012 International Biennial. The theme is Contemporary Russian Photography, Post-war Avante-garde to Today, and exhibits will be held throughout the city March 16-April 29. Activities will also include artist and curator talks, workshops, symposia on Russian photography, the world's largest portfolio review and the international Biennial Fine Print Auction.

    Zhukova, the glamorous Russian who founded the Garage Center and is one of the leading collectors of contemporary art in her native country, flew to Houston specifically to drum up support for the project. "It's an exciting opportunity to give so many people a voice," she said.

    During her brief visit to the Bayou City, Zhukova, who lived in Houston for a time when she was a youngster, had dinner with friends and visited The Menil Collection, which she said was one of her favorite museums. "I love Surrealism," she said, noting the Menil's extensive collection.

    Other Houston panelists included Britt Langford, managing director of Fotofest sponsor JP Morgan Chase, Houston Arts Alliance chairman Marshal Lightman, City of Houston Mayor's Art Liason Minnette Boesel and PaperCity arts writer Catherine Anspon.

    RIA Novosti deputy editor-in-chief Alexander Babinsky, Portfolio Review Russia co-organizer Evgeny Berenzer and curator Irina Chmyreva joined Baldwin and Watriss in the RIA Novosti studios. Garage Center for Contemporary Culture director Anton Belov and multi-media artists Tatiana Arzamasova and Evgeny Svyatsky also participated in the discussion from the Moscow museum.

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    Movie Review

    How to Train Your Dragon remake puts a fresh twist on the original

    Alex Bentley
    Jun 12, 2025 | 4:14 pm
    Toothless and Mason Thames in How to Train Your Dragon
    Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures
    Toothless and Mason Thames in How to Train Your Dragon.

    Let’s get it out of the way right at the top: The new live-action How to Train Your Dragon, coming a mere 15 years after the original animated film, serves no real purpose other than to make more money for Universal Pictures and Dreamworks Pictures. However, unlike Disney’s approach toward remaking their animated movies, this attempt manages to succeed on its own merits instead of being a half-baked vessel for nostalgia.

    As fans will remember, Hiccup (Mason Thames) lives in Berk, a town on a remote island populated by Vikings who constantly have to defend themselves against rampaging dragons. Hiccup’s dad, Stoick (Gerard Butler), is the community’s vaunted leader, with a legacy that seems impossible for Hiccup to measure up to, especially since he’s stuck in the armory alongside Gobber (Nick Frost).

    But Hiccup has a knack for inventions, and his use of one new weapon during a dragon attack takes down a feared Night Fury. Finding the wounded dragon deep in the forest, Hiccup decides against killing it, leading to an unexpected bond between the two of them. Most of the film shows Hiccup trying to prove himself to his townspeople, including the fierce Astrid (Nico Parker), while also nursing the dragon he dubs Toothless back to health with the help of another one of his ingenious creations.

    Written and directed by Dean DeBlois (who’s had the same roles on all four HTTYD films), the film is most notable for how engaging it is despite it retelling a story many already know and love. The biggest reason for this is a pivot away from telling a story mainly for kids toward one that feels like an extremely light version of Game of Thrones. Almost right away, there are real stakes for the people in the film, and the way DeBlois and his team stage the scenes, the danger can be felt by the audience.

    This sense of “realness” comes through especially well in the scenes between Hiccup and Toothless. The design of Toothless is faithful to the original, but the CGI makes the dragon feel amazingly believable. And when they start flying, the film literally and metaphorically takes off. At multiple points, the camera seems to have trouble keeping them in frame, a smart move toward verisimilitude when the filmmakers clearly could have made it an overly smooth watching experience.

    Even though it’s more serious than the original, the film still has plenty of fun to offer. Characters like Gobber (who replaces his two missing limbs with odd contraptions) and the ragtag group of teenagers who come to be in awe of Hiccup’s skills at taming dragons provide more than a few laughs. Hiccup isn’t quite as goofy as he was when voiced by Jay Baruchel, which turns out to be a good thing as his sense of purpose amps up the drama of the story.

    Thames’ performance gets better and better as the film goes along, as Hiccup goes from town whipping boy toward hero. He really shines in the last act when he’s given a few scenes that show off his acting range. Parker is equally good, demonstrating the girl power needed for the role, but also the softness of a potential love interest. Butler, the only actor reprising their voice role, is a great presence who sells the outsized personality of Stoick.

    Against the odds, this new version of How to Train Your Dragon is equal to the success of the first film, accomplishing the goal of making it feel like you’re watching the story for the first time. If live-action remakes are going to continue to come out, future filmmakers should study this film for how to respect both the history of the franchise and the audience paying good money to be entertained.

    ---

    How to Train Your Dragon opens in theaters on June 13.

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