This document provides 50 questions for the BIFFES World Cinema Quiz. It includes questions about films, directors, actors, and other personalities from world cinema. The questions cover topics from a wide range of countries and eras of film history. It also provides some context about the quiz itself, such as that it has 50 questions, is all written, and ties are broken by stars.

2. The BIFFES World Cinema Quiz
RULES
50 questions
All written
Stars break ties

3. The Karnataka Quiz Association
Son of Lumiere
A Quiz on Cinema in June every year
www.kqaquizzes.org

4. 1.
Probably the best film in the rather
under-populated cannibal dystopia genre.
This 1991 film was the debut of a French
director better known for a later film
featuring the fabulous destiny of its title
character. Name the debut film and the
director.

5. ANSWER
Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Delicatessen
Jeunet also directed Amelie

6. 2.
He was a child musical prodigy, and composed his first
oratorio at the age of 11. He held the position of Director
of the Bari Conservatory for classical music from 1950 till
1978. Identify this personality best known for his work with
Federico Fellini and some Hollywood films of the 1970s.

8. ANSWER
Nino Rota

9. 3. This still shows a documentarist and a writer in
collaboration on a film in the 1930s. The writer produced
part of the script and gave the voice-over while the filmmaker went on to make a worldwide reputation for his
political documentaries. Name both people.

11. ANSWER
Ernest Hemingway
Joris Ivens

12. 4. Probably the most popular French film outside France in
the 1990s, this film by Jean Paul Rappenau had rhyming
subtitles specially written by the English author Anthony
Burgess. Just name the film.

14. ANSWER
Cyrano de Bergerac

15. 5.
It takes its title from a Robert Burns poem and attempts a
360-degree fusillade against Dubya Bush, Tony Blair, UK
multiculturalism, as also religious intolerance and racism in
Glasgow. Name either the film or the director with a strong
sense of place.

16. ANSWER
Ae Fond Kiss
Ken Loach

17. 6. The filming of this 1931 classic was interrupted when the
writer/s on whose work it was based decided to sue. The
director won the case and continued filming. Name the film,
the director and the writer/s. (3 points)

19. ANSWER
The Threepenny Opera
Pabst
Bertolt Brecht/Kurt Weill

20. 7. This 1995 film inspired a public war of words between
the director and the then Interior Minister in France. Name
the film, the director, and the minster who went on to
become more famous.

21. ANSWER
La Haine
Matthieu Kassovitz
Nicolas Sarkozy

22. 8. The home of these partnered talents in Lyon is now a
museum dedicated to their memory. It boasts of a splendid
address: 1, Rue de Premier Film, Lyon. Whose
home/museum?

24. ANSWER
The Lumiere Brothers

25. 9. You could mistranslate the title of this comedic comment
on disintegration as Life is Beautiful. Name the film-maker
and the film.

26. ANSWER
Zivot Je Cudo
Or
Life is a Miracle
Emir Kusturica

27. 10.
His second name was Dastagir, and he was discovered in
Mysore. He was known by the title of the 1930s film in
which he made his debut. Who? What was this title?
Also, name the pioneer who discovered him. (3 points)

29. ANSWER
Sabu
Elephant Boy
Robert Flaherty

30. 11.
Between the 1960s and 1978, no fewer than
400 films were made in this genre, and shot in
locations in Almeria in Spain, for the most
part, but also in Yugoslavia and Israel, and just
once in Monument Valley, USA, for a 1968
film.
Which genre of films are we talking about?
What was the 1968 exception?

31. ANSWER
Spaghetti Westerns
Once Upon a Time in the West

32. 12.
Reino Helismaa came to national attention
with his 1951 film At The Rovaniemi Fair, which
featured three tramps trying to find gold. This
film‟s success inspired a genre of folksy
comedy known as rillumaarei (tra-la-la).
In which European country?

33. ANSWER
Finland

34. 13.
This stage actor for Bertolt Brecht won international
stardom after playing a musical psychopath in a 1931 film,
and then worked with Hitchcock and several Hollywood
films. He also directed a noir film titled The Lost One in 1951
which disappeared without a trace.
Name the actor, and the 1931 film.

35. ANSWER
Peter Lorre
M

36. 14. Two views of an actor who is closely linked to a
celebrated director‟s best-known films. Name the lady, and
the director.

38. ANSWER
Hanna Schygulla
Rainer Maria Fassbinder

39. 15. Which pioneer does this 1985 Cannes film festival
poster pay tribute to?

41. ANSWER
Eadweard Muybridge

42. 16. She was assistant director on Zanussi‟s
Illumination, and scripted films such as Korczak
and Man of Iron before becoming a director
herself with films like the 1985 effort Angry
Harvest. She has also directed several episodes
of the TV series Treme and the fight between
Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell in The Wire.
Her surname might suggest one European
country, but this name rhymes with the
country she‟s from. Who?

43. ANSWER
Agnieszka Holland

44. 17.
This writer specialised in pulp fiction that drew on social
observation and atmosphere, and is easily one of the most
adapted writers in European cinema. The first director to
work with his novels was Jean Renoir in 1932 with Night at
the Crossroads. Claude Chabrol‟s The Hatter’s Gosts, and
Bertrand Tavernier‟s The Watchmaker of St. Paul’s are two
notable examples. His gruff, pipe-smoking detective has
been played on screen by Jean Gabin, Piere Renoir, and
Charles Laughton, among many others.
Name the writer, and the character. (2 points)

46. ANSWER
Georges Simenon
Inspector Maigret

47. 18.
In 2011, the Brazilian government announced that they
were creating a special currency unit known as the CDD for
use inside one specific locality off Rio. The CDD is
deliberately set approximately 20 percent higher than their
currency, the real, which incentivizes users to use it within
all local business. Since this artificially discounts products
sold in local enterprises, it compels residents to keep more
money in the community.
Why should all this economics natter matter in a World
Cinema quiz?

48. ANSWER
CDD stands for Cidade de Deus, the
neighbourhood from which the film
Cidade de Deus/City of God takes its
name.

49. 19.
A study by academics in his country has claimed that his characters
were off their heads on alcohol or drugs 14% of the time. A total of
170, mostly female, characters were regular drug users. The director
says the study left him with "a Kafkaesque sensation of fear, disgust,
astonishment, fury and indignation“. Identify the director, and this, his
latest, „gayest‟ film, from the poster.

51. ANSWER
Pedro Almodovar
I’m So Excited

52. 20. This bust in the town of Kielce honours an actor described as their country‟s
James Dean. He died in a bizarre train accident in 1967. The bust carries one
reference to his best-known role in a 1958 film. The country has named an awrd
for young actors with “the most individuality” after him. Who? Which country?
Identify the 1958 film. (3 points)

53. ANSWER
Zbigniew Cybulski
Poland
Ashes and Diamonds

54. 21.
Gowri Ramnarayan writes about one of the interesting
moments in a film thus: “The revolutionary flag is replaced
by red banners of Coca-Cola. A bust sways from a
helicopter, pointing a finger at the bewildered mother.”
The title of the film was interestingly designed—with a red
star under the exclamation mark.
Identify this 2003 film.

55. ANSWER
Wolfgang Becker’s Goodbye Lenin!

56. 22. A Kannada film from the 1970s that opens in a railway station had
two superb songs in Ninne Sanje Alli Nodidde and Ninna Neenu
Maretharenu Sukhavide. I‟ll let the visual below, from a 1976 Hindi film,
speak for itself. Now, both films are based on novels by a Bengali
dermatologist-turned-crime-fiction writer. Identify both films and
the writer.

57. ANSWER
Devara Kannu
Do Anjaane
Nihar Ranjan Gupta

58. 23. These awards are named after a famous artist, and are
considered a certain European country‟s equivalent of the
Oscars. Which country? Also name the award (2 pts)

60. ANSWER
Spain
Goya Awards

61. 24. Dhanush‟s character loses his vehicle in this film, and thus his job, causing critics
to make an obvious connection with a 1948 film. The director issued a public
statement saying that the film was based on a real-life incident and requested the
press not to insult the 1948 film and its director by making this connection. Three
points—1948 film, this film, and the super-humble director who made his
debut with this film.

62. ANSWER
The Bicycle Thieves
Polladhavan
Vetrimaaran

63. 25.
A blogger on the relationship between two films that use
fantasy to comment on politics:
“It is surprising the similarities between Victor Erice's 1973
film X and the 2006 film Y. Both have young raven-haired
girls as protagonists. Both take place in the same decade in
the same country and ask how their protagonists can
comprehend and cope with the danger and unrest of their
very similar situations.”
The 2006 film seems to refer back to the 1973 film in this
shot. Identify either of the films—the 1973 film has a
little girl who is fascinated with the 1931 film Frankenstein.

65. ANSWER
1973: Spirit of the Beehive
2006: Pan’s Labyrinth

66. 26.
Empire Magazine calls it the “most potent left-wing critique
in film after Battleship Potemkin” and “cinema‟s first blockby-block-buster”.
Which was possibly why it won the Golden Lion at Venice,
but no Oscars, not even the one for Best Foreign Film.
Identify this 1966 film which is rumoured to have been
specially screened for Pentagon staff and decision-makers
prior to the 2003 campaign in Iraq.

67. ANSWER
Battle of Algiers

68. 27. This image answers a textbook definition of what
technique? Also identify film and the cinematographer. (3
points)

70. ANSWER
Deep Focus
Citizen Kane
Gregg Toland

71. 28. A French film was the inspiration for Howard Koch‟s Violent Road
(1958) and William Friedkin‟s Sorcerer (1977). Identify the 1953 French
film from this graphic tribute.

72. ANSWER
Clouzot’s Wages of Fear

73. 29. What famous film location would you use to get to look
at this statue?

74. ANSWER
The Odessa Steps

75. 30. Some US newspapers described this film as a Levantine L_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _-,
uncovering thus the premise it borrows from an ancient work: that of women
turning the tables on men. Which film with a title that might remind some of a
Guns N Roses song? Also name the literary work referenced above. For
bonus points, name the director who also acts in the film. (3)

76. ANSWERS
Where Do We Go Now?
Lysistrata
Nadine Labaki

77. 31.
A pair of brothers founded the production company
Villealfa Film in the 1980s that soon became a hub for lowbudget film-making in their country. Their most notable
films included The Liar and Crime and Punishment.
Name these brothers—surname will do. What were they
paying tribute to with the name they chose for their
company?

78. ANSWER
Aki & Mika Kaurismaki
Tribute to Alphaville

79. 32. These scenes of celebration usually conclude with a
question to which the answer “Not Yet” is given. In which
film?

80. ANSWER
Kurosawa’s Madadayo

81. 33.
What common element would you find both on the coat of
arms of Berlin and the flag of the city?

82. ANSWER
A bear.
Which is why the Berlin Film Festival
awards a Golden Bear.

83. 34.

84. ANSWER
Hannah Arendt

85. 35.
Alex Oscar Dupont makes films under a pseudonym that is
based on his first and second name. What is this
pseudonym?

86. ANSWER
Leos Carax

87. 36. Identify the actor. He first came to global attention in a
series helmed by a director who grew up hating New Wave
Cinema and wanted to be writer-director-actor and
everything else, much like the man who made TheTexas
Chainsaw Massacre. Name either this director or the series.

88. ANSWER
Mads Mikkelsen
Nicolas Refn Winding
The Pusher Trilogy

89. 37. Word for mate, also released under the title of the sport. Uberto
Pasolini who directed the film produced a film with similar themes in
the 1990s. Name this film, and the 1990s film.

90. ANSWER
Machan
Aka Handball
The Full Monty

91. 38.
“On Earth, a lot of bees have disappeared. The strange thing is we
can’t find the bodies of the dead bees, not even one.” This is but
one concern in a film by Chen Hung-I that draws on human
extinction, lost objects and the departure of loved ones. Just give
me the English title of this BIFFES 2012 film.

92. ANSWER
Honey Pupu

93. 39. This Roman amphitheater in Pula used to host the
national film festival every year till the country disappeared.
It now hosts the Croatian national film festival. What
appropriate title was given to the top award at this festival—
still in use?

94. 39.

95. ANSWER
Golden Arena

96. 40. Two posters for a Sri Lankan film that featured in BIFFES 2008. The film takes
its title in tribute to a Mrinal Sen film. The lead actor is appearing at BIFFES 2013
with her own film. Name this 2008 film and the actor-turned director who you see
in the second poster.

97. ANSWER
Akasa Kusum
Malini Fonseka

98. 41.
This movie features a "monkey spirit" resembling Chewbacca, monks
using mobile phones, and a love scene between a princess and a
catfish. It is based on a true story a Buddhist abbot told the director
about a man who claimed he could see his past lives when he
meditated, "playing behind his closed eyes like a movie“. Name either
movie or director.

99. ANSWER
Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His
Past Lives

100. 42.
Take a world-famous director and wedge in another letter to
get the title of this film, a first for a particular country on
many levels. Name the film, and the country.

102. ANSWER
Wadjda
Saudi Arabia

103. 43. The actress playing the evil stepmother in this film, Blanca Nieves,
is Maribel Verdu, better known to us for her role in what film from
the early 2000s?

104. ANSWER
The woman (Luisa) in Y Tu Mama
Tambien

105. 44. Julie Maroh spent 5 years of her life on this graphic
novel. An adaptation of this narrative began making waves
and attracting negative opinion at the same time. Which
narrative/adaptation?

106. ANSWER
Blue is the Warmest Colour

107. 45. This is the French writer Antonin Artaud at two stages
in his rather colourful life. Pic on the left shows him as a
youth playing the monk Massieu in a classic 1928 film.
Which film?

108. ANSWER
Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc

109. 46. Just name this Iranian film, and the director who returned to search for this boyactor after a terrible earthquake?

110. ANSWER
Where is the Friend’s Home?
Abbas Kiarostami

111. 47.
At the end of this 1994 film, a woman cries on a park
bench. We don’t know why, but we watch as waves of
emotion cross her face. When submitting the film to the
Venice Film Festival, they asked the director to cut this
final 7 minute scene, but he resisted.
He believed that as the 20th century was winding down,
people were becoming so fascinated by machinery and
the technical that they “needed to be reminded that we
are not stones, but emotional beings. By forcing the
viewer to watch this crying woman for 7 minutes, we can
rediscover our tenderness”. Name director and film.

112. 47.

113. ANSWER
Vive l’Amour
Tsai Ming Liang

114. 48. Possibly the most influential horror film of the 1990s, it was
remade in English and offered viewers the spectacle of video as
object of fear. Which film?

115. ANSWER
Hideo Nakata’s Ringu

116. 49.
Celebrated virtuoso Elizabeth Pitcairn always performs in partnership
with the legendary 1720 instrument shown here. The 1990 Christie's
auction of the instrument is said to have inspired a1999 Academy
Award-winning film. The poster of the film was inspired by a Man
Ray photograph. Just name the film.

117. ANSWER
The Red Violin

118. 50. This film from a past BIFFES is titled An Afternoon in _ _ _ _ _ _,
and offers an inter-racial romance set in the time of a gruesome
conflict. The title places the film in the capital where some of the
violence happened, and the poster slyly references the key weapon
used in the violence. Name the film or the conflict, and identify the
weapon.

120. ANSWER
Kigali/The 1994 Rwandan massacres
A machete