Tuesday, October 7-----Agnes Jaoui's Let It Rain has been acquired by IFC Films for North American distribution. The French film has its North American premiere this week at the New York Film Festival. The company is planning a day-and-date release via its IFC In Theaters platform next year.   The film, set in the South of France, features Jaoui as a feminist novelist pondering politic...

Bruno Chatelin, the editor, has a film career as film distributor, working for Sony and UGC FOX in France, where he has launched over 250 films and has worked closely with Coppola, Woody Allen, Terry Giliam, Tom Hanks and many more. He has co founded filmfestivals.com and fest21.com He served as Jury member in many important film events.       Jury duty Jury President of Deir-el-Qamar short film festival in Lebanon President and Producer of ...

By Maria Esteves - September 22, 2008 The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Spring Summer 2009 (MBFW/SS09) Collections was held in Bryant Park, and through out New York City, September 5 - 12, 2008. Emerging designers and veterans from around the world showcased their 2009 Spring Summer collections. Mercedes-Benz Fashiion Week was presented by IMG Fashion. The sponsors were Mercedes-Benz, DHL, American Express, MAC Cosmetics, Judith Ripka, YKK, W Hotels Worldwide, Havaianas, TRESemme, Bla...

 Friday, September 19-----One of the key events of the Independent Film Week in New York, organized by the IFP/Independent Feature Project this past week, is the No Borders International Co-Production Market. Now in its 14th year, No Borders is the only international co-production market in the U.S., connecting U.S. and international narrative projects at the script stage with financiers and buyers. "No Borders has become one of the great success stories of IFP's first 30 years," said...

 Wednesday, September 17-----The UK Film Council is one of the partners of the Independent Feature Project's No Borders Co-Production Market. Today, the organization will present a showcase of new British features that will be hitting the film festival circuit, and hopefully, find distributor homes in the coming months. Sandy Mandelberger, Film New York Editor ...

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  Monday, September 15------In celebration of its 30th anniversary, the Independent Feature Project (IFP), one of the oldest filmmaker organizations in America, is hosting this week's Independent Film Week (formerly the IFP Market). The name change reflects the organization's mission of discovering, showcasing, and supporting new independent film projects and talent. For full information, visit: www.independentfilmweek.comSince its founding in 1979, IFP has facilitated the development, financi...

Friday, September 12-------Che, the 4 1/2 hour epic on the life of revolutionary Che Guevera, has been acquired for all North American rights by IFC Films. The film, directed by Steven Soderbergh, had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where the film's lead Benicio del Toro won the Best Actor prize. It screened this past week at the Toronto International Film Festival and will be screening next at the New York Film Festival. Che gives IFC Films a strong contender for end-of-the-ye...

Tuesday, September 9-------"It's the quietest Toronto Film Festival that I can remember", one prominent distributor commented to me yesterday. But despite the indie sector being in a cautious mood, a number of Toronto films have announced major distribution deals.Less than 24 hours after it won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, Darren Aronofsky's drama The Wrestler has been picked up for U.S. distribution by Fox Searchlight, the specialty division of 20th Century Fox (the...

 Sunday, September 7-------Although low clouds hover over Toronto this morning, the sun should be out by later this afternoon when the Canadian Film Centre hosts its annual CFC BBQ, a Toronto highlight for local and visiting filmmakers and professionals.Held on the picturesque grounds of Windfields Estate about 20 miles outside of town, the CFC and its founder director Norman Jewison will be welcoming a who's who of Canadian and international filmmaking talent, as CFC celebrates its 20th annive...

Sunday, September 7--------Has Che, the 4 hour plus biopic of revolutionary Che Guevera, finally found a U.S. distributor? The film, directed by Stephen Soderbergh and starring Benicio del Toro, left the Cannes Film Festival with no takers. Aside from the serious subject matter, one of the difficulties was Soderbergh's insistence on releasing the film in two parts, with six months in between....a huge gamble.Word comes from Lou Lumenick, senior film critic for the New York Post that Magnol...

Friday, September 5--------One of the first announcements of a US distribution deal was made today, on the first day of full out screenings here at the Toronto International Film Festival. Regent Releasing, a leading independent U.S. distributor, announcedthat it has acquired North American distribution rights to Serbis (Service), the new film from acclaimed Filipino filmmaker Brillante Mendoza.  Regent acquired the film from international sales agent Fortissimo Films and will distribute Ser...

   Thursday, September 4------ The TIFF Talent Lab is a three day intensive workshop for 24 young Canadian filmmakers who are all charged with making a film using their cellphones. It's not a coincidence that the entire program is sponsored by Motorola, which yesterday unveiled its fall lineup of cellphones and some of the films already produced under the initiative.At the press conference held yesterday, the cellphone manufacturer premiered A Short History of Filmmaking, a commercial...

Tuesday, September 2-------European film will again have a high profile at the Toronto International Film Festival, which opens on Thursday. European Film Promotion (EFP) the trans-European organization representing Europe's national film boards, will be in Toronto again, as it has for the past 12 years. Toronto is one of the major industry venues EFP’s sales support initiative, Film Sales Support (FSS). Now in its fourth year of supporting European sales agents and production companies, Film ...

 Monday, September 1--------Although Toronto has no official market the likes of Cannes, Berlin or American Film Market, this is still very much an industry-rich event. Film sellers, buyers and programmers are expected here in the thousands to sample new films, sell old ones and do the necessary networking. While it has resisted the creation of a formal Film Market (although this may change with the opening in the next few years of a new Festival hq, the Bell Lightbox), the Festival does mainta...

Sunday, August 31-------The Montreal World Film Festival is saluting the fine work done by the Kawakita Memorial Film Institute, a Japanese organization that promotes both classic and contemporary Japanese films, by showcasing three classic Japanese films here. The Film Institute was founded by Madame Kashiko Kawakita to promote Japanese cinema abroad. The Institute's mission in the past 35 years has been to collect and protect films and other items of film heritage and to make them available to...

Future of cinema, few know, few share, we dare do both!     Let us embark for a trip a few decades ahead of us.Our first stop this year was Cannes where the series has been held for the past 3 years. Locarno conference future of cinemaenvoyé par filmfestivals-com The next stops on the festival circuit are Locarno, Rome, Stockholm and moreCheck out the video of our panels and events in Cannes.Fest21.com, CFC Media Lab and Telefilm Canada and Locarno Film Festival a...

by Sandy Mandelberger, Toronto Online Dailies EditorFriday, August 22-------The 33rd Toronto International Film Festival announced today a lineup of esteemed governors and 22 filmmaker participants who will be taking part in this year's Talent Lab. Now in its fifth year, Canadian Initiatives' Talent Lab offers invaluable artistic development opportunities to emerging filmmakers in a four-day intensive programme. This year's governors include celebrated French director Olivier Assayas (Chacun Son...

 by Sandy Mandelberger, Coming Attractions Editor While it is never simple to release a foreign language film in a market dominated by Hollywood, a few European films have managed to become critical and public hits as America moves into its final days of summer before next weekend’s Labor Day. While such films as The Dark Night, Iron Man and the latest installment of the Indiana Jones series have dominated both domestic and international box office, a certain late summer has emerged among s...