More good news for the South East European film community! CINEMA KOMUNISTO, a documentary about the Yugoslav movie industry, has just won the 2011 Gold Hugo Award for Best Documentary at Chicago International Film Festival. The doc's tagline is " When reality has a different script from the one in your films, who wouldn't invent a country to fool themselves?"  Mila Turajlić, the film’s director, had the honor of having her first feature doc in the internationa...

Another win for the South East European film community! THE FORGIVENESS OF BLOOD, a US/Albanian film was awarded the Silver Hugo for Best Screenplay at the Chicago International. Writers Joshua Marston and Andamion Murataj won the award for their lovingly crafted story that takes us on an intimate journey through the fate of families that are ruled by the laws of honor and vengeance. The writers lay out for the audience the complexity of human relations and make us reconsider our...

The Serbian film-maker Emir Kusturica will be president of the Un Certain Regard jury at the 64th Festival de Cannes, from 11th to 22nd May 2011.                           Every year, Un Certain Regard, at the very heart of Official Selection, alongside the Competition, presents around twenty films characterised by the originality of their ideas as well as their a...

‘Film Bazaar India - 10’ the annual film market hosted by NFDC to be held from 23rd - 26th Nov at Marriott Resort, Goa Mumbai, November 2010: National Film Development Corporation Ltd. (NFDC) gears-up for its annual film networking event ‘Film Bazaar India - 10.’ The film market is designed to address the current needs of filmmakers. The idea behind Film Bazaar is to provide a proficient stage for prospective buyers & sellers of film rights from India & abroad. ...

German director Fatih Akin will be the major attraction at the Film Bazaar 2010, the market section of the 41st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa (Nov 22-Dec2, 2010). He will participate in the Masterclass programme of the market that is organized by the Government of India agency, the National Film Development Corporation Ltd (NFDC) This the 4th time that NFDC is organizing the Film Bazaar at the highly-popular beachfront tourist destination that became the permanen...

Tales of the Mafia continue to fascinate the public. Even after THE GODFATHER trilogy and television's THE SOPRANOS would seem to have covered every angle of this sub-genre, the new American Indie film CHICAGO OVERCOAT still finds some interesting life in the tales of the underground. The film has attracted strong audience response at its premiere at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival this week. A hit at the recent Chicago International Film Festival, the homegrown production was sh...

  Tales of the Mafia continue to fascinate the public. Even after THE GODFATHER trilogy and television's THE SOPRANOS would seem to have covered every angle of this sub-genre, the new American Indie film CHICAGO OVERCOAT still finds some interesting life in the tales of the underground. The film has attracted strong audience response at its premiere at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival this week. A hit at the recent Chicago International Film Festival, the homegrown p...

Lee Daniels' Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push' by Sapphire takes Audience Choice Awards honors at 45th Chicago International Film Festival The Centerpiece film of the 45th Anniversary Chicago International Film Festival, Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push' by Sapphire, was named the Festival's Audience Choice Award winner Friday. "Like everyone else who's seen it, I was left absolutely shattered by Precious," says founder and artistic director Michael Kutza. &qu...

Cinema/Chicago is proud to announce another 20 films that will appear at this year's Chicago International Film Festival. From dazzling CGI animation to tales of existential ennui and little white lies gone wrong, The 45th Chicago International Film Festival promises an impressive array of diverse films that will excite cinema fans in Chicago and beyond. Below is a newly released sampling of the 145 films that will be shown at this year's Chicago International Film Festival, which will take plac...

  Short filmmaking is in the midst of a rennaissance becasue of the revenue potential offered by IPTV and initiatives likewww.raindance.tv.  Screening at a festival is a sure-fire way to start creating a buzz around your film and your career. You are also likely to bump into short-film buyers eager for content for the dozens of fledgling websites desparate for movies. Short films are much easier to see on the web or on a mobile telep...

3rd edition, 14 – 21 April 2007, Scala and Eforie cinemas The Russian director Nikita Mihalkov opened the 3rd edition of B-EST IFF by the movie Burned By The Sun (Oscar for the best foreign movie,1994)., Mihalkov as well, was present at the movie projections Statski Sovetnik (2005, producer and actor) and The Barber of Siberia (1998), movies chosen at the director’s suggestion. Nikita Mihalkov answered the audience and the press questions all along the press conference organized at the M...

Slumdog Millionaire by Danny Boyle Directed by: Danny Boyle Written by: Simon Beaufoy Produced by: Christian Colson Executive Producer: Paul Smith, Tessa Ross Cast: Dev Patel, Anil Kapoor, Irfan Khan, Madhur Mittal, Freida Pinto   Synopsis: An illiterate kid looks to become a contestant on the Hindi version of Who Wants to be A Millionaire in order to re-establish contact with the girl he loves, who is an ardent fan of the show.      ...

On opening night, SAIFF will honor international filmmaker, actress, activist, and role model Shabana Azmi with the Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to South Asian cinema. From her breakout role in her debut film in 1974, Shyam Benegal's "Ankur", for which she won her first of five National Awards, Ms. Azmi ventured upon an audacious path in cinema and stage by acting in over 100 independent, mainstream, and international films and appearing in a number of plays.She credits "Ank...

On Thursday, April 12, Cinema/Chicago and the Chicago International Film Festival announced the winners of the 43rd Hugo Awards for Excellence in Television during the ceremony at the Chicago Cultural Center. An original component of the annual Chicago International Film Festival, The Hugos celebrate individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the medium. Taking place in the sold-out Claudia Cassidy Theater, the evening was emceed by Bob Sirott, Anchor of NBC5 Ne...

Industry News David Lynch confirms self distribution of Inland Empire to hit cinemas soon! Survival Tips for Independent Filmmakers in New York Times Article Pakistan zombie horror film coming soon! Gamers screening @ Home Brewed Film Festival (Sydney, Australia) on 23rd October and available now @ Buygamers.com Event Wrap Woodstock Film Festival (NYC) Winners Event PreviewLondon Film Festival commences on the 18th October to 2nd November Inside Tip Have you been using the enhanced feature...

TURTLES CAN FLY won the GOLDEN SHELL FOR BEST FILM at San Sebastian.Bahman Ghobadi, (the director's) Statement.Three days after the collapse of Saddam, I went to Baghdad to show my film Songs of my motherland as it was being released. Just as the superpowers were sending heavy weaponry to Iraq, my purpose was, on a symbolic level, to contribute artistically to what was going on.With the small DV camera I was carrying, I shot for a few weeks what I had witnessed in Baghdad, as well as in the othe...