BAFTA, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, has announced its "longlists", a rather quaint annual exercise that reduces the number of potential candidates for BAFTA Awards to 15. At the moment, in one of the key races of the awards season, the historical epic THE KING'S SPEECH and the ballet-goes-mad BLACK SWAN are tied for most mentions (to be translated in a few weeks time to most nominations). Not far behind are the films INCEPTION and THE SOCIAL NETWORK. The Leading Actor candi...

 This morning, the press launch for the 54th BFI London Film Festival took place in Leicester Square. As usual, Amanda Nevill,  the director of the BFI gave a thank you speech for all the sponsors, old and new, volunteers and benefactors of the festival. She also pointed out that, although the world is not in the best of financial situations, this year we will have a great selection of films demonstrating the importance of the continual of the survival of this industry in the world. Sand...

.............                                                      WELCOME TO OUR NEWSLETTER N° 466: may 24, 2010 Follow this LINK if you cannot read the newsletter properly The Future of Cinema Salon in Cannes gave a toast to Future of Festivals Filmfestivals.com and Xomo gathered 100 festival directors attending Cannes for a wine tasting reception. Our Cannes...

Focus Feature's new movie "Hanna" was sold to Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisition Group, which is quickly becoming a major buyer of independent films.  Sony made an aggressive move purchasing distribution rights for every territory that it could, except for the following places that Focus retains the rights for: US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Greece, Israel, Middle East, and CIS.  This marks the largest market deal so far here in Cannes, according to "The Variety."  &qu...

Carlos Cuaron: WRITER AND DIRECTOR of "Rudo y Cursi, and WRITER of "Y tu mama tambien""In the poorest places are where you will find your diamond in the rough.  The moment of truth comes for everyone."SA:  How does it feel to be part of the Mexican New Wave Cinema?CC:  "Am I?  Oh, okay.  Well, it's cool.  You know it's cool to be that.   I don't know, I'm just a filmmaker, you know I  just make films. I did't know I was part of that."SA: "Rudo y Cu...

Carlos Cuaron: WRITER AND DIRECTOR of "Rudo y Cursi, and WRITER of "Y tu mama tambien""In the poorest places are where you will find your diamond in the rough. The moment of truth comes for everyone."SA: How does it feel to be part of the Mexican New Wave Cinema?CC: "Am I? Oh, okay. Well, it's cool. You know it's cool to be that. I don't know, I'm just a filmmaker, you know I just make films. I did't know I was part of that."SA: "Rudo y Cursi" is the first film from "Cha Cha Cha". Cha C...

You have quite an extensive resume having worked as a Director of Photography on many amazing films including "Amores Perros", "Frida', "25th Hour", "21 Grams", "Alexander", "Brokeback Mountain", "Babel", "Se, jie"/"Lust, Caution",  “Broken Embraces” and "Biutiful", nearing completion in Barcelona. 1.  As a DP you work closely with the Director and the Production Designer to achieve the cinemati...

Sharon Abella:You have quite an extensive resume having worked as a Director of Photography on many amazing films including "Amores Perros", "Frida', "25th Hour", "21 Grams", "Alexander", "Brokeback Mountain", "Babel", "Se, jie"/"Lust, Caution", “Broken Embraces” and "Biutiful", nearing completion in Barcelona.Rodrigo Prieto 1. As a DP you work closely with the Director and the Production Designer to achieve the cinematic look of the film. Tell us about how you decide which type of film s...

Sharon Abella met with Jon Kilik, producer of Babel...Q- As a film producer you have worked on a myriad of projects working most closely with famous Directors, Spike Lee, Oliver Stone, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, and Julian Schnabel. Tell us how you met and what it is/was like working with each one.A- "I met Spike Lee through a mutual friend in 1988. He had just made one film, "She's Gotta Have It". He was looking for a producer to work with on a new script. The project was "Do The Right Thing...