The creative minds behind some of this year’s best big-budget and independent films will share their experiences and anecdotes with audiences during the panel series at the 22nd Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Creative challenges and successes will be unearthed during several panels over the two weekends of the SBIFF.The series kicks off at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 29, with “Directors on Directing,” which takes place on Saturday, January 27 at 11:00 a.m. Moderate...
In the decade from 1927-1937 Janet Gaynor (1906-1984) emerged as one of Hollywood's great stars, immensely popular with the public for her portrayals as the sincere but spunky waif in a series of popular musicals, melodramas, and romantic comedies conceived especially for her at 20th Century Fox. Gaynor started out as an extra in silent pictures- Hal Roach comedy shorts as well as features-before earning her break with a small but crucial part in THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD (1926). A long-term contract ...
MUSIC FILM HIGHLIGHTS IN THE FESTIVAL: World Premiere - SCOTT WALKER: 30 CENTURY MAN, Dir Stephen Kijak - Scott Walker went from jobbing bassist on Sunset Strip to iconic figure in Britain's 60s music scene, initially finding pop stardom with The Walker Brothers, then making a series of critically acclaimed and still treasured solo albums. Wilderness years and a brief Walker Brothers reunion followed, and he was on his way to being written off as a Radio 2 crooner, until some of the savvier memb...
The Times BFI 50th London Film Festival celebrates the cutting edge in artists’ filmmaking by dedicating a special event to Kenneth Anger, a legendary pioneer of independent cinema.The Festival’s Avant-Garde Weekend (28-30 October), will also celebrate the influential work of Jack Smith, another filmmaker distinguished for his uncompromising creative vision, and will welcome back James Benning (One Way Boogie Woogie/27 Years Later), attending the festival for the fifth time.Kenneth Anger’s...
The LA Femme Film Festival will open this week their 2nd annual Festival on October 5th. The festival, will run from October 5th -8th and will include new independent features, shorts, student films, animated films, special screenings and seminars. The four day event will be held at two theatres: the Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills at 8556 Wilshire Blvd. and the Wilshire Screening Room at 8670 Wilshire Blvd in Los Angeles, California. The focus and mission of this Festival is to catapulting...
Two time OSCAR Nominee Joaquin Phoenix, and renowned actress Daryl Hannah will be honored at this year’s Artivist Film Festival & Awards. The 3rd Annual Artivist Film Festival, and The 2006 Artivist Awards will take place November 9-12, 2006 at the renowned Egyptian Theatre in the heart of Hollywood . 70 International Films from around the globe will be presented during the 4 day Festival. “ARTIVIST” is the 1st international Film Festival dedicated to addressing Human Rights, Children's...
SKIP CITY INTERNATIONAL D-Cinema FESTIVAL 2006SYMPOSIUM The Updates of Digital Cinema regarding the distribution and screening over the worldThe standardization of digital cinema by the Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) is nearly complete, and digital cinema projects are currently being developed around the world. In this symposium, panelists from Japan and abroad will present the latest news on digital cinema distribution. The future of the digital cinema business o...
Los Angeles – In a city that is driven by the filmed entertainment business the festivals offered to Angeleno’s have been hit or miss over the years. This year the homegrown Los Angeles Film Festival made the bold move of uprooting itself from its Hollywood base and moving to the UCLA village of Westwood. This was the latest in a series of changes that began when the festival shifted dates from spring to summer back in 2002. Next, Rachel Rosen was scouted from the venerable San Francisco Fi...
The winners of the 30th Annual Atlanta Film Festival, the South’s premier experience for movie lovers, independent filmmakers and fans have been announced. The nine-day festival, which ran from June 9-17, drew approximately 27,000 people to screenings, panels and parties at its Downtown and Midtown Atlanta venues. "We are very proud of the overwhelming success of the 2006 Atlanta Film Festival," said Jake Jacobson, the Festival’s director. “Our diverse schedule of over 150 films was desi...
The 2006 Los Angeles Italian Film Awards, now in its 8th year, will take place on October 2006 at the historic Majestic Crest Theatre, in the heart of Westwood, Festival Director Luigi Campanile announced today.LAIFAFEST 2006 is proud to call The Majestic Crest Theatre its new home. The Majestic Crest Theatre has a long and fascinating history as one of the true landmark single screen theatres in the country. The Crest was constructed in 1941 By Frances Seymour Fonda, the second wife of Henry F...
CHAOS is just a theory in physics, but it's a full blown practice at the Minneapolis film festival. Whether or not a can of film will arrive at its designated venue at all, or, if it does arrive, whether it will be wound on backward or inside out -- therefore unshowable -- is often a toss-up. One such instance, Werner Herzog's latest, "The Wild Blue Yonder" -- an astronaut fantasy in a post-Armageddon world -- arrived at the Oak Street theater projection booth cut into unmarked segments, so th...
Financing a movie? Well you might want to read this for inspiration. StrangeLand Films and Director Farnaz Samiinia, with producing partner, Isabel Gallardo, did just that for suspense thriller Body of Work. Welcome to Newport, California: where the film will screen at April’s Newport Beach Film Festival. With a vision to boot, the film’s inspiration came from a published play by Brian Alan Lane, also the writer of the film. Samiinia exudes,“When I read the play the very first time, I fell...
Florence -- Firenze -- the city of Dante, Michelangelo, Botticelli's Venus ... and also of the first and only film festival in Europe dedicated exclusively to Indian film! Officially called the "RIVER TO RIVER INDIAN FILM FESTIVAL OF FLORENCE, director Selvaggia Velo, explains that this appellation refers to the holy river Ganges in India and the local waterway, the Arno, which flows through this exquisite Tuscan city into the Tyrrhenian Sea near Pisa. So – how did such a festival get started ...
THE WORLD’S ONLY MULTICULTURAL LESBIAN/GAY/BISEXUAL/TRANSGENDERPEOPLE OF COLOR FILM FESTIVALTO TAKE PLACE IN LOS ANGELES NOVEMBER 11-13Outfest, one of the world’s largest gay and lesbian film festivals, will present Fusion, the only multicultural gender-inclusive LGBT People of Color Film Festival for the third consecutive year. To be held in Los Angeles November 11-13, 2005, Fusion is a celebration of extraordinary films, music, spoken-word, workshops and panels. Every program of Fusion is...
Rachel Belofsky, founder and festival director of SCREAMFEST Horror Film Festival and partner Stan Winston announce its 2005 selected films this morning. The ten day festival running October 14 – October 23, 2005 will include sixteen independent feature films, twenty-seven shorts and special screenings. Screenings will be held at the Loews Universal Studios Cinemas located at Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles. ScreamFest was formed in 2001 by producer Rachel Belofsky to give filmmakers and wr...
THE 11TH ANNUAL TEMECULA VALLEY INT’L FILM & MUSIC FESTIVAL September 16th and 17th Indie Music Artists from two major music markets coasts – Los Angeles and New York. Two local Rock bands from Murrieta. Two separate Pop artists from different parts of Canada. Two Brandons. There’s even have R&B twins from Chicago. Two is a magic number as this year’s 11th annual Temecula Valley International Film & Music Festival (TVIFF) slated for September 14-22,2005 at the Movie Experience 10 a...
The 11th Annual International Family Film Festival is set to open on September 23, 2005 at the Regal/Edwards Grand Palace Theater with a slate of 80 films from 12 countries. The opening film is Come Away Home, a California premiere, from American Family Films, directed by Doug McKeon, written by Robert D. Slane and starring Lea Thompson, Paul Dooley, Martin Mull, Thomas Gibson, David Keith and Jordan-Claire Green. The film is the heartwarming story of a 12-year-old New York girl who leaves th...
Noah Kadner'directorial debut, Formosa (How to Say No!)www.formosamovie.com,) is now screening and winning accolades at US film festivals. and has just been honored with the Best Director Award at the Lake Tahoe/Reno International Film Festival for his directorial achievements on the film. Here's a link to the press release issued today over Business Wire which provides more details on the film and the award win.The film also recently won Best Feature Comedy at the Garden State Film Festival and...
ROBERT REDFORD was among the guests at the 40th Karlovy Vary IFFThe jubilee 40th Karlovy Vary IFF 2005 will welcome a world film personality of the highest order to its gala opening ceremonies: American actor, director, and producer ROBERT REDFORD. The artist, who has acted in or directed a number of movies considered today to be part of the golden fund of world cinematography, will be honored at Karlovy Vary’s gala opening ceremonies with a Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution ...
Film Independent [FIND] announced the winners for the 2005 Los Angeles Film Festival. With the prestigious Target Filmmaker Award of $50,000 going to Mark Banning for Best Narrative Feature, Jellysmoke. The Target Documentary Award for Best Documentary Feature was won by Beth Bird for Everyone Their Grain of Sand. Both these talented independent filmmakers received a $50,000 unrestrictive check with hope that this will assist in continuing their creative talents of filmmaking for the future.The...
Animex Student Animation Awards The winners and runners up for the Animex Student Animation Awards were announced at Animex Talk! by Tom Martinek of Industrial Light and Magic, Rachelle Lewis of DreamWorks and Marc Craste of Studio AKA on Friday 4 February 2005. All the winners will screen at the BALTIC, International Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead on the 5 and 6 February 1.30pm – 4.00pm. Sponsors in this year's awards include Adobe, Alias, Apple, Character Animation Technologies, Chro...
Sundance Film Festival Opens With HAPPY ENDINGS in Park Cityand LAYER CAKE in Salt Lake CityRobert Redford’s opening night speech gave tribute the roots of independent filmmaking and how Sundance first started. With that, the beginning of the 24th Sundance Film Festival was open with Don Roos new feature film, HAPPY ENDINGS. This truly is a happy beginning to the Festival as this film created a deluge of interest towards the last part of 2004. On hand at the Park City event was the cast con...
2005 Sundance Film Festival Announces ProgramThe Sundance Institute has announced the slate of films for the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. New this year will be the inaugural World Cinema Competition, which brings more of an international focus on this once only US independent film Festival. The 2005 Sundance Film Festival will take place January 20–30, 2005, in Park City, Utah, USA. This Film Festival is the premier showcase for American independent film, is an important new platform for i...
THE 23RD SACILE-PORDENONE SILENT FILM FESTIVAL9-16 October 2004The programme of the 23rd edition of the Giornate del Cinema Muto, from 9-16 October 2004, will be the biggest and most ambitious to date, with both theatres - Teatro Zancanaro and Teatro Ruffo - running to capacity. The opening show will be a performance of Buster Keaton’s The General (1927), accompanied by the US-based Alloy Orchestra. Alloy's Ken Winokur has formed a new band called "Tillie's Nightmare" to accompany the new UCLA...
THE 2004 HOLLYWOOD FILM FESTIVAL TO OPEN WITH THE WORLD PREMIERE OF "THE CUTTING EDGE"AND CLOSE WITH THE U.S. PREMIERE OF "A LOVE SONG FOR BOBBY LONG"The screenings will take place from October 12 to 17 at Arclight Theatres located at 6360 Sunset Blvd., in Hollywood.Opening Night World Premiere - "The Cutting Edge" by Wendy AppleCenterpiece Premieres:"Finding Neverland" by Marc Forster"Eulogy" by Michael Clancy"Undertow" by David Gordon Green"P.S." by Dylan KiddClosing Night U.S. Premiere - "A L...
