There are a few film directors whose appeal splits people right down the middle. Some hate the work and some are devoted groupies. However, if the response to a particular director bridges the entire spectrum, then it is all the proof needed that this talented film artist's sensibility cannot be ignored. For myself, always a sucker for the sweeping operatic gesture in film, I find myself to be a disciple of the British director Ken Russell.
Russell did not think small in hi...
Hollywood has been buzzing about it all summer. Who would star as the male lead in the tinseltown version of the incredibly popular novel trilogy by Swedish writer Stieg Larsson. Brad Pitt was considered the front runner and Tom Cruise was said to be interested. But word comes out from the Hills of Beverly that English actor Daniel Craig has closed his deal to star in Sony’s “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” plus the two potential follow-ups that will be based on author Stieg L...
............. WELCOME TO OUR NEWSLETTER N° 471: july 10, 2010 Follow this LINK if you cannot read the newsletter properly Contact the Editor, Advertise on the sites. Our newsletter reaches 81 000 film professionnals e...
Sometimes even a Palme d'Or from the Cannes Film Festival is NOT enough to guarantee US theatrical distribution. The Thai film UNCLE BOONMEE has been distributor-less for 2 months since winning the Festival's top prize. But word now comes out of Los Angeles that veteran distribution company Strand Releasing has acquired all US rights to Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES.
Strand has released three of Weerasethakul’s previous films includ...
The AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs Documentary Festival Audience Award Winners were announced on Sunday evening as the seven-day doc fest came to an end after screening more than 100 films from over 50 countries. More than 25,000 attendees and 1000 film and media professionals participated in the week-long doc love fest.
The Audience Award for a feature goes to MEN WHO SWIM directed by Dylan Williams. The film follows a British man living in Sweden on the brink of turn...
STEAM OF LIFE (Finland)
I am not sure if it was completely intentional or just one of those alchemic side effects of working with what was available, but one of the unintentional strands of this year’s AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs Documentary Festival can only be described as “Nordic angst”, a unique kind of melancholy only found in the sun-starved nations of Scandinavia and northern Europe. A group of films from the region, of diverse subjects and filmic s...
Galway Film Fleadh (pronounced " FLAH" meaning feast or festival in Irish) has announced the 2010 line-up of films for its 22nd annual Fleadh, which runs July 6-11th, 2010 in Galway, Ireland. The Fleadh is excited to present 100 feature films, 115 shorts films, eight World Premiers and 53 Irish Premieres during the six-day Fleadh.
"We are thrilled to continue our tradition of offering the very best in world cinema and Irish films. The diversity of the Fleadh's offerings is...
Los Angeles Film Festival Lights up HollywoodDowntown A crystal clear night set inthe backdrop of the Staples Center where the LA Lakers came out on top in the NBAFinalsLAFF brought out the starsboth in the sky and on the red carpet on the opening night screening of “TheKids are All Right” at the Regal Cinemas. Director Lisa Cholodenko hascreated a comedy which deals with parenthood in this day and age which hastaken on a whole new twist and both gay and heterosexual audiences will havesom...
A crystal clear night set in the backdrop of the Staples Center where the LA Lakers came out on top in the NBA FinalsLAFF brought out the stars both in the sky and on the red carpet on the opening night screening of “The Kids are All Right” at the Regal Cinemas. Director Lisa Cholodenko has created a comedy which deals with parenthood in this day and age which has taken on a whole new twist and both gay and heterosexual audiences will have something to smile about. Nic (Annette Bening )and J...
FANTASTIC PLANET (René Laloux, 1973)
For its 50th anniversary celebrations, the Zlin Film Festival, which climaxes with its Awards Ceremony this evening, has been a treasure trove of cinematic gems from the past 50 years of Czech cinema. Aside from the better known films from the Czech canon (incuding such award winners as THE SHOP ON MAIN STREET, CLOSELY WATCHED TRAINS, FANTASTIC PLANET, THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, KOLYA and the classic films of the celebrated animator Karel ...
At a press conference at Filmhouse in Edinburgh this morning, Artistic Director Hannah McGill announced the full programme details for the 64th edition of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF). This year the Festival, which runs from 16 - 27 June, will host twenty-two World premieres, and twelve International premieres. The Closing Night Gala will be the World premiere of THIRD STAR, a British tragi-comic buddy film by newcomer Hattie Dalton, starring Benedict Cumberbatch (FOUR...
As he packs his bags for the Czech Republic to attend the Opening Night Gala screening of his film THE PERFECT AGE OF ROCK N ROLL as the kick-off event for the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Zlin Film Festival on Monday evening, I had a chance to talk with the film's director Scott Rosenbaum about his American indie rock n roll drama. Rosenbaum, who also is serving on the jury for the Official Competition, is primed for his Zlin adventure. Sandy Mandelberger (SM): When did the idea of maki...
As he packs his bags for the Czech Republic to attend the Opening Night Gala screening of his film THE PERFECT AGE OF ROCK N ROLL as the kick-off event for the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Zlin Film Festival on Monday evening, I had a chance to talk with the film's director Scott Rosenbaum about his American indie rock n roll drama. Rosenbaum, who also is serving on the jury for the Official Competition, is primed for his Zlin adventure.
Sandy Mandelberger (SM): When did...
By: Maria Esteves – May 22, 2010
The 55th Annual 2010 Village Voice OBIE Awards honoring Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway theater exceptional achievements of 2009-2010, co-hosted by Tony Award winners Michael Cerveris and Anika Noni Rose (2001 OBIE Award winner, Eli's Comin') were held at the historical Webster Hall ballroom, New York, Monday, May 17, 8:00 pm. This year’s award presenters were J. Smith Cameron, Viola Davis, Marin Ireland, Linda Lavin, Hamish Linklater, Sam Rockwell, ...
Continuing its strong presence in Cannes, the International Film Festival Rotterdam has nine films linked to the Hubert Bals Fund and CineMart in Cannes festival sections: five titles are selected in Competition, two in Un Certain Regard and another two in Directors’ Fortnight (see full list below)
Palme d’Or contenders UNCLE BOONMEE by Apichatpong Weerasethakul and MY JOY by Sergei Loznitsa were supported in script stage by the IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund; Loznitsa later launched his p...
RIDING SHOTGUN: THE DIGITAL COWBOYS AT 3D'S 1ST GAMING SUMMIT by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent 3D First-Ever Gaming Summit: Download - Screenmancer Exclusive -- www.screenmancer.com RIDING SHOTGUN: THE DIGITAL COWBOYS AT 3D'S 1ST GAMING SUMMIT by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent By now at the first-of-its-kind 3D Gaming Summit (tm) in Universal City, if your mind wasn't blown listening to the haute hi-tech intelligensia quoting JC, then you must have an analogue ...
A total of 87 unreleased films have been selected to participate in the Official Competitive Sections of Documenta Madrid 10, which will be celebrated from the 7th to the 16th of May.
The selected documentaries belong to 30 different nationalities; 33 of these films are Spanish productions. Some of the countries represented in the Oficial Section of Documenta Madrid 10 are: United States, France,Italy, Netherlands, United Kindom, Belgium, Denmark, Poland, Austria, Argentina...
Director: Lionel Guedj & Stephane Bebert.
Some people’s fates deserved t be known by everyone.
Henry Padovani, this Young 24-year old corsican, who arrivedin London in December 1976, is one of them.
Actor and witness of a period when the alternative and revolutionary trend, the punk movement, arose, this self-taught guitar player went through the 80’s like a météorite falling from nowhere.
From The Police he founded with Stewart Copeland in January 77, until his réunion on stage thirty yearslater in front of 80,000 people, from The Clash to the Sex Pistols, from The Who to The Pretenders, from REM he signedup to Zucchero whom he manages, with everyone, Henry shared a little bit of their music and a lot of their lives.
Going back to his London memories, camera in hand, a move guided by a series of improvised sequences, of interviews of some of thèse rock n roll heroes, and of those who were there, more anonymous but just as important, the story of an extraordinary man told in this film, faitfull to his drive for freedom and spontaneity.
A man for whom Rock n Roll has always been synonymous of friendship and solidarity.
A man who dedicated and keeps on dedicating his life to music,
and Rock’n’roll…Of Corse !
Exclusive
Media Group's (EMG) documentary unit, Spitfire Documentary Films, is teaming
with Flat-Out Films and Diamond Docs to produce the definitive feature
documentary on Formula One motor racing, the highest class of auto racing
sanctioned by the FIA and the richest, most glamorous sport in the world. The
announcement was made today by EMG's Co-Chairman & CEO Nigel Sinclair.
The creative team comes from Diamond Docs, who recently helped craft the 2010
Acade...
In recent years Fantasy Football has been catching on at a fever pitch. An Internet thing, you get to pick any player from any team in any position to be on your imaginary fantasy team.
On Thursday, February 4 the Santa Barbara International Film Festival hits the ground running with a line up that only seems possible in a fantasy, Internet or otherwise. Once again, Executive Director Roger Durling has accomplished the seemingly surreal in good ‘gets’ for the festival’s 25t...
The National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) is about to conclude a very successfull line-up of speakers and activities for its annual Market & Conference at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas January 25-27.
Some also say the 2010 edition looks like the end of an era.
Variety's CYNTHIA LITTLETON commented today
"...the plan to move the gathering next year to Miami's Fontainebleau Hotel has many longtime attendees feeling that NATPE '10 is the book...
The shortlists have been announced for the Bronze Torc Awards for Excellence at the 31st annual Celtic Media Festival. The awards celebrate the very best of film, television, radio and digital media to emerge from within the Celtic diaspora.
78 productions and companies have been shortlisted across the 21 award categories, with 26 entries each from Scotland, Wales and Ireland. As always, Celtic languages feature prominently across all categories with all of the factual e...
Fifteen films have been selected for IFFR's VPRO Tiger Awards Competition 2010. The lineup, like always comprising first or second feature films concurring for three equal top prizes of each 15,000 euro, includes five world premieres. For the first time the Rotterdam festival welcomes films for its main competition from Costa Rica and Georgia. Four competing films have been supported by Rotterdam’s Hubert Bals Fund. Berlin-based sales agent Films Boutique has picked up world sales for competit...
by Marla Lewin
Nominees for the 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® for outstanding performances in 2009 in five film and eight primetime television categories and for the SAG honors for film and television stunt ensembles were announced this morning in Los Angeles at the Pacific Design Center's Silver Screen Theater in West Hollywood. Screen Actors Guild President Ken Howard introduced Michelle Monaghan ("Trucker") and Chris O'Donnell ("NCIS: Los Angeles&qu...
28 prizes presented for acting and cinematic excellence
The sixth edition of Dubai International Film Festival concluded on Wednesday night with a glittering award ceremony that honoured the finest acting and cinematic talent from the Arab world, Asia and Africa at the Muhr Arab and Muhr AsiaAfrica awards.
In all, 28 prizes were distributed for excellence in acting, cinematography, editing, music and scriptwriting in addition to the jury general excellence awards. The entries were f...