Leave Them Laughing. It's the film that took the Special Jury Prize – Canadian Feature at the May 7 awards bash for Toronto's Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival (April 29 to May 9, 2010). And it could be the motto for the 17th annual fest, which played to packed audiences even as business slackened at its annual market. The film, by Oscar-winning director John Zaritsky, is about laughing in the face of terminal illness. How to live despite tough odds is a challenge the d...

  Space Tourists, Tigers, Wind Horses, Winnebagos, Dublin's Pyjama Girls and the Dalai Lama; this year's IFI Stranger Than Fiction documentary film festival is packed with more reality than ever 15th-18th April 2010 With twenty-two of the finest documentaries, including 19 premieres, this year's expanded IFI Stranger Than Fiction festival promises to be bigger and better than ever before. Launching the programme today Niall Macpherson, Festival Programmer said, ‘We're ...

.............WELCOME TO OUR NEWSLETTER N° 440: November 12, 2009 Follow this LINK if you cannot read the newsletter properly Contact the Editor, Advertise on the sites. How to use FestivalExpress our new online submission suite for festivals and filmmakers. THE NEXT FESTIVAL DAILIES ON FEST21.COM AFI Fest, Fort Lauderdale, Cairo Fest, Festival d'Arra...

Scandar Copti, Amanda Palmer and Robert De Niro on DTFF's wonderful Closing Night   At the Closing Ceremony of the Doha Tribeca Film Festival on November 1, DTFF Executive Director Amanda Palmer and Robert De Niro handed out two Audience Awards, worth $50,000 each, aimed at helping filmmakers and filmmaking in Qatar and the region. And the winners are... Liz Mermin's documentary Team Qatar, following the creation of the country's first debate team, was awarded Best Festival Film. ...

The inaugural Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF will run October 29 through November 1, 2009) has announced a new series of thought-provoking dialogues that will be held year round. As part of the organization’s overall efforts to foster an active cinema culture, these talks, panels, conversations and master classes will be free of charge. Doha Talks will feature events with filmmakers including Mira Nair (Amelia), Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire), Elia Suleiman (The Time That Remains), R.J. C...

The inaugural Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF) announced today it will open with a special screening of director Mira Nair's “Amelia,” a thrilling account of legendary aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart starring two-time Academy Award® winner Hilary Swank and Golden Globe® winner Richard Gere. Organizers also revealed the 32 films that will comprise the rest of the Festival’s film slate. 12 of the films have roots in the Middle East and the balance is a diverse selection of acclaimed title...

The inaugural Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF) announced today it will open with a special screening of director Mira Nair's “Amelia,” a thrilling account of legendary aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart starring two-time Academy Award® winner Hilary Swank and Golden Globe® winner Richard Gere. Organizers also revealed the 32 films that will comprise the rest of the Festival’s film slate. 12 of the films have roots in the Middle East and the balance is a diverse selection of acclaimed title...

The Tribeca Film Festival today announced that the ESPN Films production of Spike Lee’s Kobe Doin’ Work will have its world premiere at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by American Express, the founding sponsor of the Festival, as the gala premiere of the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival. The premiere will take place on Saturday April 25, 2009. The 2009 Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival will take place during the Tribeca Film Festival, April 22 through May 3, 2009 in lower Manhatta...

One day after the historic election that promised to dewax America’s ears, New Yorkers amped up the global love-in with a celebration of Indian cinema. The eighth Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival, running November 5-9, features independent arthouse fare made on Indian soil as well as Indian-themed productions made abroad, either by Indian or non-Indian filmmakers. Its mantras of reaching out beyond national borders and bridging diverse tastes and traditions vibe perfectly with...

The Martha's Vineyard International Film Festival announces the line up for 2008 festival September 11-14th, in Vineyard Haven, MA. Produced by the Martha's Vineyard Film Society, the MVIFF will screen 30 international features and documentaries and two Short Film programs. Several filmmakers will be in attendance. Among the high profile films selected are: Irena Salina's Flow, For Love of Water (Opening Night), Lucy Walker's Blindsight, Ellen Kuras's The Betrayal, Liz Mermin's Shot in Bombay, ...

The annual Martha's Vineyard International Film Festival, produced by the MV Film Society, is a showcase for the best feature and short films from around the globe. As its exquisite setting would suggest, this is not your typical film festival-"Which is a good thing," says actor Hayden Christensen (who attended in 2007). "It has a laidback vibe to it, fitting for film and the industry."Laidback or not, the days and nights of September 11 through 14 is still packed with excell...

The 6th Annual Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles announces its 2008 Award winners with Richie Mehta’s AMAL as the winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature and Shivajee Chandrabhushan’s FROZEN receiving a Special Mention in the category. Yunus Vally’s THE GLOW OF WHITE WOMEN was named as the winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary with Liz Mermin’s SHOT IN BOMBAY receiving a Special Mention. Atul Sabwarhal’s’s MIDNIGHT LOST AND FOUND won the award for Be...

The 6th Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) announces the full schedule of films for the 2008 edition of the popular festival which runs April 22-27, including four feature films making their world premiere, five features making their U.S. premiere, and nine features making their L.A. debut.Celebrating its 6th anniversary, IFFLA has firmly established itself as the first and largest film festival in North America dedicated entirely to presenting the cinema of India by showcasing films by...

The 15th annual South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference & Festival is thrilled to announce the complete lineup of feature films slated to screen at the event, March 7-15, in Austin, Texas.Over the course of nine days, 114 features will screen at the festival, with65 of those having their world premieres at SXSW 2008. Among the high-profile films added to the festival¹s ³Spotlight Premieres² categoryare: Kimberly Peirce¹s 'Stop-Loss,' Nicholas Stoller¹s 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall,' Martin ...

 Tuesday, February 5-------------On Super Tuesday, with 22 Presidential primaries unfolding on the same day, the Presidential nominees will be in place and the hint of a new chapter will be in the air. SXSW, the South By Southwest Conference and FilmFestival, decided to unveil its program on what could be a significant date in current American discourse and affairs. The Festival, based in the libertarian outpost in Texas (Austin), the Festival has seen its reputation rise rapidly in the past de...

On Super Tuesday, with 22 Presidential primaries unfolding on the same day, the Presidential nominees will be in place and the hint of a new chapter will be in the air. SXSW, the South By Southwest Conference and FilmFestival, decided to unveil its program on what could be a significant date in current American discourse and affairs. The Festival, based in the libertarian outpost in Texas (Austin), the Festival has seen its reputation rise rapidly in the past decade. These days, it is second onl...

Toronto Opens 2006 Festival with World Premiere of “The Journals of Knud Rasmussen”The largest and one of the most respected Film Festivals in the world will open its doors to the public with Zacharias Kunuk and Norman Cohn's “The Journals of Knud Rasmussen". Their last film "Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner),” had won the Camera D'or in Cannes and then the prize for best Canadian film here in Toronto in 2001. Festival Co-Director Noah Cowan felt that this was one of the most important film...

The 2005 Newport International Film Festival, the 8th Annual event, will get underway Tuesday, June 7th – 12th, 2005, and run for six glorious days and nights of entertaining films, informative symposiums, and, of course, those glamorous Newport parties. The Festival atmosphere is relaxed, yet filled with all the enchantment, energy, and excitement of Hollywood. The Newport International Film Festival draws filmmakers and celebrities from around the world. This year the festival will honor wri...

The 2005 Newport International Film Festival, the 8th Annual event, will get underway Tuesday, June 7th – 12th, 2005, and run for six days and nights of entertaining films, informative symposiums, and, of course, those glamorous Newport parties. The Festival atmosphere is relaxed, yet filled with all the enchantment, energy, and excitement of Hollywood. This year the festival will honor writer/director/actor/musician Michael McKean with the annual Claiborne Pell Award for Lifetime Achievement....