Mohammed moves to the mountain as the 2011 edition of the Sundance Film Festival, the only world class film event to take place at a ski resort, kicks off tomorrow, with not one film but a cross-section of some of the Festival's strongest and most buzzed titles. John Cooper, the new Sundance honcho since last year, has done away with the traditional single Opening Night Gala and replaced it with a series of films. "It was almost impossible to find a film that represented the entire...

Mohammed moves to the mountain as the 2011 edition of the Sundance Film Festival, the only world class film event to take place at a ski resort, kicks off tomorrow, with not one film but a cross-section of some of the Festival's strongest and most buzzed titles. John Cooper, the new Sundance honcho since last year, has done away with the traditional single Opening Night Gala and replaced it with a series of films. "It was almost impossible to find a film that represented the entire p...

  Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, announced the program for its 10th annual Directors Close-Up series, taking place February 2 - March 2, 2011 at The Landmark - West Los Angeles.   Writer/Directors James Gray (Two Lovers) and Robin Swicord (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), and Los Angeles Film Festival Artistic Director David Ansen will be moderators.  Series panelists include writer/directors Lisa...

"Modoki" is the Japanese word for "similar, yet different." Take for example the Tribeca Film Festival (April 21 to May 2, 2010), and October's New York Film Festival. Both are Manhattan cinema extravaganzas — whose overlaps end there. Populist Tribeca plays teriyaki to artsy NYFF's sashimi.    Nearly four decades the Lincoln Center event's junior, Tribeca was founded in 2002 by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff as a goad to downtown development in th...

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent There's an amazing new 3D Catherine Keener movie out directed by Nicole Holofcener. You know, the real 3 D's? Death. Divorce. Disaster.  Rebecca Hall, Amanda Peet et Catherine Keener PLEASE GIVE, which opens April 30, deals with all of these  big special effects in life that most of us would rather escape from.  "It's nice when we laugh," Keener noted, "because there is some very heavy material" in PLEASE G...

  With the Sundance Film Festival in almost its third decade, it is no surprise that there are certain filmmakers who have become Park City regulars and veterans of the American indie scene. One of the most successful of the women directors that Sundance has nurtured is Nicole Holofcener, who is back at the Festival with her latest film PLEASE GIVE. The writer/director was first at Sundance with her 1996 romantic drama WALKING AND TALKING. Like that earlier film, PLEASE GIVE also...

Dawn Hudson, Executive Director of Film Independent, announced today the eighth-annual Director Series will be held February 20 – March 26, 2008 at The Landmark West Los Angeles, giving attendees access to some of the most innovative names in independent filmmaking. Oscar® nominated writer José Rivera (“The Motorcycle Diaries”) will serve as moderator for the first time.“The Director Series is a unique event which provides film lovers with a rare opportunity to hear and learn from toda...

Sundance Institute founder Robert Redford and Festival Director Geoff Gilmore took the stage yesterday at the Kimball Art Center in Park City for the first Sundance press conference of this year’s event. Redford and Gilmore were joined by Nicole Holofcener, the director of the Festival opener FRIENDS WITH MONEY.Redford announced a major new initiative for the Institute, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The Sundance Institute Art House Project is collaborating with leading a...