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...
Harmonica blues legend Sugar Blue, a protege of the iconic Muddy Waters, rocked the house on Tuesday night in a wall-shaking concert held at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival to support the film THE PERFECT AGE OF ROCK N ROLL, an American indie musical drama that is making its European Premiere here. The film, written and directed by musician-turned-director Scott Rosenbaum, features a dynamic cast led by the twin leads, Kevin Zegers (of TRANSAMERICA fame) and Jason Ritter, who was...
Director-writer Kevin Smith will be honored August 9 at a retrospective during the inaugural Downbeach Film Festival (DBFF), August 8 to 10. New Jersey native Smith will speak about his career and hold a Q & A with the audience in the Screening Room at Resorts Atlantic City. The festival will also award Smith the Lifesaver Award for lifetime achievement to date for such films as Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Dogma, Chasing Amy and Clerks. The festival kicks off August 8 with a slate of films i...
Filmfest's 30th edition kicks off September 24 - 28 at Aspen's historic Wheeler Opera House, the Isis Theatre and Carbondale's Crystal Theatre. Considered the town's this mountain resort's favorite fall event highlight, Aspen Film attracts movie lovers from around the country eager to preview new features and documentaries from the international festival circuit not only some of the season's most anticipated releases, alongside including acclaimed hits from the international festival circuit, bu...
The 2008 Maui Film Festival, to be held June 11-15, 2008 at the Wailea Resort and the state-of-the-art Maui & Arts & Cultural Center in Kahului, will open with the film Bottle Shock and close with Down the Barrel at its under-the-stars Celestial Cinema. The Festival will also honor Pierce Brosnan, Felicity Huffman, Virgina Madsen and Dennis Quaid, who will attend to accept their awards. Now in its 9th year, the Maui Film Festival will carry on its tradition of presenting great film and great f...
1920s 1928 Janet Gaynor - Seventh Heaven as "Diane", Street Angel as "Angela", and Sunrise as "The Wife (Indre)" Louise Dresser - A Ship Comes In as "Mrs. Pleznik" Gloria Swanson - Sadie Thompson as "Sadie Thompson" 1929 Mary Pickford - Coquette as "Norma Besant" Ruth Chatterton - Madame X as "Jacqueline Floriot" Betty Compson - The Barker as "Carrie" Jeanne Eagels - The Letter as "Leslie Crosbie" Corinne G...
The Film Financing Circle (FFC) is an integral program in the inaugural Middle East International Film Festival in Abu Dhabi. The FFC takes place from October 15 - 17, 2007 at the Emirates Palace, and presents a multifaceted approach to elevating the international entertainment community's awareness of Abu Dhabi's emergence onto the film scene. The FFC encompasses several extraordinary events guaranteed to optimize networking connections between international financiers and film executives f...
The thirty-third edition of the American Film Festival of Deauville will take place this year :From Friday, August 30th to Sunday, September 9th, 2007 Cinema is an art and as such, has its codes and its history.Just as music didn’t start with the Beatles, cinema didn’t start with George Lucas.There was Mozart, and even before, Guillaume de Machaux ; just as for the cinema there were Griffith, McCarey, Keaton, Chaplin, Capra, Ida Lupino…Here is the screenplay the Festival wants to direct: t...
Incredible autumn viewing awaits movie lovers - both indoors as the 29th edition of Aspen Filmfest raises its curtain, and outdoors as Mother Nature unveils her fall colors. One of Colorado's premiere film festivals, Aspen Filmfest runs Sept. 26-30, showcasing some of this year's most anticipated national and international features and documentaries, as well as undiscovered gems. As always, filmmakers and attendees enjoy mingling in Aspen's spectacular Rocky Mountain setting. A new version of ...
Jonathan Sehring
Wedneday, October 11---Jonathan Sehring, the President of IFC Entertainment and a longtime supporter of the independent film movement, will be honored at the Woodstock Film Festival with this year's Trailblazer Award. Sehring will receive the award from Oscar-nominated actor Matt Dillon, the star of IFC Films' FACTOTUM, at a special Awards Ceremony on Saturday evening.
Matt Dillon
Sehring has been a prime mover in the contemporary renaissance of American independent film. Via...
Timed to a rainbow of changing fall foliage, Aspen Filmfest’s 28th edition kicks off September 26 – October 1 at Aspen’s historic Wheeler Opera House, Carbondale’s Crystal Theatre, and the Springs Theatre in Glenwood Springs. Considered this mountain resort’s favorite fall party, Aspen Filmfest attracts movie lovers from around the country eager to preview some of the season’s most anticipated releases, alongside acclaimed hits from the international festival circuit. They will also ...
Did you ever see Bill Murray do the salsa? Or the mambo, rumba or any of that other Latin stuff? Well, let me tell you something. The guy’s got rhythm. I couldn’t help myself watching him in awe as he steered his way around the dance floor with a couple of breathless women. So, thinking I should get a firsthand experience, I navigated through the crowd of undulating bodies in a hope of being next in line. But woe is me, the music suddenly ended and Bill slipped off the floor.I found him in a...
March 24th saw the kick-off of the 1st Cyprus International Film Festival. The CIFF opened with the Cyprus premiere of the recent Oscar nominated film ‘Transamerica’, starring Felicity Huffman. Over 130 films were screened during the chaotic four-day event. Being a competitive festival there were almost too many films for the VIP jurors to review. Those having the mammoth task of awarding the statuettes included, among others, such prestigious names as Hollywood film producer Gregory Cascant...
“The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming!”By Cassendra Gavawas all I could think of on that week leading up to the 4th annual RUSSIAN NIGHTS FILM and CULTURAL FESTIVAL, stationed in LA’s royal blue architectural gem, the Pacific Design Center. Now I love attending film festivals, especially exotic ones, but helping to organize them is another can of beans entirely. As a creative consultant to my “mad Russians”, as I tenderly refer to them, I was quickly driven to slurp the vo...
“The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming!” was all I could think of on that week leading up to the 4th annual RUSSIAN NIGHTS FILM and CULTURAL FESTIVAL, stationed in LA’s royal blue architectural gem, the Pacific Design Center. Now I love attending film festivals, especially exotic ones, but helping to organize them is another can of beans entirely. As a creative consultant to my “mad Russians”, as I tenderly refer to them, I was quickly driven to slurp the vodka and guzzle t...
ROBERT ALTMAN And A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION To Be Saluted At the 8th Annual Sarasota Film Festival: March 31 – April 9, 2006Altman Joins Throng of Talented Honorees Including Werner Herzog, Felicity Huffman, Allison Janney, William H. Macy, Robert Towne, Paula Wagner Honorary Academy Award® recipient Robert Altman will be Saluted at the Sarasota Film Festival during the final weekend of the 8th annual event where his latest film, the Picturehouse release of Garrison Keillor’s A PRAIRIE HOME ...
The winners of the 4th Bangkok International Film Festival Golden Kinnaree Awards were announced at a gala black-tie dinner attended by international dignitaries from around the world last night. HRH Princess Ubol Rattana presented the Kinnaree award to winners selected by an international jury of producers, actors and directors from the entertainment industry.French star Catherine Deneuve was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by HRH Princess Ubol Rattana in recognition of her contr...
Despite the extra burden of responsibility of making a film in his native South Africa, filmmaker Gavin Hood has happily enjoyed riding the wave of film festivals to success. This has resulted in Hood’s film “Tsotsi” being nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category at next month’s Academy Awards. The Oscars will held in Hollywood on March 5. Hood was recently on the South Coast to participate in the director’s panel at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Held ...
Australian director Fred Schepisi, whose Empire Falls recently took home two Golden Globe awards, has been named President of the International Jury at the Bangkok International Film Festival (February 17-27). Other members of the jury include actor/director Charles Dance (Ladies in Lavender, Swimming Pool, Gosford Park), actor/screenwriter Julie Delpy (Broken Flowers, Before Sunset), actor Nancy Kwan (The World of Susie Wong, Flower Drum Song), producer Donald Ranvaud (The Constant Gardener an...
Australian director Fred Schepisi, whose Empire Falls recently took home two Golden Globe awards, has been named President of the International Jury at the Bangkok International Film Festival (February 17-27). Other members of the jury include actor/director Charles Dance (Ladies in Lavender, Swimming Pool, Gosford Park), actor/screenwriter Julie Delpy (Broken Flowers, Before Sunset), actor Nancy Kwan (The World of Susie Wong, Flower Drum Song), producer Donald Ranvaud (The Constant Gardener an...
Luc Jacquet's Marche de l'Empereur just got nominated for best documentary by the Academy. The film has been seen by 20 Millions viewers and took a cumulated 77M$ at the US Box Office.Director: Luc JacquetScreenwriter(s): Luc Jacquet, Michel FesslerCinematography: Laurent Chalet, Jérôme MaisonProducer(s): Yves Darondeau, Christophe Lioud, Emmanuel PriouNarrators: Charles Berling, Romane Bohringer, Jules SitrukNominations for the 78th Annual Academy Awards were announced on Tuesday, January 31 ...
The 17th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival came to a successful close on Sunday, January 15, 2006. The Festival, which ran from January 5-16, 2006, screened 232 films from 71 countries, including 84 premieres and 49 of the 54 foreign entries for this year’s Academy Awards. Palm Springs’ increasingly popular Festival continues to expand its diverse programming of quality independent and foreign films, setting the stage for this year’s film festival circuit.“We were overwhe...
The Göteborg Film Festival, now in its 29th year will be held 26th January to 4th of February, becoming the Nordic film branch headquarters for ten days. The festival head is the esteemed film critic Jannike Åhlund who has been active for nearly three decades on the Swedish film scene and a member of the Un Certain Regard jury at Cannes 2003. The festival is both a public forum as well as a branch meeting place with 450 features, shorts, and documentaries from 60 countries.George Clooney’s ...
Nominations for the 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® for outstanding performances in 2005 in five film and eight primetime television categories were announced this morning in Los Angeles at the Pacific Design Center’s SilverScreen Theater.Screen Actors Guild President Alan Rosenberg introduced Ellen Pompeo (Grey’s Anatomy) and Benjamin Bratt (E-Ring), who announced the nominees for this year’s Actors®.Screen Actors Guild will honor its own at the 12th Annual SAG Awards™ ceremon...
