The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures named Good Night, and Good Luck the 2005 Best Film of the Year. Directed by George Clooney and released by Warner Independent Pictures, Good Night, And Good Luck takes place during the early days of broadcast journalism in 1950's America. The film chronicles the real-life conflict between television newsman Edward R. Murrow and Senator Joseph McCarthy. For Best Actor and Actress of 2005, the NBR honors two performers whose mesmerizing metamorpho...

The Fort Lauderdale Film Festival concluded its 20th edition this past Sunday, with the announcement of its awards. The Festival, which has the distinction of being the longest in the world, running almost 40 days, had a year like none other; having survived a Category 3 Hurricane and a week of no electricity, phone service or internet connection.The Festival, which featured over 200 films, premiered on October 14 with the premiere of THE MATADOR, starring Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear. Closin...

AFI FEST 2005 powers through a week of Premieres and parties--looks forward to Friday's Johnny Depp TributeAFI FEST 2005 played host to a full slate of star-studded screenings, World Premieres and special events this week, and is primed to continue its run with a second spectacular weekend. TRANSAMERICA star Felicity Huffman's film brought out her DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES co-stars, while Tommy Lee Jones' directorial debut--THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA--enjoyed its US Premiere at the Egypt...

A winner of 13 Australian “Oscars,” a French thriller that played in the prestigious closing night slot at the Toronto and New York Film Festivals, and the latest documentary from the woman who took the doc form into the mainstream are among the more than 50 narrative, documentary and short films to be screened at the 2005 HIGH FALLS FILM FESTIVAL, which takes place in Rochester, NY, November 9-13. High Falls is a festival with a difference – its mission. Susan B. Anthony lived in Roches...

Mill Valley Film Festival closed its 28th year with screenings of more than 200 films from over 50 countries on Sunday, October 16. Always an exciting Festival component, more than 175 filmmakers and actors from around the globe made the trip to Mill Valley to share their filmmaking experiences with the audiences. “We had an exceptional slate of US and world cinema, tributes, spotlights, music events, parties and receptions for film lovers of all ages,” notes Founder/Director Mark Fishkin. �...

The 2005 Woodstock Film Festival awarded Best Feature honors to CAVITE at the Awards Ceremony, Sunday, October 2nd in Woodstock, New York at the Bearsville Theatre. The award was one of ten awards given out on the last night of the five-day festival.The Maverick Award for BEST FEATURE presented to directors Ian Gamazon and Neill dela Llana for CAVITE, which follows an American citizen visiting his hometown of Cavite, Philippines where people will do just about anything to survive. Upon his arri...

For 28 years, Mill Valley Film Festival has been presenting the best in American Independent and International feature films, hard-hitting documentaries, cutting edge video, delightful children’s fare and tributes to celluloid luminaries. This year is no exception. With more than 150 slated films and videos from around the globe, the Mill Valley Film Festival unspools October 6-16.“The 28th Festival is filled with extraordinary independent films from 55 countries around the world as well as ...

Aspen Filmfest played to significant crowds during its 27th edition. Audiences applauded a wide range of programs and filmmakers to the tune of several sold out shows in Aspen, Carbondale and Glenwood Springs, including the Independent by Nature Award tribute to Rob Reiner, Transamerica with Felicity Huffman, and the highly anticipated The Squid and the Whale. The award for Audience Favorite Feature went to Carroll Ballard?s heart warming adventure Duma, while the Audience Favorite Documentary w...

For 28 years, Mill Valley Film Festival has been presenting the best in American Independent and International feature films, hard-hitting documentaries, cutting edge video, delightful children’s fare and tributes to celluloid luminaries. This year is no exception. With more than 150 slated films and videos from around the globe, the Mill Valley Film Festival unspools October 6-16 at the CinéArts @ Sequoia, 25 Throckmorton Avenue in Mill Valley; 142 Throckmorton Theatre, 142 Throckmorton Aven...

Aspen Filmfest announced that Academy Award-winning actress Kathy Bates will come to Aspen when the festival honors Rob Reiner with this year's Independent by Nature Award on Friday, September 30 at the Wheeler Opera House. Ms. Bates created an indelible impression as Annie Wilkes in Misery, directed by Mr. Reiner. She received both an Oscar and Golden Globe for her performance. She is also featured in Mr. Reiner's latest film, Rumor Has It, starring Jennifer Aniston, Mark Ruffalo and Shirley Ma...

41st Chicago International Film Festival: October 6-20, 2005 An overview of the film line up.Film titles reveal a sexy edge with bits of romance, kiss, addictions, sex addictions, housewarming, The Courage to Love in the Buried Forest at Bee Season and a hidden blade to finish with 2 aurora...Addictions and SubtractionIn Addictions and Subtractions (Columbia/Spain), director Victor Gaviria probes a hot-topic issue that few Latin American filmmakers dare to explore: drugs. This is the stunning ch...

Fathers and SonsPula International Film FestivalPula has everything that is needed to become one of the major film festivals. It has a Roman amphitheatre to show its films in – only comparable to Locarno’s Piazza Grande in size and ambiance. It has a lovely seaside on the Adriatic Sea, and, last not least, it has a long tradition: Pula, surprisingly, is one of the oldest film festivals in Europe. Yet, Pula is not a festival that film critics fear to miss. It is not on the festival circuit, e...

THE BALLAD OF JACK AND ROSEby Rebecca Millerstarring Daniel Day-Lewis and Camilla BelleJack lives on the site of his abandoned island commune with his 16-year-old daughter Rose. Since the break-up of the commune, Jack has sheltered Rose completely from the influences of the outside world. When Jack invites his girlfriend and her two sons to live with them, the situation quickly becomes precarious…BRICK 1st featureby Rian Johnsonstarring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Lucas HaasProducer: Ram BergmanB...

June is Gay Pride Month, and among the many celebrations are film festivals that showcase the new and provocative works of gay and lesbian film talents. Beginning this past weekend, two prominent film festivals dedicated to this niche opened nearly simultaneously in two of the most celebrated gay enclaves in the US: San Francisco, the California home of gay culture and queer politics, and Provincetown, the idyllic seaside resort on the tip of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. With its premieres, filmmake...

Competitive Slate Includes 10 World Premieres, Four International Premieres, 14North American Premieres and Four U.S. PremieresNew York, NY [March 9, 2005] –Tribeca Film Festival founders Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff today joined Peter Scarlet, Executive Director, in announcing feature films in narrative and documentary categories to be presented in competition at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by American Express. There will also be feature competitions in the N...

19th TEDDY Awards 2005 – The Winners The nine members of this international jury – organisers of queer and other film festivals – view films within the framework of all programs of the Berlinale which have queer context. Three films are nominated for each category and one receives a TEDDY for best feature film, best short film and best documentary/essay film, each with a cash award of € 3,000. Members of the Jury:Carla Despineux (Germany), João Ferreira (Portugal), Michael Kutza (USA), ...

PANORAMA CELEBRATES TWENTY YEARSThe Panorama section of the Berlin Film Festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, continuing a tradition of bringing the work of innovative and original artists to the international arena.The Panorama’s “patron saint” is its founder, Manfred Salzgeber, a theater owner and arthouse distributor, who almost single handedly created the underground film aesthetic in Berlin, and was influential in the spread of these unique films to countries all ove...