Filmmakers and screenwriters from all over the globe including the United Kingdom, Australia, Turkey, Argentina, France, Sweden, Trinidad, Sierra Leone, Bahrain, Romania, Israel, the US, and Canada travelled to Toronto to participate in and celebrate in the 10th Anniversary Female Eye Film Festival (June 20th – 24th, 2012). In a shaky economy The Female Eye Film Festival held strong with unprecedented screenings, script readings, industry panel discussions and the FeFF 10th Anniversary Phot...
Danish director Daan Veldhuizen attended the 14th TDF this year with his stunningly shot film “Stories From Lakka Beach” (2011). The film focuses on today’s Sierra Leone and the struggle of everyday life on the serene edenic Lakka beach village where today all of its people appear to live in harmony alongside each other. But this peace wasn’t always so and perhaps it wont always be. In a land that has seen the ever advancing onslaught of u...
photo still from '1/2 REVOLUTION' (2011)
-14th TDF PRESS-
The Just Talking session of the 14th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival of Monday, March 12 was coordinated by renowned producer and journalist Peter Wintonick; participating were the directors Stelios Kouloglou (Oligarchy), Daan Veldhuizen (Stories from Lakka Beach), Maria Paz Gonzalez ...
Photo still from DESERT RIDERS (2011)
-14th TDF PRESS-
PRESS CONFERENCE
GAELLE / STORIES FROM LAKKA BEACH / DESERT RIDERS
As part of the 14th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, a Press Conference was held on Sunday, March 11, 2012. Participating were directors Natalie Johanna Halla (Gaelle) and Daan Veldhuizen (Stories from Lakka Beach), as well as the scriptwriter/producer Noemi Weis (Desert Riders).
Desert Riders, directed by Vic Sarin, deals with a topic t...
The San Francisco Film Society and the Kenneth Rainin Foundation today announced the 11 finalists for the fifth round of SFFS/KRF Filmmaking Grants of more than $300,000, to be given to one or more feature films that through plot, character, theme or setting significantly explore human and civil rights, discrimination, gender and sexual identity and other urgent social justice issues of our time. Additionally, the grants support films that have a significant economic or professional impact on th...
Zanzibar, June 26, 2011 (SIGNIS) - The SIGNIS Prize for the 14th Zanzibar International Film Festival 2011 went to the documentary film, Fambul Tok, from Sierra Leone by Sara Terry. "Fambul Tok" offers a home-grown approach of conflict resolution "Conventional conflict resolution mechanisms are often expensive, protracted and do not bring harmony and healing to the community. In this film, Africa offers a home-grown approach based on traditional practices where both the perpetrators and the vict...
SXSW FILM ANNOUNCES 2011 FEATURES LINEUP
The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce the features lineup for this year's Festival, March 11 - 19, 2011 in Austin, Texas. The 2011 lineup continues the SXSW tradition of tapping into the cultural zeitgeist, highlighting emerging talent and breakthrough performances and supporting first-time filmmakers. "This is the most exciting moment for us.
After a fantastic festival of discove...
The 14th Black Nights Film Festival ended with a bang by achieving a record of more than 65’000 visitors during the course of the festival. The figure represents roughly %5 of the entire population of Estonia and shows just how popular the Festival is, not only with local audiences but also with those from across the world. Festival audiences saw more than 260 features and numerous short films with particular favourites including Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours, the stunning Ukranian movie My Joy (...
Film's 32nd edition of Aspen Filmfest, which ran September 29 - October 3, showcased award-winning narrative feature films and documentaries, as well as previews of some of this fall's most buzzed-about movies. Despite unseasonably warm fall weather, Filmfest drew large crowds into the historic Wheeler Opera House in Aspen and the Crystal Theatre in Carbondale to view independent productions from around the world and hear filmmakers and special guests tell the stories behind their films. "Con...
Aspen Film announces today the selections that will be screening at the 32nd annual Aspen Filmfest, a five-day feast of film and fall color that will be held September 29 - October 3, 2010. With an emphasis on independent productions from around the world and a uniquely intimate scale, the festival champions filmmaking at its finest for film lovers and filmmakers alike. Screenings will be held at the historic Wheeler Opera House in Aspen and at the Crystal Theatre in Carbondale, and tickets will...
What one of the great benefits (and joys) of an event like the AFI-Discovery Channel Documentary Festival is the presentation of films that go behind the news headlines and offer a portrait of the complexity and urgency of political and social events. The simple idea behind many of the films here is that the more we know, the more we understand, the more we can do.
In the case of finding solutions to some of the world's most complicated issues, none is more pressing than the need t...
The nation's largest film festival concludes today with record-breaking box office numbers, the announcement of the Jury and Audience Award Winners, and the Closing Night Gala featuring Get Low.The 36th Seattle International Film Festival concludes a record-breaking year today, in spite of the downturn in summer movie-going nationwide, with the announcement of juried SIFF 2010 Competition Awards and Golden Space Needle Audience Awards, bringing to a close the largest and most highly attended fil...
Last July, the nonprofit group Human Rights Watch put out a hefty report drawn from its prior two decades of watching dogs in some 20 countries. Called Selling Justice Short, the dossier showed why accountability was a good thing for peace and, if nothing else, could help heal victims by acknowledging their anguish.
I didn't read it – nor likely did you – but the Human Rights Watch Film Festival supplies some visual Cliff's Notes. This year it gives witness to human rights violations ...
Sarasota, Florida is considered ground zero for the recent real estate crash. But any darkness that prevails during April 9-18, 2010 will envelope the inky cinemas where the 12th annual Sarasota Film Festival will unfold. Bookended by Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman’s The Extra Man and James Franco’s Saturday Night, the Gold Coast cotillion spans 168 films. Thirty countries are represented, yielding what director of programming Holly Herrick tallies as the Festival's most diverse li...
Phangan Film Festival (PFF) is coming up this weekend --- Friday, 20 Feb to Sunday, 22 Feb! Besides daily live music, 6 films per night, and handmade vegetarian delights by Australian chef Lisa, a filmmaking workshop will take place: Filmmaking Workshop with Hollywood Producer Stephen Nemeth --- Saturday 21 Feb 2009, Holiday Beach Resort, 14.00 - 16.30Producer Stephen Nemeth (USA, Executive Producer of FLOW - For Love of Water, screening at PFF on Saturday night) will talk and answer questions...
The 2008 edition of the Dubai International Film Festival features 12 programmes that will showcase cinema of all genres from all over the world.Selected films will be placed in the appropriate programme by DIFF management in consultation with the filmmaker. While DIFF welcomes international submissions, it should be noted that the non-Arab section of the festival is limited to only 60 films and presently does not include short films.The Cultural BridgeThe Cultural Bridge programme is one of the...
Here is what's going on today at the festival in San Francisco, courtesy of fest08.sffs.org Who’s In Town? Arriving today are directors Dorota Kedzierzawska (Time to Die) and Guy Maddin (My Winnipeg); actor Danuta Szaflarska (Time to Die); cinematographer Arthur Reinhart (Time to Die); and Founder’s Directing Award recipient Mike Leigh (Topsy-Turvy). What to Do? By chance, Newton I. Aduaka’s harrowing Ezra, about child soldiers ...
CAMBOFEST Fee Waivers Available -- read more
In consideration of the global aspects of our aims with CamboFest, we're now offering **fee waivers** to filmmakers who can locate an additional film submission from a filmmaker from a lesser developed nation (see the UNDP development index here: http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/)
SO: filmmakers from "highly developed nations" (US, UK, etc)
1) find a "buddy" filmmaker from one of the UNDP's list from Medium Development [Dominica through Gamb...
11th TIME OF THE WRITER International Writers Festival Durban : 25 - 30 March 2008 Eighteen writers from ten countries touchdown in Durban for a swirling week of books, words, ideas, and talk at the 11th Time of the Writer International Writers Festival, which takes place from 25 to 30 March. Hosted by the Centre for Creative Arts (University of Kwa-Zulu Natal), the festival enters its second decade with its customary extensive week-long programme of activities. Aside from Australian guest John ...
Monday, August 6--------An award-winning documentary on a group of refugees who take hold of their fate and destiny through musical expression is making its New York premiere at the IFC Center next Monday, August 13th. SIERRA LEONE'S REFUGEE ALL-STARS, a powerful and inspirational film by Zach Niles and Banker White, has been a hit on the international film festival circuit, having won the top Documentary Prize at the 2006 AFI Los Angeles Film Festival. This new documentary tells the remar...
Ecofilms, the International Films & Visual Arts Festival in Rhodes, Greece, opened its 6th edition with the screening of Echoes of War by Joop van Wijk from The Netherlands.As he presented his film to the audience of the Rodon open air theater, the Dutch director stressed on what a paradox it is to open a festival on ecology with a film about war. But the choice quite reflects the spirit of the festival, which is to tackle ecology from a wide range of perspectives, and to see it as the preservat...
The 23rd edition of the Miami International Film Festival (MIFF) reached its climax last evening, with the awarding of the Knight Grand Jury Prizes and other honors at the Festival’s Gala Awards Ceremony, held at the historic Gusman Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Miami.The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation contributed $75,000 (of a total grant of $250,000) to create the Knight Grand Jury Prizes for this year’s Festival, which includes a cash award of $25,000 for winners in t...
AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED IN MIAMIThe 23rd edition of the Miami International Film Festival (MIFF) reached its climax last evening, with the awarding of the Knight Grand Jury Prizes and other honors at the Festival’s Gala Awards Ceremony, held at the historic Gusman Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Miami.The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation contributed $75,000 (of a total grant of $250,000) to create the Knight Grand Jury Prizes for this year’s Festival, which includes a cash a...
The Slamdance Film Festival came to a close on Friday evening with the announcement of the Sparky Awards at the edgy nighclub Suede. Winners were announced in over 20 categories. Over $200,000 in prizes were awarded. Following the ceremony, revelers partied into the wee hours with celebrity DJ's Swamp, C-Minus and Tito Plenty ramping up the techno music.SLAMDANCE AWARD WINNERSGrand Jury Award for Best Narrative FeatureWE GO WAY BACK (Lynn Shelton)A sly and tender depiction of one young woman's j...
The International Festival of Cinema and Technology launches its second annual event taking place in Manhattan December 6th-10th. The event will showcase a wide variety of independent cinema including dramas, comedies, documentaries, features, experimental films and animations. The "Technology" in the festival's name occurs both in the content of the festival, which tends to focus on themes of technology or feature unique creation techniques, as well as in the method of showcasing content at th...
