Jason Bateman, Hope Davis and Haley Ramm in Henry-Alex Rubin's "DISCONNECT" Courtesy of LD Entertainment
The 28th Santa Barbara International Film Festival (January 24-February 3), presented by lynda.com, will open the 2013 Festival with the U.S. Premiere of LD Entertainment’s Disconnect, directed by Henry-Alex Rubin and starring Jason Bateman, Hope Davis, Frank Grillo, Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist, Andrea Riseborough, Alexander Skarsgård ...
Sundance Institute announced today 19 members of five juries awarding prizes at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, January 17-27 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. Short Film Awards will be announced at a ceremony on January 22 at Park City’s Jupiter Bowl, with feature film awards announced at a separate ceremony on January 26.
Members of the Alfred P. Sloan Jury will be announced in January.
U.S. DOCUMENTARY JURY
Liz Garbus
Academy Award® nominated...
‘Superclassico’ (2011) by Danish director Ole Christian Madsen was one of the best films I’ve seen of 2011. A relentlessly bittersweet romantic comedy set in Buenos Aires, Christian (played by Anders Berthelsen) is a middle-aged Danish wine seller whose wife leaves him for a younger man. Christian’s wife, Anna (Paprika Steen), is a soccer agent working in Buenos Aires who is tired of her routine married life with Christian and opts for an exciting existence with her Lat...
‘Superclassico’ (2011) by Danish director Ole Christian Madsen was one of the best films I’ve seen of 2011. A relentlessly bittersweet romantic comedy set in Buenos Aires, Christian (played by Anders Berthelsen) is a middle-aged Danish wine seller whose wife leaves him for a younger man. Christian’s wife, Anna (Paprika Steen), is a soccer agent working in Buenos Aires who is tired of her routine married life with Christian and opts for an exciting existence with her Lat...
'OTELO BURNING'
One of most talked-about films in S. Africa today.
One of the most talked-about contemporary films from South Africa, is ‘Otelo Burning ’, which combines sport, racism, politics, family and peer relationships with gentle but awesome power.
It will have a special screening at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT),in Bangkok .
The film is the debut feature of Sara Blecher, who has made many notewort...
Independent Distribution have struck a deal with Fandango Portobello to co-release Matteo Garonne’s Cannes Grand Prix winner REALITY in the UK, which screens tonight as part of the official selection at The Toronto International Film Festival. Luc Roeg, CEO of Independent made the announcement today. The deal was negotiated between Roeg and Janine Gold of Fandango Portobello.
Leading the project will be newly appointed Heads of Distribution, Sarah Townsend and Stef...
SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK: Mel Stuart
Mel Stuart
This week the spotlight is on Mel Stuart, the documentarian and
filmmaker who has recently died at the age 83.
(Image of Mel Stuart)
Mel Stuart was a celebrated
figure in the television and film industry, most notably known for bringing the
fantasy world of Roald Dahls’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” to the big
screen.
He began his career working for
CBS news as one of the resea...
Volker Schlöndorff to give master class at MWFF
The noted German director, board member of the prestigious European Film Academy, Volker Schlöndorff, will give a master class at the upcoming Montreal World Film Festival it was announced. “Volker Schlöndorff is one of key members of the New German Cinema, that group of young filmmakers who, with talent, imagination and a daring choice of subjects, radically changed postwar German cinema,” said MWFF President Serge Losique. “...
The noted German director, board member of the prestigious European Film Academy, Volker Schlöndorff, will give a master class at the upcoming Montreal World Film Festival it was announced. “Volker Schlöndorff is one of key members of the New German Cinema, that group of young filmmakers who, with talent, imagination and a daring choice of subjects, radically changed postwar German cinema,” said MWFF President Serge Losique. “It is a great privilege to be hosting his master...
KVIFF 47, AWARDS AND COMMENTS, A TALE OF FOUR WOMAN
by Alex Deleon
SUSAN SARANDON AT KARLOVY VARY
The 47th Karlovy Vary Film Festival closed shop on Saturday July 7 with the customary gala awards ceremony and a screening of Woody Allen's "To Rome With Love" in the vast 1,500 seat Grand Hall (Velky Zal) of the Thermal Hotel. This was followed by the usual swanky closing reception at the stately Hapsburg era Hotel Pupp (Pronounced "poop&quo...
Last week in the Radisson Hotel, Galway, the programme for Ireland’s premier film festival, the Galway Film Fleadh, was unveiled.
Among festival staff, industry professionals and film entusiasts, Festival Programmer Gar O’Brien said at the launch “This year is without doubt a banner year for Irish film…alongside the usual mix of the best in world cinema and documentaries”.
The 24th edition of the festival, which takes place from 10-15th July, has a line-up that includes 1...
The 59th Sydney Film Festival wrapped on Sunday 17 June 2012 with the Australian Premiere of the US sci-fi comedy, Safety Not Guaranteed, bringing to a close the most highly attended Sydney Film Festival to date.
“This year, attendances at films and talks grew by 10% to 122,000,’ said SFF CEO, Leigh Small. “There was also a 27% growth in Flexipass sales, indicating individuals are attending more films during the Festival. We were elated by the positive festival buzz in the city...
Sebastian Leutner creates animated worlds, which combine reality and fiction. 34 y.o. VFX producer from German Pixomondo received an Oscar for his work on Martin Scorsese’s Hugo in 2012.
In 2008 Sebastian Leutner co-produced Boris Despodov and Andrey Paounov’s German-Bulgarian co-production Three Sisters and Andrey.
The animation won many awards, including Jameson Award for Best
Bulgarian Short at Sofia International Film Festival in 2009. Leutner is
also among the co-producers o...
The 7th Annual Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival (LAJFF) http://www.lajfilmfest.org/ presented by The Jewish Journal, kicks off their excellent line-up of 26 films with an opening night star studded red carpet celebration and premiere of the authorized Documentary Tony Curtis: Driven to Stardom. http://www.7thart.com/films/Tony-Curtis-Driven-to-Stardom . As a boy in the streets of the Bronx, to the silver screen, Bernie Schwartz reinvented himself as a Hollywood pop idol becoming Tony Curtis....
The 7th Annual Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival (LAJFF) www.lajfilmfest.org presented by The Jewish Journal, kicks off their excellent line-up of 26 films with an opening night star studded red carpet celebration and premiere of the authorized Documentary Tony Curtis: Driven to Stardom. http://www.7thart.com/films/Tony-Curtis-Driven-to-Stardom . As a boy in the streets of the Bronx, to the silver screen, Bernie Schwartz reinvented himself as a Hollywood...
Old age by the Oscar nominated film from Hong Kong…
A Simple Life, Oscar-nominated film from Hong Kong which achieved great box office success in the Fareast, is essentially a family love film. Based on the real experience of the producer Roger Lee, the film tells the relationship between a film producer, Roger, and the servant of his family of 60 years. The film focuses on themes of old age, death, and love after the servant suffers a stroke and wants to move to a resting home. A Sim...
Middle East presence in Hong Kong during the 2012 HAF.
Alongside this year’s FILMART, Hong Kong’s key international TV and film market, HAF (Asia Film Financing Forum) Hong Kong took place from 19-21 March. HAF is an annual event where filmmakers from around the world are awarded prizes of up to HK$350K in development funds. This year eight awards were given to filmmakers for select projects that showed exceptional merit; these won prizes in money and an impetus for the advan...
For France, much more so than any other country, film making is an established art form and an integral part of French culture. Public financial support for film making and distribution in foreign territories is a considered an important tool of foreign cultural policies. French cinema represents France. This perception is also reflected at the box office with indigenous films having a much higher share of the domestic box office than other countries and a larger proportion of the French going...
For France, much more so than any other country, film making is an established art form and an integral part of French culture. Public financial support for film making and distribution in foreign territories is a considered an important tool of foreign cultural policies. French cinema represents France. This perception is also reflected at the box office with indigenous films having a much higher share of the domestic box office than other countries and a larger proportion of the French going t...
With what promises to be its most ambitious slate yet, the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (http://indianfilmfestival.org) has announced its impressive 2012 lineup. 33 features, documentaries, and short films will be screened from filmmakers throughout the world including Canada, Italy, India, Germany, South Africa, UK, and the U.S. Among the offerings are three world premieres, nine U.S. premieres and twelve Los Angeles premieres. This is a banner year for the festival as it celebrates its ...
The Tribeca Film Festival (TFF), presented by American Express, today announced its feature film selections in the Spotlight and Cinemania sections, as well as Special Screenings and the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival lineup. The 11th edition of the Festival will take place from April 18 to April 29 in New York City. The Spotlight section screens 34 films, 22 narratives and 12 documentaries that demonstrate the breadth of films at the Tribeca Film Festival. Nineteen films in the selection wi...
In May animation fever will break out again in Stuttgart. From May 08 – May 13, 2012 1,000 of the best animated films worldwide will be shown for six whole days at the Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film. Renowned studios such as Laika and Pixomondo will be providing an insight into their productions. Over 70,000 Euros will be awarded this year in numerous competition categories. And the entries leave nothing to be desired: in the International Competition films from all over the wor...
The 2012 Tribeca Film Festival (TFF), presented by American Express®, today announced the World Narrative and Documentary Competition film selections, along with selections for the out-of-competition Viewpoints section—the program established last year that highlights personal stories in international and independent cinema. Forty-six of the 90 feature-length films were announced. The 11th edition of the Festival will take place from April 18 to April 29 at locations around New York City.
...
As another Oscar season has passed us by and three-time Academy Award winner Meryl Streep has won yet another Academy Award for Best Actress, I think it's time to mention one of my favorite films of all time, one I must admit I watch once a month- OUT OF AFRICA (1985).
Why people so often refer to it as a ‘chick flick’ is beyond me when it is a Sydney Pollack film and one of Hollywood’s greatest canonic triumphs. Universal’s “Out of Africa”, which won the Oscar for B...
I was not surprised that "The Artist" was named the year's best independent feature at the Film Independent Spirit Awards at beautiful Santa Monica Beach surfing over all the competition on a tidal wave to the Oscars on Sunday.
The film also won awards for director Michel Hazanavicius, lead actor Jean Dujardin and cinematographer Guillaume Schiffman, taking home prizes in four of the five categories in which it was nominated.
Indie Spirit Award voters made the Oscar favorites, the...
