The 3rd Annual Big Apple Film Festival opened last night, November 16 and will continute through Saturday evening, November 18th at the Tribeca Cinemas in New York City. The festival include New York City premieres, special guests, panel discussions, a closing night awards ceremony and nightly parties sponsored by Stella Artois. Partners and sponsors include IFP, Filmmaker Magazine, Indiewire.com, Scriptshark.com, The Writers Boot Camp and Stella Artois. For information on films, events and tick...

The long-time, nationally recognized film arts organization, Aspen Filmfest, known for its festivals, film series and education programs, announces its official organizational name change to Aspen Film. The new name will debut at the upcoming Academy Screenings two-week-long film series (Dec 18 – Jan 1), a showcase for the most anticipated features and documentaries leading into Academy Award season. In the works for over a year, the move to Aspen Film will distinguish the year-round parent ...

On Sunday, November 26th, New Line Cinema’s The Nativity Story will become the first feature film ever to premiere at the Vatican. The Nativity Story is scheduled for a Dec. 1, 2006 release in the U.S., and will open in territories worldwide throughout the month of December. The premiere, to be held at the Vatican’s Aulo Paolo VI (Pope Paul VI Hall), will be attended by The Nativity Story ’s director Catherine Hardwicke, actors Shohreh Aghdashloo and Oscar Isaac, producers Marty Bowen and...

The dramatic economic growth amidst potent political struggles makes the People's Republic of China one of the most fascinating countries in the world today. Along with the growth of the Chinese film industry as a whole, documentaries from the country of almost 2 billion people have also become objects of fascination. Even more than the fiction films emerging from the former "Red China", non-fiction works portray the conflicts and opportunities as China emerges as one of the most powerful and i...

The sun certainly shone on Sevilla's successfully revamped 100 Per Cent European Film Festival, which ran from 3rd to 11th November 2006 in the sensuous Andalucian city. (Actually, much of the downtown of this beautiful southern Spanish metropolis is currently scarred by the construction of a new underground transport system so not only the flamenco dancers have to watch their steps to cross from one florid architectural wonder to the next. Personally, I am rather fearful that whenever the firs...

Monday, November 13----Registered in the Guiness Book of World Records as the "world's longest film festival", the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival reached its zenith this past weekend, with the announcement of its Jury and Audience Awards, as well as a Tribute Gala which paid homage to established and emerging talent. On Sunday evening, at the La Playa Mediterranean Restaurant, the Festival presented JURIED AWARDS for films in competition. Members of the Jury included: Joe Amadea, H...

Industry News American Film Market Update Slamdance Makes A Pledge Mobile Phone Films gets legitimate Hellraiser is back from the dead Event Wrap Dovetail.tv Announce Winners Off The Shelf Competition Event Preview Stockholm Film Festival from 16th to 26th November 2006 plus Nokia Mobile Phone Film Festival Go Daddy Promotion Use Promo code Indie3 for .COM domain for only $6.95 Podsafe Music Hollywood by Bubble from California (USA) @ PMN In Focus Interview with Chris Mhim (Direc...

Saturday, November 11---SHARKWATER, a stunningly beautiful nature documentary, brings audiences a rarely seen view of the kingdom below the seas. Filmed in high definition video, this beautiful and intense ecological film explores the shark rich waters of the world, exposing the exploitation and corruption surrounding the world's shark populations in the marine reserves of Cocos Island, Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. But SHARKWATER is not your typical National Geographic panora...

Saturday, November 11----Come celebrate the 21st anniversary of the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival at one of South Florida's chicest film events, FLIFF UNCORKED!! The Gala is meant to honor and pay tribute to celebrity guests attending the 21st annual Festival.. The event, one of South Florida's most glamourous affairs, takes place on Saturday evening, November 11, at the Regency Ballroom of The Hollywood Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa in Hollywood, Florida. View from Westin D...

Saturday, November 11-----The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, which ends its run in Fort Lauderdale tomorrow (before taking 20 titles and filmmakers to the resort town of Key West next week), has saved some of its strongest titles for its final wrap up. Certainly one of the most anticipated films of the Festival is the Festival Closing Night Film, the Southeast Premiere of LOCAL COLOR. The autobiographical film, written and directed by George Gallo, will receive a premiere screeni...

Interview With Nancy Collet, Director, Programming, AFI Fest Rita M. Johnson We were fortunate enough to have an opportunity to interview Nancy Collet, programming director for the AFI film festival. She has been with the festival for 10 years and is originally from Manhattan. In 2006, AFI Fest is celebrating its 20th year as a program of the American Film Institute. The festival grew out of Filmex, which premiered "The Last Picture Show" at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. An ex The move to the...

Mel Stuart and Sophia Loren Friday, Novmeber 10----The final Saturday of the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (at least in Fort Lauderdale, before it takes itself on the road to Key West next week) is chock-full of cinematic goodies and special events. Festivalgoers will need to catch up on their sleep in order to participate in a dizzying area of films screenings, parties and special events. SATURDAY HIGHLIGHTS WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY Long before Johnny Depp took on...

Friday, November 10-----Gregory von Hausch is the public face of the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. He founded the Festival more than two decades ago and has led it from a small regional event to an important showcase of international and independent cinema. As the Festival celebrates its 21st anniversary with the dapper and enthusiastic von Hausch still at the helm, Online Festival Dailies Editor Sandy Mandelberger sat down with Gregory von Hausch for an engaging and wide-rangi...

I spent the greater part of last evening oscillating between the Premiere Lounge/party for Wrist Cutters (to which stars Patrick Fugit and Shannyn Sossamon turned up) and the roof of the Arclight. The AFI roof parties are a great opportunity to hang out and just mingle with directors, actors, producers, etc from the festival. I spotted Michael Rappaport hanging out in the Arclight courtyard on the second level. ...

Well, the AFM has drawn to a close. Over 1500 exhibitors showed up. The number of sellers increased while the overall number of buyers decreased slightly --by something like 1%. Not a significant number, I'd say. And although there was no one breakout film at the market. First Look considered the festival a success as did Renegade Worlwide. "Blonde and Blonder", a Regal Entertainment film featuring Pamela Anderson and Denise Richards garnered loads of attention. I can't wait until the film ...

More films! More festivity! … Kolkata film festival begins .. Goa getting finishing touches. This year, the event synergizes global participation, high profile glamour and top notch entertainment with world renowned national and international celebrities walking the red carpet. IFFI 2006 showcases a repertoire of critically acclaimed international films, world premieres, film bazaars, children workshops, street animation, music concerts and open-air beach screenings to delegates and the pub...

Wednesday, November 8-----The momentum is building as the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival moves into its final weekend here in Fort Lauderdale, before taking the show on the road to Key West next week. Thursday is full of highlights from a number of debut directors and international cinema greats. THURSDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS MAN RAY Mel Stuart, who will receive a Tribute on Saturday evening for his career achievement over 40 years, will present his Emmy-winning documentary on the singu...