There have been more red carpets than a Persian carpet showroom at the Sydney Film Festival this year. The festival ends its ‘red carpet marathon’ this evening with the Australian premiere of The Square, competing for a record $60,000 Sydney Film Prize with 11 other official competition films, each one graced with a red carpet gala for its opening night premiere. But Australia is no longer a classless society. The red carpet at Sydney Film Festival has two lanes – one for all the ticke...
The 15th annual South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference & Festival is thrilled to announce the complete lineup of feature films slated to screen at the event, March 7-15, in Austin, Texas.Over the course of nine days, 114 features will screen at the festival, with65 of those having their world premieres at SXSW 2008. Among the high-profile films added to the festival¹s ³Spotlight Premieres² categoryare: Kimberly Peirce¹s 'Stop-Loss,' Nicholas Stoller¹s 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall,' Martin ...
3rd Annual BAHAMAS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVALDecember 7 – 10, 2006The Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) kicks off its third annual celebration of films, events and panels presented amidst idyllic Bahamian settings on December 7th – 10th, 2006. Festival attendees will delight in the nation’s tropical beauty and cultural charms thanks to Founding Sponsors Atlantis Paradise Island Resort and the Islands of The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism. Audiences will enjoy BIFF screenings at the...
Toronto International Film Festival Announces Its Complete Line-Up of 352 Films From 61 CountriesOrganizers of the Toronto International Film Festival today announced final programming details, including the complete line-up of films for the 31st Festival running September 7 - 16, 2006. At this year's Festival, 352 films from 61 countries will screen, including 261 features, 91 per cent of which are world, international or North American premieres, and 62 of which are feature directorial debuts....
It's always a bit of a let-down when a big one like this wraps and you look through the catalogue noting oodles of films you were dying to see but just didn't have time to get to. Ouch! Among the most coveted 'near misses' (since it would have been possible to see them, but at the expense of missing other simultaneously scheduled events) I can list with sweet regret (and this is only a small sampling), the following: "The Notorious Betty Page" (with a fetishistically luscious Gretchen Mol); "Ab...
During the ten days of the Berlinale most Berlin dailies adorn their front pages with large color photos of celebrity posturings the night before. On Thursday, day number 7 of the fest, however, what was to be seen on all Berlin front pages were shots of men in hooded white spacesuits holding up dead swans fished out of the city lakes, or otherwise attempting to deal with the sudden arrival of the dreaded aviarian flu virus in the midst of the city. Of course, this does not mean that we can exp...
During the ten days of the Berlinale most Berlin dailies adorn their front page with large colour photos of celebrity clowning the night before. On Thursday, day number 7 of the fest, however, what was to be seen on all Berlin front pages were shots of men in hooded white spacesuits holding up dead swans fished out of the city lakes, or otherwise attempting to deal with the sudden arrival of the dreaded aviary virus in the midst of the city. Of course, this does not mean that we can expect to s...
One of the great assets for a journalist at the Berlin film festival is the very well organized press conference structure and the constant parade of leading figures, directors, stars and others, from film industries around the world. The day here starts out with two matinee press screenings of films in competition in the same giant hall, the Berlinale Palast, where the gala red-carpet screenings are held in the evening. These press screenings are immediately followed by a press conference in th...
As festival judge Geoffrey Rush announced the winners in front of a 130,000 strong national audience, bursting at the seams to fit into Sydney’s Domain for Sydney’s Tropfest, he proudly declared; “When I look out here at the enormous crowd, and at all the talent up on stage, I see the Australian film industry is not in the doldrums!” It was a night full of surprises; Firstly, because it didn’t rain. (Gloomy weather had threatened to rain on Sydney’s red carpet parade, but just as ...
After months of receiving and reviewing submissions, the South by Southwest Film Conference & Festival (SXSW Film) announces the lineup of feature films for this year's event. The lineup includes over 40 world and U.S. premieres, set to be unveiled March 11-19, 2005 in venues throughout Austin, TX.The following is the lineup of features for SXSW 2005. NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION:CAVITEDir: Ian Gamazon and Neill Dela Llana; Cast: Ian Gamazon, Dominique Gonzalez.An American citizen visiting his ...
The Miami International Film Festival (MIFF), presented by Miami Dade College (MDC), announced today the full schedule of films for the 22nd annual Festival to be held February 4-13, 2005.118 Films—87 Features and 31 Shorts—from 47 Countries Highlight 2005 FestivalIncluding 7 World Premieres, 15 International, North American& U.S. Premieres, and 33 East Coast PremieresUnveiled today for the 2005 program were 118 films from 47 countries, including 7 World Premieres, 15 International, North Am...