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 ...

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is thrilled to welcome back three-time Academy Award nominee Annette Bening by bestowing her with the American Riviera Award. Bening, who has received critical acclaim this year for her performances in The Kids Are All Right and Mother and Child, will be honored at the Arlington Theatre on Friday, January 28 for the Fest’s 26th edition, which runs January 27- February 6, 2011. Bening was previously honored in 2005.“I fell in love with A...

It was announced today by SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durlingthat Sandra Bullock will receive the American Riviera Award Presented By Chopin on Friday, February 5, at the 25th edition of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, which runs February 4-14, 2010. The American Riviera Award, sponsored by Chopin Vodka, was established to recognize an actor who has had a strong influence on American Cinema. Bullock will join an illustrious group of past recipients: Mickey Rourke (09), Tomm...

It is not as unusual as it may at first sound…..a filmmaker with over 40 years of experience and over 25 films in the can is lionized in Europe but underappreciated in his home country. That has been the fate of many of the original American indies of the 1970s, including such celebrated auteurs as Jim Jarmusch, Hal Hartley, Amos Poe and Susan Seidelman, and a more recent crop that includes Harmony Korine and Todd Solondz. Most prominently on this list is the idiosyncratic filmmaker Abel Ferra...

  Thursday, March 12-----It is not as unusual as it may at first sound…..a filmmaker with over 40 years of experience and over 25 films in the can is lionized in Europe but underappreciated in his home country. That has been the fate of many of the original American indies of the 1970s, including such celebrated auteurs as Jim Jarmusch, Hal Hartley, Amos Poe and Susan Seidelman, and a more recent crop that includes Harmony Korine and Todd Solondz. Most prominently on this list is the idi...

It was announced today by SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling, that Mickey Rourke, star of the upcoming “The Wrestler,” will be honored with the American Riviera Award on Friday, January 30, 2009 at the 24th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Fox Searchlight Pictures will release the film, directed by Darren Aronofsky, in select theaters on December 17th. Past recipients include Tommy Lee Jones, Forrest Whitaker, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kevin Bacon and Diane Lane. “Amer...

The Sarasota Film Festival celebrates its 10th Anniversary April 4-13th 2008. What began as a three-day festival with a handful of events has grown over a decade into one of the leading regional festivals is North America. As previously announced, this year the festival is thrilled to have as its honorary chairs, Governor Charlie Crist, United Artists CEO Paula Wagner and Creative Artists Agency (CAA) Co-Chairman Rick Nicita. They are all expected to attend the 10th Anniversary Ball, where th...

The 27th Annual Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF), the premier international film event in the Pacific, presented its 2007 awards today during a luncheon at the Royal Hawaiian.Awards and recipients are as follows: • HALEKULANI GOLDEN ORCHID AWARD for Narrative Feature was awarded to THE HOME SONG STORIES, directed by Tony Ayres. Joan Chen, who starred in the film, also received HIFF’s ACHIEVMENT IN ACTING award earlier in the week before the screening of the film at The...

You haven’t seen anything…until you see the marvelous films coming to the 1st International Blues Film Festival. Mississippi Action for Community Education (MACE) will co-host the affair with The Sunflower County Freedom Project, during BLUES WEEK 2007, at the Nelco Cineplex, on Hwy I Greenville, on Tuesday, September 11, 2007; the films begin at 12p.m. 1st International Blues Film Festival will be showcase an array of films, peculiar to the Mississippi Delta and address some issues that are...

Last week, audiences continued to support the independent films being screened as part of this summer's New York International Independent Film and Video Festival (NYIIFVF). A record number of evening screenings were sold out despite the humidity and heavy rain, further substantiating that indie film is alive and very vibrant in the best city in the world. Low key stars spotted at the festival ticket booth included, Joy Bryant (Bobby, Get Rich or Die Tryin), Dave Gahan lead vocalist of Depec...

Last week, audiences continued to support the independent films being screened as part of this summer's New York International Independent Film and Video Festival (NYIIFVF). A record number of evening screenings were sold out despite the humidity and heavy rain, further substantiating that indie film is alive and very vibrant in the best city in the world. Low key stars spotted at the festival ticket booth included, Joy Bryant (Bobby, Get Rich or Die Tryin), Dave Gahan lead vocalist of Depeche M...

A Day of Family Fun at the FreshiFilm FestivalSaturday July 21st, fun starting at 9:00am Families spend the summer looking for events the whole family can enjoy, events that are entertaining, wholesome, and most importantly, FUN. The FreshiFilm Festival will be a day beyond all expectations for summer entertainment. Raleigh Studios, in Hollywood, California, home of the hits "Ugly Betty" and "The Closer," brings in a new kind of hit on Saturday, July 21, 2007.The FreshiFilm Festival will host ...

The 2007 Tiburon International Film Festival (TIFF) is set for March 22 - 30, 2007. TIFF will be showcasing over 240 films from 90 countries. The Opening Night Film & Gala is scheduled for March 22, 2007. The Opening Night Film of the 2007 Tiburon International Film Festival is Even Money, directed by Academy Award nominated director, Mark Rydell (starring Kim Basinger, Danny DeVito, Forrest Whitaker, Kelsey Grammer, Ray Liotta, Nick Canon and Tim Roth). Even Money will be making its West Coa...

Wednesday, February 14---The Brits were back as big winners (on their home turf) of the BAFTA Awards, more formally referred to as the Orange British Academy Film Awards. The Best Film honors went to THE QUEEN, as did the Best Actress nod to Helen Mirren (dust off that bookshelf for your Oscar, Mrs. Hackford), with the Best British Film prize going to THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND, and its lead actor Forrest Whitaker for his portrayal of Uganda strongman Idi Amin. Other Brits who shined include Best...

Tuesday, December 12---UNITED 93, the harrowing re-enactment of the last hours on one of the doomed planes hijacked on September 11, 2001, has received the nod as Best Picture of the Year, from the New York Critics Circle, considered the most prestigious and influential of all the national film critics associations. The win by UNITED 93, which was echoed last week by the Washington DC Film Critics Association, catapults the docudrama into prime position for multiple Golden Globe and Oscar nomi...

Tuesday, December 12---UNITED 93, the harrowing re-enactment of the last hours on one of the doomed planes hijacked on September 11, 2001, has received the nod as Best Picture of the Year, from the New York Critics Circle, considered the most prestigious and influential of all the national film critics associations. The win by UNITED 93, which was echoed last week by the Washington DC Film Critics Association, catapults the docudrama into prime position for multiple Golden Globe and Oscar nomi...

UNITED 93, the harrowing re-enactment of the last hours on one of the doomed planes hijacked on September 11, 2001, has received the nod as Best Picture of the Year, from the New York Critics Circle, considered the most prestigious and influential of all the national film critics associations. The win by UNITED 93, which was echoed last week by the Washington DC Film Critics Association, catapults the docudrama into prime position for multiple Golden Globe and Oscar nominations. The film, direct...

The 50th edition of the Festival had a fitting Ugandian opening last night in Odeon Leicester Square with The Last King of Scotland playing an hour and half late due to a delayed Forrest Whitaker.Oscar-winning documentary director Kevin Macdonald received a remarkable response from the audience for his debut fiction feature, and was joined on stage by cast members, including Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy and Gillian Anderson.A naive young doctor arrives in 1970’s Uganda – hoping for fun, sun...

PAFF Presents Over 160 FilmsIncluding 64 Documentaries, 54 Short Films and 47 Feature FilmsLOS ANGELES - The 14th Annual Pan African Film and Arts Festival (PAFF) today announced the 2006 roster for official feature, documentary and short film selections, as well as special screenings, panels and workshops. The twelve-day event will be held on February 9-20, 2006 in Los Angeles. The PAFF, which will screen 160 films this year, including 64 documentaries, 54 short films, and 47 feature films. PAF...

The 14th Annual Pan African Film and Arts Festival (PAFF) today announced the 2006 roster for official feature, documentary and short film selections, as well as special screenings, panels and workshops. The twelve-day event will be held on February 9-20, 2006 in Los Angeles. The PAFF, which will screen 160 films this year, including 64 documentaries, 54 short films, and 47 feature films. PAFF is America’s largest Black history month event and is an official event of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio ...