Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Film Independent Spirit Awards and Los Angeles Film Festival has announced the filmmakers and projects selected for its 11th annual Producers Lab. Sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the seven-week program takes place in Los Angeles and is designed to help producers improve their craft, and move their current projects into production in a nurturing, yet challenging creative environment. Film Independent has also awarde...
14 FILMMAKERS & 9 PROJECTS SELECTED FOR FILM INDEPENDENT’S 2010 PRODUCERS LABFilm Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and Los Angeles Film Festival just wrapped its 10th annual Producers Lab earlier this week with 14 filmmakers and 9 projects participating. Sponsored by Technicolor and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the seven-week program took place in Los Angeles and was designed to help producers improve their craft, and move their current projects into...
By Marla Lewin 9 PROJECTS FOR 2009 PRODUCERS LAB FILMMAKERS ALSO SELECTED BY FILM INDEPENDENT LOS ANGELES (October 12, 2009) — Last night at a special reception concluding the 2009 edition of Film Independent’s Filmmaker Forum, Josh Welsh, Film Independent’s Director of Talent Development, awarded Jenny Deller and Kristin Fairweather its 3rd annual Sloan Producers Grant for their feature film project Future Weather. Deller and Fairweather will receive a $25,000 production grant, and p...
2009 IFFF AWARDS FOR FILM AND SCREENPLAY It reads like a comedy but this time, the real story surpasses any possible reel version and everyone is truly a winner…FADE IN:INT. COCO’S RESTAURANT – NIGHTSUPER: Valencia, CA 1993Two couples sip coffee over earnest discussion of the gratuitous violence in films and the effect it has on America, specifically our children. There must be something more the film industry can offer besides bombs, guns, knives and snakes on a plane. They thirst for goo...
Rajat Kapoor’s comedy MIXED DOUBLES will close the 4th Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) on Sunday, April 23, it was announced by Festival Director, Christina Marouda. Kapoor who also directed the Award winning “Raghu Romeo,” will be in attendance along with cast member Rani Shorey and producer Sunil Doshi. At the Gala Reception following, popular DJ Cheb I Sabbah will perform along with double electric violinist virtuoso Gingger Shankar (“The Passion of the Christ”) and Ind...
SPOTLIGHT ON WOMEN DIRECTORSThe Directors Guild of America reports that less than 10% of its membership are women. In the history of the Academy Awards, only three women have ever been nominated for Best Director (Lina Wertmuller, Jane Campion and Sofia Coppola). While women head major studios and are prolific producers, there still is a “glass ceiling” regarding women directors. But at the Miami International Film Festival....it's a woman's world, and male journalists like myself just have ...
A winner of 13 Australian “Oscars,” a French thriller that played in the prestigious closing night slot at the Toronto and New York Film Festivals, and the latest documentary from the woman who took the doc form into the mainstream are among the more than 50 narrative, documentary and short films to be screened at the 2005 HIGH FALLS FILM FESTIVAL, which takes place in Rochester, NY, November 9-13. High Falls is a festival with a difference – its mission. Susan B. Anthony lived in Roches...
The Vancouver International Film Festival has set another box-office record, with ticket sales up for a total of $978,000. (against a $2.5 million budget) This is by far the highest percentage of any major film festival in Canada. The festival also surpassed the 150,000 attendance mark once again, reached for the first time in 2002. In all there were 572 public screenings for a total of 342 films including 231 features and mid-lengths, of which there were 8 world premieres, 22 international prem...
The 31st Annual Seattle International Film FestivalThe 31st Annual Seattle International Film Festival announces award winners and concludes its 25-day run on Sunday June 12 with the North American premiere of award winning director Gus Van Sant’s film Last Days. Van Sant will be in attendance for the screening, which will be followed by the Closing Night Gala. SIFF 2005 was a great year and brought many eminent Seattleites together—from Microsoft’s Bill Gates to Eddie Vedder of Pearl Ja...
The current busy film festival season has harvested a bonanza of awards for worthy films at a number of film festival events. The Provincetown International Film Festival, which held its ninth and most successful session from June 14 to 19, announced a host of awards at its Gala Closing Night Party at the Boatslip Resort overlooking beautiful Cape Cod Bay.The Best Dramatic Feature prize was won by HEIGHTS, the multi-character drama starring Glenn Close and James Marsden. The film, directed by Ch...
The 2005 Newport International Film Festival, the 8th Annual event, will get underway Tuesday, June 7th – 12th, 2005, and run for six glorious days and nights of entertaining films, informative symposiums, and, of course, those glamorous Newport parties. The Festival atmosphere is relaxed, yet filled with all the enchantment, energy, and excitement of Hollywood. The Newport International Film Festival draws filmmakers and celebrities from around the world. This year the festival will honor wri...
The 2005 Newport International Film Festival, the 8th Annual event, will get underway Tuesday, June 7th – 12th, 2005, and run for six days and nights of entertaining films, informative symposiums, and, of course, those glamorous Newport parties. The Festival atmosphere is relaxed, yet filled with all the enchantment, energy, and excitement of Hollywood. This year the festival will honor writer/director/actor/musician Michael McKean with the annual Claiborne Pell Award for Lifetime Achievement....
Eight-year old doc fest tallies audience awards both in hometown Durham, North Carolina and for Emerging Pictures' Audience Award from satellite citiesThe Full Frame Documentary Film Festival ended Sunday, April 10 with record attendance and new award winners. While the bulk of the awards were given out at the traditional Sunday Awards Barbecue, the Full Frame/Emerging Pictures Audience Award had to be held off while votes were tallied in the 10 cities who participated in the satellite version o...
Sundance Film Festival now in it’s 24th year held its award ceremony at the Park City Racquet Club this past weekend and announced it’s winners. Leading the way for Best Feature Film is 40 Shades of Blue and for Best Documentary is What IS IT?With over 6,500 films submitted to the Festival the 16-member jury had an auspicious task set before them to decide on the top winners for the Festival. Sundance known as one of the top festivals in the US and draws in a dedicated independent audience...
This year a record number of women filmmakers are making their mark in this prestigious American Festival. With many first time women feature and short filmmakers, Sundance has supported the growth of women in film. Sundance Film Festival now its 24th year in the past has not had such a balance of ratio’s, of course there are just more men making films than women too. But the openness to women filmmakers is still a struggle and the acknowledgement of Geoff Gilmore and Robert Redford at this...
2005 Sundance Film Festival Announces ProgramThe Sundance Institute has announced the slate of films for the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. New this year will be the inaugural World Cinema Competition, which brings more of an international focus on this once only US independent film Festival. The 2005 Sundance Film Festival will take place January 20–30, 2005, in Park City, Utah, USA. This Film Festival is the premier showcase for American independent film, is an important new platform for i...
