The 32nd Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF), presented by Halekulani will take place October 11-21 in Honolulu. The festival, in partnership with the Vilcek Foundation, will showcase six films--four features and two documentary shorts--as part of the New American Filmmakers (NAF) program.     The NAF program, previously called American Immigrant Filmmakers on Profile, continues to highlight the creative enterprises of talented foreign-born writers, directors, producers,...

Oliver Stone has done a fabulous job rearing his son, Princeton graduate, Sean Stone. Sean's wings have been strengthening as he has been working, interning, and meeting world leaders along side of his brilliant filmmaker father, and is demonstrating to the world that he, too, can soar. With a recent journey to Iran, with film as the primary focus, and his first feature film, "Graystone", nearing completion, this 26 year old has seen and done things most of us only read about.Q: SHARON ABELLA:...

  Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof (AFP/File, Rafa Rivas) AFP CANNES, France — Iranian dissident Mohammad Rasoulof won the Cannes prize for best director in the Un Certain Regard section Saturday but could not attend because of "Kafkaesque" authorities at home. Rasoulof's wife received the prize for "Be Omid e Didar" (Goodbye) on his behalf after mounting speculation about whether the director, who is appealing a lengthy jail sente...

16 Documentaries and 5 Dramas; a Focus on the Power of the Mediawww.hrw.org/en/iff The 15th edition of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival will be presented in London from 23 March to 1 April, 2011, Human Rights Watch said today. The international feature programme includes 16 documentaries and 5 dramas, from Belgium, Colombia, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Guantanamo, Guatemala, Hebron, Iran, Ireland, Kenya, Lebanon, Los Angeles, Peru, South Africa, Turkey, Yemen and Yugoslavia. Many of t...

The Human Rights Watch Film Festival, London, announced today that four titles confirmed for the 2011 festival in March have been selected for the Sundance Film Festival, January 20-30. Ali Samadi Ahadi’s The Green Wave will screen “in competition,” Lynn Hershman Leeson’s !Women, Art, Revolution and Denis Villeneuve’s Incendies are in the official selection, while Pamela Yates’ Granito will have its World Premiere at Sundance. “The Green Wave, !Women, Art, Revolution and ‘Grani...

  International reaction is building as news emerges from Iran that Jafar Panahi, one of that country's most internationally respected film artists, has been sentenced to a lengthy prison term. The Berlin International Film Festival is the first of many film institutions around the world to sharply condemn the harsh sentences handed down to the renowned Iranian director Jafar Panahi and his directing colleague Mohammed Rasulof. Accused of spreading “propaganda against the system”,...

Iran has sentenced two prominent filmmakers to six years in jail each on vague charges of working against the ruling system, their lawyers said Monday. One of the two, the renowned filmmaker Jafar Panahi, has won awards at the Chicago, Cannes and Berlin film festivals. His films have been screened at various film festivals in India. He was invited as chief guest at the recently concluded 41st international film fest in Goa (IFFI) but was not allowed to leave the country. Iran has ...

By Rhinnon Hobbins For decades the film industry has suffered from a lack of female directors. But the tide looks to be finally turning with more and more chicks sitting in the director’s chair making some exceptional flicks. These filmmakers are determined not to let anything stand in their way of telling a story - even if that means working on storyboards whilst giving birth.ÉCU 2007 debut director Nicola Morris “I actually took my storyboard into the delivery room and worked on it as I w...