With the announcement of Oscar nominations this morning and a definitive win at last weekend's Directors Guild of America Awards, helmer Kathryn Bigelow is poised to make history as the first women director to win a Best Director Oscar for her work on the intense Iraq War drama THE HURT LOCKER. Bigelow is only the fourth woman director ever to be nominated in the 85 year history of the awards (her predecessors included Italian director Lina Wertmuller for SEVEN BEAUTIES, Amer...

22ND ISRAEL FILM FESTIVAL OPENING NIGHT GALA & AWARDS CEREMONY PHOTOS By Maria Esteves - November 23, 2007 The 22nd Israel Film Festival 2007 (IFF) Opening Night Awards Ceremony and U.S. premiere film of NOODLE, directed by Ayelet Menahemi, was held at the Directors Guild of America Theater, New York, Tuesday, October 23, 2007, 7:30 PM. 2007 IFF Opening Night Awards Ceremony preceded the U.S. premiere film. The Opening Night Gala reception immediately followed. IFF Founder/Executive Di...

22ND ISRAEL FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS CEREMONY By Maria Esteves – November 23, 2007 The 22nd Israel Film Festival 2007 (IFF) Awards Ceremony honoring humanitarian, cinematic, and lifetime achievement awards was held at the Directors Guild of America Theater, New York, Tuesday, October 23, 2007, 7:30 PM. The Closing Night Awards Ceremony acknowledging the best documentary, television drama, and feature film (Panavision Audience Choice) was held at the Clearview Cinemas, New York, Thursday, Nov...

If you dare wear short shorts, then wear them to the 2007 Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films & Short Film Market (ShortFest), held from August 23-29, 2007 at the Camelot Theatres in Palm Springs, CA. Now in its 13th year, the Festival has announced its roster of 332 films, selected from more than 2,500 worldwide entries. The Festival will showcase 54 World Premieres, 12 North American Premieres and 20 U.S. Premieres. The selection of films for screening and competition feature...

Slamdance, in a landmark precedent for a film festival, has joined forces with Angel Baby Entertainment and Executive Producer Michael Malagiero to annually produce a feature film based on that year’s prize-winning entry culled from the newly-created Slamdance Horror Screenplay Competition, it was jointly announced by Peter Baxter of Slamdance and Gregory Segal, a partner at Angel Baby. In addition to having their screenplay guaranteed to be made into a feature motion picture, the winning wri...

Nursing a bit of a "resaca" (aka "jengober", or just plain hangover) ... after the JAMAN reception yesterday at the Hotel Londres, which has leapt to the fore as a hot contender for the unofficial "BDPW" Concha, or "Best Damn Party of the Week Award. The thing that characterized this reception -- which started at eight and went on until well after midnight -- was, understated class and a quality mix of people, exquisite "amuse-gueules" (bitey snacks or 'pintxos'), and an endless supply of tasty...