Far from the red carpet glamour, the throngs trying to party crash on Main Street, the critics and programmers waiting on lines, there is another Sundance Film Festival taking place behind closed doors. While the Festival does not have an official market, as do such other events as Berlin and Cannes, there is definitely market business going on in private hotel suites and luxurious mountaintop villas. These are the precincts where sleep deprived sales agents hawk their wares to domesti...
When the center of your film is a person whose celebrated motor mouth is both the source of her fame and, sometimes, of her undoing, you definitely have a film that is about the marvels of talk, talk and more talk. That is certainly the case with the popular documentary JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK, a disarmingly intimate portrait of the American comic legend. The documentary duo of Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg were on-stage guests at the special screening of the film at the Jacob Burns Film C...
The Philadelphia Film Society is pleased to announce that it has promoted Director of Programming Michael Lerman to Artistic Director and hired Tom Quinn and Ryan Werner as programmers of the Philadelphia Film Festival. Lerman, Quinn and Werner previously worked together as programmers for the Woodstock Film Festival, successfully building the Festival through the programming of diverse, intelligent and engaging films. Quinn and Werner begin immediately, and will work with Lerman to curate the s...
With foreign-language films (with "dreaded" sub-titles) becoming more and more difficult to find theatrical distribution, the action has moved to the home screen for even films that have been major presences on the international film festival circuit. IFC Films, which still does do day-and-date simultaneous openings in theaters and on its on-demand television network, is increasingly showcasing films strictly on its IFC ON DEMAND service, available via cable and satellite tel...
CRACKS, starring Eva Green (Casino Royale, The Dreamers), which premiered to critical acclaim at the 2009 Toronto Film Festival, has been picked up for North American distribution by IFC FILMS. The UK/US co-production is the directorial debut of Jordan Scott, who was born in England and has directed campaigns throughout the world for RSA Films. She directed a short-film advertising campaign for Prada as well as public service announcements advocating gun control. She also co-direct...
Tuesday, October 7-----Agnes Jaoui's Let It Rain has been acquired by IFC Films for North American distribution. The French film has its North American premiere this week at the New York Film Festival. The company is planning a day-and-date release via its IFC In Theaters platform next year.
The film, set in the South of France, features Jaoui as a feminist novelist pondering politic...
Friday, September 12-------Che, the 4 1/2 hour epic on the life of revolutionary Che Guevera, has been acquired for all North American rights by IFC Films. The film, directed by Steven Soderbergh, had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where the film's lead Benicio del Toro won the Best Actor prize. It screened this past week at the Toronto International Film Festival and will be screening next at the New York Film Festival. Che gives IFC Films a strong contender for end-of-the-ye...
Tuesday, September 9-------"It's the quietest Toronto Film Festival that I can remember", one prominent distributor commented to me yesterday. But despite the indie sector being in a cautious mood, a number of Toronto films have announced major distribution deals.Less than 24 hours after it won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, Darren Aronofsky's drama The Wrestler has been picked up for U.S. distribution by Fox Searchlight, the specialty division of 20th Century Fox (the...
IFP Expands 17th Annual Gotham Awards with Move to Brooklyn's Steiner Studios on Tuesday, November 27 and New Slate of Public Programs Throughout NovemberThe 2007 film awards season will kick-off in New York on Tuesday, November 27 with the 17th Annual Gotham Awards. Produced and presented by IFP, the Awards are expanding on two fronts this year with their move to the City's newest studio complex, Steiner Studios, and with their new collaborations to present public programs related to the Awards...
All Independent Spirit Award Nominees Now Available on iTunesIFC Entertainment today announced that its independent theatrical catalog will now be available on the iTunes Store (http://www.itunes.com). Included in the announcement are all IFC's 2007 Independent Spirit Award nominees. This is the premier award for the independent film community and for the 2007 Spirit Award competition IFC Entertainment received the most Spirit Awards nominations of any one film company. "By making IFC films avai...
Jonathan Sehring
Wedneday, October 11---Jonathan Sehring, the President of IFC Entertainment and a longtime supporter of the independent film movement, will be honored at the Woodstock Film Festival with this year's Trailblazer Award. Sehring will receive the award from Oscar-nominated actor Matt Dillon, the star of IFC Films' FACTOTUM, at a special Awards Ceremony on Saturday evening.
Matt Dillon
Sehring has been a prime mover in the contemporary renaissance of American independent film. Via...
After building several successful partnerships with filmmakers and festivals throughout its first year in business, Austin-based Bside Entertainment has unveiled its innovative platform of services at the South By Southwest (SXSW) 2006 Interactive/Film Trade Show. Bside is led by a strong advisory board that includes writer/producer Steven Bochco, former Polygram Films president Andrew Fogelson, top entertainment attorney Barry Hirsch, Slamdance co-founder and former AFI Fest director Jon Fitzge...
Interview with Evan Fleischer IFC MEDIA LAB Director
Please explain to our audience the mission of your venture and what
motivated its launch initially, and what is your role there?
The purpose of Media Lab is to enable aspiring filmmakers to showcase their
works to a worldwide audience on our web site. This is in many ways the ultimate
fulfillment of IFC's mission to provide a voice to independent filmmakers. Our
brand tagline is "TV, Uncut.” and Media Lab is...
