Didn't get a chance to see "West End"? Well here's a clip of Neal's amazing performance in the 2014 Cieri Media award winning feature.
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“Film has become the key medium of our times,” spoke Festival Director Dr. Michael Kötz. He invited the guests and visitors to the Festival to “not just quickly consume a film, but to really watch them, to experience them with all your senses, to lose yourself in them and by doing so to really celebrate them – because the Festival is here to celebrate these films and cinematic art together with our audience!”
The Festival celebrated its Grand Opening in Heidelberg, screening “TOUS LES CHATS SONT GRIS” / “ALL CATS ARE GREY” by Savina Dellicour. The director made the trip from Belgium together with her lead actors Anne Coesens and Manon Capelle, the producer Joseph Rouschop and other members of the film team.
Over 500 guests were present and celebrated her film with thunderous applause.
The many invited guests from politics, business and culture were welcomed by Dr. Eckart Würzner, Lord Mayor of Heidelberg and Michael Grötsch, Mayor for Economics, Labour, Social Affairs and Culture in Mannheim.
The entire opening speech held by Festival Director Dr. Michael Kötz, information on the program and on the events surrounding the 63.rd International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg can be found on the Festival website: www.iffmh.de.
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by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
What is it about Oscar Isaac? When he and Jessica Chastain kicked off AFI Fest 2014 Opening Night with A Most Violent Year, the energy between the two of them was evident.
Not because they both attended Juilliard, or because they are both born in March, or even the visible screen chemistry as a couple on film. But because if you trace both of their film choices, between the pair, you begin to see them build their credits and their onscreen imprints in a meaningful trajectory.
Chastain, already tapped by Oscar noms, has been more visible. Isaac should have been more visible, from Drive (2011) to Inside Llewyn Davis (2103) by the Coen Bros. to this Most Violent Year, the Guatemalan-born actor has displayed stunning skills.
While this may sound like a shameless wake-up call to go see A Most Violent Year, directed by J.C. Chandor (Margin Call), it is also a shameless plug to view his other films as well, especially Drive, where arguably, he was overlooked that year.
Enough about opening night, the “period piece” opener qualifies for being from the historic American Fear & Greed epoch of 1981. (Feel old anyone?) Set in New York, it capitalizes on the human powerhouse in a suit that Oscar Isaac puts forth. But no spoiler alerts here, go see it on Dec. 31, a bold release date in the final window for Oscar qualifying films.
Today, at Carmen Miranda Square and Hollywood Blvd. at the Roosevelt Hotel, AFI Fest 2014 presented by AUDI, is officially ON now.
Inside the VIZIO Media Lounge, with the snacks and free WiFi, laptops hum to seven-plus sponsored screens of streaming distraction in the mix.
Outside, across the street, a fake Marilyn Monroe holds a sun umbrella up to avoid a fake Freddy Krueger and fake Spiderman checking out a fake Catwoman. This is normal Hollywood being Hollywood outside the former Grauman’s Chinese Theater, scene of so many historic cinema memories from the handprint/footprint gatherings to the induction of new stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Sidney Patrick Grauman, who died in March 1950 in Beverly Hills, would likely chuckle at the impersonators holding conversation between the smiles and snapshots.
While all the AFI signage is in place, the place looks legitimate, welcoming.
Tonight there is a “Young Hollywood Roundtable,” with the wild-spoken phenom Jenny Slate (Obvious Child), Jena Malone, among others. Jenny Slate is a must-see in the end of the mostly male-dominated stand-up comedy era. Screenings of the day include the mercurially reviewed Clouds of Sils Maria, with Juilette Binoche, Kristen Stewart and Chloë Grace Moretz.
Tomorrow Michael Keaton and Edward Norton talk acting at 11:00 am, then Paul Thomas Anderson holds court before his latest film Inherent Vice screens.
We will keep you covered at AFI Fest 2014 presented by AUDI, Day Two to come…
Mark up your must-watch lists for these films as they announce the release dates.
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Impressions of Dok Leipzig for filmfestivals.com
The 57th International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film that took place from October 27th - November 2nd, 2014, known as Dok Leipzig, is one of the oldest documentary festivals in the world. Originally founded in 1955 when it was the only independent film festival in the German Democratic Republic, a socialist state under Soviet control, the festival has traditionally attracted controversy by allowing the exchange of ideas between East and West, while promoting films that advocate peace and human dignity, freedom of mind and spirit, and freedom of speech. In the past, rebellion against oppression and abuse of power have been key festival themes.
Of the 368 films screened this year, for me there is only one that truly stands out as a landmark documentary in Leipzig: it defines one of the most important historical moments today in the fight for free speech, freedom of the press, and the rights of investigative journalists while coinciding with Germany’s 25th anniversary celebrating the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9th 1989 and the leading roll the city of Leipzig played instigating the fall of communism.
This former East German population is still haunted by dark memories of living in constant fear under Stasi surveillance and wire taping which made the selection of “Citizenfour” as the Opening Night Film of Dok Leipzig 2014 an extremely important declaration, reminding citizens of the liberties they fought so hard to win- to know what their government is doing, and to prevent such tyranny from ever returning. In tough defiant accents, they repeated their determination to never allow this to corrode German society again; some cited their parents generation living under Nazi spying and surveillance, and eventual rounding up of ordinary citizens stamped as “traitors” to concentration camps.
Laura Poitras’ film “Citizenfour” records the 8 days inside a Hong Kong hotel room where former NSA contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden met with Glenn Greenwald and Ewan MacAskill of London’s Guardian newspaper to reveal what he knew about the National Security Agency’s worldwide surveillance network. Snowden explains his motivations for going public and suddenly becomes aware of the dramatic impact on his life once the media circus stakes him out.
Monday evening, October 27th 2014 became the German Premiere of “Citizenfour” and Edward Snowden addressed the Dok Leipzig audience with a video link message…
“I´ve never agreed to do an introduction to this film. Not in the UK, not in the US – But when somebody asked me if I would do it for Leipzig, I said yes and that`s because your history is an inspiration to me. It’s critical that we remember the lessons from history. And Leipzig reminded us that the wall and the GDR didn`t go down because of bombs or guns or violent resistance. It was brought down by ordinary people on the streets in the square on Mondays. Ordinary people against extraordinary powers reminded us that the legitimacy of governments is derived from this consent of the people that they are governing. And today when that principle is so often forgotten, we have so many governments, even in liberal democracies, western democracies, not just authoritarian regimes, that so frequently favor tactics of deception and secrecy we do remember that the consent of the government is only meaningful if it`s informed” said the soft spoken Snowden.
Festival director Claas Danielson added that “Freedom is an elementary theme that accompanies us in life and will follow us through this festival and declared his support for the online campaign petition demanding protection, safety, and asylum for Edward Snowden.
On Wednesday night, October 29th, the Peaceful Revolution Foundation held a special ceremony at Leipzig’s St. Nicolas Church, (the exact location where mass demonstrations sparked events in 1989) and presented the Leipziger Ring Award
to Laura Poitras for “Citizenfour” … “to honor an artistic documentary film that shows exemplary civic engagement for democracy and human rights, made with great personal commitment and courage in the face of resistance and restrictions on freedom of opinion and freedom of the press”. In addition to the prize money, the winner receives the “Leipziger Ring” statuette, which commemorates the major demonstrations in Leipzig Old Town Square in the autumn of 1989, and the burning candles that protesters held in their hands as a sign of non-violence.
The Foundation’s Jury stated that “Snowden had risked his life and freedom to make the world aware of intelligence service practices that hardly anyone would have believed possible. With her film, Laura Poitras had rendered a great service to the freedom of all people”. In his opening speech, Foundation President, Professor Dr. Rainer Vor, recalled the still rampant xenophobia in this country, but also cited the “intelligence services that had lost every restraint in their mania for surveillance”.
At Thursday morning’s press conference at the Zeitgeschictliches Forum Leipzig, Poitras, who now lives in Berlin, answered questions about “Citizenfour” which she explained evolved while making the 3rd film in her trilogy about America post 9/11 after “My Country, My Country” and “The Oath” and was mysteriously contacted over the internet by Edward Snowden.
Poitras added… “There was a sense of urgency to get this film out as soon as possible while staying under the radar. People involved in the film had to be prepared they would be under surveillance, but no one backed away, rather, people have come forward to support it. This is really an important award and I am very moved to receive this award here, from people who took down the Berlin Wall”.
“It’s interesting that I now live in the former East Germany with it’s long history of surveillance and repression, where the governments, with the Stasi and during the Nazi era, collected information on its citizens and employed informants, but today
there are laws to protect from this enshrined in the constitution. I came here because it is a place that would provide protection for the work that I do, and there is a community of people interested in the work”.
As a visual journalist and a US citizen, I am trying to document with images and a camera something about the world that I see. I think as Americans we have drifted away morally from our basic core principles and that is what I am communicating.” concluded Laura Poitras.
Madelyn Most November 4, 2014
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Staged for the fifth time, the New York City Independent Film Festival show cased this year from October 15-19 over 254 films from 38 countries covering feature films, documentaries and short films. Aimed at new, underground and experimental independent filmmakers the NYCIFF has established itself as a festival platform for domestic and foreign independent producers and directors. Panels of more than 100 judges selected from 1000 submissions 47 features, 132 short films and 75 super short films. Productions competed for 10 awards which were received by independent film makers who already had some track records. Apart from the North America participants responsible for most productions screened, 36 countries were represented. The program included numerous classes and sessions on themes ranging from camera work, acting, distribution, and funding, as well as live shows and receptions.
Judging from comments made by filmmakers and festival staff it seems that virtually all films were submitted primarily through Withoutabox but also through websites like ClickFor Festivals and others. Submission fees for the productions ranging from $45 - $65 are the principal funding source for the festival; though close to 20% of the fee go to the Wihoutabox service. Without box is owned by IMDb and both companies are part of amazon com. Apart from ticket sales to the 3250 attendees this year the submission fee appears to be the other principal source of income for NYCIFF. Service and product contributions were received from partners and supporters from beverage, food and other companies, including the director’s Cieri International Corporation which supported four awards. According to Dennis Cieri the festival has been expanding to a larger number of submissions and selections. It involved this year more judges, twenty volunteers and interns, as well as a growing festival staff. Compare to 2013 the audience increased by 46 percent. Given its consolidation the festival‘s goal is now to raise more funds from sponsors and partners. At one point a festival crowd funding campaign was initiated though it is not active now
Starting around 9 in the morning productions were shown through the late evening hours insix screening rooms at the Producers’ Club and the Adelante Studios attracting only small groups attended during daytime hours, though more were drawn during evening hours and on the weekend. The ambience was festive with most film makers satisfied with what the festival offered them. There seemed to be a consensus that better independent productions were programmed in this year’s edition. Despite this some observed that by and large current new production scored higher from a technical point of view but that many film makers had a problem narrating their story. As one director observed ”They [the filmmakers] learn in school which camera to use and they do acquire technical skills... but frequently have not developed an appropriate story telling ability”
Talking to associates covering the film scene here I was struck that the NYCIFF had a very low profile; only few were familiar with the fest. Thus I was wondering why independents would submit their productions to the festival. For once they hope but did not seem to expect that a distributor would pick up their film at the festival. To date Gregory Blair’s horror film Deadly Revisions from the 2014 programs has been picked up by SGL Entertainment. Filmmakers consider the NYCIFF as a marketing tool for reaching a larger audience and creating a buzz for their production. They also identified the ease of entering their film through Withoutabox which helped them to choose a festival from a list of close to 1000 festivals listed by that service. More importantly having their film selected for a New York based festival, even if it is relatively unknown, enhances the possibility of getting funding for future projects, a point made by several foreign film makers. Being in New York is also considered essential for effective networking. Lastly they will be listed with their films in the internet film data base IMDb once they use Withoutabox and be able to apply it for marketing their productions by uploading trailers and full films. The listing of the film or title page remains on IMDb if the film is eventually released. Through IMDb the associated venture CreateSpace productions can be placed for video downloads on the Amazon Video on Demand service or DVD sales.
Thus from the filmmaker’s perspective, the New York City Independent Film Festival appears to be a viable festival platform to consider.
Claus Mueller filmexchange@gmail.com
The decision by FIAPF to accredit Black Nights as one of the festivals with thematically and geographically unlimited competition has considerably widened the reach of the international competition programme. “At the same time the logic of the programme hasn’t changed,” assures festival director Tiina Lokk. “Powerful films by renowned masters compete with debuts that might get a push for their international breakthrough at the Black Nights.”
The interest of filmmakers to save the premieres for one of the last festivals of the year has grown annually. “This year Black Nights has a record breaking four International and six European premieres in the International competition. There are also six Scandinavian premieres in the competition,” which according to Lokk speaks of the trust by filmmakers. The special feature of this year’s competition is the selection of countries represented – like South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Iran, India, Japan and others.
According to the director of Black Nights there are six strong debut films in the competition. The oldest director comes from the current focus country – Poland - Jerzy Stuhr (67) began his acting career in the early 1970’s. His latest directing piece “Citizen” is only his sixth feature film.
“I would also like to point out the new film by Takashi Miike ‘Over Your Dead Body’. One of the most celebrated Japanese directors, Miike has made almost 100 films. Of European premieres it’s worth to keep an eye on ‘Move’ by Marat Sarulu from Kyrgyzstan that represents the unknown new wave of Central Asia. The youngest director in the international competition is Estonian Martti Helde with ‘In the Crosswinds’.”
International competition programme of the Black Nights Film Festival 2014:
International premiere:
· “Apostle” (South-Korea, Director Kim Jin Moo)
· “Go On Living” (Mexico, Director Alejandra Sánchez)
· “Valley” (Israel, Director Sophie Artus)
· “Citizen” (Poland, Director Jerzy Stuhr)
European premiere:
· “Move” (Kyrgyzstan, Director Marat Sarulu)
· “Elephant Song” (Canada, Director Charles Binamé)
· “Inferno” (Slovenia-Croatia, Director Vinko Möderndorfer)
· “Taksu” (Japan-Thailand-Indonesia-USA, Director Kiki Sugino)
· “The Theory of Everything” (United Kingdom, Director James Marsh)
· “Today” (Iran, Director Reza Mirkarima)
Scandinavian premiere:
· “Angels of Revolution” (Russia, Director Alexey Fedorchenko)
· “In the Sands of Babylon (Iraq-United Kingdom-Netherlands-United Arab Emirates, Director Jabarah Al-Daradji)
· “Lucifer” (Belgium, Director Gust van den Berghe)
· “Margarita, with a Straw” (India, Director Shonali Bose)
· “Over Your Dead Body” (Japan, Director Takashi Miike)
· “Yvone Kane” (Portugal-Brazil-Mozambique, Director Margarida Cardoso)
Baltic premiere:
· “Itsi Bitsi” (Denmark, Director Ole Christian Madsen)
Estonian film:
· “In the Crosswind” (Estonia, Director Martti Helde)
The international competition films will be judged by the international jury: Mark Axelrod (USA), Kati Outinen (Finland), Andrei Proshkin (Russia), Elina Reinold (Estonia), Benson Taylor (United Kingdom) and Tomas Wasilewski (Poland).
The grand prix of the best film includes a 10000 euro grant by the city of Tallinn. The best director, best actress, actor and cinematographer will be awarded. The international film critics’ jury (FIPRESCI) will give a special award as well as the ecumenical jury.
Next to the international competition programme there are three more competitions at the Black Nights: five films are running for the Estonian Film award, ten films each for the Tridens Baltic Sea and Nordic debut film competition and the North American film competition.
The International Film Producers’ Association has designated Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival as a non-specialized competitive festival. Black Nights Film Festival is the 15th international film festival to be inducted to that category by FIAPF. The most influential film festival of the European North Eastern region takes place from 14th to 30th November. Tickets will be on sale from 7th November.
Film still from "In the Crosswinds"
Filmfestivals.com was established in 1995, over the years we became the premier link between film and festivals with 6.000 festivals listed, over 22 000 festival organizers contacts in our database, 75.000 articles and 830 000 unique visitors per year...
Monday, November 10 Marketing Conference sponsored by iQIYI
Moderator:
Natalie Bruss, VP, Digital Partnership, ID
Initial Panelists:
Clay Dollarhide, Publicist, Ginsberg/Libby
Mickey Meyer, Co-Founder, JASH
Anne Zeiser, President & CEO, Azure Media, LLC
Moderator:
Gary Foster, Partner, Krasnoff/Foster Entertainment
Initial Panelists:
Dana Archer, President & Partner, DDA PR
Chris Day, Head, Corporate Communications, UTA
Jill Jones, EVP Marketing & Publicity, Mister Smith Entertainment
Marian Koltai-Levine, EVP Film, PMK*BNC
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
When Michael Keaton “was frozen” in a scene for the newly released Birdman, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, according to Edward Norton, who appeared with him at an AFI conversation on 11/8, “you could see he was having trouble.”
“I mean, I don’t know if this story is apocryphal,” Norton offered, “but there’s this story I heard (from a director), that when Greta Garbo was in Queen Christina (dir. Rouben Mamoulian) she was paralyzed in a scene. It’s the scene where she is on the boat, leaving her homeland, and Greta Garbo said she didn’t know what to do. The story goes that the director said ‘Just stare at the wall. And think about what you had for breakfast.’”
“It goes back to Eisenstein, he said the audience would hang their emotions on it.”
Norton was the counterpoint to the extreme American hardscrabble realism of Michael Keaton. “I came from a family of seven, actually a family of nine, my mother lost two children, two died. We had one car, no money to go see movies. I mostly watched movies on TV.”
“For me, when a 67-year-old lady outside a Safeway tells me what she really thinks of a movie I’m in, that’s really gratifying,” he said.
And in that scene Norton refers to, Keaton said “hey, I didn’t know I wasn’t prepared for that scene until I was already in it. I don’t know why, I knew it was coming up.”
“Sometimes (as an actor) you have to find it, you know it’s in there. You hope you find it. I found something else!”
Birdman, which also stars Emma Stone as his daughter, is a showpiece for Michael Keaton. From the mercurial director of Biutiful (Javier Bardem), Birdman pits Norton against Keaton, but “it was like a head-on collision, making this movie, because you lived through it and afterward, you go ‘wow, this happened, that happened.”
Birdman was released in Oct. and should net some award nods for all. Writer Stacey Wilson moderated this conversation so well, she was seamless, hands down the best.
Paul Thomas Anderson a/k/a PTA Forces Us to Watch MONDO HOLLYWOOD Uncut
Because he has four kids with Maya Rudolph, Paul Thomas Anderson, known affectionately as PTA, can’t really be a sadist, can he?
After a force-watch of the banned-in-France 1965-1967 film MONDO HOLLYWOOD directed by Robert Carl Cohen, you wonder though.
MONDO is so wretchedly inappropriate as to be art, then so arty as to be legend, and encompasses Baba Ram Dass acid-sessions in Topanga Canyon to a runaway heir decamped in Malibu with a monkey to Rotary Club sexist quasi-Fascists to the famed Gypsy Boots who was a Rousseau-like noble savage living under the Hollywood sign as a caveman to star arrival footage of Queen Elizabeth (Taylor) and King Richard (Burton) to psychedelic montages designed to trigger seizures, the entirety of which clocks in well over two hours.
This was followed by a meandering Q & A hosted by PTA with director Robert Carl Cohen, who at 85, was more interested in talking about why he moved to Boulder, and how he beat bladder cancer, which actually turned into performance art with Cohen admitting “I don’t know why someone so famous would want to interview me.”
“Did you see his film about the mines (There Will Be Blood)? It was so real, I mean I once worked in a mercury mine. Cinnabar is the ore for mercury."
"And his new film Inherent Vice (set in 1970’s)? I said how could this kid (at the time) have made a film so true to the period?”
The cult film director concluded with, “I mean, I got banned for Mondo in France, but I never showed a drug session… In his film, nine out of 10 scenes show people smoking pot!”
The Hollywood Kids Are All Right (AFI Young Hollywood Roundtable)
Upcoming Hollywood is A-Okay, especially 17-year-old Joey King (a/k/a “China Girl" from Oz the Great and Powerful), that’s the takeaway from The Young Hollywood Roundtable at AFI Fest presented by AUDI.
Joining Joey, the Roundtable discussion included Logan Lerman (Noah), Jena Malone (Hunger Games), and Jenny Slate (Obvious Child) in what became a strangely meaningful moment when moderator Amy Kaufman from the Los Angeles Times whipped out a fan letter dated from 1998 to Jena, who had by then starred as a child in Bastard Out of Carolina, Contact (Jodie Foster), and Step Mom (Julia Roberts).
While it sounds weird, when the Boston-born reporter begged Jena to “read it out loud," it was actually an incredibly moving moment. Kaufman had seen Malone in Step Mom and asked for help in becoming an actress.
“Hashtag What?,” to coin a phrase by Joey King.
Although Jena Malone played a strident killer aimed at Jennifer Lawrence in the Hunger Games, and MAY possibly be the next (and first) female Robin ever cast in the role with the new Batman vs Superman movie from Marvel, Jena was not only humbled by the tribute but did read it aloud.
Then Malone added, “Julia Roberts turned 30 on the set (of Step Mom). She took us all out. She is an incredible person.”
Logan Lerman, who played Mel Gibson’s son in The Patriot when he was a kid, equated being a child actor with set dressing. “You know, they bring out the kid. That was me.” Now he just leaped from Noah with Russell Crowe to a wider role in FURY with Brad Pitt. “We all wanted a really immersive experience on that film,” he recounted. Immersive, how? “Punched Brad Pitt in the face. He said to! Brad is the nicest guy (read: no ego), so laid back.”
But wait, there’s more. Next Jenny Slate, whose big screen mainstream debut in Obvious Child has blown back the critics, turns out to have gone to high school with Amy Kaufman. And is cautioned when she describes herself as a “random dork” back then. “Actually she was the Valedictorian,” Kaufman corrects.
Joey King rounded out the discussion with her own advice for young actors: “Be A BOSS. Own it. Own the role, own the awkwardness.”
The Big Kids of Hollywood Are All Right Too (AFI’s Indie Contenders Panel)
Yes, that is the goddess known as Tilda Swinton, with the stiffened egg-white blonde hair, making folded birdie-wing motions and floating early out of the Indie Contenders Panel while mouthing ‘Gotta fly.’
This was just one of the inimitable moments captured when Swinton, Kristen Stewart, Michelle Monaghan, Bill Hader, Marion Cotillard, Jake Gyllenhaal, and directors Damien Chazelle (Whiplash), and J.C. Chandor (A Most Violent Year, Margin Call) got together for a chat with Scott Feinberg of The Hollywood Reporter.
Here are some highlights from the meeting of independent minds:
Kristen Stewart, in her usual no-holds-barred style, said she will commit to a project "based on one line of dialogue, or one person in the film... And I'll make a bad movie" if she likes one of the above.
“To really understand independent film before it had a capital ‘I,’ you must seek out the work of Derek Jarman,” Swinton implored. “Experimental films. Art films… I mean independent films as opposed to co-dependent films.”
Marion Cotillard, the award-winning etherealist from France, "doesn't make decisions" about roles "they choose me, the characters." As in, "a role has to be life or death for me."
Bill Hader (Skeleton Twins) basically summed up his climb in Hollywood from driver for the famous to famous himself as "don't be an asshole" when you're famous.
Risktaking Jake Gyllenhaal admitted if he finds something way out of his arena of experience or emotion, he “will reach for it.” But on a practical level, "Learn your lines.That's it. Know your lines."
“I worked with Jake on Source Code, I know he has this speed reading thing,” Michelle Monaghan confirmed. “We were like throwing lines back and forth (fast).”
J.C. Chandor, who took a literal dog’s age to get his feature Margin Call made, said “I tell my friends ‘make a two minute short film, just make it.’ Because it all works toward making films.”
And Damien, the boy wonder from Harvard whose Whiplash is a darling at AFI right now, basically left the room reeling by standing his ground in this starry patch.
Next - Mark Wahlberg premieres The Gambler at AFI Fest presented by AUDI.
Stay sharp, more to come, including the Technicolor Keynote…
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Filmfestivals.com was established in 1995, over the years we became the premier link between film and festivals with 6.000 festivals listed, over 22 000 festival organizers contacts in our database, 75.000 articles and 830 000 unique visitors per year...
Filmfestivals.com was established in 1995, over the years we became the premier link between film and festivals with 6.000 festivals listed, over 22 000 festival organizers contacts in our database, 75.000 articles and 830 000 unique visitors per year...
DAILIES FROM AFI
We, NYC Independent Film Fest are accepting submissions for next years festival. Since this years festival has been the most successful year so far, we are planning for next years event to be even better. Screening narratives, shorts, documentaries, animation, and music videos we are excited to once again embrace the art and mastery of independent film in the one of the greatest cities in the world.
New York City Film Festival is a festival concentrating on the value and art of independent filmmaking. Since the birth of the festival in 2010, the increase of films that have been admitted and showcased shows the true amount of growth thta NYC Indie Film Fest has been able to accomplish. Not only is this astonishing, it shows the true mission that is trying to be fulfilled. This mission includes the participation of the NYC community and indie filmmakers from all over the world coming together to celebrate and contribute to a specific world of independent filmmaking.
Films triumph as audience favourites in CDFF’s inaugural year
OTTAWA, ON – Nov. 11, 2014 – After an enthusiastic first season, Ottawa’s Cellar Door Film Festival (CDFF) is pleased to announce the two Audience Award winners for CDFF 2014. Dys-, directed by Maude Michaud, wins the Audience Award for Best Feature Film at CDFF ‘14 while The Cold Heart (Das Kalte Herz), directed by Hannes Rall, emerges with the Audience Award for Best Short Film. The selection of the Canadian horror film Dys- and the German animated fable The Cold Heart makes an especially fine pair for Cellar Door’s celebration of both Canadian and international filmmakers and it showcases Ottawa’s appetite for a strong range of styles and stories.
Dys- screened at the festival to an engaged audience on Saturday night with Montreal director Maude Michaud in attendance along with actor Alex Goldrich, make-up effects artist Sébastien Montpetit, and sound operator Maxime Boileau. The Cold Heart screened in Cellar Door’s short film program “From the Basement of the World: So Cold and So Dark.” Both screenings enjoyed strong attendance at Club SAW. The Cellar Door team congratulates both films and thanks the filmmakers for making the inaugural edition of the festival such a success.
Cellar Door Film Festival would like to thank its Presenting Sponsors, the School for Studies in Art and Culture at Carleton University and the SPARTA Film Challenge, as well as its Supporting Sponsors, the Carleton University Alumni Association, GNA Heating and Cooling, The Haunted Walk of Ottawa, and Used Ottawa for making the festival a reality. Cellar Door also wishes to thank all the Friends of the Festival, volunteers, filmmakers, family members, and fans who came out to support the launch of Ottawa’s newest film festival. We hope to see you all behind the Cellar Door next year!
About Cellar Door Film Festival
Cellar Door Film Festival (CDFF) aims to be Ottawa's first showcase of speculative cinema (horror, sci-fi, and fantasy), while celebrating the creativity of the Ottawa film scene and spotlighting the city as a setting for the sinister and supernatural. CDFF encourages film culture, education, and production in Ottawa by promoting the creation, screening, and distribution of local, national and international films in the Nation’s capital.
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For high-res images, please visit: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/d837xwjrboslk36/AADxzKn7s12wXmGXfLUQZ6Eta?dl=0
www.cdff.ca | Facebook.com/CellarDoorFF | Twitter: @CellarDoorFF | #CDFF14
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The African-American Women in Cinema announced today the FULL LINE-UP of this year’s 17th Annual AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN IN CINEMA FILM FESTIVAL (November 19th– 22nd), which features an opening night premiere and reception, keynote panels, additional premiere screenings, a youth filmmaking event, and a short films program. The films chosen for this year’s festival are judged by a jury committee made up of prominent industry leaders, who adhere to the organization’s mission statement of promoting films from African American, Latina, Native American and the Asian diaspora. AAWIC is the only film festival in New York City with such a wide multicultural reach.
The Opening Night selection is the New York premiere of Princess Monique’s SEASONS OF LOVE. Starring Gladys Knight, Taraji P. Henson, Method Man and LeToya Luckett, the film follows one couple’s romantic ups and downs, as they struggle to determine the things that matter most in life. The film also features Ana Isabella, a rising star from Puerto Rico. The film is a Lifetime Studios production and will premiere on Lifetime on November 23rd.
AAWIC is also pleased to announce the premiere event entitled INTERNATIONAL DAY presented by UNESCO NYS and African Women for Good Governance on November 22nd. There will be a panel discussion called Discussing the African Film Industry moderated by Winsome Sinclair (prominent casting director). Following the discussion there will be a special presentation organized by African Women for Good Governance and later a film screening hosted by producer Mohamed Dione.
The festival will close with an awards VIP reception that will take place at the United Nations and the Nigerian Embassy, respectively. The President of African Women for Good Governance and Ambassador of UNESCO, Sire Dione Conde,
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expressed her excitement for the festival, stating, “We are pleased to be a part of such a prestigious festival that celebrates women in the industry and are very happy to present the first ever International Day! We look forward to making history together.”
Below are the full program details:
The 17th Annual AAWIC Film Festival Premiere Screenings
Opening Night Selection
SEASONS OF LOVE
Director: Princess Monique
Closing Night Selection 1 (hosted by 103.9 FM)
THE GRAND GESTURE
Director: Dana Verde
Closing Night Selection 2 (hosted by 103.9 FM)
Strings Attached
Director: Nelcie Souffrant
Closing Night Selection 3 (hosted by 103.9 FM)
On My Own
Director: Rachel Miller-Bradshaw
Afraid of Dark
Director: Mya B.
Christmas Wedding Baby
Director: Kiara Jones
Naturally Native
Director: Valerie Red-Horse
Hate Crimes in the Heartland
Director: Rachel Lyon
Our Closing Night Screenings are hosted by 103.9 FM and are composed of both short and feature-length films. There is a Q&A session with the filmmakers following the screening of CHRISTMAS WEDDING BABY and NATURALLY NATIVE.
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Special Short Film Screening Program
The Bully
Director: Jamie Burton-Oare
Synopsis: Two kids, who grew up in the same neighborhood where one bullied the other, have children later in life. Their children are now in the same situation as their parents, but the outcome is different.
Mani-Pedi
Director: Sandra Nixon
Synopsis: Have you ever wonder what the nail technicians are talking about, while you were getting your manicure & pedicure? This short comedy shows how a normal day at a nail salon turns out to be an amusing experience….when you get past the language barrier.
Lift Every Voice
Director: Monet Gray
Synopsis: This film examines how one teacher’s unconventional method of incorporating RAP and HIP-HOP music into her lessons was able to get her public school students motivated and interested in their education.
Buenos Aires Rap
Director: Diane Ghogomu
Synopsis: In a cosmopolitan city where class and color segregation are the norms, a group of minority kids are brought together through a shared love of music transcending that of political and economical deviations.
Greenhouse
Director: Ah-Keisha McCants
Synopsis: The short film follows eight-year-old twin boys from the New Jersey suburbs, who appear to be raising themselves in the absence of their parents. They both yearn for an escape, but it soon becomes apparent that “nobody and nothing is what it seems”.
Field Goal
Director: Tanesa Kassa
Synopsis: Monica Jones, a secretary at a law firm attending law school, is dedicated to her relationship with blue-collared and workaholic boyfriend, Darius Smith. The same can’t be said of Darius whose busy schedule has turned the relationship dull. This is their commitment story.
Fixed
Director: Ashley Ellis
Synopsis: After the funeral of Eric Ross, family and friends gather at the home of his mother to find comfort and answers. When a devious yet familiar face from the past shows up with details regarding Ross’s mysterious death, it may be more than his mother can handle.
Each year, AAWIC invites key industry players to participate in provocative panel discussions on the nature of the business and the course of African-American cinema in mainstream media. This year, no less, AAWIC offers an array of stimulating film conversations that make up the PANELS PROGRAM.
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The 17th AAWIC Film Festival Panels
Diversity in the Guilds
Discussion will be around the various diversity initiatives of each organization and how attendees can benefit from joining them.
Female Documentary Filmmakers - Keynote Panel
Choose To Live!
Presented by the American Diabetes Association
NY Loves Film Roundtable Discussion
Given by NYS Governor’s Office for Motion Picture & Television Development Empire State Development
Presentation: SKY Financial Group LLC|SKY Brokerage LLC
Keynote Session on Transmedia Platforms
Meet the Distributors!
Let’s Talk Finance!
How to Get Your Kids in Show Business
Screening of Our Youth: Presented by DCTV
The annual film festival highlights the best in African-American cinema, featuring works from independent filmmakers as well as fresh new talent. AAWIC founder and executive producer, Terra Renee, exclaims, "I am very pleased about this year’s event. Our goal has always been to take this festival to the next level. I believe this year will set the stage and we will make history.” This year, the festival producer is Lamonia Brown, a prominent industry veteran.
Advance all-access passes are currently available through online purchase via aawic.org. There will also be an opportunity to purchase single screening and panel discussion tickets. More ticket information for the 17th African-American Women in Cinema Film Festival is available at aawic.org/purchase-tickets.
AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN IN CINEMA
The African American Women in Cinema Film Festival is one of the largest female film events in the country. For the past decade, the AAWIC organization has served as a continuous support for the vibrant work of women filmmakers. The organization is dedicated to providing a platform and showcase for aligning experienced and novice filmmakers, directors, producers, screenwriters and/or actors. Its mission is to expand, explore and create business opportunities for minority women filmmakers throughout the entertainment industry. It is the goal of AAWIC to give artistic
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women a path to fulfilling their dreams through showcasing their talents, exposure to peers’ interaction, and mentoring by established professionals.
This year, AAWIC receives generous support from Raymour & Flanigan, 103.9 FM, Greater New York Chamber of Commerce, New York Women in Film & Television, National Urban League, Demetrix, DCTV, Sky Financial, Tinkerer Studios, Rx Pharmacy, and Media Services. For more information, visit www.aawic.organd follow @aawic on Twitter.
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Only Clint Eastwood could take the story of slain US Military Sniper Chris Kyle, who was mysteriously shot and killed at age 38 last year at a Texas gun range by a fellow vet, and make it a hit as well as a memorial to the man in question. The surprise screening of this highly anticipated feature film last night at AFI Fest presented by AUDI was a crowd-thriller, especially in its subtlety, its restrained sound design, the whoosh of wind, the crack of bullets, and the long silences in between.
Bradley Cooper basically inhabits the role of Kyle, the most decorated-ever ‘American Sniper’ known by the enemy as the so-called ‘Devil of Ramadi.’ His confirmed (body found) and claimed (no body found) war-kills total into triple digits. Consider that this man could literally blow your head off at 5280 ft. (a literal mile), which made this former Navy SEAL a hero even among snipers who consider any target over 3000 ft. truly difficult.
But this story, based on the book “American Sniper” by Chris Kyle, which Bradley Cooper bought the rights to and allegedly once had Spielberg in mind to direct, brings up the challenge of depicting a real-life situation on film.
There is no argument that American Sniper, to be released in Dec. is a must-see, both for Bradley Cooper’s DNA-level performance and Eastwood’s skillfully compassionate direction.
However, like two other reality-based or true-story-based movies at AFI, SELMA about Martin Luther King Jr. and his ascendency with the Civil Rights movement, and Tales of the Grim Sleeper (dir. Nick Broomfield) about a scourge in the black community in South Central Los Angeles where a serial killer went unchecked for 25-plus years, questions arise outside the critical framework of the film as art itself.
There is no doubt SELMA, even the word association with pivotal moments in the South, starring David Oyelowo is a meaningful film. Produced by Oprah Winfrey among others, SELMA is a historic period piece important as a historic period piece, a new take on a familiar story. Also a very important one to tell. But Tales of the Grim Sleeper involves ongoing litigation that involves an incarcerated suspect who has allegedly wantonly sexually brutalized, tortured, and slain women he considered ‘just whores, prostitutes.’ And the LAPD is seen by some as culpable in this long run of terror because these women where ‘just whores, prostitutes.’
So, down the block from SELMA at the Egyptian Theatre, after Tales of the Grim Sleeper is screened, it turns out at least two members of an LAPD Task Force have surreptitiously entered the theater and are called out by Margaret Prescod, a victim advocate who has been trying to shed light on the ritual slaughter/disappearance of hundreds of women in South Central LA since 1985.
Nick Broomfield is on stage with Pamela Brooks from South Central LA and Margaret Prescod as she points out the LAPD in the audience. When the spotlight in the theatre is turned to the unexpected guests from law enforcement, they are invited to the stage to introduced themselves and make a statement.
Nick Broomfield appears to welcome their input, although they decline to participate, possibly because of the litigation underway, the scrutiny put on the LAPD in the wake of this ‘scandal’ and more likely because they are not authorized to go on the record. Erring in their favor, one could say they are just here to watch the movie, but their presence is palpably intimidating, even for the audience.
Yet Broomfield as director of this documentary brings in another dimension of confusion. It is Pamela Brooks, community activist and a now-sober former prostitute, who set up his access into South Central LA and calls him “my England boy… some white boy from England.” Which begs the question, should this story be told by “some white boy from England”?
Basically no one listened to Margaret Prescod for a quarter of a century while she stood front and center in the neighborhood and in the media, yelling and screaming to be heard - to be a voice of the dead girls and women ages 14 and up, and for their surviving families who had no attention paid to their loss.
This is SELMA all over again, in other words, where someone has to take a stand and overcome the opposition to delving into the murders of so many black girls and women. Hundreds of polaroid to 35 mm to digital snapshots of these victims were found in the alleged ‘Grim Sleeper’s’ possession, and these smiling faces, unaware they will be later ritually killed, have flown by on screen.
American Sniper, SELMA, and Tales of the Grim Sleeper all deal with the value of human life (whether at home or abroad) and the notion of personal and social responsibility. Each film presents a specific facet of how we, as a society, process the concepts of war hero vs patriot vs cold blooded killer.
AFI Fest presented by AUDI really opens an opportunity for dialogue here, both for cineastes and the general public at large, and underscores the importance of visual story-telling as a way to examine our core beliefs as a culture.
Next Up: Sophia Loren Tribute, Marriage Italian Style, and the screening of Still Alice, starring Julianne Moore.
Stay tuned for more thought-provoking programming from AFI Fest presented by AUDI.
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