OPEN CALL FOR FILM and SCRIPT ENTRIES
 

SR Socially Relevant Film (™) Festival New York (Rated SR) - 3rd edition

March 14-20, 2016

SR Socially Relevant (™) Film Festival  New York, a new non-profit film festival, will have its 3rd edition in March 2016 at over 3 venues: The Tribeca Cinemas in Tribeca, The Maysles Cinema in Harlem and The School of Visual Arts SocDoc in Chelsea, with additional venues for special events. Founded by actor-filmmaker Nora Armani, the festival showcases socially relevant films with human interest stories as a response to the proliferation of violence and violent forms of storytelling.

SR (™) believes in promoting positive social change through the powerful medium of cinema. The festival’s inaugural edition took place in March 2014 at the Quad Cinema over one week, showcasing 55 films from 18 countries and presenting multiple awards to winning filmmakers. The second edition showcased 53 films from 33 countries and took place at the Tribeca Cinemas, the Maysles Cinema, The CUNY Graduate Center, The Quad Cinema and the School of Visual Arts with Industry Panels. Submissions for 2016 are open now through December 1st on https://filmfreeway.com/festival/RatedSR - For details visit the festival’s website: http://www.ratedsrfilms.org/

To Tweet @SRFilmFest:

Open Call for Entries - films & scripts in competition @SRFilmFest March 2016. Submit @FilmFreeway- SR partner https://filmfreeway.com/festival/RatedSR

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RatedSRSociallyRelevantFFNY

By Maria Esteves – July 30, 2015

The 38th Annual Asian American Film Festival 2015 (aaiff15) Opening Night New York Premiere documentary MY VOICE, MY LIFE, by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ruby Yang, commenced Thursday, July 23, 7:00PM at Asia Society. The Q&A session with director Yang and cast members Coby Wong and Sio Fan Lam moderated by La Frances Hui, film curator, Asia Society, preceded the Opening Night Gala Reception.

Questions posed to director Yang and cast members by moderator Hui and the audience included: Tell us the origin of this documentary project? How did you identify key participants/subjects? How did you persuade them to participate and involve the family? How did participating in the musical and documentary changed your life? Were you surprised by the audience reaction? What are you doing right now, are you in school? What do you want to do in the future? How people in Hong Kong look at people with disabilities? How the school administers support in terms of homework and resources?

aaiff15 Opening Night Premiere of My Voice, My Life: John Woo,
back-center, with director Ruby Yang, center, and cast members
Coby Wong, left, and Sio Fan Lam.

aaiff15 Opening Night Premiere of My Voice, My Life Q&A Session: (L-R)
aaiff moderator La Frances Hui, film curator, Asia Society, actress Coby
Wong, actress Sio Fan Lam, and director Ruby Yang.

aaiff15 Opening Night Premiere of My Voice, My Life Q&A Session: (R-L)
Director Ruby Yang, with cast members Sio Fan Lam, and Coby Wong.

aaiff15 Opening Night Premiere of My Voice, My Life Q&A Session:
Director Ruby Yang, right, and actress Sio Fan Lam.

aaiff15 Opening Night Premiere of My Voice, My Life Q&A Session: Actresses
Coby Wong, left, and Sio Fan Lam.

By Maria Esteves – July 31, 2015

The 38th Annual Asian American Film Festival 2015 (aaiff15) Opening Night New York Premiere documentary MY VOICE, MY LIFE http://www.myvoicemylifemovie.com, by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ruby Yang, commenced Thursday, July 23, 7:00PM at Asia Society. The Q&A discussion with director Yang and cast members Coby Wong and Sio Fan Lam moderated by La Frances Hui, film curator, Asia Society, preceded the Opening Night Gala Reception.

Questions posed to director Yang and cast members by moderator Hui and the audience included: Tell us the origin of this documentary project? How did participating in the musical and documentary change your life? How the school administers support you in terms of homework and resources?

Japan Cuts is the largest annual festival of Japanese films in the United States celebrating its 9th edition from July 9-19 at New York’s Japan Society. It is no longer tied to the New York Asian Film Festival and offered a comprehensive survey of current Japanese cinema. The selection ranged from the bizarre, to the popular, to art house productions, films which were never shown before in New York with half of the titles North American premieres. The 2015 program had 28 features, including several documentaries, the restored versions of Osamu Tezuka’s Belladonna of Sadness and Nagisa Oshila’s feature Cruel Story of Youth as well as a series of experimental shorts.  Nine Japanese directors and film stars presented their films to an engaged audience in mostly sold out screenings. Sakura Ando  received  the Cut Above Award for Outstanding Performance in Film and two of her films were screened; Asleep by Shingo Wakagi and Masaharu Take’s 100 Yen Love.

As the third largest global film market behind the United States and China, Japan has a growing film industry and released in 2014 1,184 titles of which 600 were local productions. With a share of about 20% the US no longer dominates the box office, though the top grossing film Frozen originated in the States scoring $249 million of the total $1.79 billion box office in 2014. Local productions had a 58% share. Given the large number of films produced in Japan and the reputation of Japanese films enhanced by its anime productions, their status in the US theatrical distribution is of interest. To recap data I used in a prior write up about German films in the US, “Mojo reports that to date the revenue of German films released last year [2014] amounted to $242,000. Those from France scored $1.7 million.  The largest proportion of foreign language films in the United States originates in India which scored $31 million thus far with their 2014 releases, about half of the foreign language box office for that period.”  There may have been some Japanese films with a minimal box office of less than $25,000 but Mojo does not list a single Japanese production scoring higher than that.

The theatrical route seems to be getting narrower for foreign language films and most publicly shown productions are found at film festivals. These festivals can constitute sub-markets if there are multiple editions serving the same linguistic or special interest niche such as the Jewish, Environmental, and Gay fests. With respect to Japanese films, there are other Japanese film festivals in Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Francisco, though New York’s Japan Cuts is the largest.

Similar to the reorientation of independent films to the internet realm, the digital platforms may generate more exposure to Japanese and other foreign language films. Given the domination of multiplexes by mass market and Hollywood block buster films, and the mass release of these films preempting the space in which other productions could be shown theatrical venues are fading rapidly for specialty films. Narrow exposure through Japanese language television programmers in the US is limited to two outlets TV Japan 24/7 and the Los Angeles based digital channel KSCI.
Though there is no summary data on revenue derived from digital platforms by independent and foreign language films, video streaming of feature films and other productions have become paramount.  Noteworthy is the aggressive expansion of Netflix which now serves globally 65 million streaming members and 5.3 million DVD subscribers in the United States who have access to close to 100,000 titles. Like Amazon, Direct TV, and smaller providers such as iTunes and Hulu, Netflix is acquiring productions like independent and foreign language films directly from festivals. Often these transactions are not predicated on prior theatrical runs. Netflix carries numerous Japanese titles which can be streamed in Japanese with subtitles or dubbed in English.

To review briefly some of the 2015 Japan Cuts selections; successfully assembling all elements of a fast moving action story Joker Game (Yu Iries, 2015) portraits the exploits of Jiro Kato who works for the newly established Japanese intelligence agency D just before the outbreak of World War II. He is charged with getting a micro film revealing plans for a nuclear bomb held by the American ambassador. Battling with Nazi and  British secret services and an independent female operator, Kato eventually succeeds  after numerous chases, martial arts battles, romantic involvement with the operator, and a daring escape from the British secret service headquarter blown up in that process. There are superb sets faithfully replicating the time periods, plausible but surprising story lines and an intriguing presentation of the Japanese imperial military general staff disdaining the D agency. They are shown as bungling and arrogant characters driven by the obsession to engage the Americans in a war.

Asleep (2015) and 100 Yen Love (2014) reveal superb acting by Sakura Ando in features with radically different settings and intriguing divergent thematic story lines. In Asleep filmed in an elegant minimalistic style we encounter an unemployed young woman Terako who appears to withdraw from reality by excessive sleeping only to wake up when her lover, a married man, calls her. Everyday activities require a tremendous effort and she does not want to get up if she has a good dream. Flashbacks and her talks with a close friend make her behavior plausible. After urging her to start living her friend who passes sexless nights with sleeping strangers commits suicide. When Terako’s lover Iwanago turns out to be married to a comatose woman Terako wakes up and starts working as an interviewer. Intimacy and withdrawal set the boundaries for the film's surprising plot. In Take’s 100 Yen Love, a name also designating a Japanese 24/7 chain store, a totally different milieu is shown far from elegance and an upscale life style. Here semi-skilled workers in a rundown working class neighborhood are presented in an action comedy. Sakura Ando has the role of Ichiko Salto living with her conflictual family who run a fast food take out. Ichiko spends her time with video games and fights with her divorced sister. After moving out she starts working as a sales clerk in the 100 Yen convenience store with disgruntled employees and gets friendly with a boxer. After a dinner on the occasion of the boxer’s last fight her rape by a 100 Yen worker is depicted in a gruesome fashion. She decides to learn boxing and succeeds against all odds. Her transformation from aimless unskilled shop clerk to a professional boxer is extraordinary. Driven by the desire to succeed, she enters a professional match and loses but has proven to herself that she can stand up. The acting of Sakura Ando’s in a difficult role is superb.

The underbelly of Society with its outcasts, misfits, individuals displaced by traumatic experiences, dysfunctional families and the demi monde of criminals is seamlessly documented in The Light Shines Only There by Mipo O. There is no apparent exit for the people grounded in the fringes of this world and hopelessness prevails. We have an unemployed former quarry worker Tatsuo who cannot overcome the memory of an accident he caused costing the life of a fellow worker with his existence shaped by alcoholism, Takuji an energetic parolee working as a gardener in an outfit controlled by a gangster and his sister Chinatsu who is a prostitute but also the gangster’s lover and supports her family. Her parents are an elderly withdrawn mother and an immobile father who had a stroke whose sexual craving is met by the daughter.  In this film darkness and despair prevail. As Chinatsu says, there is nowhere to go. The film was nominated as a foreign language film for the Oscars and received excellent ratings. As Deborah Young observed in the Hollywood Reporter it reflects a fierce character study.

Two appealing productions were devoted to labor conflicts, the oppression and the struggle of common people against dominant groups. Based on actual events the Sanchu Uprising: Voices at Dawn, is a 2014 black and white feature film, set in 1726. It depicts the struggle of farmers with their feudal overlords fighting for an adjustment of taxes. They organized an uprising which was quashed by the samurai.  The film is characterized by remarkable photography, animation and an appealing score.  The documentary The Wages of Resistance: Narita Stories from 2014 by Sanrizuka Ni Ikuru is a brilliant reconstruction of the struggle local agrarian communities were having for decades fighting the construction and expansion of Narita International Airport.  Since other suitable land in that area was owned by the imperial household, the government decided to disown local farmers ever since the plans were articulated in the 1960’s.  Though some peasants sold their farms most refused to do so and formed a coalition with the emerging radical student movement. Many farmers were given this land in their post war relocation and felt deprived because of the many years of work they spend transforming their holdings into farmland and cultivating it. Exhaustive research for this film did generate superb archival material because the different phases of the frequently violent struggle were closely followed by the press. Opposition was initially restricted to peaceful demonstration but evolved into armed struggle because government agencies used police and soldiers to combat the farmers and students, though more protestors were killed than police or military. In the well-organized movement women and young people played crucial roles. Extensive interviews with survivors of the resistance movement including some still in active opposition reveal the motivation for the long term struggle. State power was resisted because the farmers had a close relation to their land.  In some cases the century old cultural tradition of villages was destroyed and communities and their networks of interpersonal relations disappeared.  The Wages of Resistance is an object lesson of the costs and benefits of popular opposition to the government, a collective movement rarely observed today. After all the likelihood of success is no longer plausible nor the language of effective opposition available.

Now functioning as a standalone film festival with an enlarged program Japan Cuts provided an outstanding selection of films and perspectives on current film making tendencies.

Claus Mueller

filmexchange@gmail.com

On the second evening of the Prefestival, tonight, August 4 at 21.30, there will be a screening of the restored print of Federico Fellini's E la nave va, to celebrate 120 years of the major French production and distribution company Gaumont, which co-produced the film in 1983.

The evening, with free entry for all, has been made possible thanks to support from UBS.

The Festival will close on the Piazza Grande with the awards ceremony, on Saturday August 15 at 21.00. A special evening will serve as a coda on Sunday August 16, with a screening of the Italian film Asino vola directed by Marcello Fonte and Paolo Tripodi.

Complete program information is available on the official website (www.pardo.ch), along with all the news, trailers and a range of exclusive content, as well as live streaming of all the Piazza Grande presentations and conversations with the guests of honor.

Piazza Grande Events, 5 August

The opening ceremony will take place Wednesday 5 August on the Piazza Grande at 21.30

Presentation of the official juries of the three competitions 

Excellence Award Moët & Chandon to Edward Norton 

Screening of RICKI AND THE FLASH by Jonathan Demme 

Press Screenings (Teatro Kursaal)

5 August, 14.00, Piazza Grande
RICKI AND THE FLASH by Jonathan Demme

5 August, 16.00, Fuori concorso
ROMEO E GIULIETTA by Massimo Coppola

5 August, 17.15, Concorso internazionale
JAMES WHITE by Josh Mond

5 August, 19.00, Concorso Cineasti del presente
DREAM LAND  by Steve Chen 

5 August, 21.00, Piazza Grande
LA BELLE SAISON by Catherine Corsini

5 August, 21.00, Piazza Grande
LE DERNIER PASSAGE by Pascal Magontier 

5 August, 23.15, Fuori concorso
I SOGNI DEL LAGO SALATO by Andrea Segre

Parallel Events
LO SCATTO DEL PARDO - CONCORSO FOTOGRAFICO

By Maria Esteves – August 7, 2015

The 38th Asian American International Film Festival 2015 (AAIFF15) Closing Night Awards Ceremony hosted by executive director John Woo and festival director Judy Lei, Asian Cinevision, honoring the best independent cinema and emerging directors by Asian and Asian American descent was held at the Museum of Moving Images, Queens, New York, Saturday, August 1, 8:30pm. LIVE FROM UB received two awards including Emerging Director LAUREN KNAPP. AAIFF15 jurors included Theresa Navarro, Patrick Wang and John Woo.

The Asian American International Film Festival founded Asian Cinevision, Inc. (ACV) in 1987, is a national media arts organization that annually presents independent cinema by Asian and Asian Americans, panel discussions, special events, screenplay competition readings, gala receptions and after parties. This year’s festival showcased over 50 films from 9 different countries, 2 World Premieres, and 15 New York Premieres.

AAIFF15 Best Short Award winner, director
Steve Maing, THE SURRENDER.

AAIFF15 One To Watch Award winner, director
Adler Yang, IF THERE IS A REASON TO STUDY.

The AAIFF 2015 winners by category are:

Audience Choice Award

FACTORY BOSS, directed by Zhang Wei (Narrative)

LIVE FROM UB, directed by Lauren Knapp (Documentary)

Emerging Director

JUAN MARTIN HSU for La Salada (Narrative)

JULY JUNG for A Girl at my Door (Narrative)

LAUREN KNAPP for Live From UB (Documentary)

Best Short

THE SURRENDER, directed by Stephen Maing

The Surrender from stephen maing on Vimeo.

One To Watch Award

IF THERE IS A REASON TO STUDY, directed by Adler Yang (Shorts, For Youth By Youth)

Screenplay Competition Award

TIMOTHY DRAIN for East of Western

Piazza Grande Events, 9 August

Pardo d'onore Swisscom to Michael Cimino
Screening of FLORIDE by Philippe Le Guay 
Screening of THE DEER HUNTER by Michael Cimino 


Special Events/Conversations with guest

Conversation with Catherine Corsini, Cécile de France and Philippe Le Guay at 11.00 at the Magnolia (Spazio RSI) hosted by Pierre-Philippe Cadert.

StepIn, Hotel Belvedere, 14.30 – 16.30
Open plenary session on the future of distribution of art-house films in Europe and abroad. In collaboration with Europa International, Europa Distribution, Europa Cinemas and FERA

Alliance For Development, Hotel Belvedere, 17.00 – 18.00
Presentation on new development schemes launched by neighbouring countries of Switzerland (France, Germany, Italy). With a special focus on the bilateral initiatives. In presence of the Federal Office of Culture, Ministero dei beni e delle attività culturali e del turismo, CNC Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée, and Filmföderungsanstalt.


Press Screenings (Teatro Kursaal)

9 August, 09.00, Concorso internazionale
BELLA PERDUTA by Pietro Marcello

9 August, 14.00, Concorso internazionale
NO HOME MOVIE  by Chantal Akerman 

9 August, 16.00, Concorso Cineasti del presente
OLMO & THE SEAGULL by Petra Costa, Lea Glob 

9 August, 18.00, Concorso Cineasti del presente
SIEMBRA by Ángela Osorio Rojas, Santiago Lozano Álvarez 

9 August, 21.00, Piazza Grande
ERLKÖNIG by Georges Schwizgebel 
GUIBORD S’EN VA-T-EN GUERRE by Philippe Falardeau 


Press Conferences (Press Center, Largo Zorzi)

9 August,11.00, Concorso internazionale
BELLA E PERDUTA by Pietro Marcello 

9 August,11.30, Concorso internazionale
TE PROMETO ANARQUÍA by Julio Hernández Cordón 

9 August,12.00, Piazza Grande
FLORIDE by Philippe Le Guay

9 August,12.30, Concorso internazionale
CHANT D'HIVER by Otar Iosselliani


Parallel Events

Magnolia (Spazio RSI), 14.30 
SVFJ/ACJC Panel, Festivals: which space for sponsors?
Participants: Marco Solari, President Festival del film Locarno; Philippe Clivaz, Managing Director Visions du réel, President of the Conférence des festivals; Patrick Cotting, CEO and Chairman of CCI Cotting Consulting Limited; Nadja Schildknecht, Co-Director Zurich Film Festival; Res Strehle, Editor in Chief Tages-Anzeiger. Moderated by: Philippa de Roten, RTS Journalist 

Additional screenings

JAMES WHITE by Josh Mond: Rialto 1 at 18.15
PARDI DI DOMANI INTERNAZIONALE 1: L'Altra Sala at 22.30


Piazza Grande Events, 10 August

Pardo alla carriera to Bulle Ogier
Screening of ERLKÖNIG by Georges Schwizgebel
Screening of GUIBORD S’EN VA-T-EN GUERRE by Philippe Falardeau 


Special Events/Conversations with guest

Round Table Retrospettiva Sam Peckinpah at 10.00 at the Spazio Cinema (Forum) hosted by Roberto Turigliatto with Jean Douchet, Chris Fujiwara, Fernando Ganzo, Katy Haber, Paul Seydor, Garner Simmons

Conversation with Michael Cimino, Pardo d’onore Swisscom, at 13.30 at the Spazio Cinema (Forum) hosted by Stéphane Gobbo

First Look Award Ceremony, at 19.00 at the Sport Café 


Press Screenings (Teatro Kursaal)

10 August, 09.00, Concorso internazionale
HEIMATLAND by Lisa Blatter, Gregor Frei, Jan Gassmann, Benny Jaberg, Carmen Jaquier, Michael Krummenacher, Jonas Meier, Tobias Nölle, Lionel Rupp, Mike Scheiwiller

10 August, 14.00, Concorso internazionale
TIKKUN by Avishai Sivan

10 August, 16.15, Concorso Cineasti del presente
LU BIAN YE CAN (Kaili Blues) by BI Gan

10 August, 18.15, Concorso Cineasti del presente
DEAD SLOW AHEAD by Mauro Herce

10 August, 21.00, Piazza Grande
BOMBAY VELVET by Anurag Kashyap


Press Conference (Press Center, Largo Zorzi)

10 August, 11.00, Concorso internazionale
NO HOME MOVIE by Chantal Akerman 

10 August, 11.30, Concorso internazionale
HEIMATLAND by Lisa Blatter, Gregor Frei, Jan Gassmann, Benny Jaberg, Carmen Jaquier, Michael Krummenacher, Jonas Meier, Tobias Nölle, Lionel Rupp, Mike Scheiwiller

10 August, 12.00, Piazza Grande
ERLKÖNIG by Georges Schwizgebel 

10 August, 12.30, Piazza Grande
GUIBORD S’EN VA-T-EN GUERRE by Philippe Falardeau

Additional screenings

EL MOVIMIENTO by Benjamin Naishtat: Rialto 2 at 09.30
MA DAR BEHESHT by Sina Ataeian Dena: Rialto 1 at 09.00
K2. TOUCHING THE SKY by Eliza Kubarska: Rialto 2 at 17.30 


Piazza Grande Events, 11 August

Open Doors presentation
Screening of BOMBAY VELVET by Anurag Kashyap


Special Events/Conversations with guest

Open Doors Awards Ceremony at 12.00 at the Spazio Cinema (Forum)  hosted by Tiziana Mona

Conversation with Bulle Ogier, Pardo alla Carriera,  at 13.30 at the Spazio Cinema (Forum) hosted by Jean-Michel Frodon.


Press Screenings (Teatro Kursaal)

11 August, 09.00, Concorso internazionale
ENTERTAINMENT by Rick Alverson 

11 August, 14.00, Concorso internazionale
CHEVALIER by Athina Rachel Tsangari

11 August, 16.00, Concorso internazionale
O FUTEBOL by Sergio Oksman 

11 August, 17.30, Concorso Cineasti del presente
LES ÊTRES CHERS by Anne Émond 

11 August, 19.30, Concorso Cineasti del presente
MOJ BRATE – MIO FRATELLO by Nazareno Manuel Nicoletti 

11 August, 21.00, Piazza Grande
PASTORALE CILENTANA  by Mario Martone 
AMNESIA by Barbet Schroeder 


Press Conferences (Press Center, Largo Zorzi)

11 August, 11.00, Concorso internazionale
TIKKUN by Avishai Sivan

11 August, 11.30, Concorso internazionale
ENTERTAINMENT by Rick Alverson 

11 August, 12.00, Piazza Grande
BOMBAY VELVET by Anurag Kashyap


Survey about services and organization

http://survey.pardo.ch/lime/index.php/975977?lang=en


Parallel Events

Rendez-vous du cinéma suisse, Swiss Film Talk, at 14.30 at the Magnolia (Spazio RSI):
International film critics Peter Debruge («Variety»), Boyd van Hoeij («The Hollywood Reporter») and Anne Thompson («Indiewire») take a closer look at Swiss cinematographic works in this programme at the Festival del Film Locarno. Moderated by Catherine Ann Berger (Director, SWISS FILMS), the critics will discuss the following films:

HEIMATLAND by multiple directors (Concorso internazionale)
LA VANITE by Lionel Baier (Piazza Grande)
THE DAY THE SUN FELL by Aya Domenig (Semaine de la Critique)
ABOVE AND BELOW by Nicolas Steiner (Panorama Suisse)

The program is open to the public and organized by SWISS FILMS, in collaboration with the Solothurn Film Festival and the Festival del Film Locarno.

 

Celebrating its 40h anniversary Asian CineVision presented from July 23 to August 1 the 38th edition of the Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) with more than 50 features and shorts from different countries by and about Asian and Asian Americans. Broadly speaking the productions dealt with migration, cultural and social Asian American identities, labor and political issues, the experience of Asian groups in different countries, and the problems of education and growing up.

As distinct from many other film festivals considering their primary function as connecting film makers with theatrical or non-theatrical distribution or new electronic plat forms,  AAIFF is  clearly a community oriented enterprise providing its niche audience with the best films and documentaries from various Asian countries and  services aimed at the Asian American community.   Asian CineVision will prepare again a circulating package of films for communities and other non-theatrical viewing venues. Broader exposure may be problematic anyhow because few theatrical venues would be open to Asian American films. 

Most titles screened were sponsored by community organization and institutions such as The Asia Society, Asian American Association of Time Inc. Tea & Milk, Pan Asian Repertory Theater, Interference Archive, Filipino American National Historical Society, HKETO, New York Asian Women’s Center, and Network of Indian Professionals.

As a new expansion AAIFF staged a significant part of its program in Flushing, a section of Queens which has had a rapid growth of its Asian American population. Chinese, Korean, Indian and other Asian groups now amount to more than half of Flushing's residents. Four days of screening and exhibitions at the Flushing Town Hall were tied to concerns of the Asian American community living there. They covered health and food themes but also local film productions. Asian CineVision is also managing all of the cultural programs of the Flushing Town Hall. As some of the festival was funded by Kickstarter donors, the costs of screening free films in Flushing were raised at the Asia Society opening gala. Most appropriately, the opening night film in Flushing SEOUL SEARCHING by award winning Benson Lee (USA, South Korea, 2015) covered a summer program in Seoul for young Koreans from different countries. Based on true events the film overcomes the stereotypes of the Korean individual and enlightens about the problems of a bi-cultural identity, of connecting to the past and finding a firm sense of self.

Among the special events of the festival were seminars with Arthur Dong, filmmaker of noted documentaries on Asian Americans such as FORBIDDEN USA, 1989 and THE KILLING FIELDS OF DR. HAING S. NGOR, 2015 as well as Dr. Ruby Yang the director of the opening film MY VOICE, MY LIFE;  a Comic Book Master Class with Greg Pak, an acclaimed author and producer, and the screening of the Taiwanese film There is a Reason TO STUDY on an alternative schooling approach by Alden Young  who started this film as a fourteen year old student. For the Screenplay reading EAST OF WESTERN by Tim Drain was selected, a story of a Hispanic outsider who is involved with the Korean mob. Drain’s script was ranked first in the 2015 International Screen Play competition sponsored by AAIFF and SAG-AFTRA.

MY VOICE, MY LIFE, Ruby Yeng, Hong Kong, 2015. The Oscar winning film maker Ruby Yeng directed this documentary which opened the film festival at the Asia Society and synched with the mission of the fest, audience engagement and community orientation through the coverage of important issues.  High school students were recruited from underperforming low ranked Band 3 schools in Hong Kong to participate over several months in a training program for a publicly performed musical. Their close cooperation and rigorous schooling in music, dance, and acting generated a community of young artists who performed well beyond their own expectations.  Several years ago HBO sponsored the SOUND OF BOMBAY project in which lower class Indian high school students were trained to stage with the Bombay Symphony orchestra the Indian version of the Sound of Music.  Ruby Yeng’s project encompassing visually impaired students, withdrawn and troubled ones, and those who had fallen behind their education focused on this venture as an alternative to traditional education which had neglected these students. Whereas the Sound of Bombay resulted in a temporary lift of the participants’ self-esteem, MY VOICE MY LIFE emancipated as a confidence and character building enterprise the high school students providing them with a sense of autonomy and control. As reported by Ruby Yeng consequences ranged from improved relation with the parents, going back to school or planning for college, and plans for their future occupation. In the most touching example a blind student makes his parents accept without fear and shame his condition.

HELL ON WHEELS, AMC, John Wirth, USA 2015.  The inclusion of a cable television program was another new feature of the 2015 AAIFF. Episodes 1 and 3 of the fifth season of HELL ON WHEELS from the AMC cable network were selected coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the Chinese building the West-East section of the Central Pacific railroad. On the basis of extensive research the series presented detailed insights into the everyday life and problems of the Chinese working communities. Without the Chinese immigrant labor the rail road would not have been built because other ethnic groups like the Irish could not endure the heavy task. Yet of the 15,000 laborers no traces were left behind and only one has been identified by name thus far. The episodes were most instructive showing the life style of the Chinese in the rail road camps and the antagonism they faced. The similarities between minority issues of that period and today’s conflicts with Latin American workers are startling. The acting performance of the principals was noteworthy.  Given the diversity and segmentation of the US television audience other series focusing on the Chinese community are now feasible.

FOR HERE OR TO GO? Rucha Humnabadkar, USA, 2014. Focusing on the high tech west coast communities this feature illustrates the impact of the recession in the USA on students and interns from India whose jobs and visas are no longer secure. They are forced to stay in their employment and cannot switch jobs and if they change need new sponsors. If they registered for a college that is not accredited their visa can be voided. Immigration authorities have little sympathy and some consider going back to India. Yet if they have lived for years in the United States it is difficult to readjust and to return to a setting no longer closely familiar to them, not knowing if they actually fit in.

THE KILLING FIELDS OF DR. HAING S. NGOR, Arthur Dong, USA, 2015.   When he received in 1984 an Oscar for his supporting role in The Killing Fields Haing Ngor came into national attention and used this platform to educate many Americans about the Khmer Rouge and their devastating role in the Cambodian genocide that killed millions of people. This documentary by Arthur Dong uses Ngor’s autobiography as the backbone for telling his story from early childhood in Cambodia’s capital. Raised by an upscale family he has a comfortable life without worries and becomes a physician. He experiences no concerns about the future until the Khmer Rouge occupied Pnomh Penh in 1975 and evacuated the city’s population for forced labor in the country side. Since the Khmer Rouge killed all educated people Ngor did not reveal his background and was able to survive. In other parts of the film his escape from Cambodia is shown, work in border refugee camps, eventual passage and settlement in the United States and his establishment of a foundation to help orphans and the rebuilding of Cambodia. From 1984 - 1996 he worked as actor in film and television. He was murdered in 1996 because he refused to surrender to street criminals a gold locket with the image of his wife who had been killed in the Cambodian, his only remaining memento.  Arthur Dong’s documentary is a superb achievement, given its unique construction, comprehensive research, and faithful representation of Cambodia’s history. Haing Dhor literally speaks to us through the film because there is an abundance of his spoken reflections from many interviews and speeches, complemented by rare archival footage of Cambodia.  Animation covers the gaps for which there is no visual material and sections from his book are voiced over.  This film is one of the best and most accessible introductions to recent Cambodian history because of the personalization of the tragedy. 

FACTORY BOSS, Wei Zhang, China 2014. Connecting issues in China’s slow shift towards a value added and service oriented economy the feature FACTORY BOSS is an important part of the festival. It depicts the struggle of a traditional plastic toy factory owner to preserve his company and the jobs of his large labor force.  Wei Zhang worked on this film for seven years basing the story on news reports. Overcoming the obstacles of a changing global economy and export driven production is an unchartered theme in Chinese features. Facing competition from lower labor cost countries, the increase in the cost of raw materials and a likely raise of the mandated minimum wage Lin Dalin never the less is forced to agree to a contract with an American corporation with a razor thin profit. As he argues in court proceedings he could have sold the company but decided instead to keep his workers employed. Compelling the workers to overtime, an accident in the factory, a lawyer promising workers rich rewards if they sue the factory owner, failure to pass an international inspection, an undercover journalist reporting the sweat shop conditions of the factory, and labor unrest create a crisis Lin Dalin cannot overcome. As he puts it “How long will made in China last? If all factories close where will the workers go” His company goes bankrupt because the contract is cancelled by the US corporation. He argues in court proceedings that he could have sold the company but decided instead to keep his workers employed. FACTORY BOSS sheds a new perspective on the turmoil of Chinese economic development in a film that has no winners. The outstanding script and acting by Anlian Yao in the complex role of Lin Dalin has already received several awards. Though the Factory Boss story goes back to 2008, the Wall Street Journal reported in August 2015 that the Ever Force Toys & Electronics factory in Dongguan which supplies the US Mattel Corporation closed down under similar circumstances.
A YOUNG PATRIOT, Hainin Du China, 2015. Premiering in the United States after receiving the Jury Prize at the Hong Kong film festival this documentary tracks the life story of a young Chinese man from the post eighties on. We follow the transformation from being a firm believer in communism parading the streets in old army cloth and a Chinese flag shouting political slogans to a grown up photographer who has turned critical if not cynical of the government, questioning the integrity of officials. Coming from a poor background his family takes out loans to fund his studies, and he follows the patriotic route of becoming a student union leader and working as a volunteer teacher in a remote area. Patriotism stays for the most part a virtue, yet exposure to poverty and the contrast of dogmatism of the university instructors glorifying the government and the conditions he observes sobers his political views. His work as a photographer generates an objective close rapport to actual reality, the way things are rather as they are supposed to be. Publicly he does not dissent overtly, yet privately he voices opposition. His views are reinforced when his home is demolished through an urban renewal project. The stress leads to his grandfather’s death. When filming the destruction from the roof of his home he shouts “You are killing the people” The film closes after the funeral with an image of a white statue of Mao whose head is covered, a symbolic statement about the film. In contrast with past filmmaking, this feature and FACTORY BOSS present critical views of contemporary China without being hampered by censorship.

The 2015 edition of the Asian American International Film Festival provided a stimulating selection of quality productions and a convincing case for the community.

Claus Mueller

filmexchange@gmail.com

Savage Cinema presents its largest and most diverse selection of titles to date.

In this year’s line-up, the section announces six movies and two shorts, including the first Spanish production in the section and state of the art films about sports such as kayaking, car racing and climbing.

The first films on sporting feats in natural settings were the European tales of mountain climbing in the early 20th century; those stories gained popularity and soon spread the desire to immortalise challenges and passions in other sports. Savage Cinema, in collaboration with Red Bull Media House, was created to bring these films to a broader public. This year’s selection for “Savage Cinema” demonstrates the excellent health and broad variety of Adventure and Action Sports movies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional screening

COSMOS by Andrzej Zulawski: Rialto 1 at 09.00
BRACIA (BROTHERS) by Wojciech Staroń: Rialto 2 at 16.45


Piazza Grande Events, 12 August

Premio Cinema Ticino to Teco Celio
Screening of PASTORALE CILENTANA by Mario Martone 
Screening of AMNESIA by Barbet Schroeder 


Press Screenings (Teatro Kursaal)

12 August, 09.00, Concorso internazionale
THE SKY TREMBLES AND THE EARTH IS AFRAID AND THE TWO EYES ARE NOT BROTHERS by Ben Rivers

12 August, 14.00, Concorso internazionale
JIGEUMEUN MATGO GEUTTAENEUN TEULLIDA (Right Now, Wrong Then) by HONG Sangsoo  

12 August, 21.00, Piazza Grande
LA VANITÉ by Lionel Baier

12 August, 23.00, Piazza Grande
QING TIAN JIE YI HAO (The Laundryman) by LEE Chung


Press Conferences (Press Center, Largo Zorzi)

12 August, 11.00, Concorso internazionale
CHEVALIER by Athina Rachel Tsangari

12 August, 11.30, Concorso internazionale
THE SKY TREMBLES AND THE EARTH IS AFRAID AND THE TWO EYES ARE NOT BROTHERS by Ben Rivers 

12 August, 12.00, Concorso internazionale
O FUTEBOL by Sergio Oksman 

12 August, 12.30, Piazza Grande
AMNESIA by Barbet Schroeder 

12 August, 13.00, Piazza Grande
PASTORALE CILENTANA  by Mario Martone 

The Montreal World Film Festival is proud to announce the line-up of its World Competition as well as First Feature Competition. Members of both Juries are also public as of today. “Over the decades, the MWFF has achieved its cultural and an economic mission by offering audiences and professionals a multitude of films, of all genres and provenances,” stated Serge Losique who added “An institution recognized by cineastes the world over, this great cinematic institution has always worked hard to assure its perenniality. It has always been about bringing to Montreal screens the new and interesting films that constitute the best showcase of essential cinema culture.”

This year the number of entries to the MWFF sections has overtaken those of previous years : over 2000 feature and short films (in equal proportion) have been screened by the selection commitee not mentioning the other films viewed during festivals abroad. The number of countries within the selection highlights this increase as 86 countries will be representred during the 39th edition of the Festival. There are 36 World Premieres in those competitions.

World Competition

26 Feature films from 31 pays will compete for the Grand Prize of the Americas.

2 Nights Till Morning by Mikko Kuparinen (Finland-Lithuania) 84 mins

A Havana Moment by Guillermo Ivàn Duenas (USA – Cuba - Mexico – Colombia)

A Matter of Courage byRoberto Gervitz (Brazil – Uruguay) 90 mins

Chucks by Sabine Hiebler, Gerhard Ertl (Austria) 93 mins

Demimonde by Attila  Szàsz (Hungary) 88 mins

Gassoh by Tatsuo Kobayashi  (Japan) 87 mins

Getaway of Love by Tonino Zangardi (Italy) 90 mins

Grey and Black byLuís Filipe Rocha (Portugal – Brazil)

Happy 140 by Gracia Querejeta (Spain) 98 mins

John Hron by Jon Pettersson (Sweden) 127 mins

L’Accabadora by Enrico Pau (Italy – Ireland) 97 mins

Mad Love by Philippe Ramos (France) 96 mins

Memories of the Wind by Özcan Alper (Turkey - Germany - France – Georgia) 140 mins

My Enemies by Stéphane Géhami (Canada) 106 mins

On the Road to Berlin by Sergei Popov (Russia) 82 mins

The Montreal World Film Festival is proud to announce the line-up of its World Competition as well as First Feature Competition. Members of both Juries are also public as of today. “Over the decades, the MWFF has achieved its cultural and an economic mission by offering audiences and professionals a multitude of films, of all genres and provenances,” stated Serge Losique who added “An institution recognized by cineastes the world over, this great cinematic institution has always worked hard to assure its perenniality. It has always been about bringing to Montreal screens the new and interesting films that constitute the best showcase of essential cinema culture.”

This year the number of entries to the MWFF sections has overtaken those of previous years : over 2000 feature and short films (in equal proportion) have been screened by the selection commitee not mentioning the other films viewed during festivals abroad. The number of countries within the selection highlights this increase as 86 countries will be representred during the 39th edition of the Festival. There are 36 World Premieres in those competitions.

World Competition

26 Feature films from 31 pays will compete for the Grand Prize of the Americas.

2 Nights Till Morning by Mikko Kuparinen (Finland-Lithuania) 84 mins

A Havana Moment by Guillermo Ivàn Duenas (USA – Cuba - Mexico – Colombia)

A Matter of Courage by Roberto Gervitz (Brazil – Uruguay) 90 mins

Chucks by Sabine Hiebler, Gerhard Ertl (Austria) 93 mins

Demimonde by Attila  Szàsz (Hungary) 88 mins

Gassoh by Tatsuo Kobayashi  (Japan) 87 mins

Getaway of Love by Tonino Zangardi (Italy) 90 mins

Grey and Black byLuís Filipe Rocha (Portugal – Brazil)

Happy 140 by Gracia Querejeta (Spain) 98 mins

John Hron by Jon Pettersson (Sweden) 127 mins

L’Accabadora by Enrico Pau (Italy – Ireland) 97 mins

Mad Love by Philippe Ramos (France) 96 mins

Memories of the Wind by Özcan Alper (Turkey - Germany - France – Georgia) 140 mins

My Enemies by Stéphane Géhami (Canada) 106 mins

On the Road to Berlin by Sergei Popov (Russia) 82 mins

Outliving Emily by Eric Weber (USA) 88 mins

Rider Jack by This Lüscher (Switzerland) 90 mins

Secret by Selim Evci (Turkey) 102 mins

Seven Days by Xing Jian (China) 73 mins

Summer Solstice by Michal Rogalski (Poland – Germany) 95 mins

Taboo by Khosro Masoumi (Iran) 108 mins

The Invisible Artery by Pere Vilà Barcelo (Spain) 119 mins

The Midnight Orchestra by Jérôme Cohen Olivar (Morocco) 114 mins

The Petrov File by Georgi Balabanov (Bulgaria – Germany) 90 mins

The Soul of a Spy by Vladimir Bortko (Russia) 110 mins

The Visitor by Mehmet Erylimaz (Turkey) 127 mins

First Feature Competition 

The 39th Montreal World Film Festival and its International Film Market will take place from August 27th to September 7th 2015.

Once again, recently closed Fantasia International Film Festival (19th edition, July 14 - August 5, Montreal 2015), the largest genre film festival in North America, has offered an incredible program. Among 22 world premieres, a special place belongs to She Who Must Burn, a “burning” piece by legendary iconoclastic filmmaker Larry Kent, pioneer of Canadian independent scene since early 1960ies. Unfortunately, Kent is not so widely known even in Canada, yet he made more than a dozen features (plus shorts and documentaries), including his controversial debut The Bitter Ash (1963). Some of his movies were banned in many countries around the world. He has influenced and inspired a number of filmmakers, including David Cronenberg. And in this particular case, it should be emphasized that although She Who Must Burn is the work of a filmmaker in his early 80ies, the energy this intelligent piece emits is such, that many young maverick filmmakers should be a bit jealous of.

She Who Must Burn is a profound, thought-provoking and, above all, an honest movie that brilliantly speaks about our flawed human nature. This is a story about an influential group of religious fanatics that fights against abortion rights in a little rural town. During the course of the movie, their main target, or She from the title, becomes a young woman who runs an abortion counseling service, and soon enough, she would be even blamed for miscarriages. The ominous atmosphere that skillfully grows throughout the movie culminates in an uncompromising ending of (literally) biblical proportions – a devastating storm! Personally, the most disturbing is the very end, where the local sheriff (as representative of our law and order) is peeking into the tragic events and doing nothing, defeated by both, laws of nature and superstition, i.e. conquered by our pagan heritage without any resistance.

Questioning our primal fears and essential powerlessness, this parable is like a slap in the face to our contemporary society. The great script (written by Larry Kent and Shane Twerdun who plays the local pastor), the very precise directing, the convincing performances, the intriguing music score, the micro-budget, altogether lift this piece up to a higher level, making She Who Must Burn an important Canadian movie, well deserved winner of a newly established award – Barry Convex Award for best Canadian Feature or Co-Production (yes, that Barry, the master manipulator from the Cronenberg’s cult classic Videodrome). Very powerful!

Press Conference of the Official Juries

This year the press conference of the official juries awards will take place tomorrow, August 15, at 15.00 at the Press Center, without embargo. The press conference will be live streamed at this addess:

http://pardolive.ch/pardo/pardo-live/today-at-festival/live-article

The press release will follow and will include the independent juries awards. 

The award ceremony will take place at 21.00 on the Piazza Grande.
The independent juries ceremony will be at 17.00 at the Spazio Cinema (Forum). 


Additional screenings

HEIMATLAND by Lisa Blatter, Gregor Frei, Jan Gassmann, Benny Jaberg, Carmen Jaquier, Michael Krummenacher, Jonas Meier, Tobias Nölle, Lionel Rupp, Mike Scheiwiller: Rialto 3 at 11.00
LES ÊTRES CHERS by Anne Émond: Rialto 1 at 11.00
CHEVALIER by Athina Rachel Tsangari: Rialto 1 at 13.15
BELLA E PERDUTA by Pietro Marcello: Rialto 1 at 15.15
TIKKUN by Avishai Sivan: Rialto 1 at 17.00
LAMPEDUSA IN WINTER by Jakob Brossmann: Rialto 2 at 17.00 


Piazza Grande Events, 15 August

Official Awards Ceremony
Screening of HELIOPOLIS by Sérgio Machado


Special Events/Conversations with guest

Conversation with Marco Bellocchio, Pardo d'onore Swisscom at 10.30 at Spazio Cinema (Forum) hosted by Carlo Chatrian

Independent Jury Awards Cerenomy at 17.00 at the Spazio Cinema (Forum) hosted by Tiziana Mona.


Press Conferences (Press Center, Largo Zorzi)

15 August, 15.00
Palmarès Press Conference with Official Jury Members

15 August, 12.00
ASINO VOLA by Marcello Fonte, Paolo Tripodi 

HONG Sangsoo, Pardo d’oro 2015 
© Festival del film Locarno

 

Saturday August 15 saw the awards ceremony at the 68th Festival del film Locarno. The 2015 edition, the third under Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian, was highly successful and was crowned with the award of the Pardo d’oro to the film RIGHT NOW, WRONG THEN by the South Korean director HONG Sangsoo.

The Festival’s President Marco Solari officially closed the 68th edition with the statement: “The Festival’s 2015 edition consolidates its national and internationfal position in qualitative terms. A Festival that looks forward, with humility and faith in its own strengths, but knowing it can afford no mistakes. A Festival that uncompromisingly defends the freedom of choice, autonomy and independence of the Artistic Directorate and the juries, an artistic freedom that is the very rationale for the Locarno event.”

Carlo Chatrian comments “For eleven days Locarno has been the home for cinema that we promised in our presentations. I salute the generosity of the guests of this 68th edition, who have, through their presence, not only propelled this celebration of cinema but have also verbally illuminated the program. I am happy with the prize-list but also with all those directors, actors and professionals who have offered us such a range of emotions, entertainment, passion and amazement. Finally I want to thank this Festival’s extraordinary audience, their curiosity and pertinence: their untiring loyalty and passion constitutes Locarno’s real treasure trove.”

COO Mario Timbal made an initial analysis of the figures: “We are assuredly more than satisfied with the way the Festival has gone. The weather, with sweltering heat at the start and then rain in the last few days, once again demonstrated the Festival audience’s generosity and attachment to the event. A generosity that is reflected in the warmth of their response to the screenings and events. Attendance was high, in line with that of the previous edition: the Festival’s eleven days recorded 164,000 viewers (2014: 166,800). The Piazza Grande saw a slight increase (c. 66,000 = + c. 1%), while in the cinemas there was a slight fluctuation, a positive outcome if one takes into consideration that last year the rainy weather led to a record number of viewers at the cinema venues during the day. There were 4,209 (2014: 4,232) accreditations, while the number of journalists and photographers attending Locarno was 937 (2014: 962); a slight decrease, mainly involving professionals from Europe and affected by by the rise in the Swiss franc, which did not, however, have such a generally adverse effect as had been expected. The number of film industry representatives who participated in the Festival, however rose, with 1,105 Industry accreditations (2014: 1’049).”

The 2015 Festival’s list of prize-winners, along with press articles, the photo gallery and the “In Conversation” sessions with honored guests, are available on www.pardo.ch

The 69th Festival del film Locarno will take August 3 –13, 2016.

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NEXT BLAST TO FILMMAKERS WITH FESTIVALS IN FOCUS LEAVES July 30 be on it

> Locarno Dailies August 5 - 15, 2015 

Locarno awards, Zulawski best director

  Concorso internazionale Pardo d’oro JIGEUMEUN MATGO GEUTTAENEUN TEULLIDA (Right Now, Wrong Then) by HONG Sangsoo, South Korea Premio speciale della giuria (Special Jury Prize) TIKKUN by Avishai Sivan, Israel Pardo per la miglior regia (Best direction) ANDRZEJ ZULAWSKI for COSMOS, France/Portugal Pardo per la miglior interpretazione femminile (Best actress) TANAKA SACHIE, KIKUCHI HAZUKI, MIHARA MAIKO, KAWAMURA RIRA for HAPPY HOUR by HAMAGUCHI Ryusuke, Japan Pardo...

 

68th Locarno wrapped up

Locarno has just drawn to a close. HONG Sangsoo, Pardo d’oro 2015  © Festival del film Locarno     Saturday August 15 saw the awards ceremony at the 68th Festival del film Locarno. The 2015 edition, the third under Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian, was highly successful and was crowned with the award of the Pardo d’oro to the film RIGHT NOW, WRONG THEN by...

 

 

 

Locarno Awards for Open Doors 2015 announced

Today saw the announcement of the awards for the Open Doors Co-production Lab, organized with support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. The 2015 session of Open Doors is devoted to films from the four Maghreb countries Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia. The Co-production Lab (August 8 – 11) aims to bring together the finalist directors and producers with potential ...

 

First Look Award 2015

The fifth edition of First Look — the Festival del film Locarno initiative aiming to showcase films in post-production — has presented six Israeli films. Each one was introduced by its producer to various world sales agents and festival programmers attending the Industry Days. The jury for First Look 2015, comprising Karel Och (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival’s Artistic Director), J...

 

Michael Cimino Award acceptance video

American director, screenwriter and producer, Michael Cimino received a Pardo d'onore Swisscom. Born in New York City, he had a classical education, graduating from Yale University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master of Fine Arts. After the Army, he embarked on a successful career in advertising commercials. He moved to Hollywood where he wrote his first original screenplay (and made his directorial debut) with Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974), starri...

 

Luc Besson and Melanie Griffith video capture

 

Luc Besson and Melanie Griffith on the Red Carpet of the 67° Festival del film Locarno. On August 6, 2015.   ...

 

 

Carlo Chatrian, Locarno Artistic Director, introduces the festival in a few words

Locarno: The home of images Carlo Chatrian words of introduction to the festival Let’s start with the Piazza Grande films: Ricki and the Flash tells a story that is extraordinary for American cinema, to wit, a mother who, having abandoned the home (the classical luxury villa) for a modest apartment to pursue her independent dreams, returns when it is in crisis, and, even if walking on eggshells, animates it with her personality, her look, her spirit. A family home, solid as a rock, is...

 

Women in the Industry: Spotlight on Success Stories in Locarno (10 August, 2:30pm, Hotel Belvedere)

 

This panel investigates the success of films made by women directors, producers, screenwriters, etc. Are women films doing well in box-office figures, awards, return on investment? Do they tell new stories? How do experienced women filmmakers reflect on their success? International experts will present their findings in a moderated debate with the audience.  This interactive panel investigates the success of films made by women directors, producers, screenwriters, camerawomen, etc....

 

Doc Alliance Selection Award (August 8, 11:30am, Hotel Belvedere)

The aim of the Doc Alliance initiative, a creative partnership of seven key European documentary film festivals: CPH:DOX Copenhagen, Doclisboa, Docs Against Gravity FF, DOK Leipzig, FID Marseille, Jihlava IDFF, Visions du Réel Nyon, is to advance the documentary genre, support its diversity and continuously promote quality creative documentary films. The Doc Alliance platform awards the best European Documentary nominated independently by each of the platform’s festival members a...

 

PUENTES – Europe: Latin America Producers Workshop in Locarno (August 6 – 10)

 

Throughout the 6 years of its existence, PUENTES has become the most relevant and successful training programme for developing European-Latin American co-production. The programme will bring together fourteen producers and other professionals from Europe and Latin America to work on feature film projects in development. They will be working together throughout the year with leading experts from both continents on script development, pitching, co-production, financing, legal aspects, marketing...

 

Bridging the Dragon (bridging the European and Chinese film industries)

Bridging the Dragon (August 4 – 10, Hotel Monteverità) The process of bridging the European and Chinese film industries is related to the need to find content that can be appealing to both audiences, and which can overcome the differences in terms of culture, language and market. With this in mind, Bridging the Dragon is organising the first Sino-European content lab programme, taking place in Songjiang/Shanghai and Locarno. The labs gather 10 teams (director/producer) ...

 

Panel on the Visibility of Swiss Films on VOD Platforms August 8

 

Horizontes de Eileen Hofer à Locarno

 

Horizontes de Eileen Hofer continue sa belle ascension en festival. Après avoir fait sa première mondiale à Visions du Réel et sa première internationale à Karlovy Vary Le documentaire sera projeté à Locarno (section Panorama Suisse) le vendredi 7 août à 11h au FEVI  Après sa première mondiale à Visions du Réel et sa première internationale à Karlovy Va...

 

Edward Norton opens Locarno 68th edition with the screening of Fight Club

    Edward Norton, the screening of Fight Club The 68th edition of the Festival del film Locarno will open with Edward Norton, who will introduce Fight Club at the Auditorium FEVI at 14.00, before receiving the Excellence Award Moët & Chandon on the Piazza Grande. As per tradition, the opening day will be characterized by a series of screenings in the sections Histoire(s) du cinéma, the Retrospettiva Sam Peckinpah and Open Doors. At 14.00, at the Audito...

 

Locarno Events, 15 August

Locarno Events, 14 August

Locarno Events, 13 August

Locarno Events, 12 August

Locarno Events, 10 August

locarno Events, 11 August

Locarno Events, 10 August

Locarno Events, 9 August

Locarno Events, 7 August
Locarno Events, 6 August

Locarno Events, 5 August

 

 

 

>  Mostra Internazionale d Arte Cinematografica Venice September 2 -12, 2015

Jonathan Demme to preside over the International Jury of the Orizzonti section

The members of the international Jury of the Orizzonti section, in addition to its president, American director Jonathan Demme, are: · French director and screenwriter Alix Delaporte, in competition in Venice in 2014 with Le dernier coup de marteau (The Last Hammer Blow), for whichRomain Paul won the “Marcello Mastroianni” Prize · Spanish actress Paz Vega, who rose to international stardom in 20...

 

>  Toronto Film Festival Dailies September 10 - 20, 2015

2015 TIFF Industry Conference confirms special guests: ...

BILL HADER, ASIF KAPADIA, JIA ZHANG-KE, GIGI PRITZKER AND NICOLAS CHARTIER JOIN TIFF INDUSTRY CONFERENCE AT THE 2015 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL TORONTO ─ TIFF unveiled today special guests confirmed for the 2015 TIFF Industry Conference. The seven-day conference will feature 200 speakers and will include intimate conversations with industry powerhouse Gigi Pritzker and financing mogul Nicolas Chartier, and an Asian Film Summit Master Class with acclaimed filmmaker Jia Zhangke. Actor,...

 

The Toronto International Film Festival Names Its Inaugural Platform Jury: JIA ZHANG-KE. CLAIRE DENIS. AGNIESZKA HOLLAND.

The Toronto International Film Festival® today announced the inaugural jury for Platform, the new programme to champion directors’ cinema from around the world. This year, the three-person international jury is composed of acclaimed filmmakers Jia Zhang-ke, Claire Denis and Agnieszka Holland. Together, they will award a prize of $25,000 to the best film in the programme, to be announced at the Awards Ceremony on September 20, 2015.  ...

 

First round of titles premiering in the Galas and Special Presentations at TIFF40

Piers Handling, CEO and Director of TIFF, and Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of the Toronto International Film Festival, announced the first round of titles premiering in the Galas and Special Presentations programmes of the 40th Toronto International Film Festival®. Of the 15 Galas and 34 Special Presentations announced, this initial lineup includes films from such acclaimed directors as Ridley Scott, Michael Moore, Deepa Mehta, Lenny Abrahamson, Brian Helgeland, Charlie Kaufman and D...

 

Jean-Marc Vallée’s Demolition will open the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.

Jean-Marc Vallée’s Demolition will open the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts, Chris Cooper and Judah Lewis, Demolition will have its world premiere on September 10 at Roy Thomson Hall. “Over the years the Festival has been proud to present Jean-Marc Vallée’s feature films including Black List, C.R.A.Z.Y., Café de Flore, The Young Victoria, Dallas Buyers Club and Wild,” said Piers Handling, Director and C...

> San Sebastian Dailies September 18-26, 2015 

''Regression'', by Alejandro Amenábar, will open the 63rd San Sebastian Festival

Alejandro Amenábar’s latest film, Regression, will open the coming edition of the San Sebastian Festival. The world premiere of the film, presented in the Official Selection out of competition, will take place on September 18 in the Kursaal Auditorium.   Regression has an international cast headlining Ethan Hawke, Emma Watson, David Thewlis and David Dencik. In his sixth feature fi...

 

"London Road" a musical to close San Sebastian fest

The film ''London Road'', by Rufus Norris, will close the San Sebastian Festival The 63rd San Sebastian Festival will come to a close on September 26 with the out of competition screening of the British film London Road, fresh from the Toronto Festival. Produced by BBC Films, the British Film Institute and the National Theatre and directed by Rufus Norris with a screenplay by Alecky Blythe and music by Adam Cork, the film is a big-screen adaptation of the musical of the sam...

 

Savage Cinema films announced

 Savage Cinema presents its largest and most diverse selection of titles to date. In this year’s line-up, the section announces six movies and two shorts, including the first Spanish production in the section and state of the art films about sports such as kayaking, car racing and climbing....

 

Official Selection at the 63rd edition of the San Sebastian Festival

Terence Davies, Lucile Hadzihalilovic, Mamoru Hosoda, Jean-Marie and Arnaud Larrieu, Philippe Lesage, Rúnar Rúnarsson, Levan Tutberidze and Ben Wheatley to compete in the Official Selection at the 63rd edition of the San Sebastian Festival Terence Davies, Lucile Hadzihalilovic, Mamoru Hosoda, Jean-Marie and Arnaud Larrieu, Philippe Lesage, Rúnar Rúnarsson, Levan Tutberidze and Ben Wheatley to compete in the Official Selection at the 63rd edition of the San Sebastian ...

 

16 projects in development from 17 countries will be presented at the IV Europe-Latin America Co-production Forum

The Forum will run on September 21, 22 and 23 at the 63rd edition of the San Sebastian Festival   Fifteen projects, the majority as yet unseen at international co-production gatherings, have been selected from among the total of 173 projects submitted from 21 countries. Furthermore, in the framework of the Festival’s collaboration with the Ibermedia Programme, one project, selected at the Workshop to develop film projects from Central America and the Caribbean, will participate in...

> Montreal Dailies August 27 - September 7, 2015

The 39th MWFF unveils the lineup of its World Competition and first feature competition

The Montreal World Film Festival is proud to announce the line-up of its World Competition as well as First Feature Competition. Members of both Juries are also public as of today. “Over the decades, the MWFF has achieved its cultural and an economic mission by offering audiences and professionals a multitude of films, of all genres and provenances,” stated Serge Losique who added “An institution recognized by cineastes the world over, this great cinematic institution has alw...

 

Jury of the First Feature Prize Montreal 2015

  Pierre-Henri Deleau Pierre-Henri Deleau began his career as an assistant director to Jacques Doniol-Valcroze and Pierre Kast and then as a director in educational television. He directed a short, Virginie ou la double rupture, in 1969.  He is the co-founder of the FILMOBLIC production house which produced or co-produced films by Hugo Santiago, Jean-Louis Comolli, Jean-François Dion, Claude Miller, Edouardo de Gregorio and Jean-Pierre Lefebvre. In 1969, he co-founded the Di...

 

Muhammad by Iranian director Majid Majidi will open Montreal FFM 2015

The latest film by renowned Iranian director Majid Majidi (3-time winner of the Grand Prix des Amériques) will open the festival and have its world premiere at the 39th Montreal World Film Festival, it was announced. This 171-minute epic on the early years of the prophet of Islam is, with a budget of over $50 million, the most expensive film ever made in Iran, and has been in production for five years. “The Festival is very proud to be able to host the premiere of this imp...

> PARTNERS FESTIVAL NEWS  

World Trailer Awards - London October 16

Early Bird Deadline July 30th, 2015

Announcing Call for Entry for the Inaugural World Trailer Awards in partnership with filmfestivals.com

Kicks off in London this fall.

Earlybird Deadline is July 30th

For more information and to submit your trailer, please visit to www.Worldtrailerawards.com

Website I Submit I  Facebook I Twitter I Contact Evelyn Waters

MANHATTAN SHORT 2015  September 25 to October 4, 2015 

Final Call For Entries: Deadline July 31.

Filmmakers have until July 31st to get their films and screenplays into NYC if they hope to be part of the 18th Annual MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival to take place in over 250 cinemas across 6 continents. MANHATTAN SHORT is more than just one of the largest short film festivals in the world today, it’s the world’s first and only global film festival.

Manhattan Short on Filmfestivals.com I Website I Submit on Filmfreeway I Submit on Manhattan Short I Facebook I Twitter I Contact Nick Mason

The World of Film Festival October 1-4 2015

The World of Film Festival, formerly known as Commonwealth Film & Theatre Festival Glasgow is coming back for its second edition October 1-4 2015. In four days full of film screenings, theatre performances, live events, panel discussions and networking receptions WoFF will bring new, more vibrant and youthful vibe to the city’s emerging film and theatre scene.

WoFF’s errand is to bring together audiences from Glasgow’s multi-stranded art scene, while at the same time engaging people with powerful background in film and theatre that will bring fresh ideas, filling the gaps in Glasgow’s film and theatre events’ agenda.

WoFF Glasgow's blog on filmfestivals.com I Website: www.woffglasgow.com I Submit 

> FILMS IN FOCUS  

For festival consideration: 

Pseudonym, for festival consideration

First feature by french actor director Thierry Sebban. Produced by la Petite Reine (The Artist) and Diabolo Films (The Suicide Shop).
Synopsis:  Alex is a divorced father, a stressed executive. His daily routine is work, work, work. Tonight he's in a hurry, he's due to meet a beautiful young stranger... who contacted him via the internet. But this blind date will flip him into a downward spiral and disrupt forever the course of his life.  Thriller, 75 min., Scope, Dolby 5.1  Directed by Thierry Sebban  Starring: Simon Abkarian, Igor Skreblin, Perrine Tourneux... Email us for a screener

Rooted in Peace by Greg Reitman

ROOTED in PEACE, 97 minutes - 2015

Documentary by SUNDANCE alum GREG REITMAN (Sundance Audience Award Winner for fhis first documentary 'Fuel')

Starring: Deepak Chopra, Donovan, Mike Love, David Lynch, Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire, Pete Seeger, Ted Turner, Archbishop Desmond Tutu

"ROOTED in PEACE challenges viewers to examine their values as Americans and human beings. Today we are at war within ourselves, with our environment, and with the world. Director and award-winning filmmaker Greg Reitman invites viewers on a film journey to take notice of the world we live in, proactively seek ways to find personal and ecological peace, and stop the cycle of violence".

www.filmfestivals.com/blog/greg_reitman/ 

Selection of Films for your consideration

38th Asian American International Film Festival Awards

By Maria Esteves – August 7, 2015 The 38th Asian American International Film Festival 2015 (AAIFF15) Closing Night Awards Ceremony hosted by executive director John Woo and festival director Judy Lei, Asian Cinevision, honoring the best independent cinema and emerging directors by Asian and Asian American descent was held at the Museum of Moving Images, Queens, New York, Saturday, August 1, 8:30pm. LIVE FROM UB received two awards including Emerging Director LAUREN KNAPP. AAIFF15 jurors i...

 

AMY to Become Biggest Ever British Documentary at the UK Box Office

Altitude Film Distribution’s AMY is poised to overtake director Asif Kapadia’s 2010 film SENNA to become the highest-grossing British documentary of all time, at the UK box office. With AMY currently sitting on £3.16million, SENNA’s lifetime box office total of £3.17million will undoubtedly be surpassed in the next 24 hours.   Following AMY’s July 3rd release, the documentary, about the late Amy Winehouse, received the biggest ever opening weekend for a...

Revolution will screen at Life Sciences Film Festival

The Life Sciences Film Festival (LSFF, 12–17 October, 2015), an international festival of documentary films on natural and agricultural sciences and sustainable development, has started accepting film entries! The LIFE SCIENCES FILM FESTIVAL was founded in 2010 on the basis of the initiative of former and current students of CULS in Prague, in reaction to the deficit in the presentation of audiovisual works focusing on natural and agricultural sciences.   The festival is parti...

 

Revolution selected at 8th Boston Green Fest this month

Do not miss the 8th Annual Boston GreenFest ! This is the region's largest multicultural environmental music festival. Boston GreenFest is a celebration of life and possibility, providing you with ideas and experiences that can shape your life and the life of your community. Our goal is to inform EVERYONE as to the many ways green living can make a positive impact on our world, city, neighborhoods and each of us. The three days have something of value for everyone - the fes...

 

Revolution to screen at American Conservation Film Festival

OCTOBER 23-25 & NOV 1, 2015   The American Conservation Film Festival is an annual event held in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, a vibrant arts community 70 miles west of the nation’s capital.  The ACFF features films from a diverse group of conservation filmmakers around the world. As part of our mission, the ACFF: Provides a venue for a diverse range of conservation films that rarely recei...

 

50 films lined up at the Milan Festival Internazionale del Cinema d'Arte

50 films in the final 21 Countries bring the world to the screen     Cifra tonda per la selezione del Festival Internazionale del Cinema d'Arte: sono 50 i film finalisti, provengono da 21 Nazioni! Il comitato di selezione li ha scelti tra le oltre 500 opere ricevute in concorso per la 14° edizione del Festival. ...

 

Zurich Film Festival Announces First Gala Films

The Zurich Film Festival has revealed the first batch of galas! Details Below! Among them: KILL YOUR FRIENDS by Owen Harris; MISTRESS AMERICA by Noah Baumbach; the dramas MISS YOU ALREADY by Catherine Hardwicke, HIGH-RISE by Ben Wheatley and MON ROI by Maïwenn and the biopic thriller THE PROGRAM by Stephen Frears….   COMEDIC, DRAMATIC, BIOGRAPHIC  ZFF ANNOUNCES ITS FIRST GALA PREMIERES Zurich, August 4th, 2015     The 11th Zurich Film Festival ann...

 

International Cast Joins Jude Law And Diane Keaton In Paolo Sorrentino-Directed The Young Pope

Further details of the international cast of The Young Pope have been revealed following the announcement of two-time Academy Award® nominee Jude Law in the title role, and Academy Award®-winning female lead Diane Keaton.   Production on the series, which is a joint production of Sky, HBO and Canal +, began last week.  All eight episodes will be directed by Paolo Sorrentino, director of the Academy Award®-winning film “The Great Beauty” as well as ...

 

“We Come As Friends” -South Sudan / Oil and Natural Gas

In 2011, the majority of people living in South Sudan voted to secede, gaining independence from the predominantly Muslim population of Sudan, following traditional religions, Christianity, and Jesus Christ. In 2013, when the South Sudanese President, Salva Kiir Mayardit, fired his entire cabinet and his deputy president, confrontations with the former Civil War foe, Sudan, over oil and corruption ensued, violence between government troops and rebel factions broke out, hundreds of...

 

EFA acknowledges a Growing Number of Excellent Documentaries from Europe

  Among the changes for this year's 28th European Film Awards is the introduction of an EFA Documentary Selection, a list of films recommended to the EFA Members for a nomination (in the past, the nominations were decided by a committee).  The change follows a decision by the EFA Board to “acknowledge the growing importance of European documentary cinema,” says Israeli producer Marek Rozenbaum, EFA Board Member on the documentary committee, “there is a g...

 

“He Named Me Malala” October 2015

Take a first look at “He Named Me Malala,” a documentary about Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai’s life, story and personal journey as an education activist. Pledge to see the film in theaters this October at http://bit.ly/1IlDIMg Directed by acclaimed documentary filmmaker Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth...)

> THE FESTIVAL CIRCUIT

SHE WHO MUST BURN (d: Larry Kent, Canada, 2015) - World premiere at Montreal's Fantasia

Once again, recently closed Fantasia International Film Festival (19th edition, July 14 - August 5, Montreal 2015), the largest genre film festival in North America, has offered an incredible program. Among 22 world premieres, a special place belongs to She Who Must Burn, a “burning” piece by legendary iconoclastic filmmaker Larry Kent, pioneer of Canadian independent scene since early 1960ies. Unfortunately, Kent is not so widely known even in Canada, yet he made more than a dozen...

 

New York: Asian American International Film Festival, 2015

Celebrating its 40h anniversary Asian CineVision presented from July 23 to August 1 the 38th edition of the Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) with more than 50 features and shorts from different countries by and about Asian and Asian Americans. Broadly speaking the productions dealt with migration, cultural and social Asian American identities, labor and political issues, the experience of Asian groups in different countries, and the problems of education and gr...

 

Japan Cuts New York 2015

Japan Cuts is the largest annual festival of Japanese films in the United States celebrating its 9th edition from July 9-19 at New York’s Japan Society. It is no longer tied to the New York Asian Film Festival and offered a comprehensive survey of current Japanese cinema. The selection ranged from the bizarre, to the popular, to art house productions, films which were never shown before in New York with half of the titles North American premieres. The 2015 program had 28 features, i...

 

My Voice, My Life N.Y. Premiere Q&A

By Maria Esteves – July 31, 2015 The 38th Annual Asian American Film Festival 2015 (aaiff15) Opening Night New York Premiere documentary MY VOICE, MY LIFE http://www.myvoicemylifemovie.com, by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ruby Yang, commenced Thursday, July 23, 7:00PM at Asia Society. The Q&A discussion with director Yang and cast members Coby Wong and Sio Fan Lam moderated by La Frances Hui, film curator, Asia Society, preceded the Opening Night Gala Reception. Questions posed to...

 

38th Annual Asian American International Film Festival Premiere of My Voice, My Life Photo Coverage

By Maria Esteves – July 30, 2015 The 38th Annual Asian American Film Festival 2015 (aaiff15) Opening Night New York Premiere documentary MY VOICE, MY LIFE, by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ruby Yang, commenced Thursday, July 23, 7:00PM at Asia Society. The Q&A session with director Yang and cast members Coby Wong and Sio Fan Lam moderated by La Frances Hui, film curator, Asia Society, preceded the Opening Night Gala Reception. Questions posed to director Yang and cast members by ...

 

> AWARDS WATCH  

Locarno awards, Zulawski best director

  Concorso internazionale Pardo d’oro JIGEUMEUN MATGO GEUTTAENEUN TEULLIDA (Right Now, Wrong Then) by HONG Sangsoo, South Korea Premio speciale della giuria (Special Jury Prize) TIKKUN by Avishai Sivan, Israel Pardo per la miglior regia (Best direction) ANDRZEJ ZULAWSKI for COSMOS, France/Portugal Pardo per la miglior interpretazione femminile (Best actress) TANAKA SACHIE, KIKUCHI HAZUKI, MIHARA MAIKO, KAWAMURA RIRA for HAPPY HOUR by HAMAGUCHI Ryusuke, Japan Pardo...

First Look Award 2015

              The fifth edition of First Look — the Festival del film Locarno initiative aiming to showcase films in post-production — has presented six Israeli films. Each one was introduced by its producer to various world sales agents and festival programmers attending the Industry Days. The jury for First Look 2015, comprising Karel Och (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival’s Artistic Director), J...

 

EFA awards the Potemkin Stairs in Odessa the title “Treasures of European Film Culture”

On the occasion of the Odessa International Film Festival, taking place from 10 – 18 July, the European Film Academy awarded the Potemkin Stairs in Odessa the title “Treasure of European Film Culture”. Sergei Eisenstein shot his master piece “Battleship Potemkin” 90 years ago at the Black Sea port. The Potemkin Stairs are undoubtedly one of the world’s most famous historical film locations. During a ceremony a special “Treasure of European Fil...

 

The Locarno Premio Raimondo Rezzonico 2015 goes to Office Kitano

  The Japanese company Office Kitano will be honored with a tribute that recognizes the most significant players on the international independent production scene. Founded in 1988 as a theatrical agency, Office Kitano was created to answer the need to manage the TV activities of Takeshi Kitano and a group of comic actors linked to him. In 1991 it became a production company with A Scene at the Sea, Kitano's third feature film, and since then has produced all of the actor-director'... 

> PEOPLE IN THE SPOTLIGHT     

Meet top execs from HBO, Vimeo, Paramount, Sky, and more at Zurich Summit: Save 20% with filmfestivals.com by Aug 15

2nd Annual Zurich Summit | September 26 - 27, 2015 | Zurich, Switzerland Zurich Summit, the biggest industry event within the framework of the Zurich Film Festival addresses innovative financing, marketing and distribution strategies and brings together entrepreneurs, business leaders and creativ...

 

Film Fest Gent welcomes new Managing Director Martijn Bal

The Board of Directors of Film Fest Gent has appointed Martijn Bal as Managing Director of the festival in Ghent. He will be assuming his duties officially on 1 October 2015. Chairperson Claire Tillekaerts is very happy that this crucial vacancy was successfully filled in time for the 42nd edition of Film Fest Gent. "The Board of Directors is confident that Martijn Bal, with his love of film and strong reputation within the industry, will be a tremendous asset for Film Fest Gent. The ent...

 

Amy Paffrath, host of VH1’s hit reality series Dating Naked, and Alicia Malone to Hhost the opening of Hollyshorts

 Amy Paffrath, host of VH1’s hit reality series Dating Naked, and Alicia Malone, Film Reporter, TV Host, Producer, Writer, Editor, and all around movie geek, are set to co-host the upcoming and highly anticipated HollyShorts opening night celebration on Thursday August 13.  The event takes place at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres. The star-studded HollyShorts opening night will feature short movies starring Rose McGowan, Jason Patric, Sharon Lawrence, Rose McIver, Beth G...

 

CHERYL BOONE ISAACS was re-elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science

By Adrienne Papp   Cheryl Boone Isaacs was re-elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Tuesday night (August 4) by the organization’s Board of Governors. In addition, Jeffrey Kurland was elected first vice president; John Bailey, Kathleen Kennedy and Bill Kroyer were elected to vice president posts; Jim Gianopulos was elected treasurer; and Phil Robinson was elected secretary. Boone Isaacs is beginning her third term as pres...

 

Tom Gilroy Awarded Unique One-Month Writer's Retreat in the Santa Cruz Mountains to Develop His Script for Our Lady of the Snow

The San Francisco Film Society, in partnership with the Djerassi Resident Artists Program, today announced that Tom Gilroy has been awarded the 2015 Djerassi Residency Award / San Francisco Film Society Screenwriting Fellowship, for continuing development of his script Our Lady of the Snow. The Djerassi Residency Award / San Francisco Film Society Screenwriting Fellowship provides uninterrupted time for work, reflection and collegial interaction, making this award unique in its capacity to pr...

 

MONTREAL AUTOCHTONE FEST. 25 YEARS, AT PLACE DES ARTS

Places des Arts in Montreal; RICHARD DESJARDINS in concert. One of the most popular singers,in Quebec and Canada; worldwide is well known for his music. 10.000 enjoyed live concert MUSIC NOMADE, AT PLACE DES ARTS    ...

 

A Sunday - on an Island

Early in June, the Croatian island of Ugljan in the Zadar archipelago became the place to take in a group of filmmakers escaping everyday life, curiously waiting to meet with their new (film) family members. Under the first beams of a hot summer sun, surrounded by the Adriatic Sea, it was easy to leave everything behind on the mainland and get new inspiration from each other’s company.  Housed in Stocco Castle with meals served outside und...

 

> STRICTLY BUSINESS   

Partner Film Festivals Calling. Fast-Approaching Deadlines
 

Need more and better film submissions for your festival? don't miss the one month booster

Filmfestivals.com was established 1995 as world reference in this niche, we are proud of our track record in helping festivals attract more legitimacy, visibility and film submissions from our large base of international film professionals (370 000 unique filmmaker visitors each month), 159 500 subscribers to the newsletter. ONE TIME OFFER We suggest this quick one month booster program for your call for entry including  with 4 newsletter ads, your call for entry promoted one month lon...  

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Advertise your festival in the next eBlast to our filmmakers.   

> UNE SEMAINE SUR LE CIRCUIT DES FESTIVALS FRANCOPHONES     

Co Productions Internationales au Marché International du Film de Montréal

MAHOMET du célèbre cinéaste Majid Majidi ouvrira le Festival de Montréal

Le plus récent long métrage du célèbre cinéaste Majid Majidi (trois fois lauréat du Grand Prix des Amériques du FFM) sera présenté en ouverture et en première mondiale au 39e Festival des films du monde. Ce film épique de 171 minutes produit en Iran et interprété par les plus grands acteurs de ce pays est l’événement cinématographique de l’année. Ce long m&eac...

 

Forte progression du nombre d inscriptions grace au partenariat avec Filmfestivals.com

La date limite d’inscription des courts métrages était le 14 juin 2015 et plus de 1200 inscriptions ont été soumises cette année au Festival des films du monde incluant les quelque 400 films étudiants canadiens et étrangers . Ceci représente une croissance de 42,68 % par rapport à l’année 2014.  Sur 726 films déjà visionnés on a répertorié 64 pays d‘origine pour ces c...

 

Louis L. Roquet siègera au conseil d’administration du Festival des films du monde.

Le Festival des films du monde est heureux d’annoncer que Louis L. Roquet, Président du conseil d’administration d’Investissement Québec ait accepté de siéger sur le conseil d’administration du Festival des films du monde.  « Je suis très honoré que Louis L. Roquet ait accepté mon invitation » a déclaré Serge Losique président du FFM qui précise « l’expertise de Lou...

Major Buzz Factory : Expérience du marketing Digital pour les films

Fort d'une expérience acquise dans la distribution de films pour deux Majors (Sony et Fox mariée sous a direction avec UGC) Bruno Chatelin propose une expérience pointue au service de votre stratégie digitale à Travers sa structure de Conseil MAJOR BUZZ FACTORY Le fondateur Bruno Chatelin : un Professionnel de la communication entouré de spécialistes, son expérience est ancrée sur trois univers La publicité, Le mark.eting et le digital.

TOUTES LES NEWS EN FRANCAIS

"El club", by Pablo Larraín, will open the section

The San Sebastian Festival will once again present, in its 63rd edition, some of the most outstanding Latin American films of the year. The Horizontes Latinos programme includes fourteen productions from Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Cuba, Chile, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela. Films that have competed or premiered at important international festivals, but which have not yet been screened at a Spanish festival or had their commercial release in our country.

The selected films compete for the Horizontes Award, decided by a specific jury and coming with €35,000, of which €10,000 will go to the director of the winning film, and the remaining €25,000 to its distributor in Spain.

The section will open with Pablo Larraín’s El club, Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the last Berlin Festival. The film tells the tale of four men who share a secluded house in a small beach town, sent there to purge the sins they have committed in the past.

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