Mountainfilm has named David Holbrooke as Festival Director! A former Telluride resident who now lives in Brooklyn, New York, David has participated in Mountainfilm since 1999, several times as a contributing filmmaker. His success as an independent film director and producer speaks to his ability both to conceive a vision and implement a plan of action. David says, "I will look for the art that provokes conversation. I consider myself fortunate to have had true mind-blowing and life-affecting e...
The short film CONTACT, which previously won the Golden Bear at the Film Festival in Berlin, has for the 5th time been awarded with a major film prize: the PRIX UIP at the Flanders International Festival in Gent (Belgium). Director Hanro Smits personally received the € 2000, - prize yesterday. By winning this very prestigious prize, the film is automatically nominated for the European short film competition of the European Film Awards. Apart from winning the Golden Bear at the Berlinale, CONTA...
Tuesday, August 14------Writer/directors of the old school, who worked exclusively in the Hollywood studios of the 1950s and 1960s, are becoming a rare breed. One of the best of these directorial "team players" was the farceur Mel (aka Melville) Shavelson, a comedy writer, producer and director. In a career that garnered two Academy Award nominations for his original screenplays and deft direction of such stars as Cary Grant, Sophia Loren, Kirk Douglas, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, Bo...
Saturday, December 23----When I was growing up Jewish in Brooklyn, New York in the 1960s, Christmas Day meant only two things…..Chinese food and going to a movie. In those halcyon days when Christmas was more of a religious event than an excuse to go shopping, almost all restaurants, stores and other commercial venues were closed on Christmas Day.....with the exception of Chinese restaurants and most movie theaters. So, it became a Jewish tradition (and the only option in town) to frequent ...
The winners of the 30th Annual Atlanta Film Festival, the South’s premier experience for movie lovers, independent filmmakers and fans have been announced. The nine-day festival, which ran from June 9-17, drew approximately 27,000 people to screenings, panels and parties at its Downtown and Midtown Atlanta venues. "We are very proud of the overwhelming success of the 2006 Atlanta Film Festival," said Jake Jacobson, the Festival’s director. “Our diverse schedule of over 150 films was desi...
23rd Avignon Film FestivalTransatlantic Crossroads of Independent CinemaJune 22-25, 2006Now in its 23rd year, the Avignon Film Festival (known in France as “Rencontres Cinématographiques Euro-Américaines d’Avignon”) will launch its 2006 edition on Thursday, June 22, with John Turturro’s “Romance & Cigarettes” (starring Kate Winslet, James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, Steve Buscemi, Christopher Walken, Mary Louise Parker and Elaine Stritch). Mr. Turturro will be one of the guests of ...
PALM BEACH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVALUNVEILS 2006 LINE-UP Over 125 Films Headline April 20 - 28 Event The Palm Beach International Film Festival Executive Director Randi Emerman announced today the film line-up for the 11th annual event to be held April 20 – 28. Over a 125 films will screen at this years event, including features, documentaries and shorts. The eight-day Fest will introduce 18 world premieres, 3 U.S. premieres and 59 Florida premieres, including 31 international films.Opening...
New Directors/New Films, one of the most anticipated film events on the New York film calendar, celebrates its 35th year, presenting the works of new directors from around the world. The festival will unspool 25 feature films and 5 shorts from March 22 through April 2, 2006. The program is presented jointly by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and The Department of Film and Media of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Screenings will be held at the Walter Reade Theater, the Film Society’s year-r...
WHY WARHOL MATTERS AT VIENNALEOctober 14 –26, 2005A series of events accompanying the Andy Warhol retrospective Working Class, a series of film lectures on the festival program, introduced at the VIENNALE 2004, will have a special follow-up this year. Following last year’s lectures by Jean-Pierre Gorin, this year’s Working Class is dedicated to Andy Warhol and his cinematic oeuvre, complementing the Warhol retrospective, realized in collaboration with the Österreichische Filmmuseum. Under...
THE 11TH ANNUAL TEMECULA VALLEY INT’L FILM & MUSIC FESTIVAL September 16th and 17th Indie Music Artists from two major music markets coasts – Los Angeles and New York. Two local Rock bands from Murrieta. Two separate Pop artists from different parts of Canada. Two Brandons. There’s even have R&B twins from Chicago. Two is a magic number as this year’s 11th annual Temecula Valley International Film & Music Festival (TVIFF) slated for September 14-22,2005 at the Movie Experience 10 a...
Brooklyn International Film Festival BIFF June 3-12Established in 1998 for independent film makers as the ‘first international competitive film festival in New York” the BIIF has the mission to “connect film makers to distribution companies” and to “draw worldwide attention to Brooklyn as a center for the arts”. The 2005 edition presented 115 films originating in 80 countries from the about 1700 productions which had been submitted, including for the first time a one day children...
GUS VAN SANT'S LAST DAYS OPENS PROVINCETOWN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL JUNE 15The Provincetown International Film Festival, scheduled for June 15-19, enters into its seventh year with another stellar line-up of films and highlights. This year's program includes fifty-five new features (28 narratives and 27 documentaries), with 10 countries represented. Opening Selection is the East Coast premiere of director Gus Van Sant's newest release Last Days unveiled at Cannes (slated for theatrical rele...
The New York International Independent Film & Video Festival (NYIIFVF) kicks off 2005 in style by launching a ten day film and art event in Los Angeles from March 10th through the 17th. Showcasing over 100 impressive features, shorts, animations and documentaries, NYIIFVF is sure to be well received. Founded in 1993 by Stuart Alson, NYIIFVF has been recognized by the film and entertainment industry as one of the leading film events on the independent festival circuit. NYIIFVF begins its celebrat...
Across three continents, "MONDOVINO" weaves together the family succession sagas of billionaire Napa Valley power brokers, the rivalry of two aristocratic Florentine dynasties and the efforts of three generations of a Burgundian family fighting to preserve their few acres of land. But are all these struggles secondary to the exploits of a gleefully mischievious pirate from Bordeaux who spreads the gospel of modernity from Italy to New York to Argentina?Wine has been a symbol of Western civiliza...
