The 44th edition of the New York Film Festival opens on a royal note with the North American premiere of THE QUEEN, the latest film from UK director Stephen Frears (DIRTY PRETTY THINGS, THE SNAPPER, HIGH FIDELITY, MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE). The film stars Oscar nominee Helen Mirren in a tour-de-force performance as Queen Elizabeth II. Also featured are James Cromwell as Prince Phillip, Michael Sheen as Tony Blair and Sylvia Syms as the Queen Mother, in a revealing and often acidly funny portrai...

Successfully launched in 2004, the Producers Network achieved a new level of success for its third edition with 550 producers from 55 countries in attendance, including Peter Fudakowski (Tsotsi), Shozo Ichiyama (The World), Lars Jonsson (Manderlay), Matthew Justice (Klimt), Martin Katz (Hotel Rwanda), Gabriella Martinelli (Tideland) and Jose Maria Morales (Le Couperet). A real `Network of Networks’, the Producers Network also welcomed and the producers of projects previously selected by the w...

PAN AFRICAN FILM AND ARTS FESTIVALLargest U.S. Black History Month Event Set for February 9-20 South Africa’s official nomination for the 78th Annual Academy Awards® in the foreign language film category, TSOTSI, has been selected as the opening night film for the 14th Annual Pan African Film and Arts Festival. The star-studded event will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, February 9th at the Directors Guild of America with principal cast and filmmakers in attendance. The evening will be hosted b...

The Savannah Film Festival presented the 2005 awards for student and professional competition films tonight at 7 p.m. at Trustees Theater, 216 E. Broughton St. The awards ceremony capped off the eight-day festival, which screened more than 50 films.Awards winners are as follows:HBO Films Producer Award: «Plagues and Pleasures» Producer, Christopher MetzlerBest Director: Doug Sadler, «Swimmers»Best Narrative Feature: «Swimmers» Director, Doug SadlerBest Documentary: « Plagues and Pleasu...

The 2nd Annual New York PitchXchangeLast year, over 30 executives (agents, managers, producers) attended the Inaugural New York PitchXchange to hear five-minute pitches from over 500 aspiring and working screenwriters. Companies included Miramax Films, Dimension Films, MTV, Abrams Artist Agency, The Howard Stern Production Company and many others.This year’s the event will topple last year’s. The first day offers a full-day seminar with Hollywood producer and “Pitch King” Robert Kosberg...

Last year, over 30 executives (agents, managers, producers) attended the Inaugural New York PitchXchange to hear five-minute pitches from over 500 aspiring and working screenwriters. Companies included Miramax Films, Dimension Films, MTV, Abrams Artist Agency, The Howard Stern Production Company and many others.This year’s the event will topple last year’s. The first day offers a full-day seminar with Hollywood producer and “Pitch King” Robert Kosberg. Attendees will have the opportuni...

The Montréal International Film Market, held annually in conjunction with the Montréal World Film Festival, is changing gears this year to give buyers and sellers greater opportunities for face-to-face discussions and negotiations."To better meet the changing industry needs, we are doing away with the booths and replacing them with a number of events and more spacious meeting facilities designed to facilitate networking and foster business opportunities for the some 1,000 professionals from a...

KVIFF Film Industry Office aimed this year, as well as last year, to help with its services and activities the film professionals from all over the world to familiarize themselves with new films, to acquire new contacts, and to meet their colleagues from other companies. In the course of the 39th KVIFF 686 producers, distributors, sales agents, representatives of festivals, film institutions, and service organizations used the services of the office and they came from 361 companies from 41 count...

MONTRÉAL INTERNATIONAL FILM MARKET PROMOTES PERSON-TO-PERSON DEALMAKINGThe Montréal International Film Market, held annually in conjunction with the Montréal World Film Festival, is changing gears this year to give buyers and sellers greater opportunities for face-to-face discussions and negotiations, Market Director Gilles Bériault announced today."To better meet the changing industry needs, we are doing away with the booths and replacing them with a number of events and more spacious meet...

2004 INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS WINNERS ANNOUNCED!Best FeatureLost in Translation (Focus Features)Producers: Sofia Coppola and Ross KatzBest DirectorSofia CoppolaLost in Translation (Focus Features)Best ScreenplaySofia CoppolaLost in Translation (Focus Features)Best First FeatureMonster (Newmarket Films)Director: Patty JenkinsProducers: Mark Damon, Donald Kushner, Clark Peterson, Charlize Theron, Brad Wyman Best First Screenplay Thomas McCarthyThe Station Agent (Miramax Films)John Cassavetes Awar...

The Writers Guild of America, west and East announced nominations for outstanding achievement in writing for the screen, television and radio during the 2003 season. SCREEN NOMINEES Original Screenplay BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM, Written by Gurinder Chadha and Paul Mayeda Berges and Guljit Bindra, Fox Searchlight Pictures DIRTY PRETTY THINGS, Written by Steven Knight, Miramax Films IN AMERICA, Written by Jim Sheridan & Naomi Sheridan & Kirsten Sheridan, Fox Searchlight Pictures LOST IN TRANSLATION, Wr...

15th Annual Event to be Held Saturday, January 17th The Producers Guild of America announced the nominated motion picture and television productions and honorees for the 2004 Producers Guild Awards, taking place on Saturday, January 17th at the Century Plaza Hotel. The nominees are:Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion PicturesCold Mountain (Miramax Films)Sydney PollackWilliam HorbergAlbert Berger & Ron YerxaThe Last Samurai (Warner Bros.)Marshall Herskovitz & Edward ...