FLASH OF GENIUS Wins Alfred P. Sloan Foundation AwardAs part of the 2008 Hamptons International Film FestivalSpecial Sloan/HIFF New York Premiere Thursday October 2nd at MoMAFor the 9th consecutive year, the $25,000 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Feature Film Prize is presented as part of the Hamptons International Film Festival. The cash prize is awarded to a feature-length film that explores science and technology themes in fresh, innovative ways and depicts scientists and engineers in a realisti...
Peter Fonda is Jury President at the 4th Zurich Film FestivalFestival Programme announcement: 2 World Premieres in the International CompetitionThe festival administration announced the programme and the members of this year’s jury at their press conference on September 11, 2008. The 4th Zurich Film Festival will present selected films by young filmmakers from around the world in the cinemas corso and Le Paris. In order to encourage the creation of new films, The Zurich Film Festival will pres...
The annual Martha's Vineyard International Film Festival, produced by the MV Film Society, is a showcase for the best feature and short films from around the globe. As its exquisite setting would suggest, this is not your typical film festival-"Which is a good thing," says actor Hayden Christensen (who attended in 2007). "It has a laidback vibe to it, fitting for film and the industry."Laidback or not, the days and nights of September 11 through 14 is still packed with excell...
The main Spotlight of the 49th edition of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival centers on the current cinema of the Middle East. The Middle Eastern region, tantamount to political, religious and social struggles, lies in close geographical proximity to Greece and possesses vital contemporary political significance. It exhibits a cinematic diversity that creates portraits of many distinct histories, identities and conflicts and it is now more than ever revealing its issues and sentiments ...
the San Francisco Black Film Festival (SFBFF) celebrates its ten year anniversary from June 4-8 and June 11-15, 2008. Befitting its milestone status, the theme of this year’s festival is “10 Years, 10 Days, 100 Films” as the SFBFF spans the globe with works from Africa, Australia, Canada, Europe and the United States. Festival venues include the former Social Security office at 1402 Fillmore Street, 1300 on Fillmore at 1300 Fillmore Street, the African American Arts and Culture Complex at ...
The San Francisco Film Society wrapped its 51st San Francisco International Film Festival (April 24 - May 8) with 292 screenings, 150 filmmaker guests and more than 70 industry guests from 16 countries in attendance, with an estimated 80,000 filmgoers celebrating the best cinema from around the world. The Festival sold out 94 screenings during its 15-day run, illustrating the demand for the unique programming that the Film Society brings to the Bay Area and setting the stage for the San Francisc...
The Lone Star Film Society has appointed Dennis Bishop as festival director of the 2008 Lone Star International Film Festival, which is scheduled for November 12-16, 2008, in Fort Worth, Texas. A Dallas native, who began his career in Texas, Bishop is an independent filmmaker and producer based in Los Angeles whose career in the film and entertainment industry has spanned three decades. He has served in various capacities for major film festivals, workshops and seminars across the nat...
AWARDS THE AWARDS WATCH ON FEST21.COM Oscar and more Academy Award Nominees At Sundance: Past And Present 80th Academy Awards Announced ___________________________________________________________________________________ LIVE BLOGGING FROM PARK CITY Academy Award Nominees At Sundance: Past And Present ...
Edward Menicheschi, Vanity Fair vice president and publisher says, "The partnership with the San Francisco Film Society is an important opportunity for us. Not only are we collaborating with one of the most renowned film organizations in the world during its showcase event, but we are able to bring our own charitable initiative, Vanity Fair Reel Relief, to life through the lens of the Festival to benefit the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). It's an alliance that is truly innovative...
For First Time, IPF Market Event Will Take Place at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology from September 14 - 19, 2008Gearing up for its 30th anniversary this September, IFP today announced that its annual IFP Market has been officially renamed Independent Film Week to reflect its mission of discovering, showcasing, and supporting new independent film projects and talent. IFP is the nation's oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers. Since its founding in 1979, IFP has facil...
For First Time, IPF Market Event Will Take Place at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology from September 14 - 19, 2008Gearing up for its 30th anniversary this September, IFP today announced that its annual IFP Market has been officially renamed Independent Film Week to reflect its mission of discovering, showcasing, and supporting new independent film projects and talent. IFP is the nation's oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers. Since its founding in 1979, IFP has facil...
NOTED AUTHOR INTRODUCES HIS LATEST NOVEL AND DISCUSSES THE CREATIVE ART OF FILM ADAPTATION PROVIDENCE, RI (April 3, 2008) – The Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) and Borders Bookstore host their monthly film forum on April 8th, 7:00 p.m. at the Borders Bookstore Providence Place Mall. The Topic for the Evening: From Fiction to Film: Journeys in Imagined Lands with noted author, Scott Heim. What are the sparks that ignite the flames of imagine? How does one adapt an internal...
The 51st San Francisco International Film Festival (April 24-May 8, 2008) announces today that its Centerpiece screening will be the West Coast premiere of Jonathan Levine's The Wackness. The Festival's Centerpiece is designed to showcase a celebrated new director and his or her latest film. The Wackness will screen at 7:30 pm on Saturday, May 3 at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas with Levine in attendance, followed by the Centerpiece party at 9:30 pm at CLIFT located at 495 Geary Street.In The Wack...
The European Independent Film Festival 2008 (ÉCU 2008) will take place from March 14 to 16 at the Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris, site François Mitterrand. The European Independent Film Festival (ÉCU) is at the forefront of the discovery and promotion of the very best independent filmmaking talent from around the world. The third edition of this ground breaking event will announce its official selection on 15 February 2008. Approximately 100 films will be screened at the festival as filmmak...
Monday, January 28---------With filmmakers and professionals back at their home bases, a few last minute deals for this year's Sundance season were still announced on the Festival's final day. Sony Pictures Classics, who have been unusually active this year, has closed a deal for North American rights to Jonathan Levine's THE WACKNESS, which stars Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley as a New York City pscyhiatrist who trades therapy for marijuana. The film, which won the Feature Audience Award...
Saturday, January 26---------Of all the parallel film events that have mushroomed (and withered) in Park City during the Sundance Film Festival three-ring circus, none has been more enduring and continually evolving as the Slamdance Film Festival. Founded by disgruntled filmmakers who had been closed out from the Sundance proceedings, the Festival has evolved into an important showcase of new indie talents that has continueD to maintain its considerable indie cred. In addition, Slamdance has r...
FROZEN RIVER, a film about a struggling single mother in upstate New York who teams with a Mohawk woman to smuggle people across the Canadian border, has won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. The film, a debut feature from writer/director Courtney Hunt, is adapted it from her own 2004 short of the same name. The film was one of a handful to actually be picked up by a major distributor during the Festival......having found a home with arthouse distributor Sony Pictures Classics ...
Saturday, January 26---------Of all the parallel film events that have mushroomed (and withered) in Park City during the Sundance Film Festival three-ring circus, none has been more enduring and continually evolving as the Slamdance Film Festival. Founded by disgruntled filmmakers who had been closed out from the Sundance proceedings, the Festival has evolved into an important showcase of new indie talents that has continueD to maintain its considerable indie cred. In addition, Slamdance has r...
Saturday, January 26----------Let the Sundance awards begin.......After announcing the winners of the Sundance/NHK Filmmakers Awards, the Festival disclosed yesterday that the futuristic film SLEEP DEALER, directed by Alex Rivera, has won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize. The honor, which carries a $20,000 cash award to the filmmaker provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, is presented to an outstanding feature film focusing on science or technology as a theme, or depicting a scientist, enginee...
Friday, January 25----------The Sundance Institute has a long history of support for Latin films. This year, they have launched Sundance en Español, a celebration of Latin films and filmmakers participating in the Sundance Film Festival. This year, the program features a collection of six Spanish Language films and four films in English by Hispanic and Latino directors. The films were selected to screen in Salt Lake City, which has a sizable Spanish-speaking community. Earlier this week, ...
Let the Sundance awards begin.......After announcing the winners of the Sundance/NHK Filmmakers Awards, the Festival disclosed yesterday that the futuristic film SLEEP DEALER, directed by Alex Rivera, has won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize. The honor, which carries a $20,000 cash award to the filmmaker provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, is presented to an outstanding feature film focusing on science or technology as a theme, or depicting a scientist, engineer or mathematician as a major char...
The Sundance Institute has a long history of support for Latin films. This year, they have launched Sundance en Español, a celebration of Latin films and filmmakers participating in the Sundance Film Festival. This year, the program features a collection of six Spanish Language films and four films in English by Hispanic and Latino directors. The films were selected to screen in Salt Lake City, which has a sizable Spanish-speaking community. Earlier this week, a press conference, information p...
Friday, January 25---------Although the Sundance Film Festival continues through this Sunday, with the culminating Awards Ceremony to be held on Saturday night, many film professionals have already skipped town, mulling the films they have seen (bid or passed on) and, frankly, warming up their external digits after 9 days of frigid weather. What began as a barren landscape for dealmaking has made a rebound, although Festival veterans have described this year's event as very lowkey compared to ...
Thursday, January 24---------The first Sundance awards were announced today, beginning a process that will culminate with the announcement of the major awards in the US Independent and World Cinema categories on Saturday evening. The Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Awards were created in 1996 to honor visionary film directors from four global regions (Europe, Latin America, the United States and Japan) in realizing their next projects. The prizes are a collaboration between the Sundan...
Although the Sundance Film Festival continues through this Sunday, with the culminating Awards Ceremony to be held on Saturday night, many film professionals have already skipped town, mulling the films they have seen (bid or passed on) and, frankly, warming up their external digits after 9 days of frigid weather. What began as a barren landscape for dealmaking has made a rebound, although Festival veterans have described this year's event as very lowkey compared to earlier years (a result of th...
