Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, has announced the filmmakers and projects selected for its second annual Documentary Lab, sponsored by Latino Public Broadcasting. Starting this week and continuing through the end of April, the Documentary Lab is an intensive seven-week program in Los Angeles, with the main focus of assisting documentary filmmakers on their works-in-progress and providing creative feedback. All ...

by Ron Gilbert Now it in its thirteenth year this Film Festival .offers a Scandinavian Cinema combined with a Smorgasbord treat starting on January 7, 8, 14, 15 at Writers Guild Theater (135 S. Doheny/at Wilshire) in Beverly Hills. I have been very fortunate to be in attendance at this film festival and have chosen this fest instead of Palms Springs and Sundance on my weekends. The five Nordic Oscar submissions plus additional current feature films, shorts, and documentaries...

  International film festivals are here in force at the Berlinale to not only scout for new films but also to make announcements on upcoming special projects. Here are a few that have made the headlines here in Berlin.      BEIJING INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL LAUNCHES Beijing, the Chinese capital, now will have its own film event with the launching of the 1st Beijing International Film Festival, set for April 23-28, 2011. The Festival organization took an office at the M...

Jerzy Skolimowski is a busy man these days. The Polish director's latest film Essential Killing made headlines this autumn when it won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, and the film's lead, Vincent Gallo, took the prize for best actor. The film was released in Poland in October, and audiences have been filling cinemas to see what is admittedly a unique film in terms of story and style. In the following interview, Mr. Skolimowski discusses the origins of the film, the funding ...

The Norwegian Minister of International Development, Erik Solheim, announced the establishment of a new fund to support film productions in Asia, Africa and Latin America. With a focus on freedom of speech, the fund grants funding to support film productions in countries where resources for such projects are limited. The fund will supplement other European film funds with similar purposes. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture have committed to grant two million N...

The Norwegian Crown Prince, His Majesty Haakon and film director/actress Liv Ullmann officially opens a Film & Music Live Gala screening at The Norwegian Opera on October 10, 2010, presenting legendary Brazilian artist Mario Peixoto´s masterpiece, LIMITE, in a newly restored version. Celebrated Norwegian composer/musician, Bugge Wesseltoft, has composed new music for the film and will be presenting it live in collaboration with acclaimed Brazilian musicians, such as Naná Vasconcelos, Marlui Mi...

  TOKYO ~ Angry Man, a film about domestic violence, has won top prize at the Hiroshima Animated Film Festival. Based on the book by Gro Dahle and Svein Nyhus, the film focuses on a small frightened child who desperately wishes to tell someone about what is going on at home, but doesn’t know who to talk to or what to do. In awarding the Grand Prix to the film’s director, Anita Killi, the festival jury described Angry Man as a “beautifully made mixed media film” which...

NORWEGIAN FILM WEEK :October 14 – 24, 2009$9 ($6 ASF members)Series Pass: $45 ($30 ASF Members)Scandinavia House presents a selection of six recent films from Norway with the aim of exposing an American audience to the work of both established directors and a new generation of filmmakers.In 2005, Norway celebrated its 100th anniversary as an independent nation; in 1905 the Swedish-Norwegian Union was dissolved. Cinema, of course, was invented just ten years before that, so it could be said tha...

"European Distributors: Up Next!" to improve circulation of European films EFP and the San Sebastian International Film Festival continue programme for European Distributors 09/07/2009 After a successful launch of “European Distributors: Up Next!” in 2008, European Film Promotion (EFP) and the San Sebastian International Film Festival continue to support emerging European distributors at this year´s festival between September 18 – 21. The aim of the programme is to im...

Elin Erichsen, Head of Development at the Norwegian Film Institute and Frank Stehling, CEO of PRIMEHOUSE, Berlin, presented the recently developed programme for producers PRIMEXCHANGE Norway-Germany at the Norwegian International Film Festival Haugesund (August 20-27, 2009).The programme, initiated by the Norwegian Film Institute and realised by PRIMEHOUSE, targets Norwegian film producers interested in the German market and German producers seeking co-production opportunities in Norway. The tra...