The Connecticut Film Festival, which took place this past weekend in Danbury and Bethel, Connecticut, offered a creative mix of programming, educational seminars and special events. In all, some 75 films were showcased at the 4 day event. An extensive boot camp of educational seminars was geared to local and visiting filmmakers, new media entrepreneurs and television producers. Highlights included an master class by Focus Features president Andrew Karpen, a screening of...

  While this blog concentrates on film events in New York City proper, the entire region (from northern Connecticut to southern New Jersey) is quite lively with film and media celebrations all season long. One of the most vital and diverse of these launches this evening in the historic city of Danbury, Connecticut.   The Connecticut Film Festival, one of the most dynamic regional showcases of its kind, opens this evening with a fundraising event accompanied by a work-in-pro...

.............                                                      WELCOME TO OUR NEWSLETTER N° 465: may 13, 2010 Follow this LINK if you cannot read the newsletter properly The Future of Cinema Salon returns to Cannes Filmfestivals.com and Xomo present the Future of Festivals...its Digital...toast !  Mingle Talk and Wine tasting at the Spa des Stars  May ...

  It is a powerful mathematical equation: Politics + Hollywood = Poliwood. In his latest film, Oscar winning director and Connecticut resident Barry Levinson (RAIN MAN) surveys the close dance between the celebrity culture of the film capital and the political halls of power in Washington. The film is the Closing Night attraction for this year's Connecticut Film Festival on Saturday evening at 730pm at the historic Palace Theater, preceded by the announcement of the Festival's awards in ...

.............                                                      WELCOME TO OUR NEWSLETTER N° 464: may 6, 2010 Follow this LINK if you cannot read the newsletter properly The Future of Cinema Salon returns to Cannes Filmfestivals.com and Xomo present the Future of Festivals...its Digital...toast !  Mingle Talk and Wine tasting at the Spa des Stars (next t...

Films which feature veteran actors are having a particularly diffilcult time breaking through in the highly youth-oriented film market. Let's face it, teenagers and young adults are the ones who go to the movies in greatest numbers and....they buy popcorn, nachos and candy which contributes mightily to the film theaters' bottom line. This is a shame because films peopled by seniors have a special heart and wisdom and also serve as a showcase for actors who have had a lifetime to per...

  The next Steven Spielberg or Kathryn Bigelow could be nestled in the Connecticut Film Festival's annual showcase for student films made by area filmmakers. The Connecticut Student Film Festival draws new works from local high schools and colleges, showcasing the innovation, talent and daring of a ne generation of budding film artists. The Connecticut Student Film Festival kicks off Friday with an outdoor reception  (weather permitting) across from the historic Palace Theater on...

THE WRECKING CREW, the music documentary that opened the Connecticut Film Festival at the historic Palace Theater in Danbury last evening, was a musical wow. Telling the story of the studio session musicians who backed up some of the recording industry's biggest stars, the film was an eye-opening look at an era when popular musical acts did not necessarily play musical instruments, and these professional back up musicians were not acknowledged. The documentary, a 12 year labor of ...

  Denny Tedesco decided to make his film debut THE WRECKING CREW about a subject close to his heart. His father had been a studio musician who played backup for some of the reigning giants of the recording industry. But as the son of a musician who stayed in the shadows for his career, Tedesco was also aware of the difficult choices and somewhat unfulfilled lives these people endured. So, his choice for his directorial debut seems inspired...a tribute to the unsung musicians who play ...

  One of the main venues for the Connecticut Film Festival, which opens tomorrow evening, is the Palace Theater on Main Street in Danbury, a once prosperous town 50 miles north of New York City. From the theater's simple facade and faded charm, it is hard to imagine that this was one of the important theaters in the Northeast, where headliners and musical legends once entertained Danbury's upper crust. The historic theater, originally built in 1928 when Danbury was a wealthy town, h...