Chatting with launching Ruby Mountain Festival Director We sat down with Kurt James Stefka - Founder, CEO and President of the Ruby Mountain Film Festival and discussed the vision and the challenges the festival is facing for its opening year this August (11-14) in Elko, Nevada... Bruno Chatelin: When and how did you decide to launch a f...

We sat down with Kurt James Stefka - Founder, CEO and President of the Ruby Mountain Film Festival and discussed the vision and the challenges the festival is facing for its opening year this August (11-14) in Elko, Nevada... Bruno Chatelin: When and how did you decide to launch a festival? Kurt James Stefka  About 3 years ago I bega...

We sat down with Kurt James Stefka – Founder, CEO and President of the Ruby Mountain Film Festival and discussed the vision and the challenges the festival is facing for its opening year this August (11-14) in Elko, Nevada...Bruno Chatelin: When and how did you decide to launch a festival?Kurt James Stefka About 3 years ago I began to visualize a film festival in our community. It was then that I began to conceptualize the mission, name, objectives and overall strategy to bring a uniquely cult...

  How fortunate are we film-crazy New Yorkers to have such a cinematic treasure as the Film Forum in our midst. The three-screen arthouse complex in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan has been an indispensable New York institution for over 40 years. As the only remaining independent not-for-profit arthouse theater (in a city that used to be pocketed with them), the Film Forum presents an enviable mix of the classic and the obscure, the heralded and the newly discovered. The le...

I'm walking through a park full of people with backpacks and rock-climbing gear. Who are these people? I've been looking for someone for 2 years to climb with in Cambodia... BZZZZZ. 7am and it's time to wake up. This is the day I go to Cannes. I officially started working in film in 1999. I've attended the American Film Market since 2000. Cannes is the Big Daddy of festivals and markets. Now it's my turn. And I'm representing Cambodia; how cool is that! Uli walks me to the Metro stat...

The calm before the storm. One last day in Paris, and I thought the best way to spend it was to relax. After a breakfast of muesli and yogurt, I worked on the computer writing my Amazing Race diary and checking the Internet for more details about future days of the trip. Uli took me to the post office to send off postcards and we got bagel sandwiches for lunch. Mmmm, pastrami (not available anywhere in Cambodia)! Back at home I worked some more on the computer and took a nap. After pizza for...

I awoke to the smell of fresh croissants baking in the oven. Xin and Uli were so kind to offer such a yummy breakfast! Soon, we were off for the day, taking the Metro to Montmartre, where artists like Pierre-Auguste Renoir used to live and create. Artists of today still flood the area. Unfortunately, the Metro goes straight through the hill of Montmartre, so the two closest stations are on either side, necessitating a steep walk. I have found that a steady pace works best for me, and with ti...

Thankfully I slept in until around 8am. By 9am, my bags were packed and waiting in the guestroom for me to come back after sightseeing. I have to say that one of the coolest things about being in England is that all the words I know as British (boot, bonnet, lift, loo, queue, etc.) and that I hear spoken occasionally by British friends in the US or Cambodia, are used by everyone all the time. This is an obvious fact, but to HEAR it is fun. Tom and I went straight to the Underground to ma...

I slept until around 9am. By 10am, I ventured out into the neighborhood. I took pictures of the lovely row houses. There was a street sign with the words "Humped Zebra Crossing." I looked at the house it was in front of thinking "Is this a joke." After a few more steps I understood - there is a pedestrian crossing over a wide speed bump with diagonal white stripes. Clever. At the corner I discovered the free WIFI McDonalds. I ordered a small burger and a coffee. I...

  Thankfully, the flight on AirAsia to London Standsted was uneventful. I was so happy that they had personal "handheld entertainment" units - rental for flight $30 R. I was able to watch some movies & TV, listen to music and play games. Everything went like clockwork after my arrival. The passport control took 45 minutes. I picked up my bag, purchased a $19 GBP Stansted Express train ticket with $100 Euros, giving me British Pounds as change so I am set for the next two...

no, I am not on the show "The Amazing Race" but when I got into the taxi in Kuala Lumpur, it felt like I am embarking on a similar - fast-paced journey. DAY TWO Getting from the airport (LCCT) was easy. As with most places focused on tourism, getting back was more difficult. But I was expecting it to be, so I allowed plenty of time. The Swiss Inn Hotel in Kuala Lumpur was a pleasure. I had a good night's sleep and awoke refreshed. A breakfast buffet was included - noth...

I can't believe the level of " pre-production"  I did getting ready for this trip - airline tickets (7 flights), bus tickets, hotels, B&Bs, friends to visit, updating geneaology info, arranging cat sitters, house sitters, car parking, banking, goodbyes, laundry... I just felt exhausted yesterday. I woke up this morning with a list of " last day"  things like locking my computer, washing dishes, etc. I went down to Rory's Pub for a Toastie breakfast. Then I set about...

2008 CONFERENCE AGENDA SUNDAY DECEMBER 7, 2008 11:00am Registration Opens 1:45pm- 2:00pm Welcoming Remarks & Introductions 2:00pm- 2:45pm Opening Keynote Presentation Rick Allen Chief Executive Officer SnagFilms 2:45pm- 4:00pm Festivals: Distribution Revolution or Evolution? Current distribution models are evolving faster than ever as studio business models evolve and new organizations crop up. As the independent film ‘distribution revolution’ marches fo...

2008 CONFERENCE AGENDAregister online at http://filmfestivalsummit.com/SUNDAY DECEMBER 7, 2008 11:00am Registration Opens 1:45pm- 2:00pm Welcoming Remarks & Introductions 2:00pm- 2:45pm Opening Keynote Presentation by Rick Allen : Chief Executive Officer, SnagFilms 2:45pm- 4:00pm Festivals: Distribution Revolution or Evolution? Current distribution models are evolving faster than ever as studio business models evolve and new organizations crop up. As the independent film ‘distribution revoluti...

2006 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival Announces Awards2007 Festival Tenth Anniversary Dates Set for April 12-15, 2007Ninth annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival came to a close Sunday April 9th with record-breaking attendance. The final ticket number for the 2006 festival was 20,121, with an estimated 2540 additional viewers coming for the films showing post-barbecue bringing the total number of tickets to 22,661 for 2006. Last year, as of Sunday's Southern Style Barbecue and Awards Ce...

First docs from the Gulf Coast region featuring Nine World PremieresFull Frame Documentary Film Festival announces the Southern Sidebar: Katrina films. The screenings, sponsored by Turner South for the 2006 festival will show for audiences in Durham, North Carolina on April 6-9th this year. Traditionally showcasing regional films in the Southern Sidebar program, this year the program will feature documentaries shot of the Gulf region and its people following Hurricane Katrina. Full Frame is t...

The 8th Annual Hollywood Film Festival's "Hollywood Awards" ceremony, honoring independent filmmakers and established Hollywood professionals, was held October 18 before a standing-room-only audience of over 1,200 Hollywood Film Festival attendees at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. Special honors went to Newmarket Films' President Bob Berney, film preservation leader Robert Rosen, actor John Travolta, actor Leonardo DiCaprio, actress Annette Bening, director Michael Mann, producer Mel...