By Liza Foreman GRAND PLANS FOR OKINAWA: AMERICAN BASES TO BECOMEPOSSIBLE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY VILLAGES?   OKINAWA They say that laughter is the best medicine and thepeople of Okinawa should know. The southern outpost of Japan is famous for the longevityof its inhabitants, many of whom flocked to the 4th OkinawaInternational Movie Festival (March 24 – March 31, 2012), where the core themeswere laughter and peace. The peace section is for good reason. Here o...

By Liza Foreman   Tsunami Documentary Moves Auds to Tearsat Okinawa International Movie Festival   Okinawa    When Stu Levy flew from Los Angeles to Tokyo on March 9, 2011, he had no idea that he would return a filmmaker with some up-close footage of one of the worst natural disasters in living memory. It lead to his moving documentary, Pray for Japan. The purpose of his trip was to inform hisJapanese business associates that Tokyo Pop, ...

By Liza Foreman TOKYO – Winnerss of the 24th edition of the Tokyo International Film Festival were announced on Sunday.   President of the International Competition Jury, Edward R.Pressman said: “Especially this year, it has been difficult to keep films alive in Japan but I would like to thank festival chairman, Mr. Yoda, and all the people for making TIFF possible. The prevalent theme in some of the best films such as Play, When Pigs Have Wings, and Untouchable was imm...

By Liza Foreman TOKYO -   The rain stopped just in time for the celebrities to walk the green carpet, laid out for the opening of the 24th Tokyo International FilmFestival (October 22-30th) on Saturday. TIFF chairman Tom Yoda welcomed guests, including Jackie Chan, whose 100th film“1911” kicked off events as the special opening film. Highlights of the night included the cast of the “Fukushima Hula Girls,” participating as part of the national caravan for the recons...

By Liza Foreman Los Angeles - Considering that The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF), (22-30October 2011), and its market arm TIFFCOM, two of Japan’s premiereentertainment industry events, place such a dedicated focus on initiatives tosave the planet – in keeping with Japan’s generally eco-friendly positioning - lastweek’s tragedy there seems all the more poignant. Still, as the Japanese government works to find a solution to its nuclearpower crisis and the devastating consequenc...

By Liza Foreman Now entering its sixth year,TPG (Tokyo Project Gathering), an international co-production market organizedby METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) and UNIJAPAN, is presenting28 films this year up from 25 in 2009, during TIFFCOM, the market arm of theTokyo International Film Festival.“More and more inspiringprojects were submitted this year, and thus we selected in total of 28projects, which was increased from 25 projects from last year,” the festivalsaid in a statem...

By Liza Foreman  Catherine Deneuve, Jesse Eisenberg and The Social Network scribe Aaron Sorkin all made the trek tothe Japanese capital to join Asian glitterati on the Tokyo International FilmFestival’s green carpet, which snaked through a mass of neon-clad high-rises in Downtown Tokyo  to celebrate opening night.After speeches from the festival head Tom Yoda and top Japanese politicos, including the country’sminister for economics, industry and culture, who spoke about the country’s ...

By Liza Foreman This year, the TokyoInternational Film Festival (TIFF) will commemorate Bruce Lee, the king of Asianaction movies, with a showcase of Lee's movies as part of the festival'sWinds of Asia Middle-East section.This special tribute entitled"The 70th Anniversary: Bruce Lee to the Future", will screen the following films -Bruce Lee’s most successfulfilm "Enter the Dragon," and his last film, "Game of Death"(the version that was distributed in Japan in 19...

Today Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, announced its 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival award winners at a special event, presented by Target. The Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by The Los Angeles Times, ran from Thursday, June 18 to Sunday, June 28. “One of our goals at Film Independent is to help filmmakers build an audience for their work, and the Los Angeles Film Festival does just that,” said Film I...

  by Sandy Mandelberger, Festival Dailies Editor Perhaps it is only a coincidence or a kind of cinematic convergence that sometimes happens at a film festival, but the boxing legend Muhammad Ali is the subject (or at least the subtext) of several of the most anticipated films showing here at the Silverdocs Documentary Film Festival. The three-time World Heavyweight Champion and one of the most colorful sports figures of the past 50 years is the focus of FACING ALI, which recei...

The 2009 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by American Express, the founding sponsor of the Festival, today announced its remaining out-of-competition feature film selections in the Encounters, Spotlight, Showcase, Restored/Rediscovered and Midnight sections. The 2009 Tribeca Film Festival will take place from April 22 to May 3, 2009 in lower Manhattan and will feature not only film screenings, but also an array of free community events designed to share the Festival experience with as many New Y...

Slumdog Millionaire won ALMOST everything at Bafta (short of best foreign film): Best Film, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Music, Cinematography, Editing and Sound. There were only two awards set aside for emotionally charged winners: Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor, which went to Heath ledger and Micky Rourke respectively.  And the winners are: BEST FILM "Slumdog Millionaire" - Christian Colson OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM "Man On Wire" - Simon Chinn / Ja...