The artists for 2010 TVIFF Music Fest have been selected: 2010 MUSICFEST FINALISTS JESSICA ERIN, country / pop singer and writer Originally from Illinois, Jessica currently resides in Los Angeles, working hard to hone her craft as a singer/songwriter. She has opened for Grammy Award winning duo Montgomery Gentry, Country star Darryl Worley, & others. Her song "Girls Night Out", was aired on NBC TV's hit show "Friday Night Lights". Her song, "...

  Nothing ignites interest like a world premiere, and this year's Montreal World Film Festival is boasting several. Among its most highly anticipated red carpet events is the presentation of THE NEIGHBOR, a film written and directed by Naghmeh Shirkhan. The film will be screened in the First Films World Competition section. Starring Azita Sahebjam, Tara Nazemi, Parisa Wahedi, Kamyar Mahinsa, Matt Dean, Ramin Sanadizadeth and Parvin Sahebjam this Canadian/USA co-production set in ...

  What do women want? It is a question for the ages….and one usually, asked and even answered by men. However, a rare feminine point of view of this ageless subject is on display in the new feature film CAIRO TIME, written and directed by Ruba Nadda and starring the gloriously talented Patricia Clarkson. The film is currently  in theatrical release in North America via specialty distributor IFC Films. To view the trailer, log on to: http://pro.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi4120...

From the director of Desperate Escape (2009) and Riddles of the Sphinx (2008) George Mendeluk is here to present to us his latest film Fight or Flight (2010) in an exclusive one-to-one dialogue about his soon to be released film.ME: So, George, can you tell us all about Fight or Flight? What is it about in sum and what can you tell us at this point to whet our appetite for your next opus?  GEORGE: Fight or Flight is a science fiction action film about a terrorist organization who explode a bomb...

   Olivia Newton-John in SCORE: A HOCKEY MUSICAL Toronto and hockey......a match made in maple leaf heaven. Add music and icon Olivia Newton-John to the mix and you've got the ingredients for a fun and campy film delight. Well, that delightful concoction, the first hockey musical that I've ever heard tell of, will be the Opening Night Gala for the Toronto International Film Festival in September. The Festival hosts the world premiere of SCORE: A HOCKEY MUSICAL by Canadian writ...

see film trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mNCIFBH0Ys Chris D'Arienzo was unable to make it to the first AIFF but his film was and indeed proved a hit among viewers.After the festival, I contacted my talented writer friend and asked him if he'd answer a few questions for me about the experience of making hisfirst feature film. Ironically, I had asked to interview him 3 months before the festival for a research project I was doing for University ofLondon but he was too busy s...

  view film trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EATRYX4_3AA   Herrera protects Ruddy During exclusive interview with Venezzia stars Ruddy Rodriguez and Alfonso Herrera, they discuss their difficult love scene. Ruddy says that even though she is older than Alfonso, he protected her during their love scene and made her feel more comfortable. Hmmm, that mustive been hard! lol!  But all joking aside, Ruddy barely needed protection as she pr...

  by Marla Lewin We will be attending another Shorts Film Fest this time here in Los Angeles. They proclaim themselves to be the largest short film festival in the world with 285 film screenings and 9 days of educational panels, interactive and entertaining events. Their host venue is the Laemmle Sunset 5 Theaters located at 8000 Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood CA 90046. They tell me that the festival has quickly become the industry standard for showcasing and awarding undiscov...

  When the center of your film is a person whose celebrated motor mouth is both the source of her fame and, sometimes, of her undoing, you definitely have a film that is about the marvels of talk, talk and more talk. That is certainly the case with the popular documentary JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK, a disarmingly intimate portrait of the American comic legend. The documentary duo of Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg were on-stage guests at the special screening of the film at the Jacob...

  The Honorees at this year's QFest are a talented and eclectic bunch. Please join us in celebrating 2010's cross-generational and multi-talented recipients for QFest's Artistic Achievement Awards.   Cheryl Dunye: Artistic Achievement Award in Directing     Friday, July 16, 2010 ...

The latest offering from highly respected German independent filmmaker Percy Adlon, a glossy, heady, off-beat biopic about the famous turn of the century Viennese composer Gustav Mahler, his tumultuous affair and stormy marriage with Alma Schindler, a woman twenty years younger, and his presumed (but undoubtedly fictitious) couch sessions with Sigmund Freud to sort out his emotional problems, was definitely the class film of the Los Angeles Film Festival. This was a world Premiere scoop leverage...

The latest offering from highly respected German independent filmmaker Percy Adlon, a glossy, heady, off-beat biopic about the famous turn of the century Viennese composer Gustav Mahler, his tumultuous affair and stormy marriage with Alma Schindler, a woman twenty years younger, and his presumed (but undoubtedly fictitious) couch sessions with Sigmund Freud to sort out his emotional problems, was definitely the class film of the Los Angeles Film Festival. This was a world Premiere scoop leverage...

Barbara Romer explodes  as an actress playing Alma Mahler in her first film roleFilm is a masterpiece on a budget of $2.5 million and looks like 10 times that Film plays again on Saturday June 26 at Regal Cinemas at 1:45 www.lafest.com ...

I wrote yesterday about 2 films receiving a lot of buzz, then felt a little worried they wouldn't meet up to my high expectations... too often the case when you hear about the best of the fest. SO- it was such a relief to emerge from the LA Film Festival cinemas yesterday and say yes, those films deserved all that buzzing. 'Where Are You Taking Me' took me to Uganda with a sincere observational eye that simply lets the magical moments unfold before you, untouched except by Kimi Takes...

Chris D'Arienzo was unable to make it to the first AIFF but his film was and indeed proved a hit among viewers. After the festival, I contacted my talented writer friend and asked him if he'd answer a few questions for me about the experience of making his first feature film. Ironically, I had asked to interview him 3 months before the festival for a research project I was doing for University of London but he was too busy so I wrote about David Lynch instead. Chris m...

Because I could really do with one right now!  Was confirmed for 3 LAFF red carpets last night, 2 of them at the same time, and the 3rd one on during the cocktail reception for the 1st one at the Live. Create.Lounge. Guess which one I chose? The cocktail party, and the red carpet premiere of Cyrus of course. Couldn't miss the chance to meet the marvellous Marisa Tomei.  She has 2 men fighting over her in Cyrus and yeah, who can blame them, because in this film, like so many ...

Del Shores’ Yellow in West Hollywood by Marla LewinThis is Del Shores first new play in seven years! There is something so special about going to the opening night, and a World Premiere, because the living author/playwright/director/producer brings an emotional, engaging new play alive.  With of course the help of so many great artists actors and his other producers.  There is something so exciting when all of this comes together and the chemistry all works. It is magical.So what does one w...