Independent icon Seymour Cassel lends his name to new festival award.    There is hardly an actor who better embodies the passion and love for independent cinema than American performer Seymour Cassel. For more than 50 years he has been working in front of the camera and is revered for his work with John Cassavetes while being THE face of independent cinema. Sam Peckinpah, Don Siege, Kenn Russell and Alender Rockwell or Wes Anderson have used his luminous qualities. For his performan...

    The New York International Film Festival (NYIFF) today announced that it will host the New York Premiere of horror film The Traveler starring Val Kilmer (Batman Forever, The Doors) on Saturday April 30 at 8pm at the Quad Cinema (34 West 13th Street). Other cast members include Dylan Neal (Babylon 5, 40 Days and 40 Nights), Paul McGillion (Stargate: Atlantis, See Grace Fly) and Camille Sullivan.    Directed by South African award-winning filmmaker and docum...

 The New York International Film Festival (NYIFF) today announced that it will host the New York Premiere of horror film The Traveler starring Val Kilmer (Batman Forever, The Doors) on Saturday April 30 at 8pm at the Quad Cinema (34 West 13th Street). Other cast members include Dylan Neal (Babylon 5, 40 Days and 40 Nights), Paul McGillion (Stargate: Atlantis, See Grace Fly) and Camille Sullivan.  Directed by South African award-winning filmmaker and documentarian Michael Oblowitz (Se...

  For her gritty performance in the new American indie film TRUCKER, the rising actress Michelle Monaghan is getting the best reviews of her career and percolating some Oscar buzz in the bargain. She has become one of the most sought-after actresses of her generation in Hollywood. Michelle Monaghan will receive The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival’s Star On The Horizon Award on Friday evening and will attend a screening of TRUCKER on Saturday night. Monaghan made her...

For her gritty performance in the new American indie film TRUCKER, the rising actress Michelle Monaghan is getting the best reviews of her career and percolating some Oscar buzz in the bargain. She has become one of the most sought-after actresses of her generation in Hollywood. Michelle Monaghan will receive The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival’s Star On The Horizon Award on Friday evening and will attend a screening of TRUCKER on Saturday night. Monaghan made her film debut in PER...

Emmy Award winner and four-time Golden Globe nominee, Armand Assante, will receive the Gasparilla Career Achievement Award for Excellence in Film on March 1st. The award will be presented at a reception held in his honor at the Dolce Vita Lounge at 5:00 p.m., immediately following the screening of one of his films, California Dreamin' at Channelside Cinemas. The long-time actor will also grace the screen in another film festival feature, The Steam Experiment, starring Val Kilmer, which is a fi...

The halfway mark of the festival peaked for me last night with Tom DiCillo's slam-bang DOORS documentary "When You're strange", by far the best rocku-docu this writer has ever seen, but more on that in a moment. The day's opener was the morning press screening of Swedish director Lukas Moodyson's competition entry, "Mammoth", top lining hot Mexican star Gael Garcia Bernal (of Almodobar's "Mala Educacion"), American actress Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain) and featuring three terrific kids...

The halfway mark of the festival peaked for me last night with Tom DiCilio's slambang DOORS documentary "When You're strange", by far the best rocku-docu this writer has ever seen, but more on that in a moment. The day's opener was the morning press screening of Swedish director Lukas Moodyson's competition entry, "Mammoth", top lining hot Mexican star Gael Garcia Bernal (of Almodobar's "Mala Educacion"), American actress Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain) and featuring three terrific kids ...

The 9th Annual Hollywood Film Festival's "Hollywood Awards(r)" ceremony, honoring independent filmmakers and established Hollywood professionals, was held last night 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 Lions Gate Films Releasing President Tom Ortenberg, film preservation leader Librarian of Congress Dr. James Billington, actress Diane Keaton, actor Joaquin Phoenix, actress Charli...