by Anne Marie “Independent cinema is cinema produced outside of big studios with a small to medium budget” – such is the definition of independent cinema. Contrary to many other definitions, independent cinema is defined not by what it is, but by its opposition to the cinema of big Hollywood machines. This is, in fact, how independent cinema was born. The birth of a new film label. It was in the United States, in the 50′s, that independent cinema fir...

“Handmade” is the slogan of Villa Leyva 5th International Film Festival, ÉCU’s new partner in Latin America. A festival that thinks about every detail to attract, collect, impact, generate reflection, dialogue and meeting points.  It’s a festival that makes a difference for their careful planning, conservatorship, team, strong partnerships and faithful followers. An event in the industry consolidated as a space for project development ...

Skepto International Film Festival 2012: Submissions opened! We are pleased to announce that the Skepto International Film Festival has opened submissions for its third edition! Skepto International Film Festival has a competitive nature and it is open to short movies with no limits as to their subject, style or production budget. It admits documentary and short films of all kinds, including musical videoclips, videoart, experimental short movies, spots, fake trailers, new media...

Français German Here at ÉCU we haven’t shied away from bringing you awesome music videos that also tread that very thin (and much discussed) line between art and erotica. After ‘Baby Baby Baby’ and ‘Bombay’, a video that pushed the boundaries even further caught our eye: The new Handsome Furs video for  ‘What About Us’, directed by Scott Coffey. Warning: Extremely NSFW. Seriously, unless you work in the porn industry, or your boss is a liberal...

Français Italian Spanish Alessia and Alexander are two interns working at ÉCU from abroad. Alessia is Italian, and Alexander is Colombian working in Bulgaria. We are a truly international festival and you can see how this is reflected in our hard working international interns! We asked them to interview each other for out July Intern Buzz article, here are their responses: Alessia interviews Alexander 1. You are interested in developing independent project...

Français Meet ÉCU’s new festival partner ‘Early Bird’, a European student film festival. We are delighted to announce that they are now open for submissions. For more details please see below: “EARLY BIRD” EUROPEAN STUDENT FILM FESTIVAL IS OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS (NOVEMBER 2011, SOFIA, BULGARIA) The American Foundation for Bulgaria has the pleasure to invite you to participate in the selection for the program of the 7th Students’ Film Festival EARLY BI...

Français Since its debut in 1997, the “International Meetings in Cinema, Television, Vídeo and Multimédia – AVANCA ’11″ festival has steadily grown in audience turnout and its number of film submissions. Avanca has also succeeded in becoming the largest audiovisuals workshop space in Europe in the past 15 years. This year, Avanca invited ÉCU Festival Manager Kädi Lokk to the festival to serve on its jury board! Renowned for serving as an international meeting grou...

Français German Italian Spanish Hello ÉCU-ers and ÉCU-ettes! The month of July brings many things to Paris. Hordes of anglo-tourists, the Paris-Plages, a sweltering sun that never fails to remind us of the Frenchman’s aversion to A/C. With this onslaught of nuisances, many Parisians take this time to escape the hell of urban summers for a more pleasant environment. Scott, the wise man that he is, took a cue from the Parisians and fled the city for a balmier optio...

Français From restored grand classic movies, to Pixar’s latest animated film, and not to mention a ‘Special Honor to Mexico’ showcase, there was something for everyone. The ÉCU team went to the festival to gather audience reactions. “So much action! Stimulation overload!”, “A high quality festival affordable for most people” and “10 days of REAL cinema” … were some of the reactions towards the Tuesday evening at the end of the MK2 Bibliothèque festiva...

Français By Will Sayre – Intern at ÉCU On Avenue de Suffren here in Paris, you’ll find The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, an institute commonly known as “The UNESCO.” It hosts a wide array of cultural events, executive board meetings and conferences. Its motto: “Building peace in the minds of men and women.” On July 6, all was certainly peaceful as crowds of people filed into UNESCO’s grand theater for Les Nuits En Or, a presti...

Français Since its debut in 1997, the “International Meetings in Cinema, Television, Vídeo and Multimédia – AVANCA ’11″ festival has steadily grown in audience attendance and number of film submissions. Avanca has also succeeded in becoming the largest audiovisuals workshop space in Europe in the past 15 years. Every year, cinema enthusiasts and professionals from all over the world come to the small town of Avanca, Portugal, because the festival summons them to sh...

Monday, July 11, Project Voicescape hosted a live chat to discuss the future of the media industry from the perspective of young creative women. This conversation is the first in an ongoing series of live chats called “Leading the Conversation” that ITVS will present this year. Find out more! Article: http://to.pbs.org/qkjxTN   Lundi, 11 juillet, Project Voicescape a animé une discussion en direct pour parler de l’avenir de l’industrie média selon le point de vue...

Budding young filmmaker? Creative writer? Marketing genius? Social Media Pro? Here is an amazing opportunity for you to gain hands-on experience in the fantastic world of cinema while working with a cool international team in the heart of Paris. Our festival wouldn’t be as successful as it is if it weren’t for the tireless effort of all the people who volunteer every year. If you want to find out what goes on behind the scenes and join us in making it happen, then we w...