• World Premiere of Mistaken for Strangers to open 2013 Tribeca Film Festival

    The world premiere of Mistaken for Strangers  will open the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival.  Director Tom Berninger chronicles his experience on tour with his brother, The National’s frontman Matt Berninger, in what the festival describes as a “funny and affecting film.” which will also play during the Festival’s 12th edition. The premiere, taking place on Wednesday, April 17, will be followed by a special performance by The National. The Festival will run through April 28.

    Mistaken for Strangers follows The National on its biggest tour to date. Newbie roadie Tom (lead singer Matt Berninger’s younger brother) is a heavy metal and horror movie enthusiast, and can’t help but put his own spin on the experience. Inevitably, Tom’s moonlighting as an irreverent documentarian creates some drama for the band on the road. The film is a hilarious and touching look at two very different brothers and an entertaining story of artistic aspiration.

    The National band members include Matt Berninger, Bryce Dessner, Aaron Dessner, Bryan Devendorf and Scott Devendorf. In 2010 the band released High Violet, which sold more than half a million copies worldwide. A brand new studio album from The National is slated for a May release on 4AD with a world tour to follow.

    The 2013 Tribeca Film Festival will announce its feature film slate on March 5 and 6, 2013. 

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  • Do Not Miss the First Time Fest in NYC THIS WEEKEND!

    [caption id="attachment_3244" align="alignnone" width="550"]Darren Aronofsky – Pi[/caption]

    First Time Fest (FTF) – a celebration of first time filmmakers – is a new and unique film festival taking place in New York City from March 1 through 4, 2013. FTF is set to discover and present the next generation of great cinema artists.

    Martin Scorsese will add his illustrious presence and belief in that art of cinema at The Players to present the first John Huston Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinema. The inaugural Award will be bestowed on an individual who has made a significant contribution to the art of cinema: Darren Aronofsky. First Time Fest is dedicated to discovering talented new filmmakers who will go on to fulfill the promise of their extraordinary debut films. John Huston was one of the most prolific and versatile directors in the history of cinema. And with his mesmerizing debut film, Pi – made independently on black-and-white 16mm film – Darren Aronofsky was instantly recognized as a uniquely gifted new talent. His subsequent films: Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, The Wrestler and Black Swan, have more than fulfilled that promise.

    Christine Vachon, Gay Talese and the B-52s Fred Schneider have joined the fest as three of its five jurors (the entire live audience at each of the 12 competition films will be the 5th juror).  Together, the jury and audience will ultimately select a Grand Prize winner, who will be offered theatrical distribution for their film and full international sales representation from the renowned American film distributor, Cinema Libre Studio. In addition to the Competition Films, FTF will present First Exposure, a series of first films from now prominent filmmakers.   Joining the line-up – and attending the fest – are our exciting Opening Night presentation of Sofia Coppola with The Virgin Suicides, Todd Solondz with Welcome to the Dollhouse, Wes Anderson’s (who will not be able to attend) Bottle Rocket, Barbara Kopple with Harlan County, USA, and Melvin Van Peebles with The Story of a Three-Day Pass.  Previously announced First Exposure titles and attending filmmakers are PI (Darren Aronofsky), The Maltese Falcon (film will be introduced by William Luhr, author of “The Maltese Falcon: John Huston, director”), Poison (Todd Haynes’ – who will not be able to attend – first film; produced by then first-time feature producer Christine Vachon, who can), Jack Goes Boating (Philip Seymour Hoffman, attending with actress Amy Ryan), The Unbelievable Truth (Hal Hartley), True Love (Nancy Savoca) and Killer’s Kiss (Stanley Kubrick’s first).

    First Exposure will also include a 60th Anniversary Tribute to Morris Engel’s The Little Fugitive, a cinema vérité classic from 1953 that was shot on Coney Island and has inspired countless filmmakers, from Jean-Luc Godard to the Coen brothers.  The tribute will include a panel hosted by film historian Foster Hirsch and Mary Engel, daughter of Morris Engel and Ruth Orkin). In addition there will be a Special Presentation of Everardo Gout’s thrillingly over-the-top action thriller DAYS OF GRACE (DĺAS DE GRACIA), which won the Mexican Academy of Film’s prestigious Ariel Award for Best First Feature and was nominated for the Camera d’Or at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

    First Time Fest will also include a series of panels called “How They Did It,” in which a diverse group of award-winning filmmakers will moderate filmmaking case studies and spotlight some of the most successful and accomplished masters of the industry.  Panels will include: Switch Hitters: Actors, Producers, Writers & Others Who Direct; Sell, Baby, Sell: Marketing Independent Films (Emily Russo, Scott Feinstein, Peter Saraf, Monica Brady); From Rock To Score: Contemporary Musicians Who Become Film Composers (John Forte); Show Me the Money (Steven Beer, Duncan Cork); Across The Border: International Filmmakers Come to America; Women and Diversity in Film (Jenny Lumet, Frida Torresblanco); and A Critical Eye: Critics and their Role in Discovering New Filmmakers (Scott Foundas, John Anderson, Eric Kohn, Dana Stevens, Josh Rothkopf). There will also be several “Stand Alone! – Conversations with the Outstanding,” one-on-one interviews with notable cinema artists. Additional participants in these programs will be announced shortly.First Time Fest is a four-day, multi-faceted event hosted in New York City’s Gramercy Park by the celebrated Players (16 Gramercy Park South), the club founded by Edwin Booth, Mark Twain and John Singer Sargent, the oldest and most exclusive arts organization of its kind whose membership includes the greatest stars of stage and screen. Each of First Time Fest’s twelve finalists will receive high-level industry mentorship and a one-year membership to The Players. The Players will be the location for all FTF panels and events as well as the Filmmaker and VIP Lounge.  First Time Fest’s screenings will be held at the Loews Village VII on Third Avenue (on 11th St. & 3rd Ave).

    Posted By: Francesca McCaffery

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  • RIP: Shark Attack Kills Award-Winning Director Adam Strange

    [caption id="attachment_3241" align="alignnone" width="550"]The Crystal Bear for the Best Short Film in Generation 14plus, the team of Aphrodite’s Farm: producer Anzak Tindall, director Adam Strange at Berlin Festival[/caption]

    Award-winning director Adam Strange was attacked and killed yesterday by what is believed to be a great white shark while swimming at popular Muriwai Beach north of Auckland, New Zealand. Strange was 46 years old.

    “All of a sudden, we saw the shark fin and next minute, boom, attack him and then blood every where on the water,” said witness Pio Mose.  “He was still alive, he put his head up, we called him to swim over [to] the rock to where we were. He raised his hand up, and then while he was rising his hand up we saw another attack pull him in the water.”

    Armed police immediately responded in a helicopter and an inflatable surf lifesaving boat, firing into the ocean to drive the sharks off so lifeguards could recover his body. 

    The family later released a statement saying: “The family are grieving the loss of a glorious and great father, husband and friend.”

    Strange won a Crystal Bear with his first short film Aphrodite’s Farm at the Berlin Film Festival in 2009.

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  • Complete List of 2013 Oscar Winners

    [caption id="attachment_2288" align="alignnone" width="550"]Searching for Sugar Man won the award for Best Documentary [/caption]

    Argo and Life of Pi were the big winners last night at the 85th Academy Awards. Argo took the biggest prize, Best Picture, in addition to Best Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay; and Ang Lee’s Life of Pi grabbed four wins including Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects and Best Score. 

    [caption id="attachment_2949" align="alignnone" width="550"]Amour won the award for Foreign Language Film[/caption]

    Searching for Sugar Man won the award for Best Documentary and as expected Amour won the award for Foreign Language Film.

    The full list of winners of 85th Academy Awards:

    Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz

    Animated Short Film: Paper Man

    Animated Feature Film: Brave

    Cinematography: Claudio Miranda for Life of Pi

    Visual Effects: Life of Pi

    Costume Design: Anna Karenina

    Makeup and Hairstyling: Les Miserables

    Live Action Short Film: Curfew

    Documentary Short Subject: Innocente

    Documentary Feature: Searching for Sugar Man

    Foreign Language Film: Amour

    Sound Mixing: Les Miserables

    Sound Editing: Zero Dark Thirty and Skyfall (A tie)

    Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway

    Film Editing: Argo

    Production Design: Lincoln

    Original Score: Life of Pi

    Original Song: Skyfall

    Adapted Screenplay: Chris Terrio for Argo

    Original Screenplay: Quentin Tarantion for Django Unchained

    Directing: Ang Lee

    Actress: Jennifer Lawrence

    Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis

    Best Picture: Argo


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  • Toy’s House to Kick Off 2013 Cleveland International Film Festival

    Toy’s House, which filmed in Northeast Ohio, will get the honorary hometown treatment to open the 37th Cleveland International Film Festival on Wednesday, April 3, 2013.  Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, the film stars Nick Robinson, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Alison Brie and Mary Lynn Rajskub.

    The film which premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, is described as “a unique coming-of-age story about three teenagers who, in the ultimate act of independence, decide to spend their summer building a house in the woods.”

    The 37th Cleveland International Film Festival runs runs April 3-14, 2013

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  • Silver Linings Playbook, The Sessions and The Perks of Being A Wallflower Among 2013 Spirit Awards Winners

    [caption id="attachment_3236" align="alignnone" width="550"]Producer Paul Garnes, writer/director Ava DuVernay, and producer Howard Barish accept the John Cassavetes Award for ‘Middle of Nowhere’ onstage during the 2013 Film Independent Spirit Awards at Santa Monica Beach on February 23, 2013 in Santa Monica, California.[/caption]

    Silver Linings Playbook, The Sessions and The Perks of Being A Wallflower were among the winners at the 28th Film Independent Spirit Awards held on Saturday night. Beasts of the Southern Wild, Magic Mike, Amour and The Invisible War also received awards at the ceremony, which is held in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica.

    This year’s major category winners were Silver Linings Playbook, which won Best Feature, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Female Lead and The Sessions, which won Best Supporting Female and Best Male Lead; The Perks of Being A Wallflower, which won Best First Feature and Safety Not Guaranteed, which won Best First Screenplay; Beasts of the Southern Wild, which won Best Cinematography, Magic Mike, which won Best Supporting Male and Middle of Nowhere which won the John Cassavetes Award; Sony Pictures Classics’ Amour, which won Best International Film and The Invisible War, which won Best Documentary. A Special Distinction Award was given posthumously to Cinematographer Harris Savides.

    The 6th annual Robert Altman Award was given to one film’s director, casting director, and ensemble cast. Sean Baker’s Starlet received this award, along with casting directors Julia Kim and ensemble cast members Dree Hemingway, Besedka Johnson, Karren Karagulian, Stella Maeve, James Ransone.

    The 2013 Chaz and Roger Ebert Fellowship, which is awarded to a filmmaker in Project Involve, Film Independent’s diversity mentorship program and includes a cash grant of $10,000, was given to Melissa Haizlip, director of the documentary Mr. SOUL!. 

    The following is a complete list of the winners:

    Best Feature: Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company)
    Producers: Bruce Cohen, Donna Gigliotti, Jonathan Gordon

    Best Director: David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company)

    Best Screenplay: David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company)

    Best First Feature: The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Summit Entertainment)
    Writer/Director: Stephen Chbosky / Producers: Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Russell Smith

    Best First Screenplay: Derek Connolly, Safety Not Guaranteed (FilmDistrict)

    John Cassavetes Award (For best feature made under $500,000): Middle of Nowhere (AFFRM in partnership with Participant Media)
    Writer/Director/Producer: Ava DuVernay / Producers: Howard Barish, Paul Garnes

    [caption id="attachment_3237" align="alignnone" width="550"]Actor Fred Armisen (L) and actress Helen Hunt [/caption]

    Best Supporting Female: Helen Hunt, The Sessions (Fox Searchlight)

    Best Supporting Male: Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike (Warner Bros.Pictures)

    [caption id="attachment_2171" align="alignnone" width="445"]Actress Jennifer Lawrence speaks onstage during the 2013 Film Independent Spirit Awards[/caption]

    Best Female Lead: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company)

    Best Male Lead: John Hawkes, The Sessions (Fox Searchlight)

    Robert Altman Award: Starlet (Music Box Films)
    Director: Sean Baker / Casting Director: Julia Kim / Ensemble Cast: Dree Hemingway, Besedka Johnson, Karren Karagulian, Stella Maeve, James Ransone

    Best Cinematography: Ben Richardson, Beasts of the Southern Wild (Fox Searchlight)

    Best International Film: Amour (France – Sony Pictures Classics) Director: Michael Haneke

    Best Documentary: The Invisible War (Cinedigm Entertainment Group)
    Director: Kirby Dick / Producers: Amy Ziering, Tanner King Barklow

    Special Distinction: Harris Savides

     

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  • Blood Brother Wins Top Prize at 2013 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival

     [caption id="attachment_3231" align="alignnone" width="550"]Blood Brother[/caption]

    A film about a young man who set aside his comfortable life to help children at an AIDS orphanage in India won the top prize at the 2013 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.  The film, “Blood Brother,” a 93-minute film directed by Steve Hoover, was named Best Feature Documentary.

    [caption id="attachment_3232" align="alignnone" width="550"]Not Yet Begun to Fight[/caption]

    “Not Yet Begun to Fight,” by Sabrina Lee and Shasta Grenier, won the 2013 Big Sky Award, given each year to the best documentary film about the American West. The 60-minute film tells the story of a retired Marine colonel who brings five traumatically wounded military veterans to Montana to learn to fly fish. Notably, that film’s director of photography, Justin Lubke, himself won the Big Sky Award in 2008 for his film, “Class C.”

    [caption id="attachment_3233" align="alignnone" width="550"]Amar[/caption]

    “Amar,” a 9-minute film by UK filmmaker Andrew Hinton about a 14-year old boy’s difficult daily life, won the Best Mini Documentary award. “Slomo,” Joshua Izenberg’s film about a neurologist who decides to give up his job in search of greater meaning, won Best Short Documentary.

    [caption id="attachment_3234" align="alignnone" width="550"]The Thick Dark Fog[/caption]

    “The Thick Dark Fog,” a film by Randy Vasquez about a Lakota man’s efforts to reclaim his heritage, was honored with a Big Sky Artistic Vision citation. “The Words in the Margins,” a 15-minute film by Sara Mott about a unique friendship forged between an illiterate American man and his Kenyan reading tutor, received a Mini Documentary Artistic Vision citation. “Do Not Duplicate,” a film by Jonathan Mann and Sean McGing about a safecracker and artist in New York City, received a Short Documentary Artistic Vision citation.


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  • Whitney Houston Family Documentary to Open 2013 American Documentary Film Festival

    The American Documentary Film Festival and Film Fund (AmDocs) returns for it’s second year with over one hundred documentary films from all over the world. The festival opens on Thursday, April 4th and runs through Sunday, April 8th, 2013.

    “We’ve expanded our program quite a bit this year,” said Festival Director Ted Grouya. “We’ll be utilizing all three of the screens at the Camelot Theatres in Palm Springs, as well as one screen at the Cinemark Century Theatres at The River in Rancho Mirage. The fact that we’ve been able to expand so quickly is a testament to the success we had with last year’s festival. People love documentaries!”

    Opening Night for The American Documentary Film Festival and Film Fund, AmDocs will screen documentary filmmaker and producer Gary Keys’ new documentary, VOICES OF LOVE: WHITNEY HOUSTON AND HER FAMILY. 

    VOICES OF LOVE provides an inside look at one of America’s most musically influential families –  the Drinkards – whose popular gospel group, The Drinkard Singers, included Whitney Houston’s mother, Cissy Houston, and Lee Warwick, the mother of singer Dionne Warwick. The film traces the history of song in this talent-infused family and celebrates their spirit, their strength of family, and the power of gospel music to heal, to transcend, and to entertain. 

    While most of the Drinkard family stayed with their gospel roots, their musical tradition paved the way for singers Dionne Warwick, Cissy Houston, and Whitney Houston, and encouraged them to branch out into popular music. The film is filled with powerful musical performances by Cissy Houston, Whitney Houston and Dionne Warwick, never-before-seen footage, exclusive interviews with, and performances by, members of Whitney’s family, as well as interviews with Natalie Cole, and Aretha Franklin.  

    [caption id="attachment_3229" align="alignnone" width="550"]Dionne Warwick[/caption]

    Singer Dionne Warwick will attend the event, and take the stage and participate in a brief Q&A after the screening.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdXjLnWj1vw

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  • Full Frame Documentary Film Festival Chosen as an Academy Award Qualifying Festival

    Congratulations are in order for the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences notified the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival last week that it has been chosen as an Academy Award® qualifying festival in the Documentary Short Subject category.

    “This announcement today has energized the entire Full Frame community,” said Deirdre Haj, Full Frame’s Executive Director. “We view this as a recognition of the strength of the festival, the quality of its programming and a commitment to including film festivals in the process of discovering new filmmakers and films and helping them qualify for one of the industry’s highest honors.”

    Last August, the Producers Guild of America announced that Full Frame has been added to its select list of qualifying events.

    This next Full Frame Documentary Film Festival is scheduled for April 4-7, 2013.

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  • REVIEW: Rubber Neck

    Reeling from a weekend tryst gone awry, wanting more from his co-worker, Boston research scientist Paul (Alex Karpovsky) fantasizes daily about what could be, he uses their ocassional greetings and pleasantries at work as a means to hope that their by-chance encounter will turn into a relationship. However, on the mind of Danielle (Jaime Ray Newman) is the opposite. With a new day comes a new interest, in the form of a new hire. Much to the ire of Paul, Danielle’s interaction with the newbe leaves Paul green with envy. As Paul becomes more obsessive by the day, the elephant in the room (Danielle’s lust, his anguish, their weekend turned nothing) wiill ultimately be addressed.

    Life is a continuation, with potential to pass you by, if by chance you are caught in the distraction of watching the other side of the highway. “Rubber-Necking” as they call it, the symbolism in this feature film is glaring as Paul, the victim and culprit simultaneously has been stagnated by tragedy; an occurrence which rendered him powerless in pursuit of normalcy, Paul exists. Separation Anxiety notwithstanding he is at the mercy of anyone, or thing which he deems appropriate for commitment.

    The monotonous Nature of Rubber Neck, set in suburban Boston may be hard to overlook, however there is a silver lining. What is to be learned is the ill of judgment of a book by its cover, or furthermore the consequence of forgetting the damage done by empty advances. Momentary satisfaction can do a world of hurt, as evidence by the climactic peak. Time cannot be regained, neither can a life. This 1:24:11 is fruitful in some aspects if sought.  To the true independent film buff, you are served.

    With no expectation, I took to Rubber Neck as anyone would an abstract offering, requiring your attention through and through. No glitz, no glam, no ringing bells, just content; a gift with minimal wrapping. Open to interpretation, there seems to be no right or wrong answer.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmzD5LKu8js

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  • 13th Annual New York Indian Film Festival Announces 2013 Dates

    [caption id="attachment_3223" align="alignnone" width="550"]Shabana Azmi and Aroon Shivdasani at NYIFF[/caption]

    The 13th Annual New York Indian Film Festival, described as “the oldest and most prestigious film festival for Indian cinema in North America”, will be held Tuesday, April 30 to Saturday, May 4, 2013 in New York City.  

    The New York Indian Film Festival will kick off its week-long festivities with a star-studded Opening Night red carpet premiere, at the the Skirball Center for Performing Arts. Festival screenings will take place throughout the week at Tribeca Cinemas, with the Closing Night selection to be followed by the annual awards ceremony and after-party at the Skirball Center for Performing Arts.

    The New York Indian Film Festival (originally the IAAC Film Festival) started in 2001 following the devastation of the September 11 attacks on New York City. 

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  • Lotus Eaters Scheduled for April 2013 Release Date

    Lotus Eaters which premiered at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival followed by the BFI London Film Festival, will open in New York City on April 5, 2013, before expanding to Los Angeles, and additional markets on April 12th, 2013.

    Lotus Eaters, filmed in London and the Irish countryside, and featuring a “pulsing” indie soundtrack,stars a cast of young up-and-comers lead by Antonia Campbell-Hughes, a former fashion model; Johnny Flynn, lead singer of the popular English folk-rock band Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit and Benn Northover, who appeared in a number of acclaimed films including Harry Potter And The Deathly Hollows.

    The film is the directorial debut of Alexandra McGuinness, and follows a group of young Londoners as they struggle to find meaning in their lives while masking their discontent with sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll.  The story centers on ex-model and aspiring actress Alice (Antonia Campbell-Hughes) as she struggles with her relationship with Charlie (Johnny Flynn), her drug-addicted ex-boyfriend.  The fashionable group of friends epitomizes a new modern “lost generation” reminiscent of Ernest Hemmingway and his cohorts.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rACt1o5Uzmk

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