Film Festivals

2012 Arpa International Film Festival Showcasing Armenian Films Opens in LA November 29 with Comedian Jamie Kennedy’s LOST & FOUND IN ARMENIA

The 15th annual Arpa International Film Festival opens on Thursday November 29 and runs through December 2, 2012 at The Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles, California showcasing over 60 feature films, documentaries and short films from 17 countries.

This year’s N. American bows include Tobias Tobbell’s (The Drummond Will) British thriller CONFINE starring Alfie Allen (Game of Thrones) and supermodel Daisy Lowe in her feature debut . Also showing for the first time in N.America is Aram Sukiasyan’s rock opera WANDERING. ‘Wandering’ is the first such film made in Armenia.

West Coast feature premieres include Nicolas Tackian’s French drama AZAD and Ajay Singh’s endearing family film UPSIDE DOWN (Khalti Doka Varti Paay). The latter film from India was an official selection of the 2012 Cannes Film Festival’s World Cinema section.

These films join the North American premiers of the opening night film Gor Kirakosian’s comedy LOST & FOUND IN ARMENIA (USA), Centerpiece Program Sebastian Siegel’s documentary AWAKENING WORLD (USA), the taboo breaking ZENNE DANCER (TURKEY) and Closing Night Film Armenia’s Official Submission to the Foreign Language Category at the 85th Academy Awards® Natalya Belyauskene’s powerful drama IF ONLY EVERYONE (Armenia) . The Festival will also host acclaimed filmmaker Tsvetana Paskaleva’s revival screening of WOUNDS OF KARABAKH (1994) and Hrach Keshishyan’s special sneak peak of his forthcoming 2013 historical epic feature film, NJDEH. Both filmmakers will be in attendance at Arpa International Film Festival.

15th Annual Arpa International Film Festival Program

Canada’s Whistler Film Festival to Open 2012 Edition With Michael McGowan’s STILL

The Whistler Film Festival opens on Wednesday, November 28 and runs through Sunday, December 2, 2012 in Whistler, British Columbia Canada.

Canadian writer and director Michael McGowan’s STILL (Western Canadian Premiere) is this year’s WFF Opening Night Gala presentation, an inspirational film based on the true story of 88 year old Craig Morrison, who took on the bureaucrats and the challenges of building a home from scratch with equal aplomb. WFF’s Closing Night Gala film is the World Premiere of THE SHEEPDOGS HAVE AT IT by Canadian director, John Barnard and featuring Saskatchewan rock band The Sheepdogs.

Additional World Premieres include: BIRD CO. MEDIA by Vancouver director Jason Bourque, THE MOVIE OUT HERE directed by David Hicks, MAD SHIP directed by David Mortin, STATUS QUO? directed by Karen Cho; and TEMPTING FEAR directed by Mike Douglas.

The complete 2012 lineup:

Beaufort International Film Festival Announces 2013 Dates

The Beaufort International Film Festival returns to the historic waterfront city for its seventh year and will feature approximately 30 independent films and screenplays between February 13 and 17, 2013 at the University of South Carolina Beaufort’s Center for the Performing Arts. The festival concludes with an awards ceremony on February 17. The schedule will be announced in early 2013

Deadlines Approaching for Filmmaker Entries to 56th San Francisco International Film Festival

The San Francisco Film Society is now accepting submissions for the 56th San Francisco International Film Festival, recognized throughout the world as an extraordinary showcase of cinematic discovery and innovation in one of the country’s most beautiful cities. Works in all genres, forms and lengths are considered. The final deadline for short films Monday December 3, and the final deadline for features Monday December 10.

HOW TO ENTER Entry form and information: sffs.org

Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt and Other Winners of 2012 Leeds International Film Festival

The 26^th Leeds International Film Festival ended on Sunday November 18th, after 18 days packed with 270 screenings and events, and an audience of 35,000. The Hunt was voted by Leeds 2012 audiences as overall favorite from 140 feature films, and a record 14,196 completed votes were cast.

The film is described by the festival as Danish filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg’s best film since Festen, The Hunt is a gripping, provocative and devastating drama about a respected member of a close-knit Danish community whose life is destroyed when a young girl accuses him, falsely, of abuse. Winner of Best Actor in Cannes, Mads Mikkelsen plays Lucas, a 40-year-old, good-natured primary school teacher who is recently divorced and trying to rebuild his relationship with his son. Once the accusation is made, Lucas is deemed guilty by the community-turned-mob, ostracized, and hunted by his former friends and neighbors.

Other winners include:

Last Week to Check Out DOC NYC Fest at the IFC Center and SVA Theaters!

We told you guys about it last week, but this year’s DOC NYC Fest is truly shaping up to be one of the premiere film festivals in the entire City. The programming is impeccable, on-point, and there is an almost giddy feeling in all of the recent screenings- whether it was watching the astounding doc about story-book creator and illustrator Tomi Ungerer (whose work turned towards pornography later in life) in director Brad Bernstein’s nspiring Far […]

Last Week to Check Out Amazing DOC NYC Fest at the IFC Center and SVA Theaters!

We told you guys about it last week, but this year’s DOC NYC Fest is truly shaping up to be one of the premiere film festivals in the City. The programming is impeccable, on-point, and there is an almost giddy feeling in all of the recent screenings- whether it was watching the astounding doc about story-book creator and illustrator Tomi Ungerer (whose work turned towards pornography later in life) in director Brad Bernstein’s nspiring Far Out […]

The Show Still Goes On: Doc NYC Starts Tonight at IFC Center in NYC

DOC NYC – Yes- The Show (Still) Goes On! November 8-15 at the IFC Center and SVA Theatre Festival to Partner with Echelon Donates for City Harvest Food Drive During Event to Benefit Hurricane’s Neediest Victims “One of the city’s grandest events.” – The Wall Street Journal “[Has] shot to the top tier of our most essential festivals list.” – New York Magazine Jared Leto brings his film-about-his-band Artifact to the Opening Night of the […]

Gulf Film Festival Announces 2013 Dates

The Gulf Film Festival (GFF), described by the festival as “the home of bold, experimental, and the best of Arab cinema from the Gulf countries and the rest of the world” have announced that the sixth edition will be held from April 11 to 17, 2013 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Ben Affleck’s Argo to Open 2012 Leeds International Film Festival on Thursday

Ben Affleck’s new thriller Argo has been announced as the Opening Gala film of this year’s Leeds International Film Festival. Argo, based on the remarkable true story of a CIA expert posing as a fake film producer in order to infiltrate Iran at the time of the hostage crisis in 1979 and rescue a group of stranded Americans, will open the annual festival at Leeds Town Hall on Thursday November 1, 2012.

The Official Selection will close with Michael Haneke’s second Palme d’Or winnerAmour, a drama about the bond of love between an elderly couple in their eighties, starring Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva.

Other new feature film highlights in the Official Selection include Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt, Carlos Reygadas’ Post Tenebras Lux, Martin McDonagh’s Seven Psychopaths, Tribeca award winners Lucy Mulloy’sUna Noche and Kim Nguyen’s War Witch, and Dominga Sotomayor’s Rotterdam Tiger Award winner From Thursday Till Sunday.

Jason Wolos’ debut feature Trattoria Kicks Off Lineup for 2012 San Francisco Cinema by the Bay Festival

A scene from Jason Wolos' TRATTORIA, the Opening Night film at Cinema by the Bay, November 9-11 at New People Cinema — A scene from Jason Wolos’ TRATTORIA, the Opening Night film at Cinema by the Bay, November 9-11 at New People Cinema

The San Francisco Film Society announced the program lineup for the fourth annual Cinema by the Bay festival, November 9 – 11 at New People Cinema. The three-day festival will feature new work produced in or about the San Francisco Bay Area and will open with Jason Wolos’ debut feature Trattoria. Set in the world of San Francisco’s competitive restaurant culture, a popular chef and his son must reconnect and heal their past through cooking if they want to save their relationship and change the direction of their lives.

The program lineup:

2013 Wisconsin Film Festival Dates and Call For Wisconsin’s Own Films

The 2013 Wisconsin Film Festival will take place April 11 to 18, 2013, and is now accepting film submissions for inclusion in the Festival’s Wisconsin’s Own section. The Festival welcomes narrative, documentary, experimental, and animated films or videos of any length that have been made in Wisconsin or have been made by key personnel with Wisconsin roots. For the 2013 Festival, submissions are only open to Wisconsin’s Own films, including student films. The 2013 Festival […]

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