Film Festivals

54th San Francisco International Film Festival Announces 11 Films in New Directors Competition

The Salesman (Sébastian Pilote)

The 54th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 21 – May 5) will award close to $100,000 in total prizes this year. The New Directors Prize of $15,000 is given to a narrative first feature that exhibits a unique artistic sensibility and deserves to be seen by as wide an audience as possible. Seventeen countries contributed to the production of the 11 films in this year’s competition. An independent jury will select the New Directors Prize winner, to be announced at the Golden Gate Awards Wednesday, May 4.

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2011 Nashville Film Festival Announces Feature Films in Competition

13 Assassins

Major award winners from both the 2010 Cannes and 2011 Sundance Film Festivals will headline the World Cinema and competition lineups for the 2011 Nashville Film Festival (NaFF) presented by Nissan when it takes place April 14-21 at the Regal Green Hills Cinemas in Nashville, Tennessee.

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Indie Memphis announces dates for 2011 Indie Memphis Film Festival

Indie Memphis will hold its 14th annual Indie Memphis Film Festival this year from November 3 to November 6, 2011. Screenings and events will once again take place in the heart of Midtown Memphis at the new Playhouse on the Square, Malco Theatre’s Studio on the Square, and the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.

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2011 Fargo Film Festival Best-in-Show Awards

David Filipi – recipient of the Ted M. Larson Award

The Fargo Film Festival named David Filipi as the recipient of the Ted M. Larson Award. Filipi will accept the award on Saturday, March 5 during the closing session of the Fargo Film Festival. The 2011 Fargo Film Festival also announced the best-in-show awards.

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Billy Bob Thornton’s The King of Luck, documentary about Willie Nelson, to close 2011 SXSW

The King of Luck

Billy Bob Thornton’s The King of Luck, a documentary about Willie Nelson, was announced as the Closing Night Film of the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival, scheduled to be screened on Saturday, March 19,. SXSW also announced additional features and shorts for the 2011 event, including a work-in-progress screening of Paul Feig’s Bridesmaids, starring (and co-written by) Kristen Wiig and produced by Judd Apatow, Umshini Wam, a short film from Harmony Korine featuring South African act Die Antwoord, and Hit So Hard, P. David Ebersole’s documentary on HOLE drummer Patty Schemel, among others. SXSW runs March 11 – 19, 2011 in Austin, Texas.

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First Santa Catalina Film Festival scheduled for May 6-8 2011, in Avalon, Santa Catalina Island

The inaugural Santa Catalina Film Festival will be held May 6-8, 2011, in Avalon, Santa Catalina Island. The Santa Catalina Film Festival (SCFF) is a three day festival celebrating independent film with screenings all weekend in addition to discussion panels with top film industry executives.

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2011 Tribeca Film Festival to Open with the World Premiere of Cameron Crowe’s The Union

Elton John and Leon Russell from the The Union. photo credit: Joseph Guay

The world premiere of Cameron Crowe’s documentary The Union will open the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by American Express. A performance by the film’s subject – Elton John – will follow the free, outdoor screening to kick off the Festival’s 10th edition and thank the New York City community for its ongoing support. The Union will premiere on Wednesday, April 20 at the North Cove at the World Financial Plaza. The 10th annual Tribeca Film Festival will take place from April 20 through May 1, 2011.

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One World uses “Empty Chair” to draw attention to imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo

Liu Xiaobo

One World International Film Festival running in Prague from March 8 to 17, 2011 will use an “Empty Chair” to draw attention to imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo. The Chinese dissident had been sentenced to 11 years in jail. During the One World festival viewers will come across an empty chair with the poster ofLiu in screening halls.

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13th annual Washington D.C. Independent Film Festival to close with special screening of The Blair Witch Project

The 13th annual Washington D.C. Independent Film Festival (DCIFF) will take place March 3-13, 2011. DCIFF will showcase more than 100 features, shorts, animations, and documentaries created btalented artists from around the world. Films are grouped by theme into 26 different sessions.

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Cleveland International Film Festival to open with Hamill and close with Soul Surfer

Hamil

The 35th Cleveland International Film Festival, scheduled for March 24 to April 3, 2011, will open with Oren Kaplan’s Hamill, based on Ohio wrestler Matt “The Hammer” Hamill; and close with Sean McNamara’s Soul Surfer.

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2011 Hong Kong International Film Festival To Open with Don’t Go Breaking My Heart and Quattro Hong Kong 2

The Hong Kong International Film Festival Society (HKIFFS) announced Miriam YEUNG as the ambassador of the 35th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF); and Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, by the Hong Kong film industry’s duo of Johnnie TO and WAI Ka-fai; and Quattro Hong Kong 2, jointly directed by four award-winning filmmakers as the two opening films of this year.

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Full Frame Announces 2011 Opening Night Film; U.S. Premiere of “Guilty Pleasures”

The 14th annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival will open with the U.S. Premiere of “Guilty Pleasures.” Director Julie Moggan’s vibrant feature traces the experiences of five individuals from around the world marked by their particular connections to Mills & Boon romance novels. We meet a successful romance novelist whose female pseudonym produces countless bestsellers, a male cover model in search of a soul mate and three women enraptured by paperback romances, whose perceptions of relationships are entangled with the scripted portrayal of courtship. As they navigate love in a modern age, we are captivated by their endearing and all-too-human journey.

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