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London’s Human Rights Watch Film Festival Unveils 2014 Film Lineup

DANGEROUS ACTS STARRING THE UNSTABLE ELEMENTS OF BELARUS

The 18th edition of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in London will run from March 18 to 28, 2014 with a lineup of 20 award-winning documentary and feature films. The festival will take place at the Curzon Mayfair, Curzon Soho, Ritzy Brixton and for the first time at the Barbican. This year’s program is organized around five themes: Armed Conflict and the Arab Spring; Human Rights Defenders, Icons and Villains; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Rights; Migrants’ Rights and Women’s Rights and Children’s Rights.

Video Services Corp Ink Deal With Magnolia Pictures; BIG BAD WOLVES, LIFE’S A BREEZE Among Films Set for Release in Canada

BIG BAD WOLVES

Video Services Corp (VSC) has inked a two-year multi-platform Canadian distribution deal with Magnolia Pictures to release up to 30 films a year exclusively for the Canadian market. In the past year VSC has enjoyed handling a successful string of theatrical releases of Magnolia films, including A HIJACKING, BAD MILO!, PRINCE AVALANCHE and TOUCHY FEELY. The deal starts off with the release of the award-winning Israeli film BIG BAD WOLVES in January 2014, followed in March by ALAN PARTRIDGE, already a hit in the UK, starring Steve Coogan. Other projected 2014 releases include the horror anthology THE ABCS OF DEATH 2 and Toronto International Film Festival selections LIFE’S A BREEZE and THE SACRAMENT.

Anne Ashbey to Step Down as Exec Director of Ashland Independent Film Festival

The Ashland Independent Film Festival announced on Friday that Anne Ashbey will be stepping down after two years as executive director. The non-profit organization’s board of directors officially accepted her resignation and has approved a transition plan and has formed a search committee to identify the new executive director. Ashbey has agreed to stay on through the transition period. The 13th annual Ashland Independent Film Festival will be celebrated April 3 to 7, 2014 at the Varsity Theatre, the historic Ashland Armory and the Ashland Street Cinema.

LOCKE Selected as Opening Night Film of 2014 Phoenix Film Festival

LOCKE has been selected as the opening night film of the 14th Phoenix Film Festival taking place April 3 to 10, 2014. Directed by filmmaker Steven Knight (Eastern Promises, Dirty Pretty Things) and driven by what the festival describes as an unforgettable performance by Tom Hardy, LOCKE is a thrillingly unique cinematic experience of a man fighting to salvage all that is important to him.

COMING SOON: Academy Award-winner Melissa Leo Joins The Cast of Ian Olds’ THE FIXER

Academy Award-winner Melissa Leo Melissa Leo

Academy Award-winner Melissa Leo joins Ian Olds’ THE FIXER (written by Paul Felten and Ian Olds) as Gloria, the ex-hippie sheriff of a small, darkly eccentric Northern California town. Leo joins James Franco who plays Lindsay, an unstable hot-tub craftsman. Olds and Felten wrote the part of Gloria with Melissa Leo in mind, who previously worked with Olds’ in his short film BOMB (Sundance Film Festival, 2007).

Oliver Stone Among Filmmakers Attending 2014 American Documentary Film Festival

Oliver Stone, Oliver Stone

The American Documentary Film Festival taking place March 27 to 31, 2014 in Coachella Valley, California, announced an impressive number of award-winning filmmakers planning on attending this year’s festival, including several Oscar-winning Directors. Oliver Stone, 3 time Oscar-winner and 2012 AmDocs career achievement award recipient, leads an impressive array of filmmakers planning to attend, including John Avildsen (Best Director Oscar: Rocky), Oscar-winner Roger Ross Williams, 2 time Oscar winner, Canadian filmmaker, Malcolm Clarke, as well as Canadian filmmaker Chris Landreth (Oscar winner for animation). Other award-winning international filmmakers include Robert Kirchhoff (Slovakia), Iben Haahr Andersen (Denmark), Alex Breuer (Austria), Laurent Haase (France), and Jan P. MatuszyŸski (Poland).

After Dark Program Returns for 2014 Portland International Film Festival

NOTHING BAD CAN HAPPEN

After taking a break during last year’s Festival, the popular After Dark program will return for this year’s Portland International Film Festival with SIX midnight movies. Among the film selections are new cult director Ti West’s (THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL) THE SACRAMENT, the “bold, metaphysical sci-fi satire” THE CONGRESS from animator Ari Folman (WALTZ WITH BASHIR), Zack Parker’s harrowing thriller PROXY, James Ward Byrkit’s “mind-bending sci-fi thriller” COHERENCE, Katrin Gebbe’s “intense and gripping first feature” NOTHING BAD CAN HAPPEN, and Alex van Warmerdam’s “dark, mischievous, and unsettling fable” BORGMAN.

SXSW Unveils Midnighter Features & Short Films Lineup

Adam Wingard's THE GUEST Adam Wingard’s THE GUEST

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival taking place March 7 to15, 2014, in Austin, Texas, unveiled the films in the Midnighters section, and the short film lineup.This year’s Midnighters sections includes eight world premieres, and one U.S. premiere including STAGE FRIGHT, the feature film debut of writer/director Jerome Sable, and Adam Wingard’s THE GUEST which premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival.

Horror Film STAGE FRIGHT Set to Premiere at SXSW, Gets a U.S. Release Date

STAGE FRIGHT, described as a horror/comedy/musical about “bloodthirsty gorehounds and musical theatre geeks,” which world premieres in the Midnighters section at March’s SXSW Film Festival, will be released in the U.S. by Magnet Releasing, the genre division of Magnolia Pictures. STAGE FRIGHT is the feature film debut of writer/director Jerome Sable, director of the award-winning, festival favorite short, “The Legend of Beaver Dam” and stars Allie MacDonald and Douglas Smith, with Minnie Driver and Meat Loaf. Magnet is releasing the film in its Ultra VOD program, launching it on iTunes and On Demand on April 3rd, followed by a theatrical release on May 9th.

Magnolia Pictures to Release Roger Ebert Documentary LIFE ITSELF from Sundance Film Festival

Magnolia Pictures announced today that they have acquired LIFE ITSELF, a documentary about the life of Roger Ebert directed by Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Steve James (Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters) which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Magnolia is eyeing a summer release, followed by an exclusive broadcast on CNN later this year, reprising a successful collaboration with CNN Films on the hit documentary Blackfish.

Rooftop Films Host NY Premiere of Roger Ebert Documentary LIFE ITSELF

Director Steve James with Chaz Ebert

One week after its World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, close to 200 people braved the inclement weather to attend the Rooftop Films and Piper-Heidsieck hosted sneak preview of the new Roger Ebert documentary, “LIFE ITSELF” at The Paley Center for Media in New York City. On hand to see the screening were the late critic’s wife Chaz Ebert, Director Steve James, Actress Yael Stone (Orange Is The New Black), Director Alex Ross Perry, and indie actress Kate Lyn Shiel along with noted film critic A.O. Scott (The New York Times) who conducted a Q&A with Chaz, Steve and filmmaker Rahmin Bahrani.

Michael Tully’s PING PONG SUMMER from Sundance Film Festival to Get a Summer 2014 Release

Michael Tully’s PING PONG SUMMER, considered one of the Sundance Film Festival’s biggest crowd-pleasers,has landed a deal with Gravitas Ventures. Gravitas plans to release PING PONG SUMMER theatrically and digitally early this summer, with a home video release later in 2014.

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