After last weekend being relatively quiet, we have a lot of new indie releases in theaters this weekend. Some of them have earned extremely noteworthy buzz on the way to cinemas, and others… well others might just be “limited releases”. Regardless, there’s plenty to see in theaters if you’re up for an indie movie this weekend.
Past SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grant Winners: Short Term 12, Fruitvale Station, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Nine films have been selected to receive Fall 2013 funding in the latest round of San Francisco Film Society (SFFS) / Kenneth Rainin Foundation (KRF) Filmmaking Grants. The SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grants are awarded twice annually to filmmakers for narrative feature films that will have significant economic or professional impact on the San Francisco Bay Area filmmaking community. Previous grant winners include SHORT TERM 12, Destin Cretton’s sophomore feature which won both the Narrative Grand Jury Award and Audience Award at South by Southwest 2013; Ryan Coogler’s debut feature FRUITVALE STATION, which won both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the narrative category at Sundance 2013 and is an Oscar hopeful in multiple categories; and BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD, Benh Zeitlin’s debut phenomenon which won Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize and Cannes’ Camera d’Or in 2012 and earned four Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture).
Raquel Welch, Icon Award honoree Temecula Valley International Film & Music Festival
The Temecula Valley International Film & Music Festival (TVIFF) has set the dates of September 17 to 21, 2014 for the next edition taking place in Temecula, California. According to festival director Jo Moulton, “The Temecula Valley International Film & Music Festival has remained a true advocate and accessible home for independent film and music artists for 17 years. We built a genuine networking hub for them to mingle, network, party and do business.” Moulton adds, “What is so exciting is that even prior to issuing a formal call for entries, primarily through social media, we have already received entries from Belgium, Spain, Portugal, South Korea, Germany, France, Iran, Italy, the UK and of course, the U.S. Filmmakers and music artists appreciate our open approach of not catering to one particular genre. If your film tells a good story and your music tugs at the heart of your and our audience, we invite you to submit.”
What makes a Gibson or Martin acoustic guitar a better instrument (and thus more expensive) than a no-name guitar that you could buy for $50? It’s the wood. Premium acoustic guitars are made from four types of wood that come from across the world. For three of the best U.S. guitar makers – Gibson, Martin, and Taylor – the soundboard (i.e., the “top” or front of the guitar) is made from a type of Sitka Spruce from Alaska’ Tongass National Forest via a Native American-owned logging corporation, Sealaska. Until several years ago, as far as the owners of these guitars companies were concerned they would continue to get their spruce from the Tongass National Forest for as long as guitars would be made.
The 8th Rome Film Festival taking place November 8 to 17, 2013, has announced the names of the members who will complete the Competition Jury, that will confer the prizes to films in Competition. Jury President James Gray will be joined by Argentinean director Verónica Chen, Italian director, scriptwriter, and producer Luca Guadagnino; Russian actor and producer Aleksei Guskov, French director, scriptwriter, and actress Noémie Lvovsky; Iranian director Amir Naderi, and Chinese director Zhang Yuan. The Jury […]
Actress (USA) Patricia Clarkson Director, writer & producer (Turkey & Germany) Faith Akin, actress (USA) Patricia Clarkson, actress (France) Marion Cotillard, director, writer & producer (Mexico) Amat Escalante, actress (Iran) Golshifteh Farahani, director, writer & producer (India) Anurag Kashyap, director, writer & producer (Morocco) Narjiss Nejjar, director, writer & producer (South Korea) Park Chan-wook and director & writer (Italy) Paolo Sorrentino have been selected for the Feature Film Jury for the 13th edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival to be held from […]
Whoopi Goldberg’s directorial film debut, and homage to the iconic African-American standup comedienne Jackie “Moms” Mabley, WHOOPI GOLDBERG PRESENTS MOMS MABLEY is set to debut on HBO on MONDAY, November. 18, 2013 (9:00-10:15 p.m. ET/PT).
THE SQUARE directed by Jehane Noujaim
The International Documentary Association announced all of the nominees for the 29th annual IDA Documentary Awards ceremony, to be held Friday, December 6, 2013 at the Director’s Guild in Los Angeles. The five films nominated in IDA’s Best Feature category include THE ACT OF KILLING (Joshua Oppenheimer), BLACKFISH (Gabriela Cowperthwaite), LET THE FIRE BURN (Jason Osder), THE SQUARE (Jehane Noujaim), and STORIES WE TELL (Sarah Polley).
“CAVEMEN”, the debut romantic comedy film from writer and director Herschel Faber, will get a 2014 release by Well Go USA. The film, which world premiered at the 2013 Austin Film Festival and stars Camilla Belle, Skylar Austin, Chad Michael Murray, and Alexis Knapp, will be released in theaters and on VOD on February 7th, 2014.
20 Lies, 4 Parents and a Little Egg
The 36th Starz Denver Film Festival (SDFF), taking place November 6 to17, 2013, announced its full Festival line-up. SDFF 2013 will screen more than 250 features, shorts, music videos and student films, along with Denver Film Society’s signature programs such as Cinema Q, Reel Social Club and Women + Film. This year, SDFF shines a spotlight on cinema from the Netherlands, known for its wildly diverse range of cinematic treasures. Fourteen Dutch films are included in the Festival line-up.
HANK AND ASHA
The 2013 Savannah Film Festival, presented by the Savannah College of Art and Design, kicked off in downtown Savannah, Georgia on Saturday night, and runs October 26 to November 2, 2013. The 16th edition of the festival features more than 50 competition films, selected from more than 800 entries in the categories of feature, short, animation, documentary and student competition. Films on the lineup include HANK AND ASHA, THE PRETTY ONE and documentaries BROTHERS HYPNOTIC and DEAR MR. WATTERSON.
AT MIDDLETON
The 36th Starz Denver Film Festival (SDFF) taking place November 6 to 17, 2013, opens November 6 with LABOR DAY, directed by Jason Reitman and starring a standout cast of Josh Brolin, Kate Winslet and Gattlin Griffith. Alexander Payne’s road trip dramedy, NEBRASKA, will be center stage for Big Night on November 9. AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY directed by John Wells will anchor the newest Red Carpet Presentation for Centerpiece on November 15. Inaugural George Hickenlooper Award (2012) recipient Andy Garcia returns with his latest AT MIDDLETON, which costars Vera Farmiga to close the Festival on November 16.