Ted Hope, Executive Director of San Francisco Film Society since August 2012, announced today that he will step down at the end of the year to pursue other film-related interests. He will continue in his current role and will manage all activities of the organization until December 31, working with the staff and board to facilitate a smooth leadership transition. Hope will join the SFFS Advisory Board, to assist in guiding the Film Society into the future in a new capacity.
WHITEWASH
Austin Film Festival (AFF) taking place this October 24th to 31st, 2013 will honor actress Susan Sarandon with the 2013 Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking – Actor. The festival also added WHITEWASH, a comic thriller starring Thomas Haden Church and THE PRETTY ONE, starring Zoe Kazan, Jack Johnson, and Ron Livingston to the 20th Anniversary Film Schedule lineup.
WE ARE WHAT WE ARE directed by Jim Mickle
Toronto After Dark Film Festival taking place October 17 to October 25, 2013, unveiled its complete lineup and schedule of new horror, sci-fi, action and cult movies. The festival will open with the Toronto Pemiere of WE ARE WHAT WE ARE. The film is described as a stunningly shot, incredibly well-acted, acclaimed new horror-thriller from award-winning filmmaker Jim Mickle (STAKELAND) that won rave reviews at both this year’s Sundance and Cannes Film Festivals. A recently widowed father and his two teenage daughters try to keep their time-honored family tradition of consuming human flesh a secret from their increasingly suspicious small town neighbors.
The Palm Springs Cultural Center announced a new addition to its annual line-up of cultural programs and special events. The Stanley Kramer Film Festival will debut at Camelot Theatres on Friday, November 15th and run through Sunday, November 17th, 2013. The 2013 event, which is designed to coincide with other Stanley Kramer Centennial events taking place this year, will include special screenings of six of Stanley Kramer’s best-known films. It will also feature special events, and special appearances with actress Karen Sharpe Kramer, Stanley Kramer’s widow, and his daughter, the actress and singer, Katharine “Kat” Kramer.
The Montclair Film Festival (MFF), in partnership with The Montclair Art Museum announced the launch of a contest to design the official poster for the 2014 Montclair Film Festival to be held April 28-May 4, 2014. The winning design will be seen on buses, lampposts, t-shirts, the web, catalogs and, of course, the big screen, as the centerpiece of a dynamic week of 80+ films and events that will comprise the third annual celebration of the art of filmmaking in Montclair.
The NAACP Image Awards is moving to a new TV home. Under a new five-year contract, TV One becomes the television home for the association’s awards show, beginning with the live airing of the “45th NAACP Image Awards” in February 2014. The NAACP Image Awards describes itself as the nation’s premier event celebrating the accomplishments of people of color in the fields of television, music, literature and film and also honors individuals or groups who promote social justice through creative endeavors.
Three members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ newly created Casting Directors Branch have been elected to the Academy Board of Governors. The first-time governors are David Rubin, who is elected to a three-year term; Bernie Telsey, who is elected to a two-year term; and Lora Kennedy, who is elected to a one-year term.
KIZMET DINER
KIZMET DINER, an 11-minute romantic love story directed by Mark Nunneley of England is the Gold Medal winner of the 16th annual Manhattan Short Film Festival. KIZMET DINER tells the tale of a singing waitress in a diner who finds the song that opens the heart of a disinterested customer. The Silver Medal went to PALE OF SETTLEMENT, directed by Jacob Sillman, an entry from the United States. Pale of Settlement chronicles the adventures of a 10-year-old boy trying to avoid conscription in the Russian army during the Crimean War.
Afghanistan, “WAJMA – AN AFGHAN LOVE STORY,” Barmak Akram, director
A record 76 countries have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 86th Academy Awards®. Moldova and Saudi Arabia are first-time entrants; Montenegro is submitting for the first time as an independent country.
The 2013 submissions are:
Tribeca Film will release Spanish director Gonzalo López-Gallego’s “mind-bending thriller” OPEN GRAVE starring Sharlto Copley (District 9, Elysium), Joseph Morgan (“The Vampire Diaries,”” The Originals”), Josie Ho (“Contagion”), and Thomas Kretschmann (Valkyrie, Wanted) in the US. OPEN GRAVE will premiere at the prestigious international genre festival, Sitges Film Festival, in Spain this month, before a December day and date release in the U.S.
CHASING SHAKESPEARE, directed by Norry Niven and starring Danny Glover and Graham Greene, will open the 21st edition of the African Diaspora International Film Festival on November 29th, as a New York Premiere.
WAR WITCH directed by Kim Nguyen
The 5th Annual Milwaukee Film Festival announced the 2013 Jury Award Winners, for both the Competition and Cream City Cinema Programs, including a Filmmaker-in-Residence Award. WAR WITCH directed by Kim Nguyen is the winner of the Herzfeld Competition Award. WAR WITCH, described as an inspiring tale of resistance, follows Komona, who at 14 is taken captive by armed rebels and trained to become a child soldier, perpetrating unspeakable acts of violence for her captors. Quickly ascending through the ranks due to her otherworldly sense for approaching danger, Komona finds love in the least likely place with a fellow soldier named Magician, and together they plot their escape.