Audience Award Winner – Best Documentary Film – INEQUALITY FOR ALL
After almost a week of screening an outstanding lineup of films, Travese City Film Festival founder and President Michael Moore announced the 2013 Award Winners. The winning films include Audience Award – Best American Film for FRUITVALE STATION, Audience Award Winner – Best Documentary Film for INEQUALITY FOR ALL, and Founders Grand Prize – Best Film for PROPAGANDA.
The Academy announced today that Ellen DeGeneres will return to host the Oscars® for a second time. DeGeneres hosted the 79th Academy Awards in 2007, for which she received a Primetime Emmy nomination for “Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program.” The Academy Awards® will be broadcast live on OscarSunday, March 2, 2014, on the ABC Television Network.
HISTORY OF PETS – Kris Genijn / Netherlands
The 10th annual Animation Block Party was held at The Music Hall of Williamsburg, Rooftop Films and BAMcinématek in Brooklyn New York from July 25-28, 2013. Held anually since 2004, filmmakers of all genres have screened some of the best independent, professional and student animation shorts. This year was described by the festival as a record-breaking summer with over 4000 in total attendance and multiple sold out screenings. The festival announced the complete list of winners of 2013 Animation Block Party, with HISTORY OF PETS directed by Kris Genijn of Netherlands winning the top prize Best In Show.
Ben Stiller’s adaptation of James Thurber’s classic short story THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY which also stars Stiller alongside Kristen Wiig, will make its World Premiere on Saturday, October 5 as the Centerpiece Gala presentation for the upcoming 51st New York Film Festival (September 27 – October 13).
THE MUSLIMS ARE COMING!, directed by comedians Negin Farsad and Dean Obeidallah will open in theaters in September, with New York on September 20 at the Quad Cinema. The film follows a band of Muslim-American comedians – “Muzzies” – lead by Farsad and Obeidallah as they visit big cities, small towns, rural villages, and everything in between to combat Islamophobia with the only weapons they have: jokes!
Marlene Dermer, Edward J Olmos at 15th Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival
The Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) co-founded by Oscar nominated & Golden Globe and Emmy winner actor, director, and activist Edward James Olmos, returns for its 16th year from Thursday, October 10 through Monday, October 14, 2013 at the Chinese 6 Cinemas at the Hollywood & Highland complex in Los Angeles, California.
MEDORA
The 10th Indy Film Fest wrapped after ten days of screening and announced its 10 winning films. MEDORA directed by Andrew Cohn and Davy Rothbart was the big winner, snagging the Grand Jury Award, along with the Best Matter of Fact – Feature Film and the Audience Award – Feature Film. MEDORA is described as a tale of the down-but-not-out Medora Indiana Hornets varsity basketball team. The team’s epic losing streak mirrors the town’s fight for survival. Medora is an in-depth, deeply personal look at small-town life, a thrilling, underdog basketball story and an inspiring tale of a community refusing to give up hope despite the brutal odds stacked against them.
Filthy Gorgeous: The Bob Guccione Story
The Toronto International Film Festival announced its 2013 lineup of documentaries, which included a mix of world premieres from first-time and veteran filmmakers, along with a strong Canadian lineup. World premieres include Chris Jordan’s directorial debut MIDWAY, described as a visually stunning work on albatrosses; Allison Berg and Frank Keraudren’s THE DOG, the story of the real life bank robber who inspired Dog Day Afternoon; illusionists Penn & Teller on an inventor’s far-fetched ambition with their debut TIM’S VERMEER (produced by Penn Jillette, directed by Teller); John Maloof and Charlie Siskel’s FINDING VIVIAN MAIER, on the hidden legacy of a street photographer; and BEYOND THE EDGE, Leanne Pooley’s 3D, suspenseful retracing of the first climb to the world’s highest peak.
ALL SHE CAN
15 independent films will get a digital release this Fall via the Sundance Institute’s Artist Services program. Upcoming releases include AN AFRICAN ELECTION, HOT HOUSE, MADE IN L.A., ROMÁNTICO, SO MUCH SO FAST, and TV JUNKIE. Feature films include ED’S NEXT MOVE, ALL SHE CAN, GYPSY DAVY, and L.I.E. Films will roll out between August 13 and September 17.
Cheryl Boone Isaacs was elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Tuesday night (July 30) by the organization’s Board of Governors.
I’ve always had a deep respect for standup comedians, which I regard as one of the toughest gigs in all of entertainment. However, standup comedy as we know is a relatively modern form of entertainment, and the origin of how it grew from vaudeville can be pinpointed to the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York, where dozens of the greatest comedians of all time developed their acts.
WHEN COMEDY WENT TO SCHOOL, a documentary about the influence the Catskills vacation region had on Jewish comedians, explores what exactly made the area such an enclave for future funnymen (and women). Narrated by Robert Klein, comedian and former Catskills busboy, and featuring interviews with Jerry Lewis, Jerry Stiller, Sid Caesar, Jackie Mason, and other comedy icons, along with plenty of vintage clips of Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Lenny Bruce, and Rodney Dangerfield, When Comedy Went to School is full of laughs as it tells the story of how modern standup comedy developed among Jewish vacationers.
Sundance Selects will release John Maloof and Charlie Siskel’s feature documentary FINDING VIVIAN MAIER, which will have its world premiere in the Documentary section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.