The Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in Missoula, Montana will launch the 2013 Big Sky Film Series with AIN’T IN IT FOR MY HEALTH, director Jacob Hatley’s moving portrait of Levon Helm, the legendary drummer and vocalist for The Band. Hatley and his crew spent nearly three years with Helm at his studio in Woodstock, NY, as Helm miraculously rediscovered his voice after throat-cancer treatment and recorded three Grammy-winning albums before eventually succumbing to the disease last year.
The 56th San Francisco International Film Festival, awarded A River Changes Course, by Kalyanee Mam, the Golden Gate Award Documentary Feature at the 2013 festival. Among the many reasons, the festival jury said “This film stood out as an entity in terms of subject matter, beauty of filmmaking, elegance of expression, sensitivity, and representation of the people observed as they observe their own situation.” Recognizing local filmmakers, The Kill Team directed by Dan Krauss was the Bay Area Documentary Feature. The jury noted: “We chose this film due to the importance of its subject matter and its moral complexity.”
Other winners include:
Jim Mickle’s horror thriller WE ARE WHAT WE ARE which had its world premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, will have its international premiere in the 2013 Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight! section. WE ARE WHAT WE ARE will have it’s U.S. theatrical release this Fall.
The 33rd annual Breckenridge Festival of Film, considered “the longest running film festival in Colorado,” is switching from June back to its September date format and will take place September 19th-22nd, 2013 in beautiful Breckenridge, Colorado.
The Ecologico International Film Festival (EIFF) announced that the 6th Edition of the Festival will be held August 18 – August 24, 2013 in the beautiful Italian city of Nardò. EIFF also announced the call for submissions for short, medium and Long Length film entries. UPDATE: Deadline to submit films for the 6th Ecologico International Film Festival pushed back to May 20, 2013 Deadline to submit films for the 6th Ecologico International Film Festival is May 10, 2013.
In the Family, the directorial debut of Patrick Wang, will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on June 25, 2013. Starring Patrick Wang, along with Sebastian Banes andTrevor St. John, the independent film was reportedly rejected by 30 festivals before its premiere at the Hawaii International Film Festival and becoming the critics pick for many leading publications including the The New York Times andTime Out Chicago.
The 7th Annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival – LAGFF to run June 6-9, at the Writers Guild Theater, Beverly Hills announced its 2013 Program, including Opening Night film, Spiros Stathoulopoulos’ drama, METEORA, which debuted at this year’s Berlin Film Festival and Closing Night film, Kimon Tsakiris’ (SUGARTOWN) documentary, MITSIGAN – HARDSHIPS AND BEAUTIES.
Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter/producer Pharrell Williams is partnering with Creative Growth Art Center to launch “CREATIVE GROWTH,” a new series of short films introducing viewers to what they describe as the extraordinary geniuses of the center that provides a haven for adult artists with mental, physical, and developmental disabilities. The first look is available now on the i am OTHER YouTube channel.
New York City officials Kate Levin, Scott Stringer, Margaret Chin and Gale Brewer were joined by acclaimed filmmakers Michael Moore (Bowling For Columbine); Matthew O’Neill (China’s Unnatural Disaster, Redemption), and Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) at a ceremony to mark the groundbreaking of Downtown Community Television Center’s new documentary-only theater. It is expected to open in early 2015.
The New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) announced the winning films of the 2013 festival, which ran April 30 – May 4, with top honors awarded to Anumati directed by Gajendra Ahire, for Best Feature Film and the Best Documentary award went to The Only Real Game, directed by Mirra Bank.
Director Hansal Mehta took home the Best Director of a Feature Film award for his compelling film Shahid, which traces the true story of slain human rights activist lawyer Shahid Azmi.
Below is the full list of winners as well as the presenters who honored the recipients with an award:
The RiverRun International Film Festival in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, held April 12–21, 2013, announced the jury and audience awards of the 2013 Festival. Among the winning films, Altered States Audience Award for Best American Indie was presented to Remote Area Medical, directed by Jeff Reichert and Farihah Zaman. Remote Area Medical documents the program that provided free healthcare to nearly 2000 uninsured Americans on the infield of Bristol’s NASCAR Speedway in April 2012.
DRAGON GIRLS directed by Inigo Westmeier took the big prize – the Best International Feature Documentary Award at the 2013 Canadian International Documentary Festval aka Hot Docs. Dragon Girls follows three young female students studying and living at the Shaolin Tagu Kung Fu school, home to over 20,000 students, far away from their homes and families. WHEN I WALK directed by Jason DaSilva received the Best Canadian Feature Documentary Award. In WHEN I WALK, director Jason DaSilva, diagnosed with a severe form of multiple sclerosis at 25, turns the camera on himself to document a seven-year struggle with the disease that has no cure and a world filled with increasing obstacles.
Hot Docs ran April 25 – May 5, 2015 in Toronto, Canada.
The full list of winners