The Japanese feature film ‘Fighting Okan’ and the Italian music video titled ‘Vucciría’ were the latest Best in Show winners at Indie Fest. Fighting Okan follows a 38-year old woman’s dream of becoming a professional boxer and the impact on her family; and Vucciría, music video, in which a young woman passes a mirror and her reflection is much more colorful than her real life. Best of Show Naoki Maeda (Japan), Fighting Okan, feature film, […]
Just three weeks after its Australian premiere at the Brisbane International Film Festival, the horror movie ‘Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence’ has been banned in Australian. The film was originally rated R 18+ by the Classification Board in May, but was denied by the Review Board.
What is the fuss about?
The sequel to Tom Six’s 2009 film The Human Centipede: First Sequence, Human Centipede 2 tells the story of a man who becomes sexually obsessed with a DVD recording of the first film and who imagines putting the ‘centipede’ idea into practice.” The film features a 12-person centipede. {jathumbnail off}
The New York Film Critics Circle has spoken and they officially love The Artist, giving the film the awards for Best Picture of 2011, and Best Director for Michel Hazanavicius. The Tree of Life was also highly lauded, receiving awards for Best Actor for Brad Pitt, Best Supporting Actress for Jessica Chastain and Best Cinematography for Emmanuel Lubezki. 2011 Awards Best Picture – The ArtistBest Director – Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist Best Screenplay – Steven […]
Take Shelter and The Artist lead the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Award nominations with 5 nods each including the nomination for Best Feature Film. Other nominees for Best Feature Film include 50/50, Beginners, and Drive. Margin Call was selected to receive the annual Robert Altman Award.
“The Film Independent Spirit Awards recognize the finest artistic achievements across the broad spectrum of independent filmmaking—from emerging talent working on a shoestring budget to established auteurs,” said Film Independent Senior Director Sean Mc Manus. “The 2012 nominees tell their stories in such an authentic way and reflect the inclusive nature of the independent filmmaking community. We are delighted to support them and expand the audience for their work.”
2012 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS {jathumbnail off}
Beginners and Tree of Life tied for Best Films of 2011 at the 21st annual Gotham Independent Film Awards in New York City on Monday night. From writer/director Mike Mills, and starring Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer, Beginners is a comedy/drama about a father, who, following the death of his wife of 45 years, comes out of the closet at age 75. Tree of Life, directed by Terrence Malick and starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn […]
Frederic Boyer, who most recently ran the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival, has been named the new Artistic Director of Tribeca Film Festival. Boyer said, “I could not be more honored and excited to begin this new chapter at Tribeca. This Festival has matured and developed so impressively from its origins, but there are many more frontiers to explore while keeping the core focus on discovering new voices in filmmaking. I am grateful […]
Brazilian film director and journalist Oscar Maron Filho suffered a massive cardiac arrest on Sunday afternoon, while in Goa, India, to promote his film ‘Mario Filho: The Creator of Crowds’ at the 2011 International Film Festival of India (IFFI). Filho reportedly collapsed in his chair while participating in an ‘Open Forum’ on ‘Football and films’, when he “touched his head and collapsed backwards while sitting”. He was rushed to the Goa Medical College hospital where […]
The winners of the 2011 International Documentary Film Festival were just announced and Seung-Jun Yi’s Planet of Snail (South Korea) won the VPRO IDFA Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary. The Special Jury Award went to 5 Broken Cameras (Palestine/Israel) by Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi, who also won the Publieke Omroep IDFA Audience Award. VPRO IDFA Award for Best Feature-Length DocumentaryThe VPRO IDFA Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary went to Seung-Jun Yi for Planet of […]
Documentary filmmaker Jehane Noujaim, who directed the documentary film Control Room, a 2004 documentary about Arabic-language news network Al Jazeera, was reportedly arrested and released on Friday by Egyptian security forces after being held for 36 hours. Ms. Noujaim was filming in Tahrir Square for a planned documentary about the protests in Egypt. She reportedly said “I ran into then one military guy, my camera got taken, my eyepiece got broken by him, he called […]
Haskell Wexler, an 89 year-old Academy Award Winning cinematographer, is turning his camera on the Occupy LA movement for his latest political and social documentation. The groundbreaking cinematographer and film director has been in the business since the early 1960s, starting out with documentaries, then breaking into Hollywood with Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, for which he won his first Oscar. He went on to shoot such famous and well respected films as In the […]
The 23rd annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will present five-time Academy Award nominee Glenn Close with the Career Achievement Award at its Awards Gala. The Festival runs January 5-16. “Glenn Close has the gift of mesmerizing an audience whenever she performs,” said Film Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “Since her film debut in 1982, Close’s ability to capture the essence of a character is unparalleled, be it a femme fatale, a notorious stalker […]
The 23rd annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will present acclaimed French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist) with the Sonny Bono Visionary Award. “Director Michel Hazanavicius boldly takes us back in time and reacquaints modern-day audiences with the magical power of black and white silent cinema to capture our hearts and our imaginations in The Artist,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “The film opened to rave reviews at its premiere in Cannes and […]