12 students from nine U.S. colleges and universities and three students from outside the U.S. have been selected as winners in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 38th Annual Student Academy Awards competition. The student filmmakers will be brought to Los Angeles for a week of industry-related activities and social events that will culminate in the awards ceremony on Saturday, June 11, at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The winners are (listed alphabetically […]
Now in its 22nd year, the 2011 Human Rights Watch Film Festival returns to New York from June 16 to 30 at the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater. Nineteen of the best human rights themed films from 12 countries will be screened, 17 of them New York premieres. The Human Rights Watch Film Festival program this year is organized around four themes: Truth, Justice and Accountability; Times of Conflict and Responses to […]
Twelve films received Golden Honu Awards at the 6th Annual Big Island Film Festival today. Best Feature went to “Queen of the Lot,” starring Tanna Frederick and Noah Wyle, written and directed by Henry Jaglom, produced by Rosemary Marks. Celebrity actresses Sarah Wayne Callies (“The Walking Dead”) and Hilo’s own Kristina Anapau (“Black Swan”) were present to receive special “No Ka Oi” awards from Big Island Film Festival Executive Director Leo Sears. Winners were selected […]
Amigo, written and directed by John Sayles and starring Chris Cooper has been announced as the opening night film of the 3rd Albuquerque Film Festival scheduled for August 18st – 21st, 2011. AMIGO stars Joel Torre as Rafael Dacanay, a village mayor caught in the murderous cross-fire of the Philippine-American War in 1900. When U.S. troops garrison his village, Rafael comes under pressure to collaborate from the blood-and-guts Colonel Hardacre (Chris Cooper) as he tries […]
The 14th Shanghai International Film Festival announced its first batch of the competition films for its Golden Goblet Award on May 10th. The nine films in the shortlist come from Argentina, Italy, Japan, Germany, Turkey, and Russia. Among them, the latest work by British director Roland Joffe, a Golden Palm recipient in Cannes, and Japanese director SABU. The nine films are: “The Bones Tunnel” (Argentina) directed by Nacho Garassino “Ainom” (Italy) directed by Lorenzo Ceva […]
The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls is a new documentary directed by New Zealand filmmaker Leanne Pooley on two fascinating subjects—the performing duo Lynda and Jools Topp, twins who have become cultural and national icons in New Zealand over the past 25 years. As one interviewee says, a pair of yodeling lesbian twins doesn’t sound all that impressive on paper, but their act, which includes country music, comedy, and interaction with audience members, succeeds in entertaining […]
“My Heart Is An Idiot” is a new documentary about love that spans two years and over a hundred cities. The film captures the road-tripping lifestyle of Davy Rothbart (creator of “FOUND Magazine,” “This American Life” contributor, author of “The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas”) who looks for love in all the right places, and in all the wrong ways. The film climbs into the tour van, as Davy tours North America promoting his magazine […]
Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut, “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” which was also written by Jolie, will be released by FilmDistrict, in the US on Dec. 23. Graham King and his producing partner Tim Headington, together with Peter Schlessel, CEO of FilmDistrict, announced today in Cannes that Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut, “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” which was also written by Jolie, will be released by FilmDistrict, a subsidiary of GK Films, […]
Sundance Selects, sister division to IFC Films and IFC Midnight, announced from the 2011 Cannes Film Festival that the company will release Julia Leigh’s “Sleeping Beauty” in the the US. The film, with a screenplay by Leigh, stars Emily Browning, Rachael Blake, Ewen Leslie, Peter Carroll, Chris Haywood, and was produced by Jessica Brentnall. The film premiered this week in Competition at the festival. Lucy is a young university student possessed by a kind of […]
The documentary movie about punk rock fathers, The Other F Word, which asks the question ‘What happens when a generation’s ultimate anti-authoritarians — punk rockers — become society’s ultimate authorities — dads?‘ is headed to theaters and cable tv, reports The Hollywood Report. Oscilloscope Laboratories will release the film in Fall 2011 and Showtime plan to broadcast the film in 2012. Directed by Andrea Blaugrund Nevins, “The Other F Word ” premiered at the 2011 SXSW […]
The rock and roll documentary Talihina Sky: The Story of Kings of Leon will celebrate its Oklahoma premiere on Wednesday, June 8 as the inaugural film of the 2011 deadCENTER Film Festival. Talihina Sky is the story of Kings of Leon, whose strict Pentecostal upbringing in Oklahoma and Tennessee preceded their unlikely transformation into one of the biggest rock bands in the world. The free, outdoor screening begins at 9:30 p.m. at the 400 block […]
The Ministry of Culture has announced that it will cancel the Cairo International Film Festival this year due to upcoming elections, Gulf News reported. “The Ministry of Culture has decided to cancel the festival this year, which was due in late November, because of the current preparations for the parliamentary and presidential elections as well as due to the economic situation.” Emad Abu Ghazi, the Minister of Culture, denied that instability in Egypt was behind […]