• AFI FEST Announces 2012 Dates

    [caption id="attachment_2689" align="alignnone" width="550"]Jude Law arrives at the AFI FEST 2005 [/caption]

    AFI FEST 2012 officially announced its dates and call for entries today. AFI FEST will take place November 1 through 8 in Hollywood, California, at the historic Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the Chinese 6 Theatres at the Hollywood & Highland Center, the Egyptian Theatre of the American Cinematheque and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

    Submissions are also now open and filmmakers are invited to submit narrative, documentary, experimental, animated and short films. The final submission deadline for short films (under 30 minutes) is July 27, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizes AFI FEST as a qualifying festival for the Short Films category of the annual Academy Awards®.  The final deadline for feature-length films is August 10. Films found solely through the submissions process are presented in the festival’s “Breakthrough” section, providing an opportunity for new filmmakers to share their vision with the world and receive a $5,000 cash award.

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  • Judy Davis to Receive 2012 Peter J Owens Award at the 55th San Francisco International Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_2687" align="alignnone" width="550"]Peter J. Owens Award recipient Judy Davis stars in THE EYE OF THE STORM, playing at the 55th San Francisco International Film Festival, April 19 – May 3, 2012. [/caption]

    Judy Davis, described as “one of cinema’s great performers,” will be the recipient of the 2012 Peter J. Owens Award at the 55th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 19 – May 3). The award will be presented to Davis at Film Society Awards Night, Thursday, April 26 at the historic Warfield Theatre.

    Davis will also be honored at An Evening with Judy Davis at the Castro Theatre, Wednesday, April 25, 7:30 pm. An onstage interview and a selection of clips from her extraordinary career will be followed by a screening of Fred Schepisi’s The Eye of the Storm (Australia 2011). A wide-ranging portrait of a family in decline, this adaptation of Nobel Prize winner Patrick White’s 1973 novel features a triumvirate of tremendous performances in a story about a formerly wealthy matron and her two financially dependent grown children. With Judy Davis, Geoffrey Rush, Charlotte Rampling. Written by Judy Morris. Photographed by Ian Baker. 114 min.

    Previous recipients of the Film Society’s Peter J. Owens Award are Terence Stamp (2011), Robert Duvall (2010), Robert Redford (2009), Maria Bello (2008), Robin Williams (2007), Ed Harris (2006), Joan Allen (2005), Chris Cooper (2004), Dustin Hoffman (2003), Kevin Spacey (2002), Stockard Channing (2001), Winona Ryder (2000), Sean Penn (1999), Nicolas Cage (1998), Annette Bening (1997) and Harvey Keitel (1996).

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  • Cloris Leachman to Attend 2012 Florida Film Festival for Screening of THE LAST PICTURE SHOW

    The “funny, unique, and multi-talented” Cloris Leachman will attend the 2012 Florida Film Festival, on April 20 to present a screening of THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (for which she won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar®) and reminisce about her expansive career during a live Q&A.  

    Leachman will screen a digitally restored, definitive director’s cut of THE LAST PICTURE SHOW with 7 minutes of original footage previously unseen in its theatrical release. Described as one of the signature films of the “New Hollywood” of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, this great American drama was nominated for eight Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and a remarkable four nominations for acting: Ben Johnson and Jeff Bridges for Best Supporting Actor, and Ellen Burstyn and Cloris Leachman for Best Supporting Actress.  Johnson and Leachman both won Oscars, a fitting tribute to a stellar ensemble cast that also featured Randy Quaid, Cybill Shepherd, Timothy Bottoms, Eileen Brennan, Clu Gulager, and John Hillerman.  Set in a small, windswept, dying Texas town in the ‘50s, where the only cinema is about to close for good, this coming-of-age tale is based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Larry McMurtry and lovingly directed by Peter Bogdanovich.  The film’s nostalgic appeal is heightened by Robert Surtees’ black-and-white cinematography and so effectively captures its time that Roger Ebert called it “the best film of 1951.” 

    The 2012 Florida Film Festival runs April 13-22 in Central Florida.

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  • 2012 Phoenix Film Festival Winners, SHUFFLE Wins Best Film

    [caption id="attachment_2683" align="alignnone" width="550"]TJ Thyne stars as Lovell Milo in SHUFFLE[/caption]

    ‘SHUFFLE,’ the tale of a man that begins to experience his life out of order, took home Best Picture at the 2012 Phoenix Film Festival’s Awards Ceremony on Sunday night, April 1st.  The film, which stars TJ Thyne, also picked up the award for best director, which went to Kurt Kuenne.  The Cox Audience Award, given to the film that received the highest grade from festival goers, went to Gary King’s ‘How Do You Write a Joe Schermann Song’ which also earned King the Dan Harkins Breakthrough Filmmaker Award.

    Other notable awards given out Sunday included Best Documentary, won by ‘We Run Shit,’ and Best Ensemble to the film ‘Searching for Sonny.’  ‘Sonny’ writer, Andrew Disney, also picked up the Festival’s Best Screenwriter Award.  From the International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival, which featured some of the best genre specific cinema from around the world, ‘Pig’ won for best Sci-Fi feature, and ‘It’s In The Blood’ took home the award for best horror feature.  “I was blown away by the quality of films this year,” said festival director, Jason Carney.  “In our twelve year’s of existence, this is the best line-up that we’ve had. Congratulations to the filmmakers!”

    A full list of winners from Sunday night’s ceremony is featured below:

    International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Fest Awards

    Best Sci-Fi  Short Film
    Secret Identity

    Best Sci-Fi Feature Film
    Pig

    Best Horror Short Film
    Brutal Relax

    Best Horror Feature Film
    It’s In The Blood


    Short Film Awards

    Best Grade/HS Short Film
    Trolley

    Best College Short Film
    The Life Smugglers

    Best Arizona Short Film
    Parallax

    Best Documentary Short Film
    Sacred Poison

    Best Live Action Short Film
    Play By Play

    Best Animated Short Film
    Masks


    World Cinema Awards

    World Cinema Short Film
    La Media Pena

    World Cinema Documentary
    Wolves Unleashed

    World Cinema Director
    Ruggero Dipaola, Apartment in Athens

    World Cinema Best Picture
    Apartment in Athens

    World Cinema Audience Award Winner
    Lidice


    Foundation Awards

    Arizona Filmmaker of the Year
    Diane Dresback

    Volunteer of the Year
    Tiffany Hutson

    Board Member of the Year
    Lori Alderfer


    Feature Film Awards

    Dan Harkins Breakthrough Filmmaker Award
    Gary King, How Do You Write A Joe Schermann Song

    Best Documentary
    We Run Sh*t

    Best Ensemble
    Searching for Sonny

    Best Director
    Kurt Kuenne, Shuffle

    Best Screenwriting
    Andrew Disney, Searching for Sonny

    Cox Audience Award
    How Do You Write A Joe Schermann Song

    Best Picture
    Shuffle

    The 12th Annual Phoenix film Festival continues at Harkins Scottsdale 101 Theaters located at 7000 E. Mayo Blvd. Phoenix, AZ 85054 until Thursday night, April 5th.  The Festival will continue to feature the winners and other popular films at various screenings throughout the week.

    via Phoenix film Festival

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  • Sarasota Film Festival to Honor Penelope Ann Miller and Women Make Movies

    [caption id="attachment_2681" align="alignnone"]Penelope Ann Miller [/caption]

    The Sarasota Film Festival (SFF) will honor Penelope Ann Miller, star of the 2012 Academy Award® Best Picture winner The Artist and 2012 Sarasota Film Festival film Think Of Me with this year’s 2012 Career Tribute.

    The SFF will also honor Women Make Movies, the non-profit media arts organization that facilitates the production, promotion, distribution and exhibition of independent films by and about women, with the second annual Impact Award, presented in partnership with the Gulf Coast Chapter of UN Women.  The award will be presented in celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Women Make Movies.

    Additionally, the festival announced the complete 2012 ‘In Conversation With’ series.  The series returns with guests Rory Kennedy, Frank Langella, Penelope Ann Miller and Todd Solondz.  Each conversation is an in-depth and intimate look at the careers and stories behind these luminaries, their lives and their work.  The 14th Annual Sarasota film Festival runs from April 13, 2012 through April 22, 2012.

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  • SAG, AFTRA Members Approve Merger to Form SAG-AFTRA

    It’s official. The members of American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Screen Actors Guild have voted to approve a merger, creating a new entity, SAG-AFTRA. SAG members voted 82 percent in favor of the merger. AFTRA members favored the merger with 86 percent, exceeding the 60 percent threshold needed for both unions’ membership for passage.

    The merger is effective immediately, and brings under a single union banner more than 150,000 actors, announcers, broadcasters journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other media professionals.

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  • What Films to See in NYC This Weekend-Bully, The Island President, Turn Me On, Dammit, Generation P! It’s RAINING in NYC! Go to the Movies!

    [caption id="attachment_2655" align="alignnone"]Bully[/caption]

    By Francesca McCaffery

    Two new wonderful documentaries are opening this weekend- Lee Hirsch’s Bully– which is a heart-breaking, take-no-prisoners hard look at the insidious problem of bullying in American middle and high school classrooms, and The Island President, which is an extraordinary portrait of recently ousted Maldivian President Nasheed, and his great fight to combat global warming (Which is literally sinking his splendid Maldive Islands.) Both are two of the most thought-provoking documentaries you will see this year. (The Island President won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto film Festival, and Bully has been a complete festival sensation, as well.) Please don’t miss them. Bully plays at the Angelika and the AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13, and The Island President plays at Film Forum through April 10th.

    [caption id="attachment_2676" align="alignnone" width="549"]Generation P[/caption]

    Viktor Ginzburg’s new Russian film Generation P, based on the Russian novel by Viktor Pelevin, pretty much defies all general description. Staring out in a newly dissolved Soviet Union in he mid-90s, it looks to this American like the film could have been 1974. The film is a hilarious, deft, mind-bending portrayal of a young advertising executive and his adventures with magic mushrooms, mad Russian ad moguls, Chechnyan rebels,  and milking the public in its thirst for everything Western. I couldn’t imagine anything worse than an American PR sensibility, but apparently a free Russia also meant a free-for-all sort of carte blanche for the burgeoning advertising industry. I honestly can’t say how much of the film is fictional- did they REALLY make commercials in Russia like this in the last ten years? But it’s one of the very few films I’ve ever seen that actually makes you want to run out and buy the book. Perfect for Hunter S. Thompson fans, too. A very wild ride. Playing at The New Directors/New Films Series in NYC.

    [caption id="attachment_2677" align="alignnone" width="550"]Turn Me On, Dammit[/caption]

    Jannicke Systad Jacobsen’s first feature Turn Me On, Dammit! is a charming Norwegian film about a very sexually charged young teenager, Alma, (luminous Helene Bergsholm) who, despite her lithe, blonde, waifish self, cannot seem to get any real action. She becomes ostracized when her lust backfires at a party- and she is given the accidental moniker “Dick Alma” (…when another young man insists that his penis brushed against her thigh whilst they were making out.), and we are witness to the classic, cringe-worthy episodes of adolescent shifting friendships and alliances. With a cast of largely non-actors, the film is strange, desolate, lovely and sexy all at once- an actual light, funny, and frustrating portrayal of female sexuality- a topic rarely handled so well in today’s cinema. (The film captured Best Screenplay at Tribeca last year.) Alma doesn’t feel really sorry feel sorry for herself, she just seems to know who she is somehow, and exactly what she wants. As she is betrayed by her entire student body, she still stands strong, and it is heartening to see a young character who has found what truly makes her tick. By focusing on Alma’s needs as a simple horny teenager, rather than portraying her as a cartoon of some fantasized, over-sexualized teenage image, the filmmaker takes a few brave, tentative, greatly needed steps forward. Turn Me On is also wildly funny and greatly entertaining, at parts, as well. Go see this at night this weekend. Playing at Lincoln Center and at the Angelika.

    Remember guys, support Independent Cinema, whenever you have the chance. They’re a lot of really good choices this weekend. Now, go and out and see some!

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  • Tom Sizemore Expected to Attend 2012 Phoenix Film Festival screening of Slumber Party Slaughter

    [caption id="attachment_2674" align="alignnone"]Tom Sizemore [/caption]

    Director Rebekah Chaney, and actors Tom Sizemore and Charles Mattera are expected to be in attendance at the 2012 Phoenix Film Festival screening of Slumber Party Slaughter. 

    Showing support for the film, Sizemore says, “I had a great time working on Slumber Party Slaughter.  I think horror is a fun genre, especially with Chaney’s perspective and how she as the writer and director has built in so many seeds for the sequel.  Being able to share the opening of her film at the Phoenix Film Festival will be fun.  Be sure to come prepared to have a great time.”

    About Slumber Party Slaughter: On a secretive outing to a bizarre strip club, Tom Kingsford (Tom Sizemore) is unaware that his life is about to take a dramatic turn. Club owner and real estate mogul, William O’Toole (Ryan O’Neal) is a sadistic voyeur whose desire for fear and torture is put to the test as the night’s dirty deeds return to haunt him. Tom hires a few dancers: Casey Reitz (Rebekah Chaney), Victoria Spencer (Stephanie Romanov), Nicole and Nadia, from the Lingerie Lounge, to accompany him for the evening; while, unbeknownst to them, the group is secretly followed by a psychotic, obsessive club-patron, known only as Dave (Robert Carradine). Things quickly turn dark when, what seems like an innocent shortcut through a haunted cemetery is actually a set up, and the group is placed in the middle of an existing crime scene. Panic and fear escalates and tragedy befalls Tom when he is accidentally killed and buried in the supernatural cemetery. The girls make a pact of silence: agreeing to start new lives in order to avert suspicion from the local law enforcement. One year later, on the anniversary of Tom’s death, one of the dancers is found decapitated, prompting the others to reunite at a Slumber Party and wait out their worst fear; vengeance. Innocence and body parts are lost as death takes its penance and the slaughter begins.

    The 12th Annual Phoenix film Festival takes place at Harkins Scottsdale 101 Theaters located at 7000 E. Mayo Blvd. Phoenix, AZ 85054.

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  • Virginia Film Festival Announces 2012 Dates

    The Virginia Film Festival has announced the dates for its upcoming 25th anniversary year. The 2012 festival will take place Nov. 1 to 4.

    The festival is presented by the University of Virginia’s College of Arts & Sciences.

    The 2011 festival drew more than 24,000 attendees and featured a record 27 sold-out screenings. The weekend proved to be an Academy Awards preview, opening with Alexander Payne’s Oscar-winning “The Descendants” (Best Adapted Screenplay) and featuring Best Picture winner “The Artist,” along with a host of other nominated films, including “Albert Nobbs” and “A Better Life.” The guest list included legendary director Oliver Stone, actress Sissy Spacek, noted art director Jack Fisk, actresses Mia Wasikowska and Rachael Harris, free speech advocate and Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt, and acclaimed choreographer Bill T. Jones.

    via

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  • 2012 Dallas International Film Festival to Honor Costume Designer Bernie Pollack and Academy Award Nominee Gabourey Sidibe

     

    [caption id="attachment_2670" align="alignnone" width="550"]PUNCH[/caption]

    “One of the great legends of costume design,” Mr. Bernie Pollack and “rising star,” Ms. Gabourey Sidibe will be honored with the Dallas Shining Star Award at the 2012 Dallas International Film Festival.  The two honorees will also participate in Conversations with Gabourey Sidibe and Bernie Pollack on April 21, 2012.

    Additionally, the festival announced the full line-up for the South Korean International Spotlight and the titles of additional films which will play in the Premiere Series, World Cinema and Deep Ellum Sounds categories.

    Joining MY WAY and world premiere LET ME OUT, the line-up for the International Spotlight on South Korea is completed by titles PUNCH, QUICK and SECRETS, OBJECTS.  In working to complete the full schedule line-up, DIFF announced that DRAGON AGE: DAWN OF THE SEEKER joins the Premieres Series.  Two new titles are added to the musical Deep Ellum Sounds category: TONIGHT YOU’RE MINE and QUEENS OF COUNTRY starring Lizzy Caplan and DIFF alum, Ron Livingston.  World Cinema gains two extra titles POLICEMAN and STILL LIFE. Finally, PRECIOUS and the 60th anniversary of SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN will be featured as Special Presentations with ALADDIN being added in conjunction with the conversation with Texas Avery Animation Award recipient, Glen Keane.   The additional films are as follows:

    Premiere Series
    DRAGON AGE: DAWN OF THE SEEKER (USA)
    Director: Fumihiko Sori
    In the land of Orlais, where battles are fought with swords and magic, a young heroine rises as templars, mages, and dragons clash.
    Stars Luci Christian, Pam Dougherty, Mike McFarland, Christopher Sabat and John Swasey.


    South Korean Spotlight

    PUNCH (South Korea) – Texas Premiere
    Director: Han Lee
    Poor and meek but rebellious 18-year-old Wan-deuk has a hunchback father, a strange uncle, and a Filipino mother who just re-appeared after being missing most of his life. But when his radical and confrontational schoolteacher, Dong-joo—who is every bit the troublemaker Wan-deuk is—corrals the fight-prone youngster into channeling his rage as a kickboxer, Wan-deuk learns what family truly means. Based on the novel by Kim Yeo-ryung and adapted screenplay by Kim Dong-soo, PUNCH was one of Korea’s biggest box office draws in 2011.
    Stars Yun-seok Kim, Ah In Yoo, Su-young Park, Yeong-jae Kim and Sang-ho Kim.

    QUICK (South Korea) – Texas Premiere
    Director: Beom-gu Cho
    Motorcycle messenger Ki-soo witnesses a building blow up just after he delivers a package to it. He moves onto his next job—escorting a girl group singer, Ah-rom, to a TV station. As she puts a proffered helmet on her head, he gets a call saying that her helmet is a booby trap, and that he has more deliveries. Made in the spirit of the American action movies SPEED and CRANK, this 2011 Korean box office success by Jo Beom-goo is definitely a ride.
    Starring Min-ki Lee, Ye-won Kang, In-kwon Kim, Chang-Seok Ko and Jin-mo Ju.

    SECRETS, OBJECTS (South Korea) – Texas Premiere
    Director: Young-Mi Lee
    40-year-old Sociology professor Hye-jung falls for a 21-year-old Usang, a male student who helps her project research on women’s extramarital affairs. Stars Seo-hee Jang, Suk Won Jeong, Pil-mo Lee and I-Young Shim.

    Deep Ellum Sounds

    QUEENS OF COUNTRY (USA) – Texas Premiere
    Directors: Ryan Page, Christopher Pomerenke
    Living in a fantasy era long gone and obsessed with old time country stars, the prettiest girl in a small Arizona town finds a lost iPod filled with songs that speak to her sensitive heart. Stars Lizzy Caplan, Ron Livingston, Joe Lo Truglio, Maynard James Keenan, Matt Walsh and Anthony Zanlungo.

    TONIGHT YOU’RE MINE (UK) – Texas Premiere
    Director: David Mackenzie
    Two feuding rock stars get handcuffed together for 24 hours at a music festival where they are both due to perform. Starring Luke Treadaway, Natalia Tena, Mathew Baynton and Alastair Mackenzie.

    World Cinema

    POLICEMAN (Israel) – Texas Premiere
    Director: Nadav Lapid
    A member of an Israeli anti-terrorist unit clashes with a group of young radicals. Stars Ben Adam, Michael Aloni, Meital Barda, Gal Hoyberger and Yiftach Klein.

    STILL LIFE (Austria) – Texas Premiere
    Director: Sebastian Meise
    An unexpected letter forces siblings Bernhard and Lydia to confront each other and to deal with their family history.
    Starring Anja Plaschg, Daniela Golpashin, Christoph Luser, Roswitha Soukup and Fritz Hörtenhuber.

    Special Presentation

    ALADDIN (1992, USA)
    Director: Ron Clements
    The animated classic follows Aladdin, a street-urchin who accidentally meets Princess Jasmine who is in the city undercover. They love each other, but she can only marry a prince. Voices include Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin and Jonathan Freeman.

    PRECIOUS (2009, USA)
    Director: Lee Daniels
    In Harlem, an overweight, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction. Starring Gabourey Sidibe, Mo’Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Sherri Shepherd and Lenny Kravitz.

    SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (1952, USA)
    Directors: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly
    A silent film production company and cast make a difficult transition to sound.
    Stars Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen and Millard Mitchell.

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  • Jean-Pierre DARDENNE to Preside Over Jury for Cinéfondation and short films at 2012 Cannes Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_2668" align="alignnone" width="550"]Jean-Pierre DARDENNE[/caption]

    Belgian director, scriptwriter and producer Jean-Pierre DARDENNE who along with his brother Luc won Grand Prix at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival for The Kid with a Bike in 2011, after winning two Palmes d’Or, first in 1999 for Rosetta and then in 2005 for The Child, and the prize for best screenplay in 2008 for Lorna’s Silence, will preside over the jury for the Cinéfondation and short films at this year’s festival.

    The jury will include Arsinée KHANJIAN (Canadian actress), Karim AÏNOUZ (Brazilian director and scriptwriter), Emmanuel CARRÈRE (French writer, scriptwriter and director) and YU Lik-wai (Chinese director of photography and filmmaker).

    The short-film competition, composed of previously unscreened works, has in the past discovered artists who have risen to fame: Jane CAMPION and Nuri Bilge CEYLAN, Xavier GIANNOLI, Lynne RAMSAY and Catalin MITULESCU all received their first recognition with a short film in competition in Cannes.

    For its part, the Sélection de la Cinéfondation, created in 1998, has screened the student films of many directors whose talent was subsequently confirmed with a feature film, including Vimukthi JAYASUNDARA (Caméra d’Or 2005),  Corneliu PORUMBOIU (Caméra d’Or 2006), Kornél MUNDRUCZÓ (In Competition 2008 & 2010) and Jessica HAUSNER (Un Certain Regard 2001 & 2004).

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  • Marvel’s The Avengers to Close 2012 Tribeca Film Festival

    Marvel’s The Avengers will close the 11th Tribeca Film Festival (TFF) on Saturday, April 28, 2012.

    Honoring the spirit of the Tribeca Film Festival, the screening will allow the opportunity for Marvel’s The Avengers to celebrate everyday heroes from police agencies, fire departments, first responders and various branches of the U.S. military.  These local heroes will have an opportunity to attend the screening and meet the cast. 

    Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Tom Hiddleston, with Stellan Skarsgård and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, and directed by Joss Whedon, Marvel’s The Avengers is an engaging, character-driven story packed with action, adventure and special effects. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins to assemble the iconic Marvel Super Heroes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. Marvel’s The Avengers is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series “The Avengers,” first published in 1963 and a comics institution ever since.

    The film releases May 4, 2012.

    The 11th annual Tribeca Film Festival runs April 18-29, 2012.

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