• Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival Unveils New Website

    [caption id="attachment_1751" align="alignnone" width="550"]Opening Night film – About Fifty[/caption]

    The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival has unveiled its new website design just in time for the 26th edition which runs October 21 – November 11, 2011

    The festival kicks off with the film, About Fifty, previously titled Fifty Nothing, directed by Thomas Johnston. The film is described as “A “coming-of-age story about the coming of age,” Thomas Johnston’s comedy tackles a very timely subject in these times of aging baby-boomers: what happens when youth, with all its attendant hopes and dreams, is confronted by the reality of that 50th birthday making its increasingly rapid approach. For Adam (Martin Grey) and Jon (co-writer Drew Pillsbury), life in Los Angeles has taken a turn for the melancholy. With their careers solidly stuck in holding patterns, parents that are becoming increasingly in need of care, and the memories of lost love and divided assets looming large, our heroes decide on a course of action: escape. To the desert, that is, for a weekend of battery recharging in lovely Palm Springs, no less. Rather than spoil things by revealing too much, we will just say that—in the tradition of the best road-movie comedies—what starts out as fun and games soon evolves, as both men must come to terms with their pasts and look forward, however horrifying it may appear at first glance, to a post-50 future.”

     

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  • 7 Screenwriters Win 2011 Nicholl Fellowships

    [caption id="attachment_1660" align="alignnone" width="550"]2010 Nicholl Fellows[/caption]

    Seven screenwriters have been selected as winners of the 26th annual Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

    The 2011 Nicholl Fellows are (listed alphabetically by author):

    • Chris Bessounian & Tianna Langham, Los Angeles, Calif., “Guns and Saris”
    • Dion Cook, Altus, Okla., “Cutter”
    • John MacInnes, Los Angeles, Calif., “Outside the Wire”
    • Matthew Murphy, Culver City, Calif., “Unicorn”
    • Abel Vang & Burlee Vang, Fresno, Calif., “The Tiger’s Child”

    Each writer (or writing team) will receive a $30,000 prize, the first installment of which will be distributed at a gala dinner in Beverly Hills on November 3.

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  • Two Award Winning Documentaries Premiere on Cable TV This Month

    [caption id="attachment_1746" align="alignnone" width="550"]The Education of Dee Dee Ricks[/caption]

    Two award winning documentaries will premiere on tv/cable this week.  The Education Of Dee Dee Ricks debuts October 27, exclusively on HBO, in conjunction with national breast cancer awareness month; and Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s Miss Representation premieres on OWN on October 20th.

    A self-made millionaire living on New York City’s Upper East Side, 39-year-old Dee Dee Ricks seemed to have it all – until she was diagnosed with aggressive stage II breast cancer. Insured and affluent, she could afford the best treatment money could buy, but was shocked to realize how difficult it is for uninsured women in the same situation, and determined to do something about it.

    Marking National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the candid documentary The Education Of Dee Dee Ricks chronicles her transformation from successful businesswoman to determined advocate for poor breast-cancer patients and takes a no-holds-barred look at her own battle with the disease. This moving film by award-winning newswoman Perri Peltz debuts THURSDAY, OCT. 27 (8:30-9:45 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.

    Other HBO playdates: Oct. 27 (5:30 a.m.), and 30 (5:30 p.m.), and Nov. 2 (8:30 a.m.), 5 (10:45 a.m.), 8 (12:15 p.m.), 18 (4:00 p.m.) and 21 (10:00 p.m.)

    In a recent interview with Diane Davis of Examiner.com, Jennifer Siebel Newsom revealed that her directorial debut Miss Representation that premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival is headed to OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.

    JSN: We are gearing up Oprah Winfrey’s premiere on October 20th at 9pm Eastern/Pacific and and 8pm Central.

    DD: Will there be anything surrounding the showing of the film?

    JSN: Yes, there’s going to be a special with Rosie O’Donnell directly following the premiere of the film. That Gloria Steinem, myself, Gena Davis and others are going to be a part of. It will be an hour long special with Rosie O’Donnell.

    Written and directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the film exposes how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America. The film challenges the media’s limited and often disparaging portrayals of women and girls, which make it difficult for women to achieve leadership positions and for the average woman to feel powerful herself.

    Stories from teenage girls and provocative interviews with politicians, journalists, entertainers, activists and academics, like Condoleezza Rice, Nancy Pelosi, Katie Couric, Rachel Maddow, Margaret Cho, Rosario Dawson and Gloria Steinem build momentum as Miss Representation accumulates startling facts and statistics that will leave the audience shaken and armed with a new perspective.

     

     

     

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  • HARD TIMES: LOST ON LONG ISLAND, and THE ARTIST Take The Top Prizes at 2011 Hampton Film Fest

    The hometown film, Marc Levin’s HARD TIMES: LOST ON LONG ISLAND, and THE ARTIST directed by Michel Hazanavicius took the audience awards tonight at the 2011 Hamptons International Film Festival.

    HARD TIMES: LOST ON LONG ISLAND follows a group of Long Island residents as they courageously describe the effect that their long time unemployed status has had on their families, finances, and ultimately their American dream; and THE ARTIST is a  comedic tribute to silent film starring Jean Dujardin. 

    THE FAIRY, directed by Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon, took the the jury award as winner of The Golden Starfish Narrative Feature Award, and the Golden Starfish Award for Best Documentary went to Fellipe Barbosa’s LAURA.

    HAMPTONS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL WINNERS:



    THE ARTIST

    Audience Award Narrative

    Directed by Michel Hazanavicius



    HARD TIMES: LOST ON LONG ISLAND

    Audience Award Documentary

    Directed by Marc Levin’s



    TWO’S ACROWD

    Audience Award Winner for Best Short

    Directed by Jim Isler and Tom Isler



    THEFAIRY

    Narrative Jury Winner

    DominiqueAbel and Fiona Gordon



    LAURA

    Documentary Jury Winner

    Directed by Fellipe Barbosa’s



    THE STRANGE ONES

    Short Documentary Jury Winner

    Directed by Christopher Radcliff and Lauren Wolkstein



    WITHOUT

    The Kodak Award for Best Cinematography. 

    The Wouter Barendrecht Pioneering Vision Award

    Directed by Mark Jackson.



    YOU’VE BEEN TRUMPED

    Winner of the Victor Rabinowitz and Joanne Grant Award for Social Justice

    Director Anthony Baxter



    SPECIAL JURY MENTIONS:



    THE FORGIVENESS OF BLOOD

    Directedby Joshua Marston



    VODKA FACTORY

    Directed by Jerzy Sladkowski



    SMALL, BEAUTIFULLY MOVING PARTS

    The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Feature Film Prize

    Directed by Annie Howell and Lisa Robinson



    THE BULLY PROJECT

    The Brizzolara Family Foundation Award for a Film of Conflict and Resolution

    Directed By Lee Hirsch



    2011 Breakthrough Performer Recipients

    Emily Browning – SLEEPING BEAUTY

    Alexander Skarsgard- MELONCHOLIA

    Stine Fischer Christensen – CRACKS IN THE SHELL

    Ezra Miller – ANOTHER HAPPY DAY

    Shailene Woodley – THE DESCENDANTS

    Anton Yelchin – LIKE CRAZY

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  • Reviews of OK, Enough Goodbye and Scenes of a Crime at 2011 Hamptons International Film Festival

    The 2011 Hamptons International Film Festival continues through Monday, October 17, 2011, but Saturday proved to be a very popular day for festival goers. With a packed day of screenings, it was frustrating because many of the great films and events (like TV channels) all seem to be happening at the same time, so it was really hard to pick and choose.

    Mini Reviews

    OK, Enough, Goodbye, is the feature film debut of Co-Directors/Co-Screenwriters Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia. The film which is in Arabic, with subtitles, is described as “…much a striking portrait of Tripoli, Lebanon, as it is the offbeat story of a helpless middle-aged man who lives at home with his elderly mother. When his mother, fed up with cooking and cleaning for her grown son, leaves without notice, he seeks out the company of an unusual mix of characters: a prostitute, a six-year-old boy, and an Ethiopian maid. This astonishing feature film debut is a coming of age story of an adult on his own amidst the landscape of a multi-cultural, modern day Lebanon.”

    The film is a good film, and was funny at times, especially when the main character interacts with the little boy who no doubt steals the film every time he appears in a scene. Other times, the film appears long (although the time is only listed as 93 minutes) because the directors shot the film in more of a documentary style (they admitted this in the Q & A at the end).  A lot of the film was spent observing the city of Tripoli, Lebanon or the characters doing mundane things like switching TV channels and eating pastries.

    Up next, playing to a packed house was the documentary, ‘Scenes of a Crime’.


    Winner of the Grand Jury Award at the 2011 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, SCENES OF A CRIME explores a nearly 10-hour interrogation that culminates in a disputed confession, and an intense, high-profile child murder trial in New York state.  Police video-recordings allow directors Blue Hadaegh and Grover Babcock to unravel the complicated psychological dynamic between detectives and their suspect during a long interrogation.  Detectives, prosecutors, witnesses, jurors and the suspect himself offer conflicting accounts of exactly what happened in this mysterious and disturbing true-crime documentary.”

    The documentary was preceded by the short film/documentary ‘You Have the Right To An Attorney’ that follows two young public defenders in the South Bronx with little time to clear their caseload and odds always stacked against their clients. This served as an excellent pretext to the film that followed.

    Without giving away most of the storyline, most of the documentary Scenes of a Crime is spent observing the interrogation of the suspect Adrian Thomas and understanding how/why/ and everything there is to know about this process, but you will be left with more questions than answers. I’ll put it this way, no matter what your opinion is as you watch the film, you will be SHOCKED by the outcome. But I was more shocked that no one seemed to address the other huge elephant in the room. Figure that one out when you watch.


    I’m not sure that this will make it to theaters, well because most documentaries do not, unless they are directed by Michael Moore (just kidding) but it will definitely make it to your TV/cable. I promise you that. It’s that good.




     

     

     

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  • Le Havre Takes The Top Film Prize at the 2011 Chicago International Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_1724" align="alignnone" width="550"]Le Havre[/caption]

    Le Havre, Finland’s official submission for 2012 Academy Awards – Best Foreign Language Film, topped a lineup of more than 180 feature-length fiction films, documentaries and shorts to win the top prize, the Gold Hugo at the 47th Chicago International Film Festival Competitions. Directed by Aki Kaurismäki, “in this warmhearted portrait of the French harbor city that gives the film its name, fate throws young African refugee Idrissa (Blondin Miguel) into the path of Marcel Marx (André Wilms), a well-spoken bohemian who works as a shoeshiner. With innate optimism and the unwavering support of his community, Marcel stands up to officials doggedly pursuing the boy for deportation. A political fairy tale that exists somewhere between the reality of contemporary France and the classic cinema of Jean-Pierre Melville and Marcel Carné, Le Havre is a charming, deadpan delight.” Le Havre opens in LA and NYC on October 21.

    The complete list of winners of the 2011 Chicago International Film Festival.

     

    Gold Hugo to LE HAVRE (Finland/France) for the mastery of film director Aki Kaurismäki and his stylized yet very humane depiction of illegal immigration.

    Silver Hugo for CAIRO 678 (Egypt) for addressing relevant social issues. It takes a strong stand on sexual harassment for women at home and work. It is a brave film for presenting women as an oppressor rather than a victim.

    Silver Hugo for Best Actress to Olivia Colman in TYRANNOSAUR (UK) for an outstanding performance hitting every note showing her vulnerability, her power and her humor.

    Silver Hugo for Best Actor to Maged El Kedwany in CAIRO 678 (Egypt) for his ability to bring balance to the story and light to a heavy tone. His presence draws you into every frame he is in.

    Silver Hugo for Best Screenplay to Joshua Marston and Andamion Murataj for THE FORGIVENESS OF BLOOD (US/Albania) for a lovingly crafted story that takes us on an intimate journey through the fate of families that are ruled by the laws of honor and vengeance. The writers lay out for the audience the complexity of human relations and make us reconsider our own standards and convictions.

    The International Feature Film Competition Jury includes Jury president Nimród Antal (US/Hungary), Leonardo García Tsao (Mexico), Claudia Landsberger (The Netherlands), Carlitos Ruiz Ruiz (Puerto Rico) and Bhawana Somaaya (India).

    New Directors Competition

    This selection of first and second feature films receiving their US premiere in Chicago celebrates the spirit of discovery and innovation upon which the Festival was founded.

    The Gold Hugo goes to THE GOOD SON (Finland) for its real psychological insight. Economical without being overly abstract, the film depicts each character as selfish, but dependent on someone else, exposing their unstable familial relationships. Director Zaida Bergroth impresses with her ability to create characters and their environment, intersecting in believable yet shocking ways.

    The Silver Hugo is awarded to VOLCANO (Iceland/Denmark), a film that triggers a deep emotional response that has nothing to do with sentimentality. It juxtaposes domestic space with the dramatic Icelandic landscape to riveting effect. Not just another film about redemption, Rúnar Rúnarsson’s debut depicts the moral ambiguity of the choices facing a complex, older man.

    The New Directors Competition Jury includes Eileen Favorite, Tom Quinn, and Michael Raine.

    Founder’s Award

    The Founder’s Award is given to that one film across all categories that captures the spirit of the Chicago International Film Festival for its unique and innovative approach to the art of the moving image. This year’s recipient of the Founder’s Award is THE ARTIST (France), director Michel Hazanavicius’ delightfully romantic comedy about silent cinema and the movies in general.

    Special Awards

    The 47th Chicago International Film Festival recognized French film director and producer CLAUDE LELOUCH’s 50 years in the film industry with a Silver Hugo award. The award was presented to him on October 8 at a screening of his 43rd film What Love May Bring.

    Actor ANTHONY MACKIE received the Artistic Achievement Award at the Festival’s annual Black Perspectives Tribute

    Docufest Competition

    This selection of international documentaries competing for the Gold Hugo go beyond the headlines in telling those true stories that surprise, entertain and challenge us.

    Gold Hugo goes to CINEMA KOMUNISTO (Serbia), an exquisite matching of form and content. This film uses cinema as both a metaphor and a mechanism for the telling of unique national, cultural, and personal histories. Archival and contemporary footage are deftly interwoven to yield a result that is at once intimate and universal. Director: Mila Turajlic.

    Silver Hugo goes to the visually and aurally innovative DIANA VREELAND: THE EYE HAS TO TRAVEL (US). The subject, Diana Vreeland, embodies the exuberance of the 20th century (often called the American Century) even though she was not born in the US and was a confirmed Europhile all her life. The filmmakers have used a range of techniques in the service of a central aim: to connect audiences with the essence of this unique woman who reflected her times. Director: Lisa Immordino Vreeland.

    A Gold Plaque goes to SALAAM DUNK (US/Iraq). This documentary delivers an extraordinary level of access to the emotions of these courageous young Iraqi women who formed a basketball team at the American University of Iraq. There are so many ways the director could have sacrificed the sense of direct connection to steer our attention towards social and political analysis but this does not happen: we live with the players and their coach and with the complexities of ethnicity in post-Saddam Iraq. Director: David Fine.

    A Silver Plaque goes to ALL ME: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF WINFRED REMBERT (US), a patient portrayal of an individual’s life that peels away social history layer by layer. It connects audiences with aspects of US racial history they may know in general terms but will rarely have had the opportunity to access through the life of a man who is also an extraordinary visual artist compelled to tell his story in his work. Director: Vivian Ducat.

    The jury gives a Certificate of Merit to ENDING NOTE: DEATH OF A JAPANESE SALESMAN (Japan). The filmmaker demonstrates considerable courage and determination in this refreshing and candid film that naturalizes dying and death. She has a very special ability to preserve affection and intimacy even as she reveals the final months of her father’s life to the world. Director: Mami Sunada.

    The Docufest Competition Jury includes Jill DiBiase, Bruce Sheridan and Jonathan Towers.

    After Dark Competition

    This competitive program of scary movies from around the world takes audiences on a journey to the darkest corners of the human soul.

    The Gold Hugo goes to SNOWTOWN (Australia), a cinematically told, verité style portrait of a serial killer which is surprising in its execution and never relies on stock characters. Director: Justin Kurzel.

    The Silver Hugo goes to A LONELY PLACE TO DIE (UK), which employs stunning cinematography and majestic mountain landscapes to tell a story which thrilled the jury with its capacity for the unexpected. Director: Julian Gibley.

    The After Dark Competition Jury includes Shayna Connelly, Julian Grant and John Russell Taylor.

    Short Film Competition

    The Gold Hugo for Best Short Film goes to THE EAGLEMAN STAG (UK), for its virtuoso and wide-ranging technical feats with a form and style that seem wholly its own, all in the service of characterizing a brilliant, acerbic scientist from cradle to grave, and beyond. The film’s monochromatic palette, intriguing textures, wry narration, and imaginative aesthetic illuminate the life and mind of a potentially cold figure, yielding a precise vision of what dazzles and bores him during the finite time he will spend on this strange, wonderful planet. Director: Michael Please.

    The Silver Hugo for Best Animated Short is awarded to BIRDBOY (Spain). This film’s dynamic realization of two souls searching for some better place in a flawed and fractured world is a compelling journey wrought with contradictions and surprises — and ultimately hope. Directors: Pedro Rovero and Alberto Vazquez.

    The Silver Hugo for Best Documentary Short is awarded to CARETAKER FOR THE LORD (Scotland), for its beautifully observed, intensely moving, but rigorously unsentimental record of a small-town church faced with closing its doors, prompting complex questions about how we use our communal institutions, why we need them, and how to decide when it’s time to let them go. Director: Jane McAllister.

    The Silver Hugo for Best Narrative Short is awarded to THE UNLIVING (Sweden), for combining the rich atmospheres and sterling production values of a feature with the eccentric rhythms of truly independent cinema, all braided into a deeply unnerving thriller that is manna for horror fans but a resonant, indelible experience for all audiences. Director: Hugo Lilja.

    A Gold Plaque goes to THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OF ROCKY (Belgium), a brilliant darkly comedic tale of one young man’s grappling with fate, love, and the meaning of life. Director Kevin Meul.

    A Silver Plaque goes to MEATHEAD (New Zealand) for the most inspired location to film a coming-of-age story. With a terrifying sound mix and amazing cinematography, the filmmakers turn a real life meat factory into a full-on haunted house for a young man facing the trials (and entrails) of adulthood. Director: Sam Holst.
    The Gold Plaque for Best Student Short (Animated) is awarded to BELLY (UK), which marries a poignant, pivotal experience shared among three characters to a series of innovative character designs and unusual physical environments, reminding us that adolescence is a sad, weird, eye-opening journey, and that every person and every relationship is made of multiple, sometimes conflicting sides. Director: Julia Pott.

    The Gold Plaque for Best Student Short (Documentary) is awarded to GOODBYE, MANDIMA (Switzerland), for its heartrending dissection of a seminal moment in time captured in a single photograph. The rupture between past and future is so beautifully articulated, and so deeply felt, that the final shot manages to leave you breathless. Director: Robert-Jan Lacombe.
    The jury awards a Special Mention to GRANDMOTHERS (UK). This short truly defies categorization –all at once an animated, short, student, documentary film combining a very personal (almost narrative approach) and an innovative visual specificity– painting a picture far beyond its 9 1/2 minutes of loss and recovery in the multi-generational search for Argentina’s “disappeared.” Director: Afarin Eghbal.

    The Short Film Jury includes Domenica Cameron-Scorsese, Nick Davis, and Todd Lillethun.

    INTERCOM Competition

    One of the longest-running international competitions of its kind, INTERCOM honors a wide range of corporate-sponsored, educational and branded films.

    The Gold Hugo goes to SUVA – THE MOMENT OF TRUTH by Seed Audio-Visual Communication, commissioned by insurance company SUVA to promote work safety.

    The Silver Hugo goes to OSTEOBLASTS AND OSTEOCLASTS by Random42 Medical Animation, the world’s premier medical animation company.

    The INTERCOM Competition Jury includes Ron Falzone, Cortney Groves and Kim Kubiak.

    Chicago Award

    The Chicago Award, presented to a Chicago or Illinois artist for the best feature, short film or documentary, goes to L TRAIN, directed by Anna Musso. It is purposeful, mysterious and formal in a way that heightened its expressiveness.

    The Chicago Award jury includes Tim Kinsella, Natasha Korecki, and Brigid Reagan.

    The Audience Choice Award will be announced on October 24th. The 48th Chicago International Film Festival runs October 11-25, 2012.

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  • AFI FEST 2011 Announces Young Americans, New Auteurs and Spotlight Lineup

    [caption id="attachment_1736" align="alignnone" width="550"](L-R) Ariane Labed and Evangelia Randou in ATTENBERG Courtesy of Strand Releasing[/caption]

    AFI FEST 2011 announced the films that will be featured in the festival’s Young Americans, New Auteurs and Spotlight sections at the 25th edition this November. Young Americans features work by emerging U.S. filmmakers, while New Auteurs highlights first and second-time feature film directors from around the world. This year’s Spotlight section focuses on acclaimed independent American filmmaker Joe Swanberg, featuring presentations of films from his Full Moon Trilogy – SILVER BULLETS, ART HISTORY and the world premiere of THE ZONE.

     

    NEW AUTEURS SELECTIONS
    The New Auteurs section highlights first and second-time feature film directors from around the world.
    ATTENBERG: DIR/SCR Athina Rachel Tsangari. Greece.
    BONSAI: DIR/SCR Cristián Jiménez. Chile/France/Argentina/Portugal.
    BULLHEAD: DIR/SCR Michaël R. Roskam. Belgium.
    HANAAN: DIR/SCR Ruslan Pak. Russia/South Korea/Uzbek.
    THE LONELIEST PLANET: DIR/SCR Julia Loktev. USA/Germany.
    MICHAEL: DIR/SCR Markus Schleinzer. Austria.
    OSLO, AUGUST 31: DIR Joachim Trier. SCR Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier. Norway.
    RESTLESS CITY: DIR Andrew Dosunmu. SCR Eugene Gussenhoven. USA.
    SNOWTOWN: DIR Justin Kurzel. SCR Justin Kurzel, Shaun Grant. Australia.

    YOUNG AMERICANS SELECTIONS
    The Young Americans section features work by emerging U.S. filmmakers.
    THE COLOR WHEEL: DIR Alex Ross Perry. SCR Alex Ross Perry, Carlen Altman.
    THE DISH & THE SPOON: DIR Alison Bagnall. SCR Alison Bagnall, Andrew Lewis.
    DRAGONSLAYER: DIR Tristan Patterson. (Documentary)
    GREEN: DIR/SCR Sophia Takal.
    SPARK OF BEING: DIR Bill Morrison. (Experimental)
    WUSS: DIR/SCR Clay Liford.

    SPOTLIGHT ON JOE SWANBERG
    SILVER BULLETS: DIR/SCR Joe Swanberg.
    ART HISTORY: DIR Joe Swanberg. SCR Joe Swanberg, Josephine Decker, Kent Osborne.
    THE ZONE: DIR/SCR Joe Swanberg. World Premiere.
    Film stills and director headshots are available for press use

    AFI FEST will take place November 3 through 10 in Hollywood, California.

     

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  • Documentary about Gay Rights Activist , Vito Russo Premieres Tonight at NY Film Fest

    VITO, an HBO documentary film about gay rights activist Vito Russo, premieres tonight at the New York Film Festival. The film premieres at 6:00 PM with an encore screening at 9:15 PM.

    VITO offers rare insight into one of the most important voices in the birth of contemporary gay culture and AIDS activism.  His book The Celluloid Closet published in 1981 (and updated in 1987), remains a landmark historical work and his co-founding of GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, and early activism with ACT UP established Vito Russo as one of the most important civil rights activists in New York and the country.

    For over two decades, Vito Russo was a ubiquitous presence in New York, a ravenous, tireless cinephile and critic who became one of the earliest, most important voices in the struggle for gay rights. His two passions came together in an extraordinary book, The Celluloid Closet, a groundbreaking study of gay and lesbian imagery and themes in movies that remains a landmark in the field. Now Jeffrey Schwarz, using some incredible period footage as well as the testimonies of those who knew him best, has created this heartfelt, insightful portrait of Vito that serves simultaneously as a revealing chronicle of the birth of contemporary gay culture and of later AIDS activism. An HBO Documentary FIlms release.

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  • Documentary EVERYDAY SUNSHINE: THE STORY OF FISHBONE Opens in LA on October 21

    The documentary EVERYDAY SUNSHINE: THE STORY OF FISHBONE, which had its World Premiere at the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival, and went on to screen at Mill Valley and SXSW film festivals, among many others, will open on October 21 at the Laemmle Sunset 5 in Los Angeles, CA.  Many other cities (including Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, DC) will follow.

    Directed by Lev Anderson and Chris Metzler, EVERYDAY SUNSHINE is a documentary about the band Fishbone, musical pioneers who have been rocking on the margins of pop culture for the past 25 years.  From the streets of South Central-Los Angeles and the competitive Hollywood music scene of the 1980’s, the band rose to prominence, only to fall apart when on the verge of “making it.”   Laurence Fishburne narrates EVERYDAY SUNSHINE, an entertaining cinematic journey into the personal lives of this unique Black rock band, an untold story of fiercely individual artists in their quest to reclaim their musical legacy while debunking the myths of young Black men from urban America.  Highlighting the parallel journeys of a band and their city, EVERYDAY SUNSHINE explores the personal and cultural forces that gave rise to California’s legendary Black punk sons that continue to defy categories and expectations.

    At the heart of Fishbone’s story is lead singer Angelo Moore and bassist Norwood Fisher who show how they keep the band rolling, out of pride, desperation and love for their art.  To overcome money woes, family strife, and the strain of being aging Punk rockers on the road, Norwood and Angelo are challenged to re-invent themselves in the face of dysfunction and ghosts from a painful past.

    The documentary includes interviews with: Gwen Stefani (No Doubt), Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Ice-T (rapper), Branford Marsalis (saxophonist), Perry Farrell (Jane’s Addiction, Porno For Pyros).

    Celebrating their 25th anniversary this year, the band has just released their much-anticipated album Crazy Glue on October 11, 2011.

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  • Complete List of 63 Countries Competing For 84th Academy Awards Foreign Film Oscar

    [caption id="attachment_1730" align="alignnone" width="550"]First time entrant New Zealand – The Orator directed by Tusi Tamasese[/caption]

    Sixty-three countries, including first-time entrant New Zealand, have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 84th Academy Awards®.

    The 2011 submissions are:
    Albania, “Amnesty,” Bujar Alimani, director;
    Argentina, “Aballay,” Fernando Spiner, director;
    Austria, “Breathing,” Karl Markovics, director;
    Belgium, “Bullhead,” Michael R. Roskam, director;
    Bosnia and Herzegovina,”Belvedere,” Ahmed Imamovic, director;
    Brazil, “Elite Squad: The Enemy Within,” José Padilha, director;
    Bulgaria, “Tilt,” Viktor Chouchkov, Jr., director;
    Canada, “Monsieur Lazhar,” Philippe Falardeau, director;
    Chile, “Violeta Went to Heaven,” Andrés Wood, director;
    China, “The Flowers of War,” Zhang Yimou, director;
    Colombia, “The Colors of the Mountain,” Carlos César Arbeláez, director;
    Croatia, “72 Days,” Danilo Serbedzija, director;
    Cuba, “Havanastation,” Ian Padrón, director;
    Czech Republic,”Alois Nebel,” Tomás Lunák, director;
    Denmark, “Superclásico,” Ole Christian Madsen, director;
    Dominican Republic,”Love Child,” Leticia Tonos, director;
    Egypt, “Lust,” Khaled el Hagar, director;
    Estonia, “Letters to Angel,” Sulev Keedus, director;
    Finland, “Le Havre,” Aki Kaurismäki, director;
    France, “Declaration of War,” Valérie Donzelli, director;
    Georgia, “Chantrapas,” Otar Iosseliani, director;
    Germany, “Pina,” Wim Wenders, director;
    Greece, “Attenberg,” Athina Rachel Tsangari, director;
    Hong Kong,”A Simple Life,” Ann Hui, director;
    Hungary, “The Turin Horse,” Béela Tarr, director;
    Iceland, “Volcano,” Rúnar Rúnarsson, director;
    India, “Abu, Son of Adam,” Salim Ahamed, director;
    Indonesia, “Under the Protection of Ka’Bah,” Hanny R. Saputra, director;
    Iran, “A Separation,” Asghar Farhadi, director;
    Ireland, “As If I Am Not There,” Juanita Wilson, director;
    Israel, “Footnote,” Joseph Cedar, director;
    Italy, “Terraferma,” Emanuele Crialese, director;
    Japan, “Postcard,” Kaneto Shindo, director;
    Kazakhstan, “Returning to the ‘A,’” Egor Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky, director;
    Lebanon, “Where Do We Go Now?” Nadine Labaki, director;
    Lithuania, “Back to Your Arms,” Kristijonas Vildziunas, director;
    Macedonia, “Punk Is Not Dead,” Vladimir Blazevski, director;
    Mexico, “Miss Bala,” Gerardo Naranjo, director;
    Morocco, “Omar Killed Me,” Roschdy Zem, director;
    Netherlands, “Sonny Boy,” Maria Peters, director;
    New Zealand,”The Orator,” Tusi Tamasese, director;
    Norway, “Happy, Happy,” Anne Sewitsky, director;
    Peru, “October,” Diego Vega and Daniel Vega, directors;
    Philippines, “The Woman in the Septic Tank,” Marlon N. Rivera, director;
    Poland, “In Darkness,” Agnieszka Holland, director;
    Portugal, “José and Pilar,” Miguel Gonçalves Mendes, director;
    Romania, “Morgen,” Marian Crisan, director;
    Russia, “Burnt by the Sun 2: The Citadel,” Nikita Mikhalkov, director;
    Serbia, “Montevideo: Taste of a Dream,” Dragan Bjelogrlić, director;
    Singapore, “Tatsumi,” Eric Khoo, director;
    Slovak Republic,”Gypsy,” Martin Sulík, director;
    South Africa,”Beauty,” Oliver Hermanus, director;
    South Korea,”The Front Line,” Jang Hun, director;
    Spain, “Black Bread,” Agusti Villaronga, director;
    Sweden, “Beyond,” Pernilla August, director;
    Switzerland, “Summer Games,” Rolando Colla, director;
    Taiwan, “Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale,” Wei Te-sheng, director;
    Thailand, “Kon Khon,” Sarunyu Wongkrachang, director;
    Turkey, “Once upon a Time in Anatolia,” Nuri Bilge Ceylan, director;
    United Kingdom,”Patagonia,” Marc Evans, director;
    Uruguay, “The Silent House,” Gustavo Hernández, director;
    Venezuela, “Rumble of the Stones,” Alejandro Bellame Palacios, director;
    Vietnam, “The Prince and the Pagoda Boy,” Luu Trong Ninh, director.

    The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, 2012; and the Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012.

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  • 8 Documentary Short Films Make 2011 Oscars Shortlist

    [caption id="attachment_1728" align="alignnone" width="550"]The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement[/caption]

    The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that the field of Documentary Short Subject contenders for the 84th Academy Awards® has been narrowed to eight films, of which three to five will earn Oscar® nominations.

    The eight films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production company.

    “The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement,” Purposeful Productions, Inc.
    “God Is the Bigger Elvis,” Documentress Films
    “In Tahrir Square: 18 Days of Egypt’s Unfinished Revolution,” Downtown Docs
    “Incident in New Baghdad,” Morninglight Films
    “Pipe Dreams,” Leslie Iwerks Productions
    “Saving Face,” Milkhaus/Jungefilm
    “The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom,” Supply & Demand Integrated
    “Witness,” Buche

    The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, 2012; and the Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012.

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  • Cucalorus Film Festival Announces Official Lineup Filled With Award Winning Films

    [caption id="attachment_1726" align="alignnone" width="550"]Happy (Sykt Lykkelig), Norway’s official entry for Best Foreign Language Film for the 2011 Academy Awards[/caption]

    Cucalorus Film Festival released its official schedule of films and events for this year’s festival, revealing a roster of over 150 films from 23 different countries. The festival opens on Thursday, November 10th with Dance-a-lorus, an exploration of film and dance at the historic Thalian Hall.

    Other films include Happy, Happy (Sykt Lykkelig), Norway’s official entry for Best Foreign Language Film for the 2011 Academy Awards. Our Day Will Come,  the first feature film by Romain Gavras, the director of M.I.A.’s controversial “Born Free” music video; Simon Arthur’s Silver Tongues, winner of the Audience award at the Slamdance Film Festival, and Vikram Gandhi’s Kumare winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at SXSW also made the 2011 lineup.

    Last minute additions include the Norwegian comedy Turn Me On Dammit!, which won best screenplay award at the Tribeca Film Festival.

    In conjunction with the 25th anniversary of David Lynch’s classic American indie, the festival will host a staged reading of the play Blue Velvet: The Musical. Other special events like Norwood Cheek’s 10×10 and Visual Soundwalls solidify music’s position as guest of honor at Cucalorus 17.

    The Cucalorus Film Festival runs November 10 – 13, 2011 in historic downtown Wilmington, North Carolina.

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