After announcing that the 8th Beijing Independent Documentary Film Festival has been cancelled, the festival’s artistic director, Zhu Rikun, has reportedly resigned from the festival’s foundation, closed his production house, Fanhall Studio, and fled the Chinese capital.
The 2011 SOHO International Film Festival wrapped up in New York City last Friday, April 22nd, 2011 with its award ceremony. One of the highlights of the ceremony was the presentation of the very first NYC ICON AWARD to legendary character actor, Frank Vincent (“Raging Bull”, “Goodfellas”, “Sopranos”) honoring a New York film artist who has achieved a high degree of creative excellence over the years.
The Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) announced its 2011 Action Sports Film Series (ASFS), that will take place during the week of the Newport Beach Film Festival (April 28 – May 5, 2011) in Orange County, CA.
The 2011 Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) will end its eight-day run with A Beginner’s Guide to Endings on Thursday, May 5, 2011.
Production on the set of the Bollywood action movie “Bbuddha” starring Amitabh Bachchan was brought to a screeching halt, in Mumbai on Tuesday after a political party protested against the use of foreign dancers.
The 84th Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, Academy President Tom Sherak announced yesterday.
The Tribeca Film Festival’s lineup describes Mateo Gil’s blazing new western, “Blackthorn” as about “…the final years in the life of legendary bandit Butch Cassidy, which are shrouded in mystery, from his rumored death in a Bolivian military standoff, to his escape from South America to die quietly on a Nevada ranch the 1930s. In Mateo Gil’s intimate and adventurous Western, a re-imagined and aged Butch Cassidy (Sam Shepard) is living under the assumed name James Blackthorn, in a secluded village in Bolivia, 20 years after his disappearance in 1908. Surviving humbly off the land, and finding occasional comforts with a local woman, Yana (Magaly Solier, The Milk of Sorrow), he longs to end his personal exile and return to the US to see his family. Reluctantly joining forces with a Spanish mine robber (Eduardo Noriega) who promises him a cut of the loot, Blackthorn sets out on one final adventure… and discovers he’s not the only one harboring a deep secret.” Stephen Rea also gives a sensational performance as an ex-Pinkerton cop, who never quite got over having never brought Butch and Sundance to custody.
Rio was the the box office winner last weekend – both domestically and internationally; with Tyler Perry, Madea’s Big Happy Family coming in at second place. Holdouts including the documentary African Cats, Soul Surfer, and Insidious performed well enough to remain in the top 10.
The Weinstein Company (TWC) announced today that it has acquired THE BULLY PROJECT, the new documentary from Emmy and Sundance award-winning filmmaker Lee Hirsch (AMANDLA! A REVOLUTION IN FOUR PART HARMONY) that premiered at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday, April 23.
Five finalists, selected from 52 entries from 32 countries, will advance in the Foreign Student Film category in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 38th Annual Student Academy Awards competition. Up to three winners, to be selected from this group, will be brought to Los Angeles to join U.S.-based Student Academy Award® winners 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.
I met with the amazing, charismatic and riveting documentary director Alma Har’el, to discuss her first film, the documentary “Bombay Beach,” which is shaping up to be the surprise runaway hit of the Tribeca Film Festival. Shot on a $600 consumer camcorder (using 35 mm lenses), Har’el discusses her background in photography, music videos, video/concert imagery, and PSAs, how she secured three Bob Dylan songs, and her obsessive love for the band Beirut, whose music comprises most of her magical soundtrack.
Being overwhelmed at Tribeca is not unusual; there is a huge amount of cinema to choose from. Vimooz is here to help! Here are some films that we find to be highlights of the fest, either hidden gems we’ve mentioned, films generating a buzz, or films that are simply not to be missed. These are some documentary feature highlights, put into general categories to give an idea of what kinds of films they are. Of course, many of these films crossover into different categories, and could be included in any or all of them, as complex as they are. But when delving through the many choices Tribeca offers, it helps to have an idea of what subject a film fits into.