Asghar Farhadi’s “Nader and Simin, A Separation” was the big winner at the 2011 Berlin International Film Festival, taking the Golden Bear for best film, with best actor and actress prizes split among the films’ ensemble male and female cast, which included the director’s teenage daughter, Sarina.
The Cinema Audio Society consisting of Sound Mixers and Associates from the Film and Television Industries announced the 47th Annual CAS Awards honorees and winners.
American Cinema Editors (ACE) announced the winners for the 61st Annual ACE Eddie Awards recognizing outstanding editing in nine categories of film, television and documentaries. Christopher Nolan received the ACE Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award, while Career Achievement honors were bestowed on veteran film editors Michael Brown, A.C.E. and Michael Kahn, A.C.E. Director Joe Sargeant presented to Brown, with Steven Spielberg presenting to Kahn.
Walter Seltzer, a Hollywood producer who made seven films with Charlton Heston, has died. He was 96.
Louisville native Greg King and New Albany, Indiana filmmaker Ray Cart are among the winners of the top prizes at the 2011 Derby City Film Festival which was held February 18th through the 20th. Greg King and David Teague’s “Our House” took home Best Documentary and Cart’s “Queens of the Dead” won the Audience Choice award for favorite film.
The Sarasota Film Festival (SFF), April 7-17, 2011 in Sarasota, FL, and legendary San Francisco based punk rock video collective Target Video announced a collaboration today that will see the Sarasota Film Festival present a program of Target’s legendary performance videos. Entitled Futility Is Resistance: Treasures From The Target Video Archive (1977-84), the program features three nights of Target’s seminal, rarely seen punk rock performances. Shot by members of Target Video between 1977 and 1984, these videos, interview segments and live performances have long been sought after by underground video traders and music fans around the world. Target Video and The SFF will present three separate programs, featuring over 60 bands and four and a half hours of music, all presented on the big screen at the festival’s main screening venue, The Regal Hollywood 20.
The 2011 Oxford Film Festival came to a close last weekend, and Mississippi Innocence, the non-competition documentary by filmmaker Joe York, took home the top prize for overall audience favorite. Two years in the making and produced with Tucker Carrington and the Mississippi Innocence Project at the UM School of Law, Mississippi Innocence tells the compelling story of Levon Brooks and Kennedy Brewer, two men who combined spent over thirty years behind bars for crimes they didn’t commit.
The Dam Short Film Festival in Boulder City, Nevada just wrapped its 7th edition and announced the 2011 winners. The festival The 2012 Dam Short Film Festival screened over 100 short films from all corners of the world with 38 film crews traveling to Boulder City. The next/upcoming – 2012 festival is scheduled for February 8-11, 2012.
Texas Frightmare Weekend announced AUDITION star Eihi Shiina and TOKYO GORE POLICE director and special effects artist Yoshihiro Nishimura are confirmed to attend this year’s edition of the popular horror and genre convention (April 29 – May 1). This will mark the first time that Shiina has made an appearance of this nature in the United States.
The judges of the 8th annual Big Sky Documentary Film Festival have announced this year’s award winning films in the four competitive categories: Best Feature, Big Sky Award, Best Short Film and Best Mini Doc (under 15 minutes). The awards were announced Thursday evening at a ceremony at The Loft in downtown Missoula. The Feature Category winner will receive $1000, while the films in the other three categories will receive a cash prize of $500, courtesy of The Documentary Channel.
With the strongest field of foreign films in its 17-year history and a diverse lineup of shorts, documentaries, animations and full-length features, the Sedona International Film Festival will screen 145 films – including “Sedona, The Motion Picture” – at three venues from Feb. 20-27.
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the rights in North America, Australia and New Zealand to Vera Farmiga’s directorial debut, HIGHER GROUND. Academy Award(R) nominee Vera Farmiga also stars in the film, alongside Academy Award(R) nominee John Hawkes, Donna Murphy, and Joshua Leonard. Carolyn S. Briggs and Tim Metcalfe penned the script based on Briggs’ memoir “This Dark World: A Memoir of Salvation Found and Lost.” HIGHER GROUND was in US dramatic competition at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.