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.
The winners of the 8th Annual Irish Film & Television Awards were honored at a gala ceremony held at Dublin’s Convention Centre Saturday 12th February 2011. Broadcasting live on Irish television, 37 IFTA Awards were announced in categories across feature film and television.
David F. Friedman, a film producer who cheerfully and cheesily exploited an audience’s hunger for bare-breasted women and blood-dripping corpses in lucrative low-budget films like “Blood Feast” and “Ilsa: She-Wolf of the S.S.,” died on Monday in Anniston, Ala. He was 87.
The Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center announced the full lineup for the 40th edition of New Directors/New Films (March 23 – April 3). Dedicated to the discovery of new works by emerging and dynamic filmmaking talent, the film festival will screen 28 feature films (24 narrative, 4 documentary) representing 22 countries.
Music Box Films announced that it has acquired all US Theatrical, DVD, and Digital Rights to Liz Garbus’ film Bobby Fischer Against the World which recently screened at this year’s Sundance Film Festival in the prestigious Documentary Premieres Section. The deal was negotiated by David Koh & Stanley Buchthal of LM Media GmbH on behalf of the Director and Producers along with Ed Arentz & Bill Schopf of Music Box Films. HBO Documentary Films plans an Academy Qualification followed by a TV broadcast on HBO. A coordinated Theatrical, DVD and Digital Release by Music Box Films will follow. Bobby Fischer Against the World is a co-production of HBO Documentary Film and LM Media GmbH and was Produced & Directed by Liz Garbus. Produced by Stanley Buchthal, Rory Kennedy, Matthew Justus. Executive Produced for HBO by Sheila Nevins. Executive Produced by Dan Cogan, Nick Fraser, Maja Hoffmann, Martin Pieper. Senior Producer for HBO Nancy Abraham. Co-Produced by Christoph Jorg & David Koh. Cinematography by Bob Chappell. Edited by Karen Schmeer and Michael Levine. Music Composed by Philip Sheppard.
IFC Midnight is partnering with MPI Media Group and its subsidiary Dark Sky Films to release director Jim Mickle’s (MULBERRY STREET) STAKE LAND. The critically-acclaimed apocalyptic thriller was produced by Larry Fessenden, Peter Phok, Adam Folk, Brent Kunkle and Derek Curl. STAKE LAND stars Connor Paolo (“Gossip Girl”), Danielle Harris (HATCHET II), Kelly McGillis (THE ACCUSED), Nick Damici, and Michael Cerveris (FRINGE). Damici and Mickle co-wrote the screenplay, which was the winner of the Midnight Madness Audience Award at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. STAKE LAND will have a nationwide theatrical platform release beginning April 22nd, with simultaneous nationwide release on demand.
Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, announced the filmmakers and film projects for its 10th annual Directors Lab, sponsored by Kodak. Taking place in Los Angeles from now until the end of March, the Directors Lab is an intensive nine-week program designed to assist directors with strong, original voices develop new narrative feature films, improve their craft, and advance their filmmaking careers in a nurturing yet challenging creative environment. This year’s Lab Mentors include Keith Gordon (The Singing Detective, Waking the Dead), Karyn Kusama (Jennifer’s Body, Girl Fight), and Jeremy Podeswa (The Pacific, Fugitive Pieces).
The King’s Speech was named Best Film at tonight’s Orange British Academy Film Awards, held at London’s Royal Opera House. The film also won six other awards: Outstanding British Film, Original Screenplay and Original Music, as well as a trio of performance awards for Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter and Colin Firth, who wins the Leading Actor BAFTA for the second year running.
Derby City Film Festival opens this Friday February 18th, 68 films to screen during the three day festival, including 25 international films and 20 from Kentucky filmmakers. The festival will open with a short film screening group from The Bob Rogers Group (BRG), a production company based in Louisville. The BRG film program of 8 short films will be free to attend and begin at 6:00 PM on February 18th. The official opening night film at 8:00 PM will be “The Very Worst Thing” a film about the worst bus crash in US history which took place in Floyd County, Kentucky in 1958. The film is from Georgetown filmmaker Michael Crisp.
Screen Media Films has acquired North American rights to FUBAR: BALLS TO THE WALL, Michael Dowse’s hilarious look into the lives of headbangers Dean and Terry that stars Paul J. Spence and David Lawrence, prior to its U.S. premiere at the 2011 SXSW Film Festival. The deal was announced by the company’s President, Robert Baruc, who plans to release the film on VOD and home video on April 19, 2011.
Roadside Attractions will distribute Maryam Keshavarz’s CIRCUMSTANCE, which Participant Media acquired at the Sundance Film Festival. Winner of this year’s Sundance Audience Award, the film is set in contemporary Iran, where a wealthy family struggles to contain a teenager’s growing sexual rebellion and her brother’s dangerous obsession. The film is targeted for a summer 2011 release.
Directed by Maryam Keshavarz, the cast includes Nikohl Boosheri, Sarah Kazemy, Reza Sixo Safai, Soheil Parsa, Nasrin Pakkho, Sina Amedson, and Keon Mohajeri