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
The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival announced the features in the Midnighters and SXFantastic sections, as well as the complete short films lineup, which will debut at this year’s Festival, which runs from March 11 – 19, 2011 in Austin, Texas.
Tribeca Film has acquired all U.S. rights to Unified Pictures’ Janie Jones and will release the film theatrically in multiple U.S. markets, as well as on video-on-demand and other platforms in the summer of 2011. The authentic and charming rock ‘n’ roll road trip drama about a father and daughter finding their way to each other through music stars Academy Award® nominee Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine), Alessandro Nivola (Coco Before Chanel), Academy Award® nominee Elisabeth Shue (Leaving Las Vegas) and Brittany Snow (Hairspray). Janie Jones was written and directed by David M. Rosenthal, whose own life experiences inspired the story.
The DALLAS International Film Festival announced today the first twelve films that will screen at this year’s fifth festival (March 31 – April 10) including four world premieres and one U.S. premiere. The festival announced three films set for its Texas Competition, two films in its Family Friendly section and the first film selected for a brand new India Spotlight series. Films entered into the narrative feature and narrative documentary competition will once again have the chance to win an unrestricted cash prize of $25,000 per category courtesy of Target.
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival kicks off its 8th year this Friday at the historic Wilma Theatre in downtown Missoula with a FREE screening of Peter D. Richardson’s film, HOW TO DIE IN OREGON, sponsored by HBO Documentary Films.
Magnolia Pictures announced they have acquired SQUARE GROUPER: THE GODFATHERS OF GANJA, a wildly entertaining doc about pot smuggling in 1970s South Florida from Billy Corben and Alfred Spellman of rakontur, the filmmakers behind the globally popular Cocaine Cowboys series and ESPN’s The U.
The 26th Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival announced the winners of the 2011 festival competition. Commented SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling, “This year in particular, I have been incredibly impressed by our film lineup. Each of the films possessed their own unique quality, creating one of the most diverse and interesting programs yet.”
Lisa Aschan’s feature debut She Monkeys took the top award – the Dragon Award Best Nordic Film at 2011 Göteborg International Film Festival’s Dragon Award Gala on Saturday night in Scandinavia. She Monkeys also received the FIPRESCI Award, which is handed out by the international federation of film critics. The Ingmar Bergman International Debut Award was given Blue Valentine, directed by Derek Cianfrance.
The first annual Avalon International Film Festival (AIFF) to be held March 25-27, 2011, at the Catalina Casino Theatre and Ballroom, Avalon Bay on Catalina Island, California. The festival will spotlight works from around the world created by both amateur and professional filmmakers in categories ranging from short animations to international feature films and documentaries.