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.
The Durban International Film Festival in Durban, South Africa, has announced that its 32nd edition will take place from 21 to 31 July 2011.
The Art Directors Guild (ADG) announced winners of its 15th Annual Excellence in 2010 Production Design Awards in nine categories of film, television, commercials and music videos during black-tie ceremonies at the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. The awards took place before an audience of more than 650 persons, including guild members, industry executives, studio heads and press. ADG Chairman Thomas A. Walsh presided over the awards ceremony with Paula Poundstone serving as host for the second consecutive year. Honorary awards were presented to Production Designer Patricia Norris for Lifetime Achievement and to Syd Dutton and Bill Taylor for Outstanding Contribution to Cinematic Imagery.
DreamWorks Animation’s “How To Train Your Dragon” won top honors as the Best Animated Feature at the 38th Annual Annie Awards on Saturday, February 5 at UCLA’s Royce Hall. Best Animated Short Subject was presented to Pixar’s ‘Day & Night’; Best Animated Television Commercial to Duck Studios ‘Children’s Medical Center’; Nickelodeon’s ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ was honored as Best Animated Television Production for Children and Playdead’s ‘Limbo’ won Best Animated Video Game. A new category, Character Animation in a Live Action Production was presented to Sony Pictures’ ‘Alice in Wonderland.’ The Winsor McCay award was presented to three animation industry leaders – Brad Bird, Eric Goldberg and Matt Groening. Brad Bird is currently filming in Vancouver and accepted his Winsor via a videotaped message. Entries submitted for consideration were from productions that originally aired, were exhibited in an animation festival or commercially released between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010:
The winning films of the 40th International Film Festival Rotterdam were announced and the three Tiger Awards were granted to feature débuts: