Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, handed out top honors to Black Swan, Winter’s Bone, 127 Hours, and The Kids Are All Right at the 26th Film Independent Spirit Awards. The King’s Speech, Exit Through the Gift Shop, Get Low, Tiny Furniture, and Daddy Longlegs also received awards at the ceremony.
The 13th annual Washington D.C. Independent Film Festival (DCIFF) will take place March 3-13, 2011. DCIFF will showcase more than 100 features, shorts, animations, and documentaries created btalented artists from around the world. Films are grouped by theme into 26 different sessions.
Xavier Beauvois’ “Des hommes et des dieux,” (Of Gods and Men) took the top prize for Best Film but Roman Polanski’s “The Ghost Writer,” lead the Cesar Awards aka the French Oscars with 4 wins including Best Director for Roman Polanski, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Score and Best Editing. “Of Gods and Men,” which was also France’s official entry to 2011 Oscar and “Gainsbourg” tied for 3 awards. “Of Gods and Men took the awards for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor and Best Cinematography; and “Gainsbourg” received the awards for Best Actor, Best Sound and Best First Film.
The 35th Cleveland International Film Festival, scheduled for March 24 to April 3, 2011, will open with Oren Kaplan’s Hamill, based on Ohio wrestler Matt “The Hammer” Hamill; and close with Sean McNamara’s Soul Surfer.
The Hong Kong International Film Festival Society (HKIFFS) announced Miriam YEUNG as the ambassador of the 35th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF); and Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, by the Hong Kong film industry’s duo of Johnnie TO and WAI Ka-fai; and Quattro Hong Kong 2, jointly directed by four award-winning filmmakers as the two opening films of this year.
Zeitgeist Films has just acquired Miralan Productions’ SOMETHING VENTURED which looks at the early investors behind the revolutionary technology that created companies like Apple, Intel and Cisco and in the process completely changed our world.
The 14th annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival will open with the U.S. Premiere of “Guilty Pleasures.” Director Julie Moggan’s vibrant feature traces the experiences of five individuals from around the world marked by their particular connections to Mills & Boon romance novels. We meet a successful romance novelist whose female pseudonym produces countless bestsellers, a male cover model in search of a soul mate and three women enraptured by paperback romances, whose perceptions of relationships are entangled with the scripted portrayal of courtship. As they navigate love in a modern age, we are captivated by their endearing and all-too-human journey.
We here at Vimooz just love it when an incredibly hard-working player from the independent film scene crosses over into the big-time, especially when you it’s someone who will keep their sense of humor, soul and integrity intact. That is why we are pushing for John Hawkes to win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar this weekend for his role as “Tear Drop” in this year’s little indie-that-really-did-it: Winter’s Bone.
The Fargo Film Festival announced its 2011 program schedule complete with screening times and locations. The festival opens on Tuesday, March 1 with “The Lutefisk Wars,” a regionally produced feature film, shot in a faux documentary style, which follows the comic misadventures of a neighborly Norwegian, a heated rivalry and a mysterious recipe.
The Seattle International Film Festival continues to expand to new communities outside Seattle, adding Renton as a SIFF venue in 2011. Renton screenings will take place May 20-26 at the IKEA Performing Arts Center. A special Opening Night Screening will take place in Renton on May 20, with a gala reception following at the Renton Pavilion Event Center.
Just a year after declaring bankruptcy, Gen Art is back. Gen Art announced that it has been acquired by Sandow Media and its first 2011 event will be the 16th annual Gen Art Film Festival in New York. This year the festival will run in June.
The GI Film Festival, the nation’s only film festival dedicated to the American Armed Forces, will celebrate its fifth anniversary May 9-15, 2011 in Washington, DC. The week-long festival, held during Armed Forces Appreciation Month, will bring Hollywood and the military together to create a venue for artists to tell the story of the American soldier, both past and present.