Dr. Michael Harris from SF Voice for Israel speaks at Rachel
Five Jewish board members of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival resigned last week. Nancy Goldberg, Iris Metz, Shana Penn, Zehava Itelman and Noa Eliasaf-Shoham submiited resignation letters following an open letter from the festival addressing concerns about its handling of the July screening of the controversial film “Rachel” and invitation to Rachel Corrie’s mother to speak at the event. Rachel Corrie died in 2005 while protesting the Israeli presence in Gaza.
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on September 18, 2009 under People, Politics | Comments are off for this article
Louie Psihoyos, director of the award-winning documentary “The Cove” plans to attend the film screening at the Tokyo International Film Festival but he could be arrested.
Japanese police say Psihoyos, who is also a National Geographic photographer, and other members of his crew violated trespassing laws when they documented the hunt in the seaside town of Taiji, where 2,000 dolphins are killed every year, mostly to be sold as meat.
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on under Film Festival, Politics | Comments are off for this article
Actress Jane Fonda has reportedly quit the campaign protesting against the selection of Tel Aviv as the subject of the first of a series of “City to City” showcases at the Toronto Film Festival. Fonda had joined British director Ken Loach, Julie Christie and Harry Belafonte among others in claiming that the festival organisers have fallen victim to lobbying by Israel.
British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, Jerry Seinfeld, Lenny Kravitz and Natalie Portman had signed an open letter in support of Tel Aviv.
However, Fonda has since changed her mind on the grounds that the opposition declaration was “unnecessarily inflammatory”. She told the Huffington Post: “I signed the letter without reading it carefully enough, without asking myself if some of the wording wouldn’t exacerbate the situation rather than bring about constructive dialogue.”
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on September 8, 2009 under Documentary, Politics | Comments are off for this article
Oliver Stone, who recently finished shooting his documentary about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, said on Monday that he plans on making a documentary film about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Oscar winning director said he is in talks with the Iranian government on the project.
Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, is reportedly “considering” attending the Venice Film Festival premiere of the Oliver Stone documentary “South of the Border.”
South of the Border is Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone’s record of a trip to Venezuela to meet the president, Hugo Chávez and features interviews with seven other Latin American leaders, including Cuba’s Raul Castro and Brazilian leader Lula da Silva, and Bolivian Evo Morales, about Chavez
Hackers have defaced the website of the Melbourne Film Festival over a documentary about exiled separatist leader Rebiya Kadeer accused by China of plotting riots.
Messages attacking Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer, along with images of the Chinese flag, were posted on the festival’s site over the weekend.
Festival director Richard Moore said the intruders were using a Chinese IP address and he had reported the matter to police.
Mr Moore said the attacks came after pressure from the Chinese Government to remove the film from the festival.
“This has been going on… since obviously the call from a Chinese consular official who told me in no uncertain terms that I was urged to withdraw this particular documentary,” Mr Moore told the BBC.
The Australian documentary, titled The 10 Conditions of Love, follows Ms Kadeer’s family as she campaigns for China’s Uighur population.
Three Chinese directors have withdrawn from the festival in protest against the film.
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on June 16, 2009 under Documentary, Politics | Comments are off for this article
Sen. John Kerry has reportedly asked the Senate ethics panel if he can use $300,000 from his campaign funds to invest in a documentary tentatively titled “Keeping Faith” by White Mountain Films, about injured Iraq war veterans. Kerry has also sought approval from the Federal Election Commission.
Kerry would be an executive producer for the movie and would help line up investors and obtain interview subjects for the film.
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on May 26, 2009 under People, Politics | Comments are off for this article
Judge Sonia Sotomayor was today nominated for a Supreme Court seat by President Barack Obama. Her past cases will now face scrutiny as she undergoes the confirmation process. Two cases came to light over which she presided that relate to the motion picture industry.
In 1996 Sotomayor presided over a civil trial in which the family of a lawyer who died from AIDS sued the makers of the movie, “Philadelphia,” contending that Hollywood stole their story. The case was settled but not before the movie with its dramatic courtroom showdowns was aired in court in its entirety, prompting Sotomayor to caution: “I don’t expect melodrama here. I don’t want anybody aspiring to what they see on the screen.”
A year later, she ruled in favor of the creators of the “Seinfeld” show in a claim that a trivia book infringed on their television program’s copyright.
And at a recent program honoring the creator of a documentary showing children who have thrived even in threatening environments, in brief remarks, Sotomayor reportedly described the documentary as fabulous. No word on the name of the documentary.
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on May 25, 2009 under Film Festival, Politics, drama | Comments are off for this article
“O.B.A.M. Nude” premieres this Friday at the Hoboken International Film Festival in New Jersey. The festival runs May 29 thru June 4, 2009 in Hoboken, New Jersey.
The press release describes the film as “Following the same career path as President Obama, “O.B.A.M. Nude,” which stands for “Occidental Births a Monster,” is an independent film that tells the story of a freshman named O.B.A.M. at Occidental College in Los Angeles. O.B.A.M. snorts cocaine and smokes marijuana and makes a deal with the devil in exchange for getting into Columbia University. O.B.A.M. becomes a community organizer in Chicago and attends Harvard Law School and ultimately is elected President of the United States.”
Producer Kenneth Del Vecchio of Justice For All Productions (also Chairman of the Hoboken International Film Festival) says the movie is meant to make people think and stir emotion. “We wanted to expose Obama as man who is looking to turn our country in a socialist direction. My greatest concern about our president is that he wants government to control people’s lives.”
Read the First Comment 
Aviv as the subject of the first of a series of “City to City” showcases at the Toronto Film Festival. Fonda had joined British director Ken Loach, Julie Christie and Harry Belafonte among others in claiming that the festival organisers have fallen victim to lobbying by Israel.
Oliver Stone, who recently finished shooting his documentary about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, 
