Lineup Announced for African Diaspora International Film Festival - Chicago; Opens with "Freedom Summer"

Lineup Announced for African Diaspora International Film Festival – Chicago; Opens with “Freedom Summer”

Freedom Summer Freedom Summer

The Chicago African Diaspora International Film Festival is back in Chicago to celebrate 12 years of consecutive work in the Windy City. To be held from June 13-19, hosted by Facets Cinematheque and presented by ArtMattan Productions, the festival will showcase 14 documentary and fiction films set in The United States, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, Egypt, France, Haiti, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Curacao, Morocco, Argentina, Uruguay, and Mexico.

The festival will open with Freedom Summer by Emmy-winning MacArthur “genius” Fellow filmmaker Stanley Nelson.  A Sundance Film Festival favorite, this film covers the Civil Rights Movement efforts during a very intense period in Mississippi, the Summer of 1964. The screening will be preceded by a catered reception and will be followed by a discussion with veteran film producer Cyndee Readdean who will discuss the making of this powerful film that commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Summer events.

WATCH Trailer for Newly Restored Documentary STATIONS OF THE ELEVATED

WATCH Trailer for Newly Restored Documentary STATIONS OF THE ELEVATED

stations of the elevated

The trailer is released for the newly restored documentary Stations Of The Elevated.  Stations Of The Elevated premiered at the 1981 New York Film Festival, but lacking appropriate music licenses, was never theatrically released in the United States. In the 30 years since its completion it has been rarely screened, developing a cult amongst cinephiles and jazz and graffiti lovers. After two years of working to secure appropriate licenses for its soundtrack, APD’s Cinema Conservancy program will finally make this crucial cultural document and cinematic experience available to the public in 2014 with a theatrical run. 

Stony Brook Film Festival Unveils 2014 Film Lineup incl. NY Premiere of Juliette Binoche in "A Thousand Times Good Night"

Stony Brook Film Festival Unveils 2014 Film Lineup incl. NY Premiere of Juliette Binoche in “A Thousand Times Good Night”

Juliette Binoche in A Thousand Times Good Night, directed by Eric PoppeJuliette Binoche in A Thousand Times Good Night, directed by Eric Poppe 

The 19th Annual Stony Brook Film Festival, produced by Staller Center for the Arts at Stony Brook University, will screen ten evenings of the best in new independent film from Thursday, July 17 through Saturday, July 26 in the Staller Center Main Stage Theatre. The popular summer festival will include three World Premieres and four U.S. Premieres among the seventeen features and twenty shorts and host Q&As with filmmakers and Opening and Closing Night receptions.

The U.S. Premiere features include Back on Track directed by Kilian Riedhof, a bittersweet drama from Germany about a man well over 70 years old training for the Berlin marathon; Kenau, directed by Maarten Treurniet, a big-screen adventure from the Netherlands set in the 16th century; Paper Souls  (Les âmes de papier) a quirky and surprising comedy from France; The Dark Valley directed by Andreas Prochaska, with Sam Riley (On the Road), a tale of revenge from Austria/Germany reminiscent of the best of American Westerns. 

Film Lineup Revealed for 2014 New York Asian Film Festival; Crime Thriller OVERHEARD 3 to Open, Documentary MANSHIN: TEN THOUSAND SPIRITS to Close

Film Lineup Revealed for 2014 New York Asian Film Festival; Crime Thriller OVERHEARD 3 to Open, Documentary MANSHIN: TEN THOUSAND SPIRITS to Close

Overheard 3Overheard 3

The Film Society of Lincoln Center and Subway Cinema in association with Japan Society announced the full lineup for the 2014 New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF), which will take place June 27 – July 14. The festival of popular Asian cinema will showcase 60 feature films, including 1 major international premiere, 20 North American premieres, 6 U.S. premieres, and 11 more films making their New York City debuts. The festival will be attended by over 20 star filmmakers and celebrity guests traveling from Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.

NYAFF’s Opening Night presentation will be the International Premiere of Overheard 3, the highly anticipated finale to the immensely popular Hong Kong franchise. A stand-alone story of loyalty and morality that Sergio Leone might have made had he been working in Hong Kong, graced with a star-studded cast, and geared with heart-busting action, the ultimate episode in the epic saga, after tackling insider trading and stock market manipulation, sees writers-directors Alan Mak and Felix Chong—the creators of the Infernal Affairs trilogy—turning to real estate conspiracies in the Hong Kong New Territories.

THE LEGEND OF SHEP GORDON, The Directorial Debut of Mike Meyers Among 17 Films to See at 22nd Portland Jewish Film Festival

THE LEGEND OF SHEP GORDON, The Directorial Debut of Mike Meyers Among 17 Films to See at 22nd Portland Jewish Film Festival

SUPERMENSCH: THE LEGEND OF SHEP GORDONSUPERMENSCH: THE LEGEND OF SHEP GORDON

The 22nd Portland Jewish Film Festival taking place June 15 to 29, 2014, will host 17 features at this year including: THE LAST OF THE UNJUST, Claude Lanzmann’s follow-up to SHOAH, SUPERMENSCH: THE LEGEND OF SHEP GORDON, the directorial debut of Mike Meyers (AUSTIN POWERS, WAYNE’S WORLD), the Opening Night selection FRIENDS FROM FRANCE, a Cold War-era thriller set behind the Iron Curtain, THE WONDERS, a neo-noir tracking one graffiti artist’s descent into a world of crime, and many other fine selections.

The 22nd Portland Jewish Film Festival is produced by the Northwest Film Center and co-presented with the Institute for Judaic Studies.  While the Festival specifically celebrates the diversity of Jewish history, culture, and identity, these films and the stories they tell also resonate beyond their settings and speak to experiences and issues that confront our common humanity.

Watch out Brooklyn! The Clothespin Freaks are back! Stop-Motion Animated Short "Hanging By A Thread" at the Brooklyn Film Festival

Watch out Brooklyn! The Clothespin Freaks are back! Stop-Motion Animated Short “Hanging By A Thread” at the Brooklyn Film Festival

Hanging By A Thread

After winning Best Animated Film in Seattle, Brooklyn artist and filmmaker Catya Plate returns to Williamsburg to screen her most recent stop-motion animated short film “Hanging By A Thread” (Best Animated Short, Nevada City Film Festival, 2013; Best Animated Film, Seattle True Independent Film Festival, 2014) at the Brooklyn Film Festival!

Like her award-winning short “The Reading”, “Hanging By A Thread” features her trademark characters, the Clothespin Freaks, this time, in a post-apocalyptic future where the human race has fallen to pieces. 

The Best in New American Independent Cinema: Catalyst Program Kicks Off This Weekend at Seattle International Film Festival.

The Best in New American Independent Cinema: Catalyst Program Kicks Off This Weekend at Seattle International Film Festival.

Five StarFive Star 

Now in its third year, the Catalyst program kicks off this weekend at the 40th annual Seattle International Film Festival. The program includes six films and four panels over the course of one trailblazing weekend. As crowdfunding platforms and new digital technologies pave the way for more storytellers, both film festivals and distributors often still serve as the primary filter between these new films and their prospective audiences; the Catalyst program aims to change that by connecting filmmakers and their films directly with their audience.

Attention Filmmakers: American Documentary Film Festival Launches 2015 Call for Entries

Attention Filmmakers: American Documentary Film Festival Launches 2015 Call for Entries

american documentary film festival

The American Documentary Film Festival (AmDocs) is launching its 2015 Call for Entries, inviting documentary filmmakers around the world to submit feature-length documentaries, documentary shorts, and animated shorts. 

Named “One of the World’s Top 25 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee,” by MovieMaker magazine in 2013, and then “One of the World’s Five Coolest Documentary Film Festivals,” by the same publication later that year, AmDocs takes place in the beautiful resort community of Palm Springs, California. Ideally located 90 minutes east of Hollywood, this film mecca boasts a favorable viewing audience and a proven track record of supporting independent films. 

Film Society of Lincoln Center Reveals 52nd New York Film Festival Poster Designed by Laurie Simmons

Film Society of Lincoln Center Reveals 52nd New York Film Festival Poster Designed by Laurie Simmons

 52nd New York Film Festival Official Poster designed by Laurie Simmons

The Film Society of Lincoln Center today announced Laurie Simmons as the artist behind the design for the 52nd New York Film Festival poster. She joins a stellar lineup of artists that have commissioned their work for the festival including Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, David Hockney, Julian Schnabel, Cindy Sherman, and last year’s artist, Tacita Dean. Looked upon as a yearly artistic “signature” for the film festival, NYFF posters have taken on a celebrated pop culture significance through the years. Recently, the Saul Bass 1964 NYFF poster has been seen prominently on AMC’s Mad Men. Please find a complete list of artists below.

SIFF Announces 2014 ShortFest Jury Award Winners; "Twaaga" Wins Grand Jury Prize

SIFF Announces 2014 ShortFest Jury Award Winners; “Twaaga” Wins Grand Jury Prize

 Twaaga, directed by Cedric IdoTwaaga, directed by Cedric Ido

The Seattle International Film Festival, the largest and most highly attended festival in the United States, announced today this year’s ShortsFest Jury Award winners. ShortsFest Weekend, SIFF’s celebration of the short film, takes place every year over Memorial Day Weekend at SIFF Cinema Uptown. This year’s Festival (May 15 – June 8) features 168 short films, including 24 World, 8 North American, and 6 US premieres.