Films from Serbia, Chile and China Win 2012 IFFR Hivos Tiger Awards

Films from Serbia, Chile and China Win 2012 IFFR Hivos Tiger Awards

The winning films of the 41st International Film Festival Rotterdam were announced at the IFFR 2012 Awards Ceremony. The three Hivos Tiger Awards were granted to feature débuts EGG AND STONE by Huang Ji (China), THURSDAY TILL SUNDAY by Dominga Sotomayor (Chile/Netherlands) and CLIP by Maja Miloš (Serbia), which also took the KNF Award of the Dutch film critics. NEIGHBOURING SOUNDS by Kleber Mendonça Filho (Brazil) took the FIPRESCI Award and Chinese film SENTIMENTAL ANIMAL […]

ARTE France Cinéma and Eurimages Awards for Best CineMart Projects handed out for 2012 International Film Festival Rotterdam

ARTE France Cinéma and Eurimages Awards for Best CineMart Projects handed out for 2012 International Film Festival Rotterdam

DUNCHARON by Athina Rachel Tsangari (Greece, ATTENBERG and producer of DOGTOOTH and ALPS) wins the ARTE France Cinéma Award and first feature project HUMIDITY by Nikola Ljuca (Serbia) – one of the five projects in the BOOST!-program, a collaboration of CineMart, the Hubert Bals Fund and Binger Filmlab – takes the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award at the 29th CineMart, co-production market of the International Film Festival Rotterdam. The Jury gave a Special Mention to Indian-American […]

Andrew Haigh’s WEEKEND Wins MovieSquad Award at 2012 International Film Festival Rotterdam

Andrew Haigh’s WEEKEND Wins MovieSquad Award at 2012 International Film Festival Rotterdam

British film WEEKEND by Andrew Haigh (UK, 2011), about a relationship between two gay men, has won the MovieSquad IFFR Award. In their statement about WEEKEND the jury said:“Realistic and subtle, two words that describe this love story best. The wonderful acting, great use of light and beautiful conversations made it very pure and fascinating to watch, even the sexual scenes. The ending was just right!”

Art Directors Guild Announced the 16th Annual ADG Awards Winners

Art Directors Guild Announced the 16th Annual ADG Awards Winners

The Art Directors Guild (ADG) last night announced the winners of its 16th Annual Excellence in 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.

ADG awards recognition always goes to the Production Designer, Art Director, Assistant Art Director and their team of each nominated and winning project.

WINNERS FOR EXCELLENCE IN PRODUCTION DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM IN 2011:

Period Film

HUGO Production Designer: Dante Ferretti

Fantasy Film

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2 Production Designer: Stuart Craig

Contemporary Film

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Production Designer: Donald Graham Burt {jathumbnail off}

Two Documentary Filmmakers Working With Director James Cameron Killed in Helicopter Crash

Two Documentary Filmmakers Working With Director James Cameron Killed in Helicopter Crash

  Two filmmakers, Mike deGruy, a biologist and conservationist, and Andrew Wight, a pilot and underwater cave diver, working with filmmaker James Cameron and National Geographic on a documentary film, were killed in a helicopter crash in Australia on Saturday. Andrew Wight, 52, was the documentary-producing partner of James Cameron and the two recently co-produced Andrew’s first feature film, Sanctum 3D. Mike deGruy, 60, spent 30 years producing and directing documentary films about the ocean […]

Minkyu Lee’s Adam and Dog Among Winners of 39th Annie Awards

Minkyu Lee’s Adam and Dog Among Winners of 39th Annie Awards

The Oscar-nominated film “Rango,” won the Annie Award for animated feature from the International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood, on Saturday night. Minkyu Lee’s Adam and Dog won the award for Best Animated Short Subject. Patton Oswalt, who was recently nominated by the Chicago, Toronto and Los Angeles Film Critics’ Associations for his performance in the film Young Adult starring opposite Charlize Theron, hosted this year’s 39th Annual Annie Awards on Saturday, February 4, 2012, at […]

RIP Actor Ben Gazzara Died in NY at 81

RIP Actor Ben Gazzara Died in NY at 81

Actor Ben Gazzara, known for his strong performances on film, television and on Broadway including his role in “The Big Lebowski,” died Friday in Manhattan, New York at the age of 81. The cause was pancreatic cancer, his lawyer, Jay Julien, said. Gazzara made his movie debut in 1957 in Calder Willingham’s “The Strange One,” and followed that film with “Anatomy of a Murder” In addition to the “The Big Lebowski,”other films included Spike Lee’s […]

Gonzo Style Documentary Bailout to Screen at 2012 Derby City Film Festival

Gonzo Style Documentary Bailout to Screen at 2012 Derby City Film Festival

The documentary Bailout will screen at this year’s Derby City Film Festival. Why? According to the filmmakers, since “Gonzo Journalism” was born at the Derby, it’s only fitting that Bailout will screen at this year’s Derby City Film Festival. The “Gonzo” style deviates from standard factual narratives by altogether jettisoning any pretext of objectivity where the author figures prominently as a character in the story. That definition fits the new feature documentary Bailout like silks […]

2012 New York Int’l Children’s Film Festival Announces Films and jury

2012 New York Int’l Children’s Film Festival Announces Films and jury

The New York Int’l Children’s Film Festival announced the jury and full lineup for the 2012 event, which runs March 2-25 at New York’s DGA Theater, Walter Reade Theater, IFC Center, Peter Norton Symphony Space, Asia Society, Scholastic Theater, and Cantor Film Center. NYICFF 2012 JURY: John Canemaker – Academy Award®-winning animatorAdam Gopnik – Author, essayist and New Yorker contributorTomm Moore – Academy Award® nominated animator/director (The Secret of Kells)Lynne McVeigh – Associate Professor of […]

The Artist Leads 18th Chlotrudis Awards Nominations

The Artist Leads 18th Chlotrudis Awards Nominations

THE ARTIST topped the Nominations for the 18th annual Chlotrudis Awards collecting Best Film, Director, Actor and Actress nods among its 7 nominations.

Four other films received 4 or more nominations, including fellow Best Movie nominees ANOTHER YEAR, director Mike Leigh’s latest, and the low-budget independent WEEKEND. The other front runner films are Lars von Trier’s dystopian MELANCHOLIA and MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE.

In the Society’s most prestigious category, the Buried Treasure, the final nominees were THE ARBOR, a unique documentary about the late UK playwright Andrea Dunbar; the micro-budget LITTLEROCK following two Japanese siblings stranded in the US; THESE AMAZING SHADOWS, about The National Film Registry’s critical work to save historic films; the Canadian TRIGGER, an emotional study of two women’s lifelong friendship; and Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s newest, UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES.

The Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film is a Boston-based non-profit group that teaches people to view film actively and experience the world through independent film, and encourages discussion.

Here is the complete list of the nominations for the 18th Annual Chlotrudis Awards: {jathumbnail off}

Documentary Filmmaker Josh Fox Arrested in Washington DC

Documentary Filmmaker Josh Fox Arrested in Washington DC

Documentary filmmaker Joshua Fox was arrested on Wednesday as he reportedly tried to film a House Science Committee hearing without proper media credentials. According to the NY Times, Josh Fox, whose HBO documentary “Gasland” raised questions about the safety of the natural gas drilling technique known as horizontal hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, was handcuffed and charged with unlawful entry. Mr. Fox is preparing a sequel to “Gasland  and brought a crew to film a hearing […]

South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival Announces 2012 Features Lineup

South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival Announces 2012 Features Lineup

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival announced the features lineup for this year’s Festival, March 9 – 17, 2012 in Austin, Texas.

The world premiere of Emmett Malloy’s documentary Big Easy Express was also confirmed as the Closing Night Film, which follows a train ride unlike any other with Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros and Old Crow Medicine Show. Big Easy Express will screen on Saturday, March 17. The program will also include the world premiere of Colombia Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer Pictures’ 21 Jump Street, screening in the Centerpiece slot on Monday, March 12.

The Narrative Feature Competition includes: Booster, directed by Matt Ruskin, Eden, directed by Megan Griffiths, Gayby, directed by Jonathan Lisecki, Gimme the Loot, directed by Adam Leon, Los Chidos, directed by Omar Rodriguez Lopez, Pilgrim Song, directed by Martha Stephens, Starlet, directed by Sean Baker, and The Taiwan Oyster, directed by Mark Jarrett.

The Documentary Feature Competition includes: Bay of All Saints, directed by Annie Eastman, Beware of Mr. Baker, directed by Jay Bulger, The Central Park Effect, directed by Jeffrey Kimball, Jeff, directed by Chris James Thompson, Seeking Asian Female, directed by Debbie Lum, The Sheik and I, directed by Caveh Zahedi, The Source, directed by Jodi Wille & Maria Demopoulos, and Welcome to the Machine, directed by Avi Zev Weider.

An additional selection of highlights includes: Nelson George’s The Announcement, Gotham Chopra’s Decoding Deepak, Jay & Mark Duplass’ The Do-Deca-Pentathalon, Mark Ford’s Uprising: Hip Hop & The LA Riots, Matt Piedmont’s Casa de mi Padre, Patrick Forbes’ Wikileaks: Secrets & Lies, Adam Sherman’s Crazy Eyes, Jacob Rosenberg’s Waiting for Lightning, Tom Kingsley & Will Sharpe’s Black Pond, Kristen Sheridan’s Dollhouse, Gareth Huw Evans’ The Raid, Ben Shapiro’s Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters, Kristy Guevara-Flanagan’s WONDER WOMEN! The Untold Story of American Superheroines and William Friedkin’s Killer Joe.

The 2012 SXSW Film Festival will feature: {jathumbnail off}