Director, producer Brett Ratner, (“Horrible Bosses,” currently in release) and Don Mischer will produce the 84th Academy Awards. This will be Ratner’s first involvement with the Oscar show; Mischer will for the second year in a row serve as a producer and as the telecast director. “I was so impressed with Brett when I met with him to discuss the Oscar show,” said Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak. “He has […]
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present Honorary Awards to actor James Earl Jones and makeup artist Dick Smith and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to philanthropist Oprah Winfrey at the Academy’s 3rd Annual Governors Awards dinner on Saturday, November 12. The Honorary Award, an Oscar statuette, is given to an individual for “extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding […]
Tom Sherak was re-elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on August 2. This will be his third consecutive one-year term in the office. Previously, Sherak was a partner at Revolution Studios and prior to joining Revolution, Sherak held various positions at Twentieth Century Fox including senior executive vice president of Fox Filmed Entertainment. Sherak has been responsible for the launch, distribution and/or post-production of many blockbuster films including “Black Hawk […]
If you live in San Francisco, Puzzle, (Rompecabezas, Argentina/France 2010), Natalia Smirnoff’s delicate first feature which focuses on a marginalized woman in Latin American society, opens Friday, September 9 at the San Francisco Film Society’s new theatrical home, San Francisco Film Society | New People Cinema (1746 Post Street). A middle-aged housewife, cherished by her husband and two sons but nevertheless taken for granted, discovers an aptitude for jigsaw puzzles in this beautifully modulated character […]
The eighth annual Animation Block Party held July 29-July 31, 2011 in Brooklyn at Rooftop Films and BAMcinématek announced the juried award winners from its lineup of 97 films. The Eagleman Stag from UK filmmaker Mike Please about a man’s obsession with his quickening perception of time, took the top prize ‘Best in Show. The complete list of 2011 Animation Block Party winners are: Best in Show: The Eagleman Stag – Mikey Please / United […]
Francesca McCaffery had the great pleasure of speaking with Steve James (Director) and Alex Kotlowitz (producer), who are the creative team who put together the riveting new documentary “The Interrupters,” about gang intervention specialists working the Chicago streets with the unique non-profit, CeaseFire. CeaseFire was founded by epidermologist Gary Slutkin. Slutkin, who battled the cholera and AIDs epidemic in Africa for years, believes that the spread of violence mimics that of infectious diseases. This innovative […]
The 17th Sarajevo Film Festival wrapped up after it’s run from July 22nd thru 30th, 2011, and handed out awards for 2011. The big highlight of the festival was the presentation of the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo award to actress and humanitarian worker, Angelina Jolie along with Jafar Panahi and Emil Tedeschi. Jolie was in attendance to accept the award. COMPETITION PROGRAMME – FEATURE FILM The Heart of Sarajevo Award for Best Film:BREATHING / ATMENDirector: […]
Damsels in Distress, the new comedy film from American director Whit Stillman (Metropolitan, Barcelona, The Last Days of Disco) is the Closing night film (Out of Competition) at the 68th Venice International Film Festival to run August 31 thru September 10, 2011. Damsels in Distress, written, produced and directed by Whit Stillman, stars Greta Gerwig, Carrie MacLemore, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Analeigh Tipton, Hugo Becker, Ryan Metcalf, and Billy Magnussen. Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics and produced […]
Labor Day weekend (September 2-5, 2011), the city of Ocoee, Florida, for the third consecutive year will host the Central Florida Film Festival (CENFLO) at the West Orange 5 Cinemas (McGuire Avenue & RT #50). This four day event is where new and veteran film makers alike showcase their work. CENFLO will screen more than seventy films from nine foreign countries and nineteen states during the Labor Day weekend. Film attendees will see Indie feature films, shorts and documentaries. […]
The 32nd edition of the Durban International Film Festival last night announced its award-winners. Winner of the Best Feature Film award, Nader and Simin, A Separation (Iran), directed by Asghar Farhadi, was lauded by the International Jury as a “masterpiece” with “astonishing performances from the ensemble cast”. The Best South African Feature Film was awarded to Skoonheid (France/South Africa), directed by Oliver Hermanus. The jury commended the film as revealing a director on a “remarkable […]
Roman Polanski’s ‘Carnage’ will open the upcoming 49th New York Film Festival scheduled to run September 30 – October 16, 2011. Based on Yasmina Reza’s “God of Carnage”, the 2009 Tony Award-winner for Best Play, ‘Carnage’ follows the events of an evening when two Brooklyn couples are brought together after their children are involved in a playground fight. Produced by Said Ben Said, the Sony Pictures Classics release stars Academy Award winners Jodie Foster, Kate […]
Miranda July follows up her lovely and deft first-time film (and 2005 Palm D’Or winner at Cannes) “Me, You and Everyone We Know” with “The Future,” opening today in limited release. The film strikingly asks these timeless questions: What happens to your soul if you fail to recognize your deepest longings? Will having a child change our lives/make me old/limit my possibilities forever? Can we live without ever having really lived at all, without truly […]