Four independent films will be released on digital platforms on June 18, via the Sundance Institute’s Artist Services program. The films will be available on a variety of platforms, including iTunes , Amazon Instant Video, Microsoft Xbox, Sony Entertainment Network, SundanceNOW, VUDU and YouTube. The upcoming releases include 3 documentaries – “HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE” “MISS GULAG,” and “BURN”; and “MY BEST DAY” which premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in the NEXT section.
The 39th Seattle International Film Festival announced the winners of the SIFF 2013 Competition and Golden Space Needle Audience Awards – OUR NIXON, directed by Penny Lane won the GRAND JURY PRIZE for Best Documentary and C.O.G., directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez won the GRAND JURY PRIZE for Best New American Cinema. OUR NIXON is described as an “all-archival documentary, constructed from Super8 footage shot by three White House aides (Watergate conspirators Ehrlichman, Haldeman, and Chapin), creates an intimate and complex portrait of the Nixon presidency, as it has never been seen before.” C.O.G. is described as the “first film adaptation of David Sedaris’ work .. a funny and poignant portrait of a lost soul and the amusing characters he meets as he pursues his Steinbeckian dream—to spend his summer working on an apple farm in Oregon.”
“THE SPECTACULAR NOW,” directed by James Ponsoldt, won the Grand Jury Feature category, and Vivienne Roumani’s “OUT OF PRINT” won top honors in the Grand Jury Documentary category at the 2013 deadCENTER Film Festival. THE SPECTACULAR NOW is a “sharply witty coming-of-age story” of youth confronting the funny, thrilling and perilous business of modern love and adulthood. OUT OF PRINT is “a thoughtful look into the impact of the digital revolution” with testimonials from authors, entrepreneurs, and educators alike highlighting how the digital revolution is changing every aspect of the printed word – and how it’s changing us.
Winners also included:
Sixteen students from colleges and universities around the world were honored last night, June 8, and received medal placements, as winners of the 40th Student Academy Awards. The ceremony was hosted by writer-director and 1978 Student Academy Award® winner Bob Saget, and writer-director Kimberly Peirce and actors Clark Gregg, Jason Schwartzman and Quvenzhané Wallis presented the awards.
Amy Finkel’s documentary film “FUREVER” is an official selection at the 2013 Brooklyn Film Festival. FUREVER explores the dimensions of grief people experience over the loss of a pet. The film features interviews from grieving pet owners, veterinarians, psychologists, sociologists, religious scholars, neuroscientists, and the many professionals who preserve a pet’s body or re-purpose a pet’s remains in unique ways including taxidermy, cloning, mummification, and freeze-drying. Considering that Amy made a documentary about four-string jazz banjo culture entitled “Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart: The Banjomaniacs of Guthrie,” we wanted to know how did she end up making a documentary about a pet’s last rites.
The 31st Outfest Los Angeles LGBT Film Festival, to be held July 11 to 21, 2013, announced the complete film lineup for this years festival, including Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s “C.O.G.,” as Opening Night film and Darren Stein’s comedy “G.B.F.,” as closing night film.
OF GOOD REPORT, from South African director Jahmil XT Qubeka, will have its World Premiere as the opening night film of the 34th Durban International Film Festival in South Africa on July 18. OF GOOD REPORT, which Qubeka describes as “a passionate homage to classic film noir”, tells the somber tale of a small-town high-school teacher with a penchant for young girls.
Nicole Gomez Fisher is the writer and director of SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES, an official selection of the 2013 Brooklyn Film Festival. SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES which had its World Premiere at the festival last weekend, continues to screen to sold out audiences for all of the film’s time slots. SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES is a comedy which captures one girl’s journey of self-discovery and the dynamics of her zany family. The film features an incredible Latino cast of established and rising talent including Gina Rodriguez and Ana Ortiz.
Revelation Perth International Film Festival announced its program lineup for 2013 festival running July 4 to 14, 2013 across Perth, Western Australia.
Cinedigm and Slamdance (Slamdance Film Festival) announced a partnership to bring feature film programming to digital platforms beginning on June 11th. The first two films releasing on June 11th are STRANGER THINGS and HYBRID, while THE FIRST SEASON will launch in September.
Husband and wife filmmaking team Andy Heathcote and Heike Bachelier have started a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to self-fund the UK cinema release this summer of their documentary THE MOO MAN, a surprise hit at film festivals including this year’s Sundance Film Festival in Utah and London. The Moo Man will also be playing at the Sheffield Doc/Fest on 12, 15 and 16 June.
The hip hop history documentary film “I WANT MY NAME BACK” starring Master Gee & Wonder Mike of The Sugarhill Gang, the rap group behind the mega-hit “Rapper’s Delight,” will be released on DVD and digital platforms on June 11, 2013.