Sundance Film Festival Announces Short Films Selected for 2015 Festival

Sundance Film Festival Announces Short Films Selected for 2015 Festival

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Sundance Film Festival announced today the program of short films selected to screen at the upcoming 2015 Festival taking place January 22 to February 1 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. The 2015 Short Film program is comprised of 60 short films selected from 8,061 submissions. 

Mike Plante, Senior Programmer for the Sundance Film Festival, said, “This year’s short filmmakers have broken through their limited timeframe with a high level of artistry and story that will resonate with audiences long after each film has ended.”

American Film Institute (AFI) Reveals Its Top 10 Movies of 2014

American Film Institute (AFI) Reveals Its Top 10 Movies of 2014

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The American Film Institute (AFI) announced today the official selections of AFI AWARDS 2014 – 11 outstanding films and 10 outstanding television programs deemed culturally and artistically representative of the year’s most significant achievements in the art of the moving image. 

“We celebrate these films and television programs as more than just milestones in a year of excellence.” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO. “They are a part of our American cultural heritage – collectively, a new chapter in the story of the art form and of our nation.”

"Boyhood" Leads with 6 Nominations for 2014 Online Film Critics Society Awards

“Boyhood” Leads with 6 Nominations for 2014 Online Film Critics Society Awards

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The Online Film Critics Society announced the nominees for the 18th annual OFCS awards for excellence in film. “Boyhood” lead the field with 6 nominations including Best Picture and Best Director for Richard Linklater. Other nominees for Best Picture include  “The Grand Budapest Hotel,”  “Ida,” “The Lego Movie,” “Mommy,” “Nightcrawler,” “Selma,” “Two Days, One Night,” “Whiplash,” and “Under the Skin.”  The 2014 OFCS award winners will be announced on Monday, December 15th.

Palm Springs International Film Festival to Honor David Oyelowo, Richard Linklater, Julianne Moore, Rosamund Pike, Eddie Redmayne, J.K. Simmons, Reese Witherspoon

Palm Springs International Film Festival to Honor David Oyelowo, Richard Linklater, Julianne Moore, Rosamund Pike, Eddie Redmayne, J.K. Simmons, Reese Witherspoon

2015 Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards, David Oyelowo, Richard Linklater, Julianne Moore, Rosamund Pike, Eddie Redmayne, J.K. Simmons, Reese Witherspoon,

The 26th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) which runs January 2 to 12, 2015, will present awards to David Oyelowo, Richard Linklater, Julianne Moore, Rosamund Pike, Eddie Redmayne, J.K. Simmons, Reese Witherspoon and the cast of The Imitation Game. Hosted by Mary Hart, the Awards Gala will be held Saturday, January 3, 2015, at the Palm Springs Convention Center. 

Sundance Reveals Premieres and Documentary Premieres Films + Special Events for Upcoming Festival

Sundance Reveals Premieres and Documentary Premieres Films + Special Events for Upcoming Festival

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Sundance Film Festival today announced the films selected to screen in the out-of-competition Premieres and Documentary Premieres sections, as well as the selections for a new Special Events section and participants for two panels, at the 2015 Festival taking place, January 22 to February 1 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. 

John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival, said, “Filmmakers in the Premieres and Documentary Premieres sections, many of whom are returning to the Festival, do not shy away from controversial, challenging and provocative subject matter. Their work enrages, engages and entertains audiences, shining a light on issues and people we thought we knew.”

Netflix to Release Nina Simone Documentary

Netflix to Release Nina Simone Documentary

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Netflix will release a documentary on singer and civil rights activist Nina Simone, titled, “What Happened, Miss Simone?,” directed by Academy Award(R) nominated filmmaker Liz Garbus (The Farm: Angola, USA and Bobby Fischer Against the World). The film was produced in cooperation with the Estate of Nina Simone, and will premiere exclusively in all territories where Netflix is available in 2015.

“In What Happened, Miss Simone?, Liz Garbus paints a brave and provocative picture of Nina Simone – artist, civil rights activist and heroine – in a film that we’ve loved from day one and are proud to bring to our viewers around the world.” said Lisa Nishimura, Netflix VP of Original Documentary Programming.”

Whistler Film Festival Announces 2014 Winners; FÉLIX AND MEIRA Wins Borsos Award for Best Canadian Feature

Whistler Film Festival Announces 2014 Winners; FÉLIX AND MEIRA Wins Borsos Award for Best Canadian Feature

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Whistler Film Festival announced the winners of the 14th annual Festival, and FÉLIX AND MEIRA, by Canadian director Maxime Giroux, won the 11th edition of the prestigious Borsos Competition for Best Canadian Feature Film. This unusual love story, between a lonely francophone man in Montreal and the married Hasidic Jewish mother to whom he feels a connection, uncover themes of tradition, loneliness and desire, making for strange bedfellows in this contemporary Canadian tale of longing. FÉLIX AND MEIRA had its Western Canadian premiere at the festival and stars Martin Dubreuil, Hadas Yaron and Luzer Twersky.

Boston Online Film Critics Association Picks "Snowpiercer" as Best Picture of 2014

Boston Online Film Critics Association Picks “Snowpiercer” as Best Picture of 2014

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The Boston Online Film Critics Association picked Snowpiercer, directed by Bong Joon-ho, and starring Chris Evans, Song Kang-ho, Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell, Octavia Spencer, John Hurt, and Ed Harris, as Best Picture of 2014. In this sci-fi epic from director Bong Joon Ho (The Host, Mother), a failed global-warming experiment kills off most life on the planet.  The final survivors board the SNOWPIERCER, a train that travels around the globe via a perpetual-motion engine. When cryptic messages incite the passengers to revolt, the train thrusts full-throttle towards disaster.  

New York Film Critics Online Pick "Boyhood" as Best Film of 2014, "Life Itself" Wins Best Documentary

New York Film Critics Online Pick “Boyhood” as Best Film of 2014, “Life Itself” Wins Best Documentary

Life Itself" won Best Documentary“Life Itself” won Best Documentary

Again, another group of film critics, pick “Boyhood” as Best Film of 2014; this time, the New York Film Critics Online picked “Boyhood” as Best Film of 2014, and Richard Linklater as Best Director.  Patricia Arquette snagged the award for Best Supporting Actress, for her amazing performance in “Boyhood.”  “Birdman” the other favorite film of the award season, received the awards for Best Screenplay, Best Ensemble and Best Cinematography.  And in a bit of a surprise, the Roger Eberts film “Life Itself” won Best Documentary beating the perennial favorite documentary, “Citizenfour.”

Los Angeles Film Critics Pick "Boyhood" as Best Film of 2014, "Citizenfour" as Best Doc, "Ida" as Best Foreign Film

Los Angeles Film Critics Pick “Boyhood” as Best Film of 2014, “Citizenfour” as Best Doc, “Ida” as Best Foreign Film

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The Los Angeles Film Critics picked “Boyhood” as Best Picture of 2014 for their 40th Annual LAFCA Awards. “Boyhood” also received the awards for Best Director for Richard Linklater, Best Actress for Patricia Arquette, and Film editing for Sandra Adair.  The Grand Budapest Hotel snagged the Runner-up honors for Best Picture and Best Director, plus the awards for Screenplay for Wes Anderson, and Best Production design for Adam Stockhausen.  And in what is becoming a consistent trend, “Citizenfour” won the award for Best Documentary/nonfiction film, and “Ida” won for award for Best Foreign-language film.

Boston Society of Film Critics Pick "Boyhood" as Best Film of 2014, "Citizenfour" as Best Documentary

Boston Society of Film Critics Pick “Boyhood” as Best Film of 2014, “Citizenfour” as Best Documentary

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The Boston Society of Film Critics has selected Boyhood as Best Film of 2014, in addition the film also snagged the honors for Best Director for Richard Linklater, Best Film Editing (awarded in memory of Karen Schmeer), Best Screenplay, and Best Ensemble Cast.  Citizenfour, the Edward Snowden documentary, snagged the award for Best Documentary. Last year’s winner for Best Film, 12 Years a Slave, went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture at the 2014 Academy Awards.

CITIZENFOUR Wins Best Feature at 30th IDA Documentary Awards

CITIZENFOUR Wins Best Feature at 30th IDA Documentary Awards

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“CITIZENFOUR,” the Edward Snowden documentary, won the International Documentary Association 2014 top award, Best Feature Award. CITIZENFOUR is described as a real life thriller, unfolding by the minute, giving audiences unprecedented access to filmmaker Laura Poitras and journalist Glenn Greenwald’s encounters with Edward Snowden in Hong Kong, as he hands over classified documents providing evidence of mass indiscriminate and illegal invasions of privacy by the National Security Agency (NSA).