Thursday, April 28, 2016

‘A Moving Image’ Director Shola Amoo on Being Selected for the 2016 LA Film Festival

As many of you film lovers may have seen, the LA Film Festival on Tuesday released their 2016 lineup, and numerous S&A featured filmmakers have been selected. Check out Tambay’s post on the Fest here. Among them is British director Shola Amoo’s “A Moving Image,” a multimedia feature film about gentrification in Brixton, incorporating fiction, documentary and performance art, which is in the World Fiction Competition.  The film stars Tanya Fear, who was also featured in Amoo’s festival favorite film “Touch,” as Nina, a young stifled artist who returns to her community after a long absence - and is soon painted as a symbol of gentrification.  As she struggles with...

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Wednesday, April 27, 2016

South East European Film Festival Los Angeles 2016 Brings Oscar Entries and Focuses on Exile

Throughout the year Los Angeles hosts a great number of festivals focused on highlighting the cinema of specific geographic regions or countries. Among them, the annual South East European Film Festival in Los Angeles allows American audiences the opportunity to experience films from about 18 countries of South East Europe, showcasing diversity of cultures and cinematic talents. SEEfest was twice the recipient of the prestigious festival grant from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and five other awards for programming excellence from the State of California, County and City of Los Angeles, and Cities of Beverly Hills and West Hollywood. The 2016 edition...

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5 New Must-See Documentaries From the 2016 Hot Docs Festival

READ MORE: Hot Docs 2016 Announces Full Lineup Documentaries are flourishing on film and television alike, but few film festivals provide a platform for the art form on the scale of the Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival, which opens its 26th edition this week in Toronto. The widely-attended event unites influential figures in the non-fiction filmmaking community with general audiences eager to consume a broad spectrum of new work. This year's edition features a whopping 232 titles from 51 countries. Here are five notable highlights.  "66 Days: Bobby Sands" Joining Steve McQueen’s “Hunger” as one of the most visceral and comprehensive films ever made about the...

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Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Tribeca Film Festival: A Conversation with Acclaimed Writer/Director Andrea Arnold

At the Tribeca Talks series at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival, filmmaker Ira Sachs ("Love is Strange") interviewed U.K. writer and director Andrea Arnold about writing, filmmaking, and surrendering. In 2005 Arnold’s short film, Wasp, earned an Academy Award. She also received two BAFTA awards and two jury prizes at Cannes, as well as a multitude of festival accolades for her films, "Milk," "Dog," "Red Road," "Fish Tank" and "Wuthering Heights." On television she has directed two episodes of "Transparent." Arnold's latest film, "American Honey" starring Shia LaBeouf and Riley Keough (recently...

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Rita Stanelytė on the 'Meeting Point' Industry Initiative at the Vilnius Film Festival 2016

At this year’s “Meeting Point Vilnius”, the industry event of the Vilnius Film Festival, now in its 21st edition, We sat down with its head of industry, Rita Stanlytė, and discussed the event, its role in the promotion of Lithuanian films, its focus and plans for the future but also the current state of the Lithuanian film industry.  Tara Karajica: Can you introduce the “Meeting Point Vilnius” industry event and talk about its inception and the reasons behind it? Rita Stanelytė: Of course! It’s the seventh year of the industry event and it started, I think, from the wish to know more. It was started by our executive director, Algirdas [Ramaška], because he was...

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Memo to Distributors: Buy These 2016 Tribeca Film Festival Movies

READ MORE: The 2016 Indiewire Tribeca Bible: Every Review, Interview and News Item Posted During the Festival "All This Panic" Jenny Gage's subtly directed "All This Panic" is like a female version of "Boyhood": This delicate non-fiction effort follows an ensemble of young women from the final years of high school into their early college days, weaving three years of parties, fights and hangout sessions into a rich treatise on what it means to grow up. Working with her husband, cinematographer Tom Betterton, Gage capture the girls in the midst of fights, celebrations and loneliness. The movie offers a rare glimpse at the way small moments feed into the bigger...

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Monday, April 25, 2016

IFF Panama: Get to Know Seasoned Filmmaker and Educator Jorge Ameer

While in Panama for the film festival, one of the notable people I met was Jorge Ameer. Jorge left his home in Panama at age 16 in the late 1980s due to political unrest and civil instability.  The country’s dictator and drug king Noriega was recruiting young men to fight in his military army as the looming confrontation with the United States approached. In 1989, the United States invaded Panama under the name of “Just Cause” ousted the Panamanian dictator. Living in Los Angeles, at the age of 18, he was selected to participate in the Walt Disney College Program. He worked in the marketing departments of New Line Cinema, Paramount and Columbia Pictures. In motion picture...

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Friday, April 22, 2016

IFF Panama 2016 Winners Peoples Choice: Interview with the Makers of Salsipuedes

The International Film Festival of Panama offers audiences the chance to vote for their favorite films. The audience at the Panama Film Festival is very engaged, interested and enthusiastic. The questions during the Q&A are unique.  Not once did I hear that old chestnut, ”What was the budget of the film?”  They care about the subject, the characters and the filmmakers themselves and often add to-the-point personal comments rather than simply ask questions. The multiplex Cineopolis is in the largest, most upscale mall I have ever seen.  The four screening rooms given over to the festival all week long were frequently sold out.  Lines went around the...

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DISNEY AT ANNECY: Directors Clements and Musker to Present Footage From Moana; World Premiere Of New Short "Inner Workings"

Walt Disney Animation Studios returns to the Annecy International Animated Film Festival with the renowned filmmaking team Ron Clements and John Musker (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The Princess and the Frog) to present a never-before-seen exclusive preview of the upcoming comedy adventure film Moana, which features an adventurous teenager who, with help from demigod Maui, sails out on a daring mission to prove herself a master wayfinder and save her people.   Clements and Musker will unveil new artwork and work-in-progress sequences from the film, and showcase the extensive research their team conducted to bring authenticity to their most ambitious...

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Kevin Spacey and Michael Shannon on the 'Bromance' Between 'Elvis and Nixon'

At the center of Liza Johnson's "Elvis and Nixon" are the two titular men, played by actors who faced an insane challenge – take two of the 20th century's most famous, most parodied figures, and make them feel like human beings. And there's no denying that Michael Shannon as Elvis Presley, and Kevin Spacey as President Richard Nixon, are singular interpretations of these figures. READ MORE: Francis Ford Coppola Says His Next Project Will Take Five Years and Push Cinematic Boundaries For two actors playing very different men, Spacey and Shannon seemed relatively simpatico when Indiewire got them on the phone, reflecting on the bond between the President and the...

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Monday, April 18, 2016

Dominican and Panamanian Works-in-Progress Win at IFF Panama

Two works-in-progress will be screened at the Cannes Market.  Primera Mirada, a privately funded works-in-progress showcase, formed to promote Central America and Caribbean cinema, screened five films out of a total submission of 46 works-in-progress during the Panama Film Festival. Evaluated by an international jury during the International Film Festival of Panama 2016, two works in post-produciton won awards and three won kudos as well. Both “Noeli Overseas”/ “Noeli en los países” and “Sultán” will screen in the Cannes Market this May. Serving as international jury of Primera Mirada were Iván Giroud Gárate, director of the Havana...

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2016 Illuminate Film Festival Announces Exciting Lineup and Events for Its 3rd Edition

The 2016 Illuminate Film Festival, which will take place June 1 – 5, 2016 in Sedona, Arizona has announced the official line up of films for the 3rd annual event. The only film festival of its kind, the Illuminate Film Festival offers a collection of over 20 feature length and short films from around the world, exploring the year’s best in conscious cinema, as well as eye opening and thought provoking panels and conversations that will expand minds and inspire dialogue. “We are proud to be the world’s premier film festival for conscious cinema” said the festival’s Executive Director Danette Wolpert, “and continue to attract movie-lovers, spiritual seekers and conscious...

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How to make Cosmopolitan Martini | Cocktail | vodka | Straight Up Bar

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Welcome to the Opening Night of the Tribeca Film Festival 2016!

Although paintings, architecture and sculpture are often revered in the art world, fashion and film are undeniably art forms as well.  From the initial stages of the creative process, the implementation and collaborative phases, to the end result of hosting the world-renowned Gala at ‘The Metropolitan Museum of Art,’ with the most influential names in society wearing photography worthy designer dresses, the decisive, Anna Wintour, is one of the main driving forces behind the major fashion fundraising exhibition, held annually, on "The First Monday in May." In the documentary, the curator of the Costume Exhibit at the Met, Andrew Bolton, ‘tries to trust his own judgment and...

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Friday, April 15, 2016

Best of the Week: from CinemaCon Disruptors to Amazon at Cannes

CinemaCon: How The Screening Room Succeeded at CinemaCon (But Not How Sean Parker Hoped) Can Universal Top Its 2015 Records?  Screen Talk: CinemaCon, Cannes and the Future of Movies James Cameron Slams Sean Parker, Announces Four 'Avatar' Sequels  Warren Beatty Finishes His Howard Hughes Movie for the Fall Netflix We Ain't Scared of You: Warner Bros. and Sony Show Off Superhero Movies  Disney Screens 27 Minutes of 'Finding Dory' And Other Reasons Its Rivals Are Jealous At CinemaCon Studios Look Out Theatrical Windows and Say It's Sunny Cannes: It's an Amazon World at Cannes, with Five Selection Titles  Video Interview: Richard Linklater on How Megan Ellison...

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'Looking' Movie to Premiere at 40th Anniversary Frameline; Festival to Open with 'Kiki'

Frameline, the San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival, is celebrating its 40th anniversary in style. The festival announced its opening and closing films, both of which will screen at San Francisco's historic Castro Theatre. Closing out the festival this year will be the world premiere of "Looking," the two hour finale to the HBO TV series that wrapped its second season last March. "45 Years" director Andrew Haigh, who was behind the camera on ten of the series' episodes, including the pilot, is back for the feature. "Looking" creator Michael Lannan penned the script for the film, along with Haigh. The festival is a natural fit for the series set in...

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Watch a Decade of Tribeca from Your Couch: Ten Years of Festival Gems

This year's Tribeca Film Festival is officially under way and if you don't live in the immediate New York area (or don't feel like taking your chosen form of transportation to get there), there's still a way to be part of the festivities. Fortunately, many of the titles from past years are now available to stream through a variety of platforms.  For each of the past ten years, we picked a title that you can currently watch from the comfort of your living room. So, if your weekend plans don't involve an impulsive flight to LaGuardia, here are ten choices to add to your various viewing queues. 2006: Cocaine Cowboys Director: Billy Corben Where to Watch: Netflix Few documentaries...

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The 5 Can't Miss TV Events at The 2016 Tribeca Film Festival

The Tribeca Film Festival, like many other fests, has revealed an interest in television, launching the Tune In program to showcase great episodic content to come. We've covered what's in the works with the initial announcement, but there's so much content that you might appreciate us narrowing it down — just a little bit. READ MORE: 2016 Tribeca Film Festival TV Lineup Includes 'The Good Wife' Farewell and 'Six Feet Under' Tribute "Mr. Robot": Ultimate Hacker ChallengeWhen: Friday, April 15 – Sunday, April 17 Where: Spring Studios, 6 St. Johns Lane USA's breakout hit made a splash at last year's festival, and this year the show returns with an interactive experience that...

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Thursday, April 14, 2016

COLCOA Announces 20th Anniversary Line-Up

The Franco-American Cultural Fund, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, has announced the program for the 20th COLCOA French Film Festival that will run April 18-26 at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles. The festival will showcase a record 70 films and television series - among them 64 in competition for COLCOA Awards - including four World Premieres, seven International Premieres, 19 North American or U.S. Premieres, 17 West Coast Premieres - and 21 new shorts. COLCOA, is now the world's largest event dedicated to French films and television. "This 20th anniversary deserves a spectacular, strong program that reflects the diversity of French...

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Kate Middleton's Best Looks From Tour Of Bhutan & India

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It's an Amazon World at Cannes, with Four Selection Titles

As expected, the Cannes lineup includes four films from Amazon Studios. When Hollywood scion Roy Price (son of Frank), hired producer Ted Hope and distributor Bob Berney, it was clear that Price wanted bona fide film veterans with indie film pedigrees. Both have been in the Oscar sweepstakes, and boast deep relationships with filmmakers.  That's why they were able to scoop up Woody Allen's latest, $30-million period romp "Cafe Society," which opens the festival—making a deal worth some $20 million that Allen's usual distributor Sony Pictures Classics could not match. Allen is an out-of-competition Cannes regular (11 films, including "Irrational Man"...

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Cannes 2016 Lineup: 15% Women Directors in Main Competition

Today marks the annual ritual which feels almost like torture -- the unveiling of the Cannes Film Festival lineup. This year the main competition boasts three female directed films out of 20 -- that's 15 percent. Last year it was two out of 19. Cannes is one of the biggest media events in the world. This year there are a bunch of movies about women, but when women are not visible as the storytellers or the visionaries, the message it sends is that we are not good enough to tell these stories and that the way we tell them is inferior.  We are used to women not getting opportunities on big budget Hollywood films -- though we disagree vehemently and will continue to push for change --...

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9 Shockers From the 2016 Cannes Film Festival Lineup: Snubs & Surprises

READ MORE: 2016 Cannes Film Festival Announces Lineup, Including New Films From Steven Spielberg, Jodie Foster and Many More What year of Cannes is this again? Woody Allen's opening the festival, Steven Spielberg's got an out-of-competition slot, Pedro Almodovar's in the main competition. All of these things have come to pass before. Cannes' allegiance to its club of world-class filmmakers is only rivaled by its adoration of stars. But even as the 69th edition of the festival provides a global platform for the likes of Allen's "Cafe Society," opening this year's festival, Spielberg's "The BFG," and Almodovar's "Julieta" — among several other...

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Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Robert De Niro on the Future of Entertainment: Audience Engagement is Key

Robert De Niro co-founded the Tribeca Film Festival 15 years ago, but that doesn't make him an expert on its content. In an interview alongside co-founder and producer Jane Rosenthal last week, the actor confessed that he had yet to dig into the lineup. "I haven't looked at the films yet," he said. "I'll go to the screenings." READ MORE: 6 Hidden Gems From the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival Fair enough, but even that traditional means of watching movies has taken on a rarified qualified in today's on-demand culture, when the rise of television, streaming platforms and virtual reality headsets have turned the theatrical experience into a much smaller piece of the pie. As an...

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Monday, April 11, 2016

FRIDAY: USC's School Of Cinematic Arts Annual "First Frame" Showcase

USC’s School of Cinematic Arts presents First Frame 2016, the annual showcase featuring the latest achievements in animation from students and alumni in the John C. Hench Division of Animation and Digital Arts (Hench-DADA), it was announced by Hench-DADA Chair, Tom Sito.   The showcase will feature work spanning all forms of animation including experimental and character, hand-drawn, stop motion, digital 2D and 3D, and virtual reality. A jury composed of full-time animation faculty selected the line-up of projects.    The April 15th event begins at 7:30 pm with a 107-minute screening presentation of the 23 selected shorts. Several of the films selected have...

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Thursday, April 7, 2016

5 Must-See Documentaries at the 2016 Art of the Real Showcase

While documentaries with famous subjects or topical issues hog the headlines, the Art of the Real showcase at New York’s Film Society of Lincoln Center continues to provide a refreshing contrast. Running April 8 - 21, the program offers a global survey of innovative filmmaking techniques that toy with the boundaries between fiction and non-fiction. These category-defying titles offer a range of experiences as well as a welcome alternative to the more conventional projects that generate buzz all year. Here’s a look at some of the highlights from the latest edition.  "The Academy of Muses"Though he hasn't had a film released in the United States since 2007's "In the City...

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Gasparilla FF: Rosie Perez on ‘Puerto Ricans in Paris,’ Latinos in Hollywood, and 'Fearless'

Forging a career out unforgettable performances in both independent classics and studio fare as well countless television roles, Rosie Perez is one of the most successful and well-regarding Latina actresses working in the tumultuous entertainment industry. Her unquestionable talent has helped her surpass the unspoken and hindering stereotypes that plague Hollywood, and though the road has been anything but easy, her prolific body of work speaks for itself.  Perez recently attended the Gasparilla International Film Festival in Tampa to support the film “Puerto Ricans in Paris, “ in which she appears alongside Luis Guzmán , Rosario Dawson, and Edgar...

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'American Idol' Winners Then & Now

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12 Unique Visions We Are Excited to See at the 35th Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival

Numerous sections that range from those that focus on particular geographical regions, to one that highlights features crafted by homegrown talent, another formed by stories about people who have left their hometowns to find a better life elsewhere, and even one that honors Minnesota’s Scandinavian heritage, are some of the blocks that build the extensive and boldly curated program of the 35th Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival (MSPIFF). Discerning which films to watch from the couple hundred that will play in the Midwestern city during the next two weeks is a colossal task and one that is directed by taste and interests; however, there are plenty of options for...

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Chilean Gay Film ‘You’ll Never Be Alone’ Wins Multiple Awards

“About three years ago, a 20-year-old boy was murdered in Santiago because he was gay. He was tortured for hours: his legs broken, a swastika carved on his stomach using shattered bottles, a piece of his ear torn out. By coincidence, that young boy was a fan of my work as a musician and I knew who he was because we’d spoken a couple of times. I met his family and they urged me to continue “speaking on behalf of boys like him”, not usually represented in the media or even art: in short, a gay and poor kid.” This is what motivated Alex Anwandter, a widely acclaimed Chilean musician to make “You’ll Never Be Alone”/ “Nunca vas a estar solo”.  However, he adds,  “This ...

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Wednesday, April 6, 2016

IFF Panama First Look: Five Works in Progress

In its mission to be a platform for the development of projects in Central America and the Caribbean, First Look/ Primer Mirada of the Industry Section of IFF Panama grants aid for the completion of feature films are in post-production to increase their visibility in the international film market. Alliance with Cannes First Look has US$ 15,000.00 from private funds to support the completion of productions. Thanks to the alliance between Panama IFF and Cannes, the winning film will be screened at the Marché du Film de Cannes - one of the most important film markets in the world. The winner will also receive an accreditation to the Cannes Film Festival plus travel and...

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Panama International Film Fest Starts Tomorrow!

This Thursday, April 7th, there will be an inaugural press conference at 2:30 p.m. in American Trade Hotel’s Salon Viejo. The interview will be headed by the directors of IFF Panama, the President of IFF Panama Foundation, the Minister of Commerce and Industry (MICI), and the actors Luis Silva -protagonist of the movie "From Afar," winner of the Golden Lion of Venice- and the talented Luis Alberto García, who heads the cast of "Viva," which will open the festival.  READ MORE: 'Viva' Director Paddy Breathnach on Making an Irish Film in Cuba and Visceral Transformation Among the events that the International Film Festival of Panama brings for...

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Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Hot Doc Announces 14 Special Presentations to Screen During 2016 Festival

Hot Docs has announced 14 documentary features that will screen in this year¹s Special Presentations program, joining 15 selections previously announced. Special Presentations features a high-profile collection of world and international premieres, award winners from the recent international festival circuit and works by master filmmakers or featuring some star subjects. Notable subjects featured as part of the Special Presentations program include activist Bobby Sands ("Bobby Sands: 66 Days"), musicians David Byrne, Nelly Furtado and St. Vincent ("Contemporary Color"), filmmaker Brian de Palma ("De Palma"), former NFL defensive back Steve...

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Los Angeles Film Festival 2016 Opening Night Film Is 'Lowriders'; Ryan Coogler is Guest Director

With the Spirit Awards behind them, Film Independent is ramping up for this summer's the 2016 LA Film Festival (June 1-9). And they've chosen their opening nighter: Ricardo de Montreuil’s coming-of-age East L.A. drama "Lowriders" will play June 1 at the ArcLight Hollywood Cinerama Dome.  Produced by Brian Grazer and Jason Blum, "Lowriders" stars Gabriel Chavarria as a street artist with an old-school lowrider father (Demián Bichir). Eva Longoria and Melissa Benoist also star. “Made by filmmakers of color," said festival director Stephanie Allain, 'Lowriders' embodies our mission.” Ryan Coogler ("Creed") will be the 2016...

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World Premiere of 'The Tiger Hunter' to Open the 32nd Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival

Visual Communications (VC), the nation’s premier Asian Pacific American media arts center, announced the Opening, Closing and Centerpiece film programs for the upcoming 32nd edition of the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) running April 21-28, 2016. This annual film celebration will be presented across Los Angeles from Little Tokyo to Downtown Los Angeles to Koreatown and to West Hollywood featuring 140 films from over 20 countries. VC will celebrate 32 years as Southern California’s largest and most prestigious film festival of its kind. The LAAPFF launches the pre-celebration of Asian Pacific Heritage Month through this year’s slate of over 130...

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IFF Panama: 22 Unique Educational Activities

The Industry Program of the International Film Festival of Panama connects local film industry members with international representatives to identify new and creative possibilities for the production, marketing, and distribution of films. At the same time, a vibrant and diverse group of film industry insiders support IFF Panama’s educational and training activities in the form of workshops, free screenings, presentations, and master-classes for industry members, students and youth. Among the activities that will take place during IFF Panama’s fifth edition is the “Your Project in Motion: Co-production and Financing”, a panel, organized by the Panama Film...

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Sunday, April 3, 2016

Qumra: James Schamus Discusses the Filmmaking Process in Extensive Master Class and Interview

In the Qumra Master Class 2016 where James Schamus and Richard Peña, former long-time head of Lincoln Film Society in NYC, carried on an informal and open-ended discussion, James gave a personal view of himself before going into the professional ins and outs of his film production and distribution life. I was surprised to hear that James, who seems like a quintessential New Yorker, is not a native New Yorker but is an angeleno and attended Hollywood High in Los Angeles. When I spoke with him afterward, he said that he actually was from North Hollywood but had attended the Milton School of Performing Arts, a Magnet School, at Hollywood High.  On looking the school up...

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Friday, April 1, 2016

See the North: Recent Canadian Cinema from an Oscar-Nominee and Newcomers at IFC Center

This weekend New Yorkers will have a change to dive into a selection of the best recent Canadian cinema thanks to a showcase created by TIFF and Telefilm Canada appropriately called "See the North." On April 1, 2 and 3 2016, audiences at the IFC Center in New York City will be treated to this curated program of Canada’s finest creative talent, with directors in attendance for intros and Q+A’s. The series includes the most recent work my Oscar-nominated filmmaker Philippe Falardeau ("Monsieur Lazhar"), an LGBT-themed debut, and a drama starring Ellen Page and Evan Rachel Wood.  Here is the full lineup:    "Closet Monster"...

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Family Films at the IFF Panama 2016

Children’s and Family films often get short shrift from the professional film community. They are shunted to a special section. But at some festivals, they get their due. Panama International Film Festival is one of Latin America’s best stages to show these films. READ MORE: Panama: The Next Big Country for Latin American Films?  Andrés Waissbluth’s "Elephant, the Horse"  is inspired by the lives of Lalo and Roberto Parra. 80’, Chile/Mexico/Colombia, 2016. World Premiere. Lalo wants nothing more than to grow up to be a valiant adventurer, just like his grandfather was. Grandpa who is on his deathbed—for the third time— charges Lalo and his brother Roberto...

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