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STARS MAKE SHORTS FOR PALM SPRINGS SHORTFEST Among the shorts selected for this year’s Palm Springs International ShortFest are three directed by actors – Kate Hudson’s Cutless, Kirsten Dunst’ Welcome and Matthew Modine’s I Think I Thought. Also announced are films narrated by Robert Redford (The New Environmentalists) and Whoopi Goldberg (The Descendant). ShortFest runs August 21 – 27 at the Camelot Theatres in Palm Springs. For more info, go to: www.psfilmfest.org.
U.S. TAKES MOST COMPETITION SLOTS AT VENICE FILM FEST About a quarter of the competition selections at this year’s Venice Film Festival are U.S. films. Jonathan Demme will attend with his latest film, Rachel Getting Married, about a woman leaving rehab after ten years to attend her sister’s wedding. The Venice Film Fest runs August 27 – September 6. For more info, go to: www.labiennale.org.
PARKER POSEY AND BILLY CRUDUP ON TROPFEST NY JURY Tropfest NY, which launched last year as “Tropfest@Tribeca,” will be presented this year on September 26. Actors Parker Posey and Billy Crudup will be among the judges. Sixteen shorts with this year’s “sunflower” theme will be selected from entries submitted by September 5.
CLINT EASTWOOD GETS CENTERPIECE SPOT AT NY FILM FEST Clint Eastwood’s latest film, The Changeling starring Angelina Jolie, will have its North American premiere as the Centerpiece Selection at the 49th New York Film Festival. The Festival runs September 26 – October 12 at Lincoln Center. For more info go to: www.filmlinc.com.
AL PACINO TO RECEIVE CAREER AWARD AT ROME FILM FEST Al Pacino will accept the Marcos Aurelius career prize during this year’s Rome International Film Festival, running October 22 – 31. For more info, go to: www.romacinemafest.org.
23rd ISRAEL FILM FESTIVAL CELEBRATES ISRAEL AND ISRAELI CINEMA The 23rd Israel Film Festival is the largest showcase of Israeli films in the United States. This year it presents close to 40 Israeli new features, documentaries, TV dramas and award-winning student films, ranging from cinéma vérité and comedies to thought-provoking, powerful dramas and documentaries. Over 20 Israeli producers, directors and stars are expected to attend and participate. Co-Chairs of the 2008 Israel Film Festival are Amy Pascal, Co-Chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Arnon Milchan, Owner/Founder, Regency Enterprises. The Festival will visit three American cities - Los Angeles, New York and Miami. The 23rd IFF opened in Los Angeles in June and continues in New York, October 29 - November 13, and then to Miami, December 10 - 18, 2008. For more info, go to: www.israelfilmfestival.com.
KEVIN SMITH, ROBERT GREENWALD AND RICK ALLEN TO HEADLINE IFP'S 30th ANNUAL INDEPENDENT FILM WEEK Formerly known as the IFP Market, Independent Film Week is a major forum in the U.S. dedicated to discovering, showcasing, and supporting new independent film projects and talent. The six-day event consists of: the Independent Filmmaker Conference; free screenings of films by IFP alumni and emerging short filmmakers; and the Project Forum, a showcase for over 150 works-in-progress. IFP announced today that IFP alumnus Kevin Smith (Clerks), filmmaker and activist Robert Greenwald (Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism), and SnagFilms.com CEO Rick Allen will headline public events during the 30th Annual Independent Film Week, September 14-19. Smith will kick off the daily "Conversations With" series during the Independent Filmmaker Conference on September 14 with a discussion on making a first feature. His classic 1994 debut feature, Clerks, got its start as a work-in-progress at IFP in 1993. Greenwald will discuss the power of film to spur social change on September 18, while Allen, who recently launched SnagFilms.com with AOL Vice-Chairman Ted Leonsis and AOL founder Steve Case, will explore the future of film distribution on September 17. In addition to the "Conversations With" series, the conference showcases a range of panels on the art and business of independent film. Each day's panels are structured around a specific theme: Making Your First Feature, Filmmaking 2.0, The Global Marketplace, Alternative Distribution, The Truth About Non-Fiction, and Film and Philanthropy. The full schedule of panels can be found at www.filmmakerconference.com. The full schedule of film screenings open to the public during Independent Film Week can be found at: www.independentfilmweek.com.
JAMES SCHAMUS TO BE HONORED AT Focus Features CEO and award-winning writer/producerJames Schamus will be honored with the Trailblazer Award at the 9th annual Woodstock Film Festival (WFF) on October 4th. He is a Golden Globe Award winner and multiple Academy Award nominee for his screenwriting and songwriting (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and producing (Brokeback Mountain). Among his other honors, he was awarded the prize for Best Screenplay at the 1997 Cannes International Film Festival for The Ice Storm. He has had a long collaboration as writer and producer with Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee on ten feature films, including the recent Lust, Caution. This month, Focus begins location filming on the 1969-set true story Taking Woodstock, directed by Lee. Schamus has written the screenplay, which is an adaptation of Elliot Tiber’s memoir Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, A Concert, and A Life. The Trailblazer Award will be presented to Mr. Schamus at the 2008 Woodstock Film Festival awards ceremony on Saturday, October 4. During the day leading up to the evening ceremony, there will be an in-person discussion with Mr. Schamus at the Festival as well as a retrospective screening. The ninth annual Woodstock Film Festival takes place October 1 - 5, 2008. The ‘fiercely independent’ event will include more than 140 films, panels, concerts, and special events that will be featured at venues in Woodstock and the neighboring towns of Rhinebeck, Kingston and Rosendale. Visit www.woodstockfilmfestival.com for detailed program information.
FROST/NIXON TO OPEN LONDON FILM FEST Ron Howard’s adaptation of Peter Morgan’s stage play, Frost/Nixon, has been selected as the opening night film of the BFI London Film Festival on October 15. The film will see Michael Sheen and Frank Langella reprising their stage roles as journalist David Frost and President Nixon recording their infamous 1977 Frost-Nixon interviews. Howard is expected to be on hand with producer Brian Grazer. The London Film Festival will run October 15 – 30. For more info, go to: www.lff.org.uk/
ANTHONY MINGHELLA TO RECEIVE TRIBUTE AT Composer Gabriel Yared will present a musical tribute to the late Anthony Minghella at the Ghent International Film Festival on October 15 in Ghent, Belgium. Yared will conduct a concert performance of pieces from films he worked on with Minghella – The English Patient, Cold Mountain and The Talented Mr. Ripley. For more info, go to: www.filmfestival.be.
SPIKE LEE TO PREMIERE MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA AT TORONTO FILM FEST This year the Toronto International Film Festival, running September 4 – 13, will world premiere Miracle at St.Anna – Spike Lee’s drama about four black U.S. soldiers stationed in Italy during World War II. Also world premiering is Peter Sollet’s Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, a comedy about the New York indie rock scene, starring Michael Cera. For more info, go to: www.tiff08.ca.
WIM WENDERS TO HEAD VENICE JURY Wim Wenders, who brought his first film to the Venice Film Festival in 1972 and ten years later won a Golden Lion there for The State of Things, has been selected president of this year’s jury. The 65th annual Venice Film Festival will run August 27 through September 6. For more info, go to: www.labiennale.org.
SANTA BARBARA FILM FEST CALLS FOR ENTRIES The Santa Barbara International Film Festival, which will run from January 22 - February 1, 2009, is accepting submissions for the following categories: American Independents, Spanish and Latin American films, International features (including international independents), Eastern European features, documentaries, Reel Nature (nature films), East X West (Asian films), To the Maxxx (extreme sports), short films and Santa Barbara filmmakers (features, documentaries and shorts). The regular deadline for film submissions is September 19, 2008 with a fee of $50 for features and $35 for shorts; prices increase for the late deadline of October 17 with a fee of $75 for features and $50 for shorts; the final drop deadline of November 14 is available for a fee of $95 for features and $65 for shorts. For more info, go to: www.sbfilmfestival.org.
2009 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS Sundance Institute has announced a call for film entries to the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. The 25th Sundance Film Festival will be held January 15- 25, 2009 with screenings in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Sundance, Utah. Deadlines to submit U.S. and International films for the 2009 Sundance Film Festival are: September 5, 2008 – OFFICIAL DEADLINE, SHORT FILMSSeptember 8, 2008 – OFFICIAL DEADLINE, FEATURE FILMS All filmmaker applications must be submitted online at: www.sundance.org/submissions.
IMPACT FILM FESTIVAL LAUNCHES AT THIS SUMMER’S DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTIONS The Impact Film Fund, a Washington, DC-based non-profit, is bringing filmmakers to the Denver and Minneapolis national conventions this summer as part of the Impact Film Festival (IFF) to screen a series of topical documentaries and narratives for lawmakers, candidates and delegates to the conventions. In addition to screenings, each film will have a panel discussion featuring members of the filmmaking community alongside policy makers and other issue experts during the daytime hours of the convention. “The political conventions are an excellent opportunity to bring the two communities together and elevate some of the films that are dealing with our most important issues,” said Jody Arlington, one of the Festival’s three co-founders. “We are particularly pleased to be partnering with the Screen Actors Guild in a salute to the artists that bring these stories to light.” IFF will program new films on the festival circuit that explore key domestic and international priorities that correlate to relevant social issues being discussed at each convention. IFF’s programming will be done by a committee of festival programmers and industry leaders through a recommendation process that ensures IFF-goers are seeing the best films. Programmers for Toronto, Sundance, Independent Film Project (IFP) Tribeca, Los Angeles Film Festival and many others will nominate their selections as will the key doc acquirers for POV, Netflix and others. In addition to the feature films, IFF will show shorts from the Denver Film Society and Denver Office of Cultural Affairs, “Cinemocracy” online film contest, seeking films defining the meaning of democracy. More info at www.cinemocracy.org. IFF will also show winners from the 2008 FYI-Film Your Issue online film contest. FYI-Film Your Issue is a two minute online film contest for young people age 14-24 to make films on issues most important to them more info at www.filmyourissue.com.For more info, go to: www.impactfilmfund.org.
CALL FOR ENTRIES Ongoing Deadlines Chicago City Limits Comedy Film Fest D.Film Digital Film Festival Hip Hop Film Fest Hollywood Shorts PEC Independent Film Championship August 20 Zagreb Film Festival August 25 Terror Film Festival August 26 Festival of Fantastic Films August 30 Mandurah Short Film Festival August 31 Berwick Film and Media Arts Festival Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival September 1 Newcastle National Video Festival September 8 Depict! Omaha Film Festival September 10 Foyle Film Festival Habana International Festival of New Latin Cinema Something Remote Film Festival September 15 Boston Motion Picture Awards English Riviera Comedy Film Festival September 24 Victoria Film Festival September 26 Funchal International Film Festival - Madeira September 30 India International Film Festival Malta Golden Knight International Film/Video Fest River to River: Florence Indian Film Festival Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival October 1 Bermuda International Film Festival October 15 European Spirtual Film Festival Full Length Festival Toura D'Or Film Contest for Sustainable Tourism November 14 GPAM Film Festival November 15 Short Shorts Film Festival November 17 Tiburon International Film Festival December 15 European Independent Film Festival February 25 Marfa Film Festival
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