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"Bluma", "Mantis", "China" Take Top Prizes at Palm Springs Shorts Fest

The Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films and Short Film Market concluded on September 26, with the "Best of Festival Award" - accompanied by a cash prize of $2,000 - going to American filmmaker Benjamin Ross' "Torte Bluma," about the relationship between a German commandant and the Jew...

AP: Scorsese Attends Film Center Inauguration

Directors Martin Scorsese and Wong Kar-Wai joined hundreds of film buffs at the inauguration of a new home for La Cinematheque Francaise film center. The center moved Monday into a stylish building designed by Frank Gehry in eastern Paris, ending a two-decade hunt for a new location. The center was ...

NY Times: Reading from Left to Right

The studios themselves, especially after the stunning success of Mel Gibson's independently financed "The Passion of the Christ," have tried to strengthen their connection with religious and social conservatives, who represent not only a political constituency but a large and powerful segment of the...

INDUSTRY MOVES: Young Names WGAW Interim Exec. Dir.

Writers Guild of America, West President Patric M. Verrone and the board of the WGAw have appointed David Young, the guild's top organizer, as its Interim Executive Director effective immediately. The board also appointed a search committee to replace outgoing executive director John McLean.

Two New Documentaries Feature Filmmakers Focusing on Their Fathers

At this year's Toronto International Film Festival two very different documentaries celebrated their world premieres, each with a similar premise -- a filmmaker son turns the lens to his father in a quest to understand and honor their complicated relationship. Thomas Allen Harris' "Twelve Disciples ...

SXSW First Badge Deadline

Romar Aims for Studio-style Releases for Indies

A newly formed distribution initiative from Romar Entertainment, with actor Billy Zane joining company founder Jim Schramm, is aiming to offer what it says are, "studio-style, wide releases via major theater chains to indie filmmakers for a fraction of what it would normally cost." As part of the model, filmmakers raise P & A (prints and advertising) money for a release and retain all rights to the film. Romar will handle the theatrical release and take a commission on the media buy for the theatrical distribution, along with a portion of ticket sales. The company will target national releases at 300 screens and higher. A DVD distribution dea...

Chicago International Film Festival Unveils 41st Edition Lineup; Opens with "Elizabethtown"

The Chicago International Film Festival, one of North America’s oldest film events, will launch its 41st edition October 6th, with 100 features and 42 shorts from 34 countries slated to screen through October 20th in the windy city. The lineup includes three world, 11 North American and 34 U.S...