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From the "Biz" Archives:
by Eugene Hernandez, Matthew Ross and Brian Brooks/indieWIRE
>> Florida Fest Moving to March for 12th Annual Event
(indieWIRE: 07.18.02) -- After 11 years in its June slot, the Florida
Film Festival is moving its event to the month of March. Organizers are
trying to steer clear of what has become an increasingly crowded June
festival schedule, with well-regarded American film festivals in Los
Angeles, Newport, Lake Placid, Nashville, Atlanta, Nantucket, and Las Vegas, among others.
The 12th annual Florida Film Festival will run March 7 to 16, 2003, putting
it in a less busy, but still active period for American film festivals.
Notably, the fest will compete directly with the dates for the annual SXSW
film festival and conference in Austin (which is also scheduled for March 7
to 16). Additionally, Cinequest in San Jose is set for February 27 to March
9, while the Santa Barbara Film Festival in California is scheduled for
February 28 to March 9 and the Ann Arbor Film Festival in Michigan will run
March 11 to 16.
The Florida Film Festival, held each year in Orlando, was founded by Philip
and Sigrid Tiedtke in 1992. Its home base is the popular Enzian Theater in
Maitland. [Eugene Hernandez]
>> Locarno Opens Outdoors with "Earnest"
(indieWIRE: 07.18.02) -- As the clock strikes midnight on August 1, the 55th
Locarno International Film Festival will begin with an open-air screening of
Oliver Parker's "The Importance of Being Earnest." This year's event
includes 22 selected titles with more than half world premieres, including
Indian director Aparna Sen's "Mr. And Mrs. Iyer" (India), Alex Cox's
"Revengers Tragedy" (U.K.), and Kornel Mundruczo's "Pleasant Days" (Hungary). Locarno will also feature an Afghan Day showcasing "rediscovered"
films saved from the Afghan Film Archive in that nation's capital, Kabul.
Some American titles making their international premieres in Switzerland
include Gus van Sant's "Gerry," Rebecca Miller's "Personal Velocity," Mark Romanek's "One Hour Photo," and Steven Shainberg's "Secretary." "The American films in the competition are very original and very different from one another," commented Fest director Irene Bignardi in a festival release. "You have a very audacious storyline like "Gerry" and then "Secretary" which is a wonderful, little moral story."
Additional fest plans include a screening of Markus Imhoof's WWII drama,
"Das Boot Ist Voll" followed by a discussion of refugees in modern Europe as
well as a tribute to American director Allan Dwan ("Most Dangerous Man
Alive," 1961). Locarno wraps up on August 11. [Brian Brooks]
>> More Gotham Winners Announced
(indieWIRE: 07.17.02) -- Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal and documentary filmmakers Marco Williams and Whitney Dow have been added to the list of winners for the 2002 IFP Gotham Awards. The event will take place on Sept. 26 at New York's Chelsea Piers and will air on the Bravo channel on Sept. 29.
Gyllenhaal will be honored with the breakthrough actor award for her
performance Steven Shainberg's "Secretary," which screened at Sundance 2002 and will be released by Lions Gate Films later this fall. Williams and Dow
will take home the Anthony Radziwill documentary achievement prize for their
film "Two Towns of Jasper," which tells the story of the 1998 racially
motivated murder of James Byrd, Jr. in Jasper, Texas.
IFP previously announced that Ang Lee will receive the Bravo lifetime
achievement award, Bingham Ray will receive the industry lifetime
achievement award, and Julianne Moore will receive the IFP Gotham actor
award. In addition, the nominees for the 2002 Open Palm award for
outstanding directorial debut were recently announced. They are: Bertha
Bay-Sa Pan ("Face"), Eric Eason ("Manito"), Ethan Hawke ("Chelsea Walls"), Moises Kaufman ("The Laramie Project"), Peter Mattei ("Love in the Time of Money"), and Fisher Stevens ("Just a Kiss"). [Matthew Ross]
>> WEDNESDAY IN indieWIRE DAILY NEWS: Toronto Sets Additional Pix, Urbanworld MECCA Awards and McKnight Fellowships
(indieWIRE: 07.17.02) -- A handful of premieres are set for the Toronto
International Film Festival's "Special Presentation" section; The Urbanworld
Film Foundation has announced plans to launch a new event honoring minority
entertainers; And, IFP Minneapolis/Saint Paul announced that Steve Larson
and Ron Stover are the recipients of the organization's 2002 McKnight
Screenwriting Fellowship awards."
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