From the "Biz" Archives:

by Eugene Hernandez

>> New Officers and Board Members at the IFP/M

The Chicago-based Independent Feature Project/Midwest has elected new members to its executive board. Andrea J. Diamond of the Oasis Independent Film Center is set to take over as President, with Dennis Neal Vaughn of the Chicago Alt.film Fest serving as VP. Secretary is Joan Richman of Baker & McKenzi and Treasurer is Noel Olken of Waiter Gone Bad Productions. New directors elected are: Zoe Iltsopoulos, Paul Marcus, Mary Ann Naas, Rob Pileckis, Johnny White, and Matthew Wilkinson. Continuing as directors are: Ken Betts, Nadine Karavidas, Dan Moore, David Sikich, Christina Varotsis, Ron Ver Kuilen, and Kit Woods.

[For more information on the IFP/Midwest, contact 773/281-5177]

>> Miramax Deals with Schwartz

Miramax recently announced another "multi-year, first look development deal," this time with writer director Stefan Schwartz. Schwartz, who made "Shooting Fish," will develop movies through his London-based company, Hotfoot Films Ltd., according to Miramax.

>> More Miramax "Talk"

Following up on a story we ran in July..."Talk," the new magazine from the new Miramax Division, Talk Media, is set to debut in August. Edited by Tina Brown, formerly of The New Yorker, the publication will now be a joint venture between the film distributor and Hearst Magazines -- each will own 50% of the magazine. Beyond the mag, Tina Brown and Ron Galotti's Talk Media is set-up to produce TV programs and publish books.

RELATED ARTICLE @ indieWIRE.com:

(Jul 09, 1998) Miramax Creates New "Division"; Venture To Reunite New Yorker's Brown and Vogue's Galotti

>> Fox Lorber Secures Theatrical Deal for Workman's "Source"

Chuck Workman's Beat Generation documentary, "The Source," which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and screened at the Berlin Festival, has been acquired for theatrical distribution by WinStar Media's Fox Lorber Associates. Company SR VP of Acquisitions Krysanne Katsoolis made the announcement yesterday and a company statement indicated that the film, which will air on PBS' American Masters program next year, will debut in theaters this Spring.

Described as "a comprehensive portrait of the counterculture of the past fifty years and its enormous effect on art, politics, gay and women's rights, minority rights, increased awareness, popular culture, and everyday life," the film was repped by Jonathan Dana.

>> Palm Set to Produce New Norrington Film

Palm Pictures, the entertainment company from Chris Blackwell, will produce Stephen Norrington's "The Last Minute." Norrington, who directed the 1998 New Line film, "Blade," will begin shooting the new project in April.

>> New Films by Women Mark 25th Women's Festival

The 25th Annual International Women's Film Festival is set for the weekend of March 19 - 21 at the Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington, NY. Nancy Savoca's "The 24-Hour Woman" will screen at the event along with Liv Ullmann's "Private Confessions," Joan Chen's Chinese/U.S. film, "Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl," Samira Makhmalbaf's Iranian film, "The Apple," and Wu Tianming's Chinese film, "King of Masks." Nearly two dozen movies will be showcased at the festival which will also include panel discussions and attending filmmakers.

[The Cinema Arts Center is located at 423 Park Avenue in Huntington, NY]

>> Atom Films and ifilm Unveil New Film Distribution Outlets Anchored on the Internet

Last week, indie distributor Trimark announced a licensing deal with Broadcast.com to stream its films over the Internet. And now, two other outlets for distributing films over the internet have emerged -- Atom Films and ifilm.

Set to be unveiled at today's Jupiter Consumer Online Forum, Atom Films will stream a catalog of short films on the web, including the 1999 Academy Award nominee, "Holiday Romance." The company also plans to distribute short films on TV, broadband services, and airlines -- among its partners are HBO, @Home, Go Network/Infoseek, Sundance Channel, Warner Bros. Online, Continental Airlines, Air Canada, RealNetworks, Reel.com, Mr. Showbiz, Broadcast DVD, Film.com, College Broadcast Network, Air New Zealand, and SonicNet.

Atom Founder & CEO Mika Salmi was at Sundance this year scouting for movies and getting the word out about the new venture. Commenting on the launch in a prepared statement Salmi explained, "Atom is redefining entertainment on the internet by providing quality content that consumers can't get anywhere else. Our strong relationships with innovative talent around the world puts us in a unique position to find tomorrow's hits."

Last week, Rodger Raderman announced the launch of ifilm.net, the Internet Film Network -- a distribution channel for independent films. ifilm is set to handle films of any length according to a company announcement -- the site also offers filmmaker information and feedback forums. Among the movies currently available on the site are Edward Vilga's "Peephole," Nisha Ganatra's "Junky Punky Girlz," and Bryan Barnes' "Access." Commenting on the site in a prepared statement, Raderman said, "ifilm.net is a next generation site that really captures a lot of what makes the Web exciting as a content medium."

Atom Films and ifilm are accepting film submissions via their respective websites.

>> Castle Hill Acquires' Blakes' "Five Wives" Doc

Tessa Blake's documentary, "Five Wives, Three Secretaries and Me," which premiered at last year's South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, TX has been acquired for distribution by Castle Hill -- the company that released "A Great Day in Harlem" and re-released of Orson Welles' "Othello." According to representative for the film, Castle Hill is planning to release the movie in September, starting with dates in New York and Texas.

Financed by first-time filmmaker Blake's million-dollar trust fund, "Five Wives" is described as "the story of her 88-year-old father and the Texas high society from which he springs."

[The film's website is set to debut this month.

>> 2000 Seen By Films Set for NYC Debut

Seven movies by seven filmmakers exploring the year 2000 in seven countries will premiere next week in New York City -- the films are being released by Fox Lorber. Four programs, running as double bills from March 12th - 25th at Manhattan's Cinema Village, will offer the entire "2000 Seen By" series, which was initially created for French television.

Tsai Ming Ling's "The Hole" from Taiwan opens the series as program one, alongside a double feature of Belgian director Alain Berliner's "The Wall" and the Spanish film, "The First Night of My Life" by Miguel Albaladejo. Hal Hartley's digitally shot movie, "The Book of Life," which is screening at a sold out AIVF event in NYC tonight, will screen during week two at the Cinema Village, along with French director Laurent Cantet's "The Sanguinaires." The final program includes Abderrahmane Sissako's "Life on Earth" from Mali and Ildiko Enyedi's Hungarian film, "Tamas et Juli."

>> Sundance Cinema Center Set for Boston

Sundance Channel is set to play ball in Boston by building a new Sundance Cinema Center across the street from the city's famed Fenway Park. As Redford indicated during a conversation with the press at the Sundance Festival in January, the new Centers, developed with General Cinema, will be year round theatrical venues for exhibiting indie films, including documentaries. The Boston site will have 11 screens and 1,800 seats, a restaurant & bar, and a film, video, & book library/bookstore. The Center is expected to open in early 2001. Other Sundance Cinema Centers are scheduled to be built in Philadelphia, PA and Portland, OR.

>> Dimension Acquires Nelson's Teen Othello Film

Miramax' genre division, Dimension Films, has acquired the worldwide rights to a teenage adaptation of Shakepeare's "Othello," entitled, "O." Directed by Tim Blake Nelson ("Eye of God") from a script by Brad Kaaya, the film is set in a high school and begins shooting next week. It stars Mekhi Phifer, Josh Hartnett, Julia Stiles, Elden Henson, and Rain Phoenix, Andrew Keegan and Martin Sheen.

>> Sundance Channel Launching Weekly News Program

In their monthly letter to colleagues and press, Sundance Channel Execs Tom Harbeck and Liz Manne confirmed the debut of The Channel's new weekly news program, "24 Frame News" -- named after Jean Luc Godard's comment that "Film is Truth 24 Frames per second." Harbeck and Manne indicate that the six-minute program will launch on March 12th at 8 p.m. and present "a fast and furious six-minute wrap-up of the people, places, pundits and peculiarities of the independent film community. The first edition offers look at a new James Toback film in production, a profile of "School of Flesh" director Benoit Jacquot, and a report on the DGA Awards. On tap for "24 Frame News" this month are coverage of this month's Spirit Awards and South by Southwest, and interviews with "SLC Punk" director James Merendino, and Austin filmmaker Richard Linklater.

>> Win A Plot to Bury Mom!?

A new contest on the Stratosphere Entertainment website offers site visitors the opportunity to win a "virtual" burial plot for their Mom -- in promotion of the new Stratosphere release, "Six Ways to Sunday." The company is asking participants to send in a list of six reasons why they deserve a plot for mom. The film, which opens on Friday, is described as "a perversely comic tale of harry, a young mob enforcer and his entanglements with the law, his girlfriend and his lounge-singer mother -- played by Blondie lead singer Deborah Harry.

[Check out the official website.]