Jonas Mekas...in Greenpoint

Today in Gothamist...a conversation with Jonas Mekas about his move to Brooklyn and his film about the experience, "A Letter From Greenpoint," which is screening tonight at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens. In the interview, Jonas Mekas talks about his filmmaking process and about Avant Garde film:

Avant garde film could be compared to poetry in literature. It's a sensitivity. It's not entertaining. Or it's entertainment is on a different level. There are those who are interested in poetics in forms of cinema. They do not express anything directly, only indirectly.

 
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More From Moore at Toronto Fest

When Michael Moore makes his appearance at a special Mavericks event during the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival next month, he'll also be showing clips from two works-in-progress, according to the festival's Doc Blog. During the session, Moore will offer glimpses of both his upcoming health care film "Sicko" and segments from his secret new film, "The Great 04 Slacker Uprising," which the festival describes as "a scrappy road trip movie following his two months of daily campaigning against George W. Bush in the 2004 election." The fests Doc Blog also includes a remembrance from John Pierson, who shepherded Moore and his "Roger and Me" to the fest back in 1989 when the director won the audience award and launched his career. 
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Regent Releasing Takes "Aurora Borealis" for September Release

Regent Releasing, the theatrical distribution and worldwide sales division of Regent Entertainment, has acquired worldwide rights to James Burke's family drama "Aurora Borealis," the company announced Thursday. Starring Joshua Jackson, Donald Sutherland, Juliette Lewis and Louise Fletcher, the film is about a young man (Jackson) who works at his grandparents' senior residence and developing a bond with his ailing grandfather (Sutherland), while finding himself in a "spirited relationship" with a feisty nurse (Lewis). The film will open in select theaters nationwide September 15. The film was represented for sale by John Manulis of Visionbox Pictures and the deal was negotiated by Manulis and Hillary Bibicoff for the filmmakers and Mark Reinhart for Regent. "Regent Releasing is excited to acquire this touching and humorous film," said Reinhart, EVP of distribution and acquisitions for Regent in a statement. "'Aurora Borealis' has an amazing cast, and director James Burke is an extraordinary young talent." [Brian Brooks] 
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Deadline for Oscar Documentary Consideration Approaching

Friday, September 1, is the deadline for documentary filmmakers to submit their short subject and feature-length documentaries to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for consideration for the 79th Academy Awards. Each entry form must be accompanied by supporting materials including an English-language synopsis of the film, a list of film credits, filmographies of the director(s) and/or producer(s), 25 VHS cassette tapes or 25 DVDs of the film, and proof of a seven-day qualifying exhibition in either Los Angeles County or the Borough of Manhattan in New York. "March of the Penguins," and "A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin" won the Documentary Feature and Documentary Short Subject categories respectively for 2005. The 79th Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, January 23, 2007, at 5:30 a.m. PST in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater. For more information, visit the Academy's website. [Brian Brooks] 
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IFC's Sehring to Receive Woodstock Trailblazer Award

IFC Entertainment president Jonathan Sehring will be honored with the Trailblazer Award at the seventh annual Woodstock Film Festival (October 11 - 15), Meira Blaustein, executive director and co-founder of the event announced Thursday. Sehring has played an integral role in the creation of the Independent Film Channel, IFC Productions, IFC Films, and more recently IFC Center in New York as well as a second distribution label, IFC First Take. Additionally, he has served as executive producer on many productions, including "Boys Don't Cry," and "Me and You and Everyone We Know." Entertainment attorney/producer John Sloss (Sloss Law/Cinetic Media) received the inaugural Trailblazer Award last year. [Brian Brooks]  
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The Guardian Interview: Charlize Theron

A recent metamorphosis took Charlize Theron towards producing, with spectacular success, on "Monster," the film that won her the 2004 Oscar for best actress. She took no small risk on the movie; the entire previous output of its writer and director, Patty Jenkins, consisted of a single short that Theron was begged not to watch. "There was nothing she'd done to convince me she was a good director," says Theron. "I just had a feeling." Now she's tackling Cuba. Charlize Theron tells Charlotte Higgins why she's never afraid of a good fight. 
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AFP: Filmmaker shows Japan human side of arch-enemy North Korea

As Pyongyang looms as public enemy number one in Japan, a filmmaker is telling the story of her family divided between the two countries in hopes of driving home a message -- that North Koreans are people, too. Yang Yong-Hi, a Korean born in Japan, spent a decade filming her father, who was formerly a top North Korean representative in Osaka, her mother, and also her three brothers who live in the communist state. The result is "Dear Pyongyang," a light-hearted and overtly apolitical documentary of her family life which won awards at this year's Berlin and Sundance film festivals and opens in Japan on Saturday. Kaori Kaneko reports. 
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Miami Film Festival and Global Lens Team up for "Global Lens 2006"

The Miami International Film Festival (MIFF) and The Global Film Initiative will present "Global Lens 2006" from September 16-24 at Miami Dade College's Tower Theater in Little Havana. MIFF is one of seventeen institutions in the U.S. chosen to present "Global Lens 2006." The program showcases work "representing the diversity and excellence of cinema from the developing world" from places such as Brazil, Burkina Faso, China, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine and South Africa. For the first time, the series also includes a program of short films. Each film is screened in its original language and subtitled in English. Since its founding in 2002, Global Lens has presented films to more than 30,000 people in cities across America, and more than 9,000 high school students have attended free screenings. This is the second year in a row that MIFF has been chosen to host the series. [For more information, visit the Miami International Film Festival's website.] [Brian Brooks] 
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Aljazeera: London showcases Arab filmmakers

Hoping to raise the profile of contemporary Arab cinema in Britain, London's British Academy of Film and Television Arts has launched the first annual Arab Film Weekend to both accolades and criticism. Screening eight films - all made in the past two years - from Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Morocco and Algeria. The festival was arranged "to provide a showcase for the diversity and the breadth of creativity that exists within the Arab world," Ali Jaafar, one of the festival's programmers, said. Saeed Taji Farouky reports. 
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SF360: A grant from the Academy jumpstarts SF International's 50th

Surprises visited upon arts organizations in these boom-turned-bust times have generally not been pleasant. Last week offered an exception: The San Francisco Film Society announced August 10th that its San Francisco International Film Festival had received a "secure foundation" grant of $150,000 to be received over three years from the Academy Foundation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It's an award that's bestowed upon an organization rather than applied for by it, not unlike the MacArthur Fellowships, and this surprise was a welcome one. "We feel ourselves very lucky to have received this honor," SFFS Executive Director Graham Leggat told SF360.org. reports. 
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Reuters: Toronto film festival promises stars, premieres

The 31st annual Toronto International Film Festival will attract more star power than usual this year with Brad Pitt, Russell Crowe, Jennifer Lopez, Reese Witherspoon and Sean Penn among the Oscar winners and Hollywood heavyweights expected to attend. Actors Liam Neeson, Jude Law, Dustin Hoffman, Peter O'Toole, and Sir Anthony Hopkins are also expected to bolster the festival's celebrity contingent. Cameron French reports. 
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AP: Film festival cancels cockfighting movie

The Edinburgh International Film Festival canceled the screening of a movie about cockfighting after being told it might be illegal to show the film. "Cockfighter," a critically acclaimed 1974 movie about masculinity and blood sports set in the southern United States, was to have been shown Tuesday. AP reports. 
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SPC Goes for Popular Australian Film, "jindabye"

Sony Pictures Classics has nabbed Ray Lawrence's "jindabyne," the hit Australian film starring Laura Linney and Gabriel Byrne that is screening this week at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Fresh from this year's Cannes Film Festival, the movie is set to have its North American premiere at this year's Toronto International Film Festival. Based on the Raymond Carver short story So Much Water So Close to Home (and written by Beatrix Christian), the film was produced by April Films with Film Finance Corporation Australia and Babcock & Brown, in association with Redchair Films. [Eugene Hernandez] 
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BBC: Theron denies pro-US bias in film

Actress Charlize Theron has denied a documentary made by her production company shows a pro-American bias in the problems facing Cuba. "East of Havana" tells of three young rappers whose love of hip-hop faces censorship by the Communist government. It has faced criticism for taking a rose-tinted view of the Caribbean island and for ignoring the effects of a trade embargo by the US. BBC reports. 
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The Guardian: Interview: Charles Thompson (aka Black Francis)

The artist formerly known as Black Francis answers the phone and explains that he can't talk; he is in crisis. I have been chasing Thompson for several days now, eager to gauge his reaction to "loudQUIETloud", a rambunctious little documentary about the Pixies's 2004 reunion tour, which debuts today at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Directed by Steven Cantor and Matthew Galkin, the film is a bit like a Pixies song itself. It is film where simmering tensions erupt into primal storms, where high tragedy goes cheek-by-jowl with low comedy, and where the drummer goes mad and won't finish his solo. When the Pixies reformed, they invited a film crew to join them for the ride. Frank Black talks to Xan Brooks about the train-wreck of a tour that followed. 
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H'wood Reporter: German film buffs feast on horror

Germany's FantasyFilmFest started out 20 years ago as a one-off presentation of science fiction and horror films in Hamburg. This year, the FFF toured seven German cities, spending a week in each location, and has become a veritable powerhouse for the release of genre and crossover films. For the first time this year, the event handed out the First Blood award, for first or second-time directors. In the end it was a U.S. film that garnered the prize: Rian Johnson's film noir murder mystery "Brick," a high school mystery starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Bonnie J. Gordon reports. 
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Paramount Adds MTV and Nick to Umbrella

Over at Paramount...The studio announced last night that MTV Films and Nick Movies production companies will become full labels, alongside Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks SKG, Paramount Vantage and Paramount Classics, under the Paramount Motion Picture Group umbrella. Producer Scott Aversano has been named President of MTV Films and Nick Movies, running film development, production and acquisitions for the two film labels, reporting to Paramount Pictures president Gail Berman, as well as Van Toffler, group president of MTV Networks Music Group, and Cyma Zarghami, President of Nickelodeon and MTV Networks Kids and Family Group. [Eugene Hernandez] 
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The Top Ten So Far...

Each week, indieWIRE receives the final weekend numbers for specialty releases in theaters. This is our top ten for the past weekend so far, with most numbers already in. The top ten is subject to change before the final chart is published tomorrow and the weekly box office column is written. Weekend box office data provided by Rentrak as of Monday, 6:00 p.m. EST. 1. "Half Nelson" (ThinkFilm) $56,264 wknd ($18,755 per scrn) 2. "The Illusionist" (Yari Film Group Releasing) $927,956 wknd ($18,195 per scrn) 3. "Sukob" (ABS-CBN) $51,814 wknd ($17,271 per scrn) 4. "Viva Pedro! (Sony Pictures Classics) $10,227 wknd ($10,227 per scrn) 5. "Factotum" (IFC Films) $59,212 wknd ($9,869 per scrn) 6. "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna" (Yash Raj Films) $570,409 wknd ($8,913 per scrn) 7. "Little Miss Sunshine" (Fox Searchlight) $ $5,610,845 wknd ($ $8,120 per scrn) 8. "Changing Times" (Koch Lober Films) $25,678 wknd ($5,136 per scrn) 9. "Trust The Man (Fox Searchlight) $180,271 wknd ($4,744 per scrn) 10. "The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life Of Ethan Green" (Regent Releasing) $4,521 wknd ($4,521 per scrn) 
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AFP: "Darwin's Nightmare" haunts Tanzania

Two years after its release, the acclaimed documentary "Darwin's Nightmare" has jolted Tanzania, where officials are protesting its claim of government complicity in unrest in Africa's volatile Great Lakes region. Amid charges that locals involved in the production have been subjected to harassment and threats, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete has denounced the movie and parliament is demanding a formal apology from the filmmaker. The east African nation says producer and director Hubert Sauper has unfairly disparaged it by claiming that Tanzania is a transit point for weapons that have fuelled a plethora of bloody civil wars in neighboring countries. John Kulekana reports. 
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Sunday Times: Thrills, chills and a taste of Gore

With the Edinburgh International Film Festival turning 60 this year, the celebs have come to town. Charlize Theron, Sigourney Weaver and Steven Soderbergh will all be dropping in for onstage events, Sean Connery will host a gala and the director Kevin Smith will talk about the eagerly awaited "Clerks II." The interview sold out almost immediately and festival organisers are expecting a repeat of last year's ticket frenzy for the interview with the "Buffy" creator Joss Whedon. The Times reports. 
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AP: Filmmaker race highlights video festival

Chris Simpson fumbled in a pitch-black closet, hand-cranking a spool of black-and-white film from a decades=old movie camera. He held his team's hopes for film glory -- or, at least, $200 in prize money. Any exposure to light would destroy his team's chance of winning its manic race to make the best shoestring-budgeted film in 24 sleep-deprived hours. The fast-film contest jump-started last week's Dallas Video Festival. Julia Glick reports. 
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E Online: 9/11 Movie Passes Box-Office Test

The IRS just upped the ante for Hollywood swag whores--er, award show attendees. Just three days after the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences issued a not so gentle reminder to celebrities that their forthcoming Emmy gift baskets would be considered taxable income, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has brokered a similar deal with the IRS. Meaning come next March, their Oscar vote isn't the only thing stars are going to have to declare. Gina Serpe reports. 
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NYFF to Present "PORTRAITS by Robin Holland"

During this year's New York Film Festival, the Film Society of Lincoln Center will present PORTRAITS by Robin Holland, an exhibit featuring the work of the accomplished photographer Robin Holland who has been shooting directors, actors and others for more than 25 years. The show will include images of Wim Wenders, Werner Herzog, Sam Fuller, Douglas Sirk, Shirley Clarke, Martin Scorsese, Jim Jarmusch, Steven Soderbergh, Wes Anderson, Ousmane Sembene, Mike Leigh and Eric Rohmer, among others."I have always been fascinated by film and love hearing what creative people have to say, although I occasionally enjoy the calm of a still life project," Holland added. The show will be presented in the Frieda and Roy Furman Gallery at the Walter Reade Theater during this year's festival (September 25 - October 22). [Eugene Hernandez] 
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"Half Nelson" Still Strong in 2nd Weekend

In its second weekend in theaters, Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden's "Half Nelson" made more than $57,000 on 3 screens (according to a ThinkFilm estimate), for an estimated $19,067 per screen and a new estimated total of $148,180 so far. Next week, the film will expand to LA, SF, and DC. [Eugene Hernandez] 
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