iW NEWS | "Cronoscrimines" and "Mirageman" Among Top Fantastic Fest Winners

Austin, Texas' Fantastic Fest closed Thursday with Nacho Vigalondo "Cronoscrimines" (Timecrimes) winning the Best Feature prize, while Ernesto Diaz Espinoza's "Mirageman" won the top audience award. "The Fifth" by Ryan Levin took best screenplay as well as best actor for Sam Lloyd, while Bianca Rusu won best actress for her role in "Demonolgy of Desire." In the "Fantastic Features Competition," the "gold medal" went to "Offscreen" by Christoffer Boe, while the "silver medal" went to "Never Belongs to Me" by Ki-woong Nam and Jo Beom-jin took the "bronze" for "Aachi and Ssipak." Fantastic Fest took place September 20 - 27. For more information, visit the festival's website. [Brian Brooks] 
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BBC: Thieves steal new Coppola script

Thieves in Argentina have stolen a computer from US film director Francis Ford Coppola, which contained the script for his new production. It was reported that five armed robbers raided Coppola's house in a wealthy neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, and took computers and camera equipment. Daniel Schweimler reports. 
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SF360: SF Docfest, hitting you where you live

Reality, generally considered over-rated by the moving-going public, is the unapologetic core of SF DocFest (Sept. 28-Oct. 10). But from its inception in 2001, SF Indie's (almost) annual documentary showcase (they skipped 2003) has eschewed the dry, serious, good-for-you associations which supposedly plague the genre, emphasizing the idiosyncratic, odd, outre, subcultural, even the sub-subcultural (cf. this year's attention-hound, "Wiener Takes All"); all the while slipping in some solid social and political fare when, so to speak, nobody's watching. Robert Avila reports. 
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AP: Scorsese to direct George Harrison film

Martin Scorsese will direct a documentary film on the late Beatles guitarist George Harrison. "Harrison's music and his search for spiritual meaning is a story that still resonates today and I'm looking forward to delving deeper," Scorsese said in an e-mailed press release Thursday. AP reports. 
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Reuters: Controversial gay film "Cruising" revived

America in 1980 was a culture confronting itself. Conservative Ronald Reagan was elected president strongly supporting family values, while at the box office "Cruising" hoped to lure mainstream audiences into seeing a movie featuring graphic gay sex. Twenty-seven years later, the Reagan administration has come and gone, leaving a mixed legacy, and porn films of almost every stripe are easily available. Craig Modderno reports. 
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iW NEWS | Four Debuts Up for European Discovery Award

A committee comprsed of several FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics) members have selected four nominees (out of a total of 63 submitted films) for the 2007 European Discovery Award: Israel's "The Band's Visit," directed by Eran Kolirin; Anton Corbijn's Ian Curtis docudrama "Control," from the UK; Jan Bonny's "Counterparts," from Germany; Ozer Kiziltan's "A Man's Fear of God," a Turkey/Germany co-production. As part of the European Film Awards, the European Discovery award is presented to a young and upcoming director for a first full-length feature film. The nominated films will now be made available to all 1,800 members of the European Film Academy. They will vote for the winner who will be announced at the 20th European Film Awards on December 1, 2007 in Berlin. [Peter Knegt] 
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iW NEWS | "Joy Division" To Open Sheffield Doc/Fest

The European premiere of Grant Gee's documentary "Joy Division" will open the 14th Sheffield Doc/Fest with the filmmaker and former Joy Division band members present at the screening. The fest also announced over 100 films that will screen over 5 days, including 22 World, 7 European and 23 UK premieres. A new addition to the festival is nightly "film strands," in which there will be a music doc, sports doc and a "controversial" doc (called an "Anti-Doc") running each night. Also running throughout the festival is an environmentally themed program called "green docs" and "bent docs," which will showcase gay/lesbian and transgender documentaries. [Peter Knegt] 
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iW NEWS | Mill Valley Anniversary To Feature 212 Films

The 30th Annual Mill Valley Film Festival will run from October 4-14, 2007 and feature 212 films from 49 countries, including 14 world premieres, 11 North American premieres and 13 US premieres. The festival will open with Ang Lee's Venice winner "Lust, Caution," and Tamara Jenkins' dramedy "The Savages," starring Laura Linney and Philip Seymor Hoffman. The screenings will be followed by an Opening Night Gala on Lytton Plaza in the heart of downtown Mill Valley, featuring jazz music by Con Alma. Invited guests include Ang Lee, James Schamus, Joan Chen, Laura Linney and Tamara Jenkins. The Festival will close with director Marc Forster's adaptation of Khaled Hosseini's best-selling novel "The Kite Runner." The festival will also features a tribute to Ang Lee and a spotlight on Terry George, whose latest film "Reservation Road" will be screening at the festival. Actress Jennifer Jason Leigh will also be honored in the spotlight program, which will feature a screening of her collaboration with director husband Noah Baumbach, "Margot at the Wedding." [Peter Knegt] 
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iW NEWS | "Atonement" Launches Inaugural Fest

The Middle East International Film Festival in Abu Dhabi has announced Joe Wright's "Atonement" as the opening night film of their inaugural year. Starring James McAvoy and Keira Knightley, the film has previously shown to warm reception at Venice and Toronto. Additional special presentations that were announced include Todd Haynes' "I'm Not There," Brian De Palma's "Redacted," Gavin Hood's "Rendition," and Claude Lelouch's "Roman de Gare." "It is an honor to receive such outstanding support from international studios in our inaugural year," said Executive Director Nashwa Al-Ruwaini. "We are extremely proud of our Special Presentations and look forward to announcing an equally impressive selection of festival competition films." The festival will take place October 14-19, 2007. [Peter Knegt] 
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iW NEWS | Malibu Announces "The Best of the Best"

The 2nd annual Malibu Celebration of Film has announced its 2007 lineup for "The Best of the Best" showcase running September 28-30, 2007 in Malibu, CA. Executive Director Kim Jackson and Artistic Director Nancy Collet selected the "Best of the Best" of award-winning films from US and International festivals including AFI, Sundance, Toronto and many others. 13 films from 7 countries are scheduled to screen and have collectively won 35 film festival awards in several major categories. The event will also feature a high school and undergraduate short film competition co-chaired by Ed Harris and Amy Madigan, which will kick off the festival. The films screening include James Strouse's "Grace is Gone," starring John Cusack, Michael Schroeder's "Man in the Chair," Alejandro Gomez Monteverde's "Bella," which won the Audience Award in Toronto in 2006, Stephane Gauger's "Owl and the Sparrow," and Canadian documentary "Sharkwater," which will close the showcase. [Peter Knegt]  
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REELER | Getting With the Program

With the New York Film Festival opening to the public in just a few days, S.T. VanAirsdale talks with The Film Society of Lincoln Center's Richard Pena about his 20 years at the festival. Pena tells VanAirsdale: "Basically, we have a lot of films to look at, and we have a very small number of slots. We know there's a point where we have to say, "No -- we can't just keep adding on one more film." That requires us to make choices. Because of that, hopefully the public really feels that this is a festival that is carefully selected. They might disagree violently with our selections, but they feel like somebody has selected these films -- that somebody has said, "This film and not that film." I think that's a good thing. I think our silent relationship with the public is really important that way. The public expects that we're an honest festival -- that no one can force their way into the New York Film Festival. 
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iW NEWS | 15th Hamptons Fest Launching Balaban's "Bernard and Doris"; Competitions Unveiled

Celebrating its 15th Anniversary this year, the 2007 Hamptons International Film Festival will open on October 17th with the world premiere of Bob Balaban's "Bernard and Doris," the story of tobacco billionairess Doris Duke and her relationship with her gay butler. The event will close on October 21st with Kirsten Sheridan's "August Rush." Set for the annual Golden Starfish narrative competition are: Will Geiger's "Elvis and Anabelle," Chaz Thorne's "Just Buried," Tom Collins's "Kings," the world premiere of Chris Eigeman's "Turn The River," and Birgit Moller's "Valerie." In the Golden Starfish Documentary Competition are the world premieres of Marshall Fine's "Do You Sleep in the Nude?," Steven-Charles Jaffe's "Gahan Wilson: Born Dead, Still WEIRD," Matthew Galkin's "I Am an Animal: This Story of Ingrid Newkirk and PETA," Bettina Blumner's "Pool Of Princesses," and Greg Whiteley's "Resolved." This year the fest will feature showcase conversations with actress Vanessa Redgrave (moderated by Alec Baldwin) and filmmaker Sidney Lumet. Meanwhile, selected to participate in this year's Rising Stars program for new actors are Hannah Herzsprung ("Four Minutes"), Jess Weixler ("Teeth"), Blake Lively ("Elvis and Anabelle"), and Egbert Jan Weeber ("Vivere"). Among the Spotlight Films set to screen are world premieres of Albert Maysles' "Grey Gardens: From East Hampton to Broadway," Menno Meyjes's "Martian Child," Howard Himelstein's "My Sexiest Year," and Piers Haggard's "The Shell Seekers." The full lineup is available on indieWIRE Insider. [Eugene Hernandez] 
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iW BOT UPDATE | Final Weekend Numbers, "Into The Wild" Tops Chart

The complete iW BOT chart has been posted with final numbers for the past weekend in theaters. As reported in yesterday's indieWIRE weekend box office article: "Into the Wild," actor-filmmaker Sean Penn's adaptation of the Jon Krakauer novel, earned $212,000 for Paramount Vantage. Its $53,000 per-screen average was tops on the iWBOT and Paramount Vantage's best debut since its 2006 global warming documentary "An Inconvenient Truth." "Helvetica," a look at global design culture, earned $8,599 from its exclusive, sophomore run at New York's IFC Center. Rounding out the iWBOT Top Five were director John Turturro's musical "Romance & Cigarettes," Sony Picture Classics' female ensemble drama "The Jane Austen Book Club" and IFC First Take's Arctic-set horror "The Last Winter." 
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iW NEWS | Ft. Lauderdale Unveils Line up for Long Fest

A line up of 175 films from 26 countries will screen at the upcoming Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, taking place October 11 - November 14--one of the longest in the U.S. Sixteen world, eight U.S. and four East Coast debuts are slated for the 22nd edition, with 12 screening in competition. World debuts include a "story of survival," "Portage," human trafficking story "Shanghai Hotel," and the story of a "controversial tragedy," "The Reflecting Pool." Competition films include "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," "Napoleon et Moi," "The Savages," Uranya," "Tuya's Marriage," "Dot Com," "American Visa," and "All About My Bush." Closing the event is Dallas Jenkins' drama "Midnight Clear" starring Stephen Baldwin. "The challenge each year is to make the festival seem different--adding new excitement to the festivities. This year captures that excitement with new venues, new parties and a great list of celebrities. Most importantly, we have assembled a spectacular program of films from all over the globe," commented festival president Gregory von Hausch. "We have a wonderful selection of comedies, some triumphant personal stories, and others that reflect the challenges we face today." For more information and a full line up, visit the festival's website. [Brian Brooks] 
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iW NEWS | Sundance Institute and Skoll Foundation Announce $3M "Entrepreneurial" Partnership

Sundance Institute and the Skoll Foundation have announced a $3 million, three-year partnership dedicated to "exploring film's role in advancing knowledge about social entrepreneurship." The grant will support the launch of "Stories of Change: Social Entrepreneurship in Focus Through Documentary," a new initiative spearheaded by the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program. The program is intended to build on earlier work by the two groups in exploring the potential to combine the art of storytelling withh teh impact of social entrepreneurship. "The challenges we currently face as a global society demand deep understanding and inspired solutions," said Cara Mertes, Director, Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program. "This partnership is based on the belief that exemplary documentary storytellers and visionary social entrepreneurs have much to share, and more to learn from each other. We hope both good film projects, as well as creative possibilities in democratic practice which inform contemporary public thought will emerge through new networks created between the two fields." [Brian Brooks] 
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Guardian Interview: Samantha Morton

"That first Oscar nomination did incredible things for me in the States," she recalls. "I'm grateful for that. It means that I'm able to get an independent movie financed. My name can raise money on a small-budget film. It means I'm able to support the industry." By this she means the industry of credible independent movies. The other industry, the industry of celebrity, is not something that she supports or that supports her. Samantha Morton stars in the upcoming "Control" by Anton Corbijn. Chrissy Iley reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under People ]

AFP: Holocaust in focus at San Sebastian Film Festival

Spain's San Sebastian Film Festival Monday turned to the Holocaust with Paolo Barzman's searing "Emotional Arithmetic" about three friends who are reunited decades after meeting in a Nazi concentration camp. The movie, based on a novel by the late Canadian author Matt Cohen, revolves around a middle-aged woman, played by Susan Sarandon, who catches up with two fellow survivors of Drancy--a transit camp outside Paris--in Quebec some 40 years later. AFP reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals, World Cinema ]

Reuters: India nominates flop period film to Oscars

India's official entry for the Oscars in the best foreign film category is a flop period film featuring grand palaces, camels and Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan. "Eklavya: The Royal Guard," which was selected from among five films, is about palace intrigue and the loyalty of an old guard who carries a secret about a royal family. Reuters reports. 
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AP: "Brick Lane" royal gala is scrapped

For only the second time in more than 60 years, the annual tradition known as the Royal Film Performance has been canceled. Organizers said an Oct. 29 gala screening of "Brick Lane," which was to have been attended by Prince Charles, had been scrapped. The film has attracted protests from some British Bengalis. "Brick Lane" will now have its British premiere at the London Film Festival on Oct. 26. Jill Lawless reports. 
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Abel Ferrara at Apple Store SoHo This Friday

Director Abel Ferrara (King of New York, Bad Lieutenant, The Funeral) will appear at the Apple Store SoHo this Friday September 28, at 7:30 p.m. to discuss the making of his latest film, "Go Go Tales," which is premiering at the New York Film Festival on October 5th. "Go Go Tales" stars Willem Dafoe, Bob Hoskins, and Matthew Modine and is about a strip club owner struggling to keep his club from going bankrupt.  
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LAT: Wes Anderson offers the Web a taste of "The Darjeeling Limited"

Wes Anderson didn't set out to create one of the year's most talked about short films when he wrote, directed and produced the 13-minute "Hotel Chevalier." Instead, the quirky, creative force behind such films as "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou" intended the short as a kind of prequel or "introduction" to his comedic road drama, "The Darjeeling Limited," which lands in theaters Oct. 5. Chris Lee reports. 
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SF360: Ariella Ben-Dov, Madcat mastermind

As the Madcat Women's International Film Festival heads into its final stretch this coming week in San Francisco, SF360.org felt it was important to catch up with its chief curator, Ariella Ben-Dov...when you consider the scope of the shows and varieties of venues, you see what they've accompolished is no small feat -- in fact, it's not being replicated anywhere else in the world. Wonder why? We did eventually find Ben-Dov, and she offered her thoughts, mid-festival, over the phone. SF360 reports. 
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AFP: Afghan girl's struggle for learning showcased at Spain film fest

A young Afghan girl's harrowing struggle for an education in the shadow of the destroyed Bamiyan Buddhas is chronicled in a Franco-Iranian film screened Saturday at the oldest and most prestigious film festival in the Spanish-speaking world. Set in central Afghanistan's Bamiyan valley, where the Taliban blew up the two giant Buddhas in 2001, "Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame" is "a very uncompromising film that shows the influence of real life on children," the San Sebastian Film Festival's director Mikel Olaciregui told AFP. Virginie Grognou reports. 
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AFP: US in spotlight at Spanish film festival

The spotlight was on US cinema on Sunday at the San Sebastian Film Festival, where the latest film by US director-author Paul Auster was shown out of competition and actor Richard Gere received an honorary "Donosti" for his career. Auster, who is chairing the jury at the 55th edition of the festival in this northern Spanish resort, presented "The Inner Life of Martin Frost." Virgine Grognou reports. 
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AP: SAG to honor Durning with lifetime award

Charles Durning will be honored for lifetime achievement by the Screen Actors Guild. Durning, 84, will receive the award for fostering the "finest ideals of the acting profession" during the 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards show Jan. 27. AP reports. 
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AWARDS WATCH | Israel Picks "Band's Visit"; Estonia Selects "The Class"

Eran Kolirin's "The Band's Visit," winner of seven Israeli Film Academy Awards yesterday (including best picture, director, script, actor and actress), has been selected as Israel's official entry for the Academy Awards' Best Foreign Language Film category. The film, which screened recently at Telluride and Toronto festival, debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May where it was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics. Also today, Ilmar Raag's first feature, "The Class," has been chosen as Estonia's submission for the foreign language Oscar. The film is being handled internationally by NonStop Sales. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Awards Watch, Honors ]

iW NEWS | "Wild" Explodes; "Promises" Expands

Early estimates from Rentrak suggest that Sean Penn's "Into The Wild," fresh off a great reception at the Toronto International Film Festival, had a mammoth opening in limited release this weekend. "Wild" grossed $207,000 in just 4 locations for a $51,750 per theatre average. It expands into the top dozen markets next weekend. Other openers included the Brad Pitt-Casey Affleck western "The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford" which, opening on 5 screens, found a $28,800 average that marks a solid beginning for a tough genre to market. Robin Swicord's "The Jane Austen Book Club" took in $160,520 on 25 screens for a respectable $6,421 average. Both films will expand significantly next weekend. Last weekend's big opener,David Cronenberg's "Eastern Promises," made such an expansion this weekend, showing on nearly 1,500 screens and averaging an admirable, though not spectacular, $4,093. [Peter Knegt] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]