indieWIRE Holiday: November 23, 2007

indieWIRE is celebrating the United States' Thanksgiving weekend holiday. We'll have limited content for the next few days, with occasional updates over the weekend.  
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iW NEWS | Sundance Fund Announces 30 Grants

The Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program announced 30 film projects to receive a record number of financial grants from the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund. The selected projects are Anne Makepeace's "As Natayunean - We Still Live Here" (USA), Marc and Nick Francis' "Chinese Safari" (UK), Albert Maysles' "Handheld and from the Heart" (USA), Julianna Brannum's "Ladonna Harris: Indian 101" (USA), Thierry Michel's "Katanga, Mining Business" (Belgium), Ozgur Dogan and Orhan Eskikoy's "On The Way To School (Turkey), Rachel Libert's "Semper Fi: Always Faithful" (USA), Andrew Okpeaha MacLean's "Swallowed By The Sea" (USA), Carvin Eison and Christine Christopher's "Umbra: Emerging From The Shadows" (USA), Will Sankhla's "We Have No Orders To Save You" (USA/India), Rachael Turner and Alison Quirk's "Where Women Rule" (UK), Tin Dirdamal's "Agua" (Mexico), Fredrik Gertten's "Bananas" (Sweden), Miao Wang's "Beijing Taxi" (China/USA), Frederick Wiseman's "Boxing Gym" (USA), Marion Lipschutz and Rose Rosenblatt's "Brandon and the Clifford Twins" (USA), Terry Jones, Laure Sullivan and Paul Wilson's "Casino Nation" (USA), Isaac Julien's "Derek Jarman" (UK), Andres Habegger's "Final Image" (Argentina), NC Heikin's "Kimjongilia" (France/USA), Margarita Martinez Escallon and Miguel Salazar's "Peaceful Warriors" (Colombia), Deann Borshay Liem's "Precious Objects of Desire" (USA), Annie Goldson's "An Island Calling" (New Zealand), Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers' "Team Lioness" (USA), and Jerret Engle's "The Kitchen Warriors" (USA/South Africa). Out of 300 applications from more than 25 countries, the feature-length documentary films selected will receive a total of nearly $750,000 in support. The Sundance Documentary Film Program supports U.S. and international documentary filmmakers who explore the critical issues of our times with highly crafted storytelling and stylistic innovation. [Peter Knegt] 
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iW NEWS | Big Apple Fest Announces Winners

The 4th Annual Big Apple Film Festival have announced the festival's award winners. In addition to previous announced Golden Apple Award recipient Alan Cumming, Stephane Gauger's "Owl and the Sparrow" was awarded best feature film and Dion Ashman's "The Other Side of Hip Hop: The Sixth Element" won best decoumentary. Additionally, ";jeffrey" won best short film, "The Last New Yorker" was awarded the Big Apple Film Festival Cityscape Award and "The Chubb Chubb Saves X-Mas" received recognition for achievement in animation. [Peter Knegt] 
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INSIDE WORD | A & E's Harrington Joining Doc Fund

Industry move... After he leaves A & E Indie Films at the end of the year, Ryan Harrington will be heading downtown to spearhead the recently announced Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund. The new initiative will award a grants totaling $80,000 to at least three filmmakers next year.  
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iW BOT UPDATE | "Margot" at the iW BOT

Noah Bambauch's "Margot at the Wedding" was securely atop the iW BOT this weekend, according to final numbers posted this afternoon at indieWIRE.com. The Nicole Kidman-Jennifer Jason Leigh sister dramedy scored $81,035 from two locations in New York. Behind was the expansion of Joel and Ethan Coen's Oscar hopeful "No Country For Old Men" which took in a very impressive average of $20,782 on 148 screens, suggesting it may become one of the Coens' greatest box office successes. This week's indieWIRE box office article was posted yesterday. [Peter Knegt] 
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INDUSTRY MOVES | Korbelin and Grasic Join Blackwell at Palm

Jan Korbelin and Marina Grasic, executive producers of "Crash" and "Alpha Dog" are joining Chris Blackwell's Palm Pictures as managing partners at the company, which is heading in a new direction, according to an announcement. Blackwell is Chairman of Palm, which vowed to expand production and acquisition among its theatrical, home video and converging digital divisions. 
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iW NEWS | SXSW to Honor Digital Entertainment

The SXSW Film Festival and conference has announced the launch of The Greenlight Awards, honoring the best in digital entertainment. In partnership with ON Networks, the competition for original, episodic digital series' -- most seen online or via mobile devices -- is accepting submissions and the winner (who will receive a $10,000 prize) will be announced at SXSW in March. 
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LAT: Come on writers, script your futures

As the writers strike enters its third week, I think the future belongs to a tantalizing new hyphenate: the writer-entrepreneur. "This kind of entrepreneurial formula couldn't have existed in the era when the studios had a stranglehold on every facet of the business, notably talent, money and distribution. But those days are gone." Patrick Goldstein reports. 
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iW NEWS | Shanon Larimer Named to Senior Enzian Theater/Florida Film Festival Post

Shanon Larimer has been appointed executive director of Orlando's Enzian Theater and Florida Film Festival, the organization's president Sigrid Tiedtke announced Tuesday. Larimer, who formerly served as senior manager of public relations and communications for Busch Entertainment Corporation's Florida theme park division, "will play a key role in outlining the strategic vision, direction and inspiration for the organization's long-term future." Also, in early news from 17th FFF which takes place March 28 - April 6, Anthony Bourdain from the Travel Channel's "No Reservations" will take part in the event's opening festivities this year. [Brian Brooks] 
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iW NEWS | Tribeca and Gucci Team For Finishing Fund

The Tribeca Film Institute and fashion designer Gucci announced the joint launch of the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund. The fund will offer finishing funds and post production guidance to independent filmmakers in need of finances to complete documentaries that promote social change and illuminate issues in need of comprehensive coverage currently missing from mainstream media. It will provide grants totally $80,000 to a minimum of three filmmakers in 2008 and will be administered by the Tribeca Film Institute. The fund is open to documentary filmmakers who have projects in production or postproduction. Recipients will be selected by the Tribeca Film Institute along with Gucci and a selection committee of documentary filmmakers, to be announced at a later date. [Peter Knegt] 
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iW NEWS | "Michael Clayton" to Open 4th Dubai International Film Festival

Tony Gilroy's "Michael Clayton" will open the 2007 Dubai International Film Festival, organizers announced from the U.A.E. city. Actor George Clooney will attend the opening night gala, launching the festival's fourth edition taking place December 9 - 16. "This conspiracy thriller will be an exciting and memorable way to start off DIFF 2007; the film will become part of film history alongside classic 1970s dramas about ruthless corporations like The Parallax View," commented DIFF's artisitic director Simon Field in a statement. "Not only is it filled with action, it is an immensely watchable character study; Clooney's acting is superb, subtle, and different and more world-weary than we have seen from him before." [Brian Brooks] 
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iW NEWS | "Persepolis," "Knee Deep" and "Owl" Take Top Nods at 30th Starz Denver Film Festival

Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's Cannes '07 animated feature "Persepolis" won the Starz Denver Film Festival's Kieslowski jury award for best film Saturday night, at an awards ceremony prior to the closing night film "August Rush," capping the event's 30th edition. "Knee Deep," by Michael Chandler took DFF's Maysles Brothers Award for best documentary film. Set in rural Maine, the feature follows the tragic family story of attempted murder as a spurned son falls out with his mother over the declared sale of the family farm -- a conflict which resulted in attempted murder. In DFF's emerging filmmaker category, Stephane Gauger's story of three disaffected people in modern Saigon, "The Owl and the Sparrow" won the prize which recognizes new talent. The 30th DFF closed with the festival's maverick founder Ron Henderson, who is retiring as the festival's Artistic Director, received a warm round of applause on stage before actress Keri Russell introduced Kristen Sheridan's "August Rush" before a full house at a 2000-plus seat venue in downtown Denver. [Disclosure: indieWIRE managing editor Brian Brooks served in this year's Maysles Brothers jury this year.] 
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iW NEWS | Weekend Estimates: "No Country" Fights The Slump; "Margot" Tops The iW BOT

Expanding to 148 screens, the Coen Brothers' "No Country For Old Men" continued to show signs of breaking the indie box office slump. According to estimates from Rentrak, "No Country" averaged a fantastic $20,932 and grossed over $3 million, placing it in the overall top ten despite playing on a fraction of its competition's screens. However, its average will not place it atop this week's iW BOT (which ranks according to per screen average), as Noah Baumbach's "Margot at the Wedding" showed initial signs of prosperity with an average of $40,500 on two screens. "No Country" expands to 800 screens for Thanksgiving, while "Margot" will take it slower with 35 screens in its second frame. Also of note, Rob Vanalkemade's doc "What Would Jesus Buy?" opened to a strong $11,644 on its one screen and the single screen, one-week run of Gregg Araki's "Smiley Face," took in a more modest $6,502. But it certainly outdid the poor openings of Brian De Palma's "Redacted," which continued the trend of Iraq-themed busts averaging $1,962 on 14 screens, while Richard Kelly's "Southland Tales," averaged just $1,850 from its 63 screens. [Peter Knegt] 
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