The Week in Fests | Cannes, L.A., and Dallas

The latest from the festival scene this week. A link exchange by Variety.com and indieWIRE.

DIRECTORS' FORTNIGHT PLANS FESTIVITIES
Program of events to mark 40th anniversary

FEST OFFERS FRENCH HITS, FRESH TALENT
Los Angeles' COLCOA Film Festival

MCCARTHY AND JENKINS TALK "THE VISITOR"
At the AFI Dallas fest, a chat with the duo behind, "The Visitor

More at Variety's Festival Central 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

VAR | Times changing for film critics

In her weekly column at Variety, Anne Thompson considers a, "world where moviegoers make their pic choices without the help of film critics." 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

iW NEWS | IFC Sets Debut for Zalla's Sundance Grand Jury Prize Winner

IFC Films has set a release date for "Sangre De Mi Sangre" (Blood of My Blood), Christopher Zalla's first feature, formerly titled "Padre Nuestro," winner of the grand jury prize at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. Described as, "a psychological thriller about stolen identity," the film follows a Mexican immigrant searching for his father in New York City. IFC Films has set a May 16th release date in New York (May 23rd in Los Angeles) including a premiere on IFC's Video on Demand platform, followed by a national roll-out. Zalla spoke with indieWIRE about the film prior to its world premiere at last year's Sundance Film Festival. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Movies ]

AFP: Film event uses digital-age technology to unite cultures

A filmmaker's wish to unite people worldwide by letting them see life through each others' eyes is coming true. It is the result of a wish documentary filmmaker Jehane Noujaim was granted as part of a Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) conference prize in 2006, and counts movie stars Meg Ryan and Cameron Diaz among its supporters. Glenn Chapman reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Events ]

AFP: Brazil gets real with film festival

Now, the documentary genre is getting personal. That is the trend seen this week at one of the biggest documentary showcases in the world: the It's All True festival taking place in Brazil. Marc Burleigh reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

AP: Sundance Channel unveils upcoming shows

Music giants Elvis Costello and Elton John are joining forces for a talk-and-tunes series to air on Sundance Channel. "Spectacle: Elvis Costello With ..." will be a 13-week series on which Costello plays host to artists and other personalities for an hour of discussion and performance. Frazier Moore reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Trends ]

iW NEWS | "Red Without Blue" Launches Cinema Dailymotion

IndiePix and Dailymotion have joined forces to launch Cinema Dailymotion, a new online film channel streaming feature-length films for free. The section, on the Dailymotion.com site, is debuting with Brooke Sebold and Benita Sills's "Red Without Blue," winner of the audinece award at last year's Slamdance Film Festival, among many others. Cinema Dailymotion will also include film clips and trailers from IFC Films and Magnolia Pictures. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under New Media & Technology ]

iW NEWS | Tribeca Fest to Close with "Speed Racer"

The 2008 Tribeca Film Festival will close on May 3rd with the Wachowski brothers's "Speed Racer," starring Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon and Matthew Fox. The Warner Bros. film opens in theaters on May 9th.  
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals, New York ]

iW NEWS | SFFS to Offer Daily Film Screenings at New Sundance Kabuki Cinemas

The San Francisco Film Society is partnering with Sundance Cinemas to bring daily film programming to the new eight screen Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, starting in June. The union will begin with one or two week runs of films at the site, expanding into themed series later this year. Launch programming will be announced next month. [Eugene Hernandez]  
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

iW BOT | "Chapter 27" Tops Chart

J.P. Schaefer's drama about John Lennon's assassin, "Chapter 27" from Peace Arch Entertainment is atop the weekly iW BOT box office chart, which was published this afternoon. The film earned $13,910 on one screen over the weekend. More in this week's box office column, which was published last night.  
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

iW NEWS | Kuras Wins Top Prize at Ann Arbor Fest

Ellen Kuras' "The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)" won the Ken Burns Award for Best of the Festival at the 46th Ann Arbor Film Festival, while Elvind Holmboe's "Diente por Ojo" won the Lawrence Kasdan Award for Best Narrative Film. The prize for best international film went to Jean-Gabriel Periot's "Nijuman no Borei" and the Chris Frayne Award for Best Animated Film went to Andrew Cahill's Spontaneous Generation and Lisa Barcy's "The Mermaid." A complete list of winners is available on indieWIRE's Ann Arbor festival dispatch, which was published yesterday. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

INSIDE WORD | Tough Times at Film Arts Foundation

Noting that "our debts have grown, our cash flow has tightened, and we have had to cut salaries and reduce our staff while maintaining the programs that we offer," San Francisco's Film Arts Foundation issued a call for community support last week. In a message posted on the organization website, FAF heads Steve Ramirez and Diana Fuller are seeking donations as part an emergency campaign to raise $150,000 by the end of May. The move follows a recent unsuccessful similar fundraising strategy by New York-based AIVF two years ago. The organization closed a few months later. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

NYT | Now on the Endangered Species List: Movie Critics in Print

Citing a "continual drumbeat of news that film critics are being laid off at daily and weekly newspapers across the country," David Carr reports in the New York Times about the recent word that numerous film critics are leaving print outlets and he wonders about the impact on indie and specialty movies that rely on critica' word of mouth. "Given that movie blogs are strewn about the Web like popcorn on a theater floor, there are those who say that movie criticism is not going away, it's just appearing on a different platform. And no one would argue that fewer critics and the adjectives they hurl would imperil the opening of 'Iron Man' in May. But for a certain kind of movie, critical accolades can mean the difference between relevance and obscurity, not to mention box office success or failure."

Are films critics facing extinction? What do you think? Join a discussion. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

AP: "Shine a Light" a love song for Stones

It's impossible to walk into "Shine a Light" Martin Scorsese's Rolling Stones concert film, without decades' worth of expectations. We simply know too much about the filmmaker and the rock stars and their previous music-doc outings. Christy Lemire reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Movies ]

iW NEWS | Red Envelope's Che Doc at Fortissimo

Fortissomo Films has announced a deal for all rights outside of North America for Trisha Ziff and Luis Lopez's "Chevolution," which will debut at the Tribeca Film Festival. The new documentary was financed by Netflix's Red Envelope Entertainment and in the words of an announcement, was described as examining, "how the famous photo of revolutionary Ernest "Che" Guevara, captured in an instant by renowned photographer Alberto Korda, became an iconic image known throughout the world, revered by revolutionaries for 50 years, and plastered on everything from bikinis to beer bottles." Subjects included in the film include Gael Garcia Bernal, Antonio Banderas, Tom Morello, Gerry Adams. The film will also screen in the Marche du Film, alongside the upcoming Festival de Cannes. [Eugene Hernandez]  
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions, Documentary ]

indieWIRE Presents: Wong Kar Wai at Apple Store SoHo on Tuesday

indieWIRE's ongoing series of filmmaker talks at the Apple Store - SoHo continues on Tuesday evening with special guest Wong Kar Wai.

WHEN: Tuesday, April 1st, 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

WHERE: Apple Store - SoHo, 103 Prince Street, NYC

COST: Free, No RSVP required. Seats are first come, first serve. Seating is limited.

Filmmaker Wong Kar Wai ("In The Mood For Love," "Chungking Express," "Happy Together") will participate in a discussion and show scenes from his latest film, "My Blueberry Nights," which tells the story of Elizabeth (Norah Jones) and her journey across America where she leaves behind a life of memories, a dream and her soulful new friend - a cafe owner (Jude Law) - all while in search of something to mend her broken heart. Film journalist Dennis Lim will moderate the discussion.

"My Blueberry Nights" is being released by The Weinstein Company on April 4th, 2008. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Events, New York ]

TELLURIDE '08 | Zizek Named Telluride's 35th Guest Director

Slovenian philosopher, sociologist and cultural critic Slavoj Zizek will served as the Guest Director for the 2008 Telluride Film Festival, organizers announced today. The subject of numerous fims, including Astra Taylor's "Zizek!" (2005) and Ben Wright's "Slavoj Zizek: The Reality of the Virtual" (2004), he recently collaborated with Sophie Fiennes on "The Pervert's Guide to Cinema" (2006). Announcing the news, festival organizers noted that Zizek is, "certain to stimulate controversy and conversation with his hand-picked film treasures and exhilarating approach to talking about movies, art, culture, politics, and desire." [Eugene Hernandez]  
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

CANNES '08 | 4th Atelier Slate Set

Fifteen projects are set for the 4th Atelier of the Cinefondation at the Festival de Cannes, facilitating industry meetings aimed at securing financing and additional support for new films. On this year's roster for the program are "Cure For Serpents" directed by Ben Hackworth (Australia), "Bitch" directed by Lou Ye (China), "The Stoplight Society" directed by Ruben Mendoza (Columbia), "One More Croissant" directed by Ilmar Raag (Estonia), "Here" directed by Braden King (USA), "Lucky Life" directed by Lee Isaac Chung (USA), "Qu'un seul tienne, et les autres suivront" directed by Lea Fehner (France), "Womb" directed by Benedek Fliegauf (Hungary), "The Policeman" directed by Nadav Lapid (Israel), "First of all, Felicia" directed by Razvan Radulescu & Melissa De Raaf (Romania), "White, White World" directed by Oleg Novkovic (Serbia), "Queleh" directed by Abdi Ismael Jama (Somalia), "First page Taipei" directed by Arvin Chen (Taiwan), "Punta del Este" directed by Juan Pittaluga (Uruguay), "Bi, don't be afraid" directed by Phan Dang Di (Vietnam). [Eugene Hernandez]  
[permalink]   [ filed under Cannes, Festivals ]

LAT: Oliver Stone set to tackle George W. Bush

Like a bill being rapidly pushed through legislation, Oliver Stone's film about President George W. Bush is expected to begin shooting within a month with a goal toward being released before the president leaves office next January. Los Angeles Times reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Production ]

Guardian Interview: Michael Haneke

Michael Haneke's shot-for-shot remake of his own torture thriller sets out to critique US film violence. But hasn't he just become everything he hates? Stuart Jeffriesreports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under People ]

AP: Soap drama fuels Hollywood labor woes

The bitter weekend divorce between two actors unions in upcoming contract talks with Hollywood producers mirrors a scene from a daytime soap opera — and casts stars from the genre in pivotal roles. Ryan Nakashima reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

iW NEWS | Weekend Estimates: "Only Child" Leads, "Moon" Continues To Impress

According to indieWIRE Box Office Tracking (iW BOT) estimates from Rentrak, Daniele Luchetti's "My Brother Is An Only Child" held the top per-screen-average of those films reporting. The ThinkFilm release took in $10,500 from one screen. The other reported specialty opener was Michael Radford's Demi Moore-Michael Caine starrer, "Flawless, which averaged a decent $5,143 from 35 screens. Among holdovers, IFC's "Love Songs" and The Weinstein Company's "Under The Same Moon" both fared well. "Songs" averaged $6,820 from 2 screens in its second weekend, taking its total to $44,605. "Moon," which last weekend surprised many by making the overall top 10, fell just 19%, taking in an additional $2,250,813 from 390 screens. The film averaged $5,770, bringing its cume to an impressive $6,675,165. "Moon" is already 2008's second top-grossing specialty release, behind "Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day." indieWIRE publishes its weekly box office column on Mondays and final weekend numbers for specialty and limited release films on Tuesdays. Get the latest in the indieWIRE Box Office section. [Peter Knegt]  
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]