iW NEWS | Film Independent Announces Lab Participants

Film Independent has announced the fellows for its annual Screenwriters Lab. Writer and producer Meg LeFauve will teach the Lab, which is sponsored by the Writers Guild of America, west, and Final Draft. "We have a remarkable group of screenwriters and screenplays in the Lab this year," said Josh Welsh, Director of Talent Development at Film Independent in a statement. "It's so gratifying to see the scripts develop over the course of the Lab and then make it to the screen. The participants and their projects are John Benton and Alexandra Brodsky ("Bust"), Soo-Hyun Chung ("Groupie"), Darian and Desha Dauchan ("Kalfou"), Wade Gasque ("Half Truth"), Xochitl Gonzalez ("The (Mostly) True Story of the Crazy Fu*%ed Up Sh*%t I Did at Uni High"), Jonathan Hludzinski ("Close To Me"), Cedar Sherbert ("United 'Biscuit' Project), Mia Trachinger ("What Remains"), Michael Urban ("Difficult Child"), and David Zeiger ("Otherwise Pandemonium"). The lab runs in Los Angeles from August 4 - September 11, 2008. [Peter Knegt] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Events, Honors ]

iW NEWS | Hot Docs Announces Partnerships for "Soup"

Documentary coverage sponsored by SnagFilms.

Hot Docs has announced that it will partner with the Calgary International Film Festival and the Whistler Film Festival to launch its "Doc Soup" screening series in Calgary and Vancouver this fall. "We're thrilled to have these dynamic partners helping us to cultivate wider Canadian audiences for documentaries," says Chris McDonald, Executive Director of Hot Docs, in a statement. "Both festivals have developed loyal followings and we're certain that they'll embrace Doc Soup as Toronto audiences have done." Films selected for Doc Soup in Calgary and Vancouver will be premieres in those markets and guest directors will also be present at select screenings. Films will be programmed by Sean Farnel, Hot Docs' Director of Programming, and his team, in consultation with the Calgary International Film Festival and the Whistler Film Festival. [Peter Knegt]  
[permalink]   [ filed under Documentary, Industry Moves ]

The Week in Fests | Festival Paris, Giffoni, and Two Korean Fests

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

FESTIVAL PARIS UNDERGOES MAKEOVER
Revamped fest a "metro feast for cinephiles"

KOREAN FESTS SET PROGRAMS
CinDi, Chungmuro set their second-year slates.

GIFFONI FEST 'A CINEPHILE SUMMER CAMP'
Small Italian town holds event "resembling the Children's Crusade"

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

iW NEWS | "Milton Glaser" For Arthouse

Documentary coverage sponsored by SnagFilms.

Arthouse Films announced that it has acquired the Worldwide rights to the Wendy Key's documentary, "Milton Glaser: To Inform and Delight." Glaser was best known for co-founding New York Magazine and for his iconic poster designs. "We are thrilled to work with the filmmakers on this release," said Arthouse Films' Lily Bright and David Koh in a joint statement. "Milton Glaser's designs are recognizable worldwide and now audiences will have a chance to see the wit, intelligence and generosity of the man behind the iconic work." Arthouse Films plans a theatrical release next year followed by a DVD release on its label. Arthouse Films will also distribute through its output deals with Mongrel Media in Canada, Revolver Entertainment in the UK, Madman Entertainment in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, and Apple's iTunes. The deal was negotiated by David Koh and Lilly Bright, on behalf of Arthouse Films and Curiously Bright Entertainment, along with film producer Leon Falk and Wendy Keys, on behalf of the Producers and Checkerboard Films. [Peter Knegt]  
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions, Documentary ]

iW NEWS | Sundance Institute Announces Annenberg Fellows

The Sundance Institute has announced the selection of seven filmmakers as the 2008 Annenberg Film Fellows. In its fifth year, the Annenberg Film Fellows Program has helped "provide direct financial support towards the realization of the Fellows' projects." Each of the recipients are given a living stipend or grant to support the further development of their projects. This year's Fellows are Fellipe Barbosa, Frank Budgen, Daniel Casey, John Magary, Moon Molson, Lara Foot Newton and Gerard Marx. "We are thrilled to provide these seven independent filmmakers from the June Directors Lab with a continuum of support," said Michelle Satter, Founding Director of the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program, in a statement. "As recipients of Annenberg Film Fellowships, these uniquely talented filmmakers will receive critical funding toward realizing the next steps of their projects. At a time of great change in the independent film industry, we strongly believe that these grants can provide creative momentum and help leverage the possibilities for future production financing." [Peter Knegt]  
[permalink]   [ filed under Honors ]

iW NEWS | Strand Chooses "Connor"

North American rights to Luke Eberl's "Choose Connor" have been acquired by Strand Releasing. The film, fresh from Outfest in Los Angeles, is described as a political thriller. It stars Steven Weber and Alex Linx. Making his feature directing debut, Eberl starred as an actor in Tim Burton's "Planet of the Apes" and also had a role in Clint Eastwood's "Letters from Iwo Jima." Jon Gerrans from Strand negotiated the deal with Lev Ginsburg of Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren & Richman, L.L.P. on behalf of Eberl. "Choose Connor" also screened at the Rome, Woodstock and Cinevegas film festivals. In the film, a Congressman (Weber) meets a teenaged student (Linz) who becomes involved in a web of political intrigue. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions ]

HR | A Cannes of worms for indie films

In the Hollywood Reporter, Gregg Goldstein takes a closer look at Steven Soderbergh's "Che," James Gray's "Two Lovers" and Charlie Kaufman's "Synecdoche, New York," all from Cannes. "It took two months for the $20 million-plus 'Synecdoche' to land a U.S. distribution deal with Sony Pictures Classics. 2929 Prods. gave up on finding an outside buyer for its $12 million 'Lovers', deciding to release it through sister company Magnolia Pictures," he reports. "And Soderbergh's $65 million 'Che' is still searching for a home." 
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions ]

NYT | No Film Distributor? Then D.I.Y.

"With their hopes for conventional movie deals increasingly dead on arrival, more and more indie filmmakers are opting for a do-it-yourself model: self-distribution, once the route of the desperate, reckless or defiant, has become an increasingly attractive option for movies otherwise deprived of theatrical exhibition," reports John Anderson in the New York Times.  
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

iW BOT UPDATE | "Man On" Top

Box Office coverage presented by Rentrak Theatrical

James Marsh's "Man on Wire" from Magnolia Pictures is atop the weekly iW BOT box office chart, which was published this afternoon. The film $51,392 from 2 runs. More in this week's box office column, which was published last night.  
[permalink]   [ filed under Box Office ]

NYT | A Lord of Dogtown Re-emerges

The X Games are scheduled to begin in Los Angeles on Thursday, and Jay Adams, whose skateboarding career has been the subject of two major films, wants to attend. Matt Higgins reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under People ]

iW NEWS | Locarno Festival to Salute the Late Youssef Chahine

Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine, who died over the weekend, will be saluted at this year's Locarno International Film Festival with a special screening of "Al Massir" ("Destiny") on Thursday August 7. Festival artistic director Frederic Maire said in a statement, "This extraordinary storyteller, who ranged across film genres so brilliantly, commanded admiration also for the courage of the positions he took, insisting on the importance of tolerance. Throughout the length of his career, and his rich oeuvre, Chahine displayed a unique combination of political outrage and pleasure in narrative. He was a great auteur and a formidable provocateur." A complete Chahine retrospective was presented at the Locarno festival in 1996. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals, World Cinema ]

AFP | Bangkok film festival to go ahead despite graft scandal

The programme was not announced, but artistic director Yongyoot Thongkongtoon said the Coen brothers' new film "Burn After Reading" and a documentary about Argentine football legend Diego Maradona would likely make the final line-up. AFP reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

AFP | Legendary Egyptian filmmaker Chahine dies

Veteran Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine, Arab cinema's most celebrated director, died on Sunday aged 82 after several weeks in a coma. Riad Abou Awad reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under People ]

iW NEWS | Corrected: "Vicious Circle" Takes Best Feature at NY Latino Fest

The New York premiere of Paul Boyd's feature "Vicious Circle" won the best film prize at the New York International Latino Film Festival over the weekend, capping the six-day event. Set in modern-day Venice, CA, the film is described as a "tragic punk rock Latino love story," with a "teenage Romeo and Juliet murder mystery twist." "La Americana" by Nicholas Bruckman and co-director John Mattiuzzi and "Transvestites Also Cry" by Sebastiano d'Ayala Valva tied for best documentary, while [correction] Juan Manuel Betancourt won the best short award for "Rojo Red" and the Heineken Red Star Award for a film the pushes the envelope went to [correction] Cristobal Valderrama for "Malta Con Huevo." [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

iW NEWS | "Cake Eaters" Among Stony Brook Winners

The 13th Annual Stony Brook Film Festival announced its award winners during a reception on Saturday. Mary Stuart Masterson's directorial debut, "The Cake Eaters," starring Kristen Stewart and Aaron Stanford, won the jury's Best Feature prize, while Krisztina Goda's "Children of Glory" was the audience's Best Feature choice. Harun Mehmedinovic's "In the Name of the Son" won the jury's Best Short prize, Bill Block's "The Drummer" was the audience's choice or Best Short, and Kari Skogland's "The Stone Angel," starring Ellen Burstyn and Ellen Page, won the award for Achievement in Filmmaking. The awards were presented by film critic John Anderson following a screening of Gregory MacKenzie's "Camille," starring Sienna Miller and James Franco. [Peter Knegt] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

iW NEWS | Weekend Estimates: "Man On Wire" Does the Specialty box office High Flying Act

James Marsh's doc "Man on Wire" headed the specialty-focused iW BOT over the weekend, according to indieWIRE Box Office Tracking (iW BOT) estimates from Rentrak this afternoon. The Magnolia release managed an enviable $48,000 on two screens ($24,000 average). Fellow Sundance '08 alum "American Teen" by Nanette Burstein, meanwhile, opened on five screens, averaging $8,600 from an estimated $43,000 gross. Miramax's "Brideshead Revisited" launched at 33 locations, averaging $10,061 from a $332,000 weekend take, while the Weinstein's "Boy A" scraped together $11,405 from two venues ($5,702 average). Last week's specialty topper "Transsiberian" took in $26,508 on two screens, averaging $13,254, an approximately 23 per cent decline from it's opening. And Sony Classics' "Baghead" grossed $17,208 from seven locations, for a $2,458 average, while "Lou Reed's Berlin" crooned to a $4,067 weekend take from two screens for a slow $2,034 average, a decline of about 50 per cent from the previous week. indieWIRE will publish its weekly box office column Monday night and final weekend numbers for specialty and limited release films on Tuesday. Get the latest in the indieWIRE Box Office section. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]