The Week in Fests | Argentine Market, Norwegian Lineup and Hopper Exhibition

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

MAR DEL PLATA TO OPEN MARKET
Argentine fest will debut "Intercine," a market for "showcasing domestic pics."

NORWEGIAN FEST SETS SLATE
The festival will run in Haugesund, Norway, August 16-23.

THE DENNIS HOPPER FILM FESTIVAL
Cinematheque Francaise in Paris plans Hopper exhibition.

More at Variety's Festival Central 
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IW NEWS | Sony Classics Planning '09 Release for Boden & Fleck's "Sugar"

Sony Pictures Classics is planning a theatrical release pegged to the '09 baseball season for Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden's "Sugar. The company formally announced today the deal for North American and Latin American Distribution rights to the HBO film, which debuted in competition at this year's Sundance Film Festival. It was produced by Paul Mezey, Jamie Patricof, and Jeremy Kipp; William Morris' Rena Ronson brokered the pact. [Eugene Hernandez]  
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iW NEWS | Latinbeat To "Kill Them All"

The 11th Latinbeat, running at the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater, has announced Esteban Schroeder's "Kill Them All" as their opening night film. Based on real events, "Kill Them All" follows an Uruguayan human rights prosecutor who has to look into her own family's role in Uryguay's military past whan a notorious Chilean biochemical engineer is kidnapped. The film will screen on Friday, September 5, 2008, leading into a newly expanded nine day schedule of Latinbeat. The 2008 edition will highlight 28 films from ten Latin American countries, with sidebars focusing on Chile, Brazil and Puerto Rico, including the New York premiere of the latest film by Jacobo Morales, "Angel." [Peter Knegt]  
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iW NEWS | Hollyshorts To Honor Lynch, Haggis, Garces

The 4th Annual HollyShorts Film Festival announced that three special awards that will be presented at the opening night celebration, which takes place tonight Egyptian theatre in Hollywood. David Lynch will be honored with the Visionary Award, Paul Haggis will be honored with the Outstanding Achievement in Film Award, and actress Paula Garces will receive the HollyShorts Future Star Award. The event will also feature a number of short film projects, including "Hole in the Paper Sky," produced by and starring Jessica Biel and directed by Bill Purple, "Nosebleed," starring David Arquette and directed by Jeff Vespa, as well as the Hollywood premiere of actor Josh Brolin's short film "X." The festival runs August 7-10, 2008. [Peter Knegt]  
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AFP | Jonathan Demme to chair jury at San Sebastian film festival

Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme will chair the jury at next month's San Sebastian Film Festival as well as presenting an unfinished work on Canadian rock star Neil Young, organisers said Thursday. AFP reports. 
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AP | Federal investigators drop Ledger drug inquiry

DEA investigators suspect the painkillers found in Ledger's system, oxycodone and hydrocodone, were obtained with phony prescriptions or other illegal means. Oxycodone is sold as OxyContin and hydrocodone as Vicodin. Tom Hays reports. 
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iW NEWS | "Sister Dorothy" Leads Woods Hole Winners

The Woods Hole Film Festival announced the winners of its 17th annual festival, with Daniel Judge's "They Killed Sister Dorothy" winning both Best Documentary and the Best of the Fest Audience Award. Tao Ruspoli's "Fix" won the top juried award for Best Feature Drama, while Rocco DeVilliers' "The Flyboys" won the Audience Award for Best Feature Drama. Other winners included Michael O'Connor's "Mountain Top Removal" took the Audience Award for Best Documentary, Rider and Shiloh Strong's "Irish Twins" won Best Short Drama, Christina Voros' "The Ladies" won Best Short Documentary, and Simon Arthur's "Rebel Song" took the Director's Choice Award for Cinematography. Films receiving the New England Emerging Filmmaker awards were "Dribbles" by Thomas and Heidi Tosi for Feature, "Traces of the Trade" by Katrina Browne for Documentary, and "Once Upon a Tide" by Kathleen Frith for Short. [Peter Knegt] 
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iW NEWS | Smith, Greenwald, Allen Headline Independent Film Week

IFP announced today that IFP alumnus filmmakers Kevin Smith and Robert Greenwald, and SnagFilms.com CEO Rick Allen will headline public events during the 30th Annual Independent Film Week. The event will run September 14-19, and, for the first time, will be held at Chelsea's Fashion Institute of Technology. The six-day event consists of the Independent Filmmaker Conference, free screenings of films by IFP alumni and emerging short filmmakers, and the Project Forum, a showcase for works-in-progress. The full schedule of film screenings open to the public during Independent Film Week can be found here. [Peter Knegt]  
[permalink]   [ filed under Events, Festivals ]

iW NEWS | "Body of War," "Captain Abu Raed" Lead Traverse City Awards

The 2008 Traverse City Film Festival, headed by Michael Moore announced their festival awards. Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro's "Body of War" took awards for both Best Documentary and the Audience Award for Best Non-Fiction Film, while Amin Matalqa's "Captain Abu Raed" won both Best of Fest, Fiction Film and the Audience Award for Best Non-Fiction Film. Other winners included "The Youngest Candidate" for Best Non Fiction Film by a New Filmmaker, "Trouble the Water" for Best American Historical Document, "Hamlet 2" for the Firefighters Award for Excellence in Humor, "Frozen River" for Best American Indie Fiction Film, "The Pope's Toilet" for Best Storytelling, "Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame" for the Founders Prize, "The Grocer's Son" for Best Foreign Indie Fiction Film, "Kenny" for Funniest Fiction Feature, "Pray the Devil Back to Hell" for a Special Jury Prize for Non-Fiction Filmmaking, "Bigger, Faster, Stronger" for a Special Jury Prize for Amazing Non-Fiction Film Construction, "Theater of War" for the Stanley Kubrick Prize for Bold and Innovative Filmmaking, and "Tell No One" for the Michigan Film Incentive Award (Should Have Been Shot Here in TC). indieWIRE filed a dispatch from the festival this weekend. [Peter Knegt]  
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INDUSTRY MOVES | Bingham Ray Named SKE President of Creative Affairs

In a restructuring of Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, company president Jim Tauber announced that Bingham Ray has been named President of Creative Affairs. SKE production president Bill Horberg is leaving, effective immediately, for a first-look production deal with the company. Ray, who co-founded October Films in 1991 and then became president of United Artists in 2001, joined SKE as a senior marketing and distribution exec last year. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Industry Moves ]

iW NEWS | Schamus To Be Honored at Woodstock Fest

Focus Features CEO James Schamus will be honored with the Trailblazer Award at the 9th annual Woodstock Film Festival on October 4, 2008. "We are honored and delighted to be presenting James Schamus with the 2008 Trailblazer Award," said Meira Blaustein, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the festival, in a statement. "The award was created with the intention of honoring those who have taken an innovative and transforming approach in the film industry. Mr. Schamus surpasses those objectives." Schamus is also a celebrated screenwriter ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "The Ice Storm") and producer ("Brokeback Mountain"). His latest script, "Taking Woodstock," to be directed by longtime collaborator Ang Lee, begins shooting this month. "I'm touched to be receiving this honor from one of my very favorite film festivals - one that carries on the spirit of adventure and discovery that characterizes its hometown," said Schamus in a statement. During the day leading up to the evening ceremony, there will be an in-person discussion with Schamus at the Festival as well as a retrospective screening. [Peter Knegt]  
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iW NEWS | Asian, Spanish Titles Join Toronto Lineup

The Toronto International Film Festival announced 23 new titles from Asia and from Spanish-speaking filmmakers, screening throughout the festival's different programs. The Asian titles include Priyadarshan's "Kanchivaram," Hirokazu Kore-eda's "Still Walking," Yu Lik-wai's "Plastic City," Takeshi Kitano's "Achilles and the Tortoise," Mamoru Oshii's "The Sky Crawlers," Liu Fendou's "Ocean Flame," Nandita Das's "Firaaq," Phawat Panangkasiri's "In the Shadow of the Naga," Garin Nugroho's "Under The Tree," So Yong Kim's "Treeless Mountain," Adolfo Alix Jr.'s "Adela," Ryosuke Hashiguchi's "All Around Us," and Uberto Pasolini's "Machan." The Spanish-language titles include Daniel Burman's "Empty Nest," Josue Mendez's "Dioses," Gerardo Naranjo's "Voy a Explotar," Jose Luis Cuerda's "Blind Sunflowers," Juan Carlos Tabio's "Horn of Plenty," Carlos Sorin's "The Window," Leonardo de Armas's "Radio Love," Chus Gutierrez's "Return to Hansala," Albert Serra's "Birdsong," and Juan Jose Lozano's "Temoin indesirable." The festival runs September 4-13, 2008. [Peter Knegt] 
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iW NEWS | Korean Province Launches Entertainment Initiative

The Gyeonggi province, which is the center of Korean commerce, is launching an investment fund and comprehensive production support program to promote joint ventures between the Hollywood and Korean entertainment communities. The announcement was made today by Byung Heon Kim, President of Gyeonggi Digital Content Agency (GDCA). Hollywood production companies and content creators, especially those working in animation and visual effects, are eligible to apply for the program when partnering with a Korean entity. Selected partners will benefit from a growing investment fund as well as production and post-production support services in "Hallyuwood," an entertainment complex in the northern Gyeonggi. "The U.S. is widely recognized as having the strongest and most robust system for producing and distributing films, broadcast programming and videogames to a global audience," said GDCA's Kim in a statement. "Our entertainment fund will unite this great Hollywood expertise with Korean creativity and technical know-how to produce new content for all to enjoy." [Peter Knegt]  
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz, Industry Moves ]

iW NEWS | Montreal World Fest Announces Schedule

At a press conference today at the Imperial Theatre in Montreal, programming for the 32nd World Film Festival was announced. The festival has schedule 234 feature films including 105 World or international premieres, including the World premiere of French director Christophe Barratier's "Faubourg 36," which will open the festival on August 21, 2008. In the World Competition program, 20 features will compete, including Stephane Gehami's "En Plein Coeur," Benoit Pilon's "Ce Qu'il Faut Pour Vitre," Ulla Wagner's "L'Invention de la Saucisse au Curry," Goran Markovic's "La Tournee," Manuel Gutierrez Aragon's "Todos Estamos Invitados," Ali Nassar's "Whispering Embers," Patrice Toye's "(N)iemand/Nowhere Man," Paula Hernandez's "Rain," Eitan Green's "Tout Commence a la Mer," Yojiro Takita's "Okuribito," Ryoichi Kimizuka's "Noboy To Watch Over Me," Zhuo Gege's "Les Femmes de Nima," Xavi Puebla's "Bienvenido a Farewell-Gutman," Walter Doehner's "El Viaje de Teo," Paolo Villaluna and Ellen Ramos's "Selda," Daniel Alfredson's "Varg," Suman Mukhopadhyay's "Chaturanga," Matthew Wilder's "Your Name Here," and Arno Dierickx's "Freres de Sang." The festival will also feature retrospectives on Tony Curtis, Alan Ladd Jr., and Kasiko Kawakita, as well as a master class with Brian dePalma. The festival will run August 21-September 1, 2008. [Peter Knegt] 
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iW BOT UPDATE | "Transsiberian" Leads In Third Weekend

Box Office coverage presented by Rentrak Theatrical

Brad Anderson's "Transsiberian" from First Look Studios is atop the weekly iW BOT box office chart, which was published this afternoon. The film $27,000 from 2 runs. More in this week's box office column, which was published last night.  
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iW NEWS | Somerset Acquires "Article VI"

Somerset Films has acquired North American theatrical and DVD rights to Bryan Hall and Jack Donaldson's political documentary "Article VI: Faith, Politics, America." The film examines the overwhelmingly divisive role of religion in American politics. Somerset is planning to release the film just prior to the presidential elections, with September openings in New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. and expanding to up to 400 screens in approximately 200 markets through November. The deal was negotiated between Somerset president Dean C. Hale, and Hall and Donaldson for Wiley Rhodes Productions and Living Biography Media. [Peter Knegt] 
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iW NEWS | "Who Does She Think" For Artistic License

Artistic License Films has acquired theatrical rights to director Pamela Tanner Boll's documentary "Who Does She Think She Is?" The film looks at the "mothering-versus-working choice" faced particularly by American women artists. Artistic License will open the film in October at The Angelika in New York, and an as-yet-undetermined theatre in Los Angeles. The deal was negotiated by Sande Zeig for Artistic License Films and Pamela Tanner Boll on behalf of Mystic Artists, Ltd. [Peter Knegt]  
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iW NEWS | Palm Springs Shortfest Announces LIneup

The 2008 Palm Springs International ShortFest has announced its programming of 317 films, selected from a record of more than 2,700 worldwide entries. The festival will showcase 53 World Premieres, 47 North American Premieres and 24 U.S. Premieres. "This year's ShortFest line-up reflects a return to more personal themes in the world of short film storytelling, and a move away from the 'big issue' themes of recent years, like the Iraq War, immigration and 9/11," said Festival Director Darryl Macdonald in a statement. "That and the increasingly sophisticated use of technical innovations in the short filmmaking process are the two big stories that emerge from the short film world this year." The selected short films are organized into 51 themed programs covering a variety of genres and themes. Check out the festival's website for a full list of the films. The festival is held from August 21-27, 2008 at the Camelot Theatres in Palm Springs, CA. [Peter Knegt]  
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iW NEWS | Bana "Loves The Beast"

Australian actor Eric Bana is making his directorial debut with "Love The Beast," which will star Bana as himself, following his "love affair" with a 1974 Falcon Coupe. "I am terribly excited about this project," said Bana in a statement. "It has been both fun and incredibly exhausting at the same time and has enabled me to combine two of the things that I love; cars and filmmaking." The film is currently in post-production and scheduled for release early next year. Madman Entertainment has secured the rights to distribute this new Australian feature film. [Peter Knegt] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Production ]

iW NEWS | Weekend Estimates UPDATE: "Transsiberian," "Wire" Lead, "River" Opens Well

Box Office coverage presented by Rentrak Theatrical

Brad Anderson's "Transsiberian" led the specialty-focused iW BOT over the weekend, according to indieWIRE Box Office Tracking (iW BOT) estimates from Rentrak this afternoon. First Look's "Transsiberian" managed to take in $30,174 from 2 screens in its third weekend, averaging $15,087. This is actually a slight increase from last weekend's average. Close behind was the second weekend of James Marsh's "Man on Wire," which grossed $50,000 on 4 screens for Magnolia Pictures. The film averaged $12,500 and now stands at $135,000 going into next weekend's significant expansion. The highest opener that reported was Courtney Hunt's "Frozen River." The Sony Pictures Classics release took in $73,322 from 7 screens for a promising $10,475 average. The other two reporting openers were Alex Holdridge's "In Search of a Midnight Kiss," which averaged a decent $7,298 from 2 screens, and Ryuhei Kitamura's "Midnight Meat Train," which posted the lowest average of any reporting film, wide or limited, averaging just $314 from 102 screens. Among other sophomores, Julian Jarrold's "Brideshead Revisited" averaged $5,284 from 94 locations, while Nanette Burstein's "American Teen" averaged a rather disappointing $4,487 from 39 screens. 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. [Peter Knegt] 
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VAR | Outfest Uncovers "54" Uncut - NY Screenings to Follow

"These days, I'm feeling guiltier than usual about one of my all-time guilty pleasures," writes Variety's Peter Debruge, on the trade paper's Thompson on Hollywood blog, "The movie is Mark Christopher's "54," which is back from the dead via a bootleg director's cut that screened below the radar at Outfest a couple weeks back (GOOD NEWS: Landmark will revive it for two more screenings later this month, tentatively midnight on Aug. 15 and 16 in NYC at the Sunshine Cinema)."  
[permalink]   [ filed under Movies, Queer Cinema ]

NYT | A Phoenix of a Film Exhumes a Punk Prince

"It's taken 28 years longer than planned, but thanks to a new biopic and an unlikely Germs reunion, [Darby] Crash might finally become the mythical star that he sacrificed everything to be," writes Marc Spitz, in a New York Times profile today, looking at Rodger Grossman's film about Crash and the Germs, "What We Do Is Secret." 
[permalink]   [ filed under Movies ]