SFFILM has announced the 17 recipients for the 2023 SFFILM Rainin Grant, awarded in partnership with the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, which includes $425,000 in funding and professional support for narrative projects at different stages of production. From the press release: The SFFILM Rainin Grant program is the largest granting body for independent narrative feature films in the US, and supports films that address social justice issues—the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges—in a positive and meaningful way through plot, character, theme, or setting. Awards are made to multiple projects once a year, for screenwriting, development, and post-production. Recipients are offered […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Nov 21, 2023Cinema Eye Honors announced its nominations today for the 17th annual awards ceremony, to be held on January 12, 2024 at the New York Academy of Medicine. As the press release notes, “Kokomo City, the debut feature from D. Smith led all nominees with six nominations. Mstyslav Chernov’s 20 Days in Mariupol, Sam Green’s 32 Sounds and Maite Alberdi’s The Eternal Memory each received five nominations. All four films are nominated for Outstanding Nonfiction Feature, where they are joined by Kaouther Ben Hania’s Four Daughters, Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson’s Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project and Davis Guggenheim’s […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Nov 16, 2023Directors Amy Bench and Annie Silverstein (one of Filmmaker‘s 2014 25 New Faces) have collaborated on the short doc Breaking Silence, which premieres today at DOC NYC before release on the PBS app beginning November 15. Winner of both a Jury and Audience Award at SXSW 2023, as well as Best Documentary Short awards at the Atlanta and Oak Cliff Film Festivals, the film is, in the words of the filmmakers, “a verité portrait of Walker and Leslie Estes, a deaf father and CODA daughter from Baton Rouge, LA, who work together upon Leslie’s release from prison—driven by their shared experiences […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Nov 10, 2023Kino Lorber, a leading name in independent film distribution for over 45 years, has launched Kino Film Collection, a new streaming service available in the U.S. on the Amazon Service via Prime Video Channels for $5.99 per month. As their press release states, “The Collection will feature new Kino releases fresh from theaters, along with hundreds of films from its expansive library of more than 4,000 titles, many now streaming for the first time.” Highlights now available on the service or soon to be added include notable titles Filmmaker has covered over the years, such as Andrew Bujalski’s Computer Chess, […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Nov 6, 2023Written by critic Nick Pinkerton, Sean Price Williams’s directorial solo feature debut, The Sweet East, enters limited release from Utopia on Dec. 1. The trailer captures the comedy’s scrappy, often-scabrous nature. Click here to read Vadim Rizov’s review from Cannes and here to read Jordan Cronk’s interview with Pinkerton and Williams.
by Filmmaker Staff on Nov 2, 2023Sundance Institute announced today the 2023 lab fellows selected for their 10th Episodic Lab program, taking place at the Sundance Resort in Sundance, Utah. The selected eight artists are Daniela Bailes (The Letters), Elaine Hsieh Chou (Get Home Safe), Marissa Díaz (Cochinas), Sam Dunnewold (Guts), Laurie Hartung (Rabbit Hole), Farah Merani (The Painted Muse), Sylvia-Anne Parker (Blackbirds) and Hernando Cortes Watson (Horsepower). From the press release: Their eight projects include themes that explore family secrets, vengeance, sex positivity, magic, revolutionaries, and world-class stallions. Designed to bring together early-career writers with an original series IP that has not yet been produced, […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Nov 2, 2023NAB Show New York is where thousands of just-like-you broadcast, media and entertainment professionals gather to access pivotal insight and get hands-on. With an immersive show floor experience, you’ll discover cutting-edge products from 200+ exhibitors with the opportunity to ask vendors questions in person. Refine your understanding of the latest industry trends and techniques. Network with your peers and the pros alike. It all comes together here. https:/nabshow.com/newyork2023/
by Filmmaker Staff on Nov 1, 2023A passion for cinema and its most well-known and iconic action stars of the past decades, including Bruce Lee, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Sylvester Stallone and Tom Cruise. A passion that at first nurtures a desire to imitate, but then finds an organic landing place with the creation of an original film character Donato Lecce plays in a film he self-produces: Doran Eccel. But that’s not all. Donato—a martial arts expert and profound connoisseur of Eastern philosophy—is an multi-hyphenate talent, self-producing several artistic projects in fields from music to publishing to cinema. All revolving around the figure of a fictional character—Doran […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Oct 30, 2023Good Condition is an eight-minute meditation on loneliness, technology and new beginnings. It marks the second collaboration between filmmakers Frank Mosley and Hugo De Sousa after their 2022 comedy short film, The Event, in which a filmmaker wakes up his roommate in the middle of the night to ask why he hasn’t watched his short film. This time, they embark on an eerie trip to the suburbs, following a melancholy man named Barry (Hugo De Sousa) trying to complete a transaction with a ghostly figure who keeps evading him. Good Condition premiered at Aspen ShortFest and Fantasia earlier this year, and […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Oct 26, 2023Good Condition is an eight-minute meditation on loneliness, technology and new beginnings. It marks the second collaboration between filmmakers Frank Mosley and Hugo De Sousa after their 2022 comedy short film The Event. This time, they embark on an eerie trip to the suburbs, following a melancholy man named Barry (Hugo De Sousa) trying to complete a transaction with a ghostly figure that keeps evading him. Good Condition premiered at Aspen ShortFest and Fantasia earlier this year, and will finish its run this November at the Cucalorus Film Festival. Click here to read Mosley and De Sousa’s interview with Patrick […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Oct 26, 2023