Festivals & Events
Festivals & Events
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Sundance Announces 2016 Festival Premieres, Spotlight, Kids and Special Events
The internet dreaming of itself via the images of Werner Herzog; Kenneth Lonergan’s follow-up to one of the best films of the decade, Margaret; the directorial debut of longtime independent producer, screenwriter, and former studio head, James Schamus — these are just three highlights unveiled today by the Sundance Film Festival as it announces the final selections of the 2016 edition. Among other films I took immediate note of: new pictures by Filmmaker favorites Ira Sachs, Joshua Marston, Kelly Reichardt, Jeremy Saulnier, Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady, and Todd Solondz — the latter a sequel to one of the most […]
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Early Adopters or Canaries In a Coal Mine? Niall McKay at the Screen Forward Labs
At the opening party for the Irish Broadway musical, Once, as my wife Marissa and I sucked down free drinks and hors d’oeuvres in a swanky Manhattan penthouse, we got the idea for creating a series about people in New York who go to events and screenings for the free food and drink. We called it On The Lig, an Irish/English expression for being “on the mooch.” Fast forward three years, one Kickstarter campaign and eight shooting days later and we have a wonderful new pilot. Starring Jonny Hopkins (The Leftovers, Public Morals and Kick-Ass) and John Keating (Boardwalk Empire, The […]
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Sundance Announces 45 Selections for Expanded 10th Anniversary New Frontier 2016 Edition
Sundance’s always vibrant New Frontier celebrates its 10th anniversary this year with an expanded program, announced today, of 30 virtual reality experiences, 11 installations, three feature films and one live performance. Expanding from last year’s Claim Jumper home base to include presentations at The Gateway, Swede Alley and the festival’s Homebase, New Frontiers will also offer viewers this year the opportunity to view VR work on mobile headsets throughout the festival. Says Sundance Film Festival Senior Programmer and Chief Curator, New Frontier, Shari Frilot, in a press release, “This year’s program provides a sensory experience that powerfully transports audiences to […]
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Sundance Announces U.S. Competition, World Competition and NEXT Slates
Following on the previously announced Midnight slate, Sundance has announced the 65 titles comprising its competition and NEXT slates. More films to be announced soon, but the 65 to sort through here are more than enough to investigate in the meantime. Some quickly noted highlights: Actress documentarian Robert Greene graduates to Sundance with his fourth feature Kate Plays Christine, and two films from recent 25 New Faces, Anna Rose Holmer and Bernardo Britto. U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION As You Are / U.S.A. (Director: Miles Joris-Peyrafitte, Screenwriters: Miles Joris-Peyrafitte, Madison Harrison) — As You Are is the telling and retelling of a relationship between three teenagers as it traces the […]
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Watch: Todd Haynes, Helen Mirren, Robert Redford and Steve Golin at the Gothams
Last night’s Gotham Independent Film Awards were highlighted by a series of tributes to luminaries of the film world. We’ve posted both the intros and acceptance speeches. Let’s start with Robert De Niro’s tribute to Helen Mirren: And the wonderful Helen Mirren, taking De Niro’s lusty testimonial in stride: Next up we have Dan Rather, who quotes Archibald MacLeish (!) while paying tribute to Robert Redford… But not until this part of the ceremony, which includes Redford’s speech, a probing look back at his career. Julianne Moore understandably gushed when introducing Todd Haynes: And Haynes followed up with a speech […]
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Spotlight Tops the 25th Gotham Independent Film Awards
Here are the winners from last night’s Gotham Independent Film Awards; later in the day, we’ll share a full array of clips from the ceremony. For now, the winners from last night’s ceremony; Spotlight took the lead with three awards, followed closely by Tangerine with two. Best Feature Spotlight Best Actress Bel Powley as Minnie Goetze The Diary of a Teenage Girl Breakthrough Series – Longform Mr. Robot Best Actor Paul Dano as Brian Wilson Love & Mercy Best Documentary The Look of Silence Director: Joshua Oppenheimer Audience Award Tangerine The First Gotham Appreciation Award Ellen Cotter of Angelika Film Center Theaters Special […]
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Slamdance Announces 2016 Narrative and Documentary Competition Films
Slamdance today announced the 20 films that comprise its 2016 Narrative and Documentary Competition selections. A total of 16 premieres — 12 World, three North American and one U.S. — will be presented January 22 – 28 at the festival’s usual digs atop mainstream at the Treasure Mountain Inn, Park City, Utah. Said co-founder and Slamdance President Peter Baxter in a statement, “The standard of DIY filmmaking around the world is the highest we’ve seen, and the diversity of storytelling is the most we’ve experienced. With a record breaking number of submissions to select from, the narrative and documentary feature […]
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Tenth Annual “Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You” Series at MoMA December 11-14
The annual Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You Screening Series, co-presented by The Museum of Modern Art, Filmmaker Magazine, and IFP kicks off December 11th at MoMA. The series, now in its tenth year, singles out outstanding films from the film festival circuit that are currently not available in theaters and deserve a wider audience. Each film will screen twice at MoMA from December 11-14. Most screenings will be followed by Q & A’s with the directors and additional talent. The selected films are Bloomin Mud Shuffle, directed by Frank V. Ross; Bob and the Trees, directed by Diego Ongaro; H., directed by Daniel […]
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A Holistic Approach to Documentary Success: Four Key Takeaways from DOC NYC
With more than 200 films and events, DOC NYC has become the largest documentary film festival in the United States. It has also become a must-stop for emerging and established filmmakers who want to deepen their craft through DOC NYC PRO, a series of panels and master classes with industry leaders. I attended the festival this week and my colleague Cheree Dillon and I live-blogged every panel for The D-Word, the worldwide online community for documentary filmmakers. What I came away with were four important things emerging documentary filmmaker should learn (and every veteran should remind themselves of as well!) in […]
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DOC NYC: Lessons and Takeaways from a Week of Masterclasses
An added feature of the 2015 DOC NYC festival was the DOC NYC PRO Conference, which included a weekend of masterclasses dedicated to the work process in cinematography, animation, editing, and building your film’s sound with the composer. Over 20 professionals touched upon the nuts and bolts of each craft while dialing into the importance of building the relationship with their director as a key element in serving the story. Below are some of the highlights the professionals shared with the audience. Use Your Camera with Intention. Mira Chang of Half The Sky said she always has a checklist of […]
