Festivals & Events
Festivals & Events
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Mayor Bloomberg, Joana Vicente and Questlove Open Made in NY Media Center by IFP
This morning, Mayor Bloomberg and IFP’s Executive Director Joana Vicente kicked off the launch of the Made in NY Media Center by IFP alongside the Center’s Founding Artist in Residence, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. At the event, Mayor Bloomberg said, “The Made in NY Media Center by IFP continues the work this administration has done to diversify New York City’s economy and provide access to affordable work space. New technologies and distribution platforms are appearing every day, and entrepreneurs, growing businesses and creative individuals will have the chance to harness their skills with the educational resources provided by the Media Center […]
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Hacking Arts – Using Technology To Connect With Your Audience
Hacking Arts, a two-day event to “explore the intersection of arts and entertainment, technology and entrepreneurship” was held this last weekend at MIT’s Media Lab. The first day consisted of panels and product demos, while the rest of the event was devoted to participants working together to come up with new ideas in various topic areas, from mobile to art education. The panel sessions of the first day had a strong tilt towards art distribution and finding and interacting with your audience in the connected world. The music panel, titled “Social Sound: Music Fans Get Involved,” featured Kristen Bender from […]
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San Sebastian Critics Notebook: Embracing 3D
The debate about the use and popularity of 3D in cinemas may be raging on but the San Sebastián International Film Festival has certainly embraced the format this year – and proved that content is the key to success. The Spanish festival opened with Juan José Campanella’s 3D animated family delight Foosball (Metegol), a comedy adventure which sees a soccer table champ take on a egotistical star with the help of his table-top team. The line-up also featured Alfonso Cuaron’s breathtakingly immersive space thriller Gravity midweek and closed with Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s endlessly inventive The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet. Jeunet’s film is an adaptation of the book by Reif […]
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Leiden International Film Festival Announces New US Indie Competition
The Leiden International Film Festival, the fastest growing film festival in the Netherlands, is today exclusively announcing via Filmmaker the inaugural year of its American Indie Competition, which features an incredibly robust slate of U.S. independent fare from the past 12 months. The lineup includes a number of films from “25 New Faces” alumni including David Lowery’s Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station, Andrew Bujalski’s Computer Chess and Destin Cretton’s Short Term 12. In a press release, the festival stated, “Leiden functioning as a gateway to Europe is fortified by its historical connection with the United States. Before sailing off to the promised land, the […]
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“25 New Faces” Screening Next Wednesday at NYC’s IFC Center
Last year, Filmmaker organized a nationwide tour of “25 New Faces” screenings that included a very enjoyable, sold-out screening at IFC Center in Manhattan. This year, there is another tour (now sponsored by Sony Creative Software and ARRI) and we are very happy to be having another event at IFC Center, which will take place next Wednesday, October 2, at 8pm. Tickets are available here, and I will be there moderating a Q&A with a group of filmmakers who are showing a really excellent slate of shorts that night, while also joining in will be other 2013 alums plus some special guests. (Last year, Blue Valentine director […]
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Critics Notebook: 2013 Urbanworld Film Festival
Among the winners at last weekend’s Urbanworld Film Festival, Yoruba Richen’s The New Black, which took home the competition prize for best documentary, was the standout of the festival’s largest slate in its 17-year history. A probing look in the mirror, it confronts homophobia in the black community and its most important institutions (the church) through the prism of Maryland’s landmark passage of gay marriage during last year’s election. Richen talks to black Marylanders from all walks of life and activists on both sides of the ballot issue, from Conservative clergyman to LGBT volunteers, coaxing incredible candor from most of […]
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NYFF Critics Notebook: Manakamana, What Now? Remind Me, Norte, The End Of History
As the last stop on the fall festival circuit affecting awards season hysteria and odds, the New York Film Festival tends to draw most of its coverage for already-in-discussion main slate titles. This year there were a record 36 films in that section, with the expanded number seemingly designed to include more crowdpleasing filler (Richard Curtis’ About Time) and Hollywood titles that can serve as reliable draws (Nebraska, Inside Llewyn Davis). That’s not to say the festival’s 51st installment doesn’t still serve as a festival-of-festivals cross-section of notable recent titles of the hard sell type, but more of them than […]
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These Are a Few of My Favorite Things: New York Film Festival I
I have both good and bad news about the New York Film Festival (September 27-October 13). First, the good news: For the most part, the films in this impressive, carefully balanced program are very good. And the bad: The fest has become so expansive that quantity just may overshadow quality. A bright, high-energy, and well-regarded expert in all things cinema, Kent Jones debuts as head of the NYFF. For the first time in its 51 years, the composition of the selection committee has been, wisely, revised. Traditionally it was guided by the fest director, always a professional programmer, but rounded […]
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Seed&Spark’s WestFest: Streaming to Theaters
Both a selective crowdfunding site and curated streaming platform, Seed&Spark has proven itself a unique enclave for filmmakers and viewers since its inception in 2012. From October 1-3, the hybrid will fully realize its “Cinema” component with a three-part film program at The HUB LA. Screening a total of six films from the recently launched Conversation series, the festival calls upon S&S founder Emily Best, Sundance programmer Christine Davila, and Twitch Film editor Ben Umstead to bring their selections to a live format. Filmmaker spoke with Seed&Spark’s director of content, Amanda Trokan, about the unprecedented event, and bridging the gap between online and […]
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Independent Film Week Photo Diary
One of the great things about working with filmmakers is often copious documentation of events. Which is great, because IFP’s 35th annual Independent Film Week went by in a blur for most of us staff. I’ve had a lot of fun digging through our archives and Instagram finding some gems from last week to share with you, to try and convey the incredible and hard-working week that it was. Photos by (in order): Rose Vincelli Gustine; Charlotte McClure (IFP Conference Assistant); Tenzin […]
