6300 Results for “Open ”
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The Forgiveness of Blood — A Hammer to Nail Review
(The Forgiveness of Blood is being distributed by Sundance Selects and comes to theaters on February 24, 2012. It world premiered at the 2011 Berlin International Film Festival. NOTE: This review was first posted at Hammer to Nail in conjunction with its screening at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.) The future of American independent filmmaking may not lie in America at all. In recent years, a number of filmmakers have turned their eyes away from the complexities of 21st century American life and toward the world beyond our national borders. The decision to engage another culture through filmmaking, to […]
by Tom Hall on Feb 23, 2012 -
SHORT WATCH: HAMMER TO NAIL WINNER “ONCE IT STARTED IT COULD NOT END OTHERWISE”
Over at Hammer to Nail, Michael Tully has announced the winner for the inaugural edition of his monthly Short Film Contest. This month’s winner, Kelly Sears’ Once It Started It Could Not End Otherwise, is available to watch online, and it’s unforgettable; a nightmare-ish collage of refracted high school memories, manipulated yearbook photos, and an escalating sense of dread. You can stream Once It Started It Could Not End Otherwise over at Vimeo. My advice – don’t watch it at work unless you want your coworkers to see your terrified face. Previously supported by Rooftop’s Filmmakers’ Fund, Sears’ short was […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Feb 22, 2012 -
IFP ANNOUNCES INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRODUCERS
The Independent Feature Project is now accepting applications for two of its international programs. The Cannes Producer’s Network, a week-long immersion program, runs concurrently with the Cannes International Film Festival in May. The program is specifically designed for experienced producers looking to build their international networks and share expertise on the international production, financing, and packaging marketplace. Recent participants have included Howard Gertler (Shortbus), Anita Onadine & Lance Weiler (Head Trauma, Pandemic), Mike Ryan (Choke), Susan Stover (Laurel Canyon), and Ron Simons (Gun Hill Road, Night Catches Us). To apply, please send a resume and one-page letter of interest to […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Feb 22, 2012 -
Director Marshall Curry on Racing Dreams
Ask a filmmaker how to go about making your first film, and 99% of them will impart the easier-said-than-done advice, “Just go and make it.” The technology is there, filming and editing equipment have never been more affordable, and the internet has broken down the barriers between filmmakers and distributors. Few of those filmmakers, however, can give that advice as genuinely as Marshall Curry, who did just that with remarkable results. While working at a New York multimedia design firm, Curry decided to pursue a latent desire to make documentary films. With no prior experience in filmmaking, he bought a […]
by Daniel James Scott on Feb 22, 2012 -
FRANCINE AT THE BERLINALE
We made it to Berlin and back in one piece. Melanie and I were at the Berlinale for the world premiere of Francine, our first narrative feature starring Melissa Leo. We couldn’t have possibly predicted the response to the film, which has been overwhelmingly positive. Francine showed in the festival’s Forum section, and sold out all four of its screenings before we even premiered. Melissa made the trip out to Berlin, and we were fortunate enough to have had several lively and very engaged Q&A sessions. Seeing the film together for the first time with an audience, especially after a […]
by Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky on Feb 21, 2012 -
Director Jeff Kusama-Hinte on Charlotte
We are filmmakers. We are artisans. Or so we forget. With filmmaking so often abstracted from the actual work of making a film, so enmeshed in conversations about new models and plans and strategies, we sometimes lose touch with what should be the main reason we make movies in the first place: to take pride in works of art made beautifully and with love. It is precisely the love of artisanal creation that is celebrated in Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte’s Charlotte: A Wooden Boat Story, a verite doc chronicling the making of a 50-foot gaff rigged schooner, “Charlotte,” by a team of […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 20, 2012 -
CALL ME BERLINALE: A KUCHU CHRONICLE
It’s opening night of the 62nd Berlinale, and we’re tottering down the gleaming red carpet, tipsy with exhaustion after a marathon three-week final push to finish our documentary Call Me Kuchu for its world premiere at the festival. The black tie affair has women dripping in mink and jewels, and men tightly bound in waistcoats and cummerbunds. Just 48 hours prior, we were dripping in sweat and bound by a serious time crunch as we raced to the airport, gripping two newly-minted HDCAMs, still toasty-warm from the tape deck. Our run at the Berlinale marks the culmination of two years documenting the work […]
by Malika Zouhali-Worrall and Katy Fairfax Wright on Feb 17, 2012 -
Lady Vengeance: Trailer Happy, February 2012
Trailers have the ability to psyche us up, freak us out, turn us off, and lead us very, very astray, but the heightened anticipation (they don’t call them teasers for nothing) is part of the fun, regardless of how accurate a representation of the film that cleverly constructed little bugger ends up being in the end. Here’s a little commentary on a selection of recent genre trailers; let’s both judge a book by its cover and appraise the cover itself. THE SNOWTOWN MURDERS (Justin Kurzel, in theaters March 2nd) I always feel wary of trailers that start off […]
by Farihah Zaman on Feb 17, 2012 -
Jess + Moss — A Hammer to Nail Review
(Jess + Moss world premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. It opens theatrically at the reRun Gastropub in New York City on Friday, February 17, 2012. If you are not in NYC, don’t worry, as it is now available on VOD at the following outlets: YouTube, iTunes, Sundance Now, and Amazon. Visit the film’s official website to learn more.) While there are many pressing existential questions, to my mind, this is one of the most significant: can one make a truly effective film about aimlessness and boredom without that film becoming excruciatingly aimless and boring in its own right? […]
by Michael Tully on Feb 16, 2012 -
CASSIDY AND SHATZKY’S “FRANCINE” DEBUTS IN BERLIN
David Rooney’s Hollywood Reporter review of Brian Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky’s tough, piercing American independent character drama Francine, which premiered this week in Berlin, is masterful. As noted also by Jeffrey Wells, Rooney approaches the film on its own terms, and distills in his prose strengths that would be ignored or misconstrued by another critic. From the review: A minimalist, image-based character study that is almost impossibly fragile and yet emotionally robust, Francine is a legitimate discovery. It’s propelled by Melissa Leo’s remarkable title-role performance, rigorous in its honesty and unimpeded by even a scrap of vanity. Made on a […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 15, 2012
