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EVERYBODY WINS
On Monday, December 13 at 8pm, Liev Schreiber, Molly Shannon, Rosie Perez and Alec Baldwin will participate in a one-night-only benefit reading of holiday stories written by the self-deprecating humorist David Sedaris at Studio 54 (254 West 54th Street).
Liev Schreiber will read "Dinah, the Christmas Whore," Molly Shannon will read "Christmas Means Giving," Rosie Perez will read "Six to Eight Black Men," and Alec Baldwin will read "Based Upon a True Story."
All proceeds from the staged reading will benefit the children's literacy charity, Everybody Wins. Advance tickets $25 tickets available at boxofficetickets.com or by phone at 800-494-TIXS. $30 tickets at the door, if available.
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 12/3/2004 01:37:06 PM Comments (0)
SOFT & HARD CORE
Richard Kern will be signing copies of his new book SOFT on Thursday, December 9 from 6-8 p.m. at Feature Inc. -- where Kern's photographs are on display through December 11 -- followed by an after party co-hosted by Universe, a division of Rizzoli, and index magazine at the Happy Ending Lounge, at which Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore will d.j.# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 12/2/2004 03:15:27 PM Comments (0)
Alexander Paynes's Sideways (Fox Searchlight) took the prize for Best Feature at last night's IFP Gotham Awards, beating out Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, I Heart Huckabees, Primer and Before Sunset. (Earlier this week Sideways -- which the National Board of Review yesterday named one of 2004's Top Ten Films -- also garnered six nominations for the IFP Los Angeles's Independent Spirit Awards, which will take place in Santa Monica on February 26.)Jonathan Demme's The Agronomist, about the murder of the Haitian journalist and activist Jean Dominique, was awarded Best Documentary at the annual IFP New York gala. The film -- which beat out Fahrenheit 9/11, Bright Leaves, Tarnation and In the Realms of the Unreal -- was released by ThinkFilm and HBO.
The FineLine/HBO release Maria Full of Grace took home award kudos for both Breathrough Actor (Catalina Sandino Moreno) and Best Director (Joshua Marston).
Also feted at the ceremony hosted by Bob Balaban were the creative team behind Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (the Focus Features release was the subject of the Gotham's inaugural Celebrate NY Tribute), along with director Michael Moore (Gotham Filmmaker Award), actor Don Cheadle (Gotham Actor Award), and New Yorker Films' Dan Talbot and director Mike Leigh (who each received Lifetime Achievement Awards).
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 12/2/2004 01:00:22 PM Comments (0)
SUNDANCE PREMIERES, SPECTRUM, MIDNIGHT & FRONTIER
The Sundance Institute today announced the Opening Night film and complete lineup of feature films screening in the Premieres, American Spectrum, Frontier, Park City at Midnight, Special Screenings, and Sundance Collection categories of the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.
According to a press release received today, "The Film Festival opens on January 20 in Park City with the World Premiere of Happy Endings, written and directed by Don Roos and starring Lisa Kudrow, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Tom Arnold. 'A discussion of American values is at the forefront of many of the films this year, and the humor and compassion with which they are explored is unexpected and moving,' said Gilmore. 'Happy Endings is the perfect film to open the Festival this year because it examines the many layers of relationships in American families and shifting values that are at the heart of our country.'"Other Festival highlights include Opening Night in Salt Lake City on January 21, featuring the world premiere of On a Clear Day, a World Cinema Dramatic Competition film, directed by U.K. director Gaby Dellal and starring Peter Mullan and Brenda Blethyn. Screening mid-Festival as the Centerpiece Premiere is Lackawanna Blues, directed by George C. Wolfe, written by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, and starring an ensemble cast headed by S. Epatha Merkerson, Terrence Howard, Jimmy Smits, and Macy Gray.
"In addition to Competitions and Premieres, the Festival presents work in the more adventuresome categories of American Spectrum, Frontier and Park City at Midnight. 'In many ways, the films in these sections represent the outer limits of independent filmmaking and the films we've chosen definitely illustrate a range of work -- from formal experimental work to broader genre pieces,' said John Cooper, Sundance Film Festival Director of Programming.
"For the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, 2,613 feature films were submitted for consideration, including 1,385 U.S. feature films and 1,228 international feature films. These numbers represent an increase from 2004, when 2,485 feature films were submitted, with 1,285 coming from the United States and 1,200 from abroad. This year’s Festival includes films from 26 countries around the globe, including Angola, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Portugal. Festival films screen in 10 sections: Documentary Competition, Dramatic Competition, World Cinema Documentary Competition, and World Cinema Dramatic Competition, Premieres, American Spectrum, Frontier, Park City at Midnight, Special Screenings, and Sundance Collection.
PREMIERES:
3-Iron / South Korea (Director: Kim Ki-duk; Screenwriter: Kim Ki-duk)
A transient young man breaks into empty homes to partake of the vacationing residents' lives for a few days. U.S. Premiere.
The Ballad of Jack and Rose / U.S.A. (Director: Rebecca Miller; Screenwriter: Rebecca Miller)
A father and daughter isolated on their secluded Pacific Northwest island commune grapple with the limits of family and sexuality. World Premiere.
Chumscrubber / U.S.A. (Director: Arie Posin; Screenwriters: Arie Posin and Zach Stanford)
A dark and satirical story about life crumbling in the midst of seemingly idyllic suburbia. World Premiere.
Dear Wendy / Denmark/Germany/France/UK (Director: Thomas Vinterberg; Screenwriter: Lars von Trier)A young boy in a nameless, timeless American town establishes a gang of youthful misfits united by their love of guns and their code of honor. World Premiere.
Drum / South Africa (Director: Zola Maseko; Screenwriter: Jason Filardi)
A hot-shot journalist is swept up in a movement to challenge Apartheid in 1950s South Africa. U.S. Premiere.
Game 6 / U.S.A. (Director: Michael Hoffman; Screenwriter: Don DeLillo)
Combining real and fictional events and centered around the historic 1986 World Series, this is a day-in-the-life snapshot of a playwright who skips his own opening night to watch the momentous game. World Premiere.
The Girl from Monday / U.S.A. (Director: Hal Hartley; Screenwriter: Hal Hartley)A comic drama about a time in the near future when citizens are happy to be property traded on the stock exchange. World Premiere.
Happy Endings / U.S.A. (Director: Don Roos; Screenwriter: Don Roos)
A story that weaves multiple stories to create a witty look at love, family, and the sheer unpredictability of life itself. World Premiere. Opening Night, Park City.
Heights / U.S.A. (Director: Chris Terrio; Screenwriters: Amy Fox and Chris Terrio)
In one twenty-four period, five New Yorkers are challenged to choose their own destinies before the sun comes up the next day. World Premiere.
Inside Deep Throat / U.S.A. (Directors: Fenton Bailey & Randy Barbato)
More than 30 years after Deep Throat's provocative debut, this documentary examines the social legacy of the most profitable film of all-time. World Premiere.
The Jacket / U.S.A. (Director: John Maybury; Screenwriter: Marc Rocco)
A military veteran travels into the future. Witnessing his own death, he is left with questions that could save his life and the lives of those he loves. World Premiere.
Kung Fu Hustle / Hong Kong/China (Director: Stephen Chow; Screenwriters: Tsang Kan Cheong, Stephen Chow, & Chan Man Keung)
In Canton, China in the 1940s, a wannabe gangster aspires to join the notorious "Axe Gang" while an obnoxious landlady and her apparently frail husband exhibit extraordinary powers in defending their turf. U.S. Premiere.
Lackawanna Blues / U.S.A. (Director: George C. Wolfe; Screenwriter: Ruben Santiago-Hudson)
In a story fueled by rhythm and blues, a young boy's life is shaped by love and the stories of the cast of characters in the boarding house where he lives. World Premiere.
Layer Cake / U.K. (Director: Matthew Vaughn; Screenwriter: J.J. Connolly)A successful cocaine dealer planning an early retirement is lured back into business by a love interest and an international drug ring. World Premiere.
Loverboy / U.S.A. (Director: Kevin Bacon; Screenwriter: Hannah Shakespeare; Novel by Victoria Redel)
A neglected daughter becomes a possessive mother in an emotional journey into the heart and mind of a woman who loved too much. World Premiere.
Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School / U.S.A. (Director: Randall Miller; Screenwriters: Randall Miller and Jody Savin)A widowed man's life turns upside down when he embarks on a journey to find a dying man's long-lost love. World Premiere.
The Matador / U.S.A. (Director: Richard Shepard; Screenwriter: Richard Shepard)
When a globetrotting hit man and a crestfallen businessman meet in a hotel bar in Mexico City, their encounter draws them together in a way neither expected. World Premiere.
Mirrormask / U.K. (Director: Dave McKean; Screenwriter: Neil Gaiman)
In a fantasyland of opposing kingdoms, a 15-year-old girl must find the fabled "Mirrormask" in order to save her kingdom and return home. World Premiere.
Mysterious Skin / U.S.A. (Director: Gregg Araki; Screenwriter: Gregg Araki)A teenage hustler and a young man obsessed with alien abductions cross paths and together discover a horrible, liberating truth. U.S. Premiere.
Nine Lives / U.S.A. (Director: Rodrigo Garcia; Screenwriter: Rodrigo Garcia)
Captives of the very relationships that define and sustain them, nine women resiliently meet the travails and disappointments of life. World Premiere.
Reefer Madness / U.S.A. (Director: Andy Fickman; Screenwriter: Dan Studney & Kevin Murphy)
A tongue-in-cheek musical comedy adaptation of the classic 1936 anti-marijuana propaganda film. World Premiere.
Rory O'Shea Was Here / U.S.A. (Director: Damien O'Donnell; Screenwriter: Jeffrey Caine)
When the kinetic Rory moves into a home for the disabled, he changes the life of a young man with cerebral palsy and encourages him to experience life outside the confines of "the system." World Premiere.
SnowLand / Germany (Director: Hans W. Geissendorfer; Screenwriter: Hans W. Geissendorfer)
In the snowy landscape of Finland, a newly-widowed writer discovers the traces of a bygone love story and finds a way back to her own life. World Premiere.
Upside of Anger / U.S.A. (Director: Mike Binder; Screenwriter: Mike Binder)
When her husband unexpectedly disappears, a sharp-witted suburban wife and her daughters juggle their mother's romantic dilemmas and shifting family dynamics. World Premiere.
AMERICAN SPECTRUM:
212 (Director: Anthony Ng; Screenwriter: Anthony Ng)
Living in matchbox apartments and working mechanical mundane jobs, three sets of urbanites struggle to connect with each other in New York City. World Premiere.
5th World (Director: Larry Blackhorse Lowe; Screenwriter: Blackhorse Lowe)
Andrei and Aria, two young Navajos, hitchhike through their ancestral lands on a journey home. World Premiere.
Duane Hopwood (Director: Matt Mulhern; Screenwriter: Matt Mulhern)
Set in Atlantic City near the Thanksgiving holiday, a recently divorced casino pit boss feeds his depression with alcoholism. When an Irish bartender, two quirky neighbors, and an aspiring comedian come along, he is given a new promise of family and love. World Premiere.
High School Record (Director: Ben Wolfinsohn; Screenwriter: Ben Wolfinsohn)
A portrait of four exceptional and at times painfully awkward 17-year-olds as they struggle through their senior year. World Premiere.
Love, Ludlow (Director: Adrienne Weiss; Screenwriter: David Paterson)
Myra is a no-nonsense young temp from Queens who takes no guff at work, but at home she is dominated by her eccentric brother Ludlow. When Myra agrees to date the charming but vulnerable Reggie it seems that things could change. World Premiere.
Mitchellville (Director: John D. Harkrider; Screenwriter: John D. Harkrider)
The story of the relationship between two very different men: Gabriel, a handsome, ambitious, 34-year-old corporate lawyer, and Ken, a talented, aging, classical musician.
The Motel (Director: Michael Kang; Screenwriter: Michael Kang)Ernest Chin, a chubby Chinese kid, works at his family's sleazy motel where he meets Sam Kim, a charismatic but troubled man who teaches him a few life lessons. World Premiere.
The Puffy Chair (Director: Jay Duplass; Screenwriter: Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass)
Josh Sagers drives cross-country on a mission to deliver his father's birthday gift -- a giant purple Lazy Boy. World Premiere.
Rize (Director: David LaChapelle)
A documentary that chronicles a dance movement rising out of South Los Angeles with roots in clowning and street youth culture. World Premiere.
The Salon (Director: Mark Brown; Screenwriter: Mark Brown)
A day in the life of a beauty shop, where a woman finds romance as she struggles to save her business from the Department of Water and Power. World Premiere.
Saving Face (Director: Alice Wu; Screenwriter: Alice Wu)A Chinese-American lesbian and her traditionalist mother are reluctant to go public with secret loves that clash against cultural expectations. U.S. Premiere.
Steal Me (Director: Melissa Painter; Screenwriter: Melissa Painter)
Jake is a 15-year-old kleptomaniac with a mother fixation who finds his way into the small town family of his dreams. World Premiere.
Swimmers (Director: Doug Sadler; Screenwriter: Doug Sadler)
After an accident in a small Maryland fishing town, 11-year-old Emma forms an intense friendship with a volatile woman and begins to question the nature of the adults around her. World Premiere.
The Talent Given Us (Director: Andrew Wagner; Screenwriter: Andrew Wagner)
A retired New York City couple drives across the country to reconnect with their reclusive son in Los Angeles, and their two unmarried, thirty-something daughters tag along.
This Revolution (Director: Stephen Marshall; Screenwriter: Stephen Marshall)
In this politically charged homage to Medium Cool (1969), a jaded war photographer is sent on assignment to cover the protests on the streets of the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City. World Premiere.
PARK CITY AT MIDNIGHT:
9 Songs / U.S.A (Director: Michael Winterbottom; Screenwriter: Michael Winterbottom)In between attending rock concerts, two lovers meet for intense sexual encounters. U.S. Premiere.
Dirty Love / U.S.A (Director: John Asher; Screenwriter: Jenny McCarthy)
A jilted photographer sets off on a mission to get back at her philandering model boyfriend and along the way she discovers that not all love is created equal. World Premiere.
Hard Candy / U.S.A (Director: David Slade; Screenwriter: Brian Nelson)
A provocative drama about the surprising consequences when a 32-year-old man takes home a 14-year-old girl he meets on the Internet. World Premiere.
Matando Cabos / Mexico (Director: Alejandro Lozano; Screenwriter: Alejandro Lozano)A dark, offbeat comedy about a group of Mexico City teens embroiled in a kidnapping involving a retired wrestling legend and a parrot. U.S. Premiere.
Old Boy / South Korea (Director: Park Chan-Wook; Screenwriter: Park Chan-Wook, Hwang Jo-yun & Lim Jun-hyeong)
After being kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to discover that he must find his captor in five days. U.S. Premiere.
Strangers With Candy: the Movie / U.S.A (Director: Paul Dinello; Screenwriter: Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello & Stephen Colbert)
A prequel to the critically acclaimed television series featuring Jerri Blank, a 46 year-old ex-junkie and ex-con who returns to high school in a bid to start her life anew. World Premiere.
Three...Extremes / Hong Kong / South Korea / Japan (Directors: Fruit Chan, Park Chan-Wook & Takashi Miike; Screenwriters: Lilian Lee, Park Chan-Wook & Haruko Fukushima)An Asian cross-cultural trilogy of horror films from accomplished independent directors. U.S. Premiere.
What Is It? / U.S.A. (Director: Crispin Glover; Screenwriter: Crispin Glover)
This bewildering, unnerving, surreal, and darkly comic film from a visionary filmmaker depicts the struggles of a young man who faces villains and demons on multiple planes. World Premiere
FRONTIER:
Frontier 6 / U.S.A (Director: Luke Savisky)
Projection performance artist Luke Savisky, known for conjuring moving images in unusual places (bodies through windows, feet in ceiling corners, and disembodied legs in thin air), unveils his newest creations. World Premiere.
The Joy of Life / U.S.A. (Director: Jenni Olson; Screenwriter: Jenni Olson)
An unconventional exploration of the history of the Golden Gate Bridge as a "suicide landmark," and the story of a butch lesbian who traverses San Francisco in search of self-discovery. World Premiere.
Room / U.S.A. (Director: Kyle Henry; Screenwriter: Kyle Henry)
Julia Barker is an over-worked, middle-aged Texas woman who is haunted by psychic visions that compel her to travel to New York in search of the chapel-like "Room" she imagines. World Premiere.
Sugar / U.S.A. (Directors: Reynold Reynolds & Patrick Jolley; Screenwriters: Reynold Reynolds, Patrick Jolley & Samara Golden)
When a young woman rents a shabby one-room apartment, she unwittingly opens the door for visions, nightmares, haunted memories, and revenge. World Premiere.
Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2 1/2 / U.S.A. (Director: William Greaves; Screenwriter: William Greaves)
In Central Park, 1968, a director shot scenes of a young couple whose marriage was falling apart. 35 years later, the three are back in Central Park as the director relentlessly pursues the ever-elusive symbiopsychotaxiplasmic moment. World Premiere.
Tropic of Cancer / Mexico (Director: Eugenio Polgovsky)
At the height of the Tropic of Cancer in the desert of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, various families survive by hunting animals which they then sell on the freeway. U.S. Premiere.
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 12/1/2004 01:26:04 PM Comments (0)
INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD NOMINEES
The IFP Los Angeles has announced the nominees for the 2005 Independent Spirit Awards, which will be held in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica on Saturday, February 26. "Hosted annually on the Saturday before the Oscars, the IFP Independent Spirit Awards is the yin to the Oscars' yang -- a celebration honoring filmmakers of independent vision. Televised in millions of homes and covered internationally, the Independent Spirit Awards program has become the vanguard event in independent film, recognizing the achievements of independent filmmakers and promoting independent film to a wider audience."
Films vying for Best Feature this year are: Baadasssss! (Producer: Mario Van Peebles), Kinsey, (Producer: Gail Mutrux), Maria Full of Grace (Producer: Paul Mezey), Primer (Producer: Shane Carruth), and Sideways (Producer: Michael London).
The Best First Feature nominees are: Brother to Brother (Director: Rodney Evans; Producers: Rodney Evans, Jim McKay, Isen Robbins, Aimee Schoof), Garden State (Director: Zach Braff; Producers: Pamela Abdy, Gary Gilbert, Dan Halsted, Richard Klubeck), Napoleon Dynamite (Director: Jared Hess; Producers: Jeremy Coon, Sean C. Covel, Chris Wyatt), Saints and Soldiers (Director: Ryan Little; Producers: Adam Abel, Ryan Little), and The Woodsman (Director: Nicole Kassell; Producer: Lee Daniels).
Best Documentary nominees include: Bright Leaves (Director: Ross McElwee), Chisholm '72: Unbought & Unbossed (Director: Shola Lynch), Hiding and Seeking: Faith and Tolerance After the Holocaust (Directors: Menachem Daum, Oren Rudavsky), Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (Directors: Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky), and Tarnation, (Director: Jonathan Caouette).
With six nomiations this year, Alexander Paynes's Sideways leads the pack, closely followed by Maria Full of Grace (five nominations); Primer, Kinsey, Brother to Brother and Mario de la Vega's undistributed Robbing Peter (with four nominations each); and Baadasssss!, The Woodsman and The Motorcycle Diaries (with three each).
A complete list of nominees can be found at the IFP Web site.
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 11/30/2004 01:43:14 PM Comments (0)
The Sundance Film Festival (January 20-30) have announced the lineup of this year's Documentary and Dramatic competitions, as well as the films selected to compete in the World Cinema Documentary and Dramatic competitions.
Among the 60 films in the lineup announced today are 42 world premieres, 9 North American premieres and 9 U.S. premieres.
According to Todd McCarthy in today's Variety: Of the 16 pictures selected for Dramatic Competition from the 761 American narrative features submitted, the festival's director Geoffrey Gilmore said, "I have never been more excited about a competition lineup than I am this year. The level of accomplishment is where it should be. The evolution of what's going on is really exciting and shows a certain maturity across the aesthetic spectrum."
"Overall, 2,613 features were submitted to the festival, 1,385 from the U.S. and 1,228 from other countries. A year ago, fest fielded 2,485 total entries, 1,285 domestically and 1,200 from abroad."
DRAMATIC COMPETITION:
"Between, a south-of-the-border thriller from director David Ocanas and screenwriter Robert Nelms about an American lawyer's perilous search for her sister in the depths of Tijuana.
Brick, writer-director Rian Johnson's noirish look at a teenager who investigates his ex-girlfriend's disappearance by infiltrating a high school crime ring.
Dying Gaul, the feature directorial debut by playwright-screenwriter Craig Lucas, with Peter Sarsgaard as a tormented screenwriter in a treacherous relationship with a woman and her film exec husband.
Ellie Parker a feature-length expansion of a short made by writer-director Scott Coffey, with Naomi Watts in a comic look at an actress's pursuit of a Hollywood career.
Forty Shades of Blue a drama directed by Ira Sachs and written by Michael Rohatyn and Sachs about the disruption in the lives of a Russian woman and an older rock 'n' roll legend living in Memphis upon the visit of an estranged son.
How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer writer-director Georgina Garcia Riedel's look at the sexual awakenings of three generations of women in a Mexican-American family.
Hustle & Flow writer-director Craig Brewer's account of a Memphis pimp who deals with his midlife crisis by trying to become a rapper.
Junebug, a drama from director Phil Morrison and writer Angus MacLachlan about a dealer in outsider art who threatens the equilibrium of her middle-class in-laws in North Carolina.
Loggerheads, another North Carolina tale, in which writer-director Tim Kirkman relates three overlapping stories of estranged families in three regions.
Lonesome Jim directed by Steve Buscemi and written by James C. Strouse, about what happens when 27-year-old Jim, having failed to make it on his own, moves back in with his parents.
Me and You and Everyone We Know, the first feature from writer-director Miranda July, who also stars as an eccentric performance artist who attempts to connect with a lonely shoe salesman.
Police Beat directed by Robinson Devor, who co-wrote with Charles Mudede, about the odd situations encountered by an African-born bicycle cop on his beat in Seattle.
Pretty Persuasion, from director Marcos Siega and writer Skander Halim, a comedy about the turmoil in a high school after a 15-year-old accuses her drama teacher of sexual harassment.
The Squid and the Whale, the third feature from writer-director Noah Baumbach, about two kids in 1980s Park Slope, Brooklyn, caught in the crossfire of their academic parents' divorce.
Thumbsucker, writer-director Mike Mills's tale of the chaos that results when a man tries to wean himself from his addiction to his thumb.
Who Killed Cock Robin?, writer-director Travis Wilkerson's look at the struggle of some young men in depressed Butte, Mont., to sort out their lives.
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION:
After Innocence, director Jessica Sanders's account of how several men freed from prison after being cleared by DNA evidence struggle to reintegrate into society.
The Aristocrats directed by Paul Provenza, in which 100 superstar comedians, including George Carlin, Whoopi Goldberg, Eddie Izzard, Don Rickles, Chris Rock and the Smothers Brothers, tell the same very dirty joke, one shared privately by comics since vaudeville days.
The Devil and Daniel Johnston, director Jeff Feuerzeig's portrait of a manic-depressive genius singer, songwriter and artist.
The Education of Shelby Knox, in which co-directors Marion Lipschutz and Rose Rosenblatt use a 15-year-old girl's transformation from conservative Southern Baptist to liberal Christian and feminist to portray the fight for sex education and gay rights in Lubbock, Texas.
Enron: Rise and Fall, director Alex Gibney's multidimensional study of one of the great business scandals in American history.
The Fall of Fujimori, directed by Ellen Perry, about how Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori's tenacious fight against domestic terrorists was followed by disgrace as an international fugitive wanted for corruption, kidnapping and murder.
Frozen Angels, in which co-directors Eric Black and Frauke Sandig explore the future of human reproductive technology.
Mardi Gras: Made in China, directed by David Redmon, a study of cultural and economic globalization as seen through the life cycle of Mardi Gras beads from a small factory in Fuzhou, China, to Mardis Gras in New Orleans and New York art galleries.
Murderball, an account by directors Henry-Alex Rubin and Dana Adam Shapiro of quadriplegics who play violent full-contact rugby in Mad Max-style wheelchairs, ending up in the Paralympic Games in Athens.
New York Doll, directed by Greg Whiteley, about recovering alcoholic and converted Mormon Arthur "Killer" Kane's shot at a 30-years-later reunion with his old band, the New York Dolls.
Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story, in which co-directors Dan Klores and Ron Berger explore the tumultuous life of the six-time welterweight boxing champion.
Romantico director Mark Becker's look at the life of a Mexican singer when he returns home after years of trying to make the grade in San Francisco.
Shakespeare Behind Bars director Hank Rogerson's study of 20 male inmates who form a Shakespearean acting company in a Kentucky prison.
Trudell, director Heather Rae's portrait of Native American poet and activist John Trudell.
Twist of Faith, Kirby Dick's account of how a man's confrontation of his boyhood sexual abuse by a Catholic priest disrupts his relationship with his family, community and faith.
Why We Fight, in which director Eugene Jarecki examines, through the Iraqi war, the forces that drive American militarism. "
The festival will announce its Short film selection on December 6.
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 11/30/2004 10:19:05 AM Comments (1)
ARE YOU A DEF FILMMAKER?
According to a press release received today, "Simmons Lathan Media Group (SLMG), a leading producer and distributor of media content with an urban/hip-hop theme, and the Kanbar Institute of Film and Television at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts today announced the creation of the Alumni Def Filmmaker Award, a competition for developing a narrative or documentary feature film with an urban/hip-hop theme. The contest, open to filmmakers from the Kanbar Institute who have graduated within the past five years, provides for production funding for up to $300,000 for a feature film project and up $150,000 for a documentary project.
"'In our continued effort to expand filmmaking opportunities for the most talented story-tellers in Hip Hop/Urban Culture, we are extremely pleased to be partnering with the Tisch School's Kanbar Institute, which has educated some of the most talented and acclaimed filmmakers in the industry today," said Will Griffin, president of SLMG.'
"To be eligible, applicants must have graduated from the Tisch School of the Arts Kanbar Institute of Film and Television within five years of the call for submission date of December 1, 2004. Film projects must be in the urban/hip-hop genre and submitted no later than February 15, 2005. Participants must submit the following materials: a screenplay (narrative category) or an outline (documentary category); a treatment of no more than 10 pages; personal statement of no more than 2-typed pages; comprehensive budget of up to $300,000 (narrative projects) or up to $150,000 (documentary projects); a visual statement pertaining to the film.
"Twelve semi-finalist projects, to be chosen by the faculty of the Kanbar Institute, will be forwarded to SLMG's offices. No later than March 15, 2005 a panel of judges from SLMG will choose three finalists, who will be required to prepare a storyboard for his or her project. No later than May 1, 2005 SLMG will select no fewer than one and no more than two winners to receive production funding of their project/s. SLMG will secure distribution for the winning project/s in home video, television and pay television outlets. For additional information or to apply, contact: Bradley Essex at 212.992.8461."
# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 11/29/2004 11:59:23 AM Comments (0)
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