In the second day of lineup announcements for the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, titles range from the the already announced opening night film, Brett Morgen's Chicago 10, to the closing night film Nelson George's Life Support. Other notables include, Craig Brewer's Black Snake Moan, Sarah Polley's Away from Her (which was already praised at Toronto), Mike White's Year of the Dog, and Gregg Araki's stoner comedy Smiley Face.

Premieres

AN AMERICAN CRIME/ USA, Director: Tommy O'Haver; Screenwriters: Tommy O'Haver, Irene Turner
A fictionalized account of the true story of a young girl's torturous ordeal at the hands of a troubled mother of seven in 1960s Indianapolis. World Premiere.

AWAY FROM HER/ Canada, Director and Screenwriter: Sarah Polley
Married for almost 50 years, Grant and Fiona's serenity is interrupted by Fiona's increasingly frequent memory lapses. When it is no longer possible for either of them to ignore the fact that she is being consumed by Alzheimer's disease, the limits of love and loyalty are wrenchingly redefined. U.S. Premiere. (Salt Lake City Gala)

BLACK SNAKE MOAN/ USA, Director and Screenwriter: Craig Brewer
Desire is a burning sickness for Rae, while making her the white-trash sexual target of every man and boy in her small Tennessee town. When her true love leaves for military service, Rae plunges into wild excess. Beaten, left for dead, she's taken in by a reformed bluesman, a private self-contained black man who nurses deep anger of his own, who is fiercely committed to his task of keeping her alive. World Premiere.

CHAPTER 27/ USA, Director and Screenwriter: Jarrett Schaefer
A terrifying glimpse into the deranged mind of Mark David Chapman during his days in NYC prior to the murder of John Lennon, which is played out through his obsession with JD Salinger's classic novel 'The Catcher in the Rye'. World Premiere.

CHICAGO 10/ USA, Director: Brett Morgen
"Chicago 10" presents contemporary history with a forced perspective, mixing bold and original animation with extraordinary archival footage that explores the build-up to and unraveling of the Chicago Conspiracy Trial and the riots at the 1968 Democratic Convention. World Premiere. (Opening Night Park City)

CLUBLAND/ Australia, Director: Cherie Nowlan; Screenwriter: Keith Thompson
Tim has a new girlfriend. It should be the perfect romance but something is holding him back. He has a secret...his parents are "Entertainers"! There are never just two people in a family love story. World Premiere.

THE GOOD NIGHT/ USA, Director and Screenwriter: Jake Paltrow
A man finds he has more happiness and love with the woman in his dreams than in his miserable day to day reality. World Premiere.

KING OF CALIFORNIA/ USA, Director and Screenwriter: Mike Chahill
An unstable dad who after getting out of a mental institution tries to convince his daughter that there's Spanish gold buried somewhere under suburbia. World Premiere.

LIFE SUPPORT/ USA, Director: Nelson George; Screenwriters: Nelson George, Jim McKay, Hannah Weyer
"Life Support" views the African-American community's HIV crisis through the eyes of a survivor who is a mother, a former addict and an AIDS activist. World Premiere. (Closing Night Film)

LONGFORD/ UK, Director: Tom Hooper; Screenwriter: Peter Morgan
A portrait of Lord Longford, a tireless British campaigner whose controversial beliefs often resulted in furious political debate and personal conflict. World Premiere.

THE NINES/ USA, Director and Screenwriter: John August
A troubled actor, a television show runner, and an acclaimed videogame designer find their lives intertwining in mysterious and unsettling ways. World Premiere.

RESURRECTION CAMP/ USA, Director Rod Lurie; Screenwriters: Allison Burnett, Michael Bortman, Chris Gerolmo, Rod Lurie
A down on his luck sports reporter has his life and career upturned when he lands the story of his career: A former heavyweight boxing superstar, previously thought to be dead, is living his final years on the streets. Finally, he can earn the respect of his wife and editor---but the dark secret he finds may be too much for him to bear. World Premiere.

THE SAVAGES/ USA, Director and Screenwriter: Tamara Jenkins
A comic-drama about a pair of adult siblings who are suddenly plucked from their self-absorbed lives when they are forced to care for their estranged and elderly father who never cared for them--an irreverent story about life, love and mortality. World Premiere.

SON OF RAMBOW/ UK, Director and Screenwriter: Garth Jennings
Will is the eldest son in a family with a strict moral and religious view and never been allowed to mix with other people, listen to music or watch TV. That is until he finds himself caught up in the extraordinary world of Lee Carter, the school terror and maker of bizarre home movies. World Premiere.

SUMMER RAIN (El Camino de los Ingleses)/ Spain, Director: Antonio Banderas; Screenwriter: Antonio Soler
The film is adapted from an award-winning novel written by the director's childhood friend, Antonio Soler, and is a deeply personal and poetic recreation of their generation growing up in Malaga in the late 1970s. World Premiere.

TRADE/ USA, Marco Kreuzpaintner; Screenwriter: Jose Rivera
Adriana is a 13-year-old girl from Mexico City whose kidnapping by sex traffickers sets in motion a desperate mission by her 17-year-old brother, Jorge, to save her. As Jorge dodges immigration officers and incredible obstacles to track the girls' abductors, he meets Ray, a Texas cop whose own family loss to sex trafficking leads him to become an ally in the boy's quest. World Premiere.

YEAR OF THE DOG/ USA, Director and Screenwriter: Mike White
Peggy is a happy-go-lucky secretary - a great friend, employee, and sister who lives alone with her beloved dog. But when Pencil unexpectedly dies, Peggy must embark on a journey of personal transformation that is hilarious, poignant and suspenseful. World Premiere.


Spectrum

ANGEL-A/ France, Director and Screenwriter: Luc Besson
A fairy tale about a man who gets a second chance in life when he saves a statuesque, mysterious beauty from a suicide bid in the Seine River. North American Premiere.

BUGMASTER (Mushishi)/ Japan, Director: Katsuhiro Otomo; Screenwriter: Sadayuki Murai
A traveling mystical doctor, "a Bugmaster," passes through remote regions of Japan curing the ill-effects of supernatural creatures, the "Mushi," who plague the people in this tale of ancient legend based on a celebrated Manga. U.S. Premiere.

DARK MATTER/ USA, Director: Chen Shi-Zheng; Screenwriter: Billy Shebar
Inspired by real events, "Dark Matter" delves into the world of a brilliant Chinese astronomy student whose dreams are challenged when he arrives in America to pursue his Ph.D. World Premiere.

DEDICATION/ USA, Director: Justin Theroux; Screenwriter: David Bromberg
A socially dysfunctional children's book author is forced to work closely with a female illustrator when he loses his long-time collaborator and only friend. World Premiere.

DELIRIOUS/ USA, Director and Screenwriter: Tom DiCillo
A small time paparazzo befriends and hires a homeless young man who flirts with fame and fortune when he becomes entangled with a famous pop star. North American Premiere.

THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK/ USA, Directors: Annie Sundberg, Ricki Stern
"The Devil Came on Horseback" exposes the genocide raging in Darfur, Sudan as seen through the eyes of a former U.S. marine who returns home to make the story public. World Premiere.

EXPIRED/ USA, Director and Screenwriter: Cecilia Miniucchi
When a lonely, gentle meter maid meets a troubled fellow parking officer, their love affair becomes an awkward dance of attraction and antagonism. World Premiere.

FAY GRIM/ USA, Director and Screenwriter: Hal Hartley
A single mother whose husband has been missing for seven years is used as bait by the CIA in this international espionage caper. U.S. Premiere.

FRAULEIN/ Switzerland, Director and Screenwriter: Andrea Staka
A hardened Zurich restaurant owner from Yugoslavia finds her cool detachment from the past disrupted with the arrival of a younger, free-spirited woman seeking a better life after the Balkan War. North American Premiere.

THE GO-GETTER/ USA, Director and Screenwriter: Martin Hynes
When his mother dies a teenager takes a road-trip in a stolen car to find his long-lost brother. Along the way he discovers a profound connection with the car-owner and with himself as well. World Premiere.

THE GREAT WORLD OF SOUND/ USA, Director: Craig Zobel; Screenwriter: George Smith, Craig Zobel
When a man answers an ad to train as a record producer, he's excited by the prospect of signing undiscovered artists only to discover his new job isn't all it's cracked up to be. World Premiere.

IF I HAD KNOWN I WAS A GENIUS/ USA, Dominique Wirtschafter; Screenwriter: Markus Redmond
A young African-American man recounts his life. When he finds out he has a high IQ he struggles to fit in somewhere while also battling with his dysfunctional family. World Premiere.

INTERVIEW/ USA, Director: Steve Buscemi; Screenwriters: Steve Buscemi, David Schechter
A fading political journalist has a falling out with his editor and is given an assignment to interview a top television actress, which derails into a battle of wits and deep dark secrets. World Premiere.

LOW AND BEHOLD/ USA, Director: Zack Godshall; Screenwriters: Zack Godshall, Barlow Jacobs
When an unmotivated young man signs on as an insurance adjuster in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans, he is profoundly changed by the destruction and loss he encounters. World Premiere.

LA MISMA LUNA (The Same Moon)/ USA, Director: Patricia Riggen; Screenwriter: Ligiah Villalobos
When his grandmother dies a young Mexican boy struggles to cross the border to reunite with his beloved mother, who is working hard in Los Angeles to create a better life for the family. World Premiere.

MISS NAVAJO/ USA, Director: Billy Luther
A documentary that explores the role of women and tradition in Navajo culture by following one young woman as she prepares for and competes in the Miss Navajo Nation Pageant. World Premiere.

RED ROAD/ UK, Director and Screenwriter: Andrea Arnold
When a man she never wanted to see again suddenly appears back in Jackie's ordered, isolated Glasgow life, she has no choice; she is compelled to confront him. U.S. Premiere.

REPRISE/ Norway, Director: Joachim Trier; Screenwriters: Joachim Trier, Eskil Vogt
Two competitive twenty-something friends, fueled by literary aspirations and youthful exuberance, endure the pangs of love, depression and burgeoning careers. U.S. Premiere.

SAVE ME/ USA, Director: Robert Cary; Screenwriters: Craig Chester, Alan Hines, Robert Desiderio
A deft exploration of the controversial gay reform movement, "Save Me" follows a sex and drug addicted young man who is forced into a Christian-run ministry in an attempt to cure him of his "gay affliction", where instead he is faced with the truth in his heart and spirit. World Premiere.

TULI/ Philippines, Director: Auraeus Solito; Screenwriter: Jimmy Flores
When a young girl in a remote Philippine village is forced into an arranged marriage by her abusive father, she rejects traditional mores and creates an alternative life. U.S. Premiere.

THE UNFORSEEN/ USA, Director: Laura Dunn
When a west Texas farm boy develops pristine hill country into large-scale subdivisions, threatening a fragile limestone aquifer, an environmental movement rises up and fights back. This documentary takes a hard look at the American dream and asks, "What does it mean to grow?" World Premiere.

WAITRESS/ USA, Director and Screenwriter: Adrienne Shelly
A pregnant, unhappily married waitress in the deep South falls into an unlikely relationship as a last attempt at happiness. World Premiere.

WONDERS ARE MANY/ USA, Director: Jon Else
A documentary that tracks the creation of Peter Sellars' and John Adams' 2005 opera about Robert Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project, while also exploring the complex birth of nuclear weapons. World Premiere.

YEAR OF THE FISH/ USA, Director and Screenwriter: David Kaplan
A rotoscope-animated modern-day Cinderella story set in the underbelly of New York's Chinatown. World Premiere.


New Frontier

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: PIERRE HUYGHE/ France, Director: Pierre Huyghe
A presentation of short films that have rarely been screened outside of a museum or art gallery context. Huyghe is one of France's most celebrated young artists. His multimedia installations--which are concerned with collective memory, the construction of narratives, and textures of re-enactment--have been exhibited at museums across the world including the Guggenheim, Tate Modern, and the Whitney Museums.

THE LAST DINING TABLE/ South Korea, Director and Screenwriter: Gyeong-Tae Roh
This minimal and surrealist film about irony and separation poetically explores modern social problems including pollution and environmental concerns and the collapse of family values.

OFFSCREEN/ Denmark, Director: Christoffer Boe; Screenwriter: Christoffer Boe, Knud Romer Jorgensen
Actor Nicolas Bro reigns supreme in the role of Nicolas Bro - a man intent on making a film about himself. After his director friend Christoffer Boe lends him a camera, his self-monitoring is so hair-raisingly private (and creepy!) that it becomes impossible to separate fact from fiction. World Premiere.

PHANTOM LOVE/ USA, Director: Nina Menkes
A surreal drama about a woman trapped within an enmeshed family, and her slow process of personal liberation. Set in Los Angeles and Rishikesh, India, the film combines fairy-tale elements with brutal black and white photography to create a powerful testament about inner transformation. World Premiere.

SLIPSTREAM/ USA, Director and Screenwriter: Anthony Hopkins
A man discovers that life is random and fortune is sightless as he is thrown into a vortex where time, dreams and reality collide in an increasingly whirling Slipstream. World Premiere.

ZIDANE: A 21ST CENTURY PORTRAIT/ France, Director: Douglas Gordon, Philippe Parreno
During the course of an entire football match, seventeen super-35mm Scope format cameras were set around the playing field focusing solely on football legend Zinedine Zidane, who agreed to become the center of attention for this out-of-the-ordinary, full-length feature film. U.S. Premiere.


Midnight

FIDO/ Canada, Director: Andrew Currie; Screenwriters: Robert Chomiak, Andrew Currie
Timmy Robinson's best friend in the whole wide world is a six-foot tall rotting zombie named Fido. But when Fido eats the next-door neighbor, Mom and Dad hit the roof, and Timmy has to go to the ends of the earth to keep Fido in the family.

FINISHING THE GAME/ USA, Director: Justin Lin, Screenwriters: Josh Diamond, Justin Lin
Bruce Lee's shock death left legions of stunned fans and a legacy of 12 minutes from his unfinished Game Of Death. Undeterred, studio executives launched a search for his replacement chronicled here through the eyes of five aspiring thespians who find out what the real game is. World Premiere.

IT IS FINE! EVERYTHING IS FINE./ USA, Director: Crispin Hellion Glover, David Brothers; Screenwriters: Crispin Hellion Glover, Steven C. Stewart
A man with a severe case of cerebral palsy, Steven C Stuart's naive, fantastical, psychosexual retelling of his point of view of life involving many women. World Premiere.

THE SIGNAL/ USA, Directors and Screenwriters: David Bruckner, Jacob Gentry, Dan Bush
Told in three parts from three unique perspectives created by three visionary directors, THE SIGNAL is a horrific journey towards the discovery that the most brutal violent monster might actually be within all of us. World Premiere.

SK8 LIFE/ Canada, Director: S. Wyeth Clarkson; Screenwriters: S. Wyeth Clarkson, Elan Mastai
8 sk8trs brought together to make a 'sk8 tape', crash at the legendary "Crashpad." They soon discover its days are numbered and band together to save it. North American Premiere.

SMILEY FACE/ USA, Director: Gregg Araki; Screenwriter: Dylan Haggerty
Jane F, an unsuccessful slacker actress, inadvertently eats her roommate's pot cupcakes and proceeds to have a very strange day of hijinks and surreal misadventures. World Premiere.

THE TEN/ USA, Director: David Wain; Screenwriters: Ken Marino, David Wain
Ten stories, each inspired by one of The Ten Commandments, illustrate the perils of modern life via extreme comedy. World Premiere.

WE ARE THE STRANGE/ USA, Director and Screenwriter: M dot Strange
In this animated feature film, two outcasts fight for survival in a sinister fantasy world. Their lives are constantly in jeopardy after they're caught in the middle of a deadly battle between bizarre monsters on their way to the ice cream shop. World Premiere.


From the Sundance Collection

Each year the Festival presents two retrospective screenings of feature-length films from the Sundance Collection at UCLA, paying tribute to seminal works in the history of independent film. This series reflects Sundance Institute's commitment to collect and preserve independent films for contemporary and future audiences.


THE RIVER'S EDGE/ USA, Director: Tim Hunter; Screenwriter: Neal Jimenez
A tight-knit group of high school slackers struggle to reconcile friendship and responsibility when one of them kills his girlfriend in this disturbing portrait of moral ambivalence and alienated youth in small town America.

X: THE UNHEARD MUSIC/ USA, 1986 Director: W.T. Morgan
A rarely seen 1987 documentary that explores the music and musicians of the early 1980s LA punk band X, as well as the underground music scene of the time, the foibles of the music industry, and the "unheard music" of American culture in the 1980s.


Special Screenings

THE LAST MIMZY/ USA, Director: Bob Shaye; Screenplay by: Bruce Joel Rubin and Toby Emmerich; Screen Story by James V. Hart and Carol Skilken
Based on the acclaimed sci-fi short story by Lewis Padgett, The Last Mimzy centers on two children who discover a mysterious box containing some strange devices they think are toys. As the children play with these "toys," they begin to display higher intelligence levels, prompting their parents and the community to search for answers. World Premiere.

AUTISM EVERY DAY/ USA, Director: Lauren Thierry
"Autism Every Day" takes you inside the lives of families struggling to raise children with autism. It is a gritty, truthful portrayal of the 24 hour a day challenge faced by families as they confront the heartbreak of autism with uncompromising hope and unconditional love. World Premiere.

# posted by Jason Guerrasio @ 11/30/2006 06:24:00 PM Comments (5)

If you're wondering how filmmakers Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden made a great first feature that has racked up a ton of awards, including last night's Gotham win, well, ask them yourself. The Daily Reel has them in their "Ask the Expert" section. Click on the link for the email address to forward your own questions about independent production.

# posted by Scott Macaulay @ 11/30/2006 10:49:00 AM Comments (0)

The Gotham Awards were handed out Wednesday night in a ceremony at the Chelsea Piers. The big winner was Half Nelson, which took the Best Feature, Breakthrough Director (for Ryan Fleck, pictured at left with producer and co-write Anna Boden) and Breakthrough Actor (Shareeka Epps, an award split with Babel's Rinko Kinkuchi). Steve Barron's Choking Man won the "Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You Award," sponsored by Filmmaker and MOMA. D.p. Ellen Kuras was awarded a tribute for her work shooting innumerable great independent films, and other Gothams went to Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner, Kate Winslet, Ed Norton, Tim Robbins, and the three Mexican directors Alfonso Cuaron, Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.

Here are the winners:

Best Feature:
Half Nelson, Ryan Fleck, director; Jamie Patricof, Alex Orlovsky, Lynette Howell, Anna Boden, Rosanne Korenberg, producers (ThinkFilm)

Best Documentary:
Iraq in Fragments, James Longley, director; James Longley, John Sinno, producers (Typecast Releasing in association with HBO Documentary Films)

Breakthrough Director Award:
Ryan Fleck for Half Nelson (ThinkFilm)
Breakthrough Actor Award:
Shareeka Epps in Half Nelson (ThinkFilm)
Rinko Kikuchi in Babel (Paramount Vantage)

Best Ensemble Cast Award:
Babel, Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Gael Garcia Bernal, Koji Yakusho, Adriana Barraza, Rinko Kikuchi, Said Tarchani, Boubker Ait El Caid (Paramount Vantage)

Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You Award:
Choking Man, Steve Barron, director; Joshua Zeman, Zachary Mortensen, producers

Gotham Awards Tribute: Kate Winslet
Gotham Awards Tribute: Edward Norton
Gotham Awards Tribute: Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban
Gotham Awards Tribute: Ellen Kuras
Gotham Awards Filmmakers Tribute: Alfonso Cuaron, Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Gotham Awards Humanitarian Tribute: Tim Robbins

# posted by Scott Macaulay @ 11/30/2006 01:07:00 AM Comments (0)

Chris Smith. George Ratliff. Jeffrey Blitz. David Gordon Green. Jessica Yu. Those are some of the names you will recognize while looking over the 64 films below that were announced today for the 2007 Sundance Film Festival International Film and World Cinema Competitions. The festival will be held Jan. 18-28.

Documentary Competition

BANISHED (Director: Marco Williams)—This story of three U.S. towns which, in the early 20th century, forced their entire African American populations to leave, explores what—if anything—can be done to repair past racial injustice. World Premiere.

CHASING GHOSTS (Director: Lincoln Ruchti)—Twin Galaxies Arcade, Iowa, 1982: the birthplace of mankind's obsession with video games. The fate of this world lies in the hands (literally) of a few unlikely heroes: They are the Original Video Game World Champions and the arcade is their battleground.
World Premiere.

CRAZY LOVE (Director: Dan Klores)—An unsettling true story about an obsessive relationship between a married man and a beautiful, single 20-year-old woman, which began in 1957 and continues today.
World Premiere.

EVERYTHING’S COOL (Directors: Judith Helfand, Daniel B. Gold)—A group of self-appointed global warming messengers are on a high stakes quest to find the iconic image, proper language, and points of leverage to help the public go from embracing the urgency of the problem to creating the political will necessary to move to an alternative energy economy. World Premiere.

FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO (Director: Daniel Karslake)—Grounded by the stories of five conservative Christian families, the film explores how the religious right has used its interpretation of the Bible to support its agenda of stigmatizing the gay community and eroding the separation between church and state. World Premiere.

GHOSTS OF ABU GHRAIB (Director: Rory Kennedy)—This inside look at the abuses that occurred at the infamous Iraqi prison in the fall of 2003 uses direct, personal narratives of perpetrators, witnesses, and victims to probe the effects of the abuses on all involved. World Premiere.

GIRL 27 (Director: David Stenn)—When underage dancer Patricia Douglas is raped at a wild MGM stag party in 1937, she makes headlines and legal history, and then disappears. GIRL 27 follows author-screenwriter David Stenn as he investigates one of Hollywood's most notorious scandals. World Premiere.

HEAR AND NOW (Director: Irene Taylor Brodsky)—Filmmaker Irene Taylor Brodsky tells a deeply personal story about her deaf parents, and their radical decision—after 65 years of silence—to undergo cochlear implant surgery, a complex procedure that could give them the ability to hear. World Premiere.

MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET) (Director: Jason Kohn)—In Brazil, known as one of the world's most corrupt and violent countries, MANDA BALA follows a politician who uses a frog farm to steal billions of dollars, a wealthy businessman who spends a small fortune bulletproofing his cars, and a plastic surgeon who reconstructs the ears of mutilated kidnapping victims. World Premiere.

MY KID COULD PAINT THAT (Director: Amir Bar-Lev)—A 4-year-old girl whose paintings are compared to Kandinsky, Pollock and even Picasso, has sold $300,000 dollars worth of paintings. Is she a genius of abstract expressionism, a tiny charlatan, or an exploited child whose parents have sold her out for the glare of the media and the lure of the almighty dollar? World Premiere.

NANKING (Director: Bill Guttentag, Dan Sturman)—A powerful and haunting depiction of the atrocities suffered by the Chinese at the hands of the invading Japanese army during “The Rape of Nanking”, one of the most tragic events of WWII. While more than 200,000 Chinese were murdered and ten of thousands raped, a handful of Westerners performed extraordinary acts of heroism, saving over 250,000 lives in the midst of the horror. World Premiere.

NO END IN SIGHT (Director: Charles Ferguson)—A comprehensive examination of the Bush Administration’s conduct of the Iraq war and occupation. Featuring first-time interviews with key participants, the film creates a startlingly clear reconstruction of key decisions that led to the current state of affairs in this war-torn country. World Premiere.

PROTAGONIST (Director: Jessica Yu)—PROTAGONIST explores the organic relationship between human life and Euripidean dramatic structure by weaving together the stories of four men—a German terrorist, a bank robber, an "ex-gay" evangelist, and a martial arts student. World Premiere.

CHASING GHOSTS (Director: Lincoln Ruchti)—Twin Galaxies Arcade, Iowa, 1982: the birthplace of mankind's obsession with video games. The fate of this world lies in the hands (literally) of a few unlikely heroes: They are the Original Video Game World Champions and the arcade is their battleground.
World Premiere.

WAR DANCE (Director: Sean Fine, Andrea Nix Fine)—Devastated by the long civil war in Uganda, three young girls and their school in the Patongo refugee camp find hope as they make a historic journey to compete in their country’s national music and dance festival. World Premiere.

WHITE LIGHT/BLACK RAIN: THE DESTRUCTION OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI
(Director: Steven Okazaki)—WHITE LIGHT/BLACK RAIN offers a visceral, topical and moving portrait of the human cost of atomic warfare. World Premiere.

ZOO (Director: Robinson Devor)—A humanizing look at the life and bizarre death of a seemingly normal Seattle family man who met his untimely end after an unusual encounter with a horse. World Premiere.


Dramatic Competition

ADRIFT IN MANHATTAN (Director: Alfredo de Villa; Screenwriters: Nat Moss, Alfredo de Villa)—Set in New York City, a grieving eye doctor is forced to take a closer look at her life; an aging artist confronts the loss of his eyesight, and a young photographer battles his innermost demons.
World Premiere.

BROKEN ENGLISH (Director and Screenwriter: Zoe Cassavetes)—A young woman in her thirties finds herself surrounded by friends who are married, in relationships or with children. She unexpectedly meets a quirky Frenchman who opens her eyes to a lot more than love.
World Premiere.

FOUR SHEETS TO THE WIND (Director and Screenwriter: Sterlin Harjo)—Cufe Smallhill finds his father dead. Fulfilling a dying wish, he disposes of the body in the family pond and sets off to begin a new life in the big city of Tulsa. World Premiere.

THE GOOD LIFE (Director and Screenwriter: Steve Berra)—A story about a “mostly normal” young man whose small town existence running a faded movie palace is shaken when he comes in contact with a mysterious young woman. World Premiere.

GRACE IS GONE (Director and Screenwriter: James C. Strouse)—A young father learns that his wife has been killed in Iraq and must find the courage to tell his two young daughters the news.
World Premiere.

JOSHUA (Director: George Ratliff; Screenwriters: David Gilbert, George Ratliff)—A successful, young Manhattan family is torn apart by the machinations of Joshua, their eight-year-old prodigy, when his newborn baby sister comes home from the hospital. World Premiere.

NEVER FOREVER (Director and Screenwriter: Gina Kim)—When an American woman and her Asian-American husband discover they are unable to conceive, she begins a clandestine relationship with an attractive stranger in a desperate attempt to save her marriage. World Premiere.

ON THE ROAD WITH JUDAS (Director and Screenwriter: JJ Lask)—Reality, fiction and the notions of storytelling intertwine in this narrative about a young thief and the woman he loves. World Premiere.

PADRE NUESTRO (Director and Screenwriter: Christopher Zalla)—Fleeing a criminal past, Juan hops a truck transporting illegal immigrants from Mexico to New York City, where he meets Pedro, who is seeking his rich father. World Premiere.

THE POOL (Director: Chris Smith; Screenwriters: Chris Smith, Randy Russell)—A boy working in a hotel becomes obsessed with a swimming pool at a home in the opulent hills of Panjim, Goa in India. His life gets turned upside-down when he attempts to meet the mysterious family that arrives at the house. World Premiere.

ROCKET SCIENCE (Director and Screenwriter: Jeffrey Blitz)—A 15-year-old boy from New Jersey with a stuttering problem falls in love with the star of the debate team and finds himself suddenly immersed in the ultra-competitive world of debating. World Premiere.

SNOW ANGELS (Director: David Gordon Green; Screenwriter: Stewart O'Nan)—A drama that interweaves the life of a teenager with his former baby-sitter, her estranged husband, and their daughter. World Premiere.

STARTING OUT IN THE EVENING (Director: Andrew Wagner; Screenwriters: Andrew Wagner, Fred Parnes)—The solitary life of a writer is shaken when a smart, ambitious graduate student convinces him that her thesis will bring him back into the literary spotlight. World Premiere.

TEETH (Director and Screenwriter: Mitchell Lichtenstein)—Still a stranger to her own body, a high school student discovers she has a “physical advantage” when she becomes the object of male violence. World Premiere.

THE UNTITLED DAKOTA FANNING PROJECT (Director and Screenwriter: Deborah Kampmeier)—Set in late 1950s Alabama, a precocious, troubled girl finds her angel in the Blues. World Premiere.

WEAPONS (Director and Screenwriter: Adam Bhala Lough)—WEAPONS presents a series of brutal, seemingly random youth-related killings over the course of a weekend in a typical working class American suburb, and tragically reveals how they are all interrelated. World Premiere.


World Cinema Documentary Competition

ACIDENTE / Brazil (Director: Cao Guimarães and Pablo Lobato)—Experimental in form, this lush cinematic poem weaves together stories and images from twenty different cities in the state of Menas Gerais, Brazil, to reveal the fundamental role the accidental and the unpredictable play in everyday human life. North American Premiere.

BAJO JUAREZ, THE CITY DEVOURING ITS DAUGHTERS / Mexico (Director: Alejandra Sanchez)—In an industrial town in Mexico near the US border, hundreds of women have been sexually abused and murdered. As the body count continues to rise, a web of corruption unfolds that reaches the highest levels of Mexican society. U.S. Premiere.

COCALERO / Bolivia (Director: Alejandro Landes)—Set against the backdrop of the Bolivian government’s attempted eradication of the coca crop and oppression of the indigenous groups that cultivate it and the American war on drugs, an Aymara Indian named Evo Morales travels through the Andes and the Amazon in jeans and sneakers, leading a historic campaign to become the first indigenous president of Bolivia. World Premiere.

COMRADES IN DREAMS / Germany (Director: Uli Gaulke)—From the far ends of the globe, four lives that could not be more different are united by a single passion—their unconditional love of cinema and their quest to bring the magic of the silver screen to everyday lives to those who need it most.
North American Premiere.

CROSSING THE LINE / UK (Director: Daniel Gordon)—CROSSING THE LINE reveals the clandestine life of Joseph Dresnok who, at the height of the Cold War was one of the few Americans who defected to North Korea, one of the least understood countries in the world.
North American Premiere.

ENEMIES OF HAPPINESS (VORES LYKKES FJENDER) / Denmark (Director: Eva Mulvad and Anja Al Erhayem )—Malalai Joya, a 28-year-old Afghani woman, redefines the role of women and elected officials in her county with her historic 2005 victory in Afghanistan’s first democratic parliamentary election in over 30 years. North American Premiere.

THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN / Ireland/UK ( Director: Julien Temple)—An invitation from Joe Strummer, the Punk Rock Warlord himself, to journey beyond the myth to the heart and voice of a generation. His life, our times, his music. World Premiere.

HOT HOUSE/ Israel (Director: Shimon Dotan)—At once chilling and humanizing, HOT HOUSE provides an unprecedented look at how Israeli prisons have become the breeding ground for the next generation of Palestinian leaders as well as the birth place of future terrorist threats.
North American Premiere.

IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON / UK (Director: David Sington)—One of the defining passages of American history, the Apollo Space Program literally brought the aspirations of a nation to another world. Awe-inspiring footage and candid interviews with the astronauts who visited the moon provide an unparalleled perspective on the precious state of our planet. World Premiere.

MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES / Canada (Director: Jennifer Baichwal)—This stunningly visual work provides the unique perspective of photographer Edward Burtynsky, who chronicles the transforming landscape of the world due to industrial work and manufacturing. U.S. Premiere.

THE MONASTERY: MR. VIG AND THE NUN / Denmark ( Director: Pernille Rose Grønkjær)— Worlds collide, tempers flare and dreams are realized when Mr. Vig, an 82-year-old virgin from Denmark and Sister Ambrosija, a headstrong Russian nun, join forces to transform Mr. Vig’s run-down castle into an Orthodox Russian monastery. North American Premiere.

ON A TIGHTROPE / Norway, Canada (Director: Petr Lom)—The daily lives of four children living in an orphanage who are learning the ancient art of tightrope walking becomes a metaphor for the struggle of the Uighur’s, China’s largest Muslim minority, who are torn between religion and the teachings of communism. North American Premiere.

THREE COMRADES (DRIE KAMERADEN) / Netherlands (Director: Masha Novikova)—In this intimate film we witness the lives of three lifelong friends who’s worlds are torn apart by war in Chechnya’s bloody struggle for independence. North American Premiere.

A VERY BRITISH GANGSTER / UK (Director: Donal MacIntyre)—Given his many contradictions, Dominic Noonan, head of one of Britain’s biggest crime families, is a man who defies stereotypes. This close up look at his life, from gun trials to the murder of his brother on the streets of Manchester, reveals a community struggling with poverty, violence and drugs. World Premiere.

VHS—KAHLOUCHA/ Tunisia (Director: Nejib Belkadhi)—In a poor district of Tunisia, self-made auteur, Moncef Kahloucha, a guerilla filmmaker in the purest sense, demonstrates that it takes a village to make fun movies as he brings the power of cinema to the people.
North American Premiere.

WELCOME EUROPA / France (Director: Bruno Ulmer)—Kurdish, Moroccan and Romanian young men migrate to Europe for a better life only to face the harsh realities and the laws of survival on the streets of a foreign land. North American Premiere.


World Cinema Dramatic Competition

BLAME IT ON FIDEL (LA FAUTE A FIDEL) / France (Director and Screenwriter: Julie Gavras)—A 9- year-old girl weathers big changes in her household as her parents become radical political activists in 1970-71 Paris. North American Premiere.

DRAINED (O CHEIRO DO RALO) / Brazil (Director: Heitor Dhalia; Screenwriters: Marçal Aquino, Heitor Dhalia)—A pawn shop proprietor buys used goods from desperate locals—as much to play perverse power games as for his own livelihood, but when the perfect rump and a backed-up toilet enter his life, he loses all control. North American Premiere.

DRIVING WITH MY WIFE’S LOVER (ANE-EUI AEIN-EUL MANNADA) / South Korea (Director: Kim Tai-sik; Screenwriters: Kim Jeon-han, Kim Tai-sik)—When a mild-mannered South Korean man decides to track down the cab driver having an affair with his wife, a strange bond develops between the pair during a long-distance drive. North American Premiere.

EAGLE VS. SHARK / New Zealand (Director and Screenwriter: Taika Waititi)—The tale of two socially awkward misfits and the strange ways they try to find love. World Premiere.

EZRA / France (Director: Newton I. Aduaka; Screenwriters: Newton I. Aduaka, Alain-Michel Blanc)—A young ex-child soldier in Sierra Leone attempts to return to a normal life after the civil war which devastated his country. World Premiere.

GHOSTS / UK (Director: Nick Broomfield; Screenwriters: Nick Broomfield, Jez Lewis)—Based on a true story, GHOSTS is the tragic account of an illegal Chinese immigrant woman as she struggles relentlessly for a better life in the U.K. North American Premiere.

HOW IS YOUR FISH TODAY? (JIN TIAN DE YU ZEN ME YANG?) / UK (Director: Xiaolu Guo; Screenwriter: Rao Hui, Xiaolu Guo)—Blurring boundaries between reality and fiction, HOW IS YOUR FISH TODAY? traces a Chinese writer's inner journey through his fictional characters.
North American Premiere.

HOW SHE MOVE / Canada (Director: Ian Iqbal Rashid; Screenwriter: Annmarie Morais)—Following her sister’s death from drug addiction, a high school student is forced to leave her private school to return to her old, crime-filled neighborhood where she re-kindles an unlikely passion for the competitive world of “Step” dancing. World Premiere.

THE ISLAND (OSTROV) / Russia (Director: Pavel Lounguine; Screenwriter: Dmitri Sobolev)—Somewhere in Northern Russia in a small Russian Orthodox monastery lives an unusual man whose bizarre conduct confuses his fellow monks, while others who visit the island believe that the man has the power to heal, exorcise demons and foretell the future. U.S. Premiere.

KHADAK / Belgium/Germany (Directors and Screenwriters: Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth)—Set in the frozen steppes of Mongolia, KHADAK tells the epic story of Bagi, a young nomad confronted with his destiny after animals fall victim to a plague which threatens to eradicate nomadism.
U.S. Premiere.

THE LEGACY / Georgia/France (Directors and Screenwriters: Géla Babluani, Temur Babluani)—Three French hipsters and their translator travel through rural Georgia to claim a remote, ruined castle that one of them has inherited. En route, they encounter an old man and his grandchild who are on a journey to carry out a mysterious, morbid ritual designed to end a conflict between warring clans.
North American Premiere.

THE NIGHT BUFFALO (EL BUFALO DE LA NOCHE) / Mexico (Director: Jorge Hernandez Aldana; Screenwriters: Jorge Hernandez Aldana, Guillermo Arriaga,)—A 22-year-old schizophrenic commits suicide after his girlfriend cheats on him with his best friend. Before killing himself, he lays out a plan that will drive the lovers into an abyss of madness. World Premiere.

NOISE / Australia (Director and Screenwriter: Matthew Saville)—A young cop, beset with doubt and afflicted with tinnitus (ear-ringing), is pitched into the chaos that follows a mass murder on a suburban train. He struggles to clear the screaming in his head while the surrounding community deals with the after effects of the terrible crime. World Premiere.

ONCE / Ireland (Director and Screenwriter: John Carney)—ONCE is a modern-day musical set on the streets of Dublin. Featuring Glen Hansard and his Irish band “The Frames”, ONCE tells the story of a busker and an immigrant during an eventful week as they write, rehearse and record songs that reveal their unique love story. North American Premiere.

RÊVES DE POUSSIÈRE (DREAMS of DUST) / Burkina Faso/Canada/France (Director and Screenwriter: Laurent Salgues)—A Nigerian peasant comes looking for work in Essakane, a dusty gold mine in Northeast Burkina Faso, where he hopes to forget the past that haunts him. North American Premiere.

SWEET MUD (ADAMA MESHUGAAT) / Israel (Director and Screenwriter: Dror Shaul)—On a kibbutz in southern Israel in the 1970's, Dvir Avni realizes that his mother is mentally ill. In this closed community, bound by rigid rules, Dvir must navigate between the kibbutz motto of equality and the stinging reality that his mother has, in effect, been abandoned by the community. U.S. Premiere.

# posted by Jason Guerrasio @ 11/29/2006 04:45:00 PM Comments (0)

Looking through the nominees for the Independent Spirit Awards I'm very happy to see Ali Selim’s Sweet Land nominated for Best First Feature and Best Female Lead for Elizabeth Reaser. Since I saw it premiere at the Hamptons International Film Festival (where it won the Audience Award) in 2005 I’ve been a big fan. Set in a turbulent post-WWI America, Reaser gives a gripping performance as a German immigrant sent to Minnesota for an arranged marriage and hope for a better life and David Tumblety's camera work of the Northwestern plains are breathtaking.

The film had to go the self-distribution route (with the help of Jeff Lipsky) and got glowing reviews from the likes of EW, The Village Voice, and The New York Times, and hopefully this recognition will bring more good fortune. Check out their website for theater listings.

Here's the full list of the 2007 Independent Spirit Award nominees:

BEST FEATURE
American Gun
The Dead Girl
Half Nelson
Little Miss Sunshine
Pan's Labyrinth

BEST DIRECTOR
Robert Altman, "A Prairie Home Companion"
Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris, "Little Miss Sunshine"
Ryan Fleck, "Half Nelson"
Karen Moncrieff, "The Dead Girl"
Steven Soderbergh, "Bubble"

BEST FIRST FEATURE
Day Night Day Night- Director: Julia Loktev
Man Push- Cart Director: Ramin Bahrani
The Motel- Director: Michael Kang
Sweet Land- Director: Ali Selim
Wristcutters: A Love Story- Director: Goran Dukic


JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000)
"Chalk"- Director: Mike Akel
"Four Eyed Monsters"- Writer/Director/Producers: Arin Crumley & Susan Buice
"Old Joy"- Director: Kelly Reichardt
"Quinceanera"- Writer/Directors: Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland
"Twelve and Holding"- Director: Michael Cuesta


BEST SCREENPLAY
Neil Burger, "The Illusionist"
Nicole Holofcener, "Friends with Money"
Ron Nyswaner, "The Painted Veil"
Jason Reitman, "Thank You For Smoking"
Jeff Stanzler, "Sorry, Haters"


BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Michael Arndt, "Little Miss Sunshine"
Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck, "Half Nelson"
Goran Dukic, "Wristcutters: A Love Story"
Dito Montiel, "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints"
Gabrielle Zevin, "Conversations with Other Women"

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Shareeka Epps, "Half Nelson"
Catherine O'Hara, "For Your Consideration"
Elizabeth Reaser, "Sweet Land"
Michelle Williams, "Land of Plenty"
Robin Wright Penn, "Sorry, Haters"

BEST MALE LEAD
Aaron Eckhart, "Thank You For Smoking"
Ryan Gosling, "Half Nelson"
Edward Norton, "The Painted Veil"
Ahmad Razvi, "Man Push Cart"
Forest Whitaker, "American Gun"

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Melonie Diaz, "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints"
Marcia Gay Harden, "American Gun"
Mary Beth Hurt, "The Dead Girl"
Frances McDormand, "Friends with Money"
Amber Tamblyn, "Stephanie Daley"

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Alan Arkin, "Little Miss Sunshine"
Raymond J. Barry, "Steel City"
Daniel Craig, "Infamous"
Paul Dano, "Little Miss Sunshine"
Channing Tatum, "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Arin Crumley, "Four Eyed Monsters"
Anthony Dod Mantle, "Brothers of the Head"
Guillermo Navarro, "Pan's Labyrinth"
Aaron Platt, "Wild Tigers I Have Known"
Michael Simmonds, "Man Push Cart"

BEST DOCUMENTARY
"A Lion in the House"- Directors: Steven Bognar & Julia Reichert
"My Country, My Country"- Director: Laura Poitras
"The Road to Guantanamo"- Directors: Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross
"The Trials of Darryl Hunt"- Directors: Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern
"You're Gonna Miss Me"- Director: Keven McAlester

BEST FOREIGN FILM
"12:08 East of Bucharest"- Director: Corneliu Porumboiu (Romania)
"The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros"- Director: Auraeus Solito (Philippines)
"Chronicle of an Escape"- Director: Israel Adrian Caetano (Argentina)
"Days of Glory"- Director: Rachid Bouchareb (France/Morocco/Algeria/Belgium)
"The Lives of Others"- Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (Germany)

FILMMAKER GRANT NOMINEES
The 13th annual IFC/Acura Someone to Watch Award
The award includes a $50,000 unrestricted grant, funded by IFC and Acura.
So Yong Kim, director of "In Between Days"
Julia Loktev, director of "Day Night Day Night"
Richard Wong, director of "Colma: The Musical"

The 11th annnual Axium Truer Than Fiction Award
The award includes a $50,000 unrestricted grant funded by Axium International.
Adele Horn for The "Tailenders"
Eric Daniel Metzgar for "The Chances of the World Changing"
AJ Schnack for "Kurt Cobain About A Son"

The 10th annual Axium Producers Award
The award includes a $50,000 unrestricted grant, funded by Axium International.
Julie Lynn, producer of "Nine Lives" and "10 Items or Less"
Alex Orlovsky and Jamie Patricof, producers of "Half Nelson" and "Point & Shoot"
Howard Gertler and Tim Perell, producers of "Shortbus" and "Pizza"

SPECIAL DISTINCTION AWARD
David Lynch, Laura Dern
In recognition of their collaborative work in "Inland Empire" as well as the influential independent classics "Blue Velvet" and "Wild at Heart".

# posted by Jason Guerrasio @ 11/28/2006 12:44:00 PM Comments (2)

Below Andre Salas gives you some details about the special screening series at MOMA this week of the films we selected for our "Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You" Gotham Award. This is the second year of this award -- last year we selected Caveh Zahedi's I am a Sex Addict as the winner and Robinson Devor's Police Beat as one of the nominees, and this year I think we picked films of similar quality. Indeed, it's gratifying for all of us at Filmmaker to take such a concentrated look at worthy films that have really fallen off the distribution radar and try to get them some more attention.

Here's my take on the five films:

Goran Dukic's Wristcutters is a whimsical and melancholy look at unlikely romance in an afterlife full of souls who have died by suicide. Patrick Fugit and Shannon Sossamon are great, and Tom Waits, who is too rarely on screen, is hilarious, touching and wonderful. The film is full of deadpan humor and philosophical musings and it seems akin to works by Jim Jarmusch and Aki Kaurismaki, among others.

In Choking Man, director Steve Barron takes the techniques he used in his series of innovative videos in the '80s ("Billie Jean," "Take on Me") and applies them to a low-key drama about a shy, possibly schizophrenic dishwasher and his relationship with a ebuillient young waitress in a Queens diner. Produced for a less than $1 million, the film is infused with gentle magical realism and it's visual design, the way Baron integrates animation and symbolic imagery into the narrative, is stunning.

Jake Clennell's The Great Happiness Space is a fascinating documentary on the Japanese bar/escort scene, concentrating on a group of girls infatuated with a male escort who offers them a "boyfriend experience." Then the film throws in a surprising twist that I'll let you discover on your own. During our deliberations Matt Ross commented that the film is fascinating for its integration of the visually rendered melancholy romanticism found in the films of Hsou Hsiao-Hsien into the doc format, and I think he's right.

So Yong Kim was one of Filmmaker's "25 New Faces" this year and her In Between Days is both deft and intimate with a filmmaking style closely attuned to the tiniest shifts in the emotional lives of its two young protagonists. Like Wristcutters, it premiered in Competition at Sundance and has been burning up the critic's lists since.

Finally, check out the inventive and accomplished Colma: The Musical (pictured), Richard Wong's fusion of John Hughes style suburban teen drama, Kevin Smith-ish irreverent slacker comedy, and Michael Bennett-influenced movie musical. Yes, when Wong calls his film a musical, he means it. Chock full of catchy, new-wave-ish music numbers that are hilariously choreographed, Colma is a feel good movie that's not like anything out there on the indie scene right now.

Oh yeah, each of the screenings has a Q and A with reps from the film and moderated by an IFP or Filmmaker person. (I'll be doing both after-screening sessions on Monday.) The series runs from Friday to Monday; scroll down for Salas's post which has more details.

# posted by Scott Macaulay @ 11/23/2006 03:07:00 PM Comments (1)

Ira Deutchman emailed to tell me about the new blog for his company Emerging Pictures and a post he has up remembering Robert Altman. It's great and long, a collection of Ira's memories having worked with Altman on the distribution of a number of his films. When reading I had a hard time picking a section to excerpt. I was strongly tempted to lift the paragraph about Altman and Deutchman smoking a joint that had been found mashed in Altman's shoe outside the Beekman on the opening day of The Player, but I'll let you click to that and quote this section from Deutchman's conclusion:

Bob could be infuriating, but unlike any number of directors I’ve worked with, I felt like he had earned it. In recent years, he most definitely mellowed, but he never lost his urge for mischief. There was this disarmingly sly smile that came after he said something naughty or came up with an idea for something that was clearly outrageous. He relished being an outsider.

His body of work speaks for itself. But as great as Bob’s directing was, his truly great gift was producing. In all those years, when his films would be greeted with anything from accolades to distain, and even in the years in which he had no box office success, he never stopped working. There was no one more resourceful in getting his vision on the screen. And he extended that gift to help his loyal friends to get their films made as well…the most notable being Alan Rudolph, who he continually supported.

# posted by Scott Macaulay @ 11/23/2006 02:33:00 PM Comments (0)

Holidays can often mean a dearth of interesting, edgy films in theatres, a time when studios inundate us with bad comedies and kids fare, or set up the latest overblown vanity projects in time for Oscar nominations. What's an open-minded, adventurous indie-film fan to do with extra time on his/her hands and so few movies to go to?

One enticing option for those in the NYC area is the "Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You" screenings taking place at the Museum of Modern Art over Thanksgiving weekend: 5 different feature films, all nominated for a prestigious Gotham award in the category of the same name. Chosen by Filmmaker Magazine and MoMA from recommendations by a host of prestigious festival programmers, the movies represent the cream of projects not yet acquired for distribution, but which will you'll undoubtedly hear more about in 2007. Why not get the edge over all your highbrow friends, and see them now?

This year's nominees are: Choking Man by Steve Barron, Colma: The Musical by Richard Wong, The Great Happiness Space by Jake Clennell, In Between Days by So Yong Kim, and Wristcutters: A Love Story by Goran Dukic.

Personally, I am most intrigued by Clennell's documentary about the after-hours industry of Japanese "host boys", dashing young men who entertain women at bars and clubs... hey, it beats leftover turkey!

Friday night's admission to the films is free with Museum entry.

The Schedule

Friday, November 24
6:00 In Between Days
8:00 Colma: The Musical

Saturday, November 25
2:00 Choking Man
4:00 Wristcutters: A Love Story
6:00 The Great Happiness Space: Tale of an Osaka Love Thief

Sunday, November 26
2:00 In Between Days
4:00 Colma: The Musical
6:15 Choking Man

Monday, November 27
6:00 Wristcutters: A Love Story
8:00 The Great Happiness Space: Tale of an Osaka Love Thief


For more information on the films and these screenings, visit the MoMA site.

# posted by André Salas @ 11/22/2006 05:47:00 PM Comments (0)

Robert Altman's production company, Sandcastle 5, has relayed some appreciations of the great director from his friends and colleagues:

“I was friends with Bob for 20 years before we worked together on GOSFORD PARK. It was then that I experienced the real magic of Robert Altman. When he was working he had a youthful joyfulness that was just amazing.” – Bob Balaban

“I have always admired Robert Altman's films and it was an honor to work with him on A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION. We had so much fun working on that project over the past year and I know that he went out ‘with his boots on’.” – Bob Berney, President of Picturehouse

“He was a great man of the cinema and a great man. Everybody who had the privilege to know him will miss him hugely.” - Kenneth Branagh

“There’s no one I’m prouder to have worked with. He was an ecstatic…a magician…a conjurer…a mischievous boy. Perhaps unprecedented. He understood and could express that uniquely American shapeshifting goofiness more than anyone. He was the deepest ocean and the lightest feather at the same time…we all loved him so very much.” - Richard Gere

“Mr. Altman loved making movies. He loved the chaos of shooting and the sociability of the crew and actors --- he adored actors --- and he loved the editing room and he especially loved sitting in a screening room and watching the thing over and over with other people. He didn’t care for the money end of things, he didn’t mind doing publicity, but when he was working he was in heaven.

He and I once talked about making a movie about a man coming back to Lake Wobegon to bury his father, and Mr. Altman said, “The death of an old man is not a tragedy.” I used that line in the movie we wound up making --- the Angel of Death says it to the Lunch Lady, comforting her on the death of her lover Chuck Akers in his dressing room, “The death of an old man is not a tragedy.” Mr. Altman’s death seems so honorable and righteous --- to go in full-flight, doing what you love --- like his comrades in the Army Air Force in WWII who got shot out of the sky and simply vanished into blue air --- and all of us who worked with him had the great privilege of seeing an 81-year-old guy doing what he loved to do. I’m sorry that our movie turned out to be his last, but I do know that he loved making it. It’s a great thing to be 81 and in love.” – Garrison Keillor

“It was inspiring to know that Robert was in preproduction on his next film. Working with him was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I am blessed to have worked with him and to have known him as Bob. My thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Kathryn and his children.” – Virginia Madsen

"A great man has left this stage. If Bob had his way I'm sure he would want the speeches about him to be short and to the point. In my too brief time with him, his life seemed to be concerned with two things, telling it like it is and having fun. Every one of us has a lot of living to do if we are to follow his example. My thoughts and prayers are with Kathryn and his family, the immediate family and the gloriously extended one. I guess I'll see him in the next reel as he used to say." – John C. Reilly

"I am deeply saddened by the passing of Robert Altman, a great friend and inspiration to me since I had the honor of meeting him in 1990. His unique vision and maverick sensibilities in filmmaking have inspired countless directors of my generation and will continue to inspire future filmmakers. He leaves behind a legacy of great American films and he will be deeply missed." – Tim Robbins

“Bob's restless spirit has moved on -- I have to say, when I spoke with him last week, he seemed impatient for the future. He still had the generous, optimistic appetite for the next thing, and we planned the next film laughing in anticipation of the laughs we'd have. What a gent, what a guy, what a great heart. There's no one like him and we'll miss him so.” – Meryl Streep

Donations in his name can be made to the Cedars-Sinai Hospital Heart and Lung Transplant Unit.

# posted by Scott Macaulay @ 11/22/2006 11:51:00 AM Comments (0)

Over at Movie City Indie, Ray Pride runs excerpts from an interview he did with Robert Altman for a special Gotham Award issue of Filmmaker.

An excerpt:

An attempt to be original counts as some kind of success, doesn't it? "Now, if you see anything original, you won't see it [out there for] very long. It's time turtling on. These kids... they don't understand anything else. There's so much saturation. There's not a policeman today who didn't learn his behavior from watching films or television. We all imitate each other.” Does Altman ever think he's imitating himself? “It now occurs to me they're all chapters of the same book. My fingerprints are all over them. Whatever I do, I can't not do it.”

I shift the conversation to a few elements of production, asking if he ever felt any kind of fear on the way to the set in the morning anymore? "Fear? No. Concern, to some degree. It's difficult, there are so many elements. One element goes wrong, you have to constantly readjust. I have to say it's anxiety, not fear."

Have your budgets always been adequate? "I've never been short. On any of those films, if I had an extra week, I don't know what I would have done with it. I set my own schedules. I don't always have all the actors, I don't have the access to the money to pay certain actors who won't work at a certain special effect, things like that. But that just means I have to be a little more creative. I like that."

Ringing off, I mention I like the similarities between Cookie's Fortune and the work of the cinema's great humanist, Jean Renoir (whose Rules of the Game was the acknowledged template for his later Gosford Park. "All these tags are beyond me," he says. Well, I joke, I guess it's your job to do the work, and the job of the journalists is to put your art in a shoe box, I joke to the man who said Hollywood made sneakers and he made gloves. I can almost hear a smirk down the phone line. "Yeah, to put my gloves in a shoe box."

# posted by Scott Macaulay @ 11/22/2006 11:13:00 AM Comments (0)

As various news sites, including Reuters, are reporting, Robert Altman died last night in a Los Angeles hospital. He was 81.

There are many ways to eulogize this remarkable director, a true maverick who never relinquished his own very personal idea of independence over many decades of work. For now, I'm just going to point you to Matthew Ross's cover story on Altman in our Spring, 2006 issue. At the time he had just finished A Prarie Home Companion which Ross called "a triumphant new chapter in Altman's body of work." In the article, Altman noted that since receiving the heart transplant he talked about on stage after winning an honorary Academy Award this Spring he completed five features. And while many younger directors complain about the inequities of Hollyood and their inability to get their movies movie, Altman remained both philosophical and wiley, committed to testing the boundaries of both the system and society with his sly, fast-footed dramas.

We'll have more on Altman in the days ahead.

# posted by Scott Macaulay @ 11/21/2006 12:21:00 PM Comments (0)

The Emmanuelle franchise has just turned 31, and is alive & well, in case you were wondering about the fate of France's #1 erotic superheroine. Originally introduced in the semi-autobiographical novel Emmanuelle by Emmanuelle Arsan, the character went on to infamy in the soft-focus feature film adaptation in 1974 that took most of the world by storm. A series of lush sequels followed, theatrical features that featured a rotating roster of directors (including cult figures Jean Rollins and Walerian Borowczyk) and the occasional presence of original star Sylvia Kristel.

After 7 films however, the 90s saw the classy Emmanuelle brand go to cable, spawning a rather different brand of bump and grind, soft-core tawdriness, sadly probably more familiar to latenight TV viewers at this point than the original films.

That may be about to change: Alain Siritzky Prods., the Paris-based production outfit behind the series since the first film, has announced a new feature film, Emmanuelle Tango, which finished principal photography in Buenos Aires, Argentina earlier this year. Newbie director Milos Twilight brings us a tale in which aliens (from outer space, not Latin-America) threaten world safety; managing to find time to hit the nearest tango bar while they're at it. Only Emmanuelle can stop them, apparently.

The first worldwide theatrical Emmanuelle release in a decade, will this mean a return to the fun, witty entries of days gone by, and a resuscitation of the sullied Emmanuelle name? One time will tell....

# posted by André Salas @ 11/21/2006 12:04:00 PM Comments (0)

If you're in New York City this week check three free screenings at the Brooklyn Academy of Music: Jim McKay's features Our Song, Everyday People and the most recent, Angel Rodriguez.

Since Our Song in 2000 McKay has been making lovingly crafted dramas that quite movingly dig into the lives of characters often overlooked by both mainstream Hollywood and independent film. All three films are set in Brooklyn, and the latest stars newcomer Jonan Everett (pictured) and Rachel Griffiths in the story of a troubled inner-city teenager and the guidance counselor who is trying to help while confronting problems of her own.

Angel Rodriguez screens at 6:50 tomorrow, November 18; Everyday People screens at 6:50 on November 20; and Our Song screens at 6:50 on September 21. Again, the screenings are free, and BAM is located at 30 Lafayette Avenue in Brooklyn.

# posted by Scott Macaulay @ 11/17/2006 06:12:00 PM Comments (8)

Apparently Tickle Me Elmo isn't the only electronic gadget capable of making otherwise sane, normal people stand in pouring rain and commit random acts of violence: meet PlayStation 3. Electronic gaming giant Sony Computer Entertainment unveiled the latest version of their popular console this week in the States, setting off an unprecedented wave of hysteria, violence and heartbreak.

In Connecticut, two armed thugs tried to rob a line of people waiting for the new game system to go on sale and shot a man who resisted. In Kentucky, four people were hit by BBs fired from a passing vehicle as they waited for a Best Buy store to open. In Palmdale, California, authorities shut down a Super Wal-Mart after shoppers began to riot. In Wisconsin, a 19-year-old was injured when he ran into a pole during a stampede for a much coveted spot outside another Wal-Mart.

The biggest question remains. Is PS3 worth all the trouble? Not if it will only play a fraction of PS 1 and 2 games, as widely reported.

PlayStation 3 hit Japan on November 10, and sold out within hours. A release in Europe is slated for March.

# posted by André Salas @ 11/17/2006 12:27:00 PM Comments (0)

I was walking down St. Mark's Place the other day and saw that a CBBG fashion store is going in at the site of the old Fillmore East. And, Hilly's been talking about moving the legendary but now shuttered rock club to Las Vegas. So, I guess now is a good time to link to Braden King's new Sonic Youth video, "Do You Believe in Rapture." It's his loving elegy to the club in all of its grimy, decaying, sticker-over-stickered, disgusting bathroom-ed glory, and it contains Super 8 footage from Jem Cohen.

Also: Claire Denis's sensuously jittery video for another song off the same Rather Ripped album, "Incinerate."

# posted by Scott Macaulay @ 11/16/2006 02:10:00 PM Comments (3)

Currently out on DVD through First Run Features, Michael Apted's 49 UP continues the examination of the lives of 14 people that began when they were children in Paul Almond's Seven Up!

Via GreenCine here's a Q&A with Apted on the UP series.

# posted by Jason Guerrasio @ 11/16/2006 01:46:00 PM Comments (0)

Online video network Revver teams up with IFP to bring filmmakers an unusual, highly original concept: the IFP - Revver Video Short Film Contest.

To compete, all you need to do is create a 60 second video (choosing from the list of themes offered), upload it using the handy UPLOAD tab found on the IFP site, and then log in to Revver to learn how to get your future films on their site! Contestants are encouraged to be as irreverent and experimental as they like, competing for a chance to win a ticket to the legendary Gotham Awards in early December, and have the film screened before a live industry audience. The winner will also have his/her film distributed on DVD to all Gotham attendees.

The competion promises to be fierce, at the same time unearthing a cornucopia of talented, budding filmmakers. Why not join in the fun and let your creative voice be heard?

# posted by André Salas @ 11/16/2006 12:24:00 PM Comments (0)

IFP Gotham Awards are around the corner and this year you have a chance to see the nominees for Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You. From Nov. 24-27 they'll be screening at MoMA leading up to the announcement of the winner, selected by Filmmaker, at the Gotham Awards Nov. 29th.

The five nominees — So Yong Kim's In Between Days, Richard Wong's Colma: The Musical, Steve Barron's Choking Man, Goran Dukic's Wristcutters—A Love Story, and Jake Clennell's The Great Happiness Space: Tale of an Osaka Love Thief — were selected by a panel of advisors from numerous film festivals and then with the help of MoMA and the editors of Filmmaker narrowed the field down to these five worthy films.

To learn more about this year's Gotham Awards click here.

# posted by Jason Guerrasio @ 11/16/2006 11:09:00 AM Comments (0)

Over at his blog, Doug Block responds to a comment I made about his interview (linked below) with Sujewa Ekanayake about the Truly Indie release of his 51 Birch Street.

Scott Macaulay at Filmmaker was a tad disappointed that I didn't do more hardcore number crunching, but there's a reason for that. When we signed the deal, Truly Indie asked me not to (largely because they're considering raising their fees at some point). Personally, I think that's a bit silly, since if filmmakers knew how relatively low the cost is, they'd be flocking to Truly Indie's door. But TI's Kelly Sanders is on the record as saying (at our Toronto Film Festival panel) that you could do a 5-city release for as little as $35,000. And in the same post (hint: see #7), I cunningly hinted at what our fees are for our initial 5 cities, which included NY, LA, SF, Chicago and Minneapolis.

And, he links back to this earlier blog posting listing his Top Ten Reasons for Going the Truly Indie Route.

# posted by Scott Macaulay @ 11/16/2006 02:13:00 AM Comments (0)

Because it was in the "Small Business" section, some of you may have missed this piece in the New York Times on the future of film.

An excerpt:

A WEDDING, as the saying goes, is the beginning of a new life. But for Paul and Kristine Korver, it was also the start of a novel business. Soon after they married, they founded Fifty Foot Films, a Hollywood-based company that is dedicated to fixing major life events on film — a medium that many videographers regard as too risky, sensitive and pricey to be profitable.

In the last four years, the company’s films have captured some high-profile unions, including the pop star Christina Aguilera’s to the producer Jordan Bratman; the baseball player Mike Piazza’s to the former Playboy playmate Alicia Rickter; and the actress Mariska Hargitay’s to a fellow “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” actor, Peter Hermann....

... Mr. Korver’s films, which are made with a combination of hand-held, tripod-mounted and Steadicam-mounted cameras, have the feel of hip art movies. Establishing shots set the time and place, and the story of the day unfolds like a visual tone poem, accompanied by music and voice-overs. Synchronized sound is used for important moments, like the vows. “It looks like it could be an old home movie,” Ms. Capshaw said, “but at the same time there’s something very modern and clever about it.”

...Yet Mr. Korver has made his labor-intensive product relatively affordable, at least in the context of today’s wedding budgets, which now average $27,852, according to a 2006 Condé Nast bridal report. The company’s prices, on par with those for high-end video coverage, have not changed much from the beginning. The typical range for a 45-minute full-day film with synchronized sound is from $12,500 for Super 8 to $27,500 for 16 millimeter. They also offer a $3,500 do-it-yourself Honeymoon Director’s Pack; it includes a Super 8 camera rental, a coaching session and eight rolls of film, which the company later edits into a movie. (That’s how Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott documented their elopement to Fiji earlier this year.)

Mr. Korver is continuing to expand. This year, Fifty Foot produced its first big-budget Hollywood-style project — a 35-millimeter wedding movie filmed in Hawaii, complete with helicopter shots, for a cost in the low six figures. And early next year, Paper Tape, a budget offshoot, will be introduced. Its intention, Mr. Korver said, is “to democratize the filmmaking process, to try to make the beauty of Super 8 film available to more average wedding budgets.”

The company, which will take over Fifty Foot’s lower-priced business, will have an outpost in most major metropolitan areas around the country, the better to cut down on travel costs. Priced at $3,000 to $7,000, the movies will be shot by local filmmakers on Super 8 and edited at Fifty Foot’s offices in Hollywood. For the last few months, Mr. Korver has been recruiting and training frustrated film-school graduates, and he has had no trouble finding talent.

# posted by Scott Macaulay @ 11/15/2006 11:34:00 PM Comments (0)

Not a second too soon, Christopher Petit's Radio On (1979) finally finds it's way to dvd, courtesy of Plexifilm. Shockingly forgotten by most, the director's post-punk journey has become something of a cult film since its initial release, featuring Sting's first film performance, and a stellar soundtrack (David Bowie, Kraftwerk, Lene Lovich, Ian Dury, and more).

Petit's anti-road movie follows a London DJ (David Bearnes) as he travels to Bristol to investigate the mysterious death of his brother, all to a compelling backdrop of late 70s England.

Newly restored by the British Film Institute, it's the first time Radio On has been available in North America in any format, and includes a remixed soundtrack to dance around your bedroom to. In stores March 6th.

# posted by André Salas @ 11/15/2006 03:45:00 PM Comments (0)

Over at The Hot Blog David Poland gives us some Oscar hopefuls for Best Doc. Though I haven't seen all of these I would have to say one of my favorite docs of the year so far is Deborah Scranton's The War Tapes. When I saw it at Tribeca (where it won Best Doc) I was drawn not only by its originality of looking at the war but how Scranton stays with the soldiers as they return home and start a whole new battle: adjusting to civilian life. In some ways that's harder than surviving the war.

# posted by Jason Guerrasio @ 11/15/2006 11:43:00 AM Comments (0)

I received the following press release about a foundation formed in the memory of director and actress Adrienne Shelly.

The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the memory of Writer/Director/Actress Adrienne Shelly, is being founded by her husband, Andy Ostroy. Plans include a Womens’ Filmmaking Scholarship Fund, with a particular emphasis on awarding film school scholarships and helping women make the transition from acting to directing. “I know what Adrienne would want most would be to help women get a chance to pursue their dream,” says Ostroy. More initiatives from the foundation will be announced at a later date.

Those wanting to contribute can send checks made out to THE ADRIENNE SHELLY FOUNDATION, via Belardi/Ostroy LLC, 16 West 22nd Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10010. Checks should be post-dated December 15th, until the legal status of the Foundation is finalized.

Shelly, who first became known as an actor for her teamings with director Hal Hartley on “The Unbelievable Truth” and “Trust,” recently appeared in “Factotum.” She wrote and directed three feature films in which she acted, “Sudden Manhattan,” “I’ll Take You There,” and the soon-to-be-seen “Waitress.” She also appeared in over twenty other films.

# posted by Scott Macaulay @ 11/14/2006 11:43:00 PM Comments (0)

Via Monika Bartyzel at Cinematical is this YouTube link to Francesco Vezzoli's Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal's Caligula. Starring Karen Black, Milla Jovovich, Courtney Love, Gore Vidal, and Oscar-bound Helen Mirren, the short film, which was exhibited at both the Venice Biennale and the Whitney Biennial, campily critiques the periodic influx of fashion designers and promoters into the art world.

And, from the link on both Cinematical and GreenCine, I learned a new abbreviation -- NSFW. As in, "not safe for work."

# posted by Scott Macaulay @ 11/14/2006 09:32:00 PM Comments (0)

Out on DVD today is the raunchy and hilarious Strangers With Candy. Even if you weren't a big fan of the TV show this movie is still worth checking out. If not for the handful of A-list cameos, watch it for the absurd scenes between Amy Sedaris and Stephen Colbert. Priceless.

Created by Sedaris, Colbert and Paul Dinello (who also directed the film), GreenCine dug up this Q&A Andy Spletzer had with the trio when it played at Sundance.

# posted by Jason Guerrasio @ 11/14/2006 03:57:00 PM Comments (0)

Back in 1995 producer Ted Hope wrote a seminal piece for Filmmaker entitled "Indie Film is Dead," in which he listed quite a few reasons why independent filmmaking was getting tougher and tougher.

Go back and look at the piece and you'll see that many of Hope's industry criticisms hold true today. Here's one:

"The film industry, like all others, mystifies by design. All industries create their own vernacular, keeping the have-nots clouded in confusion. Variety takes this talent to an art form. The neophyte needs a class in how to read the trades, let alone understand them. Where is the information when you need it? Whether it’s a rolodex or a financial chart, good luck in getting up-to-date info. The industry promotes a paranoia and close-to-the-chest confidentiality in all its’ parishioners, whispering that if you don’t leap in, you’ll be out forever."

I thought of this very true comment by Hope today when coming across a couple of links to filmmakers who are trying to counteract the trend towards secrecy in this business. My new favorite blog, Scott Kirsner's CinemaTech, provided the first by alerting me to Lance Weiler's Workbook Project.

Here's Weiler on his plan to create a kind of wiki dealing with the specifics of independent film distribution and marketing::

"I’ve been working on a DIY book and I’ve decided to make it a free online resource. The concept is part of a 'social opensource experiment' called the workbook project. It’s a simple concept, the workbook is meant to be spread and edited. Meaning that content creators can add their own info, war stories, advice etc. Since the workbook is a wiki that can be saved to the desktop and edited, we’re hoping that it can become a resource that is always growing.

The goal is to have it grow organically as people add what they feel is important. Then over time, the various 'additions' can be collected or at least interlinked so that the information can be shared.The first edition of the workbook will include extensive info about:

* Raising capital
* High Production Values with no money
* Putting together a 17 city theatrical release
* Building a fan base and creating buzz
* Clearance and Delivery issues
* A look at actual contracts
* Getting your work into retail and rental outlets
* Making a TV deal
* How to deal with world sales
* Emerging Markets
* and much much more

Visit the site to learn how you can contribute your own info to the project.

The second article came via Sujewa Ekanayake's Indie Features 06 and is an interview with 51 Birch Street filmmaker Doug Block about his experience working with distributor Truly Indie. It doesn't have a lot of the hardcore number crunching I'd like to see, but Block does speak straightforwardly about the process of working with Truly Indie as a way of getting one's film out.

Sujewa: Can you explain how Truly Indie works? As far as I understand it is a distributor-for-hire service: a flat fee is paid to Landmark's Truly Indie for getting your film screened at a certain number of theaters & you get to keep the $s earned from ticket sales, right?

Doug: Once you get chosen and agree to go with them you're given a list of Truly Indie cities (about 20), the local Landmark theater it will show in that city, the seat numbers, ticket prices, and an exact fee it will cost for that city down to the dollar. The fee includes a publicist in each city (overseen by Melissa Raddatz, the Landmark Director of Publicity), 2 ads in the local paper of record, and in return you keep 100% of the box office. Most important of all, you keep all other rights to your film.

Sujewa: What made you decide to purchase Truly Indie's services, instead of attempting to book the film with various theaters by yourself (or did you try to do that first?)?

Doug: We didn't want to do all the work ourselves. Truly Indie seemed like a good blend of DIY and going with a traditional distributor. And we were able to raise money from investors to support a theatrical release, our exec producers Priddy Brothers Entertainment. They were very intrigued by the Truly Indie model.

# posted by Scott Macaulay @ 11/14/2006 01:27:00 AM Comments (1)

There was an excellent piece on Steven Soderbergh's The Good German in yesterday's New York Times (Warner Bros. opens the film next month). Channeling the 1940s era of filmmakers like Michael Curtiz (Casablanca), Soderbergh has created a film that according to Dave Kehr has the look and feel of old Hollywood.

An excerpt:

During the production Mr. Soderbergh was committed to remaining as true as possible to the technique of the era. By reproducing the conditions of an actual studio shoot from the late 1940s, he hoped to enter the mind of a filmmaker like Mr. Curtiz, to explore the strengths and limitations of a classical style that has now largely been lost.

“For weeks, for all of us, it was like living in a time warp,” Mr. Soderbergh said by telephone from Los Angeles, where he was finishing filming “Ocean’s Thirteen,” the third in a series and an unabashedly commercial movie that will be one of Warner Brothers’ major summer releases.

There have been many attempts to recapture the look of old Hollywood over the years, most of them disappointingly superficial: films that begin in black and white but quickly bleed into color, while never straying far from a contemporary vocabulary of close-ups and meandering Steadicam shots. Not only does “The Good German” stick to its monochromatic principles throughout, it uses other elements of ’40s style that may not be apparent at first.

The strongly accented camera angles, the dramatic nonrealistic lighting, the way actors move against each other within the frame and the way the camera travels across the set — these are all elements of a vocabulary that has been lost in the post-television era. In “The Good German,” Mr. Soderbergh is trying to bring this vocabulary back.

# posted by Jason Guerrasio @ 11/13/2006 01:09:00 PM Comments (0)

Last year director and d.p. Patryk Rebisz wrote in Filmmaker about making his short film Between You and Me entirely with a still camera in burst mode. He just emailed about his next project, a lovely music video for the band Plus/Minus in which he uses the same way of shooting and 170 burning Polaroids to capture the emotions of a crumbling relationship. Here's the rough cut of "Let's Build a Fire."

# posted by Scott Macaulay @ 11/12/2006 12:58:00 PM Comments (2)

Click here for the press conference in with Robert Redford announced a new partnership between the Sundance Institute and the GSM Association to commission six filmmakers to create short films for the mobile platform.

From a piece by James Allan Miller in Smart Phone Today:

Six filmmakers have been commissioned by the GSM Association and the Sundance Institute to create five short short films just for mobile handsets. The purpose of what's called the Sundance Film Festival: Global Short Film Project is to extend independent filmmaking to what the institute's president and founder Robert Redford refers to as "the 'fourth screen' medium, after television, cinema and computers."

The two organizations believe this is the first time independents have been given the task of of creating orginal stories for a mobile environment. All of the chosen directors for the pilot program have shown movies at the Sundance Film Festival in the past.

These include Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the two filmmakers behind the current release 'Little Miss Sunshine', in addition to Justin Lin ('Better Luck Tomorrow'), Maria Maggenti ('Puccini for Beginners'), Cory McAbee ('The American Astronaut') and Jody Hill ('The Foot Fist Way').

They've all been given a limited budget to create 3-5 minute short films for the ultra-small screen.

Redford added, "We feel this experiment embodies fully, our quarter-century dedication to exploring new platforms to support wider distribution of independent voices in filmmaking."

Sundance's director of programming & creative director John Cooper is overseeing The Global Short Film Project. Cooper said the project takes the institute "into the realms of a uniquely intimate new medium, one which holds tremendous promise for maximizing the impact and international reach of the short film genre, and in doing so serving the artists."

The premier of the short films is set to occur at next year's 3GSM World Congress, which takes place in February. Attendees will be able to download the films directly to their cell phones at the conference, with broader release occurring after when it is over.

# posted by Scott Macaulay @ 11/11/2006 10:30:00 PM Comments (3)

Via Defamer, the following report sent it by one of its readers:

"David Lynch RIGHT NOW is sitting on the corner of Hollywood and La Brea with a cow on a leash and a picture of Laura Dern that says For Your Consideration. He also has a sign that says "without cows there would be no cheese in the Inland Empire". This is one of those things that a person needs to see. I wish I wasn't chained to a desk."

And here, via YouTube, is a live view from video bloggers. Nate and Matt:

# posted by Scott Macaulay @ 11/10/2006 09:19:00 PM Comments (0)

If you link to this blog and bypass the main page, I just want to point you to Peter Bowen's excellent interview with director Steve Shainberg, whose Fur opens today.

An excerpt:

Filmmaker: You didn’t want to make the film look like Arbus’s work, but you also cast Nicole Kidman, who doesn’t look like Arbus. Why Kidman?

Shainberg: Whenever I see a biopic, no matter how much the person looks like the person they are playing, it just looks like a bad high school play to me. There is no way that Will Smith is going to look like Muhammad Ali. Some of the producers, who didn’t completely get what we were making, would say, “Here are the top five people who are short and have dark hair and big eyes.” But this wasn’t the enterprise at all. I was after someone who could go through the transformation. From that point of view, the innocence of Kidman — her childlikeness and the sensuality — was exactly Arbus, and was right for the movie. I always thought she would be perfect, but I never thought we would get her.

# posted by Scott Macaulay @ 11/10/2006 04:49:00 PM Comments (0)

Here's an early holiday gift for all you Roberto Rossellini fans. Beginning next Wednesday and running through Dec. 22 the Museum of Modern Art will be holding a Rossellini retrospective that will include his work in film, TV and a parallel exhibition on his film posters (retrospective also has dates set in LA and London).

Manohla Dargis wrote up a little retro of her own in today's New York Times and points out the lack of recognition the auteur has in the States.

“One can’t live without Rossellini,” a character declares in Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1964 film “Before the Revolution.” Yet, almost three decades after Roberto Rossellini’s death in 1977, most moviegoers in America manage to live without the Italian director, though perhaps not as happily as they might. With the vast majority of his films unavailable for home rental, the father of Italian neo-realism and Isabella Rossellini has been reduced to little more than a cinephile cult figure, a faded saint on an art house fresco.

If you're still itching for more Rossellini, then head over to Film Forum the first two weeks of December and catch Guy Maddin's short My Dad Is 100 Years Old. Written and starring Isabella Rossellini, she transforms herself into some of the film's biggest Icons (Chaplin, Hitchcock, Fellini and her mom Ingrid Bergman) to discuss her father's work. Mixed with Maddin's experimental style it's a real treat.

# posted by Jason Guerrasio @ 11/10/2006 10:40:00 AM Comments (0)

If your browser is working correctly, you've got Travis Bickle reciting his famous "Are you talking to me" speech from Taxi Driver on the screen below. And have I lifted his copywritten content off of YouTube to add some zest to the blog? No, using the Screenbites Channel of the Grouper website I've legally placed this clip -- and an ad for the film's DVD -- on the blog along with a feature that allows you to upload your own rendition of the DeNiro monologue.

Scott Kirsner (who picked the far friendlier Groundhogs Day for his own demo) explains over at his indispensable CinemaTech Blog:

Sony is making part of its content library available on Grouper, so that people can link to it, or embed it in their blogs or Web sites (as I've done here.) Every time a clip is played, there's an opportunity to purchase the movie on DVD. Try clicking the menu button above... or waiting until the end of the video to see the purchase option. And Sony's pricing of the DVD is appealing: $9.99, with no shipping.

Eventually, Sony or others could (and probably w