The Sarajevo Film Festival‘s co production market, ‘Cinelink‘ have announced the titles of eight films which got selection for this year. The list has been chosen from the first call for entries from from first and second time directors who are interested in preperatory workshops which will be conducted from April 3rd – April 07th 2015.
One of the main highlights of the selection list is ‘Crows’ directed by Turkish Film maker Erol Mintas. The movie is produced by Asli Erdem. Erol Mintas’s ‘Song of My Mother’ had won the Best Film and Best Actor Award in the last season of Sarajevo International Film Festival.
Romanian film ‘Soldiers’ is another anticipated project which has been selected in this lineup. The film is directed by Ivana Mladenovic, and it is produced by Ada Solomon. Ivana’s ‘Turn off the lights’ has previously won the ‘Best Documentary Award’ in the year 2012 at the Sarajevo.
Other films which got selected in this list includes, ‘Lankaran’ directed by Elvin Adigozel, Christina Grozen’s ‘A Coat of Gold’, ‘In the Strange Pursuit of Laura Durand’ crafted by Dimitris Bavellas, ‘Otar’s Death’ helmed by Ioseb Bliadze and Dimitiar Banov’s ‘Nothing to Worry About’.
The second call from Cinelink is meant for established film-makers, in advanced stage of development and financing. The entries are open from April 1st – April 27th.
‘Interstellar’, the sci-fi movie directed by Christopher Nolan has won the ‘Best Film’ prize at the prestigious Empire Film awards. The award ceremony was conducted at London on March 29th evening.
Christopher Nolan was present during the award function. Apart from being selected as the best film, Christopher Nolan also bagged the Inspiration Honor. The honor was presented to Nolan by Jessica Chastain who enacted the role of Murphy Cooper in ‘Interstellar’. Nolan was welcomed with a standing ovation as he walked on to the stage.
On the other hand surprisingly, Andy Serkis who enacted a memorable role in ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’. The audience who took part in the voting found Andy’s performance much impeccable than Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne and favourite Benedict Cumberbatch.
Ralph Fiennes was honored with the ‘Empire Legend’ award. Last year, the actor enacted a spectacular role in ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’. He accepted the award from Universal Action Icon Liam Neeson. Neeson and Fiennes have previously worked together in the much acclaimed film, ‘Schindler’s List’.
“The ‘L’ word is best only applied to a small number of dead actors and is best treated with irony”, said Fiennes after accepting the award.
Gillian Flynn, better known as the author of ‘Gone Girl‘ is all set to join hands with Steve McQueen to co write a script for a heist thriller. The movie will be directed by Steve McQueen, and this deal was made by New Regency president/CEO Brad Weston.
As per credible reports, this heist thriller is based on the 2002 British miniseries ‘Widows’. The movie will showcase the story of a caper which goes wrong, and four robbers get killed in the operation. The widows of the robbers now team up to finish the operation.
Iain Canning and Emile Sherman of See-Saw Films who has earlier worked together with Steve McQueen in ‘Shame‘ will produce this much anticipated heist thriller.
Gillian Flynn is also joining with David Fincher and Ben Affleck in another film, and in this film, she will write the screenplay.
The most reputed Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) is scheduled from April 16th – April 23rd 2015. Parallel to the film festival, the Beijing Film Market will take place from April 17th – 20th at the China Millenium Monument. The recent news from the corner is regarding the unveil of Jury panel names.
The festival organizers have now unleashed the seven-strong jury for this year’s Tiantan Competition. The jury panel will be headed by Luc Besson, who is known for his films like, ‘Taken’ ‘Lucy’ and ‘Colombiana‘. Other eminent members in the panel includes, Russian filmmaker Fedor Bondarchuk, Fernando Meirelles from Brazil, Hong Kong director-producer Peter Ho-sun Chan, Korean auteur Kim Ki-duk, US scriptwriter Robert Mark Kamen and Zhou Xun, famous Chinese actress.
Robert Mark Kamen is an Internationally known figure, and he is as the script writer of International blockbusters, The Karate Kid, Transporter franchise.
The festival will be conducted with grandeur this year, and it will feature splendid opening and closing ceremonies at the Huairou Yanqi Lake convention centre. The Beijing International Festival this year is also trying to proclaiming its presence in the online world by releasing its details of panorama program through platforms like Wechat.
Renowned filmmaker Guillermo del Toro will be honored at the San Francisco International Film Festival, as he will receive this year’s Irving M. Levin Directing Award during the event.
The filmmaker from Mexico will receive award at the San Francisco Film Society Awards Night which is scheduled on April 27, 2015. Prior to the presentation ceremony, Guillermo del Toro will attend an on stage interview on April 25, and it will be followed by the screening of ‘The Devil’s Backbone’.
“This award is a tribute to his boundless imagination and to his deep understanding of cinema history. Del Toro is both a great teacher and a boisterous communicator of why movies matter; we are going to have a very fun night with him here indeed”, said Noah Cowan, the Executive Director of San Francisco International Film Festival.
The much awaited Kanbar Award for excellence in storytelling and George Gund III Award for outstanding contribution to the craft of cinema is expected to be unveiled in the coming days.
Richard Gere, renowned American actor and activist will be honored at the San Francisco Film Festival which will run from April 23rd – May 7th 2015. The festival organizers have decided to present him with its Peter J. Owens Award for excellence in acting. The award will be handed over at the Film Festival’s Film Society Award Night on April 27th.
Another major highlight of the festival is the screening of ‘Time Out of Mind’ directed by Oren Moverman on April 26th 2015. Richard Gere plays the role of a homeless man in the movie. Prior to the screening of the movie, the actor will take part in an on-stage interview which will be conducted at the Castro theater.
“Richard Gere is one of cinema’s few unmistakable icons, a powerful connection to the heart of Hollywood history. But when we saw his extraordinary performance in Time Out of Mind, we were instantly reminded of something else—that he is an intoxicatingly gifted actor, capable of extraordinary depth and subtlety. We anticipate continuing acclaim for Gere now and through the awards season”, said Noah Cowan, Executive Director, San Francisco Film Festival.
Richard Gere‘s upcoming film is Andrew Renzi’s, ‘Franny’. Apart from Gere, the film also stars Theo James and Dakota Fanning in other prominent roles.
Luxor African Film Festival‘s ETISAL Fund management announced the launch of STEP as its second program for the 2015 edition. STEP is the abbreviation of ‘Space to Establish Partnership‘, and it aims to support the development of long narratives in their pre-production phase while addressing specifically the first or second work of young African filmmakers.
A committee of filmmakers and other eminent personalities will select the projects for funding, and they will be provided an amount which ranges from $5000 – $8000. The winners will be given a chance to attend the five day film script writing workshop which is conducted as a part of the festival.
The projects which have been selected for this program are mentioned below,
1. “Nine letters” directed by Philbert Mbabazi from Rwanda
2. “Disco Africa” directed by Luck Razanajaona from Madagascar
3. “Mercy of the Jungle” directed by Joel Karekezi from Rwanda
4. “Starting Date” directed by Yasser Shefeie from Egypt
5. “The Puppetmaster” by Nermin Salem from Egypt
The Asia Pacific International Filmmaker Festival and Awards is one of the most anticipated film events in Indonesia. This year’s film festival is expected to begin on 4th June 2015 at the UMB International Theater, Jakarta. The recent news from the corner is regarding the call for submission for this year’s festival.
Filmmakers can now submit their feature films, shorts, narratives and documentaries. The film festival aims to give a chance to filmmakers from various corners of the globe to to extend their movies to Asia Pacific regions in style.
Filmmakers can submit movies of any year to this festival. The films which are being submitted should be on DVD format or through online screener. The movies can be submitted to the festival through Withoutabox and Filmfreeway.
For more details about the festival, please visit their official website by clicking the link given below, http://www.apifa.org/.
‘Jasmine‘ directed by debutante Dax Phelan has been finalized as an official selection at the 39th Hong Kong International Film Festival. The screening at this festival will mark the world premiere of the movie. This movie which is touted to be a psychological thriller stars Byron Mann, Jason Tobin, Eugenia Yuan and Sarah Lian.
“I’m thrilled and honored that ‘Jasmine’ will have her world premiere at the Hong Kong International Film Festival. ‘Jasmine’ is a film that pulls off that rare feat of offering wide commercial appeal while remaining true to its artistic integrity,” said director Dax Phelan. “I’ve always wanted to tell a deceptively complex story that begins with a small spark and slowly grows into a raging inferno while rewarding first-time audiences and repeat viewers alike. I’m so grateful to my incredibly talented cast and crew who helped make it a reality. I can’t wait for audiences around the world to see it”, said Dax Phelan about the movie’s selection at the festival.
As per Jason Tobin, ‘Jasmine‘ is a touching, chilling, and mind-blowing feature film that will creep into the hearts and minds of moviegoers worldwide and stay there.
Byron Mann, the lead actor in the movie told that this movie an edgy psychological-thriller set in one of the most exciting cities in the world, Hong Kong. He added that this new film has all the elements to shock the audience, and it will not disappoint the viewers for sure.
The film’s world premiere will be conducted at the 39th Annual HKIFF on March 25, 2015 at 9:45PM in the Grand Cinema.
The 11th edition of Glasgow Film Festival was wrapped up yesterday. The closing movie of the festival was Ruben Östlund’s ‘Force Majeure’, and by this screening, it marked the UK premiere of this film. The inaugural audience award at the festival was bagged by ‘Radiator‘ directed by Tom Brown.
‘Radiator‘ is the directorial debut of Tom Brown, and it stars Richard Johnson and Gemma Jones in the lead roles.
Tom Brown along with Richard Johnson and Gemma Jones attended the festival.
“Radiator has an unfashionable theme and was made on a tiny budget. Unsurprisingly it is taking a while for the film to find a place within the film industry so to receive this award is very significant for Radiator’s future”, said Brown after receiving the honor.
As per reports, more than 1100 votes were casted for the audience award. Ten films made by first or second time directors were in this list of competition, and at the end it was ‘Radiator’ which came out with flying colors. ‘Tender‘, a documentary directed by Lynette Wallworth is the runner up in the audience poll.
The Glasgow Film Festival was bigger and mightier than never before in this year’s festival. This year, the festival witnessed an attendance of more than 40,000 people, even after running 23 fewer events when compared to last year’s festival. The festival coordinators have moved the Glasgow Short Film Festival to March, and if it was also part of this event, then the attendance would have been much higher.