The 10th Annual European Independent Film Festival is scheduled from 10th – 12th April, 2015 in Paris, France. The festival organizers are planning to make this event more elegant and splendid than never before, and they are trying to make it comparable with any other International event. The recent news from this corner is regarding the unveil of official selections.
The festival organizers are unleashed the names of 85 films from 32 countries, and this list comprises of features, shorts, documentaries, animated and student films to experimental works.
European Independent Film Festival‘s official selection list is loaded with some top notch Independent films from different corners of the world. 22 awards will be given in 12 categories in this festival, and it includes the most reputed ‘Best European Independent Film 2015′.
Some of the noted films which will be screened in this festival includes, ‘Killing My Girl’ directed by Tasos Giapoutzis, Tomek Bagiński’s ‘Ambition’, ‘8 Spiders’ filmed by Daniel Lecanda, ‘The Bigger Picture’ by Daisy Jacobs, Thierry Sebban’s ‘Pseudonym’ and ‘The Last Impressario’ directed by Gracie Otto who was an ECU alumni.
Festival attendees who participate in the event will be given the chance to participate in an array of workshops, such as scriptwriting, editing and directing, as well as the ‘Meet-the-Directors’ discussions.
“This is our 10th year of discovering and projecting the best indie films from around the world. ÉCU 2015’s Official Selection completely epitomises our mantra of promoting independence in spirit, creativeness and sheer cinematic entertainment. We continue our tradition of being a true filmmakers’ festival, where directors are encouraged to develop their unique voices in a creative, welcoming and stimulating environment”, said ECU’s founder Scott Hillier.
For more details on the official selection, please visit www.ecufilmfestival.com.
Sundance Selects has bought the United States rights of ‘A Murder in the Park’ directed by Shawn Rech and Brandon Kimber. The documentary had its world premiere at the 2014 DOC NYC, and after the screening, the film garnered positive reviews from both audiences and critics.
The documentary portrays the death row issue of Anthony Porter. Due to the intervention of Northwestern University journalism class, his life gets saved just 48 hours before the scheduled execution. The investigation of the class on the double murder in the park leads to the discovery of Alstory Simon, and his confession helps to exonerate Porter.
As per the filmmakers, lots of suspicious things are surrounding this case, and they argue that Porter is guilty in this case. Alstory Simon is innocent, and both of them are part of a big game beyond our imagination.
Sundance Selects is planning to release the film later this year.
The 39th edition of the highly reputed Hong Kong International Film Festival will begin on March 6th 2015, and it will run through April 2nd. The recent news from this corner is regarding the revelation of full line up for this year’s festival. Sylvia Chang, renowned ‘Taiwanese actress’ recent directorial venture ‘Murmur of the Hearts’ will open the festival.
The screening will mark the world premiere of ‘Murmur of the Hearts’, is part of a Filmmaker in Focus program dedicated to Chang. 13 films directed by Sylvia Chang will be screened in this year’s festival, and it includes, ‘Queen of the Temple Street’, ‘Legend of the Mountain’ and ‘Passion’. ‘Murmur of the Hearts‘ is Chang’s latest film after a hiatus of five years.
The film stars Lee Sinje, Isabella Leong and Joseph Chang in the lead roles.
“I think my films are different than the other mainstream films. I hope everyone can calm their hearts and watch a drama like this. A drama that’s a little different. I hope everyone will have the tenacity to see it”, said Chang about the selection of her movie in the festival.
The closing film in the festival will be ‘Port of Call’ directed by Philip Yung.
Other films from Hong Kong which will receive world premiere in the festival includes, Lau Ho-Leung’s ‘Two Thumbs Up’ and Leo Ku, and Fruit Chan’s documentary ‘My City’.
One of the main highlights of this year’s festival is a series of master classes with Makhmalbaf, Peter Greenaway and Porgutal’s Pedro Costa. Another attractions include, a sidebar on German Cinema and a retrospective of Japanese director Mikio Naruse as a part of his 110th birth anniversary.
Certain films will overcome the fading which happen in the course of time, and such creations gradually grabs a cult status from viewers, audiences and critics. One such movie which got released in the second decade of the 21st century is ‘DAM 999‘ directed by Sohan Roy. The film upon its release in 2011 received highly positive reviews upon its release, and from then it proclaimed its presence in International Film Festival circuit as well. Recently, the film got selection in the 8th edition of Colombia Gorge International Film Festival. 
The 5th edition of the Arab Women’s Film Festival will start rolling from March 6th 2015, and it will conclude on March 8th in Hague. The festival can be considered as the only one of its kind in Europe, as it tries to portray the emancipation of Arab Women society. Arab women are always opressed and supressed from mainstream life, and this situation will be showcased in this year’s festival. The main theme for this year is ‘The Mother‘, who has her own unique issues within the Arab culture.
Compared to previous years, the 5th edition of the festival will feature more films, and it will bring many eminent names in the World Cinema under one roof.
This year’s festival will open with the Dutch premiere of ‘Decor’. The movie has recieved highly positive reviews from both critics and audiences after its world premiere in the reputed BFI London Film Festival.
‘Decor’ showcases the story of Maha, an aspiring designer. Things take a new turn in her life when she gets married which in turn compels her to lead the life of a housewife.
Other noted movies which will be screened in the festival includes, ‘Villa Touma’ directed by Suha Arraf, ‘Ode to my Mother’, directed by Georges Chamchoum, ‘Naziha’s Spring’, ‘Hend’ directed by Stephanie Bou Habib and ‘Mother of Unborn’ crafted by Nadine Salib.
Several new generation film festivals are trying to proclaim their presence in the United States Entertainment Industry, and one among them is Long Beach Indie International Film Festival. The seccond edition of the festival is scheduled from September 2nd – 6th at Long Beach, California. The recent news fom the corner is regarding the call for submissions.
Filmmakers can now submit films, television pilots, web series, and music videos to this year’s festival. The regular deadline for submission is March 1st 2015. The festival organizers accept any film that is completed after January 1st 2013.
The first edition of the festival which was conducted last year was highly successful. 91 films from 24 countries was screened in the five day festival. The festival drew more than 3000 attendees, and it received coverage from more than 300 international news and media outlets.
‘The Dam Keeper’ which was the winner in the Best Animated Short competition was nominated for the Academy Awards, and this clearly indicates the quality judging in this festival.
For more details on submitting films in this festival, please visit the official website of Long Beach Indie International Festival.
Cinefest Sudbury International Film Festival is scheduled from September 19 – 27, 2015. The most recent news from the corner is regarding the ‘Call for Submissions‘ for this year’s festival. Filmmakers can now submit their movies to the festival through Withoutabox, FilmFreeway or by downloading a submission form from the official website, www.cinefest.com.
New Media Film Festival is one of the most anticipated film events of the year. The sixth edition of this festival is scheduled on June 9th and 10th, 2015, at Los Angeles. The recent news from the corner is regarding the announcement of Web Series, Documentary and Student Content early selects.
In the web series category, the festival organizers have selected ‘Courtside’ episode 6 directed by Jaffar Mohammed. The series showcases the story of two friends who councel each other during a tennis match. The series is blessed with an ensemble star cast which includes, Chum Ehelepola, Jim Mahoney, Alexa Penavega and Brian George.
‘Water In All Its Form’ crafted by Geralad Faway has been selected in the Documentary category. Tian Ye’s ‘Rice Wine‘ got its selection in the student category.
Filmmakers can now submit movies to this year’s festival. The early bird deadline and regular deadline is already over, and now you can submit films before the final deadline on April 20th 2015. Films of all countries irrespective of its genres can be submitted in the festival.
For Individual tickets and badges, you can visit www.NewMediaFilmFestival.com.
The SXSW 2015 is scheduled from March 13 – 22 at Austin, Texas. The organizers on February 17th, has unveiled the entire festival and conference line-up on Tuesday. The festival plans to screen 150 feature films from different corners, and out of this list, 102 are world premieres. 14 films are North American premieres, while 11 of them are US premieres.
Apart from 150 features, the festival will also screen 106 shorts, and thus the final count comes to 256. As per reports, more than 7500 submissions was made this year, and this is considered as a festival record. ‘Brand: A Second Coming’, a documentary directed by Ondi Timoner is the opening film in the festival.
The highlights of the festival includes, ‘Conversation Series’ with Ryan Gosling, Sally Field, Amy Schummer, Jeff Nichols, Michael Shannon and Henry Rollins.
Christine Vachon, Ava DuVernay, Mark Duplass and RZA are among those names in the list of keynote speakers.
Various subjects like, virtual reality, the future of film criticism and US-European co-production and funding opportunities will be discussed in the conference subjects, panels and discussions.