Chicago – Religion, and the separation of those institutions from the “state,” is an ongoing controversy in the United States. One such religious group may have found the ultimate solution to keep that separation in place. The Satanic Temple is an anarchist religion whose goal is to get a place at the table with the other holy influencers. They are profiled in director Penny Lane’s new film, “Hail Satan?”
Lane followed the group through their development, as they continue to counter the arguments of Christian infiltration into government, such as posting the 10 Commandments on a courthouse grounds. By applying, for example, to put their own statue of Satan up next to those commandments, they force the “state” to examine what is the truth in justice. The sometimes reluctant participants of The Satanic Temple – many are interviewed with their faces hidden – are nonetheless warriors for social balance, simply by pointing out the absurdity of religious dogma.
Lane followed the group through their development, as they continue to counter the arguments of Christian infiltration into government, such as posting the 10 Commandments on a courthouse grounds. By applying, for example, to put their own statue of Satan up next to those commandments, they force the “state” to examine what is the truth in justice. The sometimes reluctant participants of The Satanic Temple – many are interviewed with their faces hidden – are nonetheless warriors for social balance, simply by pointing out the absurdity of religious dogma.
- 5/4/2019
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit the interwebs. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
From Afar (Lorenzo Vigas)
Proving yet again that festival juries don’t read the trades or pay attention to chatter, the Golden Lion of the 72nd Venice Film Festival was presented to the Venezuelan drama From Afar, a film that screened relatively late at the fest, when general opinion on the Lido seemed to have settled on this being a race between some other titles. In a discerning and gutsy move,...
From Afar (Lorenzo Vigas)
Proving yet again that festival juries don’t read the trades or pay attention to chatter, the Golden Lion of the 72nd Venice Film Festival was presented to the Venezuelan drama From Afar, a film that screened relatively late at the fest, when general opinion on the Lido seemed to have settled on this being a race between some other titles. In a discerning and gutsy move,...
- 9/9/2016
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Glenn here. Each Tuesday we bring you reviews and features on documentaries from theatres, festivals, and on demand. This week we are looking at three films from the Melbourne International Film Festival.
Nuts!
We will be looking at Keith Maitland’s Tower in the coming weeks, but the current boom of animated documentaries – we also saw Oscar nominated doc short Last Day of Freedom – reaches its most absurd and gleefully entertaining point with Nuts! A ridiculous story that finds a storytelling home in director Penny Lane’s fabulous criss-cross of animation, archival footage, and talking heads.
Like her last film, Our Nixon of which I had some issues, Nuts! highlights Lane’s canny ability to fish fascinating stories out of the archives and is her latest is a significant step forward creatively. Here, she is wise to use the animation technique to recreate the strange life story of Dr. John...
Nuts!
We will be looking at Keith Maitland’s Tower in the coming weeks, but the current boom of animated documentaries – we also saw Oscar nominated doc short Last Day of Freedom – reaches its most absurd and gleefully entertaining point with Nuts! A ridiculous story that finds a storytelling home in director Penny Lane’s fabulous criss-cross of animation, archival footage, and talking heads.
Like her last film, Our Nixon of which I had some issues, Nuts! highlights Lane’s canny ability to fish fascinating stories out of the archives and is her latest is a significant step forward creatively. Here, she is wise to use the animation technique to recreate the strange life story of Dr. John...
- 8/2/2016
- by Glenn Dunks
- FilmExperience
“Nuts!” is aptly named — in a good way. Director Penny Lane (“Our Nixon”) chronicles the zany, true story of eccentric megalomaniac doctor John Romulus Brinkley in an inventive, whimsical and surprisingly fascinating way. It’s one of the more original and playful documentaries of recent years. The key to its appeal is the deft melding of style, structure and substance. Lane drops in a few well-chosen talking heads and archival photographs, but most of this documentary-drama hybrid is driven by drolly animated hand-drawn re-enactments in tones of sepia, black and white and a few muted colors. The opening shot features a.
- 7/8/2016
- by Claudia Puig
- The Wrap
We live in an age of false promises. From politicians promising us great, life changing policy shifts to “doctors” hawking “miracle” cures that relieve people of excess weight or whatever illness they are suffering from, it seems like everywhere one turns snake oil is being sold. And apparently this isn’t an entirely new idea.
The focus of a new documentary entitled Nuts!, one of the most famous and utterly ludicrous stories of this ilk comes to us from the early part of the 1900s. J. R. Brinkley may not be a name known to many, but his story is one that is hard to forget. A doctor practicing in Milford, Kansas, Brinkley was a mild mannered practitioner until he began treating local men suffering from impotence by implanting, in their scrotums, goat glands. Ultimately making millions off of this treatment and also various other ventures ranging a political run...
The focus of a new documentary entitled Nuts!, one of the most famous and utterly ludicrous stories of this ilk comes to us from the early part of the 1900s. J. R. Brinkley may not be a name known to many, but his story is one that is hard to forget. A doctor practicing in Milford, Kansas, Brinkley was a mild mannered practitioner until he began treating local men suffering from impotence by implanting, in their scrotums, goat glands. Ultimately making millions off of this treatment and also various other ventures ranging a political run...
- 6/29/2016
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
“Nuts!” might be the closest we get to a documentary in the vein of Charlie Kaufman: It’s a seriocomic story of passion and desperation that transforms into something far more mysterious and provocative. Actually directed by Penny Lane (“Our Nixon”), this mesmerizing portrait of celebrity medical practitioner and radio mogul Dr. John Romulus Brinkley more or less takes place within its subject’s mind. Brilliantly combining archival material, voiceovers, contemporary interviews and a variety of hand-drawn animation, the movie deconstructs the process of self-mythologizing from the inside out.
While “Nuts!” begins with the animated shot of goats having sex, that’s hardly the wildest twist in this peculiar look at Brinkley’s rise and fall. At first a cheeky non-fiction portrait before it calls into question every detail of its sprawling tale, “Nuts!” stuffs a lot of information into 79 minutes. The lively saga finds Brinkley becoming a radio mogul twice,...
While “Nuts!” begins with the animated shot of goats having sex, that’s hardly the wildest twist in this peculiar look at Brinkley’s rise and fall. At first a cheeky non-fiction portrait before it calls into question every detail of its sprawling tale, “Nuts!” stuffs a lot of information into 79 minutes. The lively saga finds Brinkley becoming a radio mogul twice,...
- 6/23/2016
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
The upcoming documentary “Nuts!,” follows the “mostly true story” of Dr. John Romulus Brinkley, an eccentric Kansas doctor who discovered he could cure impotence by surgically implanting goat testicles inside male patients. It was so successful that he started raising his own goats to meet the demand. Brinkley later goes on to build the country’s 4th most powerful radio station, runs for political office, and steadily amass a baffling fortune. Drawing upon archival materials and animated sequences, “Nuts!” examines hubris through equal parts comedy and pathos as it delves into the heart of one of America’s strangest public figures. Watch an exclusive clip from the film below, animated by Julia Veldman, featuring Dr. Brinkley defending his goat-testicle impotence cure against attacks from the medical establishment.
Read More: Penny Lane’s Wild Documentary ‘Nuts!’ Gets A Ballsy New Poster
Director Penny Lane says at this point in Brinkley’s life,...
Read More: Penny Lane’s Wild Documentary ‘Nuts!’ Gets A Ballsy New Poster
Director Penny Lane says at this point in Brinkley’s life,...
- 6/21/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
Penny Lane‘s Nuts!, following the life and chronicles of quack doctor, politician, and radio broadcaster John Romulus Brinkley — who skirted the FCC, medical establishment and international law as he was run out of Kansas — was one of many highlights this year at the Sundance Film Festival. Hilarious, yet strangely sympathetic, the film’s story is so absurd, Lane (known best for her intimate look at happier days in a troubled presidency, Our Nixon) deploys animated reenactments alongside archival materials creating a character study that both plays into Brinkley’s spin machine while pushing against it.
We spoke with director about the evolution of the film, an eight-year process kickstarted by stumbling across the story in a public library, leading to the film’s theatrical release right in the middle of a heated presidential election year. Check out the conversation below, along with an exclusive clip from the film.
Congratulations on the film.
We spoke with director about the evolution of the film, an eight-year process kickstarted by stumbling across the story in a public library, leading to the film’s theatrical release right in the middle of a heated presidential election year. Check out the conversation below, along with an exclusive clip from the film.
Congratulations on the film.
- 6/21/2016
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
On virtually any page on the internet, you are one accidental click away from getting sucked into the scheme-filled underground of odd pills and procedures that promise a quick fix to any health issue. The closest equivalent of this back in 1917 can be found with Kansas doctor John Romulus Brinkley, who said he could cure impotence by transplanting goat testicles into men.
Our Nixon director Penny Lane is now exploring the story in the partially animated Nuts!, which premiered at Sundance and will arrive in theaters next month. Ahead of the release, the first wild trailer has landed, which shows off that his initial scheme was only the beginning.
We said in our review from Sundance, “A wild and sympathetic look at medical quackery, Brinkley devotes much of his career to magical cures, some of which we might commonly think of as placebo. Lane’s touch is lighter and more...
Our Nixon director Penny Lane is now exploring the story in the partially animated Nuts!, which premiered at Sundance and will arrive in theaters next month. Ahead of the release, the first wild trailer has landed, which shows off that his initial scheme was only the beginning.
We said in our review from Sundance, “A wild and sympathetic look at medical quackery, Brinkley devotes much of his career to magical cures, some of which we might commonly think of as placebo. Lane’s touch is lighter and more...
- 5/4/2016
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
A story so absurd it requires animation to be told, Nuts!, directed by Penny Lane, continues the filmmaker’s interest in personal histories, following her 16mm found-footage documentary Our Nixon. Collaborating with writer Thom Stylinski, Lane’s entry into the material is initially her subject, John Romulus Brinkley. He crafted an impotence cure, grafting a thin piece of a goat tactical gland onto a human male phallus. This is a starting point of folksy curiosity, born from the kind of training one gets at the Kansas City Eclectic Medical University.
A wild and sympathetic look at medical quackery, Brinkley devotes much of his career to magical cures, some of which we might commonly think of as placebo. Lane’s touch is lighter and more playful than its subject matter may require, added by the rough animation, articles and narration provided by Gene Tognacci.
Setting up shop in Milford, Ks (a...
A wild and sympathetic look at medical quackery, Brinkley devotes much of his career to magical cures, some of which we might commonly think of as placebo. Lane’s touch is lighter and more playful than its subject matter may require, added by the rough animation, articles and narration provided by Gene Tognacci.
Setting up shop in Milford, Ks (a...
- 2/6/2016
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
A medical doctor in name only, John R. Brinkley became famous in the ’20s and ’30s for claiming to have found an unusual cure for male impotence: all it would take was the transplantation of goat testicles into his human subjects. A hundred years removed from “discovery,” documentarian Penny Lane (whose Our Nixon was about another very larger-than-life public figure) dives into the life and times of Brinkley, a man whose entire history was based on lies and false acclaim. Filmmaker: Your first feature documentary Our Nixon is compiled from archival footage clearly relevant to American history and politics. Did you set out for your follow-up to be a […]...
- 2/2/2016
- by Erik Luers
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
A medical doctor in name only, John R. Brinkley became famous in the ’20s and ’30s for claiming to have found an unusual cure for male impotence: all it would take was the transplantation of goat testicles into his human subjects. A hundred years removed from “discovery,” documentarian Penny Lane (whose Our Nixon was about another very larger-than-life public figure) dives into the life and times of Brinkley, a man whose entire history was based on lies and false acclaim. Filmmaker: Your first feature documentary Our Nixon is compiled from archival footage clearly relevant to American history and politics. Did you set out for your follow-up to be a […]...
- 2/2/2016
- by Erik Luers
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Vimeo is vowing to help female video creators and filmmakers in 2016. The video hosting and Svod platform has launched a program dubbed “Share the Screen,” which highlights female-led projects through three different initiatives.
The first part of Vimeo’s “Share the Screen” program kicks off February 18, 2016 with the release of the short Darby Forever, written by and starring Saturday Night Live’s Aidy Bryant. Bryant plays the titular character Darby, a woman who works at a fabric store in a quirky small town and daydreams about her customers and finding love with deliveryman Nick (played by Luka Jones). Darby Forever also stars Retta (Parks and Recreation) and Natasha Lyonne (Orange Is the New Black) and is available for pre-order by visiting vimeo.com/darbyforever.
Vimeo will also financially support the development and production of at least five female-led projects throughout 2016 as part of its “Share the Screen” program (which is...
The first part of Vimeo’s “Share the Screen” program kicks off February 18, 2016 with the release of the short Darby Forever, written by and starring Saturday Night Live’s Aidy Bryant. Bryant plays the titular character Darby, a woman who works at a fabric store in a quirky small town and daydreams about her customers and finding love with deliveryman Nick (played by Luka Jones). Darby Forever also stars Retta (Parks and Recreation) and Natasha Lyonne (Orange Is the New Black) and is available for pre-order by visiting vimeo.com/darbyforever.
Vimeo will also financially support the development and production of at least five female-led projects throughout 2016 as part of its “Share the Screen” program (which is...
- 1/21/2016
- by Bree Brouwer
- Tubefilter.com
David Bordwell's posted another round of book recommendations, among them, volumes on Hou Hsiao-hsien and Henri Langlois. Also in today's roundup of news and views: Graham Greene's 1952 open letter of support for Charles Chaplin, Grady Hendrix on Anthony Chen’s "quiet domestic drama," Ilo Ilo (2013), Design Observer co-founder Rick Poynor on the posters Hans Hillmann designed for films by Jean-Luc Godard, Penny Lane (Our Nixon) on James Manera’s Atlas Shrugged III: Who Is John Galt?, an interview with Pawel Pawlikowski, a celebration of Tom Graeff—and more. » - David Hudson...
- 9/18/2014
- Fandor: Keyframe
David Bordwell's posted another round of book recommendations, among them, volumes on Hou Hsiao-hsien and Henri Langlois. Also in today's roundup of news and views: Graham Greene's 1952 open letter of support for Charles Chaplin, Grady Hendrix on Anthony Chen’s "quiet domestic drama," Ilo Ilo (2013), Design Observer co-founder Rick Poynor on the posters Hans Hillmann designed for films by Jean-Luc Godard, Penny Lane (Our Nixon) on James Manera’s Atlas Shrugged III: Who Is John Galt?, an interview with Pawel Pawlikowski, a celebration of Tom Graeff—and more. » - David Hudson...
- 9/18/2014
- Keyframe
After scoring a hit with the unique White House doc “Our Nixon,” which aired on CNN, Penny Lane is turning her attention to another eccentric and ultimately disgraced American, Dr. John Romulus Brinkley. Yes, the subject of her latest film, “Nuts!” is a bit less famous, but no less fascinating. Dr. Brinkley was a nomadic con man who scored big time during Depression-era America by selling a sham impotence cure made from goat testicles. Also read: CNN Films’ ‘Our Nixon’ to Premiere on CNN Tonight Lane first stumbled upon the little-known story while doing research at an archive in Kansas around seven years ago,...
- 9/10/2014
- by Jordan Zakarin
- The Wrap
Ifp announced its 2014 slate of 133 new films in development and works in progress selected for its esteemed Project Forum at Independent Film Week. This one-of-a-kind event brings the international film and media community to New York City to advance new projects by nurturing the work of both emerging and established independent artists and filmmakers. Through the Project Forum, creatives connect with financiers, executives, influencers and decision-makers in film, television, new media and cross-platform storytelling that can help them complete their latest works and connect with audiences. Under the curatorial leadership of Deputy Director/Head of Programming Amy Dotson & Senior Director of Programming Milton Tabbot, this one-of-a-kind event takes place September 14-18, 2014 at Lincoln Center supporting bold new content from a wide variety of domestic and international artists.
“As we set to embark on our 36th Independent Film Week, we are impressed by the outstanding slate of both U.S. and international projects selected for this year’s Project Forum,” said Joana Vicente, Executive Director of Ifp. “We know that the industry will be as excited as we are with the accomplished storytellers and their diverse and boundary pushing films.”
Featured works at the 2014 Independent Film Week include filmmakers and content creators from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. From documentarians Tony Gerber ("Full Battle Rattle"), Pamela Yates ("Granito: How To Nail A Dictator"), and Penny Lane ("Our Nixon") to Michelangelo Frammartino ("Quattro Volte") and Alexis Dos Santos ("Unmade Beds"), as well as new work from critically acclaimed artists and directors Aurora Guerrero ("Mosquita y Mari"), Barry Jenkins ("Medicine for Melancholy"), Travis Matthews ("Interior. Leather. Bar") and Yen Tan ("Pit Stop").
Independent Film Week brings the international film and media community to New York City to advance new documentary and narrative works-in-progress and support the future of storytelling. The program nurtures the work of both emerging and established independent artists and filmmakers through the facilitation of over 3,500+ custom, one-to-one meetings with the financiers, executives, influencers and decision-makers in film, television, new media and cross-platform storytelling that can help them complete their latest works and connect with audiences. In recent years, it has also played a vital role in launching the first films of many of today’s rising stars on the independent scene including Rama Burshtein ("Fill The Void"), Derek Cianfrance ("Blue Valentine"), Marshall Curry ("If A Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth LIberation Front"), Laura Poitras ("The Oath"), Denis Villeneuve ("Incendies") and Benh Zeitlin ("Beasts of the Southern Wild").
For the full 2014 Project Forum slate visit Here
New For 2014
Evenly split between documentary and narrative features, selected projects hail from throughout the U.S., Europe and Canada, as well Africa, Asia, South America, and the Middle East. New this year, Ifp will be including web series in it programming, as well as spotlighting Latin & Central American artists and content with 15 projects featured across all programs in the Forum.
In a joint effort to recognize the importance of career and creative sustainability, Ifp and Durga Entertainment have partnered on a new $20,000 filmmaker grant for an alumnus of Ifp. The grant is intended for active, working filmmakers who are also balancing a filmmaking career with parenting. The grant provides a $20,000 unrestricted prize to encourage the recipient to continue on her or his career path of making quality independent films. American directors or screenwriters working in narrative film who have participated in the Ifp Filmmaker Labs or Ifp Independent Film Week's Emerging Storytellers or No-Borders International Co-Production market are encouraged to apply by the deadline of August 8, 2014.
Narrative Feature Highlights
Narrative features and webseries in Rbc’s Emerging Storytellers and No Borders International Co-Production Market sections highlight new work from top emerging and established creative visionaries on the U.S. and international independent scene.
This year’s slate includes new feature scripts featuring directors Dev Benegal ("Road, Movie"), Alexis Dos Santos ("Unmade Beds"), Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin ("Now, Forager"), Michelangelo Frammartino ("Le Quattro Volte"),Terry George ("Hotel Rwanda"), Rashaad Ernesto Green ("Gun Hill Road"), Aurora Guerrero ("Mosquita Y Mari"), Barry Jenkins ("Medicine for Melancholy"),Alison Klayman ("Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry"), Travis Mathews ("Interior. Leather Bar"), Stacie Passon ("Concussion"), Yen Tan ("Pit Stop"), as well as up-an-coming actor/directors Karrie Crouse ("Land Ho!") and Peter Vack ("Fort Tilden""I Believe in Unicorns").
Producers and executive producers of note attached to participating projects include Jennifer Dubin and Cora Olson ("Good Dick"), Jonathan Duffy and Kelly Williams ("Hellion"),Laura Heberton ("Gayby"), Dan Janvey ("Beasts of the Southern Wild"), Kishori Rajan ("Gimme the Loot"), Adele Romanski ("The Myth of the American Sleepover"), Kim Sherman ("A Teacher"), Susan Stover ("High Art"), and Alicia Van Couvering ("Tiny Furniture").
Web Storytellers Highlights
For the first time this year, Ifp presents a dedicated spotlight within the Rbc’s Emerging Storytellers program for creators developing episodic content for digital platforms. The inaugural slate for the Web Storytellers spotlight includes new works from filmmakers Desiree Akhavan ("Appropriate Behavior", HBO’s Girls), Calvin Reeder ("The Rambler"), and Gregory Bayne ("Person of Interest"), as well as producers Elisabeth Holm ("Obvious Child"), Susan Leber ( "Down to the Bone"), and Amanda Warman ("The Outs,"Whatever This Is"). Two of the series participating are currently in post-production, and will be making their online debut in the coming months – Rachel Morgan’s Middle Americans, starring Scott Thompson, Carlen Altman, and Alex Rennie, and Daniel Zimbler and Elisabeth Gray’s Understudies, starring Richard Kind and David Rasche. [p Spotlight On Documentaries Highlights
The documentary selection includes new work from seasoned non-fiction directors such as Emmy winners Robert Bahar andAlmudena Carracedo ("Made in La"), Pamela Yates ("Granito: How to Nail a Dictator"),Ramona Diaz ("Imelda," "Don’t Stop Believin’") Gini Reticker ("Pray the Devil Back to Hell") Tony Gerber ("Full Battle Rattle"); from producers such as Court 13’s Benh Zeitlin and Dan Janvey ("Beasts of the Southern Wild"), Liran Atzmor ("The Law in These Parts"), Tim Williams ("Once In A Lifetime") and Hilla Medalia ("Web Junkie"), and follow-up second features from recent doc world “breakouts”Steve Hoover ("Blood Brother") Penny Lane ("Our Nixon"), Michael Collins ("Give Up Tomorrow"), and Michael Nichols and Christopher Walker ("Flex is Kings").
Exciting new work from debut documentary directors previously known for fiction films include Alex Sichel ("All over Me") with her personal doc The Movie about Anna, Lisa Cortés (producer, "Precious") with "Mothership: The Untold Story of Women and Hip Hop," and Daniel Patrick Carbone ("Hide Your Smiling Faces") with Phantom Cowboys.
Sponsors
Independent Film Week’s Premier sponsors are Royal Bank of Canada (Rbc) and HBO. Gold sponsors are A&E IndieFilms and SAGIndie. Silver sponsors are Durga Entertainment, Eastman Kodak Company, National Film & Video Foundation of South Africa and Telefilm Canada. Official Independent Film Week Partner is Film Society of Lincoln Center. Independent Film Week is supported, in part, by funds provided by the Ford Foundation, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council for the Arts and Time Warner Foundation.
About Ifp
The Independent Filmmaker Project (Ifp) champions the future of storytelling by connecting artists with essential resources at all stages of development and distribution. The organization fosters a vibrant and sustainable independent storytelling community through its year-round programs, which include Independent Film Week, Filmmaker Magazine, the Gotham Independent Film Awards and the Made in NY Media Center by Ifp, a new incubator space developed with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. Ifp represents a growing network of 10,000 storytellers around the world, and plays a key role in developing 350 new feature and documentary works each year. During its 35-year history, Ifp has supported over 8,000 projects and offered resources to more than 20,000 filmmakers, including Debra Granik, Miranda July, Michael Moore, Dee Rees, and Benh Zeitlin. More info at www.ifp.org.
“As we set to embark on our 36th Independent Film Week, we are impressed by the outstanding slate of both U.S. and international projects selected for this year’s Project Forum,” said Joana Vicente, Executive Director of Ifp. “We know that the industry will be as excited as we are with the accomplished storytellers and their diverse and boundary pushing films.”
Featured works at the 2014 Independent Film Week include filmmakers and content creators from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. From documentarians Tony Gerber ("Full Battle Rattle"), Pamela Yates ("Granito: How To Nail A Dictator"), and Penny Lane ("Our Nixon") to Michelangelo Frammartino ("Quattro Volte") and Alexis Dos Santos ("Unmade Beds"), as well as new work from critically acclaimed artists and directors Aurora Guerrero ("Mosquita y Mari"), Barry Jenkins ("Medicine for Melancholy"), Travis Matthews ("Interior. Leather. Bar") and Yen Tan ("Pit Stop").
Independent Film Week brings the international film and media community to New York City to advance new documentary and narrative works-in-progress and support the future of storytelling. The program nurtures the work of both emerging and established independent artists and filmmakers through the facilitation of over 3,500+ custom, one-to-one meetings with the financiers, executives, influencers and decision-makers in film, television, new media and cross-platform storytelling that can help them complete their latest works and connect with audiences. In recent years, it has also played a vital role in launching the first films of many of today’s rising stars on the independent scene including Rama Burshtein ("Fill The Void"), Derek Cianfrance ("Blue Valentine"), Marshall Curry ("If A Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth LIberation Front"), Laura Poitras ("The Oath"), Denis Villeneuve ("Incendies") and Benh Zeitlin ("Beasts of the Southern Wild").
For the full 2014 Project Forum slate visit Here
New For 2014
Evenly split between documentary and narrative features, selected projects hail from throughout the U.S., Europe and Canada, as well Africa, Asia, South America, and the Middle East. New this year, Ifp will be including web series in it programming, as well as spotlighting Latin & Central American artists and content with 15 projects featured across all programs in the Forum.
In a joint effort to recognize the importance of career and creative sustainability, Ifp and Durga Entertainment have partnered on a new $20,000 filmmaker grant for an alumnus of Ifp. The grant is intended for active, working filmmakers who are also balancing a filmmaking career with parenting. The grant provides a $20,000 unrestricted prize to encourage the recipient to continue on her or his career path of making quality independent films. American directors or screenwriters working in narrative film who have participated in the Ifp Filmmaker Labs or Ifp Independent Film Week's Emerging Storytellers or No-Borders International Co-Production market are encouraged to apply by the deadline of August 8, 2014.
Narrative Feature Highlights
Narrative features and webseries in Rbc’s Emerging Storytellers and No Borders International Co-Production Market sections highlight new work from top emerging and established creative visionaries on the U.S. and international independent scene.
This year’s slate includes new feature scripts featuring directors Dev Benegal ("Road, Movie"), Alexis Dos Santos ("Unmade Beds"), Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin ("Now, Forager"), Michelangelo Frammartino ("Le Quattro Volte"),Terry George ("Hotel Rwanda"), Rashaad Ernesto Green ("Gun Hill Road"), Aurora Guerrero ("Mosquita Y Mari"), Barry Jenkins ("Medicine for Melancholy"),Alison Klayman ("Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry"), Travis Mathews ("Interior. Leather Bar"), Stacie Passon ("Concussion"), Yen Tan ("Pit Stop"), as well as up-an-coming actor/directors Karrie Crouse ("Land Ho!") and Peter Vack ("Fort Tilden""I Believe in Unicorns").
Producers and executive producers of note attached to participating projects include Jennifer Dubin and Cora Olson ("Good Dick"), Jonathan Duffy and Kelly Williams ("Hellion"),Laura Heberton ("Gayby"), Dan Janvey ("Beasts of the Southern Wild"), Kishori Rajan ("Gimme the Loot"), Adele Romanski ("The Myth of the American Sleepover"), Kim Sherman ("A Teacher"), Susan Stover ("High Art"), and Alicia Van Couvering ("Tiny Furniture").
Web Storytellers Highlights
For the first time this year, Ifp presents a dedicated spotlight within the Rbc’s Emerging Storytellers program for creators developing episodic content for digital platforms. The inaugural slate for the Web Storytellers spotlight includes new works from filmmakers Desiree Akhavan ("Appropriate Behavior", HBO’s Girls), Calvin Reeder ("The Rambler"), and Gregory Bayne ("Person of Interest"), as well as producers Elisabeth Holm ("Obvious Child"), Susan Leber ( "Down to the Bone"), and Amanda Warman ("The Outs,"Whatever This Is"). Two of the series participating are currently in post-production, and will be making their online debut in the coming months – Rachel Morgan’s Middle Americans, starring Scott Thompson, Carlen Altman, and Alex Rennie, and Daniel Zimbler and Elisabeth Gray’s Understudies, starring Richard Kind and David Rasche. [p Spotlight On Documentaries Highlights
The documentary selection includes new work from seasoned non-fiction directors such as Emmy winners Robert Bahar andAlmudena Carracedo ("Made in La"), Pamela Yates ("Granito: How to Nail a Dictator"),Ramona Diaz ("Imelda," "Don’t Stop Believin’") Gini Reticker ("Pray the Devil Back to Hell") Tony Gerber ("Full Battle Rattle"); from producers such as Court 13’s Benh Zeitlin and Dan Janvey ("Beasts of the Southern Wild"), Liran Atzmor ("The Law in These Parts"), Tim Williams ("Once In A Lifetime") and Hilla Medalia ("Web Junkie"), and follow-up second features from recent doc world “breakouts”Steve Hoover ("Blood Brother") Penny Lane ("Our Nixon"), Michael Collins ("Give Up Tomorrow"), and Michael Nichols and Christopher Walker ("Flex is Kings").
Exciting new work from debut documentary directors previously known for fiction films include Alex Sichel ("All over Me") with her personal doc The Movie about Anna, Lisa Cortés (producer, "Precious") with "Mothership: The Untold Story of Women and Hip Hop," and Daniel Patrick Carbone ("Hide Your Smiling Faces") with Phantom Cowboys.
Sponsors
Independent Film Week’s Premier sponsors are Royal Bank of Canada (Rbc) and HBO. Gold sponsors are A&E IndieFilms and SAGIndie. Silver sponsors are Durga Entertainment, Eastman Kodak Company, National Film & Video Foundation of South Africa and Telefilm Canada. Official Independent Film Week Partner is Film Society of Lincoln Center. Independent Film Week is supported, in part, by funds provided by the Ford Foundation, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council for the Arts and Time Warner Foundation.
About Ifp
The Independent Filmmaker Project (Ifp) champions the future of storytelling by connecting artists with essential resources at all stages of development and distribution. The organization fosters a vibrant and sustainable independent storytelling community through its year-round programs, which include Independent Film Week, Filmmaker Magazine, the Gotham Independent Film Awards and the Made in NY Media Center by Ifp, a new incubator space developed with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. Ifp represents a growing network of 10,000 storytellers around the world, and plays a key role in developing 350 new feature and documentary works each year. During its 35-year history, Ifp has supported over 8,000 projects and offered resources to more than 20,000 filmmakers, including Debra Granik, Miranda July, Michael Moore, Dee Rees, and Benh Zeitlin. More info at www.ifp.org.
- 7/25/2014
- by Peter Belsito
- Sydney's Buzz
Ifp, Filmmaker Magazine’s publisher, announced today the 133 new films in development and works in progress chosen for its Independent Film Wee Forum Project. A complete list of the projects can be found here. Featured works at the 2014 Independent Film Week include filmmakers and content creators from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, from documentarians Tony Gerber (Full Battle Rattle), Pamela Yates (Granito: How To Nail A Dictator), and Penny Lane (Our Nixon) to Michelangelo Frammartino (Le Quattro Volte) and Alexis Dos Santos (Unmade Beds), as well as new work from critically acclaimed artists and directors Aurora Guerrero (Mosquito […]...
- 7/23/2014
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Ifp, Filmmaker Magazine’s publisher, announced today the 133 new films in development and works in progress chosen for its Independent Film Wee Forum Project. A complete list of the projects can be found here. Featured works at the 2014 Independent Film Week include filmmakers and content creators from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, from documentarians Tony Gerber (Full Battle Rattle), Pamela Yates (Granito: How To Nail A Dictator), and Penny Lane (Our Nixon) to Michelangelo Frammartino (Le Quattro Volte) and Alexis Dos Santos (Unmade Beds), as well as new work from critically acclaimed artists and directors Aurora Guerrero (Mosquito […]...
- 7/23/2014
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Ifp top brass announced on Wednesday (23) their 2014 slate of 133 films in development and works-in-progress selected for Project Forum at Independent Film Week.
Film-makers will include documentarians Tony Gerber (Full Battle Rattle), Pamela Yates (Granito: How To Nail A Dictator) and Penny Lane (Our Nixon) as well as Michelangelo Frammartino (Quattro Volte) and Alexis Dos Santos (Unmade Beds).
For the first time, Ifp will include web series as well as a spotlight on Latin & Central American artists and content.
Ifp and Durga Entertainment have partnered on an inaugural $20,000 film-maker grant for an alumnus of Ifp. The grant is intended for working film-makers who are also balancing a filmmaking career with parenting.
Click here for the full 2014 Project Forum slate.
The San Francisco Film Society has launched a suite of film-maker support services. The Sffs Producers Initiative will support independent producers currently working on narrative feature projects, through a combination of financial support, programmes, mentorship...
Film-makers will include documentarians Tony Gerber (Full Battle Rattle), Pamela Yates (Granito: How To Nail A Dictator) and Penny Lane (Our Nixon) as well as Michelangelo Frammartino (Quattro Volte) and Alexis Dos Santos (Unmade Beds).
For the first time, Ifp will include web series as well as a spotlight on Latin & Central American artists and content.
Ifp and Durga Entertainment have partnered on an inaugural $20,000 film-maker grant for an alumnus of Ifp. The grant is intended for working film-makers who are also balancing a filmmaking career with parenting.
Click here for the full 2014 Project Forum slate.
The San Francisco Film Society has launched a suite of film-maker support services. The Sffs Producers Initiative will support independent producers currently working on narrative feature projects, through a combination of financial support, programmes, mentorship...
- 7/23/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Brian L. Frye says:
Brian L. Frye (Our Nixon & obscure art films) is a filmmaker & law professor. The T.J. Hooper was a 28th birthday present from filmmaker Marie Losier. Hooper is named after the case in which Judge Learned Hand defined the standard for negligence. Her moustache echoes Justice Holmes’s.
Underground Film Journal says:
Having a background in the law, Brian L. Frye really brings a unique perspective that stands out in the underground film world. We particularly enjoy his short found footage film A Reasonable Man, which stirs up all kinds of uncomfortable connections between reality and filmed “entertainment” in a very simple, but direct way.
Our Nixon, which Frye produced and was directed by Penny Lane, was a huge hit on the festival circuit last year, then aired on CNN and is currently streaming online.
Plus, in addition to making films, for many years Frye ran...
Brian L. Frye (Our Nixon & obscure art films) is a filmmaker & law professor. The T.J. Hooper was a 28th birthday present from filmmaker Marie Losier. Hooper is named after the case in which Judge Learned Hand defined the standard for negligence. Her moustache echoes Justice Holmes’s.
Underground Film Journal says:
Having a background in the law, Brian L. Frye really brings a unique perspective that stands out in the underground film world. We particularly enjoy his short found footage film A Reasonable Man, which stirs up all kinds of uncomfortable connections between reality and filmed “entertainment” in a very simple, but direct way.
Our Nixon, which Frye produced and was directed by Penny Lane, was a huge hit on the festival circuit last year, then aired on CNN and is currently streaming online.
Plus, in addition to making films, for many years Frye ran...
- 4/23/2014
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
I always try to attend Ifp's Independent Film Week in NYC after Tiff Toronto. It is a great networking event, the projects are fine and the filmmakers come from all over the world. You should submit your project here and come to it!!
Independent Film Week in NYC runs September 14-18 2014
The Independent Filmmaker Project (Ifp) announced today it is currently seeking screenplays, documentary works-in-progress, and web series for its annual Independent Film Week Project Forum (September 14-18, 2014), the oldest and largest forum in the U.S. for the discovery of new projects in development and new voices on the independent scene.
The Project Forum is a meetings-driven forum connecting filmmakers with producers, agents, funders, distributors, broadcasters, sales agents, festival programmers, and more.
Now seeking applications in all sections: Rbc’s Emerging Storytellers (for writers and writer/directors at the script stage, and web series creators in development, production, and post-production looking to connect with producers, funders, agents, digital distributors, and streaming platforms),
No Borders International Co-Production Market (for established narrative producers with partial financing in place looking to connect with financiers, distributors, sales agents and international partners), and Spotlight on Documentaries (for documentary filmmakers in production or post-production looking to connect with financing partners, broadcasters, distributors, and film festival programmers).
Recent participants in Independent Film Week include After Tiller, Appropriate Behavior, Ain't Them Bodies Saints, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Cutie and the Boxer, Dinosaur 13, Fill the Void, Obvious Child, Our Nixon, Ping Pong Summer, Pariah, Rich Hill, Short Term 12, and many more.
Rbc’s Emerging Storytellers & No Borders
Deadline: May 2. Spotlight on Documentaries Deadlines: May 2/May 23. For more information go the the Ifp website at www.ifp.org.
About Ifp
The Independent Filmmaker Project (Ifp) champions the future of storytelling by connecting artists with essential resources at all stages of development and distribution. The organization fosters a vibrant and sustainable independent storytelling community through its year-round programs, which include Independent Film Week, Filmmaker Magazine, the Gotham Independent Film Awards and the Made in NY Media Center by Ifp, a new incubator space developed with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment.
Ifp represents a growing network of 10,000 storytellers around the world, and plays a key role in developing 350 new feature and documentary works each year. During its 35-year history, Ifp has supported over 8,000 projects and offered resources to more than 20,000 filmmakers, including Debra Granik, Miranda July, Michael Moore, Dee Rees, and Benh Zeitlin. More info at www.ifp.org.
About Independent Film Week
Independent Film Week is the destination for storytellers in all mediums to connect with industry and peers to further advance their projects in an environment that promotes community, growth, and career sustainability. Filmmakers, content creators, innovators, and audiences come out in force to experience first-hand the expanded opportunities Ifp has been working to provide the international film and media community.
Film Week encompasses the Filmmaker Conference, and the concurrent Project Forum that both showcase how great projects and creatives can connect with collaborators and audiences to make work that stands out in a crowded marketplace across multiple platforms and mediums.
Independent Film Week in NYC runs September 14-18 2014
The Independent Filmmaker Project (Ifp) announced today it is currently seeking screenplays, documentary works-in-progress, and web series for its annual Independent Film Week Project Forum (September 14-18, 2014), the oldest and largest forum in the U.S. for the discovery of new projects in development and new voices on the independent scene.
The Project Forum is a meetings-driven forum connecting filmmakers with producers, agents, funders, distributors, broadcasters, sales agents, festival programmers, and more.
Now seeking applications in all sections: Rbc’s Emerging Storytellers (for writers and writer/directors at the script stage, and web series creators in development, production, and post-production looking to connect with producers, funders, agents, digital distributors, and streaming platforms),
No Borders International Co-Production Market (for established narrative producers with partial financing in place looking to connect with financiers, distributors, sales agents and international partners), and Spotlight on Documentaries (for documentary filmmakers in production or post-production looking to connect with financing partners, broadcasters, distributors, and film festival programmers).
Recent participants in Independent Film Week include After Tiller, Appropriate Behavior, Ain't Them Bodies Saints, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Cutie and the Boxer, Dinosaur 13, Fill the Void, Obvious Child, Our Nixon, Ping Pong Summer, Pariah, Rich Hill, Short Term 12, and many more.
Rbc’s Emerging Storytellers & No Borders
Deadline: May 2. Spotlight on Documentaries Deadlines: May 2/May 23. For more information go the the Ifp website at www.ifp.org.
About Ifp
The Independent Filmmaker Project (Ifp) champions the future of storytelling by connecting artists with essential resources at all stages of development and distribution. The organization fosters a vibrant and sustainable independent storytelling community through its year-round programs, which include Independent Film Week, Filmmaker Magazine, the Gotham Independent Film Awards and the Made in NY Media Center by Ifp, a new incubator space developed with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment.
Ifp represents a growing network of 10,000 storytellers around the world, and plays a key role in developing 350 new feature and documentary works each year. During its 35-year history, Ifp has supported over 8,000 projects and offered resources to more than 20,000 filmmakers, including Debra Granik, Miranda July, Michael Moore, Dee Rees, and Benh Zeitlin. More info at www.ifp.org.
About Independent Film Week
Independent Film Week is the destination for storytellers in all mediums to connect with industry and peers to further advance their projects in an environment that promotes community, growth, and career sustainability. Filmmakers, content creators, innovators, and audiences come out in force to experience first-hand the expanded opportunities Ifp has been working to provide the international film and media community.
Film Week encompasses the Filmmaker Conference, and the concurrent Project Forum that both showcase how great projects and creatives can connect with collaborators and audiences to make work that stands out in a crowded marketplace across multiple platforms and mediums.
- 4/21/2014
- by Peter Belsito
- Sydney's Buzz
After last year’s notable SXSW fest pick-ups in Short Term 12 and Our Nixon, Cinedigm is taking a trip into genre-land item with Nacho Vigalondo’s Open Windows. Starring the James Stewart of horror-thriller genre in Elijah Wood in a keyboard unfriendly voyeuristic tale that turns into a real life Rear Window, this also features Sasha Grey (The Girlfriend Experience). Deadline reports that Cinedigm will release the film during the late summer or early fall with what we imagine would be a showing at genre fests such as Montreal’s Fantasia Film Fest.
Gist: Wood stars as Nick, who wins an online contest to have dinner with the hottest actress on earth Jill (Grey). When she cancels, he gets a call from a guy named Chord who offers to make it up to Nick by giving him the tools to spy on Jill from his computer for the rest of the night.
Gist: Wood stars as Nick, who wins an online contest to have dinner with the hottest actress on earth Jill (Grey). When she cancels, he gets a call from a guy named Chord who offers to make it up to Nick by giving him the tools to spy on Jill from his computer for the rest of the night.
- 4/1/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Every year the Independent Filmmaker Project (Ifp) puts together a series of events during what is known as the Independent Film Week, where storytellers for all media have an opportunity to connect with industry and peers to advance their projects in an environment that promotes community, growth and career sustainability. Filmmakers, content creators, innovators, and audiences come out in force to experience first-hand the expanded opportunities Ifp offers the international film and media community.
Film Week encompasses the Filmmaker Conference, and the concurrent Project Forum that both showcase how great projects and creatives can connect with collaborators and audiences to make work that stands out in a crowded marketplace across multiple platforms and mediums.
Each day of the conference guides filmmakers in the art, technology and business of independent filmmaking. Project Forum has had a prolific history in the independent community supporting both emerging and established independent filmmakers at critical stages in their development processes. The organization championed the early work of pioneering independent filmmakers Charles Burnett, Todd Haynes, Mira Nair, Michael Moore, Joel and Ethan Coen, Kevin Smith, Todd Solondz, and Wayne Wang. Recently, it has also played a vital role in launching the first films of many of today’s rising stars on the independent scene including Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild), Debra Granik, (Down to the Bone), Miranda July (Me and You and Everyone We Know), and Ryan Fleck & Anna Boden (Half Nelson).
2014 slate launches in August.
2014 Deadlines
Emerging Storytellers : May 2, 2014 (Application Now Online - U.S. residents or those able to work in the U.S. only)
No Borders International Co-Production Market : May 2, 2014 (U.S. producers) / May 23, 2013 (International Partner submissions) (Application Now Online)
Independent Filmmaker Labs : March 7, 2014 (Documentary); April 4, 2014 (Narrative)
Spotlight on Documentaries : May 2 (early) / May 23 (final) (Application Launches in April)
Independent Film Week is:
Project Forum : A highly respected forum for the discovery of new projects in development and new voices on the independent film scene. Project Forum consists of Emerging Storytellers (screenplays from emerging writer/directors), No Borders International Co-Production Market (screenplays represented by established producers with some financing in place), Trans Atlantic Partners (showcase of new projects from experienced producers from Europe, Canada, and the Us), Independent Filmmaker Labs (documentary and narrative features in post-production), and Spotlight on Documentaries (documentary feature works-in-progress) programs. Applications went live March 15.
Filmmaker Conference : Ifp’s annual exploration into the art and business of 21st century storytelling. Presenting filmmakers and cross-platform innovators. 2013 featured multimedia musician DJ Spooky, case studies of Our Nixon and interactive documentary Hollow, as well as inclusive discussions exploring the art & business of 21st century storytelling. For a more hands-on experience, the Conference also offers Live Pitch Workshops, showcasing top talent and industry leaders and Meet the Decision Makers, featuring small group meetings with tastemakers who can further your project! Launched in 2013, #ArtistServices NYC presented by Sundance Institute, hosts fierce conversations around the latest technology and trends in independent filmmaking.
Festival Forum : The leading gathering of international and U.S. film festival programmers, The Festival Forum is a professional association that advocates for the needs and interests of film festival organizers. The Forum also provides a collaborative platform for members to develop curatorial and operational efficiencies, professional standards and best practices, and leverage their collective interests to the international film community. Founded in 2010, the Festival Forum includes over 100 U.S. & International festival programmers and executives, including representatives from Berlin, Cannes, Full Frame, Hot Docs, New York Film Festival, New Directors, Rotterdam, Slamdance, Sundance, SXSW, and Tribeca.
Sneak Preview Screening Series : Where Ifp alumni filmmakers introduce new works to industry, fellow filmmakers, and the movie-going public.
Film Week encompasses the Filmmaker Conference, and the concurrent Project Forum that both showcase how great projects and creatives can connect with collaborators and audiences to make work that stands out in a crowded marketplace across multiple platforms and mediums.
Each day of the conference guides filmmakers in the art, technology and business of independent filmmaking. Project Forum has had a prolific history in the independent community supporting both emerging and established independent filmmakers at critical stages in their development processes. The organization championed the early work of pioneering independent filmmakers Charles Burnett, Todd Haynes, Mira Nair, Michael Moore, Joel and Ethan Coen, Kevin Smith, Todd Solondz, and Wayne Wang. Recently, it has also played a vital role in launching the first films of many of today’s rising stars on the independent scene including Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild), Debra Granik, (Down to the Bone), Miranda July (Me and You and Everyone We Know), and Ryan Fleck & Anna Boden (Half Nelson).
2014 slate launches in August.
2014 Deadlines
Emerging Storytellers : May 2, 2014 (Application Now Online - U.S. residents or those able to work in the U.S. only)
No Borders International Co-Production Market : May 2, 2014 (U.S. producers) / May 23, 2013 (International Partner submissions) (Application Now Online)
Independent Filmmaker Labs : March 7, 2014 (Documentary); April 4, 2014 (Narrative)
Spotlight on Documentaries : May 2 (early) / May 23 (final) (Application Launches in April)
Independent Film Week is:
Project Forum : A highly respected forum for the discovery of new projects in development and new voices on the independent film scene. Project Forum consists of Emerging Storytellers (screenplays from emerging writer/directors), No Borders International Co-Production Market (screenplays represented by established producers with some financing in place), Trans Atlantic Partners (showcase of new projects from experienced producers from Europe, Canada, and the Us), Independent Filmmaker Labs (documentary and narrative features in post-production), and Spotlight on Documentaries (documentary feature works-in-progress) programs. Applications went live March 15.
Filmmaker Conference : Ifp’s annual exploration into the art and business of 21st century storytelling. Presenting filmmakers and cross-platform innovators. 2013 featured multimedia musician DJ Spooky, case studies of Our Nixon and interactive documentary Hollow, as well as inclusive discussions exploring the art & business of 21st century storytelling. For a more hands-on experience, the Conference also offers Live Pitch Workshops, showcasing top talent and industry leaders and Meet the Decision Makers, featuring small group meetings with tastemakers who can further your project! Launched in 2013, #ArtistServices NYC presented by Sundance Institute, hosts fierce conversations around the latest technology and trends in independent filmmaking.
Festival Forum : The leading gathering of international and U.S. film festival programmers, The Festival Forum is a professional association that advocates for the needs and interests of film festival organizers. The Forum also provides a collaborative platform for members to develop curatorial and operational efficiencies, professional standards and best practices, and leverage their collective interests to the international film community. Founded in 2010, the Festival Forum includes over 100 U.S. & International festival programmers and executives, including representatives from Berlin, Cannes, Full Frame, Hot Docs, New York Film Festival, New Directors, Rotterdam, Slamdance, Sundance, SXSW, and Tribeca.
Sneak Preview Screening Series : Where Ifp alumni filmmakers introduce new works to industry, fellow filmmakers, and the movie-going public.
- 3/26/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Ifp’s Independent Filmmaker Labs, designed to guide filmmakers through the completion, marketing and distribution of their first feature films, is now accepting applications for 2014. Deadlines to submit are March 7 for the Documentary Labs; and April 4 for the Narrative Labs. Ifp’s Labs is the only free program in the U.S. for first-time feature directors. Past shepherded projects include “Concussion,” “Blue Caprice,” “Our Nixon,” “12 O’Clock Boys” and “Pariah,” all of which went on to receive premieres at top fests and distribution deals. Interested in applying? You can do so here.
- 2/11/2014
- by Beth Hanna
- Thompson on Hollywood
Debut directors with either documentary or narrative features in post-production should highly consider submitting to the Ifp Independent Filmmaker Labs. Their track record – An Oversimplification of Her Beauty, Blue Caprice, Concussion, Our Nixon, Pariah, to name a few — speaks for itself. A year-long mentorship program, the Labs are designed to support filmmakers through the lengthly process of completing, marketing and distributing their first films. Available exclusively to features with a budget under $1 million, the Labs pair filmmakers with leading industry personnel for three distinct programs throughout 2014. You can read more about the program and apply here. The deadline for documentaries […]...
- 2/5/2014
- by Sarah Salovaara
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Debut directors with either documentary or narrative features in post-production should highly consider submitting to the Ifp Independent Filmmaker Labs. Their track record – An Oversimplification of Her Beauty, Blue Caprice, Concussion, Our Nixon, Pariah, to name a few — speaks for itself. A year-long mentorship program, the Labs are designed to support filmmakers through the lengthly process of completing, marketing and distributing their first films. Available exclusively to features with a budget under $1 million, the Labs pair filmmakers with leading industry personnel for three distinct programs throughout 2014. You can read more about the program and apply here. The deadline for documentaries […]...
- 2/5/2014
- by Sarah Salovaara
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the 15 films left in the race for the Documentary Feature Oscar. A record 147 films had originally qualified in the category. Overall there was no major shockers, with the expected likes of "The Act of Killing," "Blackfish," "The Square," "Stories We Tell," "Tim's Vermeer" and "20 Feet From Stardom" all making the cut (and likely battling it out for the final five). There were a few notable exclusions: Martha Shane and Lana Wilson's "After Tiller," Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel's "Leviathan," Penny Lane's "Our Nixon," Linda Bloodworth-Thomason's "Bridegroom," Errol Morris' "The Unknown Known" and Jason Osder's "Let The Fire Burn" all seemed like strong contenders to make the list, but in the end an incredibly competitive year pushed them out of the competition. Read More: Updated 2014 Oscar Predictions - Best Documentary Feature The 15 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title,...
- 12/3/2013
- by Peter Knegt
- Indiewire
Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" received the most nominations at the 2013 Gotham Awards but in the end, the Coen Brothers' "Inside Llewyn Davis" took home the big award of the night -- the Best Feature award. Matthew McConaughey also beat "12 Years a Slave's" Chiwetel Ejiofor with his memorable, feel it in your bones performance as a dying AIDS patient in "Dallas Buyers Club."
Is this a sign to come this awards season? Stay tuned!
Here's the complete list of winners (highlighted) and nominees of the 2013 Gotham Awards:
Best Feature
12 Years a Slave
Steve McQueen, director; Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Bill Pohlad, Steve McQueen, Arnon Milchan, Anthony Katagas, producers. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Ain't Them Bodies Saints
David Lowery, director; Tony Halbrooks, James M. Johnston, Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Amy Kaufman, Cassian Elwes, producers (IFC Films)
Before Midnight
Richard Linklater, director; Richard Linklater, Christos V. Konstantakopoulos, Sara Woodhatch,...
Is this a sign to come this awards season? Stay tuned!
Here's the complete list of winners (highlighted) and nominees of the 2013 Gotham Awards:
Best Feature
12 Years a Slave
Steve McQueen, director; Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Bill Pohlad, Steve McQueen, Arnon Milchan, Anthony Katagas, producers. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Ain't Them Bodies Saints
David Lowery, director; Tony Halbrooks, James M. Johnston, Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Amy Kaufman, Cassian Elwes, producers (IFC Films)
Before Midnight
Richard Linklater, director; Richard Linklater, Christos V. Konstantakopoulos, Sara Woodhatch,...
- 12/3/2013
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
While technically this was Forest Whitaker’s big night (Actor Tribute plus the weight he threw behind as a producer accolades for a small San Fran based film), if tonite’s Gothams awards informs us on how future noms might pan out for the “bigger” award shows, it’s that there are no tapering off signs for Fruitvale Station, that a Coen bros. film Inside Llewyn Davis has just become a partner alongside 12 Years a Slave as the front-runner for Best Picture slots for the Indie Spirits and Oscars, and that Joshua Oppenheimer should get the ultimate speech ready for The Act of Killing. Ryan Coogler’s big Sundance winner went 2 for 2 in the Breakthrough Director and Actor categories, while the heart, soul and spirit of Short Term 12 in Brie Larson rightly beat out her group of peers to win the Best Actress award. Here’s hoping that it picks up steam elsewhere.
- 12/3/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
This is a tough awards season! Lots of great movies to see, so little time! I'm catching up like crazy before we vote for the Critics' Choice Movie Awards for the Broadcast Film Critics Association. So I apologize if I haven't updated you with the latest on the awards season 2013-2014! And there were many award-giving bodies announcing nominations.
We already told you about the Rome Film Festival and the Film Independent Spirit Awards, now let's talk about the 2013 Gotham Awards, the Ida Documentary Awards, the Cinema Eye, and the Producers Guild announcing its best documentary choices.
First stop, we have the 2013 Gotham Awards where Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" topped the nominations with three nods including best feature, best actor for Chiwetel Ejiofor and breakthrough actor for Lupita Nyong'o.
Winners will be announced on Dec. 2nd where Richard Linklater, Forest Whitaker, and Katherine Oliver (head of the NYC...
We already told you about the Rome Film Festival and the Film Independent Spirit Awards, now let's talk about the 2013 Gotham Awards, the Ida Documentary Awards, the Cinema Eye, and the Producers Guild announcing its best documentary choices.
First stop, we have the 2013 Gotham Awards where Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" topped the nominations with three nods including best feature, best actor for Chiwetel Ejiofor and breakthrough actor for Lupita Nyong'o.
Winners will be announced on Dec. 2nd where Richard Linklater, Forest Whitaker, and Katherine Oliver (head of the NYC...
- 12/2/2013
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
The awards winners for the 26th Idfa were announced in Amsterdam on Friday night.
Song from the Forest by Germany’s Michael Obert won the main prize at Idfa (International Documentary Festival Amsterdam) tonight (Nov 29).
The film won the Vpro Idfa Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary, worth €12,500.
The film tells the story of American Louis Sarno, who has lived for 25 years with a tribe of Pygmies in the jungle of Central Africa and decides to take his son to the Us for the first time.
The Special Jury Award went to A Letter to Nelson Mandela by Khalo Matabane (South Africa / Germany), in which the filmmaker takes a critical look at Nelson Mandela, his status and role in the reforms that took place in South Africa in the 1990s.
Twin Sisters by Mona Friis Bertheussen won the BankGiro Loterij Idfa Audience Award.
The Russian collective Gogol’s Wives Productions won the Ntr Idfa Award for Best Mid-Length...
Song from the Forest by Germany’s Michael Obert won the main prize at Idfa (International Documentary Festival Amsterdam) tonight (Nov 29).
The film won the Vpro Idfa Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary, worth €12,500.
The film tells the story of American Louis Sarno, who has lived for 25 years with a tribe of Pygmies in the jungle of Central Africa and decides to take his son to the Us for the first time.
The Special Jury Award went to A Letter to Nelson Mandela by Khalo Matabane (South Africa / Germany), in which the filmmaker takes a critical look at Nelson Mandela, his status and role in the reforms that took place in South Africa in the 1990s.
Twin Sisters by Mona Friis Bertheussen won the BankGiro Loterij Idfa Audience Award.
The Russian collective Gogol’s Wives Productions won the Ntr Idfa Award for Best Mid-Length...
- 11/29/2013
- by geoffrey@macnab.demon.co.uk (Geoffrey Macnab)
- ScreenDaily
CNN sometimes seems to exist solely as a punching bag for the rest of the media. Trade reporters revel in the network's slumping ratings, conservatives whine about Piers Morgan on Twitter, Jon Stewart is forever finding a new way to mock it for some perceived gaffe. What hasn't drawn as much attention is the all-news channel's aggressive efforts to bulk up its long-form programming — content that's not tied to breaking news. The international travelogue Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown won an Emmy in its first season (with its second cycle ending Sunday). The network just launched a new Friday night sports interview series, Unguarded, with former Espn-er Rachel Nichols hosting. And then there's its most ambitious attempt to break out of the 24/7 news cycle: CNN Films. Since its creation a year ago, the unit has helped produce a number of buzzworthy theatrical documentaries, including the White House retrospective Our Nixon,...
- 11/7/2013
- by Josef Adalian
- Vulture
2013 Gotham Awards 2013: Nominations (photo: Best Actress nominee Cate Blanchett in ’Blue Jasmine,’ directed by Woody Allen) See previous post: “Gotham Awards Nominations: No Oscar Guarantee (or Even Likelihood)?“ Best Feature 12 Years A Slave. Steve McQueen, director; Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Bill Pohlad, Steve McQueen, Arnon Milchan, Anthony Katagas, producers. (Fox Searchlight Pictures) Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, David Lowery, director; Tony Halbrooks, James M. Johnston, Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Amy Kaufman, Cassian Elwes, producers (IFC Films) Before Midnight, Richard Linklater, director; Richard Linklater, Christos V. Konstantakopoulos, Sara Woodhatch, producers (Sony Pictures Classics) Inside Llewyn Davis, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, directors; Scott Rudin, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, producers (CBS Films) Upstream Color, Shane Carruth, director; Shane Carruth, Casey Gooden, Ben LeClair, producers. Best Documentary The Act Of Killing, Joshua Oppenheimer, director; Signe Byrge, Joshua Oppenheimer, producers (Drafthouse Films) The Crash Reel, Lucy Walker, director; Julian Cautherly,...
- 10/29/2013
- by Zac Gille
- Alt Film Guide
Opening with Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive the latest edition of the American Film Festival in Wroclaw, Poland (22-27 October 2013) has screened some of the most important American independent films of the year. Being the only festival of its class in Eastern and Central Europe the festival has become the most important venue to connect American filmmakers with European buyers and audiences through programs like U.S. in Progress Wrocław (23-25 October 2013).
This year's program taking place at the New Horizons cinema presented 80 movies out of which 42 are Polish premieres, 3 are European premieres and 1 is a World Premiere. Among them 10 documentaries and 17 feature films competed for cash prizes in the audience-vote competitions.
The first competitive section - Spectrum ($10,000 audience award for the Best Narrative Feature) included films that have been well-received here in the U.S such as A Teacher by Hannah Fidell, Blue Caprice by Alexandre Moors, Afternoon Delight by Jill Soloway, Short Term 12 by Destin Cretton, The Spectacular Now by James Ponsoldt, and Bluebird by Lance Edmands. The second competition - American Docs ($5,000 audience award for Best Documentary Feature) had a selection of films depicting varied current issues in American society including Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia by Nicholas Wrathall, The Armstrong Lie by Alex Gibney, Our Nixon by Penny Lane, Northern Light by Nick Bentgen, Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton by Eric Slade and Stephen Silha and Before You Know It by Pj Raval.
The American Film Festival also ran a retrospective of Shirley Clarke and presented Polish premieres of high-profile films such as As I Lay Dying by James Franco, Quentin Dupieux’s Wrong Cops, Jeffrey Friedman and Rob Epstein’s Lovelace, Much Ado About Nothing by Joss Whedon, Touchy Feely by Lynn Shelton, At Any Price by Ramin Bahrani, and Maladies by Carter. The festival also screened Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Sundance hit Don Jon along several U.S. in Progress participants and festival hits like I Used to be Darker by Matt Porterfier and Hide Your Smiling Faces by Daniel Patrick Carbone. Lastly, a special section titled 'Masterpieces of American Cinema 90 Years of Warner Bros." showed 14 digitally-remastered productions by the studio from The Jazz Singer by Alan Crosland (1927) through A Clockwork Orange ,The Exorcist and Christopher Nolan’s Inception
The festival will close on October 27th with Steven Soderbergh's Emmy Award-winning film Behind the Candelabra.
All competitions titles:
Spectrum
American Milkshake by David Andalman, Mariko Munro, USA 2012, 82'
Blue Highway by Kyle Smith, USA 2013, 70'
Coldwater by Vincent Grashaw, USA 2013, 104'
The Spectacular Now by James Ponsoldt, USA 2013, 95'
Drinking Buddies by Joe Swanberg, USA 2013, 90'
Lily by Matt Creed, USA 2013, 85'
A Teacher by Hannah Fidell, USA 2013, 75'
Blue Caprice by Alexandre Moors, USA 2013, 93'
Pearblossom Hwy by Mike Ott, USA 2012, 78'
Afternoon Delight by Jill Soloway, USA 2013, 105'
Stand Clear of the Closing Doors by Sam Fleischner, USA 2013, 102'
Short Term 12 by Destin Cretton, USA 2013, 96'
The Cold Lands by Tom Gilroy, USA 2013, 100'
In a World... by Lake Bell, USA 2013, 93'
A Song Still Inside by Gregory Collins, USA 2013, 82'
Bluebird by Lance Edmands, USA 2013, 90'
American Docs
Big Easy Express by Emmett Malloy, USA 2012
Off Label by Michael Palmieri, Donal Mosher, USA 2012
Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia by Nicholas Wrathall, USA, Italy 2013
Fall and Winter by Matt Anderson, USA 2013
The Armstrong Lie by Alex Gibney, USA 2013
Lenny Cooke by Ben Safdie, Joshua Safdie, USA 2012
Our Nixon by Penny Lane, USA 2013
Northern Light by Nick Bentgen, USA 2013
Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton by Eric Slade, Stephen Silha, USA 2013
Before You Know It by Pj Raval, USA 2012
U.S. Progress Projects
This year 6 projects in the final production stages were chosen to take part in the two-day workshop knows as U.S. in Progress Wroclaw (23-25 October, 2013). The event presents the American independent projects to European buyers, post-production houses and festivals in order to help them achieve completion and to foster the circulation and distribution of these films in Europe.
Selected from over 40 submission the chosen projects are the dramas Lake Los Angeles by Mike Ott (produced by Athina Rachel Tsangari), Happy Baby by Stephen Elliott (produced by Jessica Caldwell ) and Some Beasts by Cameron Nelson (produced by Ashley Maynor and Courtney Ware), crime story Wild Canaries by Lawrence Michael Levine (produced by Sophia Takal, Kim Sherman and McCabe Walsh), frontier black comedy Sun Belt Express by Evan Wolf Buxbaum (producers: Noah Lang and Iyabo Boyd) and Summer of Blood – a New York vampire comedy by director-producer Onur Tukel.
The prizes are awarded by a jury of professionals and include post-production services from European partner companies worth almost $60.000 and promotional services from other partners. Us in Progress’ partners are: Platige Image (Warsaw), Di Factory (Warsaw), Alvernia Studios (Krakow), composer Maciej Zielinski of Soundflower Studio (Warsaw), Soundplace (Warsaw), DCinex (Belgium), Vsi (Paris), Europa Distribution, Cicae and Cannes Marche du Film’s Producers Network.
U.S. in Progress Wrocław (formerly Gotham in Progress) was started in 2011 by the New Horizons Association and Black Rabbit Film. Previous films presented at the event included, among others: I Used To Be Darker by Matt Porterfield, American Milkshake by David Andalman (both shown at Sundance Ff in 2013), Hide Your Smiling Faces by Daniel Carbone (Berlinale Generation, Tribeca), Bluebird by Lance Edmands (Tribeca, Karlovy Vary), Jason Cortlund & Julia Halperin’s Now, Forager: a Film About Love and Fungi (Rotterdam, New Directors/New Films, Gotham Awards nominee), Amy Seimetz’s Sun Don’t Shine (SXSW, Edinburgh Iff, Gotham Awards nominee) and Devyn Waitt’s Not Waving But Drowning (Sarasota Ff).
U.S. in Progress Wrocław is supported by the City of Wrocław, American Embassy in Warsaw and Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
For more information on the American Film Festival and the U.S. in Progress projects visit Here...
This year's program taking place at the New Horizons cinema presented 80 movies out of which 42 are Polish premieres, 3 are European premieres and 1 is a World Premiere. Among them 10 documentaries and 17 feature films competed for cash prizes in the audience-vote competitions.
The first competitive section - Spectrum ($10,000 audience award for the Best Narrative Feature) included films that have been well-received here in the U.S such as A Teacher by Hannah Fidell, Blue Caprice by Alexandre Moors, Afternoon Delight by Jill Soloway, Short Term 12 by Destin Cretton, The Spectacular Now by James Ponsoldt, and Bluebird by Lance Edmands. The second competition - American Docs ($5,000 audience award for Best Documentary Feature) had a selection of films depicting varied current issues in American society including Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia by Nicholas Wrathall, The Armstrong Lie by Alex Gibney, Our Nixon by Penny Lane, Northern Light by Nick Bentgen, Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton by Eric Slade and Stephen Silha and Before You Know It by Pj Raval.
The American Film Festival also ran a retrospective of Shirley Clarke and presented Polish premieres of high-profile films such as As I Lay Dying by James Franco, Quentin Dupieux’s Wrong Cops, Jeffrey Friedman and Rob Epstein’s Lovelace, Much Ado About Nothing by Joss Whedon, Touchy Feely by Lynn Shelton, At Any Price by Ramin Bahrani, and Maladies by Carter. The festival also screened Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Sundance hit Don Jon along several U.S. in Progress participants and festival hits like I Used to be Darker by Matt Porterfier and Hide Your Smiling Faces by Daniel Patrick Carbone. Lastly, a special section titled 'Masterpieces of American Cinema 90 Years of Warner Bros." showed 14 digitally-remastered productions by the studio from The Jazz Singer by Alan Crosland (1927) through A Clockwork Orange ,The Exorcist and Christopher Nolan’s Inception
The festival will close on October 27th with Steven Soderbergh's Emmy Award-winning film Behind the Candelabra.
All competitions titles:
Spectrum
American Milkshake by David Andalman, Mariko Munro, USA 2012, 82'
Blue Highway by Kyle Smith, USA 2013, 70'
Coldwater by Vincent Grashaw, USA 2013, 104'
The Spectacular Now by James Ponsoldt, USA 2013, 95'
Drinking Buddies by Joe Swanberg, USA 2013, 90'
Lily by Matt Creed, USA 2013, 85'
A Teacher by Hannah Fidell, USA 2013, 75'
Blue Caprice by Alexandre Moors, USA 2013, 93'
Pearblossom Hwy by Mike Ott, USA 2012, 78'
Afternoon Delight by Jill Soloway, USA 2013, 105'
Stand Clear of the Closing Doors by Sam Fleischner, USA 2013, 102'
Short Term 12 by Destin Cretton, USA 2013, 96'
The Cold Lands by Tom Gilroy, USA 2013, 100'
In a World... by Lake Bell, USA 2013, 93'
A Song Still Inside by Gregory Collins, USA 2013, 82'
Bluebird by Lance Edmands, USA 2013, 90'
American Docs
Big Easy Express by Emmett Malloy, USA 2012
Off Label by Michael Palmieri, Donal Mosher, USA 2012
Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia by Nicholas Wrathall, USA, Italy 2013
Fall and Winter by Matt Anderson, USA 2013
The Armstrong Lie by Alex Gibney, USA 2013
Lenny Cooke by Ben Safdie, Joshua Safdie, USA 2012
Our Nixon by Penny Lane, USA 2013
Northern Light by Nick Bentgen, USA 2013
Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton by Eric Slade, Stephen Silha, USA 2013
Before You Know It by Pj Raval, USA 2012
U.S. Progress Projects
This year 6 projects in the final production stages were chosen to take part in the two-day workshop knows as U.S. in Progress Wroclaw (23-25 October, 2013). The event presents the American independent projects to European buyers, post-production houses and festivals in order to help them achieve completion and to foster the circulation and distribution of these films in Europe.
Selected from over 40 submission the chosen projects are the dramas Lake Los Angeles by Mike Ott (produced by Athina Rachel Tsangari), Happy Baby by Stephen Elliott (produced by Jessica Caldwell ) and Some Beasts by Cameron Nelson (produced by Ashley Maynor and Courtney Ware), crime story Wild Canaries by Lawrence Michael Levine (produced by Sophia Takal, Kim Sherman and McCabe Walsh), frontier black comedy Sun Belt Express by Evan Wolf Buxbaum (producers: Noah Lang and Iyabo Boyd) and Summer of Blood – a New York vampire comedy by director-producer Onur Tukel.
The prizes are awarded by a jury of professionals and include post-production services from European partner companies worth almost $60.000 and promotional services from other partners. Us in Progress’ partners are: Platige Image (Warsaw), Di Factory (Warsaw), Alvernia Studios (Krakow), composer Maciej Zielinski of Soundflower Studio (Warsaw), Soundplace (Warsaw), DCinex (Belgium), Vsi (Paris), Europa Distribution, Cicae and Cannes Marche du Film’s Producers Network.
U.S. in Progress Wrocław (formerly Gotham in Progress) was started in 2011 by the New Horizons Association and Black Rabbit Film. Previous films presented at the event included, among others: I Used To Be Darker by Matt Porterfield, American Milkshake by David Andalman (both shown at Sundance Ff in 2013), Hide Your Smiling Faces by Daniel Carbone (Berlinale Generation, Tribeca), Bluebird by Lance Edmands (Tribeca, Karlovy Vary), Jason Cortlund & Julia Halperin’s Now, Forager: a Film About Love and Fungi (Rotterdam, New Directors/New Films, Gotham Awards nominee), Amy Seimetz’s Sun Don’t Shine (SXSW, Edinburgh Iff, Gotham Awards nominee) and Devyn Waitt’s Not Waving But Drowning (Sarasota Ff).
U.S. in Progress Wrocław is supported by the City of Wrocław, American Embassy in Warsaw and Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
For more information on the American Film Festival and the U.S. in Progress projects visit Here...
- 10/26/2013
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave leads this years Gothams award noms with three, but well-received Sundance items in Blue Caprice, Concussion, Fruitvale Station, Upstream Color and the Cannes preemed Inside Llewyn Davis find themselves all in the hunt for trophy-ware with a pair of nominations each. In the heavyweight Best Feature category, David Lowery’s Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, Richard Linklater’s Before Midnight (oddly no mention in the acting categories) and Shane Carruth’s Upstream Color go up against the Coens and McQueen. The 23rd Gotham Independent Film Awards will take place on December 2nd. Here are the categories:
Best Feature
12 Years a Slave – Steve McQueen, director; Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Bill Pohlad, Steve McQueen, Arnon Milchan, Anthony Katagas, producers. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Ain’t Them Bodies Saints – David Lowery, director; Tony Halbrooks, James M. Johnston, Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Amy Kaufman, Cassian Elwes,...
Best Feature
12 Years a Slave – Steve McQueen, director; Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Bill Pohlad, Steve McQueen, Arnon Milchan, Anthony Katagas, producers. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Ain’t Them Bodies Saints – David Lowery, director; Tony Halbrooks, James M. Johnston, Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Amy Kaufman, Cassian Elwes,...
- 10/24/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
The Gotham Independent Film Awards rolled out its nominations today, with 12 Years a Slave leading the pack with three nominations, including Best Feature. Kicking off the awards season as one of the first major awards ceremonies, the Gotham Independent Film Awards highlight independent films and recognize breakthrough performances. This year’s awards added the Best Actor and Best Actress awards, and the winners will be announced Dec. 2.
Forest Whitaker and Richard Linklater will receive special tributes at the ceremony.
The complete nominations after the jump:
Best Feature
12 Years a Slave
Ain’t Them Bodies Saints
Before Midnight
Inside Llewyn Davis...
Forest Whitaker and Richard Linklater will receive special tributes at the ceremony.
The complete nominations after the jump:
Best Feature
12 Years a Slave
Ain’t Them Bodies Saints
Before Midnight
Inside Llewyn Davis...
- 10/24/2013
- by Shirley Li
- EW - Inside Movies
The Gotham Independent Film Awards rolled out its nominations today, with 12 Years a Slave leading the pack with three nominations, including Best Feature. Kicking off the awards season as one of the first major awards ceremonies, the Gotham Independent Film Awards highlight independent films and recognize breakthrough performances. This year’s awards added the Best Actor and Best Actress awards, and the winners will be announced Dec. 2.
Forest Whitaker and Richard Linklater will receive special tributes at the ceremony.
The complete nominations after the jump:
Best Feature
12 Years a Slave
Ain’t Them Bodies Saints
Before Midnight
Inside Llewyn Davis...
Forest Whitaker and Richard Linklater will receive special tributes at the ceremony.
The complete nominations after the jump:
Best Feature
12 Years a Slave
Ain’t Them Bodies Saints
Before Midnight
Inside Llewyn Davis...
- 10/24/2013
- by Shirley Li
- EW - Inside Movies
There aren't exactly a ton of categories at the Gotham Awards so to say one film led all others isn't exactly saying much, but numbers are numbers and 12 Years a Slave is your leader as the nominees for the 2013 Independent Filmmaker Project (Ifp) Gotham Awards were announced this morning and leading the way was Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave with three nominees. The Fox Searchlight release was nominated for Best Actor (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Best Supporting Actor (Lupita Nyong'o) and Best Feature. Also among the Best Feature nominees you have Ain't Them Bodies Saints, Before Midnight, Inside Llewyn Davis and Upstream Color, the latter two also saw nominations elsewhere, Amy Seimetz (Upstream Color) for Best Actress and Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis) for Best Actor. Also nominated for two awards was Blue Caprice, the film based on the Beltway shooters, with both Isaiah Washington and Alexandre Moors scoring nominations and...
- 10/24/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
The New Republic announced Wednesday that the magazine's five-decade critic Stanley Kauffmann had died of pneumonia complications in New York: Noam Scheiber wrote: “Rip Stanley Kauffmann. A sad day for the cinephiles out there, and the Tnr family.” It's easy to say that this is sad news but the man was 97 years old. We should all be so lucky to last so long--he filed his last column in August, reviewing “Our Nixon,” “Israel: A Home Movie” and “Museum Hours.” However it is disturbing that the older critics in Gerald Peary's 2009 documentary “For the Love of Movies” are dropping, one by one, from Roger Ebert to Andrew Sarris. Kauffmann was a key contributor in the culture wars of the 60s and 70s--along with other critics of his generation such as Sarris and Pauline Kael--to pushing movies and criticism into being taken seriously. In fact Kauffmann coined the phrase the Film Generation.
- 10/9/2013
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
American Film Festival in Wroclaw to close with Steven Soderbergh’s Behind the Candelabra; competition and programme highlights announced.Scroll down for competition titles
The fourth American Film Festival (Aff) in Wrocław, Poland is to feature 80 films comprising 42 Polish premieres; three European premieres and one world premiere.
The event, which is focused on independent Us cinema, will run from Oct 22-27.
It will open with Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive and close with Steven Soderbergh’s Behind the Candelabra, both of which played in competition at Cannes.
Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra recently picked up 11 Emmy awards, including best television movie, best leading actor for Michael Douglas and best director.
Dutch experimental lutenist Jozef van Wissem will conduct a live performance of the soundtrack for Only Lovers Left Alive, which won the Cannes Soundtrack Award, on Oct 23 - the day after its opening night screening.
Competitions
A total of 10 documentaries and 16 narrative feature films will compete...
The fourth American Film Festival (Aff) in Wrocław, Poland is to feature 80 films comprising 42 Polish premieres; three European premieres and one world premiere.
The event, which is focused on independent Us cinema, will run from Oct 22-27.
It will open with Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive and close with Steven Soderbergh’s Behind the Candelabra, both of which played in competition at Cannes.
Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra recently picked up 11 Emmy awards, including best television movie, best leading actor for Michael Douglas and best director.
Dutch experimental lutenist Jozef van Wissem will conduct a live performance of the soundtrack for Only Lovers Left Alive, which won the Cannes Soundtrack Award, on Oct 23 - the day after its opening night screening.
Competitions
A total of 10 documentaries and 16 narrative feature films will compete...
- 10/8/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
★★★☆☆ Inside the Nixon White House, three of the former-us president's most senior aides were enthusiastic amateur filmmakers. Between them, they managed to amass over 500 reels of Super 8 footage detailing everything from state visits to staff garden parties. Having been seized by the FBI during the investigations into the Watergate scandal, those videos are now freely available and provide the primary source for Penny Lane's award-winning montage documentary, Our Nixon (2013). Playing this week at the Institute of Contemporary Art, the film presents an intimate portrait of the life of the "Tricky Dicky" administration.
When Richard Nixon was elected in 1969, he brought with him into the West Wing a trio of young, energised and devoted advisors from his Presidential campaign; H.R. Halderman, John Ehrlichman, and Dwight Chapin. These three filled the respective roles of White House Chief of Staff, Chief Domestic Advisor, and Special Assistant whilst also supplying a...
When Richard Nixon was elected in 1969, he brought with him into the West Wing a trio of young, energised and devoted advisors from his Presidential campaign; H.R. Halderman, John Ehrlichman, and Dwight Chapin. These three filled the respective roles of White House Chief of Staff, Chief Domestic Advisor, and Special Assistant whilst also supplying a...
- 9/18/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Scordino to oversee distribution and acquisitions at La-based distributor.
Cinedigm has promoted Vincent Scordino to svp of theatrical releasing. Previously, Scordino was Cinedigm’s vp of theatrical acquisitions.
In the newly created position, Scordino will head up the company’s theatrical releasing business, overseeing distribution and acquisitions. He will continue to focus on acquiring content and establishing distribution partnerships.
Cinedigm is currently releasing Destin Daniel Cretton’s Short Term 12, which is expanding nationwide after launching in New York and Los Angeles on Aug 23. Other current and upcoming releases include Penny Lane’s Our Nixon, Jill Soloway’s Afternoon Delight, Godfrey Reggio’s Visitors and Shaul Schwarz’s Narco Cultura.
“Vincent has been a major asset to Cinedigm over the past year as we launched our theatrical releasing business. Not only is he a top independent film executive with great taste, he’s also highly collaborative and strategic,” said Susan Margolin, co-president of [link...
Cinedigm has promoted Vincent Scordino to svp of theatrical releasing. Previously, Scordino was Cinedigm’s vp of theatrical acquisitions.
In the newly created position, Scordino will head up the company’s theatrical releasing business, overseeing distribution and acquisitions. He will continue to focus on acquiring content and establishing distribution partnerships.
Cinedigm is currently releasing Destin Daniel Cretton’s Short Term 12, which is expanding nationwide after launching in New York and Los Angeles on Aug 23. Other current and upcoming releases include Penny Lane’s Our Nixon, Jill Soloway’s Afternoon Delight, Godfrey Reggio’s Visitors and Shaul Schwarz’s Narco Cultura.
“Vincent has been a major asset to Cinedigm over the past year as we launched our theatrical releasing business. Not only is he a top independent film executive with great taste, he’s also highly collaborative and strategic,” said Susan Margolin, co-president of [link...
- 9/4/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Gearing up for Tiff this week, had a chat with Scott Laurie about the upcoming festival, gushing about the fabulous Rush, Teller's steller doc Tim's Vermeer, and the stunning action heist film iNumber Number. Also chatted about Morgan Spurlock's One Direction 3D concert film, a doc that ends up more a commercial than an actual feature film, but with glimpses of what could have been. Also chatted about Our Nixon, the found footage film that sheds new light on the Watergate era.Video embedded below...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 9/2/2013
- Screen Anarchy
In Our Nixon, director Penny Lane explores the Nixon administration by juxtaposing secret White House discussions from the infamous Nixon tapes with incredibly intimate Super 8 footage taken by avid amateur cineastes H.R. “Bob” Haldeman, John Ehrlichmann and Dwight Chapin. The fact that these men also happened to be the chief of staff, special advisor and assistant to our much maligned 37th President is one thing; that they were also three of Nixon’s closest aides and the key conspirators jailed during the aftermath of the Watergate scandal is another entirely. Despite what Ben Stein might say, Our Nixon has little to no polemical […]...
- 9/1/2013
- by Brandon Harris
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
In Our Nixon, director Penny Lane explores the Nixon administration by juxtaposing secret White House discussions from the infamous Nixon tapes with incredibly intimate Super 8 footage taken by avid amateur cineastes H.R. “Bob” Haldeman, John Ehrlichmann and Dwight Chapin. The fact that these men also happened to be the chief of staff, special advisor and assistant to our much maligned 37th President is one thing; that they were also three of Nixon’s closest aides and the key conspirators jailed during the aftermath of the Watergate scandal is another entirely. Despite what Ben Stein might say, Our Nixon has little to no polemical […]...
- 9/1/2013
- by Brandon Harris
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
He definitely is ours, like it or not. Richard Nixon may no longer be seen as the staid and calculating everyman with the nation's best interests at heart he appeared to be when he crushed George McGovern in the 1972 elections, but he remains a singularly symbolic figure in the American political landscape. As a child of the 80s, I was spared the tortuous relationship with Nixon that my parents seemed to have (disgust, for the most part) and it was only through watching Our Nixon that I began to understand why he evoked such extreme reactions from both sides of the political spectrum. The man was both incredibly paranoid and very naive. He was our president. It was a big deal. It's rare to...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 8/30/2013
- Screen Anarchy
The documentary "Our Nixon" by Penny Lane serves as a bit of a complication to the popular narrative of Richard Nixon as our most scandalized and scheming of Presidents. While it doesn't seek to alter this narrative, it does attempt to add another layer to the story, a perspective offered by those closest to Nixon, and those who fell the hardest. The results are an illuminating and often hilarious portrayal of the man and his myth and those who surrounded him. The film is comprised entirely of archival footage from television news reports, interviews and the Super 8 home movies of Nixon's closest advisors, H.R. "Bob" Haldeman, John Erlichman and Dwight Chapin. This young and energetic group of staffers were known for constantly shooting footage everywhere they went, from China to the Vatican, and these tapes were seized by the FBI during the Watergate investigation and kept in a vault for 40 years.
- 8/30/2013
- by Katie Walsh
- The Playlist
As the fall festival circuit gets underway, an eclectic mix of films hit theaters this weekend. The critical winner is Penny Lane's documentary "Our Nixon," which pieces together Super 8 footage taken by Richard Nixon's White House aides during his presidency. Also in the doc arena is Morgan Spurlock's ("Super Size Me") foray into the World of Boy Bands, "One Direction: This Is Us," which has moderately positive reviews, despite what some critics site as the inevitable hyper-glossy, promotional aspects of the Brit pop group of the title. Drafthouse Films' latest genre item "I Declare War," centering on a group of Capture the Flag-obsessed 12-year-olds whose game-playing becomes unsettlingly violent (as the official synopsis says, "Rocks = Grenades, Trees = Control towers, Sticks = Submachine guns,") is also winning good reviews. Meanwhile, Brian De Palma's "Passion," starring Rachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace as a boss and protegee caught up in some psycho-sexual game-playing,...
- 8/29/2013
- by Beth Hanna
- Thompson on Hollywood
New Release
Afternoon Delight
R, 1 Hr., 35 Mins.
Bored with her life, Rachel (Kathryn Hahn), an L.A. wife and mother, invites a hooker (Juno Temple) to crash in her home. The inevitable culture clash starts off as sitcom cutesy-poo, but it deepens, plausibly, into a look at everything “normal” parents feel like they’re repressing. As the sweetly amoral tattooed-goddess-for-hire, Temple does her wiliest acting yet. B —Owen Gleiberman
Cutie and the Boxer
R, 1 Hr., 22 Mins.
Zachary Heinzerling’s intimate documentary about the lives of two artists is one of the most tender films about marriage I’ve seen. A...
Afternoon Delight
R, 1 Hr., 35 Mins.
Bored with her life, Rachel (Kathryn Hahn), an L.A. wife and mother, invites a hooker (Juno Temple) to crash in her home. The inevitable culture clash starts off as sitcom cutesy-poo, but it deepens, plausibly, into a look at everything “normal” parents feel like they’re repressing. As the sweetly amoral tattooed-goddess-for-hire, Temple does her wiliest acting yet. B —Owen Gleiberman
Cutie and the Boxer
R, 1 Hr., 22 Mins.
Zachary Heinzerling’s intimate documentary about the lives of two artists is one of the most tender films about marriage I’ve seen. A...
- 8/28/2013
- by EW staff
- EW - Inside Movies
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