Kaunas International Film Festival, one of the most important Lithuanian cinematic events has began. The festival opened by a Lithuanian film „The Field of Magic“ premiere in Kaunas cinema “Cinamon”. The best films of contemporary cinema and retrospectives will be also shown in “Zalgiris arena” and Kaunas District Public Library. Next week the festival is coming to Vilnius and other cities. During the opening Kaunas Film Festival was congratulated Minister of Culture Arūnas Gel�...

They call it the Sundance alchemy…..the strange and rather unknowable process by which films with advanced buzz fall flat and titles that come out of nowhere become the next big indie flings. Such was the case at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where several of the higher profile films did not get the love from audiences, critics or distributors, and where a few unheralded films walked away with the lion’s share of prizes and, most importantly, distribution s that will insure th...

They call it the Sundance alchemy…..the strange and rather unknowable process by which films with advanced buzz fall flat and titles that come out of nowhere become the next big indie flings. Such was the case at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where several of the higher profile films did not get the love from audiences, critics or distributors, and where a few unheralded films walked away with the lion’s share of prizes and, most importantly, distribution s that wil...

by George Pimentel/Getty Images.   “I loved the script. I read it and I was like ‘Is Ethan Hawke dead? What’s going on?’ After I found out in real life Ethan wasn’t dead, I agreed to do the movie.“ –Chris Rock On Monday, writer-director-actor Julie Deply anxiously walked onto the stage of the Eccles Theatre to introduce her new film 2 Days in New York. "Sequels are sometimes better than originals. Like, 2010 was better than 2001," De...

6th Texas Black Film FestivalCelebrating The Power of Cinema, the 6th Texas Black Film Festival returns to STUDIO MOVIE GRILL DALLAS next week, February 1st through 4th. Featuring the premieres of independent film from around the world, TBFF celebrates a rich culture through the art of film, workshops and filmmaker Q&A. Throughout the festival, TBFF will premiere over 50 shorts, documentaries, features and animations of independent filmmakers from Texas and from around the world. Wednesday F...

  James Franco and Val Lauren in Palm Springs for 'SAL' (2011) by PSIFF press James Franco’s feature film SAL (2011) held its world premiere at the 68th La Biennale Venice Film Festival. Most recently the film debuted in Palm Springs during the 23rd Palm Springs International Film Festival. After the screening of the film, Franco appeared with lead actor in SAL, Val Lauren, to attend a Q and A to audiences. Read some of Franco’s answers to questions below.   JAMES...

  James Franco and Val Lauren in Palm Springs for 'SAL' (2011) by PSIFF press James Franco’s feature film SAL (2011) held its world premiere at the 68th La Biennale Venice Film Festival. Most recently the film debuted in Palm Springs during the 23rd Palm Springs International Film Festival. After the screening of the film, Franco appeared with lead actor in SAL, Val Lauren, to attend a Q and A to audiences. Read some of Franco’s answers to questions below.   JAMES...

  Far from the red carpet glamour, the throngs trying to party crash on Main Street, the critics and programmers waiting on lines, there is another Sundance Film Festival taking place behind closed doors. While the Festival does not have an official market, as do such other events as Berlin and Cannes, there is definitely market business going on in private hotel suites and luxurious mountaintop villas. These are the precincts where sleep deprived sales agents hawk their wares to domesti...

  A SEPARATION (Iran, 2011) by director Asghar Farhadi Nominated for an Oscar for ‘Best Foreign Language Film’, A SEPARATION has been stunning audiences since its open at the 2011 Berlinale last February. Most recently, it screened at the 23rd Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF 2012). Bank employee Nader (played by Peyman Moadi) wants to stay in Iran but his wife Simin (Leila Hatami) wants to leave. A traditionalist stuck in the past and unable to leave his be...

  A SEPARATION (Iran, 2011) by director Asghar Farhadi Nominated for an Oscar for ‘Best Foreign Language Film’, A SEPARATION has been stunning audiences since its open at the 2011 Berlinale last February. Most recently, it screened at the 23rd Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF 2012). Bank employee Nader (played by Peyman Moadi) wants to stay in Iran but his wife Simin (Leila Hatami) wants to leave. A traditionalist stuck in the past and unable to leave his be...

2011 has been a good year for cinemas, movie theaters and art houses. In 2011, over 30 million people purchased a movie ticket. That is a number that has not been achieved since 1978. Box-office receipts increased to almost € 240 million. To cap it all, for the first time since 1986 (Flodder) the Dutch feature film Gooische Vrouwen attracted a record attendance of over 1.9 million movie-goers, making it the number one movie at the box office in 2011. Despite the success, however, the cinema in...

Derby City Film Festival Announces 2012 Selections  56 films to screen during the three day festival including 24 International films from 16 Countries, 8 World Premieres & 5 US Premieres    LOUISVILLE, KY. (January 2nd) —    The organizers of The Derby City Film Festival are pleased to announce the selections for the 2012 edition to be held in February. In total 56 films will screen during the three day festival which will be held February 17th - 19...

Film Means Business is delighted to welcome a fantastic line-up, featuring some of the UK's leading Film industry Professionals. They will be discussing International Co-Production from a UK Producer's perspective. What is an official co-production? Which territories have signed official co-production treaties with the UK and what are the benefits to co-producing your film with them? What is the British Film Industry's role? We will hear from 2 of the UK's prominent, experienced Producti...

The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) announced today that renowned actor and humanitarian Sean Penn will be presented with the fifth annual Joel Siegel Award at the 17th annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards. The award will be presented by fellow actor and 13-time Critics' Choice Award nominee George Clooney. The ceremony will air live on VH1 on Thursday, January 12 at 8:00 PM ET/PT. Given annually, this special a...

The Film Independent Board Chairman Bill Condon announced that Senior Director Sean Mc Manus and Director of Artist Development Josh Welsh have been appointed to newly created positions of Co-Presidents. They succeed Executive Director Dawn Hudson, who departed in June to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences as CEO. In their new positions, Mc Manus and Welsh will work together to lead the organization and run its year-round programs that nurture independent filmmakers and ex...

Celestial Tiger Entertainment (CTE), the Asian media company launched last month by Celestial Pictures Limited, Saban Capital Group and Lionsgate, unveiled today its senior management team, led by industry veteran Todd Miller, who will serve as President and Chief Operating Officer.  CTE also announced the of its Board of Directors. Miller brings over two decades of management and media experience to CTE and will lead the company and drive its core businesses of branded pa...

Celestial Tiger Entertainment (CTE), the Asian media company launched last month by Celestial Pictures Limited, Saban Capital Group and Lionsgate, unveiled today its senior management team, led by industry veteran Todd Miller, who will serve as President and Chief Operating Officer. CTE also announced the of its Board of Directors. Miller brings over two decades of management and media experience to CTE and will lead the company and drive its core businesses of branded pay-TV channels, ...

Fifteen films have been selected for IFFR's Tiger Awards Competition 2012. The complete lineup, comprising first or second feature films concurring for three equal Hivos Tiger Awards of each 15,000 euro, includes eight world premieres. Five competing films have received from Rotterdam’s Hubert Bals Fund.The Rotterdam Tiger Awards Competition for Short Films 2012 comprises twenty-one films, ranging in length from five to fifty-six minutes. Nine short films in competition will see their ...

  Leading UK-based film industry publicist Ginger Corbett is leaving Premier PR to pursue other projects that she has been developing.   Ginger has been with entertainment press and marketing agency Premier since 2001, when she and business partner Sara Keene brought Corbett & Keene, the agency that they set up in 1988, into the newly formed Premier Public Relations.     Over the years Ginger has worked with some of the world's most celebrated film...

100th Anniversary Activities Include Major Film Restoration, New Logo Unveiling, Home Entertainment Offerings, Theme Park Celebrations, Signature Events and Sweeping Social Media Universal will mark its 100th anniversary in 2012, and will commemorate its centennial with a yearlong celebration honoring the studio's rich film history and cultural legacy. The campaign draws its inspiration from Universal's extraordinary and diverse library of films, many of which will...

Event Cancellation Insurance is purchased for one off events as a protection against loss of revenue or extra expenses that result from uncontrollable circumstances such as unforeseen weather conditions, power failure, terrorism, cancellation, abandonment, postponement, interruption or relocation of an event. You can obtain a quote by completing an online Event Cancellation Questionnaire.  This type of insurance can also cover public liability, such as a serious injury to one...

In keeping with the tradition of listening to a rather powerful woman just before you’re about to embark on what’s really important – or maybe you’ve already squashed Christmas lunch by the time your attention is perhaps swayed by a certain Elizabeth Windsor – its’ time we took note of another Christmas message – the one being brought to you by another powerful woman (Sheila Nortley) who is fast becoming a regular fixture on the urban independent film circuit. And before we hear ...

Interview with Bruno Chatelin         Why do you think there are so many film festivals? They are now relatively easy to set up, with many tools, software, service providers Internet has played a major part in that development (and companies like ours, specialized in festival business have contributed spreading the word and the best practices) Benchmarking has become easier, and is now structured through such events as the...

Interview with Bruno Chatelin     Why do you think there are so many film festivals? They are now relatively easy to set up, with many tools, software, service providers Internet has played a major part in that development (and companies like ours, specialized in festival business have contributed spreading the word and the best practices) Benchmarking has become easier, and is now structured through such events as the international Film Festival Summit (I hava a role in tha...