24th OPORTO FILM FESTIVAL WITH A STRONG NORTH AMERICAN PRESENCEWith the High Patronage of the Ministry of Culture and the Oporto City Hall, the 24th edition of Fantasporto (Oporto International Film Festival) will be held on the 20th February till March, 1st), with its main Competitive Sections beginning on the 20th February (Official Fantasy Film Selection and Directors Week). Retrospectives and Homages complete the programme, as usual. Showcasing, as usual, the best of European Cinema, the p...

6th ANNUAL SARASOTA FILM FESTIVAL January 23RD – February 1ST, 2004 From the Opening Night Film & Party on January 23rd till the projectors go dark 10 film-filled days and nights later, the 6th Annual SARASOTA FILM FESTIVAL will present an extraordinary line-up of International & US independent features, shorts, documentaries, student films and special events celebrating special guests and their contributions to the art of filmmaking. The SARASOTA FILM FESTIVAL (SFF) is dedicated to ex...

The 7th annual Latino Film Festival took place from November 6-16 at various locations throughout the Bay Area and included a record 68 films from 12 countries. The second night of the Festival, at the historical Castro Theater, Hollywood’s most heralded and influential Latino producer, Moctesuma Esparza, was honored and given the first annual “Mocte de Oro” prize. The “Mocte” will be an annual LFF award to recognize the most important Latino filmmakers contributing to the cinematic...

BERLINALE COMPETITION 2004: FIVE ENTRIES ALREADY CONFIRMED The opening of the Berlinale is still more than two months off – yet Festival Director Dieter Kosslick is pleased to be able to announce the first films in the Competition. Five entries are definite and they range “from tragic love story to political psychodrama, from historical thriller to intimate family saga”, as Kosslick explains. The entries are from , Spain, Denmark, Croatia and the USA, and their celebrated director...

Havana and Bratislawa critics prizes:At the International Festival of New Latin-American Cinema(Havana, Cuba, December 2-12, 2003) the Prize of the International Critics(FIPRESCI PRIZE) has been awarded to "Suite Havana" (Suite Habana) by Fernando Pérez (Cuba/Spain 2003)"For its courageous vision of Havana's daily life and its artistic and powerful use of images and sounds". The jury has been composed ofCarlos Brandao, Brazil, presidentJan Schulz-Ojala, Jorge Letelier, Chile Boriana Mat...

The International Festival of Cinema and Technology launches its second annual event taking place in Manhattan December 6th-10th. The event will showcase a wide variety of independent cinema including dramas, comedies, documentaries, features, experimental films and animations. The "Technology" in the festival's name occurs both in the content of the festival, which tends to focus on themes of technology or feature unique creation techniques, as well as in the method of showcasing content at th...

Last night, AFI FEST was bursting at the seams with masterful films, enlightening Q & A's, controversy and other memorable pleasures. The evening began with a dramatic announcement that talented French director Siegfried, whose film SANSA screened at 9:00 p.m., had been detained at LAX and the INS was barring him from entering the U.S. due to visa problems. When AFI FEST tried to reach the INS the following morning, they refused to comment on his detention, saying only that AFI FEST should discu...

Reported sales from the market.Cinema Service (from Hong Kong) is reported to have sold The legend of the Evil Lake in 4 territories: , Russia, Indonesia Thailand.Lions Gate bought world rights excluding Canada and for the Jean Beaudin epic romance “New ” starring Depardieu and Tm rothUGC sold Tais Toi – « Ruby + Quentin » mismatch pal hit story from Francis Weber to Asian territories: Hong Kong, Taiwan and South KoreaVerdecchi Film sold twisted for Japan and Thail...

CELESTIAL’S SHAW BROTHERS MARTIAL ARTS MOVIES TO BE DISTRIBUTED BY MANGA FILMS IN SPAIN The Spanish film industry is viewed by many these days as the critical link between Europe, the US and Latin America cinema. In recent years, a wave of young, Spanish directorial talents have surfaced, such as Pedro Almodovar, Alejandro Amenabar, Fernando Leon de Aranoa and Cesc Gay. Between them, they have helped to gradually develop Spain as a film-making powerhouse. Similarly, when the Hong Kong film ind...

These are the nominations:Deadline for votes is November 28, 2003EUROPEAN FILM 2003DIRTY PRETTY THINGS, UKdirected by Stephen Frearsproduced by Celador FilmsDOGVILLE, Denmark/Netherlands/Sweden//UK/directed by Lars von Trierproduced by Zentropa Entertainments8 ApS/Isabella Films Int/Memfis Film Int/Pain Unlimited/Sigma Films/Slot MachineGOOD BYE, LENIN!, directed by Wolfgang Beckerproduced by X Filme Creative Pool GmbHIN THIS WORLD, UKdirected by Michael Winterbottomproduced ...