Author: Bijan Tehrani

Inspired by a chilling true story, Compliance explores just how far one might go to obey a figure of authority. On a particularly busy day at the local ChickWich, the fast food joint’s high-strung manager Sandra receives a phone call from a police officer saying her employee Becky has stolen money from a customer. Convinced she’s only doing what’s right, Sandra commences the investigation, following step-by-step instructions from the officer at the other end of the line, no matter how invasive they become.Compliance, One of the most controversial and talked-about films at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, is the second…

Jacob Rosenberg, a filmmaker, author, and digital technology expert, he developed his passion for video and film as a skateboarder in the early 1990’s, making two of the most acclaimed skateboard videos for the company Plan B. Upon graduating from Emerson College, his thesis film “Silent Rain in the Ninth,” was released on DVD; Rosenberg promptly began directing music videos, commercials and short films.Rosenberg connected with fellow directors and Bandito Brothers principals Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh when he served as the Online Editor and Digital Intermediate Supervisor for “Dust to Glory.” That feature utilized an all-digital workflow designed by…

Starring Catherine Deneuve and (her real-life daughter) Chiara Mastroianni, Beloved, this sly and exquisitely romantic musical drama from Christophe Honoré (LOVE SONGS, DANS PARIS) spans over three decades as it follows a mother and daughter’s misadventures in love. In the ‘60s, Madeleine (Ludivine Sagnier) leaves Paris to re-join her Czech husband Jaromil (Rasha Bukvic) in Prague, but his infidelities and the arrival of Russian tanks in the city lead her back to France. Thirty years later we follow the romance of Madeleine’s daughter, Vera, who falls in love with a musician (Paul Scneider) in London who is incapable of devoting…

The Hollywood Museum is a labor of love for Founder and President, Donelle Dadigan. Dadigan has documented, preserved and now exhibits the largest collection ever assembled of authentic costumes and personal effects of hundreds of motion picture and television studios, as well as the stars themselves including Marilyn Monroe, Russell Crowe, Elvis Presley, Lucille Ball, Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkin, and Michael Jackson. Today, Dadigan is the chairperson of the Hollywood Historic Trust which controls the sidewalks where the ‘Walk of Fame’ stars are located. She took over this duty from the late Johnny Grant, the honorary…

CrazyTalk 7 from Reallusion is an innovative animation/facial expression/lip syncing program. To learn more about CrazyTalk 7, I interviewed John Martin, VP Product Marketing, Reallusion after Reallusion guys on Siggraph floor should me a demo of Crazy Talk, and called John for me. I have to admit that Crazy Talk was the best of Siggraph 2012 for filmmakers.Bijan Tehrani: Reallusion has been part of the animation world for a long time. A lot of the major companies who provide animation tools have either been bought out by big guys or they have vanished. What is the key to Reallusion’s success?…

From Elvis’s iconic back-up divas, a homeless club hit wonder to an ambitious cabaret singer/rock hopeful and an inspiring producer impresario…THIS TIME follows the resurrecting careers of both musical legends and struggling lifers, in a music industry far removed from the overnight sensations of “American Idol”. The musicians are recording artists The Sweet Inspirations (best known as back-up singers for Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin and Dusty Springfield), New York cabaret sensation Bobby Belfry, soul diva Pat Hodges (Hodges, James & Smith), composer/producer Peitor Angell and featuring gospel star Cissy Houston. An inspiring portrait of faith, talent and determination, wrapped in…

Stephen Fingleton was born in Derry, Northern Ireland. He made his first films with the UCLU Film Society, using the same 16mm cameras Christopher Nolan shot his first movies on. He is the recipient of Northern Ireland Screen’s Bill Miskelly award, and his short films have won several awards and have screened at over sixty international festivals, including the BFI London Film Festival. His feature film THE SURVIVALIST was a finalist in Northern Ireland Screen’s New Talent Focus scheme, and has attracted interest from major players in the industry. He is represented by Independent Talent Group in the UK and…

The Bob Baker Marionette Theater and The Academy of Puppetry & Allied Arts will present “Bob Baker’s Celebration & Preservation Extravaganza,” on Sunday, July 29, 2012 at 4:00 p.m. at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater in Downtown Los Angeles. The event has been created to guarantee a future for The Bob Baker Marionette Theater.This event kicks off the non-profit Academy of Puppetry and Allied Art’s fund-raising campaign to raise $2 million to adopt Bob’s puppet family and help build a future for the marionette theater, with the addition of a museum and school for puppetry arts. Charles Phoenix, a Los…

I make my living as a second-unit for independent music videos and feature films. All I work with is my RED camera, a pro voice-recorder, my HP laptop workstation and my van. I can’t complain about my life, as I love traveling and that is what this job offers me. A decade ago my job was much easier, as film producers and filmmakers did not demand to receive their footage instantly, and they would get back to me about possible re-shoots or extra inserts they needed while leaving me ample time. But now, my cell phone is constantly ringing with…

Andrea La Mendola, a young Italian filmmaker living in Los Angeles, was born in 1984 in Torino. Andrea received his Master Degree in Media and Cinema Engineering at Polytechnic of Torino in 2009 where he won a grant to make a research in the United States about the American Cinema. In United States, Andrea attended UCLA Extension’s film directing course.He co-founded “Indyca”, a film production company based in Torino where he works as producer and director for commercials, feature films, documentaries and short movies together with professionals such as Robert Miano, Franco Nero, Haley Webb, Jack Plotnick, Alessandro Gasman, Giuseppe…