Author: CWB News Department

CWB News Department, collects and republishes most important news and stories about International and Independent cinema, by noting the original source of the articles

John C. Martin II, VP of Product Marketing, leads Reallusion’s award-winning CrazyTalk and iClone Studio. A founding member of Reallusion USA, John represents Reallusion’s brands and the continued development of evermore accessible filmmaking technology. John’s role as spokesperson for Reallusion connects audiences with demonstrations of Reallusion’s real-time filmmaking software that’s fueling the frenzy of user-generated video content on the web.John specializes in emerging media and social networks including Machinima and virtual worlds. He recognizes the vast potential to use virtual worlds and real-time game and animation engines to unite technology with the new era of digitalstorytelling and social interaction. Speaking…

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New York, NY – Women Make Movies (WMM) announces its acquisition of award-winning filmmaker Min-Sook Lee’s MY TOXIC BABY at the Toronto International Film Festival. In this timely, compelling, and intimate documentary, new mother Lee searches for safe, sane, and affordable ways to raise her baby daughter Song Ji in an environment that has become increasingly full of toxic threats. Described by the Toronto International Film Festival as “urgent, emotional, and highly personal,” MY TOXIC BABY is a startling look at the numerous toxins found in a baby’s food, bedding, clothing, toys, and home. Lee shares her anxieties as she…

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The Film Society of Lincoln Center’s 12th edition of The Latinbeat Film Festival showcases the best in Latin American cinema with one of its most diverse slates ever. Twenty-one films, nineteen in their New York premieres, represent seven Latin American countries. “The variety of genres, styles, voices, and subjects in films from the region is as diverse as Latin America itself,” says Programming Associate Marcela Goglio, curator of the Latinbeat Festival. “We are seeing a strengthening of emerging film industries in countries like Mexico, Argentina and Brazil and a continued resurgence of fresh new voices.”Opening Night FilmsThis year’s Latinbeat opens…

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Pal Telegraph- Former soldier in the Israeli army Elik Elhanan regrets the moment his mother was “happy and proud” when he joined the military service in the occupied Palestinian territories. Elhanan is now a spokesperson for the “Combatants for Peace” movement, which aims to “end the cycle of violence, the bloodshed and the [Israeli] occupation”.His experience, along with those of other Palestinian activists, is part of the Italian filmmaker Barbara Cupisti’s 2008 documentary titled, “Forbidden Childhood”, which was screened at the Royal Film Commission last week. The film sheds light on the “suffering” of Palestinian children living under Israeli occupation,…

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The Evil City Film Fest initially founded in 2005, is now the Royal Flush Festival (RFF), a brand new force in the independent film, art and music scenes that will rock its way from New York City’s East Village with a program of over 100 independent films, music videos, live music performances, and underground art openings from October 15-18, 2009. RFF’s main venue will be the Anthology Film Archives, located at 32 Second Avenue.RFF is named after its new partner, Royal Flush Magazine, a nationally-distributed killer rag that celebrates underground music, art, video games, pop-culture and indie movies with a…

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Film London’s Best of Borough Film Awards (BoBs) took place at a prestigious ceremony at BAFTA last night. BoBs patron and award-winning director, Gurinder Chadha, presented Hackney film-maker Alex Taylor with the Jury Award for Kids Might Fly, and Gary Grant from Enfield the Audience Award for Daisy’s Last Stand. Both film-making teams received a cash prize of £2,000 each for producing the best shorts produced through this year’s London Borough Film Fund Challenge (LBFFC).The Audience Award was selected by members of the public who viewed and voted for their favourite film on the Film London website. Over 4,000 people…

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The 25th International Short Film Festival’s best-of-shorts party closed with the awards ceremony on sunday night in Metropolis cinema. A total prize money of 30.000 Euros was distributed, and more than 14.000 guests and visitors enjoyed the films in cinemas across Hamburg and the festival club nights.International CompetitionJury: Asitha Ameresekere, Chris Bohn, Jing Haase, Urszula Skassa, Pim ZwierHamburg Short Film Award (Jury Award of the International Competition, 3000 Euros):Letünt Világ (Lost World)Gyula Nemes, Hungary 2008, 20:05 min, documentaryFrançois Ode Award (Special price of the Jury, 1500 Euros):Farseh Chob (The Wooden Carpet)Abdolrahman Mirani, Iran 2008, 19:15 min, documentaryInternational Competition Audience Award…

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Film Movement, the North American film distribution company announced today their acquisition of , Danish and Dutch co-production from Director Hans-Christian Schmid. This powerfully emotional political thriller explores issues of memory and healing, and is filmed primarily in English with select portions in German, Bosnian and Serbian. The film will open in theaters in the late fall of 2009 and be available nation-wide via Cable Video on Demand. Synopsis of STORM: Hannah Maynard (Kerry Fox), prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague, is leading a trial against a former commander of the Yugoslavian National Army who is accused…

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Every year, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival welcomes a variety of activities to support charity projects, and strives to present and support the work of people who, despite their disabilities, create interesting things. This year, the festival will host a nontraditional series of films entitled Mental Power Prague Film Festival, which offers “other” people a chance at self-realization. The results are often highly exceptional film stories made and acted with tremendous enthusiasm, passion, and candor by people with mental or physical afflictions. This special festival creates space for original film works by people with disabilities. The movies are not…

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Filmmaker Alejandro Amenábar won the Oscar for the Best Foreign Film with his 2004 The Sea Inside, a plea to legalize voluntary euthanasia. Now he is stepping out in Cannes for the first time with Agora, a historical drama set in 4th-century Alexandria, Egypt. At that time, Egypt was ruled by Rome, and rebellion was brewing among the Christians. In the film, the brilliant astronomer-philosopher Hypatia (Rachel Weisz) and her disciples are barricaded inside the great Library, attempting to preserve the knowledge that has been accumulated over the centuries. But there’s a battle outside…”Four years ago, I’d never have believed…

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