Back in 1994, producer Stefan Arndt together with filmmakers Wolfgang Becker, Dani Levy and Tom Tykwer founded X- Filme Creative Pool in Berlin. Their mission: to produce sophisticated art house films for the general audience. Modeling their company after United Artists, they brought together producers and filmmakers under one creative roof, much like UA did in 1919 when Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith created one of the first true film studios. That role model seemed to work for X Filme, for today the company’s portfolio includes some of of the most successful movies of recent German…
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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…
The surprise independent film hit of the season, “(500 Days of Summer),” is set in downtown Los Angeles with its two main characters exploring the architectural gems of the city’s historic core. Also set in downtown Los Angeles, the 2009 Downtown Film Festival—Los Angeles offered 11 days (August 12-22) of adventurous programming spread throughout the area’s architecturally significant and culturally diverse neighborhoods. “There’s no doubt that downtown Los Angeles has come into its own as a vibrant residential community, a world-class arts & entertainment district and the creative nexus for the city. Hollywood is recognizing this with films like ‘(500…
Museum of Modern Arts, New York has announced their September screening schedule.Monday, September 7: 4:00 Romeo + Juliet 1996. USA. Directed by Baz Luhrmann. With Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes. This time, the star-crossed lovers find themselves in the midst of a gangland battle when the rival Capulets and Montagues face off. Luhrmann remained faithful to Shakespeare’s language, but he updated the setting to modern-day “Verona Beach” and included a soundtrack replete with classic rock, punk, and opera. 120 min. Part of the Recent Film Acquisitions: Continuum film exhibition4:30 Amarcord 1973. Italy/France. Directed by Federico Fellini. Screenplay by Fellini, Tonino Guerra.…
The Royal Flush Festival, formerly known as the Evil City Film Fest, announces its lineup of independent films, music videos, live music performances, and underground art openings taking place October 15th-18th at Anthology Film Archives and other venues throughout New York. Named after Royal Flush Magazine, a nationally-distributed killer rag that celebrates underground music, art, video games, pop-culture and indie movies with a strict, no-fluff stance, the Royal Flush Festival has more value than any other film festival in New York while doing so at a fraction of the cost. During the festival, Royal Flush Magazine will reveal its 2009…
Vicious Circle, a film by Paul Boyd will be screened tonight, Friday August 21th, at Los Angeles Downtown Film Festival.Set in the streets of Venice Beach (with a brief U-turn downtown LA!), this punk rock tale follows teenage skater-artist R.J. (Paul Rodriguez, Jr.) on the run for his life after a shocking tragic murder pits him against a vengeful gangbanger, the cops and the sins of a father currently incarcerated for gun dealing. Director Paul Boyd manages to keep the pace fast and loose while delivering an intricately woven non-linear narrative structure. The film is occasionally punctuated with animated flashes…
The Downtown Film Festival—Los Angeles (DFFLA)announces a night of experimental film and performance on Sunday August 16 at the AT&T; Center. Curated by Noel Lawrence, “City of Angles” surveys recent audiovisual work from and about the city of Los Angeles and its relation to Hollywood mythologies. The show includes a special film screening, a program of expanded cinema and live performance, as well as a gallery in the Cinema Lounge that will be open throughout the festival. The night kicks off at 5:00 pm with Deborah Stratman’s O’er The Land which premiered at Sundance 2009. A meditation on freedom and…
Born on the 6th of March, 1984 in Singapore, Edmund Yeo did a one-year postgraduate course in film production at Murdoch University, Perth in 2006. He joined Woo Ming Jin’s Greenlight Pictures in 2007 and became involved in numerous productions as producer and editor. Notable productions include telemovie Days of the Turquoise Sky (2008) and the short film, Blue Roof (2007). He was also the associate producer of the award-winning feature film THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA (2007). His latest collaboration with Woo Ming Jin as producer/editor is WOMAN ON FIRE LOOKS FOR WATER (2009).He started writing and directing his…
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,…
Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, announced today that the 2010 Spirit Awards will be held on Friday, March 5, 2010, and will air live and uncut at 8:00 p.m. PST/11:00 p.m. EST on IFC (Independent Film Channel). The nominations press conference will take place on Tuesday, December 1. This year’s celebration marks the 25th Anniversary of the Spirit Awards, which honors films made by filmmakers, who embody independence and who dare to challenge the status quo. To celebrate the milestone, Film Independent and IFC will be broadcasting the…