Jack Valenti, the former head of the Motion Picture Assn. of America for almost four decades and the prime mover behind the movie ratings system, died Thursday. He was 85. Valenti had checked out of Johns Hopkins University Medical Center on Wednesday where he was hospitalized after suffering a stroke. We loved his strong tenure, relentless battle against piracy, strong advocate of american cinema from majors and independents...I had the priviledge of dining a few times with his family and celeb...

Tuesday, February 13----Actress-turned-director Julie Delpy's TWO DAYS IN PARIS, which had its world premiere in the Panorama section of the Berlin Film Festival a few days ago, has been purchased for North American rights. The Samuel Goldwyn Company and Netflix's Red Envelope Entertainment have announced the joint acquisition of the film, which they are planning to release in the US and Canada this coming summer. TWO DAYS IN PARIS is a romantic comedy about a French woman photographe...

Sunday, November 26----The on-going struggle of combatting AIDS in Africa is the focus of UK director Paul Taylor's powerful film WE ARE TOGETHER, which is having its world premiere screening this evening at the International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam (idfa). The film, a debut by its director, is competing in the First Appearances section of the Festival. The devastation of the AIDS epidemic is told through the story of a 12 year old South African girl named Slindile, who lives at ...

The New York International Independent Film and Video Festival has been attracting steady audiences and a few celebs at its City Cinemas Village East location. Audiences fought through the throngs of Borat fans in their relentless support of the indies. The theatre actually became so busy that a very low-key Naomi Watts almost went unnoticed downstairs in Theater 3, she happened to be one of several stars quietly drawn to the allure of the annual Festival. The event has always produced films th...

Friday, November 10----More and more film directors, actors and personalities are descending on Fort Lauderdale, as the film festival enters its final weekend. The number of parties and special events make this not only the cultural high point but also the social "must attend" event of the week. WHO'S IN TOWN Mel Stuart The award-winning producer/director, who entertained audiences with anecdotes yesterday evening at a rare screening of his Emmy Award winning documentary MAN RAY: PROPHET OF TH...

Friday, November 10-----Gregory von Hausch is the public face of the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. He founded the Festival more than two decades ago and has led it from a small regional event to an important showcase of international and independent cinema. As the Festival celebrates its 21st anniversary with the dapper and enthusiastic von Hausch still at the helm, Online Festival Dailies Editor Sandy Mandelberger sat down with Gregory von Hausch for an engaging and wide-rangi...

Thursday, November 9----Film directors, producers, actors and celebrities are descending on Fort Lauderdale for the final weekend of festivities at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. The sun is shining and the weather is wonderful, and so is the celebrity watching. CELEBRITY WATCH: Thursday, November 9 Mel Stuart The celebrated director of the cult classic WILLIE WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY is in town to introduce several films from his career and to receive a Lifetime Achie...

THE SHAPE OF WATER Friday, October 27----The excitement is certainly revving up at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF) this weekend, with a torrent of challenging new films, well-loved classics and enough social events to fatigue even the most energetic party animal. The Festival has a reputation on the festival circuit as one that is high on discoveries, offering its sophisticated audiences a chance to discover new talents and ponder film themes and techniques. This weeken...

Thursday, October 26----As the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF) moves into its second consecutive weekend, the schedule for Friday is a full and varied one. Listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as "the world's longest film festival", this year's edition runs for 30 days, with an extra week of programming and special events to be held in the resort town of Key West when the Festival comes to an end in its Fort Lauderdale home on Sunday, November 12. When do these Festi...

Wednesday, October 4---Warren Beatty would be the first to admit it. When he talks, he tends to ramble and to answer an interview question at such great length that both he and the questioner have forgotten the original query. At the press conference held on Tuesday afternoon at Alice Tully Hall, following the press screening of his masterpiece REDS, Beatty covered a lot of territory in a wise, witty and rambling style that had the audience eating out of his hand. Such is the power of the mo...

Saturday, September 30The first full day of screenings and events at the New York Film Festival, following last evening's gala premiere of THE QUEEN, was a full program of diverse delights, with something for every cinematic taste.Following its enthusiastic reception last evening, and amidst glowing reviews upon its theatrical release today, THE QUEEN director Stephen Frears was in high spirits at the HBO Films Directors Dialogue , held this afternoon at the Kaplan Penthouse, high atop the Linco...

Saturday, September 30---The first full day of screenings and events at the New York Film Festival, following last evening's gala premiere of THE QUEEN, was a full program of diverse delights, with something for every cinematic taste. Following its enthusiastic reception last evening, and amidst glowing reviews upon its theatrical release today, THE QUEEN director Stephen Frears was in high spirits at the HBO Films Directors Dialogue , held this afternoon at the Kaplan Penthouse, high atop th...

Eva Madden and David Middleton were chosen as winners of the 26th Atlantic Film Festival’s Inspired Scripts program presented by Telefilm Canada and Astral Media The Harold Greenburg Fund. After pitching their scripts at the Astral Media The Harold Greenberg Fund Pitch Match Session to a group of industry professionals, the two scripts were chosen to receive up to $15,000 towards taking their first features from first to second draft stage. “Obviously getting development money is exciting bu...

The juries of the two International Competitions of the 11th Milano Film Festival consist of personalities from different sectors of the international and Italian cultural scene. The choice of the juries reflects the Milano Film Festival's disposition to become a meeting place for interaction between various cultural areas. The diversity of the juries' composition triggers a lively debate, in which the selection of the winning films will be the outcome of the convergence between different geogra...

The 27 th Durban International Film Festival Award Night took place at NuMetro Cinecentre on Saturday 24 June, honouring 18 of the best films in the festival and the people who invest their creative capacities into the filmmaking process. The main awards were in the form of bronze mythical sea-creatures handmade by innovative Durban artist Andries Botha, set against bead and embroidery citations created by the Zamukuziphilisa Community Project in Umlazi. Fantastic Asian films were some of the hi...

BRITDOC 06 – the UK’s first international feature documentary festival (26th – 28th July) – has announced it will host the first international documentary pitching forum in the UK, giving British filmmakers the opportunity to present their projects directly to the most influential international commissioners and funders in documentary filmmaking. The BRITDOC Pitching Forum presented by More4 will bring together a panel of international commissioning editors and foundation fund holders â€...