If anyone has any information that they want to share with members, let me know so I can include it in the next newsletter.
Many kudos to the people, businesses and agencies of Salem who helped to make the Salem Film Fest a success. This goes from the mayor on down. If you hate politicians you might say from the mayor on up. I wish all cities and towns could show such cooperation. Could Rinus in his tux be the highlight of the festival?
Local events
Cinemasalem:
Thursday night offers up POEM IN ACTION (at 4:30 and 7:30 pm), a tribute to the great Gloucester poet, Vincent Ferrini, who died in December, which will feature a wonderful film by his nephew Henry Ferrini, and the reading of several of Vincent’s poems. This is the last of the Salem Film Fest.
On Friday, German director, Roland Emmerich’s remarkable prehistoric documentary, 10,000 BC (PG-13 109 minutes).
Also continuing this coming week will be VANTAGE POINT and SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES, showtimes for which are available on the http://www.cinemasalem.com website .
“Buddha’s Lost Children” Fan Favorite; “Beyond the Call” wins Jury Award at Salem Film Fest
Salem, Monday, March 3, 2008. The first annual Salem Film Fest announced awards for three documentary films that screened this weekend at CinemaSalem. The audience at Salem Film Fest selected a film from the Netherlands - Marc Verkerk’s “Buddha’s Lost Children” - as the Audience Favorite of this year’s festival. The festival organizers awarded Adrian Belic’s “Beyond the Call” a Jury Award and gave runner-up recognition to Jennifer Baichwal’s “Manufactured Landscapes,” a film from Canada.
The kickoff year of the festival has been a huge success, with audiences growing each day and far surpassing organizer’s predictions. Several films have played before packed houses and the reaction from audience members and participating filmmakers has been overwhelmingly positive. Many films have been followed by lively discussions with their makers who spent the weekend in the city interacting with audience members at the theatre and at other events organized by the festival around the city. The festival continues with out-of-competition screenings at CinemaSalem weeknights through Thursday.
“Buddha’s Lost Children” is a breathtaking true story of compassion and tough love about an unorthodox Buddhist monk, who devotes himself to the welfare of young children in the borderlands of Thailand’s Golden Triangle. With stunning cinematography, great storylines and a message of inspiration and hope, “Buddha’s Lost Children” wowed the audience during its screening.
Producer Ton Okkerse from the Netherlands, who visited Salem Film Fest this weekend, spoke afterwards about the grassroots approach of monk Khru Bah and his small roving monastic community, and informed the audience about the challenges director Marc Verkerk faced while making the movie. Okkerse also gave an update on the orphans depicted in the movie, making the case that the work of one Thai kick boxer turned monk, Khru Bah, a Rambo in robes in Thailand’s Golden Triangle, gives so many young Thai orphans a life-changing opportunity.
Jury Award winner “Beyond the Call” is an Indiana Jones meets Mother Teresa adventure, in which three middle-aged men, former US soldiers and modern-day knights, travel the world delivering life saving humanitarian aid directly into the hands of civilians and doctors in some of the most dangerous yet beautiful places on Earth, the front lines of war. Director Adrian Belic manages to surprise and inspire, and the Salem Film Fest jury thought that “Beyond the Call” definitely makes viewers see the world differently.
Jury Award runner-up is “Manufactured Landscapes” - a stunning documentary from Canada by award winning director Jennifer Baichwal. The film focuses on photographer Edward Burtynsky who is internationally acclaimed for his large-scale photographs of nature transformed by industry. Baichwal follows Burtynsky to China, as he captures the effects of the country‘s massive industrial revolution. The remarkable film is stunning in its photography and makes the audience reflect on our impact on the planet.
All three recognized films were screened during Awards Night on Wednesday, March 5th at CinemaSalem. “Manufactured Landscapes” will screen at 4.30pm, “Buddha’s Lost Children” at 6:30pm and “Beyond the Call” at 8.30pm.
Festivals
MARCH 6
*Name: Robert Newton
*Event Title: The Boston North Shore Film Festival Winter ‘08 Independent Film Series
*Date & Time: Thursday, March 6 @ 7:00pm
*Film: ARRANGED - Ditmas Park, Brooklyn. A young Jewish Orthodox woman is about to begin her first year as a special education teacher at the local public school. She is also about to embark on what her father and mother call the “most exciting time of her life” – the process of finding a husband via the time-tested method of using a “shadchen,” or matchmaker. As the school year gets underway, she meets a Muslim woman of Syrian descent. who is also a first-year teacher. (and also looking for a spouse). They share a friendship that will endure as they move on to become wives and mothers, and continue to be modern women with deep religious convictions. “The simple sweetness of this heartfelt effort arrives as both endearing and culturally provocative.” –Toddy Burton, The Austin Chronicle [MOVIE WEBSITE] [Comedy/Drama, 90 minutes] *Venue & Address: Gloucester Stage Company * 267 East Main Street * Gloucester, MA 01930 * (978) 281-4433
*Description of Event: This series of independent films serves to promote the 2008 Boston North Shore Film Festival and to bring the kinds of alternative programming (and sometimes the actual filmmakers) that filmgoers on the North Shore do not have easy access to.
*Cost: FREE! (part of our year-long “Free First Films” promotion)*Contact: Robert Newton @ (508) 344-6508:::
RobertNewton@MassBayFilmProject.org *Website: www.MassBayFilmProject.org/north.html
MARCH 8
*Name: Robert Newton
*Event Title: The Boston North Shore Film Festival Winter ‘08 Independent Film Series
*Date & Time: Saturday, March 8 @ 5:00pm
*Film: THE GOLD RUSH - Comic legend Charlie Chaplin’s famous character The Little Tramp travels to Alaska to stake his claim in the Alaska Gold Rush. After bad weather strands him in a remote cabin with a prospector and an escaped fugitive, the Tramp eventually finds himself in a gold rush town where he ultimately decides to give up prospecting. After taking a job looking after another prospector’s cabin, he falls in love with a lonely saloon girl whom he mistakenly thinks has fallen in love with him. He soon finds himself waylaid by the prospector he met earlier, who has developed amnesia and needs the Tramp to help him find his claim.
Gifted pianist Richard Hughes brings this classic to vivid life by playing a live piano score to accompany the feature. Hughes began playing the piano at the age of seven, beginning with classical music and later boogie-woogie, ragtime and pop. For the past ten years, he has compiled many silent movie scores taken from authentic ‘mood music’ that was played during the 1920’s. This music enhanced the movie scenes by making them “come alive” in the third dimension. An event not to be missed! [Comedy, 82 minutes]
*Venue & Address: Unitarian Universalist Church of Rockport * 4 Cleaves Street, Rockport * (978) 546-2989
*Description of Event: This series of independent films serves to promote the 2008 Boston North Shore Film Festival and to bring the kinds of alternative programming (and sometimes the actual filmmakers) that filmgoers on the North Shore do not have easy access to.
*Cost: $8.00, $6.00 seniors (60+) and students, available at the door
*Contact: Robert Newton @ (508) 344-6508:::RobertNewton@MassBayFilmProject.org *Website: www.MassBayFilmProject.org/north.html
MARCH 13
*Name: Robert Newton
*Event Title: The Boston North Shore Film Festival Winter ‘08 Independent Film Series
*Date & Time: Thursday, March 13 @ 7:00pm
*Film: FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO - Can the love between two people ever be an abomination? Is the chasm separating gays and lesbians and Christianity too wide to cross? Is the Bible an excuse to hate? Through the experiences of five very normal, very Christian, very American families – including those of former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt and Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson – we discover how insightful people of faith handle the realization of having a gay child. Informed by such respected voices as Bishop Desmond Tutu, Harvard’s Peter Gomes, Orthodox Rabbi Steve Greenberg and Reverend Jimmy Creech, For The Bible Tells Me So offers healing, clarity and understanding to anyone caught in the crosshairs of scripture and sexual identity. [MOVIE WEBSITE] [Documentary, 99 minutes]
“Daniel G. Karslake’s remarkable documentary boldly takes on a loaded topic — Christianity and homosexuality — and examines it both intellectually and emotionally; the result may well leave you blinking away a few tears.” -Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times
“Powerful…a brave and noble effort to heal a gaping wound in our society.” -Andrew O’Hehir, Salon.com
*Venue & Address: Gloucester Stage Company * 267 East Main Street * Gloucester, MA 01930 * (978) 281-4433
*Description of Event: This series of independent films serves to promote the 2008 Boston North Shore Film Festival and to bring the kinds of alternative programming (and sometimes the actual filmmakers) that filmgoers on the North Shore do not have easy access to.
*Cost: $8.00, $6.00 seniors (60+) and students, available at the door
*Contact: Robert Newton @ (508) 344-6508:::RobertNewton@MassBayFilmProject.org
*Website: www.MassBayFilmProject.org/north.html
Short films under 20 Minutes and screenplays under 15 pages ACCEPTED NOW. MovieMaker Magazine calls DC SHORTS “one of the nation’s leading short film festivals.” Filmmakers enjoy fabulous parties, city tours and are provided with housing, meals and transportation. But most importantly, they enjoy the opportunity to meet and learn from other filmmakers—an experience that comes from the premier showcase dedicated to short films and the people who make them.
FIRSTGLANCE 11 PHILADELPHIA is calling for entries for Philly’s only festival that celebrates the truly indie filmmaker from down the street and across the globe! Open to professional, first time and student filmmakers with any budget, for North America’s premiere truly indie festival whose mission is to exhibit, promote and reward the best national and international talent in all genres in a competitive casual atmosphere bringing together emerging filmmakers, film enthusiasts, critics, distributors and indie film lovers. Named one of the best film festival investments and one of the Top 40 Indie-Friendly Businesses in the world, FirstGlance continues it mission by offering an online companion at this year’s event! Submit through www.firstglancefilms.com or logon to www.withoutabox.com and apply online. Deadline: April 11, 2008. Over $50,000 dollars in prizes to be awarded in 2008.
Since the NEW HAMPSHIRE FILM FESTIVAL’S debut in 2001 as the NH Film Expo, it has grown in leaps and bounds. These days, heavy hitters such as Avid and Regal Cinemas provide sponsorship, while industry leaders from Emerging Pictures, Film Threat and Philly Fests participate on panels and in workshops. Alumni film credits include national distribution, Academy Award nominations and screenings at major festivals worldwide. For more information about their upcoming event check out www.nhfilmfestival.com or email nicole@nhfilmfestival.com.
Co-hosted by MySpace Film, the NOW FILM FESTIVAL advances the exposure of short film to thousands of viewers every week for 25 weeks. To submit your short film check out their website at www.nowfilmfestival.com or check film.myspace.com to watch the featured videos. Contact Sean Hackett at sean@nowfilmfestival.com if you have any questions.
PALM SPRINGS SHORTFEST—August 21-27, 2008. Now in its 14th year, the Palm Springs ShortFest has become known world-wide for the extraordinary community of filmmakers it attracts and the quality and scope of its programming. This is the largest festival of its kind in America, showcasing over 350 short films from more than 40 countries, with a library of more than 2,200 films available to film buyers, industry and press in the Film Market running concurrently with the festival. Included are seminars, technological demonstrations and ‘one-on-one’ meetings with industry experts and filmmaking professionals, free to all participating filmmakers. www.psfilmfest.org
One of MovieMaker Magazine’s “20 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee,” the ROME INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL is one of the best film festivals in the southeast. Each year RIFF features more than 100 films from more than 30 countries, including shorts and features in the categories of documentary, narrative, experimental and animation. Jury awards are presented for best narrative feature, documentary, narrative short, experimental film and animated short. Audience awards are presented for best feature and best short. RIFF is always the weekend after Labor Day in early September. Located in historic downtown Rome, Georgia, all festival venues are within walking distance. The festival also includes the Southeastern Film Industry Expo, a film industry convention featuring representatives from throughout the southeast. For more information, visit www.riff.tv.
8th Annual SCREAMFEST HORROR FILM FESTIVAL & SCREENPLAY COMPETITION takes place Oct. 10th–19th at the prestigious Grauman’s Mann Chinese 6 at Hollywood and Highland in the heart of Hollywood. Call For Entries deadlines are approaching for new horror feature films, shorts and feature length screenplays. Film submission deadlines: Early—July 15th, Final—August 15th. Screenplay submission deadlines: Early—June 15th, Regular—July 15th and Final—August 15th. Winning screenplay receives $1,000 cash and Movie Magic software. Screamfest is sponsored by Boost Mobile, Write Brothers, Inc. and InBaseline.
For more info www.screamfestla.com or email screamfestla@aol.com.
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Help Wanted
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Avid Editor
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Full Time
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City
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New York
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NY
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Avid Editor
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- Editing content for network promotions
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http://jobs.brassring.com/EN/ASP/TG/cim_jobdetail.asp?sec=1&partnerid=13670&siteid=197&jobId=674506&codes=IND
Misc. Odds and Ends
You might want to go to this site for information on microphones.
http://www.coutant.org/1.html
GENERAL MOTORS DRIVES YOUR STORIES
Filmaka has partnered with General Motors Corporation, the worlds largest automobile manufacturer, to run a new contest. Up to 7 finalists will receive $5000 each!
We want your pitches for shows that will feature some of GM’s new vehicles. They are not looking for a traditional commercial, but instead for an engrossing story in which a GM vehicle plays a memorable part. Submit a detailed written synopsis of a film 3 – 5 minutes in length, with 4-5 more episode ideas intended to total around 30 minutes of original webisodic content that can live on its own and potentially be viewed as “pilot” material, as well as your creative extension and distribution recommendations.
From these finalists GM can choose pilots to put into production and provide the appropriate vehicles for the shoot. A complete list of the vehicles GM wants to feature, and more info on the contest can be Found Here on our site. (http://www.filmaka.com/gm/)
We will start accepting submissions (in pdf format) in the middle of next week. Submissions must be in by MARCH 11th – so get cracking.
Contact : jjohn.ronald@gmail.com
Film Competition for Novel Film Trailers
Reply to: see below
Date: 2008-03-06, 8:24AM EST
The goal in creating this annual competition is to produce a series of high quality, independent short films that will not only stand on their own as important and provocative works, but also bring worthwhile and socially relevant literary novels to the attention of a larger audience.
We are looking for filmmakers to creatively and dramatically interpret any one or more of a large number of diverse scenes within YEAR OF THE RHINOCEROS, the novel chosen for this first competition. YEAR OF THE RHINOCEROS is a story of those who defied the corporate invasion of Washington in the 1980’s.
We are searching for filmmakers truly interested in making a mark in the business by virtue of their desire to make a statement. We are hungry for great acting, mood, and overall dramatic presentation. We are also looking to comprise a list of filmmakers available for future projects initiated by publishing companies desirous of making intelligent use of the film medium to promote books.
Entry form and guidelines, novel synopses, etc., can be found at http://www.novelfilmtrailer.com .
