Robert De Niro, Nick Cannon, Rosie O'Donnell, Bruce Bern, Joey Lauren Adams and Soledad O'Brien! It’s getting bigger and bigger! Let the fun begin J

Geena Davis and ARC Entertainment’s Bentonville Film Festival (BFF) today revealed the first series of special events that will bring Nick Cannon, Robert De Niro, Bruce Dern,Joey Lauren Adams, Soledad O’Brien and Rosie O’Donnell to the inaugural edition of the festival, taking place May 5-9 in Bentonville, Arkansas.

BFF is a one-of-a-kind event designed to champion women and diversity in film, and is the first and only film competition in the world to offer guaranteed theatrical, television, digital and retail home entertainment distribution for its winning films.

BFF is hosted by ARC Entertainment, Walmart, Coca-Cola and AMC Theatres, and chaired by Academy Award® winner Geena Davis, who’s research institute, “The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media” has sponsored the largest amount of research ever done on gender depictions in entertainment media, covering a 20+ year span. Davis has pioneered the use of rigorous research combined with direct advocacy and education to leading entertainment industry creators and decision makers, causing a sea change in the quality and quantity of female characters on screen.

In a special event series titled “Geena and Friends,” Geena Davis and her friends will re-imagine some of the greatest dialogue in the history of cinema. Davis’s A LEAGUE OF THIER OWN co-star Rosie O’Donnell will be among the special guests engaging in this lively and fun series. O’Donnell will also take part in BFF’s “In Control of Her Own Destiny” panel discussion featuring female celebrities who manage their own successful film production companies.

Multiple Academy Award® winning screen icon Robert De Niro will headline an intimate discussion series to compliment a BFF screening of REMEMBERING THE ARTIST – the acclaimed documentary about De Niro’s father, Robert De Niro Sr., directed by Perri Pletz, who will also be in attendance and participate in the discussion series.

BFF has instituted a new feature film screenplay competition dubbed the ‘Dernsie” –  named and supported by Bruce Dern, who will be in attendance to present the winner with $1,500, a custom award and a potential18-month option of the script with Kickstart Productions.

Meanwhile, Joey Lauren Adams (BIG DADDY, DAZED AND CONFUSED, THE BREAKUP) will headline a special “Arkansas in the Biz” panel, focusing on Arkansas natives who work in entertainment and media. The panel will be moderated by Arkansas Film Commissioner Christopher Crane.

To cap everything off, producer/director/writer/actor/performer Nick Cannon (host of NBC's “America's Got Talent”) and award winning journalist, documentarian, news anchor, and producer Soledad O’Brien will co-host the festival’s closing night awards show, presented by Kraft Foods Group. O’Brien will also present her new documentary THE WAR COMES HOME at BFF.

“While it hasn’t been long since we launched the festival, the reception we’ve received has been overwhelming,” said Geena Davis. “I’m inspired by the level of commitment pledged by a wide variety of major sponsors and by so many of my colleagues in the industry. Their participation is a real testament to the cause and it means a great deal to everyone involved in elevating the presence of women and minorities in the film industry. Having Nick, Robert, Bruce, Joey Lauren, Soledad and Rosie at BFF means everyone in attendance is going to have an unforgettable experience.”

75 films will be screened at BFF, ranging from studio premieres to independent features and documentaries.

Additional BFF announcements will be made in the coming weeks.

Following the debut of BFF, the Bentonville Film Foundation as part of the Bentonville Film Festival initiative will launch a year-round event calendar to promote women and minority filmmakers, artists, directors, and producers at colleges and universities around the country in partnership with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, which is the official non-profit partner of the festival.

BFF Advisory Board members include a number of notable actors and filmmakers such as Angela Bassett, Nick Cannon, Viola Davis, Bruce Dern, Emilio Estevez, Samuel L. Jackson, Randy Jackson, Eva Longoria, Julianne Moore, Paula Patton, Natalie Portman, Shonda Rhimes, M. Night Shyamalan, and Shailene Woodley.

Walmart is the proud founding sponsor of the Bentonville Film Festival and its investment ensures it is unlike any other nationwide. As the largest seller of DVD and Blu-Ray movies, Walmart is always looking for new and compelling content to offer the 140 million customers who shop their stores U.S. each week. That’s why, for the first time, the winners of three categories - Jury Selection, Audience Award and Best Family Film – are guaranteed distribution in Walmart stores and online through its instant video demand service VUDU.

Walmart chose to support the Bentonville Film Festival in large part due to its focus on women and minority filmmakers. Empowering women and supporting diversity are two key company initiatives which Walmart has long supported, because the retailer believes it is the right thing to do and important in being a successful business. The festival is also a great opportunity for the retailer to showcase Northwest Arkansas, one of the country’s best-kept secrets.

For more information on the festival please visit www.bentonvillefilmfestival.com

Nanda’s first death anniversary: One Nanda-less year, plentiful legacy, nonetheless

March has its Ides in Shakespeare. In the life of the Karnataki family, it has two significant dates. Jayprakash Karnataki was born on the 14th. His older sister, Nanda, died on the 25th.

Born Nandini Winayak Karnataki, on 08 January 1941, today is her first anniversary, and the first time Jayprakash did not get her gift of Rs. 5,000 to buy a new shirt, wear it and show it to his proud sister on the occasion of Gudi Padwa, the Maharashtrian New Year, as was the routine. To try and help heal his wounds, one of her best friends, former actress Saira Banu (married to India’s most adored actor Dilip Kumar), a close friend of the Karnatakis in general and of Nanda in particular, gave that gift. Choked with emotion, Jay made her his raakhee sister (bound by a decorative thread, tied at the wrist, according to Hindu tradition). March has also proven to be a testing time on the health front, with Jay undergoing operations and extensive treatment of his legs and back. But ask him about Nanda and the excruciating pain subsides, and memories overflow.

Their father was actor-producer-director Master Winayak (Karnataki), and mother, Meenaxi (also known as Susheela, not to be confused with actress Meenaxi Shirodkar; Mrs. Karnataki never worked in films). Winayak used to make bilinguals, in Hindi and Marathi languages. One of his best was Brahmachari. He had eight children, only two survive today; Jayprakash, and an older brother, who recently retired as an aeronautical engineer in an airline. Both live in Mumbai. Meena, three years older than Nanda, was married to producer C.V.K. Sastry. Jayprakash is a director of ads, corporate films, video films, TV serials and Hindi and Marathi feature films. Her father died in 1947, aged 41, when Nanda was six years old. Nanda’s family pet name was N’na.

Winayak introduced Lata Mangeshkar as playback singer and also made her act in his films, usually bit roles, as a sister. In 1947, when he was making a film called Mandir, Lata told him that she would not act anymore and concentrate entirely on her singing. Winayak asked Nanda to act in Mandir, when she was about five-six. She was not interested at all, but her mother persuaded her. Her words: “This is the first and the last time I will face a camera.” Words that would prove to be anything but prophetic. Winayak cast her as the son of the lead pair, naming her Baby Nanda. She was about 8 when the film released. This was Master Winayak’s last film, released after his death. Marathi film-makers were impressed by her performance, and she was cast in several Marathi films as well as Hindi films, like Angaarey, Jaggu, Krishna Sudama and Jagadguru Shankaracharya, during 1948-57. Initially, she did not like wearing traditional Maharashtrian sarees, because she was barely a teenager, and studied at an English medium school.

Her paternal step-uncle, famous producer-director-actor V. Shantaram, who had made a few films with Winayak as, first, a supporting actor and then the hero (Shantaram was highly impressed by this learned Kolhapuri lad who had great command over English). He gave her the central female role in Toofan Aur Diya. It was the saga of an orphaned brother and sister pair, and the sister goes blind. Once there was a wedding at V. Shantaram's place. He called-up Nanda’s elder sister Meena, and requested her to bring Nanda for the marriage, dressed in a saree. In the middle of the party, Shantaram told Meena, "She is the heroine of my next film."

She received her first Filmfare Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress for Bhabhi (1957) and won it for Anchal (1960), acting as a fun-loving tomboy. In what was to haunt her all her life, none of her later, and even better performances, won her any awards, though many bagged nominations. She played a supporting role in Dev Anand’s Kala Bazar (which made her lifelong friends with Waheeda Rehman, her closest friend till the end), and played second lead in B. R. Chopra’s Dhool Ka Phool.

Nanda played the title role in L.V. Prasad's Chhoti Bahen (1959). The movie was a big hit, making her a star, and also attracting the tag of the perennial Chhoti Bahen (younger sister). In this film, Nanda played the blind younger sister, looked after by two elder brothers, Balraj Sahni and Rehman. She then played lead roles, such as one of Dev Anand’s two heroines in Hum Dono (Dev had a double role) and one of his three heroines in Teen Devian (Simi and Kalpana were the other two). She was the heroine in B R Chopra's court-room drama, Kanoon (1960), a film with no songs, which was, then, very rare.

Acclaimed producer, director and actor Raj Kapoor knew Master Winayak very well. When he was making Boot Polish, back in the 50s, he auditioned a lot of child artistes for the film, including Baby Tabassum, Baby Naaz and Baby Nanda. After the screen test, he called her over, spoke high about her father and then lamented, "Sorry, I can't take you in the film because in no way do you look like a beggar." (The film was about street children and beggars).

She was paired with Raj Kapoor in Aashiq (1962). Raj Kapoor advised her strongly against accepting this role, since he felt she was goody two-shoes, and the part was full of negative shades. Padmini played the heroine.  As was her wont, Nanda refused to cow down and performed with élan. After seeing the last shot at the première, Kapoor said, “I stand corrected. With one look and one line, you have become the heroine and Raj Kapoor has become the villain of the piece.” At the twilight of her film career, she met Raj Kapoor at Yash Johar's party, held at her best friend, Waheeda Rehman's house. Kapoor asked her whether she would work in his next film. She thought he was joking and said “Yes”. To her surprise, she got a call from Raj a few days later. He said, "According to me, you would fit the role of Chhoti Bahu in my film. Will you do it?" he asked. "Not before I read the script," Nanda answered. The next day, she found Jainendra Jain, with the script, in her house. After going through the script, she did the role in Kapoor’s Prem Rog.

She worked with Rajendra Kumar in three films - Toofan Aur Diya (1956), Dhool Ka Phool (1961) and Kanoon (1960). With Shammi Kapoor, she did Prem Rog (opposite Kulbhushan Kharbanda), in 1982. Many of her great performances were in films that failed or did average business, like Usne Kaha Tha (Sunil Dutt), Char Diwari (Shashi Kapoor), Nartaki (Sunil Dutt), and Aaj Aur Kal (Ashok Kumar and Sunil Dutt), she used to lament, justifiably.

Nanda usually agreed to act opposite newcomers or unsuccessful heroes. She did several films with Shashi Kapoor, Raj Kapoor’s younger brother, at a time when he was yet to become successful. Their first two films were Char Diwari (1961) and Mehndi Lagi Mere Haath (1962). In Jab Jab Phool Khile (1965, Shashi again), Nanda played a Westernised role for the first time. Other films of the pair are Mohabbat Isko Kehte Hain (1965), Neend Hamari Khwab Tumhare (1966), Juari (1968), Raja Saab (1969) and Rootha Na Karo (1970). Jab Jab Phool Khile was remade as Raja Hindustani, starring Aamir Khan and Karisma Kapoor, Shashi’s grand-niece.

Some other Nanda traits that are rare among film-stars: She did not charge a producer for any incidental expenses incurred during shooting. Even her 4 o’clock cold-drink was paid for by her. The joke that went around was: producers were feeling that she was not treating them well, by NOT making demands from them, not even having a cup of coffee on their account. Food, too, obviously, came from her home. If a film was shelved or if it did not proceed beyond its launch, Nanda returned the payment she had received.

Rajendra Kumar used to strongly advise Nanda against accepting negative or glamorous roles, insisting that her persona was just not made for it. As it transpired, in the near future, Rajendra Kumar was backing a film called The Train, a slick thriller full of Western music and dances. Nanda suggested to Rajendra Kumar, to take Rajesh Khanna as the main lead, since she had seen him in Raaz. When Raaj Kumar turned down the Ittefaq role, Nanda again suggested Rajesh Khanna to the Chopras, being impressed by his work in The Train. In the film Ittefaq, she is apparently a good woman, but turns out to be the vamp. It was perhaps one of her most negative roles, and even producer B.R. Chopra was having qualms when the grist mill got working to create an unfavourable atmosphere about the ‘crazy’ casting. But right from the first shot, it was made clear on screen that audiences were to expect not the Nanda of Chhoti Bahen or Badi Didi, but a new, sensual, ‘criminally inclined’ actress. Again, it was Nanda who recommended Sanjeev Kumar to Mehmood for Pati Patni, having seen some of his work.

In 1965, Gumnaam (Manoj Kumar) helped put her in the top league of heroines. With Dharmendra, she worked in Mera Kasoor Kya Hai and Akashdeep (also starring Nimmi, wherein she did a hilarious Pathan act). She played single heroine from 1958-59, and continued to get roles as the main female lead till 1973, for some 15 years. Joroo Ka Ghulam (1972) was a comedy with Rajesh Khanna. She acted opposite Jeetendra, in films like Parivar and Dharti Kahe Pukar Ke; with Sanjay Khan, she had Beti and Abhilasha. Interestingly, she had already done the sister’s role with Mehmood when they were paired romantically in Qaidi No. 911. Mehmood treated her like a real sister, calling her “Chhoti,” and felt embarrassed to act as her lover and sing romantic songs with her on screen.

After a small role in actor-director Manoj Kumar's Shor (1972), for which she did not charge a paisa, Nanda did few more films, such as Chhalia (1973, Navin Nischol, Shatrughan Sinha), Naya Nasha (1973 and  produced by her behnoi, her sister Meena's husband, C.V.K. Sastry).  She then stopped acting. It broke her heart that her most hard-worked and complex performance could not save the film. In 1982, she came back with three major films, all coincidentally having her play Padmini Kolhapure's mother: Ahista Ahista, Mazdoor and Prem Rog. Then, she permanently retired. Nanda used to watch thespian Dilip Kumar’s films like Kohinoor and Devdas and rave about him. Both he and Saira took lot of care of Nanda, and stood by her when she was in the midst of bad times. She only did one film with Dilip Kumar: Mazdoor.

In 1965, a Maharashtrian lieutenant colonel was smitten by Nanda and had asked a producer to forward his marriage proposal to her mother. In the end, nothing came of it. Nanda's brothers brought home many suitors for her, but she turned them all down. In 1992, a middle-aged Nanda got engaged to producer-director Manmohan Desai, at the urging of Waheeda Rehman, and, would you believe it, Desai’s real son Ketan. Her affair with Manmohan Desai was short-lived, as, within two years after their engagement on June 18, 1992, Desai expired, in 1994. Desai and Nanda never worked together. Nanda’s mother had cancer, and died in 1993. The Nanda-Manmohan Desai marriage was held back, as a mark of respect to the demise. Nanda never married.

Manmohan was a huge Nanda fan since he was a teenager. When he turned director, his first choice was Nanda, but she would not give him the time of day. One reason was the hero of these films, Shammi Kapoor (Shammi’s daughter Kajal later married Ketan). Nanda was very wary of the rebel star, who was known to be bold and flirtatious. Desai could not get beyond ‘gatekeeper’ Meena. After Bluff Master and Budtameez, he made one last attempt by offering her Kismet. It was still a “No.” It would remain a No for the next twenty years, till, one day, Ketan would tell his widower father that it would be good idea if he considered re-marrying, since he was extremely lonely. Ketan’s mother was look-alike of Nanda, and that was a primary reason why Manmohan had married her. In came Waheeda and another friend, Yash Johar (producer, father of Karan), a dinner was organised, and three words flowed from Manmohan’s lips to Nanda’s ears. In return, he was relieved to hear a reply that had three characters, not two, “Yes.”

After Manmohan’s passing away, she wore only white (a widow’s dress), refused to meet anybody who might even remotely be perceived as nursing a desire to propose matrimony (“I am married in spirit and soul”) and strongly avoided the media, except at Desai’s death itself. In the last few years, Nanda inter-acted only with family and close friends: Waheeda Rehman, Saira Banu, Asha Parekh, Helen, Mala Sinha, Shakeela and Jabeen Jaleel. Jayprakash got a call every morning at 9.15 am, and he, in turn, called her at night, just before she went to sleep. Her dinner time was 7 pm. The only place where she was seen visiting was the residence of the couple Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu. After a long time, she made a public appearance with Waheeda Rehman for a screening of the Marathi film Natarang (2010). She was very fond of cooking. Many writers approached her to write her biography, but she turned them down.

Waheeda advised her to sleep with her bedroom door ajar, as anything could happen at this age, and locking the door would make it difficult to get help in an emergency. Nanda took her advice. Her man-Friday, Prasad, discovered her dead at around 9 am, because he got suspicious at not finding her awake at her usual hour of 7 am. A doctor was supposed to visit her that afternoon, to check a persistent pain in her jaw. But she was already dead by then, having passed away in her sleep, of a massive heart attack. She had no history of heart disease.

It was her one great wish to die without hospitalisation, and it came true. On hearing that Jay was going to pay obeisance at the shrine of Shirdi Sai Baba, she told him to pray that she should ‘go’ without being admitted to a hospital, a wish that he feels was granted by the blessings of the Godman. After death, she wanted no condolence meet and wanted her ashes to be immersed at Banganga, in Mumbai, instead of the family tradition of immersing them into the holy rivers at Nashik, some 3-4 hours’ drive from Mumbai. She did not want a big funeral or a condolence meet. Jay honoured her wishes. Among the various things Jay and his family (actress/danseuse Jayshree T. and son Swastik) have done to keep her memory alive is the printing of a special calendar with her pictures and his thoughts. He gracefully gave me a copy. I think I deserved one. For did I not visit her year after year in the 70s and 80s on her birthday, with a red rose in my hand? The smile on her face as she accepted the flower floods my thoughts every time she is mentioned. It has been one whole Nanda-less year, in terms of her physical absence. Nonetheless, her innate charm sustains, and her legacy is plentiful.

Film Marketing & Release Strategy

Our panel of experts have between them released more than a thousand films in France, and are experts in designing and implementing marketing plans and release strategies. And, while each film is of course unique, they are ready to pass on the tricks of their TRADE in this informative session.

Just as an impressionist painting requires the careful placement of each dot to convey the vibrant ambience you can see from a distance, and every note from the orchestra must be played perfectly to result in a sublime sonata or magnificent opera performance, the film distributor must bring many elements and many performers into line to deliver the perfect film release.

Tie-in Consumer Promotions

Our panelists in this session are masterminds of tie-ins and promotions who, in their early days, were criticized for blatantly ‘mixing art and commerce’ by putting the logo of their media partners on a poster. Once a shame, now a game – the ability to artfully tie in promotions and revenue generating opportunities through the promotion of your film are now not just desirable, but a necessity.

Media partnerships, tie-ins, merchandising and promotional strategies, contests and in-theatre promotions, screening strategies and the amount a great premiere can add to your bottom line – these are the things you’ll be discussing in this thought-provoking session. Are there limits to commercial visibility? How can you keep your positioning without compromising the partnering brands? The key word is optimization and the rule is ‘win-win’. Game on!

Bruno Chatelin

Anne Sanchez

 

Olivier Doyen

 

 

Publicity & PR Strategy

We’ve gathered together legends in the annals of publicity and PR and, in this session, you’ll learn from them exactly how they have built enviable reputations working with industry leaders on a wide range of local and international film projects.

You’ll hear exciting inside stories from the Majors and entertaining tales that have turned into legend. Want to know how a film presentation at a major festival raised the profile of the film so much the Studio Chief was forced to lift box office estimates by millions? Interested in how to support respect, trust and faith in your work? Want to know the secrets to keeping things fresh and continuing to grow? Then this session is for you.

It will be exciting, sometimes extreme – and incredibly valuable for anyone who needs to know the ‘dos and don’ts’ of festivals, and how to hire and using a publicist.

 

Michel Burstein

Michel Burstein is a seasoned communications professional who launched his communication, marketing and PR agency Bossa Nova in 1992.  The agency not only works with an eclectic range of local and international film creators, distributors, festivals and associations but manages strategic communications for video, music, television and multimedia. Michel has worked with the ‘who’s who’ of film to launch several hundred films in France and at festivals including Cannes, Berlin, London, Venice and Deauville and markets including AFM and MIFED

Marc Esposito 

Writer (Le Coeur des Hommes...), Director

Marc  founded Studio Magazine the cult and classy film monthly magazine in France which he sold and went on to a very successful writing and directing career.

His trilogy, Le Coeur des homes trilogy was extremely successfull, he shot the last episode in Bali and will SHARE his vision of what matches Indonesia and France.

Patrick Frater

Patrick Frater has over 20 years of experience writing about and analysing the international film industry, with publications including Variety, Screen International and The Hollywood Reporter.

He was Asia editor of Variety between 2005 and 2009 and re-joined the publication in July 2013.

In 2010, he co-founded regional film TRADE publication Film Business Asia and consultancy firm F Media.

Based in Hong Kong, Frater travels widely within the Asia-Pacific region, and is a regular radio pundit, conference host and public speaker.

The Festivals Circuit

As most people involved in film know, there is an extensive international short and festival circuit, which adds vibrancy and a truly global nature to the film world. Submitting your film to thousands of individual festivals can be both painful and costly - so how can you access the power of this international audience and resource?
In this session, our experts explore how to make smart commercial decisions about which festivals deserve your films, where to INVEST your money, and how to submit using ten different digital global industry platforms. We look at what you should do when selected, how to leverage festival ‘guerilla marketing’ and identify your online allies.
This is your chance to learn from the head of the French Short Film Agency, a master with several hundred festivals under his belt and a network of several thousand festivals on his books. Learn from the master and start thinking BIG!

 

Bruno Chatelin

Patrick Frater

Olivier Doyen our EFX panelist, and expert on posters (and film marketing) shares his knowledge.

THE 48TH ANNUAL WORLDFEST-HOUSTON INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL TO HONOR SEAN YOUNG WITH THE REMI CAREER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD OPENING NIGHT OF THE FESTIVAL, APRIL 10, 2015

 The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) announced today its 2015 jury as well as the addition of Aditya Vikram Sengupta’s LABOUR OF LOVE to their line-up. Other highlights of the festival include a Nickelodeon Scavenger Hunt for TV Comedy Writers, and a secret screening for passholders only of one of the most exciting new films in contemporary Indian cinema.

The 2015 narrative film jurors are: director Sean Baker (STARLET, TANGERINE); actor/producer Abhay Deol (ZINDAGI NA MILEGI DOBARA, DEV. D, and ROAD MOVIE); long time member and frequent board director of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), Yoram Kahana; Executive Vice President of Physical Production for Warner Bros. Pictures, Ravi Mehta; and author and film curator, Berenice Reynaud (Nouvelles Chines, A City of Sadness).

The short film jury includes: star of NBC’s hit show “Community” Danny Pudi; producer and Outfest Director of Programming, Lucy Mukerjee-Brown; Shorts Programmer at Sundance Film Festival, Lisa Ogdie; and Heather Morris Washington, Manager of the Emerging Writers Fellowship at Universal Pictures.

LABOUR OF LOVE, a lyrical portrait of one day in a married couple’s life, began its festival run with a win for Best Director of a Debut Film at Venice Days and has since become one of the most celebrated Indian films on the international circuit. With his debut feature, Sengupta displays the bold vision and masterful control of an auteur. In its U.S. Premiere, LABOUR OF LOVE will screen Friday, April 10 at 7:00PM at ArcLight Hollywood.

Four of IFFLA’s narrative features selections were recognized last week with National Awards, the highest film honor in India: LABOUR OF LOVE was awarded Best Debut Film for director Aditya Vikram Sengupta and Best Sound Design, KILLA won Best Marathi Film and received a Special Mention, THE CROW’S EGG (KAKKA MUTTAI) won Best Child Artist for J. Vignesh and Ramesh, and tied with ELIZABETH EKADASHI for Best Children’s Film.

This year IFFLA is also teaming up with the Nickelodeon Writing Program for a TV comedy writers scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt is open to festival attendees and will take place Friday, April 10 through Sunday, April 12 at IFFLA. Each day, the first person to find Nickelodeon’s Orange Ticket at the festival at ArcLight Hollywood will win a script review with Nickelodeon VP Writing Program Development, Karen Kirkland, plus exclusive Nick swag. To participate, follow Kirkland each day on Twitter @karenkirkland for clues. Participants must be 18 or older and do not have to purchase tickets or a badge to IFFLA in order to participate.

Established in 2000, the Nickelodeon Writing Program is part of the company’s outreach efforts to identify and nurture up-and-coming talent, and provides salaried positions for writers for up to one year. The program receives more than 1,400 applications each year.

Finally, there will be a secret screening for passholders only on Sunday, April 12 at 2:00PM, offering a first look at a film that will be released later this year and has become a sensation at festivals around the world, winning numerous awards. Directed by one of the most exciting auteurs in contemporary Indian cinema, and featuring a powerhouse performance by one of India’s brightest young stars, this is a film IFFLA passholders won’t want to miss!

 award-winning author is set to select a series of films to present at the 42nd Telluride Film Festival running over Labor Day Weekend, September 4-7, 2015.

Festival organizers annually select one of the world’s great film enthusiasts to join them in the creation of the Festival’s program lineup. The Guest Director serves as a key collaborator in the Festival’s programming decisions, bringing new ideas and overlooked films to Telluride. In keeping with Telluride Film Festival tradition, Kushner’s film selections, along with the rest of the Telluride lineup will be kept secret until Opening Day.

Also, in a rare co-presentation between Telluride Film Festival and San Francisco International Film Festival, Kushner is set to present the 1970 film WANDA on Saturday, April 25 at the historic Castro Theatre. Kushner will be in appearance at the 58th SFIFF to introduce this remarkable film by writer-director Barbara Loden. WANDA screened at the 2005 Telluride Film Festival as Guest Director Don DeLillo’s selection. For SFIFF screening information, and other Festival co-presentation details, please visit www.sffs.org.

"Rachel was a natural choice as the 42nd TFF Guest Director,” said Telluride Film Festival executive director Julie Huntsinger. “Our audience will be as grateful as Tom and I have been to listen to her thoughts and insight and see the outstanding film choices she has made. We actually owe a huge debt of thanks to our past Guest Director Michael Ondaatje for urging us to work with her. "

Rachel Kushner is the author of The Flamethrowers, which was a finalist for the 2013 National Book Award, the Folio Prize, the James Tait Black Prize, and on almost every Best Book list, including the New York Times Top Five Novels of 2013. Kushner’s debut novel, Telex from Cuba, was a finalist for the 2008 National Book Award and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, winner of the California Book Award, and a New York Times bestseller and Notable Book. Kushner is the only writer ever to be nominated for a National Book Award in Fiction for both a first and second novel. She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2013. Her fiction and essays have appeared in the New Yorker, Harper’s, the New York Times Magazine, the Paris Review, Artforum and Bookforum. A slim volume of her early work, The Strange Case of Rachel K, was published in the spring of 2015. She lives in Los Angeles.

"Telluride has an incredible history and reputation, and I’ve long known of it as a unique entity that makes a place for writers--one more aspect of this exceptional film festival in the Colorado “Alps,” said Kushner.  “It still feels a bit dreamlike to me that I have been given this privilege to be a guest director — to indulge my love of cinema, to share with the world films I’ve long loved, and to work with the great Tom Luddy and the great Julie Huntsinger and their extended family of kindred souls.”

Past Guest Directors include Guy Maddin, Caetano Veloso, Michael Ondaatje, Alexander Payne, Salman Rushdie, Peter Bogdanovich, B. Ruby Rich, Phillip Lopate, Errol Morris, Bertrand Tavernier, John Boorman, John Simon, Buck Henry, Laurie Anderson, Stephen Sondheim, G. Cabrera Infante, Peter Sellars, Don DeLillo, J.P. Gorin, Edith Kramer and Slavoj Zizek.

42nd Festival passes are now available at www.telluridefilmfestival.org.

About Telluride Film Festival

The prestigious Telluride Film Festival ranks among the world’s best film festivals and is an annual gathering for film industry insiders, cinema enthusiasts, filmmakers and critics. TFF is considered a major launching ground for the fall season’s most talked-about films. Founded in 1974, Telluride Film Festival, presented in the beautiful mountain town of Telluride, Colorado, is a four-day international educational event celebrating the art of film. Telluride Film Festival’s long-standing commitment is to join filmmakers and film connoisseurs together to experience great cinema. The exciting schedule, kept secret until Opening Day, consists of over two dozen filmmakers presenting their newest works, special Guest Director programs, three major Tributes to guest artists, special events and remarkable treasures from the past. Telluride Film Festival is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit educational program. Festival headquarters are in Berkeley, CA.

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Telluride Film Festival is supported by Turner Classic Movies, EY, National Endowment for the Arts, Telluride Mountain Village Owners Association, Meyer Sound, Universal Studios, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, VistaJet, Dolby, The London Hotels: NYC & West Hollywood, Américas Film Conservancy, Seghesio Family Vineyards, Teatulia Organic Teas, Telluride Alpine Lodging, Shopkeep POS, New Sheridan Hotel

Isabella Rossellini © AFP

The Italian-American actress and director Isabella Rossellini has kindly agreed to preside the Un Certain Regard Jury, the Official Selection of the Festival de Cannes made up of twenty films to be announced, along with the films In Competition, at the press conference on 16th April.

The daughter of Italian director Roberto Rossellini and Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman, to whom this year’s Festival de Cannes is to pay tribute, Isabella began her cinematic career alongside her father as a dresser, before becoming acting for the Taviani Brothers – family friends who gave her a role in The Meadow (1979). Her career quickly took an international turn, with White Nights by Taylor Hackford (1985), Tough Guys Don’t Danceby Norman Mailer (1987), Les Yeux noirs (1987) by Nikita Mikhalkov, Blue Velvet (1986) and then Wild at Heart(1990) by David Lynch, for whom she played a number of mysterious and tortured female roles.

She went on to star in a wider variety of guises for both television and film in Italy and America but returned to arthouse cinema with Abel Ferrara’s The Funeral (1996), and Two Lovers by James Gray (2008), in which she played a role of remarkable intensity. In 2010 she appeared in The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Saverio Costanzo.

In 2008 following a request from Robert Redford, she threw herself into directing a miniseries devoted to the reproduction, seduction techniques and maternal behaviour of animals. Green Porno, Seduce me and Mammas– all produced by SundanceTV – revealed her irresistible comic talent and off-beat sense of humour. 
Isabella Rossellini and Jean-Claude Carrière then made a scenic version entitled Animals Distracted Me, which toured the world to great acclaim.

At the Festival de Cannes, Isabella Rossellini will take part in the tribute to her mother by attending the screening of Ingrid Bergman, in Her Own Words‏, a documentary by Stig Björkman being shown as part of the Cannes Classics.
She will also launch her own ‘Ingrid Bergman Tribute’ to celebrate the centenary of her mother’s birth. The show, directed by Guido Torlonia and Ludovica Damiani, will be based on both her autobiography and her correspondence with Roberto Rossellini and will play on some at the world’s major theatres.

With the help of a soon-to-be-announced Jury made up of artists, journalists and festival directors, Isabella Rossellini will award the Un Certain Regard Prize and meet the winners on Saturday 23rd of May, on the eve of the closing ceremony.

The 2014 Un Certain Regard was awarded by President of the Jury Pablo Trapero to White God directed by Kornél Mundruczó.

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent

Some time last month it was reported that Susan Sarandon, 68, exited the five-year personal relationship with New York-based ping pong venture partner Jonathan Bricklin, 37, and while this isn’t an essential footnote in her long Oscar-winning career, ironically it does have a connection to her son’s new documentary “Storied Streets” since the impetus for the film was a player at the Sarandon-Bricklin club SPiN. Last night, after the documentary screened at the Ray Stark Theater in USC Film School, Sarandon and Robbins had a chance to discuss their project.

Chronicling a new “face” of homelessness, “Storied Streets” includes a ping pong scene. “See that guy playing ping pong,” Sarandon points out at the Q & A, “he met Morgan at the club.” Both Morgan Spurlock ("Super Size Me") and Thomas Morgan ("Waiting for Mamu") are producers, with Morgan as Robbins’ co-director, on the documentary. The short story is that the player opened a world of homeless-in-hiding, people who are “unhoused” and on the down low, that represent an ever growing segment of the American population since the economy tanked around 2007. Although if you ask Sarandon, she will say that the true rise of homelessness in American “began with Reagan.”

“It’s funny,” Sarandon adds, “when people get angry at me because I am an actor and have an opinion. But if you’re a bad actor (read: Ronald Reagan), you get elected and people listen to you… I just remember what he did when he ran SAG (Screen Actor’s Guild). He gave away a lot of rights.”

And no, she doesn’t think the coming announcement of Hillary Clinton’s second run for the Presidency will help. “I don’t vote with my vagina,” Sarandon says, with a smile. “If Elizabeth Warren (US Senator, Mass.) came up, I would go that way. She (Hillary Clinton) lost me when she voted for the war without looking. Look at her sources of funding, Monsanto is in there.”

This political gene runs in the family, and is the basis for the mother-son advocacy for the unhoused that makes “Storied Streets” not just another look at the issues surrounding poverty, but a gritty, soulful exploration of being human in the face of the American Dream, of admitting that the Land of Opportunity also requires its citizens to uphold the ideal that if you don’t ‘strike it rich,’ ‘make it big,’ or ‘fulfill your potential’ you must have a character flaw.

“Imagine right now, if you had nothing,” director Jack Henry Robbins poses the theoretical. “How are you going to get a job without an address? Without a way to take a shower?”

Robbins, who turns 26 on May 15, describes the people he filmed from New York to Denver to Las Vegas to Joplin with a combination of respect and compassion. For him, Skid Row in Los Angeles was the “scariest. Because there is a hierarchy there, and we were not part of that hierarchy. I’m 6’4,” my friend was 6’5,” and that helped. But I think just being open and transparent helped. We wanted to tell a truthful story.”

With their real names withheld, a dozen different people across the country put “a face to homelessness,” as Sarandon puts it. Grass-roots organizations like Picture The Homeless, The King’s Kitchen in Charlotte, North Carolina, Father Woody’s Haven of Hope in Colorado, and PATH (People Assisting The Homeless) in Los Angeles provide insights into successful transitions from unhoused to housed. One man recounts the story of becoming homeless at 51, of “living” on a park bench for a year, and finally “someone said my name. I had not heard anyone call me by my name in months.” The big turn-around in his life came the day a committed volunteer took action. “He looked me right in the face and said ‘will you allow me to help you?’”

Tessa Madden from PATH is part of the Q & A after the screening. Madden went to USC with Robbins, and their interest in advocacy dovetailed for “Storied Streets.” She points out that PATH doesn’t just “put people in empty apartments” but works to follow up on their cases.

The enormity of poverty in America is unfortunately combined with “Compassion Fatigue,” as Neil Donovan, Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, explains. “It’s when a community” is overwhelmed by a burgeoning homeless population and seek to legislate the problems away. Thus places like Phoenix, or Tempe, AZ, make it “against the law” to sleep on a bench, in short, to be homeless.

Seeing Susan Sarandon hold a conversation with her son Jack Henry is to watch the skillful transition from parent to partner in the business. He looks a lot like his father, actor Tim Robbins, from whom Sarandon split in 2009. And as a mother, Susan Sarandon is a far cry from the cloying stage mother she played last year in "The Last of Robin Hood," about Errol Flynn, with Dakota Fanning. 

Some may view this documentary as a getting a helping hand from a famous parent, but the film stands on its own. “Storied Streets” is a must-see. And here are some facts from the documentary that will hopefully nudge the issue front and center for us all...

Fact Sheet from “Storied Streets” Documentary 

• As many as 3.5 million people will experience homelessness this year. 
• 1.5 million of the homeless will be children and as many as 600,000 will be under the age of 5. 
• 35% of those who are homeless are employed. 
• Top five causes of homelessness are:
  1. Lack of affordable housing
  2. Lack of a livable wage
  3. Medical issues/conditions
  4. Domestic violence
  5. Mental illness 
• 600,000 veterans will experience homelessness this year. 
• Homelessness was the only group submitted under the Hate Crime Act that was not admitted - yet there has been nearly triple the number of homeless-related hate crime deaths than there has been for all currently protected classes combined. 
• Only 5 states in the US have classified the violence against the homeless as a hate crime. 
• There are over 1700 laws on the books of cities across the country that target the homeless. 
• Progress is being made. With some states increasing minimum wage and states like Utah proactively adopting the Housing First model, homelessness has began to finally see a decrease. 
• It costs on average more than 3 times the amount of money to incarcerate someone as it does to house them. 
• 44% of the homeless population is unsheltered. 
•  There are 4 times as many animal shelters in the US as there are homeless shelters. 
• Federal cuts to food stamps threaten 3.8 million people. 
• Federal funding for public housing has continued to decrease and between 2009 and 2012 decreased by 25%.

Visit http://www.storiedstreets.com to rent or purchase a download of Jack Henry Robbins’ co-directed film.

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       Celebrating its 15th anniversary from May 4-9, 2015, the New York Indian Film Festival was the first festival in the United States devoted to Indian films and has grown to be the largest and most influential, helping to set up several other Indian Film festivals in the US. It is part of a comprehensive program in the arts offered by the New York based Indo-American Arts Council. As other specialty or niche festivals, the NYIFF has a unique programming profile devoted to features and documentaries made in the Indian Diaspora, or by Indian independent film makers.  Though the festival is attracting a growing number of Americans, the prime audience remains individuals of Indian ancestry living in the United States. That group encompasses about 3.4 million people characterized, according to the latest census, by a very high educational achievement and the highest average household income of all ethnic groups living in the United States.  Yet in spite of this promising target or captive audience the festival faces issues common to other niche festivals. First there is the perennial funding problem and second is the question of how to best serve the Indian American community and others interested in Indian films.  The interview with the festivals driving spirit, its executive director, Aroon Shivdasani,   presents her perspectives

Claus Mueller                   What is the status of the New York Indian Film Festival?

Aroon Shivdasani             We started this film festival in 2001 because we wanted to showcase Indian Independent & Diaspora films in the US – something that had not been done before.   Less than two decades ago, nobody knew about real Indian Cinema in North America. We are the oldest Indian film festival in the US – older than any of the other Indian film festivals that have now cropped up all over the country, like those in Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, and many others. We started as an Indian Diaspora film festival screening films made by Indians living all over the world – outside India. We conceived of a program to which the North American audience could relate -before bringing in Indian independent, alternate and art house films. Our first festival opened with the Godfather of Indian diaspora cinema, Ismail Merchant.  The Merchant-Ivory film SHAKESPEAREWALLAH had won a Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and featured Madhur Jaffrey and Shashi Kapoor.  We closed the festival with Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding to a packed audience of people sitting in the aisles and standing at the back.

CM             When you focused on a target audience whom did you start with?

AS             We wanted mainstream America to see these films.  However, the first festival had an 80% audience from the Indian subcontinent.  

C M            Is it currently still that high?

AS            No, it now reaches out to all film aficionados.  However, we still have a South Asian audience of approximately 60% - the rest of the 40% is American.  You must remember that I am including the second generation Indian-American in the South Asian audience.  This demographic is actually American – people like my children who were born in the US.

CM            Has there been a significant change?

AS             Certainly, but there have been several other dramatic changes. The first couple of years most of the diaspora films we received were still immature.  Less than two decades ago there were a handful of good Indian Diaspora film makers.  Our first film festival had only twelve films because that was the number of good diaspora films we showed that year.   Indian diaspora filmmakers have matured over the last 15 years and we now have a plethora of films submitted to our festival.  However, we have also added films from all over the Indian subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan) which increased our annual submission rise to over 300 for each festival – giving us a problem that we enjoy – plenty of good films from which to choose our final program.

CM            So what is the current mix of the 24 feature films, 10 documentaries and 30 shorts you have this year?

AS             Now we have more independent films than Diaspora films.  Probably 60% are independent/art house/alternate and the remainder is from the Diaspora.  Over the last years there have been great increases of independent films submitted from India and the rest of the Indian subcontinent, which are quite remarkable in content and quality as well as growth in the number of productions.

CM             How many films were submitted this year, including shorts?

AS             352 productions were submitted

CM             Do you carry in your festival traditional commercial Indian films such as Bollywood productions?

AS             No – unless we were to program a retrospective of a great Indian Director who has made a significant contribution to Indian cinema.  Our mission is to show the real India through our films, to give socially conscious films a platform, to encourage audiences to view a different kind of cinema.  Bollywood does not need us to do this for them.  They have a large captive audience of their own.  We often screen films that have commercial Indian cinema stars or directors – however those films are in the independent stream – smaller budgets, socially conscious plots or plots reflecting real lives and stories.  We screen features, documentaries and shorts.  I would love to screen Aamir Khan films – I do believe he has turned the tide of popular Indian cinema.  Bollywood audiences respond to his films because he is of that world despite the fact that he now produces films in the independent genre which means his independent films receive mass audiences.  In addition, there seems to be a turning tide in Bollywood too…..several commercial films are also looking at real issues in the Indian subcontinent.

CM             Lets take another area. If you check the box office results of Indian films in the US it seems to be limited. Among the top scoring 100 foreign language films ranked since 1980 by Mojo, you will find only two Indian titles, MONSOON WEDDING and OM SHANTI OM.  So what is the contribution of your festival to get high quality independent productions and Diaspora films into distribution in the US?

AS             First let us qualify your comment.  High quality Indian independent and Diaspora  films fall into the same category as the films shown in special venues such as the Film Forum, Lincoln center , IFC, Quad  Cinemas,  Sunshine and the Angelika. One cannot place “foreign” films in the same category as the top grossing American films – their markets are completely different.  If we are talking about distribution, we need to keep in mind that our films are part of the foreign language film group  that play in art house theaters, the alternative  or specialty film markets.  Both known and unknown Indian Diaspora films have had successful screenings in these theatres: Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding & Namesake, Deepa Mehta’s Water, Gurinder Chadha’s Bride & Prejudice, David Kaplan’s Today’s Special, Vikram Gandhi’s Kumare and a host of others.  In fact I would place Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire in the same category.  We premiered it and it then became a runaway success!!

CM             But that market is also rather small. Foreign language films with box office receipts of more than $100,000 grossed only $ 63.9 million out of a total box office of $10.3 billion in 2014. It is indeed a specialty market. But looking at specialty distribution, have you been able to track the films you are showing with respect to their subsequent use by art houses or theaters specializing in foreign and/or Indian Films?

AS             Yes, recently we have started to track our films. It is still a rather small percentage of Indian films that have received distribution here.   I mentioned some of them above – others include Mathew Joseph’s BOMBAY SUMMER, Rajnesh Domalpali’s VANEJA,   Srinivas Krishna’s GANESH BOY WONDER, and Shonali Bose’s AMU.  Several notable independent films from our program have been screened in mainstream independent cinemas – Mira Nair’ s RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST, Deepa Mehta’s MIDNIGHT CHIDREN, Anurag Kashyap’s GANGS OF WASSEYPUR.  I am sure many films from our 2013 & 2014 festivals will soon be in the cinemas such as Nitin Kakkar’s FILMISTAAN, Feroz Khan’s DEKH TAMASHA DEKH, Anurag Kashyap's UGLY and Hansal Mehta’s SHADID.

CM              In some cases did they have prior distribution deals?

AS             Absolutely! And, in other cases distributors picked them up at our festival e.g.  VANEJA, GANESH BOY WONDER, TODAY’S SPECIAL, BOMBAY SUMMER, AMU, UGLY, GANGS OF WASSEYPUR ……actually a large percentage of films screened at our festivals for the last few years have wound up in theatres. 

 C M            Is there is a general problem cracking the specialty market, even if marketing support is provided?

AS             Correct, we encourage film makers to bring their contacts from the industry. We provide passes to distributors and film financiers but also use the festival to reinforce audience appeal, and work the media. Further the festival program ensures that there is always a post-screening discussion which gives filmmakers a chance to talk to the audience about their films and allows the industry to recognize and approach them.

CM            But you do have an advantage over let’s say Italian or French festival films?  There is a sub circuit of Indian film theaters in the US films, not only lots of the mom and pop operations but also theaters that were acquired by the Reliance Theatre Circuit. I understand that the success of these theaters with the Indian language audience has led to neighboring main line theaters to play Indian films now.

AS             No, I don’t think so.  For one, mainstream America is already familiar with Italian and French films and filmmakers.  Indian Independent filmmakers are still in their infancy with regard to visibility in the “foreign film” audience.   With regard to Indian mom and pop theaters - they are reluctant to play the productions we offer because they are not confident of the recurring audiences they get with Bollywood films.  And now Reliance has closed most of their theatres!!!

CM             What if you have a commercially viable product?

AS           Well, I believe we have to start inviting movie theatre owners to our festival to show them the sold out houses for our films – in English, Hindi as well as all the other Indian regional languages.  In fact we have long lines of wait lists for several of our films.

CM             What about new distribution platforms, Video on Demand, Netflix, Hulu, special cable or satellite channels aimed at the Indian Diaspora audience, specialized circuits?  Reliance figures that there are about 4-5 million people in this country speaking Indian languages. Have you ever explored these new platforms?  

AS          Yes, we are increasingly aware of these platforms.  I believe Star TV, Netflix and several other established online distribution platforms are already screening Indian films.   Netflix carries about 70 feature films from India, though mostly Bollywood productions, they still have to recognize Indian independent productions.  Several smaller ones have approached us to stream our films through them.  In 2015 we continue to move in that direction.  In 2012 Mela attended our festival to invite filmmakers to stream their films through them;   Republic of Brown has approached our filmmakers as are big companies like SONY and MTV.  Several small distribution companies have started checking out our festival to acquire films.  The large ones have very strict rules of compliance whereas the smaller ones are more laissez faire.    We have important Indian film content that can garner a whole new audience of film aficionados for these channels. These companies have approached us because they realize that we have become an important entry point for Indian content.  I have heard Rediff.com is thinking along those lines too although I wouldn’t swear to that.  Companies realize that there is a huge potential market in streaming good films that are not easily available after a one time screening at our film festival.  The Asian Indian population is one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the US,   amounting to more than 3 million people now.   People attending our festival frequently ask where they and their friends or relatives can view our films. We hope to give them concrete answers after our 2015 film festival.

CM             What is your current principal problem?

AS              Money.  Funding has become a major problem.   Indian and US corporations don’t seem particularly interested.  We made some small steps this year. I hope their experience with our festival leads them to get more involved next year.  They were really happy with the exposure they received, the festival itself, as well as our audiences.   Limited funding precludes expansion and, equally important, it prevents providing better services to our audiences.

C M            What about public funding?

AS             We receive small amounts from the federal, state and city governments.  However they are extremely small amounts to start with, and have been further slashed due to the economy.

CM            Can you identify other potentials sources?

AS             We have approached several corporations; I hope some of them come through.  Individual giving has, to date, been extremely important.  This means individuals who believe in our organization, its mission and are equally pleased with the execution and results.

CM            What about official Indian agencies? They come to mind since I had a very positive response by government and private sector officials to a presentation I gave in New Delhi several years ago in New Delhi on the important role of Indian films in propagating Indian culture overseas through public diplomacy projects.

AS             ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations) and the Consulate of India. The ICCR used to send us artists - that has changed with new Indian and US Government rules. . The Indian Consulate General gives us in–kind support by hosting some receptions, and the Indian Tourist Office (Incredible India) has, in the past, sponsored us with small amounts of cash.  However, that too has stopped as per new orders from India.  There is no significant monetary support from Indian Government agencies. 

CM      Do you detect any shifts since India is rapidly becoming a major international power?

 AS      Unfortunately, I don’t see any visible signs of change.  In fact, besides verbal bravado, the small amounts of funding we previously received have also been cut off.          

C M         Well, I do hope that this will be different in the future. Thank you very much for your reflections.

Claus Mueller

filmexchange@gmail.com

The international jury at CPH PIX will find a winner among the ten films in the main competition New Talent Grand PIX and reward its filmmaker with a 10,000 Euro cash prize.

From 'Portrait of the Artist'

Ten debuting directors from all around the world are nominated for the New Talent Grand PIX. The honour comes with a 10,000 Euro Cash prize intended to push the winning director towards the next production.
The jury will reward the distinct vision and personal signature. This year, the jury consist of the American film director Alex Ross Perry, the Danish director for film and theatre Katrine Wiedemann and the Brazilian filmmaker Gabe Klinger.

“On CPH PIX we want to focus on the interesting talent, represented by these 10 nominated films. Not just focusing on finding the best film, but keeping an eye out for the director with the potential to create a masterpiece in a longer term. Our aim with this festival is to find and promote filmmakers, whose next film we are dying to see, and who still haven’t achieved an international breakthrough”, says Festival Director Jacob Neiiendam.

Les prix Lumières de la presse étrangère qui fêtaient leurs 20 ans cette année lors d’une prestigieuse soirée à l’Espace Cardin se réorganisent.
L’Académie des Lumières, présidée par Grazyna Arata en association avec Michela Secci, Pauline Guilmot et Denitza Bantcheva a décidé de marquer un changement dans l’équipe en charge des Prix Lumières. La direction de la communication sera assurée par Anne Guimet. La coordination artistique est confiée à Pauline Guilmot et Jamila Ouzahir sera chargée de mission. Enfin, Philippe Feat est responsable des partenariats.

L’Académies des Lumières qui regroupe plus de 200 correspondants étrangers en France votant pour les meilleurs films français et francophones en France a été crée par Daniel Toscan du Plantier et Edward Behr en tant qu’équivalent des Golden Globes.    

La prochaine cérémonie des Prix Lumières aura lieu le lundi 1er Février 2016 à l’Espace Cardin.

Retrouvez toute l’actualité des Lumières sur le site www.academiedeslumieres.com<http://www.academiedeslumieres.com> 

Pierre Lescure et Thierry Fremaux présentent leurs choix et sélections pour la 68ème édition du festival de Cannes

BIFF founder and executive director Leslie Vanderpool and Sir Sydney Poitier 

Filmfestivals.com Bruno Chatelin (BIFF Advisory Board Member) is particularly happy to announce that The Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) announced today that Academy Award® winner and renowned global icon Sir Sidney Poitier has agreed to the naming of the prestigious Career Achievement Award at the Bahamas International Film Festival the “Sir Sidney Poitier Tribute Award.” BIFF founder and executive director Leslie Vanderpool made the announcement.

“There is no person on Earth who is better suited to have the Career Achievement Award be named after him,” Vanderpool said. “Poitier is one of the finest actors for generations and is, simply put, an icon and a legend.” The American Film Institute named him among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time.

Poitier stretched his reach within the industry on film and on stage acting in productions such as ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ (1959) and ‘Lysistrata.’ For his film role in ‘The Defiant Ones,’ Poitier was the first male actor of African descent to be nominated for a competitive Academy Award in 1958. A few years later in 1964, Poitier was the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor in a riveting and memorable performance as Homer Smith in Ralph Nelson’s ‘Lilies of The Field.’

Thirty-eight years after receiving the Best Actor award, Poitier received an honorary tribute from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in recognition of his remarkable accomplishments as an artist and as a human being. In 2009, Poitier was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States of America’s highest civilian honor, by President Barack Obama.

A global legend, knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1968 and highly respected author, director and “actor’s actor,” with more than fifty films and television shows to his credit, Poitier has starred in some of Hollywood’s most important and biggest films and earned critics’ praise for several commanding performances. Poitier’s reputation solidified with leading roles in mainstream films: ‘No Way Out’ (1950), ‘Blackboard Jungle’ (1955), ‘The Bedford Incident’ and ‘A Patch Of Blue’ (1965). The most successful films that catapulted Poitier’s career in 1967 where, ‘To Sir with Love,’ ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’ and ‘In the Heat of the Night.’

Directing was not far away from his achievements having a directorial debut with the western ‘Buck and the Preacher’ soon followed by ‘Uptown Saturday Night,’ ‘Let’s Do It Again,’ ‘A Piece Of The Action,’‘Stir Crazy,’ ‘ Hanky Panky,’ ‘Fast Forward’ and ‘Ghost Dad.’

From 1995 to 2003, Poitier served as a member of the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company. Proud to represent The Bahamas, Sir Sidney was the Bahamian Ambassador to Japan, a position held from 2002 to 2007, while being the Ambassador of The Bahamas to UNESCO.

What makes this addition so momentous is that he is a Bahamian who believes in building future generations of filmmakers while honoring the actors and actresses who broke ground, furthermore, upholding their careers with poise. Sir Sidney possesses a true love and appreciation for the people of The Bahamas.

One of the Bahamas International Film Festival’s missions is to ensure youth in The Bahamas have the opportunity to remember Sir Sidney while celebrating the achievements of others within the film industry.

“Leslie Vanderpool’s efforts have been extraordinary in making it possible for The Bahamas to have not only a film festival, but to also attract some of the great film artists and filmmakers from around the world.  People like Johnny Depp, Nicolas Cage, Laurence Fishburne, Danny Glover, Alan Arkin, Sir Sean Connery, Sophie Okonedo, Lee Daniels, Lenny Kravitz and my own daughter Sydney Tamiia Poitier, who have found, to their great surprise, that the Bahamas is moving swiftly toward a bona fide motion picture community--all of which have been structured by the imaginative young Bahamians who have committed themselves to The Bahamas having a film community of its own,” Poitier said.

Adding to his many achievements, Poitier has published four best sellers ‘This Life,’ ‘The Measure of A Man,’ ‘Life Beyond Measure: Letters to my Great-Grand Daughter’ and ‘Montaro Caine’.  Additionally, he has many talents having recorded an album with the composer Fred Katz called ‘Poitier Meets Plato’ reciting passages from Plato’s writings.

Family is most important for Sir Sidney, He and his wife Joanna Shimkus, a Canadian-born former actress of Lithuanian and Irish descent have two daughters Anika and Sydney Tamiia Poitier. Poitier has four daughters Beverly, Pamela, Sherri and Gina from a previous marriage. In addition to his six daughters, Poitier has eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Leslie Vanderpool and Sydney T. Poitier will be instrumental in overseeing the granting of the Sir Sidney Poitier Tribute Awards. More information to be revealed very soon.

About Leslie Vanderpool:

Leslie Vanderpool is the founder and executive director of Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF). For over a decade, she has had extensive knowledge in the planning and development of film festivals. Vanderpool received a Bachelor's Degree in International Relations before going on to pursue her passion for theater & filmmaking. She studied at Lee Strasberg Acting Institute & Shakespeare at Balliol College, Oxford University, Oxford, England, where Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw and many more honed her skills.

In 2004, Vanderpool launched BIFF, which has showcased more than 800 films from 150 countries. Many of the films subsequently have won Academy Awards. She has paid tribute to A-List Celebrities such as Johnny Depp, Debra Messing, Danny Glover, Nicholas Cage, Laurence Fishburne, Heather Graham, Alan Arkin,  Sean Connery, Roger Corman, Daryl Hannah, Sophie Okonedo, Anna Faris, Naomie Harris, Zoe Kravitz, Sydney T. Poitier, Chaz Ebert and many more.

She has been innovative in taking filmmaking into schools where she has taught all aspects of filmmaking. Vanderpool has created unique cultural experiences such as ‘Summer Films In The Square’ and ‘Theater In The Park.’

Vanderpool is an entrepreneur with a strong background in marketing, branding, film production and sponsorship. She has raised millions of dollars & has a wide range of networks around the world. She spends her time between California and The Bahamas to advance the film industry while partnering with startups and established film production companies.

About Sydney Tamiia Poitier:

Sydney T. Poitier is the daughter of ‘Oscar winning’ actor Sidney Poitier and Joanna Shimkus. A graduate from the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, Poitier was featured as one of People Magazine’s ‘50 Most Beautiful People in 2001.’ Her film credits are many having won Best Actress for ‘Nine Lives’ at the Lorcarno International Film Festival and where she was nominated for Best Ensemble Cast for the Gotham Awards. Poitier appeared in a leading role in the film, ‘Death Proof,’ directed by Quentin Tarantino and co-starring Kurt Russell. Poitier also appeared in ‘The List’ for which she was nominated for Outstanding Actress at the Image Awards.

Her television credits include ‘Private Practice,’ ‘Knight Rider,’ ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ ‘Joan Of Arcadia,’ ‘Abby’ and ‘Free Of Eden’ where she co-starred with her father Sidney Poitier. She is the wife to Dorian Heartsong and the mother of a beautiful daughter.

About the Bahamas International Film Festival:

Entering in its twelfth year, the Bahamas International Film Festival established itself as a marquee international film festival in the Caribbean region, discovering and promoting independent voices and talent from The Bahamas and around the world, showcasing diverse international films. In addition to showcasing films that might not otherwise be released theatrically, BIFF provides unique cultural experiences, educational programs and forums for exploring the past, present and future of cinema. BIFF aims to raise the level of filmmaking, participation and education throughout The Bahamas and the world. www.bintlfilmfest.com.

Seeking Volunteers for the 2015 Los Angeles Film Festival, June 10 - 18 at L.A. LIVE

Now in its twenty-first year, the Los Angeles Film Festival showcases the best in new American and international cinema and provides the movie-loving public with access to some of the most critically acclaimed filmmakers, film industry professionals and emerging new talent by bringing them together in the heart of the entertainment capital of the world.

Our volunteers are a key component to making the Festival work. As a volunteer, you get the opportunity to go behind the scenes and be at the forefront of the Festival. Volunteers at the LA Film Fest are ambassadors for the filmmaking community and help ensure an enjoyable experience for both our Festival filmmakers and guests. Whether it’s working in theater operations, answering ticketing questions, or setting up a Q&A panel, volunteers help bring to life a world-class cinematic event.

Requirements:

*Volunteers must attend one mandatory orientation meeting prior to the Festival (May 27 or May 30, 2015)

*Volunteers must work a minimum of 16 hours during the Festival (June 11 – 19, 2015)

Visit shiftboard.com/filmindependent and register to volunteer today.

Visit www.lafilmfest.com/festival-info/volunteer/ for more details on Volunteers and Interns.

Email volunteers@filmindependent.org with any questions.