58th Idea Filmfare Awards (South) for Indian film - winners

A week after the 12th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards took place in Toronto, the 58th Idea Filmfare Awards 2010 (South) celebrated the best of Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu film at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India on Saturday evening. These awards are the South Indian companion to the Filmfare Awards ceremony in Bombay.

The biggest winner of the night was Vedam which won four awards. It not only took Best Film (Telugu), but also claimed Best Director (Krish), Actress (Anushka Shetty) and Actor (Allu Arjun).

A number of films emerged with three awards. They were Endhiran, Angadi Theru, Ye Maya Chesave, Anwar, Apatha Rakasha, and Pranchiyettan & The Saint. The wins for Pranchiyettan & The Saint included a trophy for Best Film (Malayalam). The other Best Film winners were Mynaa (Tamil) and Jackie (Kannada).

Among the award winners was A.R.Rahman who won Best Music Director for the Tamil film Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya. He is best known to Western audiences for winning Best Original Score and Best Original Song at the 2009 Academy Awards with Slumdog Millionaire. He now has thirteen Filmfare (South) Awards to his name, along with his many other awards.

5th Salon de Guitare de Montréal (Montreal Guitar Show), July 1-3

As part of the 32nd Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, the 5th Salon de Guitare de Montréal (Montreal Guitar Show) takes place this holiday weekend at the Hyatt Regency Montréal, 1251, rue Jeanne-Mance at Sainte-Catherine. It is an opportunity for guitar enthusiasts to explore explore the latest offerings by international guitar-makers.

In addition, the show also offers a series of concerts, talks and workshops, most of which are free. Free mini-concerts include performances by Michael Watts, Steve Wildey, Karl Marino, Damien Levasseur, Melissa Greener, Tariq Harb, Jean-Luc Thievent, Benoit Charest, Shunyi and Tim Thompson. The mini-concerts take place on the level above the showrooms.

Free workshops will be given by Erik Mongrain, MG3, Kaki King, Laurence Juber, Gypsy Jazz (Jazz Manouche) or Django Guitar, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Freddy Koella, California Guitar Trio, Eric Bibb and Jake Shimabukuro.

http://www.salondeguitaredemontreal.com/

Free Screenings on Canada Day at TIFF Bell Lightbox

On July 1, TIFF Bell Lightbox offers a full day of free programming that explores Canada’s rich cinematic heritage.

The films screened are C.R.A.Z.Y (2005, dir. Jean- Marc Vallèe), Voulez-vous coucher avec God? (1972, dir. Jack Christie and Michael Hirsh), Black Christmas (1974, dir. Bob Clark), and the documentary Mary Pickford, The Muse of the Movies (2008). This is the Canadian premiere of the film with director Nicholas Eliopoulos in attendance.

In addition, there will be a screening of Classic Canadian Shorts. The animated gems being shown are Blinkity Blank — dir. Norman McLaren (1955); Romance of Transportation in Canada — dir. Colin Low (1952); Walking - dir. Ryan Larkin — (1968); Log Driver’s Waltz — dir. John Weldon (1979); The Sweater — dir. Sheldon Cohen (1980); Crac! — dir. Frederic Back (1981); The Big Snit — dir. Richard Condie (1985); and The Cat Came Back — dir. Cordell Barker (1988).

12th Annual Golden Trailer Awards - winners

Last night at the Music Box Theater in Los Angeles, the ceremony for the 12th Annual Golden Trailer Awards took place with host comedian Natasha Leggero.

The Social Network exacted some revenge for its defeat at the hands of rival The King's Speech at the 83rd Academy Awards to come out ahead with four awards. In addition to the top prize Best In Show, it won for Best Drama, Best Music and Most Original. The only other film to win four awards was The Matrix in 1999, the Golden Trailer Awards' inaugural year.

The King's Speech picked up two awards for Best Foreign Drama Trailer and Best Foreign TV Spot.

Other big winners were Inception for Best Action, Rango for Best Animation/Family, The Other Guys for Best Comedy, The Tillman Story for Best Documentary, The Last Exorcism for Best Horror, Tree of Life for Best Independent, Blue Valentine for Best Romance, and Black Swan for Best Thriller.

Fellini: Spectacular Obsessions, June 30–Sept 18

TIFF Bell Lightbox follows its sensational Tim Burton exhibit with another presentation that pays loving tribute to a master director. Fellini: Spectacular Obsessions runs for the next three months at the Toronto International Film Festival home.

Additionally, they will be screening two related series. Fellini Dream Double Bills is a film series of Fellini films paired with a related film that shows his influence or inspiration. Each film pairing was specially selected by a film luminary or TIFF programmer. The Double Bill programmers were Atom Egoyan, James Schamus, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Isabella Rossellini, Jesse Wente, Piers Handling, Miranda July, Frédéric Boyer, Molly Haskell, Deepa Mehta, Radley Metzger and Lightbox Artistic Director Noah Cowan.

The other series that accompanies the exhibition is  Days of Glory: Masterworks of Italian Neorealism. It screens many of the great films from this vital cinematic movement and offers work by such masters of Italian cinema as Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica, Luchino Visconti and Pier Paolo Pasolini.

2011 Teen Choice Awards - nominations

The nominations have been announced for the 13th annual Teen Choice Awards. There are 66 categories in the fields of film, television, music, sports and fashion. Leading the way yet again with 12 nominations is The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. It's nominations include Choice Movie (Sci-Fi/Fantasy) and acting nominations for its leads Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Kristen Stewart and Bryce Dallas Howard. Unusually, the movie already was nominated and won awards at last year's Teen Choice Awards.

It will be competing head-to-head in a number of categories against another popular franchise film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, which received five nominations. All of its nominations are shared by The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. Both of the franchises will be wrapping up with their next chapter.

Several R-rated films are included in competition. The Hangover Part II received six nominations, Bridesmaids took four, and Bad Teacher managed three.

The Vampire Diaries and Glee led the television field with nine nominations each. The Vampire Diaries picked up nods for Choice TV Show (Sci-Fi/Fantasy) and acting nominations for Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Kat Graham, Michael Trevino and Joseph Morgan. The nominations for Glee included Choice TV Show (Comedy) as well as Scene Stealer and Fashion Icon mentions for actor Chris Colfer.

Call for Submissions: 6th Reel Asian So You Think You Can Pitch? competition

So You Think You Can Pitch? Competition 2011

CLICK HERE FOR APPLICATION
Bring forth your best film ideas at the 6th Annual Toronto Reel Asian and Charles Street Video pitch competition - So You Think You Can Pitch? ! The 2011 Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival is looking for submissions of short films ideas.

Once again this year, two winning filmmaking teams will walk away with amazing prize packages that will help them kick-start and/or finish their short film. The two prize packages include $1500 in cash, of over $10,000* for the Emerging Category and $18,000* for the Established Category in production and post services, and a one-year membership at Charles Street Video (CSV), and a distribution option through Ouat Media.

Selected finalists teams will participate in an intensive boot camp at the Reel Asian Pitch Clinic, where finalists gain in-depth professional advice on pitching like a pro in front of a live audience. Finalists will compete at a live Pitch Competition Finale during the 2011 Reel Asian Festival this November 8-13th. Finalists will also be awarded with a 2011 Festival Pass, with access to festival screenings and Industry Series sessions, where you can gain insightful knowledge from industry professionals and access the many networking opportunities throughout the festival.

26th Annual Imagen Awards - nominees

Nominees for 26th Annual Imagen Awards Announced

Actress Maria Canals-Barrera (“Wizards of Waverly Place,” “Larry Crowne”) to Host Black-Tie Gala Event

Latino Advocacy Organization Promotes More Opportunities for Latinos in Entertainment; Awards Event Scheduled for Friday Evening, August 12th, at The Beverly Hilton Hotel International Ballroom

LOS ANGELES, CA - The Imagen Foundation has announced the nominees for the 26th Annual Imagen (Spanish for “image”) Awards, honoring positive portrayals of Latinos and Latino cultures in entertainment.  The awards will be presented at a gala black-tie dinner on Friday evening, August 12th, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel International Ballroom. 

On hand for the announcement at the Foundation’s headquarters in Pasadena was actress Maria Canals-Barrera, star of Disney Channel’s Emmy award-winning “Wizards of Waverly Place,” who has been chosen to host the annual awards gala.  The actress, who plays Selena Gomez’s mother in the series, won an Imagen Award last year in the category of “Best Supporting Actress – Television” for her work in “Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie.”  Her latest role, which has her working alongside Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, is in Universal Pictures’ upcoming feature “Larry Crowne,” opening this Friday, July 1st.  “We are thrilled to have Maria Canals-Barrera serve as host of this year’s Imagen Awards.  She is an extremely talented actress who is truly representative of our mission of promoting more positive Latino roles in front of the camera, as well as more opportunities for Latinos as a whole throughout all aspects of the entertainment industry,” said Helen Hernandez, president and founder of The Imagen Foundation.

Call for Submissions: the 33rd Rhubarb Festival

Call for Submissions: 33rd Rhubarb Festival, Buddies In Bad Times Theatre

THE 33rd RHUBARB FESTIVAL
Toronto’s Annual Convergence of Contemporary Performance
Feb, 8-19th, 2012 Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Toronto
Festival Director Laura Nanni

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
DEADLINE: 5PM, Friday September 2nd 2011

Produced by Buddies in Bad Times Theatre for over 30 years, the Rhubarb Festival has offered artists a critic-free environment to experiment with new explorations in performance. Rhubarb continuously reconsiders the possibilities for performance – how we create it, how we present it and how we experience it. It is an invitation for artists to take risks, investigate new directions and challenge conventions. It is an opportunity for adventurous audiences to journey off predictable paths. Rhubarb provides artists with a rare opportunity to present work to a large and enthusiastic audience. Many Rhubarb shows have gone on to be further developed and presented in Toronto, across Canada and internationally.

32nd Annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards - winners

This was a roller-coaster day for those in the Toronto theatre community. The day began with the SummerWorks Theatre Festival receiving word that the Federal Government was pulling the plug on their Department of Canadian Heritage funding, almost certainly for partisan ideological reasons.

As the community rallied behind the festival, they gathered in the evening for the 32nd Annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards at the Bluma Appel Theatre at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. The ceremony was hosted by Craig Lauzon and Michaela Washburn.

Leading the way with five awards was Buddies in Bad Times' production of Blasted, which won in the General Division for Best Production, Direction (Brendan Healy), Set Design, Lighting Design and Sound.

A number of productions were double-winners: Priscilla Queen of the Desert, The Musical; Billy Elliot, The Musical; Orfeo ed Euridice; The Situationists; paper SERIES; and Through the Leaves. The wins for paper SERIES brought rousing ovations for Best Direction winner Nina Lee Aquino and Best Sound Design/Composition winner Richard Lee, who are a husband-and-wife team.

Call for submissions: 2011 Deluxe Producer Internship

Women in Film & Television – Toronto (WIFT - T) has put out a call for submissions for emerging producers to participate in the 2011 Deluxe Producer Internship.

The Deluxe Producer Internship is an opportunity for a female Canadian producer to receive three weeks of production and post-production training as an intern at Deluxe. The internship also comes with a WIFT-T programming pass and a $1,000 honourarium.

Any Canadian woman producer with between two and five years experience is eligible.

Deadline for applications is Monday, July 25 at 5pm. The mentorship begins November 2011.

2011 BET Awards - winners

The 2011 BET (Black Entertainment Television) Awards were handed out last night at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. For Colored Girls won the award for Best Movie, beating out Death at a Funeral, For Colored Girls, Takers, The Book of Eli and Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married, Too?. The acting awards went to Taraji P. Henson and Idris Elba, who also won last year.

Chris Brown dominated the music categories with four wins. He had led with six nominations, and came away with wins for Best Male R&B Artist, Viewer’s Choice, Best Collaboration and FANdemonium. His win for Viewer's Choice made for a bizarre moment as his name was announced before changing it and announcing Rihanna as the winner (Brown's ex-girlfriend whom he was convicted of assaulting). Then another host announced the winner as Drake, who came onstage to accept the award on Rihanna's behalf. At the show's conclusion, the host Kevin Hart brought Brown back out to tell him he was the correct winner as the audience was filing out. During last year's show, Chris Brown performed a tribute to Michael Jackson and wept excessively and theatrically.

Mary J. Blige, Jadakiss and DJ Khaled opened the show. Other performers included After Seven with the Five Heartbeats, Alicia Keys with Bruno Mars, Big Sean with Chris Brown, Cherelle, Kelly Rowland with Trey Songz and closing act Beyoncé performing live from Glastonbury.

37th Annual Saturn Awards - winners

The 37th Annual Saturn Awards, the annual awards for genre films, television shows and theatre, took place Friday night in Burbank, California. Inception was the Saturns' big winner. It had led with nine nominations and came away with five wins. It won Best Science Fiction Film, Director, Writer, Music and Special Effects.

The winner for Best Fantasy Film was Alice in Wonderland. Let Me In won in the Thriller/Horror category, while Salt won for Action/Adventure. Alice in Wonderland and Let Me In were double prize-winners as were Black Swan and Tron Legacy.

In the International category, the prize went to Gareth Edwards' Monsters. The Animated Film award was given to Toy Story 3.

12th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards - winners

On Saturday night, Toronto was host to the 12th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards, the culmination three days of festivities celebrating Indian culture and cinema. The sold-out event with a crowd of 22,000 took place at the Rogers Centre was hosted by Riteish Deshmukh and Boman Iran. Unfortunately, the ceremony began 90 minutes late.

Dabangg (Fearless) was the big winner of the night taking ten awards. Its wins included Best Film, Performance in a Negative Role (Sonu Sood), Screenplay, Music, Playback Singer (both Male and Female) and Choreography.

Band Baaja Baaraat was next with six awards including Best Actress (Anushka Sharma) and Male Debutant (Ranveer Singh). Sharma and Singh together were named the Best On-Screen Couple. My Name Is Khan followed closely with five wins including Best Direction (Karan Johar) and Lead Actor (Shah Rukh Khan).  Khan plays a man with Asperger syndrome.

Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai had led 12 nominations but its only win of the evening was for Prachi Desai in the Supporting Actress category.

65th Nastro d'Argento (Silver Ribbon) Awards for Italian film - winners

The Sindacato Nazionale dei Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani (Association of Italian Film Critics) held their awards ceremony today at the Teatro antico di Taormina, Sicily for their 65th Nastro d'Argento (Silver Ribbon) Awards.

Emerging with the most wins was Nanni Moretti's Cannes competition film Habemus Papam (We have a Pope). It won for Best Director, Producer, Story, Cinematography, Art Direction and Costume Design. It had led with seven nominations and only missed out on Editing.

Vallanzasca - Gli angeli del male (Angels of Evil) was next with three wins. In addition to Best Actor (Kim Rossi Stuart), it won for Best Editing and Soundtrack.

In the foreign categories, Oscar-winner The Kings Speech won Best European Film while Clint Eastwood's Hereafter won Best Non-European Film.