Huabiao Film Awards - winners

Tonight at the Beijing Exhibition Center Theater, China's State Administration of Radio, Film and TV presented their 14th biennial Huabiao Film Awards (华表奖). Although established in 1957 as Ministry of Culture Excellence Film awards, they weren't given from 1958 to 1979, and were renamed "Huabiao" in 1994. Unlike many awards ceremonies, the Huabiao Awards can and often do award multiple winners in each category.

Of twenty films nominated for Outstanding Film, a whopping ten winners were named. The main multiple winners were The Founding of a Republic (建国大业/Jian guo da yie), Shen Zhou 11 (飞天/Fei Tian), and Aftershock (唐山大地震/Tang shan da di zhen). Each received three awards including Outstanding Feature Film.

The other recipients of Outstanding Feature Film were Under the Hawthorn Tree (山楂树之恋/Shan zha shu zhi lian), Yang Shan-zhou (杨善洲/Yang shan zhou), Beginning Of The Great Revival (建党伟业/Jian dang wei yie), The Seal of Love (秋之白华/Qiu zhi bai hua), Sacrifice (赵氏孤儿/Zhao shi gu er), The Piano in a Factory (钢的琴/Gang de qin), and Guo Ming Yi (郭明义/Guo ming yi).

2011 MTV Video Music Awards - winners

Tonight at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) were handed out in a ceremony that included performances by Lady Gaga, Adele, Chris Brown and Lil Wayne.

Katy Perry led with three awards including the top Video of the Year award for “Firework.”  She also won Best Collaboration for her partnership with Kanye West on “E.T.” which also won for Best Visual Effects. She had led with nine nominations coming into the night.

Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” also won three awards but they were behind-the-scenes awards for editing, art direction, and cinematography, and those were given before the main televised ceremony.

Lady Gaga also won multiple Moon Men at the ceremony. She spent the entire night dressed as her male alter ego Jo Calderone. She claimed Best Female Video and Best Video with a Message for “Born This Way.”

2011 Festival des films du monde (Montreal World Film Festival) - awards

The awards for the 35th Festival des films du monde (Montreal World Film Festival) were handed out tonight at Place des Arts.

The top prize of the Grand Prix des Americas went to the Belgian film Hasta la Vista (Come as You Are) by Geoffrey Enthoven. The film is a light comedic look at three disabled men who take a road trip to Spain to seek out a brothel that specializes in catering to their disabilities. The film also won the Public Award as the most popular film of the festival and received a Special Mention by the Ecumenical Jury.

A Special Grand Prix of the jury was awarded to Masato Harada's Chronicle of My Mother. The Best Director award went to German filmmaker Brigitte Maria Bertele for Der Brand (The Fire).

Fatehmeh Motamed-Arya won the Best Actress award for her role in the Iranian film Here Without Me. Best Actor, however, was a tie between Borys Szyc for Rafael Lewandowski's Kret (The Mole) and Danny Huston for Eran Riklis' Playoff.

The Montreal Jewish Music Festival, Aug 28-Sept 1

The second annual Montreal Jewish Music Festival opens tonight with a performance by Hasidic New Wave & Siach Hasadeh at Sala Rossa, 4848 boul. St-Laurent. The festival was to kick off with a free launch at Parc des Amériques, but as it was an outdoor event it has been cancelled due to weather.

Other scheduled performers include Serendipity 4 featuring Theodore Bikel, Pitom & Andre Daneau, the Sway Machinery, Christian Dawid’s Klezmer Contra Dance, the Shaar Hashomayim Choir, Nekouda and the Andy Statman Trio.

The festival runs until Thursday at various venues.

CMPA's $10,000 Feature Film Prize - shortlist of 5 producers

Award-winning Canadian producer Denise Robert today announced the shortlist for the 6th Annual Canadian Media Production Association’s (CMPA) Feature Film Producer's Award.  Robert is Chair of the national jury, and last year’s recipient. The winner receives a cash prize of $10,000 at a special reception to mark the opening of the 36th Toronto International Film Festival® on September 8th.

The award was founded in partnership with the Festival in 2006.  It recognizes the vision and entrepreneurship of an outstanding Canadian producer whose body of work demonstrates commitment and passion for the profession.

"All of these producers have dedicated their careers to the creation of feature films,” says Denise Robert. “It requires tenacity and courage to complete these kinds of projects and bring them to the big screen. It was a very difficult decision because every applicant was worthy of a nomination.”

FREE Songwriting Workshops Across Canada, Sept 7-Oct 2

Astral Radio presents the Radio Star New Songwriters Workshop Tour, which provides educational sessions at all of the 11 workshops for new songwriters to be held across Canada from Sept. 7 through Oct. 2, 2011.

Each workshop will consist of four parts. Part 1 examines What's in a Song; Part 2 is Music Publishing 101; Part 3 looks at Songwriting Revenue Streams; and Part 4 is The Music Meeting (Song Review) in which participants can play their demos for panelists to get instant feedback.

The workshops are co-sponsored by the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN), Canadian Music Publishers Association (CMPA), and the Songwriters Association of Canada (SAC).

These workshops are free to attend, but everyone wishing to attend must pre-register for the event at http://www.radiostar.ca/songwriters-workshop/register. Registration is now open.

3rd Montreal Burlesque Festival, August 25-28

Welcome to the Montreal Burlesque Festival

Bonjour and welcome to the 3rd edition of our prestigious Burlesque Festival! This year we are presenting 3 nights of pure entertainment, at Club Soda with seating for everyone, Cabaret formula (meaning we have tables too) where you can sip on Champagne & Cocktails while you enjoy the shows! See picture HERE.

Visit our schedule for details about the weekend, we offer workshops & classes that are open to the public and you can reserve your spot Here.

From the 25^th to the 27^th of August 2011, the 3^rd edition of the Montreal Burlesque Festival will take up residence at Club Soda (1225 St Laurent, Montreal), and bring back those nights of naughty glamour for which the city was once renowned around the world. The titillating event, hosted by Benjamin Marquis, will present performances by dozens of international burlesque stars, musicians and artists, including such evocative names as Coco Lectric, Harvest Moon, Amber Ray, Loulou Duchess de Rière, Miss Sugarpuss, Bonbon Bombay, Michelle L'amour and Scarlett James, along with legendary guest icons April March, Satan's Angel and Tiffany Carter.

Call for submissions: ReelWorld's 2011 Capturing Diversity Contest

Diversity Challenge

ReelWorld Film Festival and Pierre Laurent Timepieces present the 2011 Capturing Diversity Contest

ReelWorld is excited to invite all aspiring filmmakers and film enthusiasts to get in on the action by creating your own mobile films that capture the spirit of ReelWorld's mission to "celebrate diversity and excellence in film and video".

Guidelines

Call for submissions: imagineNATIVE Documentary and Drama TV Pitch

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:
2011 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival
DOCUMENTARY & DRAMATIC TV PITCH:
Exclusive Professional Training & Pitch Session

This is your chance to be part of an intensive pitch training opportunity at this year's imagineNATIVE!

Do you have a great idea for a pilot episode of a series drama (30 or 60 min), OR a feature, short or series documentary? Enter our competitions to pitch your idea to a panel of commissioning editors and acquisitions executives from the major Canadian broadcasters - who will provide valuable feedback and development advice. You will also have a chance to win imagineNATIVE's Documentary Pitch or Drama TV Pitch prizes to help your ideas become a reality.

FOUR documentary pitch contestants & FOUR drama TV pitch contestants will be selected by imagineNATIVE's Programming Committee to receive a free, six-hour intensive "How to Pitch" workshop with a broadcasting industry professional. This workshop will provide invaluable insight and instruction on the pitching process and advice on improving individual pitch ideas. The intensive workshop will take place on Wednesday, October 19th at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, Reitman Square, 350 Kind St. W. in downtown Toronto.

Planet in Focus Film Festival announces opening, closing films

PLANET IN FOCUS ANNOUNCES

REVENGE OF THE ELECTRIC CAR, NARRATED BY TIM ROBBINS

AS OPENING NIGHT GALA

AND

THE WHALE, NARRATED BY RYAN REYNOLDS

AS CLOSING NIGHT GALA

THE 12^TH ANNUAL EDITION OF PLANET IN FOCUS TO BE HELD IN TORONTO FROM OCTOBER 12-16, 2011

Opening and Closing Night to take place at TIFF Bell Lightbox

TORONTO, August 24, 2011 — The 12^th Annual Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival, Canada's largest and longest running environmental film festival, kicks off with a big start and finish with this year’s Opening and Closing Night Galas: REVENGE OF THE ELECTRIC CAR, narrated by Tim Robbins, and THE WHALE, narrated by Ryan Reynolds.  Planet in Focus runs from October 12–16, 2011 across Toronto, and features five days of galas, film screenings, workshops and more!  

2011 Nordisk Råds Filmpris (Nordic Council Film Prize) - nominees

FIVE OUTSTANDING FILMS COMPETE FOR THE NORDIC COUNCIL FILM PRIZE 2011
Five outstanding Nordic films are nominated for the coveted Nordic Council Film Prize 2011.

Five outstanding and very different Nordic films are candidates this year for the coveted NORDIC COUNCIL FILM PRIZE. Among the nominated directors are Pernilla August, Árni Ólafur Ásgeirsson, Joachim Trier, Nikolaj Arcel and Zaida Bergroth. They are all in a tough competition with outstanding films, one from each of the Nordic countries, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

To be nominated for the prize, worth DKK 350.000, the films must be embedded to a significant degree in Nordic culture, must be of high artistic quality, stand out in terms of artistic originality, and combine and refine the many elements of film in a convincing and integrated manner.

Call for Submissions: 24-Hour Playwriting Contest, Pat the Dog Playwright Centre

2011 24-Hour Playwriting Contest

Stock up on coffee and dust off your lucky mug. Pat the Dog Playwright Centre is thrilled to announce we are hosting our third annual 24-hour playwriting contest. This means 30 adrenaline-pumped writers from across Ontario will be hitting the keyboards from 4:00 PM on Friday, September 30, 2011 to 4:00 PM Saturday, October 1, 2010.

All contestants write off-site, so you can write at home, in a coffee shop, on a bus… the location is up to you. There’s no entry fee and no restriction on final script length. All you have to do is write an original play using three secret words — in 24 hours. How easy it that?

Call for submissions: The Green Pitch Competition

Green Pitch Submission Now Open

The Green Pitch: Perfecting the Art of the Pitch for Environmental Filmmaking

$5500 Cash/Service Funding Available

Submission Deadline: Friday, September 23 at 5:00 pm*

Welcome to the Planet in Focus Green Pitch, an opportunity to pitch your idea to the people with the power to give your project the green light. With broadcasters, producers and established filmmakers on board to lend their insight, this pitch session will give participants the opportunity to test their green story ideas in front of creative professionals.  Finalists will be coached before the festival by Producer and former broadcast executive PAUL DE SILVA.

TIFF 2011 guest list and fact sheet

TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ROLLS OUT THE RED CARPET FOR HUNDREDS OF GUESTS FOR 2011 EVENT

Toronto – The 36th Toronto International Film Festival® welcomes hundreds of guests this year. Filmmakers expected to present their world premieres in Toronto include: Davis Guggenheim, Francis Ford Coppola, Alexander Payne, Agnieszka Holland, Guy Maddin, Luc Besson, Bill Duke, Oren Moverman, Malgoska Szumowska, Bennett Miller, Darrell Roodt, Sarah Polley, Jessica Yu, Michael Winterbottom and Werner Herzog.

Actors expected to attend include Catherine Deneuve, Charlotte Rampling, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Clive Owen, Gerard Butler, Jeon Do-Yeon, Jon Hamm, Shahid Kapoor, Michael Fassbender, Michelle Yeoh, Freida Pinto, Glenn Close, Matthew Goode, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel Weisz, Ryan Gosling, Salma Hayek, Viggo Mortensen and Woody Harrelson. Musicians include: U2, Pearl Jam and Neil Young.

The Festival also welcomes thousands of producers and other industry professionals bringing films to us.

Free programming at TIFF 2011

TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES FREE PROGRAMMING

The 36th Toronto International Film Festival today announced its free programming which includes screenings of the World Premiere of Mark Cousins’ epic 15-hour documentary The Story of Film: An Odyssey; Jafar Panahi and Mojtaba Mirtahmasb’s This is Not a Film – a day-in-the-life portrait of filmmaker Jafar Panahi, under house arrest in Iran; and the screening of the winner of the 2011 Cadillac People’s Choice Award. Also open to audiences free of charge is a City to City Panel of filmmakers and programmers exploring the emerging film scene in Buenos Aires as well as a special discussion to accompany the Future Projections installation James Franco and Gus Van Sant: Memories of Idaho.

“The free Festival programming we are presenting honours the Festival’s tradition of celebrating filmmakers and film. Among them the important work of Cousins, Panahi and Mirtahmasb will offer audiences a window into the history and current situation of artists and cinema around the world,” said Piers Handling, Director and CEO, TIFF. “We are happy to be able to offer this access to special screenings and discussions to Festival audiences.”