Call for submissions: NFB's Highrise project

The New York Times Opinion Pages Announces New Op-Doc Series on High-Rise Living in Collaboration with
the National Film Board of Canada

NEW YORK, March 10, 2013 – The New York Times Opinion Pages today announced a new multiplatform interactive series of Op-Docs in collaboration with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as part of its ongoing HIGHRISE project. A SHORT HISTORY OF THE HIGHRISE will premiere this summer on NYTimes.com and subsequently on NFB.ca/highrise.

The series, an interactive project comprised of four short documentaries, explores the history and future of high-rise buildings and their relationship to issues of equity, segregation and social responsibility in cities around the world

Society of Camera Operators Awards 2013 – winners

Last night, the Society of Camera Operators held their awards ceremony at the Leonard Goldenson Theatre for their 2013 Society of Camera Operators Awards or "Cammy" Awards.

In the feature film category, Mitch Dubin was honoured for his work on Steven Spielberg's Lincoln. He had been competing against Peter Robertson for Anna Karenina, Duane C. Manwiller for The Hunger Games, Colin Anderson for The Master, and Lukasz Bielan for Life of Pi. Peter Robertson, however, was presented with the previously-announced Historic Shot Award for his work on the Dunkirk Beach Steadicam shot on another Joe Wright film Atonement.

Japan Academy Prize 2013 – winners

Tonight, the Nippon Academy-sho Association presented the gala for the 36th 日本アカデミー賞 or Japan Academy Prize at the Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa. The hosts were 関根勤 (Tsutomu Sekine) and 井上真央 (Inoue Mao).

The film 桐島、部活やめるってよ (The Kirishima Thing) by 吉田大八 (Daihachi Yoshida) led the night in winning the Best Picture and Best Director awards. It also won for Best Editing and the Popular Award (Film).

Next with three awards was 北のカナリアたち (A Chorus of Angels) by 阪本順治 (Junji Sakamoto). However, none were in the higher profile categories. Instead, it won for the craft categories of Music, Cinematography and Lighting. It had shared the lead with twelve nominations.

Toronto Irish Film Festival 2013, Mar 8-9

The third annual Toronto Irish Film Festival (TIRFF) celebrates the best of Irish cinema on Friday, March 8 and Saturday, March 9, 2013. With 20 Irish films, including 15 Canadian premieres, the theme of TIRFF 2013 is “A Gathering of Irish film lovers” and echoes Tourism Ireland’s worldwide “The Gathering” campaign, which encourages the global Irish diaspora to return to their hometowns in 2013 for clan reunions. TIRFF will bring together the GTA Irish community at the prestigious TIFF Bell Lightbox, located at 350 King Street West, in the heart of Toronto’s entertainment district.

Pilgrim Hill is slotted for the Festival’s Opening Night on March 8 at 7 p.m., sponsored by Tourism Ireland. Pilgrim Hill is a cinematic love letter to Ireland’s rural countryside and an incredible achievement for first-time filmmaker Gerard Barrett, who was awarded the Irish Film Board’s Rising Star Award for his work on the film at the 2013 Irish Film & Television Awards this month. Immediately following the film will be an audience Q&A session with the film’s rising stars, Joe Mullins and Muiris Crowley, who will travel from Ireland to attend the celebration. Prior to the movie, the Irish Choral Society will perform a specially commissioned repertoire, “Ireland at the Movies,” for festival attendees.

Toronto Nepali Film Festival 2013, Mar 8-9

Today, the 4th Annual Toronto Nepali Film Festival takes place at the University of Toronto.

The opening film will be Dasdhunga by Manoj Pandit about Madan Bhandari and Modnath Ashrit who were killed in Dasdhunga. The closing film will be Mukundo (Mask of Desire) by Tsering Rhitar Sherpa. The director will be in attendance and conduct a Q&A after the screening.

TJFF's FilmMatters announces 2013 screening line-up

(Toronto - March 7, 2013) Now in its sixth year, FilmMatters is the Toronto Jewish Film Festival's popular educational outreach programme, that offers young students a unique opportunity to utilize film as a means to better understand cultural and religious diversity. The screenings are free and include a special guest speaker from the film, as well as a teacher resource package, prepared by FilmMatters curator Susan Starkman, and provided as part of the student-screening programme.

"FilmMatters offers a diverse range of films that inspire, challenge and engage students," says Susan Starkman, programmer and curator of FilmMatters, "in a manner that is relevant to their own experiences. We invite schools from across the GTA with this opportunity to view new topical films and to interact with the special guests in attendance. Our in-theatre programme has proved to be such a success over the last few years that we now offer an in-school programme for schools in the priority areas of the GTA.”

Call for submissions: imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival

Be part of imagineNATIVE’s 14th Anniversary Year!

FREE SUBMISSION DEADLINE: JUNE 1, 2013
$25 LATE SUBMISSION DEADLINE: JUNE 15, 2013

Complete submission details and film/video, radio, new media and TV Series submission forms:

• Online submission forms
• PDF submission forms

It’s that time of year once again for you to submit your film, video, radio and new media works for the 14^th annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival.

Call for submissions: The Arts and Letters Club New Playwright’s Award

The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto Proudly announces the creation of The Arts and Letters Club New Playwright’s Award

This award is to be granted to a full-time secondary or post-secondary student within the GTA for the creation of a one-act play script. The details are:

UofT's Caribbean Film Festival, March 7-8

On March 7th and 8th the Caribbean Studies Students Union (CARSSU) and the Cinema Studies Students Union (CINSSU) will be hosting the first-ever Caribbean Film Festival at the William Doo Auditorium on U of Tʹ St. George Campus.

This festival will showcase documentaries and narrative films that pertain to the Caribbean region, its diaspora, and will traverse a number of topics that delve into gender, race, ethnicity, popular culture, politics, sustainability of the environment, as well as the standing legacies of colonialism that still haunt the Caribbean. Our current line-up includes films with stories and histories from Dominica, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad. Prior to screening each individual film, an introduction will be made to the film and followed by a brief Q + A discussion with the director.

Call for submissions: CBC Short Film Face Off

CBC Television is pleased to announce another season of Short Film Face Off, Canada’s only television magazine program that features short films from across the country.

Now in its third season on national television, the critically acclaimed show has helped attract a mainstream audience for short films in Canada and increased the profile of its featured filmmakers. To be eligible for consideration, films must be under 12 minutes in length, must have been completed in the past two years, and must not have been broadcast previously on network television. We are looking for comedies and dramas. Music videos and documentaries are not eligible.

2013 Кинопремия Ника (Nika Awards) for Russian film – nominations

The Академии кинематографических искусств (Russian Academy of Cinematic Arts and Sciences) in Russia has announced the nominations for its 26th Annual Кинопремия Ника (Nika Film Awards). The Nika Film Awards are one of the two main Russian film prizes along with the премия Золотой Орёл (Golden Eagle Awards) held earlier in the year.

Leading the field with eleven nominations was Орда (The Horde) by Андрей Прошкин (Andrei Proshkin). The historical epic portrays 14th century Eurasia under the Mongol Golden Horde. Its nominations included Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor for Максим Суханов (Maxim Suhanov), and Best Actress for Роза Хайруллина (Rosa Khayrullina).

Next with eight nominations was Фауст (Faust) by Александр Сокуров (Alexander Sokurov). It also received mentions for Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay as well as a Best Actor nod for Антон Адасинский (Anton Adasinsky).

2013 Udaya Film Awards – winners

Udaya TV in the south-Indian state of Karnataka presented the gala for the 2013 Udaya Film Awards for Kannada-language films at the Palace Grounds in Bangalore.

The historical biopic Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna by Naganna topped the night by claiming the Best Film prize. It also won for Best Action (Stunts). That, however, was its only other win.

AP Arjun's romance Addhoori (or Addhuri) came away with the night's biggest haul. It won a total of four awards. In addition to Best Director for Arjun, it won Best Actress (Radhika Pandit), Best Debutante Actor (Dhruva Sarja) and Best Music.

The Best Actor trophy went to Upendra for Kalpana. It was his third time winning the award. The comedic horror film also won for Best Editor.

Hot Docs announces 28 films for Special Presentations program

Toronto, March 6, 2013 – Hot Docs is pleased to announce 28 documentary features that will be a part of this year’s Special Presentations program, a high-profile collection of world and international premieres, award-winners from the recent international festival circuit, and works by master filmmakers, and featuring some star subjects. These films will screen as part of the 2013 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, running April 25 to May 5.

The full selection of films to screen at Hot Docs 2013 will be announced on March 19, including the 2013 opening night film.

“We are thrilled to be announcing this year's Special Presentation films,” says Hot Docs director of programming Charlotte Cook. “We are especially proud to be announcing three fantastic world premieres: CAUCUS is AJ Schnack's intimate and fascinating behind the scenes look at the Republican candidates of the Iowa caucus, PREPARE FOR THE WORST is Barry Avrich's portrait of comedy icon David Steinberg, and Gus Holwerda's THE UNBELIEVERS, which follows renowned scientists Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss as they spread the message of the importance of science and the power of reason.”

2013 MTV Movie Awards – nominations

The MTV Movie Awards are just around the corner on April 14, but the nominations are right here, right now!

Leading the pack at this year's Movie Awards is Quentin Tarantino's Western epic Django Unchained, which garnered an impressive seven nominations, including the coveted Movie of the Year; the same can be said for Ted, which also received seven total noms, including Best Female Performance for Mila Kunis. Ranking third with six total nominations is Silver Linings Playbook, starring Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence.

Free screening tonight of Chasing Ice

Chasing Ice Environmental Documentary FREE Screening + Discussion Event

From the producer of the Academy Award-winning Documentary "The Cove", Chasing Ice is the story of National Geographic's award-winning photographer James Balong's mission to change the tide of history by gathering undeniable evidence of climate change.

Using time-lapse cameras, his videos compress years into seconds and capture ancient mountains of ice in motion as they disappear at a breathtaking rate.