2013 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, October 16-20

Female Filmmakers Dominate at the 14th Annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival
Where Artists are Heroes!
October 16 – 20, 2013

The 14th annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, running October 16 – 20, 2013, returns to Toronto this fall to host the world’s largest festival of Indigenous film and media arts. The Festival has announced 101 films, including documentaries, features and shorts, and proudly presents a program dominated by female filmmakers with more than half of the screening works at the Festival made by women, a noteworthy representation.

Meanwhile, with TIFF premieres of both Jennifer Podemski’s indie drama Empire of Dirt and Jeff Barnaby’s debut feature film, Rhymes for Young Ghouls, the Native-Canadian presence at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival did not go unnoticed. With both of these films, and 99 more, screening at this year’s imagineNATIVE festival, Aboriginal art will idle no more with increased presence at the world’s most foremost festivals.

Planet In Focus announces complete 2013 film festival programming

PLANET IN FOCUS ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2013 FILM LINE-UP
John Walker’s visually evocative feature doc, Arctic Defenders opens the Festival

Tuesday, October 15, 2013: Planet in Focus (PIF), Canada’s largest environmentally themed film festival, is proud to announce its robust line-up of features and short films to be screened at the 14th annual Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival taking place in Toronto on November 21-24th, 2013.

John Walker’s Arctic Defenders is the Opening Night Film and provides a startling revelation that the Canadian government secretly moved Inuit communities into the High Arctic, without proper resources, in order to defend our sovereignty. Italian filmmaker Enrico Cerasuolo’s Last Call is the Closing Night Film and revisits the writers and the theories presented in the 1972 book “The Limits to Growth”, dubbed ‘one of the most important documents of our age’ by the New York Times, the book, explored the impact of over population, industrialization, pollution, food production and resource depletion.

8 Documentary Short Films On Oscar's 2013 Shortlist

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that the field of Documentary Short Subject contenders for the 86th Academy Awards® has been narrowed to eight films, of which three to five will earn Oscar® nominations.

Voters from the Academy’s Documentary Branch viewed this year’s 40 eligible entries and submitted their ballots to PricewaterhouseCoopers for tabulation.

The eight films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies:

Stanley Kubrick exhibition announced for 2014 at TIFF Bell Lightbox

STANLEY KUBRICK EXHIBITION COMING TO TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX IN FALL 2014
Immensely popular exhibition celebrating the life and work of Stanley Kubrick to make its Canadian debut in Toronto

“In the whole history of movies, there has been nothing like Kubrick's vision of hope and wonder, of grace and of mystery, of humour and contradictions. It was a gift to us, and now it's a legacy.” -- Steven Spielberg

Toronto – Piers Handling, Director and CEO of TIFF and Noah Cowan, Artistic Director of TIFF Bell Lightbox, have announced that the first exhibition dedicated to the life and work of legendary film auteur Stanley Kubrick will be coming to Toronto’s TIFF Bell Lightbox in fall 2014. Stanley Kubrick, developed in collaboration by the Kubrick estate and Frankfurt’s Deutsches Filmmuseum which premiered the exhibition in 2004, has since travelled to some of the world’s most important cultural institutions in Paris, Rome, Brussels, Amsterdam, Melbourne, Los Angeles, and most recently São Paulo. TIFF is proud to be presenting the Canadian premiere of Stanley Kubrick.

Reel Asian Film Festival announces complete programming

REEL ASIAN CELEBRATES 17^TH YEAR

WHERE CULTURES MEET AND ASIAN FILM FANS UNITE

Toronto, October 8, 2013 — The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival (Reel Asian), presented by National Bank, celebrates its 17^th annual edition from November 5 to 16, 2013 with more screenings, high-profile guests from across North America and Asia, an exciting expansion to include films from across South Asia, an energy-driven collaboration between Toronto’s hottest up-and-coming dancers and filmmakers and 60 films from 14 countries including Hong Kong, India, Japan, Laos, Pakistan, South Korea, Taiwan, Canada and the United States.

Founded in 1997, Reel Asian began as a 3-day event established in response to meet the needs of an existing demand for Asian films in Toronto, and has since grown to a 12-day multi-city annual event attracting over 12,000 people each year. Reel Asian strives to develop programming that reflects the cultural diversity of Canada and increases public understanding and appreciation of the artistic, social and cultural contributions of those of Asian heritage through film. This year’s festival will take place November 5 to 16, 2013 inToronto and Richmond Hill. Highlights include:

Record 76 films compete for 2013 Foreign Language Film Oscar

76 Countries In Competition For 2013 Foreign Language Film Oscar®

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – A record 76 countries have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 86th Academy Awards®. Moldova and Saudi Arabia are first-time entrants; Montenegro is submitting for the first time as an independent country.

The 2013 submissions are:

Les Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal (RIDM) announces opening & closing films

Montreal, October 7, 2013 – The Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) will have the honour of presenting the Quebec premiere of The Square (Al Midan), the new film by Egyptian filmmaker Jehane Noujaim, as the festival’s opening on November 13. This epic documentary, as spectacular as it is moving, is a chronicle of recent events in Egypt. Ten days and 135 films later, the festival will close with world premiere of Fermières by Annie St-Pierre, which looks into the province’s oldest women’s group, the Cercles de Fermières du Québec.

Opening Film - THE SQUARE
From January 2011 to July 2013 – from the first anti-Mubarak protests to the fall of Morsi – Egyptian filmmaker Jehane Noujaim’s (Control Room) crew stayed on the front lines of events as they unfolded in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Guided by Ahmed, a charismatic incarnation of valiant Egyptian youth; his friend and enemy, Magdy, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood; and Khalid Abdalla, an actor known for The Kite Runner, the film makes the square itself its central subject: it is the beating heart of a people who have been fighting for their rights for more than two years. Updated since the early cut shown at Sundance (where it won the Audience Award), this epic documentary is both spectacular and deeply moving; it is one of the year’s absolute must-see films.

Call for submissions: Bell Media Diverse Screenwriters Program

The Writers Guild of Canada has put out a call for submissions for its Bell Media Diverse Screenwriters Program for Eastern Canada. This program is an excellent opportunity for emerging and mid-level writers to develop their skills and make important connections in the industry. Writers for film and television who are based in Ontario or further east have until December 9 to apply to the program.

The deadline for Western Canada (residents in or west of Manitoba) has also been extended until October 28. The Western program is run out of Vancouver, while the Eastern program takes place in Toronto. Application and participation in the program is free.

Canada selects Gabrielle by Louise Archambault as Foreign Language Oscar submission

TELEFILM CANADA ANNOUNCES THAT LOUISE ARCHAMBAULT’S GABRIELLE IS CANADA’S SELECTION FOR THE BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OSCAR
For the third time in four years, a film produced by micro_scope is selected to represent Canada in the Oscar race

Montreal, September 24, 2013 – Telefilm Canada, which chairs the pan-Canadian Oscar selection committee, is pleased to announce that the feature film Gabrielle, directed by Louise Archambault, has been selected to represent Canada for consideration as a possible nominee in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 86th Academy Awards, to be held in Hollywood on February 27, 2014.

“Over the last several years, Canada’s film industry has done our country proud, with three nominations for Best Foreign Language Film three years running,” said Carolle Brabant, Executive Director of Telefilm Canada. “The selection committee certainly got it right these last three years, and we’re confident that we once again have a strong and very competitive candidate for the upcoming Oscar race. Gabrielle has won over audiences internationally, and there’s no question that the Academy members will succumb to its charms as well.”

2013 Festival du nouveau cinéma announces complete programming

This morning at a press conference at the Agora Hydro-Québec in UQAM’s Cœur des sciences, the Festival du nouveau cinéma announced its full programming for the 42nd annual edition. It promises to be another exciting year for what has fast become Montreal's preeminent film festival.

Among the works programmed this year is a web documentary I directed called Jazz Petite-Bourgogne (or Burgundy Jazz. It is presented in the FNC Lab section for "experimental, expanded and multidisciplinary cinematic forms at the crossroads of cinema, art and new technologies." Jazz Petite-Bourgogne explores the rich history of Montreal's jazz scene from the perspective of the black community in the neighbourhood called Little Burgundy or Petite-Bourgogne (formerly called St-Antoine or St-Henri).

The 42nd Festival du nouveau cinéma presents 273 films from October 9–20 at various venues around downtown Montreal.

2013 Toronto International Film Festival announces award winners

Toronto – The 38th Toronto International Film Festival® today announced its award recipients at a reception at the Intercontinental Hotel in Toronto.

YOUTUBE AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN SHORT FILM

The winner of the YouTube Award for Best Canadian Short Film goes to Walter Woodman and Patrick Cederberg for Noah. The jury, comprised of writer Rafael Katigbak, writer, director Nathan Morlando and documentary filmmaker Nisha Pahuja, remarked: “This film is a commentary on the ephemeral, disposable, A.D.D. culture that many of us are consumed by and living in. It tells us a story in a way we’ve never seen before and it tells it well. It’s fresh, innovative, and had the remarkable ability to embody complex emotion through the simple gesture of a mouse.” The award offers a $10,000 cash prize. Honourable mentions go to Kevan Funke’s Yellowhead, and Fraser Munden and Neil Rathbone’s The Chaperone 3D.

Call for submissions: 2014 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival

The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival has put out a call for submissions for their 2014 festival which takes place in the spring.

The Hot Docs festival is the largest documentary festival in North America, and a critical launch pad for films. The festival is an Academy accredited festival, and the winner of the Best Short Documentary award automatically becomes qualified for consideration at the next Academy Awards.

The deadlines and fees have changed this year. The Early Bird Deadline is November 22, 2013, the regular deadline is December 13, 2013, and the late deadline is January 3, 2014. Fees range from $25-50 for short documentaries and $50-$150 for feature-length documentaries.

Academy's Governors Awards go to Angelina Jolie, Angela Lansbury, Steve Martin, Piero Tosi

Angelina Jolie, Angela Lansbury, Steve Martin and Piero Tosi to Receive the Academy's Governors Awards

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present Honorary Awards to Angela Lansbury, Steve Martin and Piero Tosi, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to Angelina Jolie. All four awards will be presented at the Academy's 5th Annual Governors Awards on Saturday, November 16, at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center®.

“The Governors Awards pay tribute to individuals who’ve made indelible contributions in their respective fields,” said Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs. “We couldn’t be more excited for this year’s honorees and look forward to bringing their peers and colleagues together to celebrate their extraordinary achievements.”

2013 Toronto International Film Festival, September 5-15

The Toronto International Film Festival kicks off its 38th annual edition tonight. The official opening night film is by Bill Condon's The Fifth Estate, the very timely portrayal of the founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange. The dramatic thriller stars Daniel Brühl and Benedict Cumberbatch as Julian Assange.

Also screening tonight are Unbeatable by Dante Lam, To Repel Ghosts: Urban Tales from the African Continent (African short films), A Story of Children and Film by Mark Cousins, Ilo Ilo by Anthony Chen, Tim's Vermeer by Teller, The Summer of Flying Fish by Marcela Said, the Palme d'Or winner Blue Is the Warmest Color by Abdellatif Kechiche, Salinger by Shane Salerno, Only Lovers Left Alive by Jim Jarmusch, Exit Marrakech by Caroline Link, Standing Aside, Watching by Yorgos Servetas, Closed Curtain by Jafar Panahi and Kambozia Partovi, An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker by Danis Tanovic, The Past by Asghar Farhadi, Something Necessary by Judy Kibinge, Story of My Death by Albert Serra, and the Midnight Madness opening film All Cheerleaders Die by Lucky McKee and Chris Sivertson.

2013 Festival des Films du Monde – Award winners

AWARDS OF THE FESTIVAL DES FILMS DU MONDE (WORLD FILM FESTIVAL) – Montréal 2013

Jury
President : JIRI MENZEL, director (Czech Republic)
CAROLINE DHAVERNAS, actress (Canada)
MICHAEL KUTZA, festival director (USA)
PEDRO OLEA, director, scriptwriter, producer (Spain)
DAI SIJIE, director and writer (China - France)

FEATURE FILMS

Grand prix des Americas