Film Festival News

Reporting on film festivals

Angela Pinaglia’s LIFE IN SYNCHRO: Film Festival Alliance and Theatrical-At-Home bring Film Festival Day back for a sequel on May 23 with LIFE IN SYNCHRO

By John Wildman 6 years ago

“The results of our first Film Festival Day surpassed any of our expectations,” said Lela Meadow-Conner, Executive Director of Film Festival Alliance. “To witness the collective power of these community & filmmaker-driven festivals coming together in support of independent storytellers and audiences, embodies the spirit of our members’ organizations. Thus, the idea of doing a sequel seemed natural and LIFE IN SYNCHRO was a perfect film for us to feature. It’s a film that would have played the in-person festival circuit in 2020, and it represents the heart that independent filmmakers often infuse into their projects – exactly the type of storytelling that brings audiences to a film festival. The cherry on top is being able to support the filmmakers, as well.”

Christopher Wesley Moore’s, A STRANGER AMONG THE LIVING: Oxford Film Festival’s 4th Weekly Virtual Fest delivers the horror, a silly superhero, LGBTQIA+ stories and panels for filmmakers

By John Wildman 6 years ago

“Ghostly scares, silly superheroes, LGBTQIA+ stories, Americana, animation and experimental cinema is all on tap this week,” Executive Director Melanie Addington said. “This week will be a fun, adventurous slate of programming for our audiences, as well as having a great pair of panels and presentations courtesy of Seed&Spark for truly valuable information on crowdfunding and distribution for filmmakers to soak up, and then a chance to seriously look at the reality of getting our filmmakers back on the set here in Mississippi the following day.”

Noah Warner’s THE TRAP DOOR AT THE EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE leads The Big Bear Film Summit Film Lineup for Debut to be made in Virtual Space

By John Wildman 6 years ago

BBFS CEO Gabriel Horn, added, “The priority with a film festival always begins and ends with the films and filmmakers, so while we will wait until next year to celebrate the art of independent cinema against the backdrop of this historically Hollywood-friendly area, celebrate those films we will. The debut of the Big Bear Film Summit will be a testament to the ability of the filmmaker to persevere.”

Vina Sun, CineCina Film Festival Founder and Director, Annc’s Films on the Wall to celebrate New York State Reopening

By John Wildman 6 years ago

CineCina Film Festival Founder and Director Vina Sun, said, “Each day, we join with our fellow New Yorkers in making the best of our current situation and working toward a way forward from the shut down and the health crisis caused by COVID-19. We are heartened by the progress that has been made, knowing there is so much more to do and a long road still ahead. However, it’s important to mark the successes and, as measured as it is, reaching the first phase of the reopening process is an accomplishment to be celebrated. These projections of film scenes and images reflecting the unique style and beauty of the city as depicted by these classic films seemed like an appropriate and fun way to do that.”

Money for the Music Docs Makers! Hot Docs-Slaight Family Fund Supports Canadian music docs from brand new film development and production fund for Canadian music docs

By John Wildman 6 years ago

“Music docs are perhaps the most popular genre with audiences at our cinema and festival. We’re so pleased to join forces with The Slaight Family Foundation to establish this new fund, and to support these visionary filmmakers sharing incredible stories of the musicians and musical styles that have influenced them and touched the world with their artistry,” said Chris McDonald, president of Hot Docs.

Steve Collins’ I’VE GOT ISSUES, Garin Hovannisian’s I AM NOT ALONE : Oxford Film Festival rolls out lineup for 3rd Weekly Virtual Fest and adds Virtual Art House titles too

By John Wildman 6 years ago

“This week’s films as well as the featured panels share a universal idea and experience of dealing with a new situation or in some cases – a new world order,” Executive Director Melanie Addington said. “Sometimes the effort to sort things out can be wryly and darkly funny and sometimes it can surprise us and inspire us to reach goals we never previously thought we could attain. And sometimes, just talking about it and hashing things out can do us a world of good.”

Edward James Olmos goes virtual: Austin’s Cine Las Americas teams with the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival for Virtual Screenings and Events in May & July

By John Wildman 6 years ago

CLA Lead Program Associate Ernie Quiroz added, “During a time when a common refrain is ‘We’re All in This Together’, we are embracing that idea and looking to form and sustain alliances with organizations that share our desire to promote filmmakers’ work and of course, share our love of film with our communities. To that end, it is incredibly exciting to connect with LALIFF and start building what could become an important portal and support system between filmmakers in Austin and those based in Los Angeles.”

Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed’s ’s MY OCTOPUS TEACHER led the awards at EarthxFilm 2020 closes virtual fest

By John Wildman 6 years ago

EarthxFilm’s Artistic Director, David Holbrooke, added, “It was odd but exciting to see all the award winners gather for this year’s EarthxFilm Awards ceremony on our computer screens. We had winners join us from Mossville, Louisiana to Zimbabwe, all of whom are doing critical work on the environment. It wasn’t easy to pivot from our terrestrial festival to a virtual one but it worked and while we look forward to being able to gather again and meet these wonderful filmmakers and their remarkable characters in person, we are really heartened by what we pulled off with EarthxFilm 2020.”