Film Festival News

Reporting on film festivals

Queens-based Festival of Cinema NYC 2024 announces film lineup

By John Wildman 2 years ago

Festival of Cinema NYC Founder and Executive Director Jayson Simba, said, “This year’s edition of the film festival continues the growth of our event. Our mission to establish a bridge between community and the arts, by exhibiting the work of talented filmmakers, gets stronger every year. It always begins and ends with great films, but it becomes special by highlighting why we love to come to the movie theater and celebrating the artistic accomplishments of our filmmakers who foster that connection between us.”

Dances With Films: LA 2024 Cements Status as LA’s Top Indie Fest, Announces Filmmaker Awards

By John Wildman 2 years ago

Dances With Films’ Founders Leslee Scallon and Michael Trent, said “In our 27th year, we were struck by the awareness of how our DWF filmmaker family continues to grow exponentially with such an amazingly diverse array of talented artists. As this film festival continues to be dedicated to the mission of supporting them with a singular focus on celebrating and promoting truly independently produced films and projects, we also continue to be humbled seeing all of them form such a tight-knit community too.”

Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute and Low Key Arts team for new doc making workshop

By John Wildman 2 years ago

Course topics for the Documentary Filmmaking Workshop will offer a deep, immersive dive for aspiring filmmakers into topics like, writing for the documentary, building relationships with on-screen participants, interviewing techniques, camera and lighting techniques, journalistic code of ethics, archive media and post-production. The course will begin Monday, July 8 and end Sunday, September 1 and the lectures are primarily hosted on Zoom. The class fee is $400/person (Limited need-based scholarships are available.).

Harlem International Film Festival 2024 Announces Filmmaker Awards

By John Wildman 2 years ago

Harlem International Film Festival Program Director Nasri Zacharia said, “Our 19th edition was bolstered by our partnerships and support from the Columbia University Zuckerman Institute, Maysles Documentary Center, and the NYC Media and Entertainment office which allowed us to offer free screenings to the public and greater access for our filmmakers and their films. This year shined once more with our unique blend of global cinema and local films and each of our winning films truly exemplified that.”

Waco Independent Film Festival Announces Film Lineup for first outing since name change from Deep in the Heart

By John Wildman 2 years ago

Waco Independent FF co-founders and directors Samuel Thomas and Louis Hunter, said, “For 7 years, the Deep in the Heart Film Festival has become known and appreciated around the country as a must-experience stop on the tour for indie filmmakers, and a popular ‘save the date’ destination for film fans. However, as our reputation grew, so did the ties to our beloved city. So, it made perfect sense to rename ourselves with what are our central pillars in every decision we make: Waco, Independent, and Film. We have added more films, and we’ve added an additional screening space. We will continue to innovate, streamline, and come up with new ways to assist our filmmakers with their development as artists, and work to encourage them to come back to town and shoot their next project here in Waco, Texas.”

Austin’s Cine Las Americas International Film Festival 2024 announces Filmmaker Awards

By John Wildman 2 years ago

Cine Las Americas Executive Director Gabriel Orneles, said, “This year’s edition of CLAIFF kicked off our next quarter century with the great films and enthusiasm from our audiences that have made us a must-see Austin event for the past 25 years. Our award winners were wonderful representatives of the films and filmmakers Cine Las Americas is known for celebrating and oftentimes introducing to audiences here. As we continue to grow, we receive reminders with each screening and interaction with our filmmakers and film fans, why this film festival has become such an important part of the cultural fabric in a city that continues to be a central hub for filmmaking here in Texas and the Southwest.”

Dances With Films LA announces big lineup of films for next month with 117 world, North American, and U.S. premieres

By John Wildman 2 years ago

Dances With Films: LA announced the film lineup for the return of Los Angeles’ largest indie film-focused film festival (June 20-30) for its 27th edition. Adding a new co-presenting partnership with Outfest for additional LGBTQIA+ programming, a beefed-up Midnight Horror and Genre section, as well as continuing the celebration of music, dance, and family friendly programming in the Downbeat and Kidz sections, all will contribute to the most robust film schedule DWF has produced to date.

Brande Roderick’s 70s Horror Throwback WINEVILLE picked up by Dark Star Pictures

By John Wildman 2 years ago

Dark Star Pictures has acquired the US and Canadian rights to Brande Roderick’s wine-soaked horror film Wineville going into the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. The directorial debut from director/producer/star Roderick (Starsky and Hutch, Baywatch), Dark Star Pictures is planning a September 2024 release of the film in select theaters, followed by VOD/Digital and Physical Media.

Austin’s Cine Las Americas 2024 announces film lineup

By John Wildman 2 years ago

Cine Las Americas Executive Director Gabriel Orneles, said, “As we kick off Cine Las Americas’ second quarter century, we are delighted to present screenings with several filmmakers in attendance to encourage that connection between artist and audience. This is a unique film festival that brings together people from several different countries, cultures, and life experiences, whether that means the stories on screen, or literally the people themselves. We are also thrilled to have COPA Airlines join us for the first time, as we continue to make our world that much smaller by bringing more international filmmakers to Austin.”

Harlem International Film Festival announces films for 19th Edition

By John Wildman 2 years ago

Harlem International Film Festival’s Program Director, Nasri Zacharia, said. “This is our fourth year working with the Zuckerman Institute at Columbia University and the second with the Forum, and we are thrilled to be able to provide so many programs free to the public. This festival is unique in our dual focus on world cinema alongside our homegrown talent here in the HUB ­– Harlem, Upper Manhattan, and the Bronx. This year’s lineup scores on both of those fronts yet again.”