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  • Belgium's Oscar Bid and Huppert Starrer Bookend AFI EU Film Showcase

    Belgium's official bid for the Best Foreign Language Film award at next year's Oscars, and Isabelle Huppert's latest, "Copacabana," will bookend the 23rd edition of the AFI European Union Film Showcase, that takes place November 4 - 23 at the AFI Silver Theater in Silver Spring, Maryland. This year's Showcase will feature over 40 feature films drawn from all 27 countries of the European Union.

  • Midterm Madness | Wikipedia Exposed: Scott Glosserman on his Provocative Documentary

    Everything, According to Wikipedia" delves into the truths and lies behind the web's worldwide encyclopedia. The film is streaming on SnagFilms as part of their Midterm Madness series, that showcases fifteen issue orientated documentaries.

  • In the Works: Sexy, Sultry James Dean, Bullying, Liars Fires & Bears, Sheep Ranching, and Spam

    From this week's in-production column, comes a feature film that goes through the complicated task of piecing together the life of America's screen darling James Dean. Looking for funding on IndieGogo is "The Bully Project," a doc about the trend of bullying in America's youth. Three projects from Kickstarter wrap up this week's column: a cross-generational friendship, a sheep ranching doc, and a short about an old woman responding to a spam email message.

  • N. American & World Docs Join IDFA 2010 Competitions

    One of the world's largest non-fiction film events, the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) unveiled details about its competition and other sections. The 23rd IDFA, taking place November 17 - 28, 280 titles (selected from 3,200 submissions), 84 of which are documentaries that will have their world première at the festival. The event has a history of debuting notable docs that later travel to North America at Sundance, SXSW and Tribeca, including last year's Last ...

  • For Your Consideration: Assessing Those Gotham Award Nominations

    Earlier this week, awards season really kicked off with the year's first actual awards announcement: The Gotham Independent Film Awards. Debra Granik's "Winter's Bone" led the pack with three nominations, including best feature, best ensemble performance (for Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Dale Dickey, Lauren Sweetser, Garret Dillahunt, and Kevin Breznahan), and best breakthrough performance (Lawrence). Those are the same three nominations Kathryn Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker" grabbed last year in the film's very first stop on ...

  • Abu Dhabi: Extravagance & a Few Gems at a High Class Festival

    A skyline that resembles Vegas, but less gaudy and more modern; a mall that overlooks the ocean and carries Chanel, Christian Dior and Valentino; the second most expensive hotel ever built, that holds a water slide, thirteen restaurants, and a gold dispensing machine within its marble walls. "Sex and the City 2" got one thing right: Abu Dhabi is synonymous with opulence. It should come as no surprise then that the city's official film festival, now ...

  • indieWIRE @ Hulu Docs: Subcultural Portraits

    Our curation of Hulu's Documentaries page this week is the first of two weeks inspired by Halloween. While the holiday will feature more prominently next week, the films selected this week are a bit more playful - literally, as most of them feature a performative element as they portray individuals involved in different subcultures. EDITOR'S NOTE: "indieWIRE @ Hulu Docs" is a regular column spotlighting the iW-curated selections on Hulu's Documentaries page, a unique collaboration between ...

  • Big Screen | Top 5: From Wiseman to Waters to Wells, This Week's Theatrical Best Bets

    Each week here at indieWIRE, five recommendations for theatrical viewing pleasure are being offered up, tackling everything from new releases, to film festivals, to curated series, and events around North America. This week, John Waters discusses "the most shocking film ever made," John Wells' feature directorial debut, and Frederick Wiseman's latest doc. "Boxing Gym" (criticWIRE page) Documentary filmmaking titan Frederick Wiseman follows up his intensely acclaimed ballet doc "La Danse" with a look at boxing ...

  • Academy's New Batch of Screenwriting Fellows

    Five writers have been selected from a pool of 6,304 scripts as winners of the 25th annual Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, on behalf of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Each writer will receive a $30,000 prize, with recipients receiving the first installment at a gala dinner in Beverly Hills on November 4. Winners this year are Destin Daniel Cretton, Marvin Krueger, Andrew Lanham, Micah Ranum, and Cinthea Stahl.

  • Toolkit Case Study:  Taking "October Country" Around the World

    Getting a film to audiences can be a daunting proposition, especially for a documentary that may seem a bit unconventional and is not immediately embraced by film festivals. "We finished the film and we were broke," Mike Palmieri told indieWIRE last week as he recounted his experience taking his first feature co-directed with Donal Mosher, "October Country," around the world, in search of appreciative audiences in pockets across the globe. The duo got help from their ...

  • Big Screen | Top 5: From Wiseman to Waters to Germany in LA, This Week's Theatrical Best Bets

    Each week here at indieWIRE, five recommendations for theatrical viewing pleasure are being offered up, tackling everything from new releases, to film festivals, to curated series, and events around North America. This week, John Waters discusses "the most shocking film ever made," Frederick Wiseman's latest doc hits theaters, German cinema has its fourth annual showcase in Los Angeles, and more: 1. "Boxing Gym" (criticWIRE page) Documentary filmmaking titan Frederick Wiseman follows up his intensely acclaimed ballet ...

  • Magnet to Bring "Death" to U.S.

    Magnolia Pictures' genre label Magnet Releasing announced another U.S. acquisition Wednesday, picking up rights to Christopher Smith's "Black Death," starring Sean Bean ("The Lord of the Rings"). The film, which had its U.S. debut at L.A.'s Screamfest last week, took home several prizes including best director and best actor. Magnet/Magnolia SVP Tom Quinn negotiated the deal with Tim Haslam from Hanway Film, and Magnet plans a first quarter 2011 theatrical release.

  • Abu Dhabi: The High Class Festival

    A skyline that resembles Vegas, but less gaudy and more modern; a mall that overlooks the ocean and carries Chanel, Christian Dior and Valentino; the second most expensive hotel ever built, that holds a water slide, thirteen restaurants, and a gold dispensing machine within its marble walls. "Sex and the City 2" got one thing right: Abu Dhabi is synonymous with opulence. It should come as no surprise then that the city's official film festival, now ...

  • Mulligan to Take "Breakthrough Performance" Honors at Palm Springs Fest

    Academy Award nominee Carey Mulligan will be presented with the "Breakthrough Performance Award" for her work in the currently released drama "Never Let Me Go" and "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps," at the 22nd annual Palm Springs International Film Festival. The awards gala, taking place January 8 in the California desert town, will be hosted by "Entertainment Tonight"'s Mary Hart. PSIFF runs January 6 - 17.

  • Indomina Snatches "Bodyguards" for the U.S.

    U.S. rights to Hong Kong title "Bodyguards and Assassins" by Teddy Chen have been picked up by Indomina Releasing. Starring martial artist and Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen ("Hero") and Leon Lai ("Seven Swords"), the film follows a motley crew of five men and women fighting for freedom and democracy. In this action-packed martial arts film set in 1906 Hong Kong, a gang must work together to protect the man destined to lead them to ...

  • Springsteen's "Darkness" to Debut at Inaugural Doc NYC; Herzog & Morris Spotlights Added

    Doc NYC, unveiled its final slate of films, including the world debut of "Darkness of the Edge of Town," a new concert film with Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band slated for the inaugural event on November 4th in New York City. Directed by Grammy and Emmy award-winner Thom Zimny, the film was shot at the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, NJ last year sans an audience.

  • Doha Tribeca Sets Talks, Jury; Adds Seven Titles

    The second annual Doha Tribeca Film Festival made a slew of announcements today, including the lineup for new films, the festival's jury, and Doha Talks, a series of Panels, Masterclass, Sideview and Industry events. The Doha Talks series is aimed at "fostering greater collaboration and dialogue between local, regional and international delegates." "Doha Talks offers a rare opportunity for aspiring filmmakers to interact with industry veterans, exchange ideas and form prospective partnerships," DFI Executive Director Amanda ...

  • Say Hello to The Playlist

    There's a goal we've been pursuing for awhile now at indieWIRE, one that we're finally ready to reveal today. This morning, we're thrilled to welcome our friends from top film website The Playlist to the indieWIRE Blog Network. Launched ten years ago as a music e-zine, The Playlist (http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/) is an essential movie site that we've been reading multiple times a day for a long time now.

  • James Franco is Santa Barbara's "Outstanding Actor" this January

    James Franco will be the recipeient of the 2011 Outstanding Performance of the Year Award for his performance in Danny Boyle's "127 Hours" at the 26th edition of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, taking place January 27 - February 6, the event's executive director Roger Durling said Tuesday. Franco will be presented with the honor on January 29. "127 Hours" will open theatrically this fall, in which Franco stars in the true story of adventurer, ...

  • Adaptation of Hemingway's Last Comes to Roadside

    John Irvin's "Hemingway's Garden of Eden," an adaptation of Hemingway's last (posthumously published) novel, starring Mena Suvari, Jack Huston, Caterina Murino, Richard E. Grant, Matthew Modine, and Carmen Maura, will get a US release December 10, 2010. The novel was adapted for the screen by Paris Review editor James Scott Linville. "Garden of Eden" is a jazz-age steamy romance that follows a young writer, David Bourne (Huston) rumored to be a semi-autobiographical version of Hemingway himself, ...