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Oscar 2010: Documentary Short Subject Semi-Finalists

Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak (top); The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant (middle); China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province (bottom)

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the list of eight semi-finalists in the Documentary Short Subject category for the 2010 Academy Awards. Three to five of those shorts will end up with Oscar nominations.
The eight films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production company:

China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province, Downtown Community Television Center, Inc.
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner, Just Media
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant, Community Media Productions
Lt. Watada, Chanlim Films
Music by Prudence, iThemba [...]

Rooftop Films 2009 Filmmakers’ Fund Short Film Recipients

Rooftop Films 2009 Filmmakers’ Fund — in partnership with Chicken & Egg Fund and Cinereach — has provided grants for the completion of four short film projects.
They are: Sara Zia Ebrahimi’s "Norman Schwarzkopf Made Me Gay," Moon Molson’s "Crazy Beats Strong Every Time," James M. Johnston’s "Knife," and Dustin Guy Defa’s "We Have No Home."
According to the Rooftop Films’ press release, "every year, Rooftop Films takes $1 from every film submission fee and every ticket sold, and sets that money aside to give grants to filmmakers whose work we have screened. … The goal of the fund is to help a diverse range of filmmakers create meaningful, personal, [...]

Sun Xun: The Dark Magician of New Chinese Animation

Requiem (top); Shock of Time (bottom)

The REDCAT in downtown Los Angeles will give a rare U.S. presentation of Chinese artist and filmmaker Sun Xun’s animation works on Mon., Oct 19, at 8:30 p.m. Sun Xun will be present at the screening.
According to the REDCAT’s press release, "Sun Xun: The Dark Magician of New Chinese Animation" will feature "a program of shorts ranging from a witty experiment in body art (Lie of Magician, 2005) to the creation of an expansive imagistic world that evokes China’s checkered voyage toward technological and political modernity."
The text below is from the REDCAT’s release:
After studying printmaking at the Academy of Fine Arts in Hangzhou, Sun founded the [...]

Adam Beckett Salute

Animator and visual effects artist Adam Beckett will be celebrated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with the special program “Infinite Animation: The Work of Adam Beckett” on Monday, August 17, at 8 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. The evening will include a screening of Life in the Atom, a short film that Beckett left unfinished when, at the age of 29, he died in a fire in 1979.
Presented by the Academy’s Science and Technology Council in conjunction with the iotaCenter, and hosted by visual effects artist Richard Winn Taylor and Beckett biographer Pamela Turner, “Infinite Animation: The Work of Adam Beckett” will [...]

2009 Student Academy Awards

Alice’s Attic (top); Pajama Gladiator (2nd from top); Kavi (2nd from bottom); Elkland (bottom)

The final order of the winners of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 2009 Student Academy Awards — gold, silver, and bronze medal recipients — was announced earlier this evening at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Actor Gary Oldman, director John Landis, animator Andreas Deja, and Academy first vice president Robert Rehme took part in the ceremony.
The winners are:

Alternative*
Gold Medal: Alice’s Attic, Robyn Yannoukos, University of California, Los Angeles
Silver Medal: Matter, in a Quiescent State, Prepares Itself to Be Transformed, Kwibum Chung, School of Visual Arts, New York
* Only two medals were awarded in the Alternative category.
Animation
Gold Medal: Pajama Gladiator, Glenn Harmon, [...]

2009 Student Academy Award Winners

Alice’s Attic (top); Pajama Gladiator (2nd from top); Bohemibot (2nd from bottom); Elkland (bottom)

The 2009 Student Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, will be held on Saturday, June 13, at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
Twelve students from eight U.S. colleges and universities have been named winners in the competition. One film student from Sweden has been voted the Honorary Foreign Film Award.
The U.S. winners know they will each receive an award, but their placement – Gold, Silver or Bronze – will be revealed only at the June 13 ceremony. Gold Medal winners receive cash grants of $5,000, Silver Medal winners receive $3,000, and Bronze Medal winners receive $2,000. The [...]

Movies! Moguls! Monkeys! and Murder!: Centennial of Los Angeles’ First Film Studio

"Movies! Moguls! Monkeys! and Murder!" is the title of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences‘ celebration of the centennial of the first permanent film studio in the Los Angeles area. The event, which will showcase films shot in Los Angeles between 1909 and 1914, will take place on Wednesday, May 20, at 7:30 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood.
"Movies! Moguls! Monkeys! and Murder!" will also kick off a three-month exhibition exploring those pioneering days, when independent producers set up shop in Southern California to enjoy the sunshine, the varied topography, and the distance between Los Angeles and the East Coast’s filmmaking oligarchy.
And what was the first [...]

Student Academy Awards 2009 Finalists

Sebastian’s Voodoo (top), The Last Mermaids (middle), Bohemibot (bottom)

Thirty-six students from 20 US colleges and universities have been selected as finalists in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 2009 Student Academy Awards competition. Academy members will pick the winners after watching the competing films at special screenings.
Gold, Silver and Bronze Medal awards, along with accompanying cash prizes of $5,000, $3,000 and $2,000, respectively, may be presented in each of the four categories below. The winners will later take part in a week of industry-related and social activities, including the awards ceremony on Saturday, June 13, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
The finalists are (listed alphabetically by film title):

Alternative
Alice’s Attic, [...]

2009 Honorary Foreign Film Award Finalists

Five finalists will be vying for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences‘ 2009 Honorary Foreign Film award in the 36th Annual Student Academy Awards competition. The five finalists were selected from a record 57 entries representing 39 countries. The winning student filmmaker will be brought to Los Angeles to join U.S.-based Student Academy Award winners "for a week of industry-related activities and social events," including the awards ceremony on Saturday, June 13, in Beverly Hills.
The finalists are (listed alphabetically by film title):

Elkland (above, center photo), Per Hanefjord, Dramatiska Institutet, Sweden
Face-to-Face Confrontation, Igor Khomsky, Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, Russia
The Incredible Story [...]

Artivist 2009 Call for Entries

PRESS RELEASE
"ARTIVIST" is the 1st international film festival dedicated to addressing Human Rights, Children’s Advocacy, Environmental Preservation, and Animal Advocacy. Our mission is to strengthen the voice of international activist artists – "Artivists" – while raising public awareness for social global causes.
The 6th Annual Artivist Film Festival is currently accepting international Film and Video submissions that concern themselves with human rights, social or political issues, children’s issues/advocacy, animal issues/rights, or environmental issues. Artivist also accepts films that tell inspirational stories or are empowering. Each year Artivist screens shorts, feature-length films, documentaries, narratives, music videos, experimental and animated shorts directed by established international filmmakers, novice filmmakers and the YouTube community. Since 2004, Artivist has showcased 350 [...]

Babelgum Online Film Festival Awards 2009

2009 Babelgum Online Film Festival Awards
2009 Babelgum Online Film Festival Award winners: April 27, 2009 at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City
 

In Francesco Sperandeo’s Bab Al Samah / The Door of Forgiveness, a man’s desire to get over past humiliations, symbolized by a heavy, old door, leads him on a life-changing journey.
 

Looking for Genius Award: BAB AL SAMAH / THE DOOR OF FORGIVENESS by Francesco Sperandeo (Italy)
Spike Lee Award / Short Film: MARADONA BABY by Nino Sabella (Italy)
Spike Lee Award / Animation: HEY ANIMATION MUSIC VIDEO by Guy Ben Shetrit (Israel)
Spike Lee Award / Documentary: THE LADIES by Christina Voros (United States)
Spike Lee Award / Mini Masterpiece: I HAD A DREAM I [...]

Torino GLBT Film Festival 2009: Documentary / Short Film Lineup

Torino GLBT Film Festival 2009: Documentary / Short Film Lineup
Documentaries IN COMPETITION
Boriven nee yu pai tai karn kuk kun (This Area is Under Quarantine) by Thunska Pansittivorakul (Thailand, 2009)
friday 24 april, 16.45 – monday 27 april, 11.30
Out in India: A Family’s Journey by Tom Keegan (USA/India, 2007)
friday 24 april, 18.30 – saturday 25 april, 11.30

Intimidades de Shakespeare y Victor Hugo (Shakespeare and Victor Hugo’s Intimacies) by Yulene Olaizola (Mexico, 2008)
friday 24 april, 15.30 (Sala 3) – saturday 25 april, 11.30 (Sala 3)
Giorgio/Giorgia… storia di una voce (Giorgio/Giorgia…History of a Voice) by Gianfranco Mingozzi (Italy, 2008)
saturday [...]

Thomas Meighan, THE LOST SQUADRON at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum

Via Thomas Gladysz’s article in the Los Angeles Examiner:
The Edison Theatre at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum in the Northern California town of Fremont has been screening silent films and early talkies for quite some time. As Gladysz explains in his article, that area was home to the western studios of the Chicago-based Essanay film company, among whose stars at one point were Gloria Swanson; Charles Chaplin; matinee idol Francis X. Bushman (best remembered for his villain in the 1925 version of Ben-Hur); and company co-owner Gilbert M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson (the "ay" in Essanay; the "ess" was George K. Spoor), the first cowboy star.
The Niles Essanay Museum’s line-up for the rest of April [...]

Babelgum Online Film Festival 2009 Competition

Babelgum, the independent web TV service, has announced the 40 finalists for the 2nd edition of the Babelgum Online Film Festival. The festival rewards international independent short filmmaking by providing international exposure and cash awards for upcoming talent.
Spike Lee is returning as the Honorary Chairman of the Festival Jury. He will announce the award winners on April 27, 2009, at a private event during the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.
As per the Babelgum press release, nearly two thousand filmmakers from around the globe submitted their films and sixty-two thousand votes were cast via the Babelgum broadband and mobile platforms. Ten films in each of the four [...]

Gen Art Film Festival Awards 2009

2009 Gen Art Awards
2009 Gen Art Film Festival: April 1-7, 2009
 

 In David Lee Miller’s comedy My Suicide, Gabriel Sunday (above) stars as teenager whose final school video project will be his own suicide. Also in the My Suicide cast: David Carradine, Mariel Hemingway, Brooke Nevin (above), Nora Dunn, and Joe Mantegna.

 
Acura Grand Jury Award for Best Feature: My Suicide, by David Lee Miller
Acura Grand Jury Award for Best Short: Adelaide, by Liliana Greenfield-Sanders
Audience Award for Best Feature: My Suicide, by David Lee Miller
Audience Award for Best Short: Adelaide, by Liliana Greenfield-Sanders
“Stargazer Award” for breakout acting: Gabriel Sunday, My Suicide
Special jury prize for best use of music: Punching the [...]

48 Hour Film Project 2009

PRESS RELEASE
The 48 Hour Film Project, the world’s largest timed filmmaking competition, today announced that its ninth annual tour will expand to nearly 80 cities in 2009, including the first-ever local contests in Beijing, Lisbon, Prague, Savannah, and Paducah, Kentucky.
The 48 Hour Film Project’s 2009 Tour will challenge a record 35,000 people worldwide to complete the entire filmmaking process – from writing and casting to shooting and editing – in a mere 48 hours. Since its 2001 launch in Washington, D.C. by filmmakers Mark Ruppert and Liz Langston, the project has become a global cultural phenomenon, with more than 130,000 participants producing nearly 9,000 short films. (An archive of past [...]

London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival 2009: TO FARO, BABY LOVE, Lesbian Shorts

London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival 2009
Wednesday, April 8, highlights
Schedule and synopses from the LLGFF website
 

"Mortal Desires"
Vampires, hoodlums, a hot detective and a few high class call girls make up this programme of sexy lesbian shorts.
In Twilight’s Shadow (above)
USA 2008. Dir T.M. Scorzafava. 12min.
Carlisle’s girlfriend is being held hostage and she’ll do all it takes to get her girl back before sunrise.
Crazy Baby
USA 2008. Dir Jules Nurrish. 3min.
An unhinged patient, a sexy nurse and a very large needle…
Liminal
USA 2008. Dir Stephen Keep Mills. 14min.
A powerplay between lovers escalates with devastating results.
At Home (or Love as well)
Spain 2008. Dir Mariel Macia. 25min.
Rosa’s first time has to be perfect.
What I found in [...]

Joanna Priestley Screenings at the REDCAT

PRESS RELEASE
FILM AT REDCAT PRESENTS
Joanna Priestley: Fighting Gravity
Mon Apr 20 | 8:30 pm
Jack H. Skirball Series
$9 [students $7, CalArts $5]
Los Angeles premiere
Dubbed “the queen of independent animation” by Bill Plympton, Joanna Priestley unveils her new short Missed Aches, a humorous rant about the need for proofreading. This can’t-miss program for animation buffs also includes a series of animated gems representing the range of the artist’s techniques: Voices, Grown Up, All My Relations, Streetcar Named Perspire, Utopia Parkway, Candyjam, She-Bop, Pro and Con, and Dew Line. Mentored by Jules Engel at CalArts, Priestley had previously made 19 award-winning films about subjects as varied as relationships, plants, magic, menopause, abstraction and prison. [...]

London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival 2009: DREAM BOY, SOCIETY

London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival 2009
Monday, April 6, highlights
Schedule and synopses from the LLGFF website
 

"Home"
An international selection of films exploring the idea of home.
Lot’s Wife
Turkey 2008. Dir Harjant Gill, Koray Durak. 9min.
A reworking of the biblical story of Lot’s wife, set in the outskirts of Istanbul, where three uncles intend to break up a happy home.
Boxed In
USA 2007. Dir Joy E. Reed. 10min.
A comedy demonstrating the importance of clearing out your closet when you move home.
The Turkey
France 2008. Dir Anna Margarita Albelo. 10min.
A wife and mother runs off with her battery operated birthday present.
Two Spirits
USA 2007. Dir Ruth Fertig. 22min.
Queer Native Americans fight to reclaim the place of honour [...]

Robert Todd at the REDCAT

PRESS RELEASE
Robert Todd’s Cinema of Discovery
Mon March 30 | 8:30 pm
Robert Todd’s lyrical films demonstrate both a masterful command of the medium and an openness to chance. Painting, musical form and poetry infuse these short films. Of his latest work he writes, “These films offer a series of celebratory explorations, and, in some cases, transformations, of varied components of my life. To me, this set of works is an odd blend of performance and alchemical construction, freedom and control, a highly crafted and rather baroque diary.” Featured in this program are Dig, 21 Alleys, Riverbed, Interplay, Office Suite, Passing, and Rose.
In person: Robert Todd
“Since 1989, Boston-based filmmaker Robert Todd has [...]

Munich International Short Film Festival: Call for Entries

PRESS RELEASE
Due to an overwhelming number of requests, MUNICH INTERNATIONAL has extended its deadline to March 15th, 2009 – Send in your submissions today! The festival takes place directly prior to the "big" Munich Filmfest. Starting on Thursday, June 18 through Wednesday, June 24, 2009, the festival will showcase the world’s best contemporary short films each night at the tradition-steeped Gloria Filmpalast in the heart of the Bavarian capital.
Submissions are open to non-German language films of all genres (fiction, animation, documentary, experimental, music video or other) from any nation of the world. Films must not have been shown in Bavaria at a festival, in a theatre or on television before, and must not exceed a length of 15 minutes. All [...]

Doug Sweetland, David Frankel at Shorts! Evening – Photos

Click on the images to enlarge them.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences screened of all 10 of the 2009 Oscar-nominated animated and live-action short films on Tuesday, February 17, 2009, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
In the above photo, those on the left are clearly seeing something that those on the right have missed.
Left to right (front row): Steph Green, Konstantin Bronzit, Dorte Høgh, Tamara Anghie, Kunio Kato and Tivi Magnusson.
Left to right (back row): Thierry Marchand, Emud Mokhberi, Reto Caffi, Alan Smith, Jochen Alexander Freydank, Adam Foulkes, Doug Sweetland and David Frankel, who hosted the event. Richard Harbaugh / ©A.M.P.A.S.

David Frankel. Darren Decker / ©A.M.P.A.S.

Doug Sweetland, [...]

Oscar 2009: Animated and Live Action Short Film Screenings in New York City

"Shorts!," the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences program featuring the 2009 Oscar nominees in the Animated and Live Action Short Film categories, will be presented in New York City on Saturday, February 14, at the Academy Theater at Lighthouse International (111 East 59th Street). There will be two separate screenings of the nominated films, the first at noon and an encore presentation at 4 p.m.
Film historian Robert Osborne, who is a columnist for The Hollywood Reporter, host of Turner Classic Movies, and author of the new book 80 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards, will act as host of the noon screening. Osborne will also be [...]

Oscar 2009: Animated, Live-Action Shorts Screening

New Boy by Steph Green (top); Oktapodi by Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand (bottom)

The 2009 Academy Award-nominated films in the Animated and Live Action Short Film categories will be screened as part of the program "Shorts!," presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Tuesday, February 17, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The program will feature onstage discussions with the nominated filmmakers (subject to availability). Not to be missed…
The 2009 Animated Short Film and Live Action Short Film nominees are:

Animated Short Film
La Maison en Petits Cubes (above), Kunio Kato, director
Lavatory-Lovestory, Konstantin Bronzit, director
Oktapodi, Emud Mokhberi and [...]

Sundance 2009: Ten Shorts on itunes

James by Connor Clements

The following Sundance 2009 short films are available for viewing/downloading — free of charge — via itunes stores in the US, UK, and Canada. They’ll remain available until Jan. 25. Go to www.iTunes.com/sundance.
The available films are (synopses from the Sundance Festival’s press release):
Acting for the Camera (Director: Justin Nowell; Screenwriter: Thomas Nowell) — An acting class. Today’s scene: the orgasm from When Harry Met Sally.
Countertransference (Director: Madeleine Olnek) — A comedy about an awkward woman with assertiveness problems who seeks the questionable help of a therapist.
HUG (Director: Khary Jones) — Drew is a musician with a contract ready to sign. When Asa, his friend and manager, realizes Drew is off his meds [...]

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