Wednesday, April 04, 2007

AFCI Locations Trade Show, DC Comedyfest, 2007 NAB Convention, ASCAP "I Create Music" Expo, Gospel Music Association Music Week

In Tokyo's Space Lab Yellow, Jose James and Nori Ochiai (www.myspace.com/norippe) of the Jose James Jazz Quartet (www.myspace.com/josejamesquartet) join forces with stellar DJ Gilles Peterson to perform a mix of jazz/Latin/Hip-Hop in an April 4 musical event that will also be broadcast over J-WAVE. The duo will be at Soultrane Jazz Bar the next evening. Dan Decker, author of "Anatomy of a Screenplay," and founder of The Screenwriters Group, demonstrates his process by breaking down the recently released movie "300" at the April 7 meeting of Alameda Writers Group in Glendale. Association of Film Commissioners International holds its 21st annual AFCI Locations Trade Show, April 7-15 in Santa Monica, and offers as a break-out seminar "Film Incentives: An Independent View of what Governments are Giving," led by producer and attorney Vince Ravine. Stand-up acts, sketch, short film and improv comedy will be seen in eight or more venues during the DC Comedyfest running April 12-14, in addition to a master class with Mick Napier, industry seminars with Eddie Brill and Bob Read and a free legal rights seminar.

Every year Women in Film and Video honors women who have made a difference in the media industry. This year they host their celebration on April 13 in Washington DC, and among several to be awarded Deborah Redmond, President of The SOHO Group, will receive the Women of Vision Leadership Award. The Hamptons Writers' Lab, a gathering that happens each Spring in East Hampton, where mentors advise in a one-on-one laboratory setting while additional daily events bring the participants together, opens this year on April 13 for two days. The National Association of Broadcasters Convention for 2007, which covers every aspect of audio and video content production, hosts a Content Creator's Party at the ESPN Zone, when the conference runs from April 14-19 in Las Vegas. The International Film Festival Summit, on April 18 in London, is the trade show for professionals from the film festival industry that provides a platform for connection and collaboration to enhance the well-being of film festivals across the globe. At the ASCAP "I Create Music" Expo, happening April 19-21 in Hollywood, the usual panels, workshops and master classes dedicated to songwriting and composing are slated, and a new area for registrants interested in film scoring through a partnership with "FYI - Film Your Issue," will be instituted. Final Draft in association with The Hollywood Networking Breakfast hosts a "Scripwriters Showcase" featuring panels with film and television writers revealing industry practices, covering topics that include feature film, television, storytelling and comedy writing, for two days starting April 20 in Universal City. Gospel Music Association Music Week takes place April 21-25 in Nashville and folded into the scheduling as a breakout event will be the 38th Annual GMA Dove Awards hosted by Brian Littrell, Natalie Grant, and Donnie McClurkin. Parties, educational sessions, cocktail receptions, networking events and The Fifth Annual Billboard Bash, which features awards presentations and performances all make up what is now called Latin Music Week, climaxing with The Billboard Latin Music Awards, April 23-26 in Miami. The Eighth Bare Bones International Film Festival and Movie-Biz Conference, happening April 23-29 in Muskogee, is devised as a platform from which to showcase low-budget (less than one million dollars) independent movies with a focus on championing the "Bare Bones Auteur".

At Roger Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival, from April 24-29 in Champaign, films are only selected from among the films Mr. Ebert sees in the normal course of his reviewing. The annual Tribeca Film Festival, founded by Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro, kicks into gear April 25 running through May 6 and will have an expanded focus with Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival presents 14 premiere screenings of sports-releated films, panel discussions, appearances by actors and sports stars, and with former NY Giants Tiki Barber serving as an ambassador of the festival. "Anima 07" is the Cordoba Animation Festival which will be happening April 27-30 in Cordoba. This year's New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, originally devised in 1970 by jazz impresario George Wein, features a wide variety of indigenous music styles, food booths, and arts and crafts on display. MusExpo 2007 opening in West Hollywood April 29 through May 2, deals with aspects of the global music industry and offers evening showcases on the Sunset Strip.

The above events are only a sampling of what is listed. Many of the reported events above have a submission process for indie and/or performing artists to take part in. Complete details are on the "Media, Entertainment and Performing Arts Industry News and Events" page at http://www.actorschecklist.com/news.html. Video and podcast versions of this news summary are now available at various sites around the Web like YouTube and MySpace, as well as on The Actor's Checklist at http://actorschecklist.com/loudblog/. This month on video you will see trailers and video clips of musician/filmmaker Mark Johnson's "Film Noir World" (www.myspace.com/filmnoirworld; www.indiestore.com/filmnoirworld) with dark electro beats and accompanying video imagery; Ross Williams's documentary trailer "The Turning Point", (www.myspace.com/theturningpointmovie), a personal view at the process of pregnancy and a look at the steep learning curve of being a new parent; the music and acting of indie/rock/alternative musician Spence Decker (www.myspace.com/spencedecker) in his new feature film "Looking For Sunday," written by Spence Decker and Mark Piznarski and directed by Mark Piznarski (www.lookingforsundaymovie.com

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