Showing posts with label Americana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Americana. Show all posts

Monday, August 04, 2014

Melbourne International Film Festival, HollyShorts Film Fest, MTV VMAs, Telluride Film Festival, are highlights in August's Global Media and Entertainment Industry

Started in 1991 by Jane's Addiction singer Perry Farrell as a farewell tour for his band, Chicago's Lollapalooza is an anticipated annual music festival featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths. Responsible for introducing and popularizing some of the big musical names, this year's lineup will include: Gramatik, Fitz and the Tantrums, The Airborne Toxic Event, Delta Rae, Interpol, Nas, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, Shy Girls, Jagwar Ma, J. Roddy Walston & The Business, Outkast, Lorde, Kate Nash, Arctic Monkeys, Wildcati Wildcati, Vic Mensa, Bombay Bicycle Club, Childish Gambino, Lykke Li, Jhene Aiko, NoNoNo, Skrillex, Jenny Lewis, Kings of Leon, Kausea, Into It. Over It., Manchester Orchestra, The Kooks, Eminem.

In addition, added attractions and accommodations at Lollapalooza will include: Red Bull Sound Select at redbullsoundselect.com to win tickets for Lollapalooza and it’s Aftershows, the SpinMedia Soundwave Stage, the RAV4 Pop Art Photo Booth, the Toyota Hybrid House Party, and again this year the F.Y.E. Autograph Tent for each day’s schedule of artist autograph sessions. The Autograph Tent can also direct visitors to where they can pick up the latest CDs, DVDs and Vinyl discs pertaining to their favorite Lollapalooza acts. The Kidzapalooza stage lineup, programmed for children, will include: School of Rock Allstars, Play Date, Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could and others.

Kidzapalooza -- hosted by Lifeway Kefir -- is a festival within a festival but set up primarily for the kids. Located in its own enclosed area of Grant Park, Kidzapalooza opens at 11:00 and closes at 17:00 each day of the three day Fest closing August 3 and offers parents and kids the opportunity to catch family-friendly music onstage plus various activities including music creation, arts and crafts and more. Other youth activities will include Drum Zone, with Rhythm Revolution using a variety of drums; a Hip Hop workshop led by Q Brothers teaching kids how to scratch, beat box and rhyme; a Rock Star Video Karaoke, where kids can stand in front of a green screen and sing to the camera; a glam squad makeover provided by Just Kidding which can then lead to a photo posting on the cover of a souvenir Lollapalooza cover of Just Kidding Chicago magazine; the Happiness Club Dance Party, which will conduct freeze dance games to “soul train” lines.

The founders of Melbourne International Film Festival have guided it to champion Australian cinema by showcasing local talent and offering targeted industry programs: an investment fund, a financing market and a development program for emerging directors, selections of new international cinema, retrospectives and tributes, discoveries in cinematic language, stimulating discussion and debate through various activities including public panels, guest Q&As, "In Conversation" events and an international short film competition. Established in 1952, the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is one of the world’s oldest film festivals. MIFF has evolved festival activities to include a selection of industry and filmmaker focused programs to complement its core film screening program.

MIFF’s Opening Night Gala Screening, 'Predestination',  is the story of a time traveling temporal agent - played by Ethan Hawke - on the trail of a terrorist, with a Red Carpet, screening and official after party. MIFF hosts a Talking Pictures program, presented by Australia's National Screen Arts and Broadcast school, and designed for discussing, questioning and debating all things cinematic with the festival's filmmakers and personalities. There will be a MIFF Centrepiece Gala event on August 9, 'Cut Snake', a crime drama set in mid-70s suburban Australia from Matchbox Pictures and co-financed film by the MIFF Premiere Fund. This world premiere screening is followed by an official after party.

Taking steps toward future filmmaker development, MIFF's Accelerator program is a four-day educational and inspirational skills development program for up-and-coming directors with short films that are screening at MIFF; MIFF 37ºSouth Market, a four-day film financing market for producers with market-ready projects pitching to potential international and local co-financing partners; MIFF Premiere Fund, MIFF’s own investment and loan fund, providing essential financing support for local feature-length films. In 2013 MIFF presented 23 world premieres six of which were Premiere Fund films. Submissions to the Melbourne International Film Festival are handled via Withoutabox or directly through MIFF. Applications for Melbourne International Film Festival 2015 will open in October 2014.

Since most galas and parties are restrictive to attendees younger than 18 years of age, the Next Gen program on August 10 is open to families with younger viewers to be part of. The red-carpet world premiere screening of 'Paper Planes', a family film from writer/director Robert Connolly will have a post screening cast/crew celebration with complimentary snacks and drinks, as well as fun children’s games and entertainment. MIFF 2014 closes the festival run with the August 17 Australian premiere of Matthew Saville's cop drama, 'Felony', with a cast that includes native Aussie actors Joel Edgerton, Jai Courtney, Melissa George and British actor Tom Wilkinson. Following the screening are official Closing Night festivities followed by an afterparty featuring drinks and dancing accompanied by a live DJ.

The Americana Music Association and Lincoln Center will present Americanafest NYC, a music and film experience happening during Lincoln Center's annual free Summer music program, Out of Doors, now in its 44th season. Americanafest NYC will present concerts by a range of artists drawing from the considerable repertoire of Folk, Bluegrass, Country, Gospel, Blues, Jazz, Rock and R&B. There will also be film screenings, a related photo exhibition by Music Maker Relief Foundation and a symposium exploring the elders and their legacies. All events are free with no tickets required. Most events take place on Lincoln Center’s Plazas between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenues, from West 62 Street to West 65 Street.

On August 8, The Campbell Brothers present, A Sacred Steel Love Supreme, a 50th anniversary celebration of John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme commissioned by Lincoln Center Out of Doors, featuring visuals by Brock Monroe, Joshua Light Show collaborator. On August 10, a symposium, Heroes of American Roots: From the Historic Films Archives, is introduced by Joe Lauro. Following the symposium in Damrosch Park Bandshell, a Music Maker Blues Revue happens featuring Dom Flemons, Beverly “Guitar” Watkins, Ironing Board Sam, on a program with other artists presented in association with the Music Maker Relief Foundation. The Americana Music Association is a professional non-profit trade organization whose mission is to advocate for the authentic voice of American Roots Music around the world. The Association produces events throughout the year including the annual Americana Music Festival and Conference.

HollyShorts Film Festival annually showcases short films produced in 30-minutes or less, webisodes, music videos, documentaries. It is regarded as a place where indie filmmakers can meet up with industry players. It has a monthly screening series and submissions to it are accepted at this link (http://www.withoutabox.com/login/12899). There is a screenplay contest as well. This year's HSFF will include screenings, daily networking events, panels, and seminars every day for the festival's duration. A short list of festival alumni includes James Caan, Paul Haggis, David Lynch, Josh Brolin, Jessica Biel, David Arquette, Jane Lynch, Neil LaBute, Eli Roth, Ben Lyons, Jimmy Jean-Louis, Kirsten Dunst, Matthew Modine and others.

HSFF awards prizes in a wide variety of categories, including $40,000 in post production services from Company 3 for Best Short, Best Director, Best Music Video, Best Commercial, and Best Cinematography. There's also a $10,000 Best VFX prize courtesy of Method Studios, a Future Filmmaker Award courtesy of Panavision, $10,000 camera packages courtesy of Martini Crew Booking for Best Student and Best Female Director. Last year's overall fest winner received an all expense paid trip to New Zealand courtesy of Starnow. Offering over $100,000 in production and post-production prizes, as well as a scholarship of up to $40,000 sponsored by Latino Art Beat for the inaugural Youth Category winner, HSFF is poised to help launch talented filmmakers to new heights and to invest in the creation of new projects.

Michael Feinstein, Conductor at the Pasadena POPS’ will lead a selection of celebrity vocalists in an August 16 Hooray for Hollywood concert, presented in partnership with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) in L.A. area of Arcadia. Vocalists Maureen McGovern, Debby Boone and Kevin Earley will make special guest appearances singing such iconic songs as “The Way You Look Tonight,” “The Sound of Music,” “The Man That Got Away,” “Stormy Weather,” “Blues in the Night,” “You Light Up My Life” and “On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe,” and tunes from movie musical Mary Poppins, The Magnificent Seven, Funny Girl and a symphonic arrangement of Pharrell Williams’s 2014 Oscar-nominated song “Happy” from Despicable Me 2, created especially for the Pasadena POPS.

Four of ASCAP’s top film composers and lyricists will also be featured: Alan Bergman (“Windmills of Your Mind,” with Marilyn Bergman and co-written with Michel Legrand, 1968 Oscar winner from The Thomas Crown Affair), Michael Giacchino (music from Up, winner of the 2010 Oscar for best original score), Bruce Broughton (music from Silverado, 1986 Oscar nominee for best original score) and Paul Williams (“Evergreen,” co-written with Barbra Streisand, 1976 Oscar winner from A Star Is Born). Hooray for Hollywood is part of ASCAP’s ongoing, year-long 100th birthday celebration. ASCAP crossed the anniversary milestone in February 2014 and is celebrating the centennial with a new book, a commissioned short film, and an innovative website featuring a timeline of ASCAP's rich history. There are also planned celebratory and educational events planned, including a Library of Congress exhibit in Washington DC, reviewing ASCAP's history advocating for music creators’ rights.

Rain or shine, MusicfestNW is Portland's two-day, two-stage festival of live music, entirely outdoors, with access to both stages, food, beverages, art and more. All ages are welcome. Some of the artists/bands slated for performances include: Modern Kin, Shy Girls, Run The Jewels, Thundercat, Man Man, Ema, Phantogram, Spoon and others. Hellion Gallery and 'The Tall Trees of Portland' author, Matt Wagner, have combined talents with MusicfestNW to create an art pavilion for the festival. A Spotlight on art featured in The Tall Trees of Portland pavilion are new pieces from Portland-based fine artists created in conjunction with MusicfestNW. Fine artists will also create alternative album covers for featured bands and a live painting event will take place where painters will use a temporary wall to paint a mural over the two days of the festival.

Fine artists include Morgaine Faye, Blaine Fontana, Zach Johnsen, Maryanna Hoggatt, Jon Macnair, Lauren Gonsalves, Amy Ruppel, Cole Gerst, Jen Lobo, Jennifer Parks, Martin Ontiveros, Brin Levinson, Joe Shea, Keith Carter, Stella Im Hultberg, and Brett Superstar. A 3-D installation by AJ Fosik and Zach Johnsen welcoming festival attendees into the arts pavilion will be in place. Night shows and After Parties will happen at venues such as Dr. Martens Parking Lot - which will host the opening night party on August 15, Bunk Bar, "Red Bull Sound Select Presents" at Star Theater, "Pitchfork Nightcap Series Presented by Jim Beam" at Doug Fir, which will also be the site of the August 17 closing party hosted by Mail Chimp.

The 2014 MTV Video Music Awards will broadcast live over the MTV network from Inglewood on August 24. Beyonce, Eminem and newcomer Iggy Azalea lead the nominations for major categories. Ariana Grande - with a number one hit and an anticipated album on the way - announced during her Total Ariana Live MTV special that she will perform her single 'Break Free' in her first appearance on the VMA main stage. Usher will return to the VMA stage. Beyoncé leads the field with eight nominations, followed by Eminem and Iggy Azalea with seven apiece. Kanye West scored one nomination in the Best Hip Hop category for 'Black Skinhead.' British crooner Sam Smith has been nominated for Artist to Watch for 'Stay With Me.' His competition includes 5 Seconds of Summer ('She Looks So Perfect'), Charli XCX ('Boom Clap'), Schoolboy Q ('Man of the Year') and Fifth Harmony ('Miss Movin On'). The top Moonman award - Video of the Year - will be a battle between Beyoncé's 'Drunk In Love,' Azalea's 'Fancy,' Pharrell Williams' 'Happy,' Sia's 'Chandelier' and Miley Cyrus' 'Wrecking Ball.' Beyoncé is also up for Best Female Video for 'Partition' and Best Collaboration for her work with hubby Jay Z on 'Drunk in Love.' The MTV Video Music Awards will air live on MTV on August 24 at 21:00 PST.

Each Labor Day weekend, the mountain village of Telluride hosts the Telluride Film Festival, this year marking the 40th anniversary. The noncompetitive Telluride Film Festival will feature more than 50 programs screened in ten venues. The most popular films, according to passholder demand, are repeated throughout the weekend. Passholders are automatically admitted to the social gatherings, and in the theatres they are seated before any individual ticket purchasers. Each year, Telluride recruits a different film enthusiast to act as a Guest Director. And in what has become a Telluride tradition, three distinguished artists will be honored with a silver medallion, one presented each night of the Festival which runs through September 1.

As this is Telluride's 40th anniversary year there will be special events and festivities celebrating this milestone. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honors Telluride with a “40th Anniversary Exhibition” from the Academy’s Telluride Film Festival Collection. It holds a companion exhibit, “Alternate Telluride,” clips highlighting Telluride Film Festival’s history from the Academy Film Archive and other events. An August 29 story night event titled, “From the Sidelines to the Playing Field: An Evening of Stories on Risking Failure for Fealty" will encourage members of the audience to tell a story that involves a high stakes struggle for the devotion to art. There is also the 40th anniversary screenings at the Abel Gance Open Air Cinema.

There is the "Conversations" and "Tributes" series at Telluride. There is a scheduled Conversation with actress Lupita Nyong'o on August 31, a conversation with Director Alfonso Cuarón on September 1, a Conversation with 'Blue Is The Warmest Color' actors Léa Seydoux, Adèle Exarchopoulos, and Jérémie Laheurte on September 2, a Conversation with actor/Director Ralph Fiennes on September 1. In one of three tributes, Telluride Film Festival Tributee Robert Reford shares his thoughts on sustaining a career, from August 29-30. Other Tributes are to T Bone Burnett and the Coen Brothers on August 31. A tribute to Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof is on September 1. The Telluride Film Festival is not just a film show. It is tributes to historical luminaries who have been beacons for the film industry.

The above events are only a sample of what is fully listed. Complete details are on the "Media, Entertainment and Performing Arts Industry News and Events" page at: http://www.actorschecklist.com/news.html. The events blog also shows links to pages that are translated into ten of the most widely used international languages read over the Internet other than English. This month's photo placement highlights MTVs Video Music Awards set for mid-August in Inglewood and Marvel's space adventure, Guardians of the Galaxy. If the photo does not appear in this post please visit the blog page to view it. Looking ahead into the next month that begins the fall season, be aware that: The Burbank International Film Festival opens in Burbank, Austin International SHORT Film Festival comes to Austin, The NAB Radio Show comes to Indianapolis, Americana Music Festival and Conference will be in Nashville. Independent Film Week opens in New York City, Kiev Media Week is scheduled to open in Kiev, Ottawa International Animation Festival opens in Ontario, International Trade Fair for Cine Equipment and Technology comes to Munich.

Thursday, October 06, 2011

Ghent Film Festival, Americana Music Festival, Toronto After Dark Film Fest, Hollywood Reporter/ Billboard Conference, are highlights in October's Global Media and Entertainment Industry

It's an event which is held twice annually -- once in Colorado and again in Santa Barbara, California wine country. The Durango Songwriter's Expo gives artists and songwriters the opportunity to network with music supervisors, record labels, music publishers, and have music critiqued in listening sessions, sit in on industry panels and perform musical creations during the evening showcases. At this year's expo in Broomfield, October 6-8, each attendee gets three listening sessions, showcase or open mic opportunities, and full access to workshops and panels. The "Write With The Hitmaker" song contest will run again this year. Sticking with custom, registration is always limited to 200 attedees.

The Chicago International Film Festival, which will be staged October 6-20, is now in its 47th year. The Festival was started in 1964 by filmmaker and graphic artist Michael Kutza to provide an alternative to the commercial Hollywood movies that dominated the city's theaters. The Festival opened in 1965 at the Carnegie Theater, where King Vidor, Bette Davis, and Stanley Kramer were honored for their contributions to American cinema. Since then, the Festival has grown to become an  annual event. The Festival is dedicated to fostering better understanding between cultures and to making a positive contribution to the art form of the moving image.

The FREAK SHOW Horror Film Festival in Orlando is an international horror genre film festival and screenplay competition featuring entries in independent horror from around the world. Filmmakers compete for the "FREAKY Award" in nine different categories. The FREAK SHOW Horror Film Festival is part of SPOOKY EMPIRE'S Ultimate Horror Weekend. A Spooky Empire tradition, the Zombie Walk is the official Friday event that kicks off the weekend long convention, from October 7-9, with make-up artists on hand starting at 10 am to apply paint, make-up, prosthetics, and plenty of fake blood. The Screamin' Ink Tattoo room will again operate this year during the festival. The Annual Costume Contest will be held October 9, with cash prizes awarded. Live bands will perform between 7 pm and 12 midnight every night of the Festival run.

New York City based Black and Latino Filmmaker's Coalition, a career resource for filmmakers and actors, hosts a series of one-day workshops structured to challenge, empower and motivate. There will be two more sessions left in this month: the "Mastering On Camera Performances Workshop" on October 9, and "Making A Living As Actor Workshop" on October 16, which will close out the current workshop cycle. The workshop cycle which will start again is structured to guide individuals to perform complex scenes by demanding exercises in efforts to master five crucial disciplines: Rehearsal, Audition, Live Performance, Recorded Performance and Making a Living. BLFC also operates a: Film Assist Grant Program, an Indepedent Film Theater in Brooklyn, the BLFC Institute which hosts the classrooms and workshops. The website also lists upcoming castings and auditions.

Poetry in Film Festival, or PIFF 2011, is based primarily in Melbourne, but will conduct screenings in other districts of Australia as well. The festival is Australia wide, running October 9 through November 9, accepting entrants from every state and territory in the country, and around the world. Entrants in the festival are given a piece of modern poetry. From there they are free to interpret the poem in the form of a 4-7 min short film as they envision it. The best films will be screened at the PIFF Awards Night, where the awards ceremony will take place, with an after party to follow. The best films will also be shown as a part of the festival circuit in other locations, after the awards ceremony throughout Victoria and Australia.

Sports Video Group (SVG) will hold TranSPORT 2011 in New York on October 11, a sport industry event focused upon the needs of the sports professional whose job duties include transport and distribution of video and audio content via TV, the Internet, and other electronic distribution means. The half-day event that starts past noon will provide an overview of the most recent developments as industry experts and service providers discuss the current and future state of this market segment. The Sports Video Group was formed in 2006 to support the professional community that relies on video, audio, and broadband technologies to produce and distribute sports content. The day ends with a networking cocktail reception.

With its origins as a student festival, and its present focus on film music, the Ghent Film Festival occupies a certain niche among international festivals. Every year the festival organizes film music concerts giving composers of film scores a platform to present their works. Since 2001, the Ghent Film Festival has also organized the World Soundtrack Awards. Each year, the best soundtrack composers are honored and receiving recognition for their work. In addition to the screenings, the Ghent Film Festival also organizes film-related exhibitions. To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of U2's classic album "Achtung Baby", the Ghent Film Festival treats its guests to the European premiere of "From the Sky Down", an in-depth documentary about the Irish super band. The 11th edition of the World Soundtrack Awards & Concert will be held October 22, at which Oscar winners Elliot Goldenthal, Howard Shore and Hans Zimmer will be the distinguished guests for the closing ceremony of the 38th Ghent Film Festival at the Kuipke in Ghent, October 11-22.

Americana is music that honors and is derived from the traditions of American roots music. In 2007, the Grammys added Americana to their Contemporary Folk Award. The Americana Music Festival & Conference goes up October 12-15 in Nashville. In a planned conference session, "Working the Festival Circuit: Making a Living Touring Festivals," a panel will explore the positives and negatives of sharing a weekend with multiple acts and detail the business side of how to set up such a tour. Many other panels are slated. Evening showcases are held at five notable downtown music venues including historic Ryman Auditorium, home of the Americana Honors & Awards, Lower Broad honkytonks, and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Dedicated to film education and exploration, the Bel-Air Film Festival offers its filmmakers access to a series of film panels, music performances, and networking opportunities with industry professionals when it launches October 12 to run through October 17. As a community centered event, screenings are held throughout the Bel-Air community as well as the greater Los Angeles area. Film screenings include Documentaries, Animation, Short Films, Student Film and Comedy. There will be opening and closing night galas, an education series of film panels, a special red carpet event night recognizing British film hosted by Brits in LA, special red carpet film and comedy night, screenings in private estates, music performances, and a good deal of networking taking place.

The Hamptons International Film Festival was founded to celebrate Independent film -- long, short, fiction and documentary -- and to introduce a varied spectrum of international films and filmmakers to its audiences. The Festival, which this year runs October 13-17 from East Hampton, is committed to exhibiting films that express fresh voices and differing global perspectives, with the hope that these programs enlighten audiences and provide invaluable exposure to the filmmakers. In addition to short films (for which they are an Academy-qualifying festival), documentaries and narratives, the Festival offers special events such as: a Breakthrough Performers program, which showcases up-and-coming acting talent (past participants include Rooney Mara, Emmy Rossum, Emily Blunt, and Blake Lively).

The 31st Annual Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF) in Honolulu, October 13-20, marks the festival's 30th anniversary with presentations of contemporary Asian cinema, beach screenings, a sixth Student Showcase for filmmakers under 18. HIFF is focused on discovering features, documentaries and shorts from Asia made by Asians, films about the Pacific made by Pacific Islanders, and films made by Hawaiian filmmakers that present Hawaii in a culturally accurate way. Film selection places an emphasis on feature films, documentaries, short films, Hawaiian-themed films and music videos. One of the scheduled roundtables titled, "Search Party", brings together composers, music supervisors and studio execs to discuss what goes into taking an idea into a full-fledged score. HIFF is an official partner with Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for Oscar Night America, and is the sister festival of Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) and Shanghai Media and Entertainment Group (SMEG).

The Ninth Annual Giants of Broadcasting Awards Ceremony and Luncheon in New York City on October 14, honors those individuals who have played a pivotal role in creating and advancing the electronic arts. This year's honorees include Brian Williams, Christiane Amanpour, C-SPAN's Brian Lamb, Fred Pierce, BMI's Frances Preston, John Dille -- the architect behind CBS Sunday Morning (Charles Osgood, Rand Morrison, Charles Kuralt and Robert "Shad" Northshield), posthumously Gunsmoke's James Arness, Dawson B. "Tack" Nail. Bill Baker will serve as Master of Ceremonies. The luncheon is the Library of American Broadcasting's largest fundraising event, providing the resources to maintain an extensive broadcasting archive and collection of oral histories. A preceding cocktail reception begins at 11:30 am and the awards ceremony begins at noon.

The two day Sexy International Paris Film Festival, opening October 14, looks to discover, promote and screen the best films from around the world that explore the themes of "Sexy" -- sexuality, sex and the erotic -- from a filmmaker's cultural, personal, life and/or cinematographic perspective. The Paris based festival aims to enlighten, educate, create discussion and debate, as well as allow audience interaction in relation to various projects within SIPFF. Festival goals are to discover, promote and screen the best films from around the world. Though international in scope emphasis will be placed on Francophone content with a competition programme to determine the best Francophone short and international short film of the festival. The Festival has announced it will premiere for the first time in France the Berlinale International Film Festival's German Perspective 2010 Closing night Film, "Bedways" by RP Kahl who will be in attendance.

CMJ Film Festival presents a cross section of major studio premieres alongside independent productions from emerging filmmakers. Held annually in New York City, this year from October 18-22, the festival's goal is to present an audience of 18-34 year old, media and culturally savvy, globally-minded tastemakers with sophisticated film programming and opportunities for direct engagement with filmmakers and film industry. A partial list of some panels planned for the festival include: A&R Philosophy, Alternative Film Marketing and Distribution, Connecting Bands with Fans: Mobile Social Discovery, Producing Killer Videos on a YouTube Budget. CMJ Events produces the CMJ Music Marathon in addition to live events and tours across the USA. Parent company, CMJ Network connects music fans and music industry professionals with new music through interactive media, live events and print, and CMJ.com offers a digital music discovery service, information resources and community to new music fans, professionals and artists.

Toronto After Dark Film Festival is a showcases of new horror, sci-fi, fantasy, action, animation and cult cinema. Last year's festival was attended by 9,000 film fans and over 100 members of press and industry. The initial lineup includes a number of unique genre movies including the Opening Gala Film, Monster Brawl, a horror action comedy about an outrageous sporting event that sees fan favorites dueling it out to see who is the greatest monster of all. Audiences and fans will also be delighted to hear that horror industry stalwart Troma Entertainment's Father's Day, a cult exploitation film about a group of misfits trying to hunt down a twisted serial killer, will hold its World Premiere at the festival which will be running October 20-27 in Toronto.

Every year the Celluloid Screams: Sheffield Horror Film Festival showcases contemporary and classic horror cinema, from new horror features and genre discoveries to short films from the "fearmakers" of the future. Founded in 2009, the festival has premiered such notable films as: Paranormal Activity, Neighbor, I Sell The Dead, Subconscious, Grace and The Revenant (just to name but a few), and has an ongoing commitment to showcase emerging genre talent. Celluloid Screams has negotiated a special festival rate that includes breakfast at their recommended hotel, Jurys Inn Sheffield, during the festival run from October 21-23.

Hollywood Reporter and Billboard join forces to deliver a two-day seminar on the role of music in film and television, taking place in Hollywood, October 24 and 25. Now in its tenth year, this Conference offers attendees an opportunity to learn from, network with, and get the ear of attending music supervisors, composers, directors, music editors, songwriters and producers active in the business. Topic areas slated for exploration include: Songwriters and Musicians Working in Film & TV, Music Supervisors Provide Real Time Critiques, Composers Dissect How a Score Evolves, Writing for Teens, 'Tweens and Tots, Roundtables, Speed Networking, more.There will be a Closing Network Happy Hour on the Pool Terrace, then following will be the Official Closing Night Party at The Highlands Hollywood.

The Annual Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame October 26 New York City ceremony is regarded as an industry event honoring the pioneers, innovators and stars of the electronic arts. The evening's formal dinner ceremonies will be hosted by Piers Morgan of CNN, and Nancy O'Dell of Entertainment Tonight. Event organizer and producer NewBay Media's market brands are directed toward five vertical markets -- Pro Audio, Broadcast and Video, Musical Instruments, AV / Consumer Electronics and K-12 Education. NewBay publishes and produces over 40 publications and show dailies, 50 websites, 30 daily and weekly E-Newsletters, 3 expos and over 50 custom publishing efforts annually.

At an October 27 Media and Entertainment Investing Conference in Miami's Coral Gables district, panels for the day include: Early-Stage Media Investing and how to meet investors, pitch them, and what it really takes to get them to write you a check, and Growing Your Media Entertainment Business: Protecting and Selling Your Intellectual Property. The conference, sponsored by The Launch Pad at the University of Miami, will appeal to Media and Entertainment entrepreneurs raising capital, as well as Media Investors (VCs, Angels & Corporate). Additionally, all companies can attend the Pitching Workshop Breakfast from 8-10 am, as well as the Networking Lunch, and Cocktail Party.

The above events are only a sample of what is fully listed. Complete details are on the "Media, Entertainment and Performing Arts Industry News and Events" page at http://www.actorschecklist.com/news.html which now has a language translation button to convert page contents into most widely used languages. In a look ahead into November event dates, there is the anticipated American Film Market set oceanside in Santa Monica, the 12th Annual Latin Grammy Awards in  Las Vegas, Billboard Touring Conference in New York, the Government Video Expo in Washington, DC, and AFI Fest in Hollywood, to give a small sample of the upcoming events in the month ahead. Also to alert viewers, a site revamp and redesign of The Actor's Checklist is close at hand, with new interactive features, tools and resources to aid members, so please stay tuned.