International Broadcasting Convention, Toronto International Film Festival, POP Montreal, IFP Week, are event highlights in September

The 72nd Venice International Film Festival, organized by La Biennale di Venezia, will run out of Venice Lido through September 12, directed by Alberto Barbera. The aim of the Festival is to raise awareness and promote the various aspects of international cinema in all its forms — art, entertainment and as an industry. The Festival also organizes retrospectives and tributes to major figures as a path to foster a better understanding of the history of cinema. Established in 1895, the Venice Biennale has existed as a renowned international cultural institution claiming a significant place in international art exhibitions. In the 1930s new festivals were started: music, cinema, and theatre (Venice Film Festival was organized in 1932). In 1980 the first International Architecture Exhibition took place and in 1999 dance made its debut at the Venice Biennale. After an invitation only Opening Ceremony, the festival gets its official start with a screening of EVEREST in 3D by Baltasar Kormákur (UK, USA, 122’, language: English, s/t Italian).

At this year’s festival, La Biennale di Venezia and Persol are set to confer the Persol Tribute to Visionary Talent Award 2015 to Jonathan Demme (Ricki and the Flash, The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married), currently President of the Orizzonti Jury at the 72nd Venice Film Festival, on September 3. And in another planned award ceremony, the Biennale di Venezia and Jaeger-LeCoultre have announced that American director Brian De Palma will receive the Venice International Film Festival’s Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker 2015 Award, dedicated to creatives who have made original contributions to contemporary cinema. The award will be given on September 9 in the Palazzo del Cinema

The fourth edition of Sala Web theater will run from September 3-16. The screening room of the Venice Film Festival will serve as an opportunity for worldwide audiences to screen selected titles from the 72nd edition of the Festival. 12 feature films in the Orizzonti Competition and 3 feature films from the Biennale College – Cinema, Venice’s own laboratory dedicated to support micro-budget films, are now confirmed for the 2015 edition of the Venice Sala Web theater. The Orizzonti Competition line-up includes established filmmakers like Merzak Allouache (THE ROOFTOPS, THE REPENTANT), and Jake Mahaffy (WELLNESS, winner of the Grand Prize at SXSW)

Sala Web theater at Venice will also screen the three debut features produced and developed by the Biennale College: the Polish experimental BABY BUMP; the Japanese drama BLANKA, shot in the Philippines and THE FITS, a dance film based in Cincinnati – Three coming-of-age storieswhich will prove that growing up is not easy. Throughout all its creative divisions there have been more research and production opportunities addressed to the younger generation of artists, directly in contact with recognised teachers; this has become more systematic and continuous through the international project Biennale College, now running in the Dance, Theatre, Music, and Cinema divisions.

The Seventh Annual Burbank International Film Festival will have it’s opening night screening and gala on September 9. The screening of Hoovey will be followed by the reception at the Hokkaido Restaurant that will serve an assortment of foods and cold handcrafted beers and fine wine. In addition to honoring outstanding independent filmmakers in a variety of categories, The Burbank International Film Festival will also honor industry icons, innovators and pioneers in the world of Art, Music and Film. This year, in celebration of the 30th anniversary of “Back To The Future”, the festival will screen a special presentation of this classic courtesy of Universal Pictures.

“Back To The Future” is screened as part of the festivals “History of Cinema”. This new educational program introduces classic studio films from a historical perspective, to inspire young audiences to develop and cultivate a deeper appreciation for the art of filmmaking. There are two planned After Parties at this year’s festival, both Friday and Saturday Night. Friday Night is a Night of Dramatic Films and Saturday is a Night of Science Fiction Fantasy and Horror. This year will have more fright element as The Burbank International Film Festival honors the horror genres with a Red Carpet reception with special screenings and After Parties.

Immediately following all the Friday and Saturday evening screenings, guests will switch over to the IATSE 80 Soundstage whose 6,000 sq. ft. facility will house the galactic After-Party. Burbank has partnered with Famous Monsters of Filmland as a Media Sponsor to put on this extravaganza. Themed cocktails are planned courtesy of 40 Degrees Vodka, a Full Open Bar, Monster Energy Drinks and culinary samplings from local restaurants are planned. The atmosphere will be set to enhance networking with the filmmakers, special guests and Cosplayers in attendance. Friday Night will feature Body Art by Pashur. Music will be provided by DJ Waterbury with special performances by Marston Smith, “The Lord of the Cello,” for both nights.

Sunday evening will be the Closing Night Gala Dinner and celebrity presented Awards Show. The Burbank International Film Festival will not only acknowledge the award-winning filmmakers, but will honor industry icons and professionals that have shaped and defined the world of cinema today. The Closing Night Gala will be begin with a Media Red Carpet, Hosted Cocktail Reception, Semi-Formal Dinner, Festival Honoree Presentations, Awards Show and  wrapping up with a cocktail reception Under-The-Stars. The Festival has continued its partnership with The Castaway Restaurant located in the Burbank hills, above the city. Nicknamed “The Jewel on the Hill”, Castaway is reputed to feature a breathtaking view and has been a local landmark for over 40 years.

International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) is an electronic media global Amsterdam based tradeshow for professionals engaged in the creation, management and delivery of electronic media and entertainment. The event's exhibitions and conference agenda, from September 10-15, survey the latest developments in traditional media, mobile TV, IPTV, digital signage and R&D, making it a resource for everyone's understanding of the industry and its future. Like other wide ranging conventions, IBC is organized along the lines of agenda and events that define its show. IBC Leaders’ Summit, IBC Rising Stars, IBC Awards, IBC Big Screen Experience, IBC Future Zone, IBC Hackfest, IBC Content Everywhere Hub, IBC Content Everywhere Technology in Action Theater, IBC Drone Zone, IBC Launch Pad, IBC Partners’ Pavillon. Over time the International Broadcasting Convention, IBC has evolved from its technical broadcast roots and today it encompasses the whole breadth of media creation management and delivery.

IBC has started up the Rising Stars programme aimed at helping the new generation of content and media technology professionals find their feet in the industry, and the exclusive invitation-only Leaders’ Summit, an event for 150 leaders of the electronic media and entertainment industry shaping future strategy. IBC has also created a new series of events – IBC Content Everywhere. IBC Content Everywhere Europe combines accompanying exhibitions with features specifically designed to help visitors quickly and efficiently expand their knowledge and understanding of the latest trends, strategies and developments in online TV and video. Suited to professionals engaged in the creation, management and delivery of entertainment and news content worldwide, IBC Content Everywhere are global events spanning Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). These events will cover rich media production, devices, apps, digital marketing, social media, content personalisation, big data, cloud services, second screens, investment and more.

IBC Rising Stars is an innovative programme of curated special events and mentoring for young professionals and industry starters taking their first steps in the industry. Two success stories of the new generation of content creators on YouTube will be speaking on September 12 in ‘Digital Creators – The New Mainstream’ (15:00 - 16:00). Gamer and Content Creator David Harms is the man behind DusDavidGames, a gaming YouTube channel in the Netherlands with more than 550,000 subscribers reaching more than 9,500,000 views a month. And from a humble start of eight views and three comments for her first upload, Nikkie de Jager's channel, NikkieTutorials, has established itself as a highly subscribed and watched beauty channel in the Netherlands. Nikkie's channel reached the 1,4 million subscribers after her viral hit “The Power of Make-up."

The Toronto International Film Festival offers screenings, lectures, discussions, festivals, workshops, industry support and the chance to meet filmmakers from Canada and around the world. TIFF is a well regarded launching pad for international, Hollywood and Canadian cinema, and is arguably regarded as the most important film festival after Cannes. Although the festival starts off with a screening of LAND OF MINE, Martin Zandvliet, Director, a Gala Presentation will be held later in the evening with a screening of DEMOLITION, Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée and starring Jake Gyllenhaal. Although not an Oscar qualifying festival, TIFF’s international status is known to be a factor in generating Oscar buzz. Beyond screenings TIFF will surely have many areas of events and activities going on besides film screenings. Following are some of the noteworthy industry events at this TIFF 2015 that will run September 10-20.

Talent Lab is an educational development programme that provides emerging talent with an introduction to the global community of filmmaking. For five days of the Toronto International Film Festival, selected participants have the opportunity to interact with filmmakers drawing on the Festival’s relationships with world-class filmmakers. Talent Lab is presented by the Industry Office. TIFF Rising Stars showcases new Canadian acting talent at the Toronto International Film Festival. Designed to find the next generation of Canadian actors poised for international careers, TIFF Rising Stars draws homegrown talent into the spotlight provided by the annual September Festival. The initiative exposes four selected actors in three days of public events and private industry meetings at the Festival. And they receive intensive professional development with international casting directors, filmmakers, producers and development executives.

Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS! is in its 16th year of the Toronto International Film Festival. It offers an opportunity to bring a feature film project to life. All genres and styles of presentation that are original and compelling stories are admitted. Six teams will have six minutes to pitch their feature film idea to a live audience of industry delegates and a jury of development and production pros. Teams will pitch polished ideas to a live audience of over 250 Industry delegates. A jury of  experts review the pitches and the projects and choose a winner. Winning team will receive $15,000 to assist with the development of their feature film idea.

The Ontario Media Development Corporation’s hosted International Financing Forum (IFF) will be a feature film co-financing event at the Toronto International Film Festival. Canadian and international feature film producers are invited to apply to participate in IFF. Now in its tenth year, OMDC’s IFF has introduced hundreds of projects to the international marketplace with over 60 successfully financed to date. Registration is free but competitive, with final selection based on the company's track record and the project's suitability.

The sixth edition of Producers Lab Toronto is set to launch during the Toronto International Film Festival from September 9–12, 2015. Producers Lab Toronto (PLT) is an international co-production forum presented via collaboration between TIFF Industry, the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC), and European Film Promotion (EFP). Selected participants will be taking part in pitching sessions, case studies, roundtables and various networking events with key people from the film industry and film funds in order to develop their understanding and deepen relationships in creating projects with a broadening international scope. The participants of the Producers Lab Toronto 2015 programme have prior co-production experience and high-quality projects in the pipeline which could be interesting for the international market.

An original exhibition celebrating visionary artist and filmmaker Andy Warhol will be presented at TIFF Bell Lightbox just past the festival dates. Running from October 30, 2015 to January 24, 2016, Andy Warhol: Stars of the Silver Screen (organized by The Andy Warhol Museum, one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, and presented in collaboration with TIFF) will include photographs and artifacts from Warhol’s personal collection and related artworks from The Andy Warhol Museum that explore his fascination with fame and stardom. And also worth noting, TIFF’s Film Reference Library holds an extensive English language collection of Canadian film-related material, including collections from Canada's most esteemed contemporary filmmakers.

Starting its 14th year, POP Montreal offers five days of  concerts, symposium discussions, artisan/crafts and visual art exhibitions, fashion shows, film screenings, besides a few all-night parties. Programming sections that POP Montreal usually breaks down along include: Puces POP, Kids POP, Art POP, Film POP, Espace POP, POP Symposium, Marche Des Possibles. Now in its 12th edition, POP Montreal‘s film segment, Film POP, continues its mission to present a variety of music-related film events, including premieres, retrospective screenings, cinema performances, live film scores, music videos and shorts. Montreal indie band, Arcade Fire will meld in with the projection screen of the Rialto Theatre for the Quebec premiere of The Reflektor Tapes, a fragmented rendition of the band’s headspace during the conception, recording and touring of their 2013 album Reflektor.

In the music line up, expect acts like: Anatole, Anne Waldman and Fast Speaking Music, Anthrax, Aralune, Babes In Toyland, Bantam Wing, Bionic, Brendan Philip, Bud Rice, Burning Hell, Chevalier Avant Garde, Clarke And The Himselfs, Conrad Clifton, Dany LAJ & The Looks, Dead Beat Poet Society, FARAO, Fashion Police, Giorgio Moroder, Jerusalem In My Heart, Joana Serrat, Lizzy Boredom, Loc-Nar, Matt Dorgan Project, Mello Mel, OHARA, Police Des Moeurs, Prism House, Rebecca West, Shash’u, Thanya Iyer, Walrus, Xania, Xarah Dion. Everyone can apply to play POP Montréal by going to our submission page (http://popmontreal.com/submissions/). The submission process closes in May and bands will be notified in July or August as to whether they’ve been selected or not. Applicants that have questions about the status of an application can send email to: artist@popmontreal.com.

This year, POP Symposium hosts Montreal native, Andy Kim, acclaimed for some 30 million records sold worldwide, but especially known for his number one hit song Sugar, Sugar. The performer and songwriter discusses a considerable part of his career, from moving to New York at 17, to songwriting in the Golden Age alongside greats such as The Monkeys, Jeff Barry and most recently Kevin Drew (Broken Social Scene). And fans of Arto Lindsay get an opportunity to spend an afternoon discussing writing about music. Arto Lindsay, also known for his collaborations, including with Animal Collective, Selena, David Byrne and Laurie Anderson, will travel with his favourite pieces of writing about music — e.g., Charles Rosen on Chopin — and attendees are invited to do the same. Participants will read to one another and discuss different kinds of writing about music and the potential relations between the two media.

Other POP Symposium collaborations planned at POP Montreal include: with Third Side Music, Money vs Exposure: Who Wins?; with the Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA), “Click This, Please”: Get Streamed; with RACS, Polaris Panel; with Artisti, Copyrights in performances: What are they? How much are they worth? and … WHERE IS THE MONEY???; with Art POP, Artist Talk: K8 Hardy in Conversation with Dr. Rebecca Duclos; with the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, Indigenous Beats; with The Walrus, Total Control (Businesses, Not-for-Profits, Co-operatives, and Charities): It’s Time to Build The “Industry” You Want; with MESLA, POP Law: The Mechanics of the Deals; with Art POP, Screenings and Artist Talk: Olaf Breuning; with Miscellaneum Studios, Heroes Never Lose and Multijoueur, POP Arcade; with Constellation, The Politics Of Independent Music: An Open Forum; with Third Side Music and Miscellaneum Studios, Music, Video Games and New Technologies: The Shape of Fun to Come.

The San Sebastian Film Festival is an annual FIAPF A category film festival — being one of the 14 "A" category competitive festivals accredited by the FIAPF — held in the Spanish city of Donostia-San Sebastián (Basque Country) every September. It has hosted several important events of the history of cinema, such as the international premiers of Vertigo, by Alfred Hitchcock and the European premier of Star Wars. San Sebastian's grand honor is the Golden Seashell awarded to the best film of the festival and also the Donostia Award as an honorary award to deserving film personalities. British actress Emily Watson will receive the Donostia Award in recognition of her film career at a gala on September 25 in the Kursaal Auditorium. Hotel Transylvania 2, the new film from Sony Pictures Animation, will be screened at the  Festival, as part of the Velodrome Section. The screening will take place at the Antonio Elorza Velodrome with the presence of the cast featured in the Spanish version

The festival has special sections for Latin America cinema and for cinema made in Spain. Titles programmed for the 63nd edition of the San Sebastian Festival include: A Cambio De Nada (Nothing In Return), Daniel Guzman, Director; Las Altas Persiones (The High Pressures), Angel Santos, Director; El Cami Mes Llarg Per Tornar A Casa (The Long Way Home), Sergi Perez Gomez, Director; Hablar (Talk), Joaquin Oristrell, Director; Los Heroes Del Mal (The Heroes of Evil), Zoe Berriatua, Director; Felices 140 (Happy 140), Gracia Querejeta, Director; Mortadelo Y Filemon Contra Jimmy El Cachondo (Mortadella & Filemon: Mission Implausible), Javier Fesser, Director; Requisites Para Ser Una Persona Normal (Requirements to Be A Normal Person), Leticia Dolera, Director; Rey Gitano (Gipsy King), Juanma Bajo Ulloa, Director; Sexo Facil, Peliculas Tristes (Easy Sex, Sad Movies), Alejo Flah, Director; Torrente 5: Mision Eurovegas, Santiago Segura, Director. Mad Max: Fury Road has been voted best film by the International Federation of Film Critics, FIPRESCI. Mad Max: Fury Road, released in Spain last May 15 by Warner Bros. Pictures, will have a special screening on September 18 at the San Sebastian Festival, attended by George Miller, who will collect the FIPRESCI Grand Prix at the Festival opening gala.

In conjunction with the Festival, Creative Europe MEDIA have organized the European Film Forum to launch a planned conference. Audiences in Motion, will address the new part played by an evolving media savvy audience in the creation, production, distribution and exhibition of audiovisual contents. It will survey the changes brought by internet and digital technologies to existing models of creation, production, distribution and exhibition. Discussion will also revolve around innovative formulas emerging in relation to audience participation in the new audiovisual paradigm, offering a catalogue of new opportunities to share with professionals in the sector. The European Film Forum opened in Berlin this year and will conduct events on culture and media within the most significant European Film Festivals and industry gatherings (Cannes, Sarajevo, Venice, San Sebastian, MIPCOM, etc.).

Based in New York City, IFP guides storytellers through the process of making and distributing their work. It offers creative, technological and business support through year-round programming, which includes Filmmaker Magazine, Independent Film Week, Envision, The Gotham Independent Film Awards, and the Independent Filmmaker Labs. IFP’s latest initiative, the Made in NY Media Center by IFP, is an incubator space developed with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, where storytellers from multiple disciplines, industries, and platforms can create, collaborate and connect. Through its programming—which also includes seminars, conferences, and mentorships—IFP creates exciting opportunities for promising new voices from a diverse range of racial, ethnic, religious, ideological and sexual perspectives.

The Filmmaker Conference of IFP Week takes into consideration all recent forms of visual communication, whether stories are told through film, TV, online, or new media channels. And running concurrently to Independent Film Week since 2010, the IFP Festival Forum assembles leaders of international and U.S. film festival leadership to come together to develop curatorial and operational efficiencies, professional standards and best practices, and leverage their collective interests to the international film community. The Festival Forum includes over 100 U.S. & International festival programmers and executives, including representatives from Berlin, Cannes, Full Frame, Hot Docs, New York Film Festival, New Directors, Rotterdam, Slamdance, Sundance, SXSW, and Tribeca who attend each year to ensure they find new work and and discover pioneering artists

Themed sessions day-to-day will run like this: The Story Business, September 20; Bew Barratives, September 21; Documenting Truth, September 22; Ideas and Influencers, September 23-24; Meet the Decision Makers, September 25. Application into Independent Film Week happens primarily through Project Forum which provides both creative and business opportunities to original, narrative and documentary filmmakers, as well as web, episodic and transmedia storytellers and helping them to connect with financiers, executives, influencers and decision-makers. Project Forum consists of four sections, including: RBC’s Emerging Storytellers, No Borders International Co-Production Market, Independent Filmmaker Labs, and Spotlight on Documentaries.

New York Film Festival highlights world cinema with films from established directors and fresh talent. The programming for NYFF 2015 is partitioned into sections: Main Slate, Convergence, Projections, Retrospective, Revivals, Special Events, Spotlight on Documentary, Talks. The films are selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center. This year’s NYFF Main Slate covers a vast range of topics. Robert Zemeckis’s film about Philippe Petit (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in the 1970s, serves as the Festival’s opening night world premiere. THE WALK also stars Ben Kingsley as Petit’s mentor. Other Main Slate offerings include Danny Boyle and Aaron Sorkin’s STEVE JOBS, starring Michael Fassbender; Don Cheadle’s MILES AHEAD, a biopic about Miles Davis in the 70’s.

The New York Film Festival Convergence 2015 program offers a variety of interactive experiences, panels, and presentations. Audiences can explore indie storytelling games in the GameScape arcade, attend a virtual reality dinner party via The Dog House. Complementing the experiential programs — all free and open to the public — is a series of talks and panels featuring creators, filmmakers, game designers, and storytellers discussing their work and the evolving state of storytelling in the interactive age. An NYFF53 On Cinema Talk with director, Hou Hsiao-hsien, discusses his body of work over the years in conjunction with the presentation of his new film, THE ASSASSIN. In an HBO Directors Dialogue, Michael Moore presents and discusses circumstances around his new film WHERE TO INVADE NEXT.

Film Society of Lincoln Center presents year-round programming that includes premieres of new films from an international roster of established and emerging directors; major retrospectives; in-depth symposia and high profile events. The organization has been a pioneer among film institutions and one of the film world’s most respected and influential arbiters of cinematic trends and discoveries. François Truffaut, R.W. Fassbinder, Jean-Luc Godard, Pedro Almodóvar, Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson—over the last four decades there is scarcely a major director who has not been introduced to American audiences by the Film Society.

The Film Society is best known for two world-class international festivals—the New York Film Festival and New Directors/New Films (celebrating new cinematic artists). It runs two state-of-the-art year round cinemas, the Walter Reade Theater and the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, and publishes the well regarded cinematic journal, Film Comment. Each year the organization presents its annual Gala Tribute honoring legendary stars and industry leaders of the generation at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. At various times of the year the Film Society partners with Hollywood studios to present premieres and special live appearances.

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. If you like this report and other content found on The Actor's Checklist, please consider liking the Facebook page at this link. This month's photo placement displays featured artists at POP Montreal, Burbank International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and San Sebastian International Film Festival. If the photos do not appear in this post please visit the blog page to view it. Heading into the fall months activity picks up, so looking ahead into the next month, be aware that: Edmonton International Film Festival opens in Edmonton, the 20th Busan International Film Festival will be in Haeundae-gu, FREAK SHOW Horror Film Festival opens in Orlando, TV:Xperience opens in New York City, MIA Animation Conference is in Miami, The BFI London Film Festival opens in London, NYC Television Week opens in New York City, the annual Live Design International (LDI) tradeshow and conference returns to Las Vegas, the 27th edition of Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) will be in Tokyo, the World Animation and VFX Summit returns to Marina Del Rey and the Vienna International Film Festival will be in Vienna.

Banff World Media Festival, Bonnaroo, NXNE 2014, The BET Experience, are highlights in June's Global Media and Entertainment Industry

Cine Gear Expo, is the film, video, and digital media expo for specialists in the entertainment production and post production world opens in Los Angeles. It is structured to give attending artists and technicians a path to discover the latest technology and techniques through hands-on training from industry veterans. Attendees can handle the latest equipment, hear breaking industry news and network with peers and industry leaders. This annual four day conference through June 8 includes: exhibits, premiere and Master Class seminars, film series competition and finalist screenings, new product announcements, demonstrations, VIP Awards Ceremony, special events.

A screening of Feature Film Finalists, Student Short Finalists, Independent Short Finalists, starts on June 5. A Master Class on the PMW-F5 and PMW-F55 cameras, and how to shoot raw with FS700 with the Odyssey 7Q will be conducted from the Sony Digital Motion Picture Center in Culver City on June 8. In addition, the class will look at the cameras different shooting modes including high frame rate shooting. The F5 and F55’s super 16mm crop mode shooting plus advanced features such as the interchangeable optical low pass filter that is capable of varied special effects.

A Cine Gear Award Reception and Party happens June 6 where Indy, Student Shorts and Feature Film Competition winners will be announced. The Cine Gear Expo 2014 Cinematography Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Adam Greenberg, ASC, in recognition of the contributions he has made to advancing the art and craft of Cinematography. The 2014 Technical Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Andres Valles and Alfredo Valles, in recognition of the varied contributions they have made to advancing the art and craft of film making.

The CMA Music Festival is a Country Music festival hosted each June by the Country Music Association in Nashville. Started in 1972 as Fan Fair, the event presently features artists holding autograph sessions, "meet-and-greet" sessions and other fan interaction events for festival goers happening at various staging areas. Artist of the Day appearances will include: LeAnn Rimes on June 5, Sara Evans on June 6, Craig Morgan on June 7, Lady Antebellum on June 8. Each day of the Festival, Fan Fair X will feature an artist on their designated day. And there will be Q-and-A sessions between the artists and fans as well as acoustic performances. A pre-festival kick-off concert on June 4 features The Grascals, with additional performances by Brazilbilly, Lindsay Ell, Marshall Tucker Band, Morgan Evans, Shooter Jennings and Waymore's Outlaws, Small Town Pistols, Tim Hicks, at Chevrolet Riverfront Stage from 11:00.

There are many special festival activities that are slated to happen. CMA Close Up Stage will feature an artist, band or panel in performance or discussion with an audience Q&A following. The Durango Music Spot will host various artists at the Fan Fair X. Kix Brooks will present his American Country Countdown radio program live from Fan Fair X on June 7 (11:15 CT). Great American Country, the network that delivers original lifestyle programming celebrating American living and Country Music is hosting a Great American Country Breakfast Series at Fan Fair X. In a first look at films and TV shows by and featuring Country artists, The Screening Room will feature “Like a Country Song,” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, “Alive at Brushy Mountain,” a documentary by Mark Collie, A&E’s new series “Big Smo,” and VH-1’s “LeAnn & Eddie,” a satirical look at the lives of one of the most gossiped about celebrity couples.

And in yet more CMA activities taking place, kid-friendly activities include inflatable bounce houses, face painting and balloon artists, musical instrument lessons by Nashville Symphony members, a music recording studio experience, arts and crafts, the Nashville Public Library and Wishing Chair Productions Puppet Truck will present “The Frog Prince” each day, and Now Playing Nashville will provide various family friendly activities. The very popular autograph sessions in Music City Center returns again in 2014 with new improvements for how to enter the drawing. In addition to autographs, visitors can now enter to win access to exclusive performances at the HGTV Lodge located in Fan Alley. Festival activity and concerts will happen across several different stages with the Chevrolet Riverfront Stage situated on the bank of the Cumberland River as the festival epicenter. The Country Music Association aspires to heighten the awareness of Country Music and support its on-going growth. Half of the proceeds from the festival each year are donated to charity, while the other half are earmarked by the CMA for "the advancement of country music.

The 68th Annual Tony Awards will be on the evening of June 8 in New York City. The Tonys will be broadcast in a live three-hour ceremony from Radio City Music Hall, on the CBS television network. The live red carpet coverage can also be viewed at TonyAwards.com starting at 18:00. The line-up of performances for the award ceremony includes: 2014 Tony Nominee Neil Patrick Harris and the cast of Hedwig and the Angry Inch; 2014 Tony nominee Sutton Foster with the cast of Violet; Alan Cumming reprising his Tony Award-winning role in a performance from the revival of Cabaret; and 2014 Tony Nominee Idina Menzel performing from the new musical If/Then. The evening will also feature performances by the casts of this year’s Best Musical and Best Musical Revival Nominees. The American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards are presented by Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing. During the telecast, behind-the-scenes companion coverage of the show can be followed at: TonyAwards.com/secondscreen.

Marking its 35th year of operation, BANFF World Media Festival is the annual media content creation event structured to create opportunities for co-production deals, enabling new business relationships and revealing future industry trends. The Festival combines an international program competition -- the Banff World Media Awards, with a conference agenda that will engage areas: BANFF TV, Kids and Animation, Non-Fiction, nextMEDIA. The Banff Keynote, moderated by veteran TV journalist Dan Rather, will be delivered by Eileen O'Neill, Group President, Discovery, Science and Velocity Networks, who will discuss the Discovery Channel climb to record-breaking ratings and social engagement.

Qualified BANFF registrants get their chance to interact by pitching their new concepts and business models. These meetings can be booked exclusively by BANFF delegates using the ".Connect" networking platform. The ‘Face to Face with a Development Executives’ series is an opportunity for BANFF delegates to meet with international development executives from global networks, broadcasters, production companies, digital distribution platforms, advertising and media buying agencies. A planned June 9 Facebook Feature Interview titled: "Demystifying Digital vs. Traditional: The Golden Age of TV & The Second Screen Syndrome," examines evolving viewing habits in which Canadians multitask with an Internet-connected device while watching TV.

This year, Banff World Media Festival will honor Canadian actor, songwriter and TV game and talk show host, Alan Thicke, with this year’s Canadian Award of Distinction. The award is presented to a Canadian whose body of work illustrates outstanding achievement, the Canadian Award of Distinction will celebrate the new industry standards set by Thicke’s professional achievements. Presented in partnership with Entertainment One (eOne), Thicke will accept the honor at the annual Rockie Awards Gala, a ceremony that has awarded names in the entertainment industry, including: Will Arnett, Howie Mandel, Eric McCormack and Martin Short.

Networking receptions and parties at this 35th Banff include on June 8: the "Rockies Program Competition Nominee Reception" and "CBC Radio-Canada Opening Reception"; June 9: "Breakfast with a Development Executive," "Rockie Awards Luncheon," "Netflix Late Night After Party"; June 10: "Breakfast with a Development Executive," "Lunch With a Development Executive," "A&E Reception"; June 11: "Breakfast with a Development Executive," "Lunch With a Development Executive," BANFF's 35th Birthday Party. The Banff Springs Hotel, where the conference is held, is a luxury hotel that was built during the nineteenth century as one of Canada's grand railway hotels, constructed in Scottish Baronial style and located in Banff National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by the Los Angeles Times, screens new American and international features, music videos, and shorts from over 40 countries and with access to critically acclaimed filmmakers, film industry professionals and emerging cinematic talent. Taking place in the heart of downtown Los Angeles from June 11-19, the Festival has also programmed live musical performances, parties and informal gatherings, as well as the exclusive, pre-festival Filmmaker Retreat.

Select narrative features, documentary features and short films participate in the Festival’s three competitive sections, the winners of which are chosen by a special jury. Most features and shorts are also eligible for Audience Awards, which are chosen based on ballots submitted by Festival audiences. The Festival is a qualifying festival in all categories for the Film Independent Spirit Awards, the Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking, as well as for the Narrative, Animated and Documentary Short Film categories of the Academy Awards.

The Festival also hosts Fast Track, a program of Film Independent that is set-up to help filmmakers move their current narrative or documentary projects into the next phase. Fast Track is a film financing market that connects them financiers, production companies and other industry professionals. This selective program is open to established as well as up-and-coming filmmakers with exceptional projects still seeking funding. The Los Angeles Film Festival is a program of Film Independent, a non-profit, membership film organization that champions independent film and that organizes and hosts the Spirit Awards.

The annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival typically takes place on the second Thursday in June. The main attractions of the four-day festival are the multiple stages of live music, featuring a diverse array of musical styles including indie rock, world music, hip hop, jazz, americana, bluegrass, country music, folk, gospel, reggae, pop, electronica, and other alternative music. But beyond musical showcases, there are other varied activities as: cinema, art displays, eat and drink adventures, Kalliope, exercise and camping.

A short list of some of the highlighted musical acts set to take the stage at Bonnaroo include: Susan Tedeschi, Damian Marley, Janelle Monae, Arctic Monkeys, DJ Logic, Lauryn Hill, Taj Mahal, Ice Cube, The Flaming Lips, Elton John, Fritz and The Tantrums, Lionel Richie, Yonder Mountain String Band, Sarah Jarosz, The Avett Brothers, Skrillex, Vampire Weekend, Cake, Kanye West. For artists looking for performance opportunities at Bonnaroo, as of 2014 festival management has partnered with Sonicbids to accept submissions for performance slots at the festival.

The Bonnaroo Cinema Tent will screen new independent features before they are released, documentaries, comedies, cult classics and host fun (as in comedy) live interactive happenings. The cinema is open 24 hours and will integrate into the format live Q&A sessions with special guest filmmakers, actors and unique cinematic performances with musicians and comedians. Kalliope Stage is a new offering at Bonnaroo in 2014. In the evening Kalliope Stage becomes a staging area for a light show filled with cryogenics, lasers and serial beams and an enhanced audio system.

The Game Stage at Bonnaroo powered by Xbox One will function as an alternative to the musical stages offering game addicted fans a chance to battle giant mechanical Titans, race the fastest cars in the world, hunt zombies or just send questions to your favorite Bonnaroo artists via Skype video. Yoga classes take place at locations across The Farm. Yoga Roo takes place Friday through Sunday, sunrise to sunset, at various locations across The Farm. All classes are free and open to yogis of all levels. For the second year in a row the "Roo Run" will be held June 14 - the day before the festival close - to race the 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) across the festival grounds. Prizes will be awarded.

North by North East is the an annual music and arts festival with conference held each June in Toronto, Ontario, patterned on the South by Southwest festival held earlier in the year in Austin, Texas. The festival is broken down along the lines of: NXNE Music Festival (June 18-22), NXNE Film (June 13-15), NXNE Interactive (June 17-21), NXNE Comedy (June 18-22), NXNE Art (June 16-22). The festival takes over Toronto’s downtown core, with many venues (thought to be over 50 Toronto music venues) grouped along Queen Street West, College Street, and the Bloor Street Annex. Most venues host six bands a night. Some of the scheduled musical acts for 2014 will include: ASAP FERG, Big Name Actors, D!GGY the DJ, Drugs in Japan, Emma Frank, Falling Androids, Gangis Khan aka Camoflauge, Ghost Town Jenny, Greys, Tequila Mockingbird and others

NXNE Film screens the year’s selected music-themed features, documentaries, shorts, and experimental films from around the world. This year in partnership with Hot Docs, NXNE presents screenings that include, ‘Vann “Piano Man” Walls: The Spirit of R&B’, directed by Steven Morris, a film for anyone curious about the origins of rock n’ roll. NXNE Comedy, hosted by Fleshlight and in partnership with Empire Comedy Live, will feature special festival presentations like: The Epic Nerd Show, Sunday Night Live with The Sketchersons, Fan Fiction The Show, presenting Sailor Moon. In the art segment, NXNE Art Team will make selections from OCAD University's graduating class of 2014 to exhibit among works of other artists. There will be an Art Party in the Art Lounge June 20 with music and drinks.

NXNE Interactive (NXNEi) is a digital interactive media conference bringing together content-creating artists, tech entrepreneurs, digital marketing gurus, web business experts, and social media aficionados for workshops, presentations, and panels. Oliver El-Khatib, a co-manager for Toronto based Rap artist Drake, and founder and creative director of OVO, will deliver the NXNEi keynote address and share insight on the music industry, the development of the OVO brand, and the importance of championing Toronto.

With its global perspective in regard to programming, the festival organization strives for certain achievements in the course of the festival run, including: provide a forum for new music in which fans can see rising talent at Toronto club venues, screen the year’s curated music-themed films, explore and develop common ground between the creative industries and the interactive world, present Toronto with a marquee tourist festival destination by showcasing international headline performers at free outdoor concerts. Getting to play NXNe is a matter of submitting an Electronic Press Kit through Sonicbids where it will be then taken up for consideration by the NXNE listening team.

InfoComm opens in Las Vegas, an annual AV trade show featuring the latest technologies for audio, video, display, projection, lighting, staging, digital signage, conferencing, digital content creation, networking, signal distribution and more. InfoComm International® is the trade association behind the convention representing the professional audiovisual and information communications industries worldwide. The conference segment of the convention runs June 14-20 and the exhibits segment runs June 18-20. Mike Walsh, CEO of Tomorrow and Author of FUTURETAINMENT, delivers the Opening Keynote on June 17, focusing on the next five years of industry innovation.

InfoComm will have a Tech-Know Job Fair, June 18-20 during show hours in the InfoComm International booth. For 2014, InfoComm introduces two new Solutions Summits -- conferences focused on digital signage and unified communications and collaboration. The program opens on June 17 and continues through June 20 with keynotes, case studies and panel discussions on the concerns of using these technologies and integrating them into the organization.

InfoComm Technology Pavilions and Special Exhibits areas will showcase over 950 exhibitors and thousands of products representing areas of audio, digital signage, conferencing, lighting and staging and security. Over time, certain popular pavilion areas have come to establish themselves, such as: Digital Signage Presentation Stage, Production Camera Showcase and Production Zone, Rigging Safety Demo, Audio Demo rooms, the Technologies for Worship magazine Live Events Experience stage.

Established in 1939, InfoComm International has more than 5,000 members, including manufacturers, systems integrators, dealers and distributors, independent consultants, programmers, rental and staging companies, end users and multimedia professionals from more than 80 countries. InfoComm International serves its members and the industry through education, including technical and business courses, in the classroom and online; resources, such as AV standards, thought pieces and market research; and events, including local roundtables and international trade shows.

Black Entertainment Television network will present their annual BET Awards on June 29 in Los Angeles. The awards celebrate the achievements of African Americans and other minorities in music, acting, sports, and other fields of entertainment over the past year. The awards are the culmination of a three-day extravaganza called The BET Experience which will happen throughout the L.A. Live district. BET Awards ‘14, will be hosted by Chris Rock and will be broadcast live on BET from approximately 20:00 PT. Beyoncé and Jay-Z lead the nominations with five each. Drake, Pharrell Williams and August Alsina are tied for four. The 2014 lineup for BET Experience at L.A. Live, the lead-up to the awards that opens on June 27, will feature performances from notable R&B, Hip-Hop acts, including Outkast, Mary J. Blige, Maxwell, Jill Scott, Trey Songz, A$AP Rocky, Rick Ross, Jennifer Hudson, Marsha Ambrosius, K. Michelle, and Ty Dolla $ign.

Leading up to the BET Awards, the BET Experience at L.A. LIVE will feature three days of music and comedy concerts, “106 & PARK” tapings, BET Fan Fest, seminars, GRAMMY® Museum exhibits, a signature food festival, celebrity meet and greets and other special appearances. Most of the interactive events are popular holdovers from previous years. BET Experience Fan Fest is an interactive expo with its own Pavilion where guests engage with their favorite BET shows, talent and brands through exhibits, demonstrations and giveaways. The Fan Fest is free to the public and includes a signature food experience. Genius Talks are seminars focusing on pragmatic advice on money, culture, entertainment, family, celebrity and relationships. The GRAMMY® Museum Exhibit will offer an exhibit of past “BET Awards” Lifetime Achievement Honorees. The popular “106 & PARK” program will present free musical performances, new talent showcases and celebrity appearances on its stage. Late night VIP after parties with featured DJ's will happen at selected and exclusive venues.

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 action sequences from Warner Bros. sci-fi feature, Edge of Tomorrow, starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt. If the photo does not appear in this post please visit the blog page to view it. Looking ahead into the next month, although the industry gets quiet during the summer, be aware that: the Los Angeles Acting School Acting Conservatory School will conduct sessions in Santa Monica, Casual Connect USA 2014 will be held in San Francisco, Media/Broadcast/Cinema Today as three co-located events will come to Chennai. Comic-Con International 2014 will be in San Diego. The Engaging Youth: Where They Want, How They Want! Conference will happen in London.

Canadian Music Week, Festival de Cannes, Casual Connect Asia, PALM Expo, are highlights in May's Global Media and Entertainment Industry

In Century City, the Music Business Association, formerly NARM (National Association of Recording Merchandisers),  opens Music Biz 2014 for a three day run. Along with its hub for digital initiatives, digitalmusic.org, the summit agenda is to advance and promote music commerce. The summit runs through May 8. As a non-profit membership organization that advances and promotes music commerce, particularly through the Music Business Association’s flagship annual event, Music Biz 2014, the Music Business Association is a community committed to the full spectrum of monetization models in the industry.

Day one gets started with the Music Biz Academy, a program that travels across the country educating music startups and app developers on how to get through barriers of entry to the music industry. A networking breakfast follows that early session and then there will be a formal welcome and introduction as Music Biz President James Donio gives an industry overview including some of the newest stats on sales and consumer behaviors. The talk will review the resources the Music Business Association has available to help artists, managers, students, and startups navigate the music industry. Up for exploration is an entire range of delivery models: physical, digital, mobile, and otherwise.

Some of the other Music Biz topics that will be reviewed during the summit, most of which are handled in 30, 45 and 60 minute time limits: Keep Social Sexy: Using Your Profiles To Build Your Brand, Navigating The Music Industry Online, Alternative Revenue Streams: Making It In Today’s Music Biz, The Music Industry Infrastructure Of The Future, Grow Your Audience On YouTube, Metadata Summit: Information And Technology In The Music Business, Managing The Complexity Of An Artist’s Digital Experience, Country Music Meetup, Licensing and Royalty Payments From An Artists Perspective. The summit ends with a closing reception.

In Toronto, Canadian Music Week 2014 will have music industry business, learning and discovery sessions blueprinting how to guide projects to the next level. Planned film screenings offer a mix of music-oriented films, special screenings, documentaries and movie premieres along with special appearances and Q&As with some of the films’ acting talent, directors and crew in appearances. Added to the convention's agenda since 2012, the Canadian International Comedy Fest features stand-up, with performances from some of Canada's emerging comedy talent as well as headline talent from comedy venues worldwide. The festival's Indie Awards is the principal closing event for Canadian Music Week.

The CMW Synch Summit is suited to music supervisors looking to place music in upcoming advertisements, films and TV productions and gives presenting submitters an opportunity to pitch music to them face to face. The International Festival Network, an exclusive networking and matchmaking session for companies to meet with representatives from various international festivals, booking agencies and promoters from around the world will be open. An international marketplace and Export Buyers' Program featuring a Spotlight on Germany and a Focus on Austria and Switzerland with market overviews, presentations and incoming delegations is planned. The Digital Media Summit at CMW brings together media and brand specialists that focus on the task of outlining an integrated Digital Media strategy.

Now in its 17th year, the New York City Streaming Media East event is a showcase for all forms of online video business models and technology. It is focused on the "business" of streaming media in the Media and Entertainment, Enterprise, Education and Broadcast sectors. Convention events feature extensive multi-day panel sessions producing an executive forum on current topics from industry technology leaders to executives from companies utilizing streaming today. Essentially the two-day convention running till May 14 brings together digital media experts and professionals in order to exchange ideas, strategies and success stories.

The Streaming Media East Exhibit Hall will be the showplace for anyone selling streaming products, services, or content for use in corporate communications, digital media entertainment and technology, marketing, or the streaming industry itself. The shows provide an interactive exhibit floor enabling vendors to exhibit their products and solutions to businesses and organizations looking to incorporate streaming media enterprise solutions into their infrastructure. The Keynote address will be delivered by Matthew Szatmary, senior video encoding engineer at Twitch where he develops next generation encoding services and playback technologies to serve live video. Day one activities close with an evening reception.

Pre-conference seminars will actually be held before Streaming Media's official open, on  May 12. Among the topics, "Setting up Live Streaming Workflows On-Premises and In The Cloud," with Chris Knowlton, VP, Product Management, Wowza Media Systems; "Producing A Webcast From Soup To Nuts: Part One," with Jan Ozer, Principal, Doceo Publishing; "Building A Better Web Video Player," with Robert Reinhardt, Founder, videoRx (dot) com; "Producing A Webcast From Soup To Nuts: Part Two," with Jan Ozer, Principal, Doceo Publishing. Other areas to be explored after the start of the regular conference, include: "Online Distribution and Monetization Strategies for the TV Industry," "The Future of Digital Entertainment in a Multiscreen World," "Making the Move to Multiscreen 2.0," "New Opportunities for Monetizing Premium Video" among other topics.

Festival de Cannes, the anticipated film festival started in 1946 and held in Cannes, previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from around the world. Concurrent to the festival, France also hosts its national film awards, the César Awards - generally considered to be the French equivalent of the American Academy Awards - at the same time. Admission to the festival which stretches May 14-25 is by invite only. Festival organizers have already announced that "Party Girl," from the trio of directors Marie Amachoukeli, Claire Burger and Samuel Theis, will open up the Un Certain Regard sidebar, a category originally created to showcase the most experimental, left-of-field and smaller-scale films that didn’t make the Competition cut. Film director Sofia Coppola, actors Gael Garcia Bernal and Willem Dafoe will join Jane Campion on the Cannes film festival jury for 2014.

There will be several featured event stops set up throughout the Festival complex. The Directors' Fortnight (La Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) is a parallel section independent of the Festival de Cannes, organised by the French Directors Society (Société des Réalisateurs de Films). Critics Week, La Semaine de la Critique is a parallel section independent of the Festival de Cannes, organised by the French Film Critics Syndicate (SC). The ACID Programme in Cannes will be a parallel selection independent of the Festival de Cannes organized by the Association for Independant Cinema and its Distribution (ACID). Cannes Cinéphiles is an event organised by Cannes Cinéma and the Festival de Cannes to provide public screenings from the Official Selection, as well as films from the parallel sections. Cannes Cinema will be adding to this program with two international selections: Ecrans Juniors and Cinéma des Antipodes.

TV Festival de Cannes, co-produced by CANAL+, Orange and the Festival de Cannes, will cover the red carpet, the press conferences, the photo calls and interviews for films in Competition, as well as a number of event highlights. TV Festival de Cannes will be broadcast in French and English throughout the Palais complex and in most hotels along the Croisette. It will also be available on "Web TV", YouTube (Canal+/English) and DailyMotion (Orange/French). The Official Selection is revealed through the awarding of the Palme d’Or to the best film entry during the Closing Ceremony. Un Certain Regard selection, "Party Girl," which depicts the life of a 60 year-old night club hostess who still loves men and enjoys partying, was shot with the lead role is played by the real-life Angélique.

WINSTON | BAKER will be hosting the 5th Annual International Film Finance Forum in association with Variety magazine in Cannes during the 67th Festival de Cannes. The Film Finance Forum® Series was created by the Winston Baker team to educate equity and debt financiers on the latest trends and strategies for film investing while reducing risks, provide producers with effective approaches to fundraising, and demonstrating ways to create great content and generate revenue through various distribution platforms. This particular forum will be a half-day program focused on international issues such as what it takes to make films today, worldwide sales and distribution strategies, emerging film finance resources, applying risk mitigation across borders, co-production opportunities and strategies, subsidies and incentive updates. There will be a featured keynote on the globalization of entertainment.

World Arts Film Festival in Jacksonville seeks to highlight voices of young artists and filmmakers, giving individuals with special needs such as autism and their peers the opportunity to learn side by side. Individuals of all ages and abilities have been encouraged to participate in World Arts’ events and programs to gain success in the creative industries and beyond. World Arts Education + Film Festival is run by a team of dedicated volunteers who serve in their free time to promote and support quality film programs. Special panels and presentations during the festival will include: a Meet the Filmmakers Q&A, Film Creativity + Education panel, on May 15, the Festival's start; Farm to Film Social panel discussion and panel, Dream It, Learn It, Live It, Love It, on May 16; Girl Directors, Young Directors and Animation Stories are the focus for panels on May 17, Festival closing date, among other topics. There is also the Kaleidoscope Awards presentations in all categories followed by closing ceremony and storytelling performance with David Gonzalez on the final day.

As part of WAE’s global educational outreach, the festival will bring diverse groups of filmmakers of all ages and backgrounds, including those with special needs, to meet and mentor each other and their audiences through this new venue. Created by individuals in New York, Los Angeles and Jacksonville, and supported by a growing network of advisors around the world, the organization is dedicated to a global message of inclusion through the arts and education. An Improv Acting Workshop with Guest Artists Hester Wagner and Sabra Shelley will be conducted. Hester Wagner of Inclusion Films and Futures Explored and co-director Sabra Shelly, who is a New York based actress, Autism specialist and teaching artist, will lead the three-day festival workshop on the 5th Floor at the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville. All day interactive workshops for all ages, Drawing-On-Film, will be conducted with Guest Artist Lois Siegel, instructor of Video Production at the University of Ottawa, Department of Communication.

At the 2014 Seattle International Film Festival, the opening night gala will be, 'Jimi: All Is By My Side' with Outkast's André Benjamin in the lead role of this biopic about rock legend Jimi Hendrix. 'Jimi: All Is By My Side' looks at the early, momentous years in London in the life of the legendary guitarist after his beginning as an unknown backup guitarist in New York. The Director, John Ridley (Academy Award®-winning screenwriter of '12 Years a Slave') is scheduled to attend. Tickets include a walk on the Red Carpet, a private reception, reserved seats for the film, an exclusive after-party in the Red Carpet Lounge. The Seattle International Film Festival is an Academy Award-qualifying festival for short films. SIFF presents the annual Seattle International Film Festival and year-round programming at our SIFF Cinema venues the Uptown (Queen Anne) and the SIFF Film Center (Seattle Center). The Closing Night Gala will have one last night of mingling with Festival guests and friends while enjoying live music, food, and cocktails.

Global gaming convention, Casual Connect is the place to learn more about the video game industry, which entertains 300 million people each month. This gaming convention which has a trail through many international cities will be held in Singapore, May 20-22 as Casual Connect Asia 2014. Along with the conference sessions, over 80 indie developers will be presenting their games at the Indie Prize Showcase. Also making its debut is the International Design, Entertain, and Amaze (IDEA) Showcase, where established developers are looking for international partners for publishing, user acquisition, game performance monitoring and logistical support, will be presenting their recent projects. The International Design, Entertain and Amaze (IDEA) Showcase, Hosted four times a year in conjunction with Casual Connect, acts on behalf of established developers looking for international partners for publishing, user aquisition, game performance monitoring and logistical support.

Many lectures and talks are scheduled at Casual Connect Asia. On May 20, Robin Sagacious NG, head of International Business, Asiasoft Online Pte Ltd, leads a session that will provide an overview of the South East Asia online and mobile gaming markets and its projected trends. Later that same day Stephen Lee, head of publishing at 6waves, where he leads all business development and publishing-related matters, will share perspective from a publisher's perspective and highlight key issues developers should be mindful of when getting ready to launch and grow their games globally. On May 21, Si Shen, a co-founder and CEO of PapayaMobile, will discuss the trends, obstacles, and strategies that Asian game developers must know in 2014 for Asian game studios to climb to the top of app store charts in Western app markets. On May 22, Bob Meese, Global Head, Games Business Development, Google Play, conducts a workshop on "Growing Your Business with Google Play."

Networking and reception events begin with the Badge Pickup and Pre-Funk Party the day before the official convention start on May 19. On opening day, there will be the Official Casual Connect with servings of beer, wine and light snacks. Three receptions for May 21 will include a Womens Lunch at noon, an Official Casual Connect Party with beer, wine and cocktails and the Indie Prize Awards. The final convention day on May 22 is a simple "Mingle" with beer and light snacks. The Indie Prize Showcase is part exclusive gaming arcade and part scholarship program for up and coming indie development teams who show promise to be future leaders in the games industry besides being able to display games to a lot of publishers and industry gurus.

Founded in 2005, the Casual Games Association is a professional international trade organization providing educational resources and community support for those involved in creating games for the mass market consumer. Developed for the general public and families, casual games are video games that are fun and easy to learn and play. The games are platform agnostic, so they can be played via the Internet, PC and Macintosh computers, Facebook, Xbox, PlayStation, iPhone, Nintendo DS, Wii, Android and even mobile phones. They’re nonviolent, arcade-style games that involve puzzles, words, board and card games, game show and trivia. Popular games are Mahjong, Tetris, Solitaire, Bejeweled, Mystery Case Files, and Farmville.

PALM™ Expo in Mumbai serves the Indian pro audio, sound and lighting market by showcasing the

The 2014 PALM Expo has several feature areas to explore and take part in while it is in session, May 29-31. The HARMAN PALM Live Arena is a secluded space for stage, sound, light and music to come together, provides visitors with an equipped stage to identify, evaluate and analyse how to enhance audio requirements and deliver the best sound quality. New this year, PALM Expo introduces the demo hall facility enabling audio companies to demonstrate their products and latest features in a private cube structure that is specially tailored for this purpose.

Innovator of Indian Slap Bass and Bass Guitarist for The Khayal Groove band, Jayen Varma (www.jayenvarma.net), is appearing at Palm Expo, May 30-31, doing performances for ROCKIN' 24/7 on behalf of GRUV GEAR Wraps. He is known for developing Tabla and Mridangam style finger technique on bass guitar to play slap bass, a style developed by him and termed Indian slap bass, and in 2008 and 2011 respectively, the Registry of Official World Records (Record Holders Republic), USA&UK and The Record Setter Book of World Records USA, declared him the Fastest Bass Guitar Player. Jayen Varma plays with his band, The Khayal Groove made up of Aparna Panshikar on north Indian classical Vocals and Jayen Varma on Bass Guitar in collaboration with the French Drummer, Jean Davoisne and various artists and bands across the globe. Since the release of the band's first album, 'Reflections of a Purple Moon,' it has since been working on its second album.

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 the 67th Festival de Cannes and Bass Guitarist Jayen Varma at PALM Expo in Mumbai. If the photo does not appear in this post please visit the blog

page to view it. Looking ahead into the next month be aware that: the 59th Annual Drama Desk Awards will be held in New York City, CineGear LA comes to Hollywood, BANFF World Media Festival opens in Alberta, annual Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival comes to Manchester, Barcelona Film Festival opens in Barcelona.

Toronto International Film Fest, Game Music Connect, Dubai Music Week, The Film Society, are highlights in September's Global Media and Entertainment Industry

Ezra Brown - saxophonist, keyboardist, music director, arranger - has released his debut album, 'The Journey', available on iTunes (as of September 3 on the iTunes “Jazz Album Under $8” Bestseller list), Google Play, CD Baby and Amazon. An album tour is underway, and a September 6 date in Yokohama features a birthday party celebration in live music lounge and restaurant, KAMOME Live Matters. There are many tour dates in Kyoto, Osaka, Tokyo and other cities, but on September 14, the tour ventures to Kuala Lumpur for the one day KL International Jazz Festival. After Kuala Lumpur, other dates include September 25 in Tokyo, September 28 in Mito, September 29 in Kyoto, September 30 in Osaka, and the first date of the new month, October 3 in Kamkura city. There are more dates in October and into November

Ezra Brown, who has worked with Grammy Award winning artists: Cassandra Wilson, John Forte, Dorothy Moore, Charlie Daniels, Miki Howard, is currently involved in several projects. He serves as music director for Blue Nefertiti (one half of the group Les Nubians); as a member ofT he Mighty Embassy Ensemble for up and coming hip-hop artist Blitz the Ambassador.; and as a band member for Cheryl Pepsii Riley at The Village Underground in New York City, the top R & B open mic night in the country. You can hear Ezra on MTVu’s Live Sessions, where he is featured with Blitz the Ambassador and John Forte “Breathe” video on MTVu.

The Toronto International Film Festival traditionally opens the Thursday night after Labour Day (the first Monday in September in Canada). Films are categorized into Programs to better organize the selection. In one of the festival's program categories, "Wavelengths", filmmaker Jean-Marie Straub continues his exploration of classic texts with this "collaboration" involving the great 16th-century writer of the 'Essais'. In Hollywood studios premiere their films at TIFF due to the Festival's non-competitive nature, relatively inexpensive costs, enthusiastic and cinema knowledgeable audiences and other factors. This year the Festival hosts a September 7 Gala event, "Celebrating 100 Years of Indian Cinema", reflecting 100 years of inspired work by Indian filmmakers. Dinner and a reception are included for this event.

The Toronto International Film Festival's major prize, the People's Choice Award, is given to a feature-length film with the highest ratings as voted by the Festival-going populace. TIFF Bell Lightbox has come to be regarded for film related exhibitions and moving image artworks that reach a junction between cinema and the visual arts. Specal exhibition: "David Cronenberg: Transformation" will feature six new TIFF-commissioned artworks by leading Canadian and international contemporary artists who share David Cronenberg's inspirations from literature and philosophy—writers such as McLuhan, Burroughs and Ballard—and his fascination with biological horror, the human psyche and the merging of humans and media. The festival closes on September 15.

Game Music Connect will happen in London for one day only on September 9 and is suited to fans of music in games, aspiring and professional composers of all backgrounds and those interested in learning about the art and science of creating today’s cutting edge video game soundtracks. The format will have interviews and roundtable discussions with composers and audio directors in the video games industry. Included in a line-up of British and international composer talent will be ASCAP member Martin O’Donnell (Destiny, Halo series) and PRS affiliates James Hannigan (Dead Space 3, Command & Conquer series, Harry Potter series) and Joris de Man (Killzone series) – and will be hosted by composer, audio director and commentator John Broomhall (X-COM series, Transport Tycoon, A Christmas Carol). Audio directors from both independent and major developers and publishers will also participate.

In one of the Game Music panels, "Soundcard to Symphony", game composers - Martin O’Donnell, Jesper Kyd, Jason Graves, James Hannigan, Joris de Man, Richard Jacques, John Broomhall (Chair) - outline their personal journeys into scoring videogames, together with their inspiration and influences, reflecting on the past, present & future of game music design and application The day’s programming will comprise in-depth discussions with celebrated composers and audio directors, including insights into their diverse career paths and scoring experiences as well as practical demonstrations of interactive music and previews of next-gen original scores. The day will feature a composer panel exploring the evolution of video game music and a philosophical discussion of the art form and its future.

International Broadcasting Convention, or just IBC, is an annual event staged in Amsterdam for professionals engaged in the creation, management and delivery of entertainment and news content worldwide. This year's convention which runs September 12-17 has conference themes that reflect: technological innovations to engage viewers and create a more engaging entertainment experience; advances in industry collaboration and standards that affect business and content production; global impact of the internet on all aspects of traditional television and its affect on the future of traditional broadcasting; emergence of event television and the production, broadcast, distribution and monetisation of content in these digital spaces and other areas.

Keynote speaking presentations at the IBC conference open with Bob Harris, Chief Technology Officer, Channel 4 Television, but will also include: Robert M. Bakish, President & CEO, Viacom International Media Networks, Morten Hesseldahl, Executive Director of Cultural Affairs, DR, Danish Broadcasting Company, Keith Hindle, CEO, Digital and Branded Entertainment, Fremantle Media, Tony Wang, General Manager, Twitter, UK and others. IBC is owned by six industry partners that represent both exhibitors and visitors. They include: The International Association of Broadcasting Manufacturers, The Institution of Engineering and Technology, IEEE Broadcast Technology Society, The Royal Television Society, The Society of Cable Telecommunication Engineers, The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers.

San Diego Music Thing Conference and Festival opens September 13 for a two day run. Attendees can sharpen their skills and knowledge of the music business through interactive and roundtable sessions with notable panelists and featured speakers operating in the music business. Conference opening panel: "Music Industry 101: The Basics 2013", features speakers in discussion on what anyone needs to know about getting started in the business of music. Later that same day, another workshop session, "Dos and Don'ts of Music Distribution", covers setting up your music for sale in all formats and why YouTube is important to all performing music.

Planned day time activities include a trade show, happy hour parties, listening stations and pop up live performances, as well as a chance to meet and mingle with industry professionals and artists. Kim Gordon, a founding member of noise-rock band Sonic Youth -- and who has been involved in numerous collaborations with other artists and musicians makes a featured speaker presentation at the end of day one. Bands and music artists scheduled for performances include: Ra Ra Riot, New Politics, Titus Andonicus, Milo Greene, Fidlar, The Album Leaf, Unwritten Law, Mike Herrera, Wild Nothing, The Silent Comedy, LIttle Hurricane, Body/Head featuring Kim Gordon and over 150 more.

Chartered in 1991, conference organizer, the San Diego Music Foundation, was created to make music performance accessible to children of need in San Diego County by providing them with a hands-on vehicle, - the guitar - to express themselves creatively. Over its 20 year history, the organization has served K-8 students county-wide from Chula Vista to Fallbrook. In subsequent years the organization has broadened its focus and service areas, providing forums to increase local musicians' understanding of the music business, get performance exposure within the local and national music communities, and to publicly recognize the breadth and diversity of the San Diego music scene.

Oaxaca FilmFest, founded in the City of Oaxaca de Juarez in 2010, is intent on presenting works representative of achievement in cinema, creating opportunities for filmmakers, and providing audiences with outstanding entertainment. Planned for this year's festival running September 21-28, Oaxaca FilmFest 2013 has scheduled eight days of international film on par with those being exhibited anywhere in the world today, an international script writer symposium, special events, tours of the region, academic opportunities and those anticipated Oaxaca FilmFest after-parties. Other aspects of the festival include the program Academia -- a five day training program designed to enhance festival attendees' self-distribution skills for those that have producer ambitions. The festival also features "Pitch It", a platform that allows screenwriters to sell their scripts to industry executives around the globe in a designated meeting place.

Dubai Music Week is an annual B2B/B2C event dedicated to establishing the music industry in the region with: seminars, conferences and workshops, trade show and exhibition, live concerts, networking events and competitions connecting Middle East and Asia with Europe and North America. The six day event which opens September 24 is the brainchild of music impressario Quincy Jones and is also structured as a platform for rising artists and launching new talent. The convention will host the ‘Emirates World Exclusive Quincy Jones Seminars, and on September 25 Quincy Jones will invite music industry icons Timbaland and will.i.am on stage to discuss music production with fans, and to launch the first cross-over talent from across the region.

On September 24 at DMW, fans of Michael Jackson’s music will be able to hear directly from the multi-Grammy winning production team fueling the success of the King of Pop’s record-breaking albums -- 'Thriller', 'Off The Wall' and 'Bad'. Members of the team at this convention -- Quincy Jones, Rod Temperton, Bruce Swedien and Siedah Garrett -- offer reflections on the experience of producing the greatest selling albums of all time. On September 27 a Keynote Conference is scheduled and will be presented by Frank Cooper, Chief Marketing Officer at PepsiCo Global Consumer Engagement, PepsiCo, also Shridhar Subramaniam, President of Middle East and India at Sony Music Entertainment.

MIDEM, the renowned global music convention held in Cannes every year since 1967, is an official DMW Conference Partner. Dubai Music Week in association with MIDEM will present a series of Music Conferences and Workshops with senior executives and Founders of companies such as Anghami, Saavn, Times Music, Orange, Sacem and BMI. Conference organizer, G3 is a cross-cultural music and entertainment company with offices in Dubai and Los Angeles. Founded by legendary music producer Quincy Jones and Emirati social entrepreneur Badr Jafar, the company is launching a series of initiatives and productions that is attempting to change the future of the music industry and live entertainment in the Middle East and North African region.

Known as a one stop training, exposition and networking event, Digital Video Expo brings together a gathering of technology innovators and content creation professionals to downtown Los Angeles from September 25-26. The conference agenda has over 50 conference sessions in two conference programs covering content creation and storage. The Los Angeles Post Production Group will hold their monthly September meeting at DV Expo immediately following the close of the exhibit hall floor on September 25. Cocktails will be served. The meeting is free and open to all attendees of Digital Video Expo. A new free special event, Video Edge Live! is a conference program designed for professionals who produce and deliver online video for media and entertainment, enterprise, educational, and government applications. Pro Media Conference is back this year at Digital Video Expo. PMC motivates and engages participants through a series of papers, case studies, and networking opportunities. Introduced last year at Digital Video Expo, the Pro Media Conference is designed to educate, motivate and engage professionals working in media and entertainment, video and audio production, internet and mobile video, AV, government, corporate video environments, and IT.

The Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York City was founded in 1969 to celebrate American and international cinema, to recognize and support new filmmakers, and to enhance awareness, accessibility and understanding of the art among a broad and diverse film going audience. Annually, The Film Society at Lincoln Center presents two world-class international festivals – the New York Film Festival and New Directors/New Films (celebrating new cinematic artists). The Society will operate the New York Film Festival from September 27 through October 13 this year. And the Festival's Opening Night World Premiere is the Paul Greengrass directed, Sony Pictures release, 'Captain Phillips'. The festival is competitive with approximately 28 feature films in the Main Slate and 16 short films selected each year by a five person screening committee. Entry into NYFF and ND/NF is open to all filmmakers and all lengths and genres are considered. There are no categories and no prizes are awarded. The Society also publishes the cinematic journal, 'Film Comment', presents an annual Gala Tribute honoring legendary stars and industry leaders of this generation, and partners with Hollywood studios to present premieres and special live appearances at various times of the year.

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 picture placement highlights "Soul Muzik" saxophonist, eZra brown (J. Quazi King, Nicole Norwood photo credit) on tour in Japan and the far east for the introduction of his debut solo album. If the photo does not appear in this post please click this link to view it. In a preview of next month's events, be aware that: Japanese Cultural and Anime Convention, Ochiba Con, will be in Oshawa. The New Orleans Film Society hosts their annual festival. The Adelaide Film Festival, in Glenside, opens. Colchester Film Festival 2013 featuring short film selections, opens in Colchester. MIA Animation Conference and Festival will be in Miami. The BMI London Awards will be in Hyde Park.

NY TV Fest, Boston Film Fest, Temecula Valley Film & Music Fest, Business of Film Conf 2008, Gene Autry Film & Music Fest, New York Film Fest

NY TV Festival, Boston Film Festival, Temecula Valley Film & Music Fest, Business of Film Conference 2008, Gene Autry Film & Music Festival, New York Film Festival, Business, Arts & Entertainment Conference, highlight September's Media and Entertainment Industry Career Networking Events

IMFF Cinedays M, taking place in Skopje through September 7, celebrates the past, present and future of the music and film. The Festival's focus is on music-related content, including feature films, documentaries and short films submissions that have an emphasis on music - rock, jazz, blues, soul, reggae, punk, pop, reggae .... old and new. River View Players (et34888@aol.com; Wabisabimail@aol.com) based in Harlem open a new performance series on September that will present readings of plays (featuring DuEwa Frazier, Lit Noire Publishing), short stories, poetry, music and films every Sunday from 4 to 6 in the back room of Cafe Largo. Free food tastings will be offered from the Cafe on this occasion, and the event is free and open to the public. indieWIRE presents filmmaker Alan Ball and actress Summer Bishil in a discussion of their new film, 'Towelhead,' at the Apple Store, SoHo, September 8. "The Down-Low on Distribution" is a seminar on September 10 in Los Angeles attempting to decode the different distribution deals so that you can get the best rights in your agreement. New York Television Festival which has featured acclaimed independent pilots that were purchased by networks such as NBC Universal, A&E, and the like, will feature an "Industry Day" session in which industry leaders participate in a number of panel discussions, when it runs September 12-17.

At this year's Boston Film Festival a program of shorts, documentaries and feature films premieres during the festival's run from September 12-19, and evening receptions are hosted by regarded chefs and restaurateurs providing the ideal scene for filmmakers and talent to network as well as sponsors to entertain. The IBC 208 Conference and Exhibition, September 12-28 in Amsterdam, addresses personalised content over the web; future broadcast businesses and the changing audience; the “digital dividend” and the battle for bandwidth; production and protection of all types of content, and other areas. At "Fund Your Film Workshop With Stu Pollard," key elements of an independent film business plan, including structure, layout and research and a primer on private equity financing for truly independent projects, will be reviewed when the one-day session meets September 13 in Dallas. Independent Film Week, formerly know as the IFP Market, is still a gathering for industry professionals where pitch meetings search for new talent, and cash, product donations and services are awarded to participants. The Temecula Valley International Film & Music Festival's social calendar starts with Opening Night Festivities on September 17, followed by daily and nightly filmmaker/musician receptions, industry workshops, a Lifetime and Career Achievement Awards Black Tie Gala, a Sunday morning Hot Air Balloon Ride, a Closing Night Wrap party (September 21) and Best of Fest special screening presentations and more. The NBC Universal Women Writers Workshop, September 18-25 in Toronto, will target intermediate women screenwriters who have a treatment or first draft, and will work toward the development of their next draft of a feature script. It will focus on script development and building on concepts introduced in the Feature Film Writing Program emerging module.

Screenwriting and the Business of Hollywood, will be conducted September 19 and 20 from Rock Island, by Act One Seminars, intensive, practical workshops for aspiring and professional writers and entrepreneurs who are serious about their Christian faith and who dream of creating culture that respects and enriches a global audience. SWAMP and TALA present the Business of Film Conference 2008, a September 20 event at Rice University Media Center focusing on the business of making movies with professionals from the film, legal and financial worlds that address a wide range of topics, including budgeting for film, funding resources, music rights, distribution and more. The Film, Stage and Showbiz Expo will allow participants to showcase their film/video/movie reel for Producers and Production Companies at a private screening area all day at the Expo, and Telsey + Company will conduct an open talent search for some of the hit Broadway shows they represent at the one-day event, September 21, in New York. In Gene Autry, Oklahoma, the Gene Autry Oklahoma Museum celebrates the legacy of the singing cowboys with its Film & Music Festival. It's a gathering of cowboy and country singers, cowboy poets and storytellers, Western film stars and look-alikes, and it happens from September 24-28. The 17-day New York Film Festival gets underway September 26 in New York, with its program of emerging and international filmmakers. Black Entertainment Magazine in conjunction with Talents Connection (TalentsConnectionCasting@yahoo.com ) hosts the September 27 Business, Arts & Entertainment Conference in Los Angeles, with slated workshop sessions on "Surviving Hollywood," and "Getting your children in commercials," and a premiere screening of soon to be released BEM film 'True Riches'.

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 actorschecklist.com/news.html. Video and podcast versions of this news summary are also available at popular video sites around the Web like MySpace, YouTube, Bit Torrent, as well as on The Actor's Checklist podcast blog at actorschecklist.com/loudblog, a great place to get your iPhone, ipod or Apple TV download from. The Free Home Video Showcase now serves as an archive for all past video presentations. This month on video you will see trailers and sample clips of 'True Riches' a collaborative production of Talents Connection (www.talentsconnection.com ) and BEM Films, slated for a premiere screening at the Business, Arts & Entertainment Conference, September 27 at LA Convention Center. Strange comedy from The Pimps Horror House ™ TV show Cleveland (www.ilovehorror.com). The creative duo of H.G. Robert and Wayland Anderson, that form DANCEWORDZ (www.myspace.com/dancewordz), a production company that writes, choreographs and stages shows for professional companies and art programs. The Actor's Checklist now lets you check the latest musical artists song releases on Apple's iTunes, updated on an hourly basis.