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.
“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.
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.
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