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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Revelation Perth International Film Festival, Skip City D-Cinema Festival, Comic-Con International, Kaua’i Music Festival, are highlights in July's Global Media and Entertainment Industry

A 24/7 Expo happening right in downtown L.A., Anime Expo is considered North America’s largest anime and manga celebration and the second longest running anime convention after A-kon in Texas. The Expo wants fans to meet and hear from veteran anime, manga and musical artists from Japan and get involved with everything from costume play, karaoke and video competitions while offering exclusive screenings, non-stop video gaming competitions and the anticipated Masquerade in which fans transform themselves into their favorite characters through creative costuming, accessories and make-up and put on their own show before an audience of thousands. A simple online application process is available to anyone wishing to take part in or present at Anime Expo, obtainable from the web site. The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA) is the parent organization which funds and manages Anime Expo.

There are many segments making up Anime Expo, which runs through July 6, including the Masquerade, Anime Music Video Contest, Concerts, Battle of the Bands, and the AX Fashion Show. Anime Expo is a 24-hour convention that offers late-night dances, all night video programming, tabletop gaming rooms, and open-mic Karaoke in the late evening/early morning hours. Many of the attendees cosplay while attending the convention, and there are many gatherings for fans of different anime and manga series.

There are numerous areas of event interaction that Anime Expo will have going on -- in some cases 24/7. Last Comic Standing is a showcase for visitors to show off their comedy skills. There is programmed Japanese music entertainment, featuring J-Pop, Ani-Song, Japanese rock, and Idol Performers. The Anime and Manga Studies Symposium will schedule talks and lectures on Japanese comics and animation given by scholars from colleges and universities around the world. Live Panels put on by industry companies as well as attendees, range from announcements directly from the industry to fan discussions. AX Fashion unveils trends in Japanese street-wear and design from Harajuku and Shibuya through panels, a showcase fashion show, and  guest designers and models.

eGames area is a free play area at Anime Expo for everyone attending Anime Expo that love video games. The Table Top Gaming will host tournaments in favorite games like Yu-Gi-Oh, Magic The Gathering, Settlers of Cataan, and Texas Hold’em, to a casual gaming environment and this year will be joining forces with Arcade, and Console gaming. The anticipated Masquerade is an Anime Expo highlight with costumes and performances competing for the trophy. Lounge 21 and Manga Lounge will be separately themed lounges for relaxation and entertainment. The Artist Alley is a venue for amateur and semi-professional artists to celebrate Japanese pop culture through works of art.

Taking place in cinemas, bars and clubs about Perth, but centered in Leederville, with live music, performance, conferences and movies, Revelation Perth International Film Festival strives to put a unique slant on its programming. Opening night screening is Jonathan Glazer's 'Under The Skin,' adapted from the book of the same name by Michael Faber, in which Scarlett Johansson plays an alien driving through Scotland in a van to seduce men and lure them back to her mysterious lair. Getting its start back in 1997 in the basement back room of the Greenwich Club, a regarded Perth jazz venue, Revelation is part of the Australian film festival season and interacts with the Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and New Zealand International Film Festivals and any number of Australian screen culture organisations with program, print sources and curated projects.

The Revelation Screen Conference (RevCon) is structured to highlight and investigate issues, approaches and perspectives that are part of international independent film process. Held over two weekends during the festival, RevCon aims to be an 'ideas market' that draws in industry participants from the creative, cultural and business sectors for discussion and analysis oriented panel sessions that are free to attend. Complimentary to RevCon is an academic sidebar - Revelation Academic - that will take on areas such as: the current state of play of the international independent scene, a television masterclass with Aaron Pedersen (at cost), getting ideas through from concept to screen, creating new cinematic worlds. Separately from the conferences, Magnolia’s Late Night Live Revelation Special, a live talk show with a substantial following, brings together artists and musicians to chat about entertainment and cinematic appreciation led by Tristan Fidler (RTRFM’s Movie Squad), at a scheduled July 7 appearance at Bill's Bar and Bites.

Revelation strives to bring out the unique, weird and unusual in its festival programming. Revelation will celebrate Vladmaster’s View-Master reels --  handmade View-Master reels. As a seated audience holds their viewmasters in hand the audio soundtrack starts accompanying the 3D stereoscopic slides with the audience clicking-on the viewers as the soundtrack demands. The result becomes a visionary form of storytelling where the music, narration, sound effects and dings let the audience know when to advance each image or change discs. A selection of experimental films, from abstracted forms through dreamscapes and diaries and very personal explorations of the potentialities of cinema will be screened in the Experimental Showcase. The REVEL-8 Showcase was conceived to challenge a filmmaker to shoot one reel of silent Super 8 film in camera lasting only three and one-half minutes. A composer's challenge was to compose and record a music soundtrack without meeting the director. The resulting public showcase of matched films and scores will compete for prizes.

Revelation's program carries live music, gallery based visual arts and associated activity generated by the event or independent curators. Entries for the 2015 edition will open on September 1. Subscribing to the newsletter is one way to receive notification as it happens. Presently, the festival includes 100 international films presented at cinemas, galleries, cafes and bars across Perth. The 26th Annual WA Screen Award (WASAs) will be held at the Heath Ledger Theatre in the State Theatre Centre of WA on July 14 as a grand finale event to the Revelation Perth International Film Festival.

With an emphasis on music in film, the San Francisco Frozen Film Festival features a music competition as well as a film competition. There is also the July 17 opening night gala, live concerts, music winners, youth programs and film screenings with filmmaker discussion that round out this Bay-Area festival held in the Mission district. Last year's festival featured surf and skate films, international films, animated shorts, dramatic shorts, comedic shorts, Art House / experimental shorts, feature films, digital films, music documentaries, prison documentaries, and two musical concerts. In addition to the annual film festival, the SFFFF Youth Program is very focused on providing underserved youth pathways to help them find a career in the film arts.

The 2014 festival features a Gala-party, a concert with the music winners, another concert with bands from one of the movies, and a closing night awards ceremony set for July 20. The Frozen Film Festival invites all filmmakers and musicians to submit their work for programming with a strong commitment to music, shorts, and Bay Area related films, and more than 10 bands who played concerts at various spots around the city during the festival. The festival takes in submissions on VHS or DVD/Blu-Ray disc. More information is available on the website or by emailing: frozenfilmfestival@gmail.com. Filmmakers whose work is accepted into the festival are invited to come to the festival to screen and discuss their work.

Skip City International D-Cinema Festival is an international competitive festival taking place in Saitama, created to encourage and contribute to the development of Digital Cinema (D-Cinema), focusing just on works shot and produced digitally. The Festival's mandate is to encourage and contribute to the development of Digital Cinema and to cultivate filmmakers in Digital Cinema through international competitions, screenings and awards for digital filmmakers and their works. Categories up for competition for this festival with dates from July 19-27 will include: Feature Length, Short Length Competition, Animation Competition, Current D-Cinema 2014, Cinema Kabuki, Special Screenings, Barrier Free Screenings with Japanese subtitles and Audio Guidance and Guests.

All entries are screened by a 4K Digital Cinema projector at Skip City. Awards will be presented at the Closing Ceremony by an international jury committee. Overall, there will be several unique side events that will accompany the screenings and competitions, most of which are suited for the entire family. There will be three evenings of outdoor screenings (July 20-22) with an appearance by action hero Ultra-man Tiga on evening one, three NHK animations will screen on evening two, the original Ultra-man series will screen on evening three. Learn how to cook with secret recipes (July 20) and sample various dishes prepared with Bulldog sauce.

In Skip City musical programming, a local big band, New Notes Orchestra, will perform movie soundtracks (July 21-26). The annual bon dancing festival with international guests (July 21). UWF, a popular student wrestling team, will appear at Skip City (July 26) and visitors can enjoy tap beer and snacks in the Beer Garden. A Waku Waku Workshop (July 19, 22, 26) will show visitors how to make a thaumatrope, the origin of the motion picture reel. Kids special screenings of TV programs from NHK Archives and popular animation programs will be screened (July 20, 21, 25). An exhibition of on-set location photos provided by Film Commission Office in Saitama can be viewed from July 19-26.

Casual Connect USA 2014 happens in San Francisco with a July 22 starting date. Casual Connect USA is the largest of all the Casual Connect conferences. Casual Games Association produces these events for the casual games industry with over 6,500 professionals attending Casual Connect each year. Along with the conference sessions, indie developers will be showcasing their works in the Indie Prize Showcase and established developers will be presenting their games in the IDEA Showcase. The remaining Casual Connect series set for this year is set for November 10-12 in Serbia.

Lectures at Casual Connect are programmed to focus on cutting edge topics in the video games space. Presenting at the series, Jill Braff, Commerce Mobile Gaming Social, discusses "Beyond the App Store: Where's the Casual Games Market in a Post-Zynga World?" Another presentation features Mike Delaet, Kabam; Andrew N. Green, Tinyco; Simon Jeffery, Backflip with Moderator Ben Chen, SponsorPay, taking part in a panel titled "Indie vs. Blockbusters... or a Match Made in Heaven?"

The International Design, Entertain and Amaze (IDEA) Showcase at Casual Connect invites established developers looking for international partners for publishing, user aquisition, game performance monitoring and logistical support. Among the benefits offered by IDEA is a dedicated showcase area, online game listing and online meeting system listing. Hosted four times a year in conjunction with Casual Connect and Indie Prize, the IDEA Showcase™ highlights developers from all over the world in showcases in Western Europe, Asia, USA and Eastern Europe. Promising developers just getting started are encouraged to apply for the Indie Prize scholarship. Submission is handled through an online application process (http://www.cvent.com/d/w4qs56/4W).

Casual Connect is often reputable for its parties and networking events. Networking mixers will include: A Pre-Funk & Badge Pickup with StartApp on July 21. The next day, July 22, there is an early evening Mingle with Tapjoy followed by the Official Opening Night Party, presented by InMobi + Pandora, which will be a dance party featuring DJ Youngblood Hawke and Tender Buttons at Mezzanine. For July 23, Mingle with Fiksu, opens the early evening then followed by Dinner with Vegas World, Indie Prize Awards Ceremony, ending in an evening of music and dancing with App Annie and Upsight at Party @ City Hall. On the final convention day, July 24, there is the Women's Lunch with DeNA starting at noon.

Comic-Con is a multigenre entertainment and comic convention taking place annually since 1970 when it originally began as Golden State Comic Book Convention. Once only exclusively showcasing comic books and science fiction/fantasy related film and television arts, the convention now includes a larger range of pop culture and entertainment elements across most all genres. On the Wednesday evening prior to the official July 24 opening of the convention, there is a preview for professionals, exhibitors, and select guests pre-registered for all four days. Comic-Con International opens with Preview Night on July 23, marking the 45th year for the show.

There are several event areas that happen at Comic-Con. Comic-Con International's 2014's Artists' Alley will feature artists and illustrators working in comics, science fiction and fantasy, and related popular arts fields. Anyone interested in applying for exhibit space in Comic-Con International's Artists' Alley can go to their website to download the Artists' Alley Exhibitor Application. The Comics Arts Conference which started in 1992 at Comic-Con has an academic orientation and offers panels, seminars, and sessions covering all four days of Comic-Con. The Comic Creator Connection is the convention initiative that brings writers and artists together to enable creative collaborations.

Located in the Sails Pavilion upstairs at the Convention Center, the Art Show displays the nominated books and comics for this year’s Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards and houses a special exhibit devoted to members of the Will Eisner Hall of Fame in addition to original works by both amateurs and professionals. Carrying over an arrangement of past years, fan tables will be set up across the convention exhibit hall.

Comic-Con International also produces two other conventions, WonderCon and the Alternative Press Expo (APE), both held in San Francisco. Comic-Con has also awarded its annual Inkpot Award on guests and persons of interest in the Popular Arts industries, as well as on members of Comic-Con's Board of Directors and the Convention Committee. It is also the home of the Will Eisner Awards. Comic-Con is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to creating awareness of, and appreciation for, comics and related popular art forms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events.

The Kaua'i Music Festival (KMF) Songwriter Conference and Concert Series is a four-day annual event is held on the island of Kaua‘i focusing on the art and craft of songwriting, embracing most genres -- rock, pop, R&B, country, urban, contemporary Hawaiian. At Kaua’i, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization now in its 12th year, attendees can learn songwriting or refine skills through interaction with actively professional songwriters. In addition, throughout the conference performed music will be heard by active industry veterans. Through one-on-one meetings, small group sessions, workshops, panel discussions, open mic activities, and more, there are ample opportunities to consult with and get feedback from industry representatives that include producers, TV and Film Music Supervisors, A&R Executives. An evening discussion set for July 30 covers, "How the Grammys Work".

In addition to the regular songwriting workshops and one-on-one meetings, Kaua'i Music Festival will provide a number of "Informational Workshops" to help working musicians and songwriters. There will be two workshops sponsored by the State of Hawaii, DBEDT, Creative Industries Division: "Everything You Need to Know About the Business of Placing Your Music in TV & Advertising", led by Chris Jackson, Comcast Entertainment Group, and "Everything You Need to Know About the Business of Placing Your Music in Film and Cinema", led by David Trotter, Studio 51. Other workshops are available and a CD "Demo Derby" will be held during the early morning session of August 2 with participants encouraged to bring their CD's.

As in past years, Kaua’i Music Festival will hold it's songwriting contest for registered attendees to participate in. Submissions would have had to have been registered in advance. The final competition will be held on the second day of the Festival. Each of the selected Finalists will perform their submitted song in the competition. In 2014 there are two concert nights. On August 1, a Po`alima Concert featuring Mainland Artists will present Hot Chelle Rae, 'Hookman' Marlin Bonds, Mark Feist, Richard Harris and other artists. And on August 2 a Pau Hana Concert features Hawaiian Artists, showcasing Kenneth Makuakane with the Pandanus Club, Eric Gilliom, John Cruz, Kimo Knox and other performers. The Festival closes out on August 2 with an Open Mic followed by Party time in the Makai Lounge.

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 Mumbai based film sound designer, Harikumar Pillai as the subject of a profile by Dhaka based Jamuna Television and the official show poster for Comic-Con in San Diego. 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 months, be aware that: the Florida Film Industry Expo 2014 opens in Tampa, Texas Association of Broadcasters 61st Annual Convention and Trade Show opens for two days in Austin, the 3rd Kolkata Shorts International Film Festival-14 is a one day festival in Kolkata, the Southern Hemisphere’s largest known film festival - Melbourne International Film Festival - opens in Victoria for an 18 day run, the 10th Annual HollyShorts Film Festival opens in Hollywood, the Monitor Latino Convention will be in Los Angeles over three days, the Brazil Promotion Trade Show 2014 will be in Sao Paulo.

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.

NAB 2014 Show, French Quarter Festival, Supanova Pop Culture Expo, Tribeca Film Festival, are highlights in April's Global Media and Entertainment Industry

In 2003 Palm Beach International Film Festival became a "Competitive" Festival joining the ranks of other film events such as: Sundance, Cannes, Toronto and Venice. PBIFF screens features, documentaries and short films from the U.S. and around the world and will play host to filmmakers, producers, and actors to represent and discuss their films. Opening Night begins with 'Belle,' directed by Amma Asante, followed by a party at Bogart's Bar and Grille in Palm Beach Gardens. The film stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Emily Watson, Tom Felton, Sam Reid and Tom Wilkinson, and is inspired by the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle (Mbatha-Raw).

Other film highlights during the festival include the acclaimed and festival favorites 'Ethel' (with Ethel Kennedy herself in attendance), 'Robot & Frank', 'Love Free Or Die' and the first of iconic author Judy Blume's novels to be brought to the big screen. The Palm Beach International Film Festival will continue to partner with independent theater owners, their bookers and distribution outlets from across the U.S. will be invited as  guests to screen films and meet filmmakers. The PBIFF is looking forward to fostering these relationships and helping our independent filmmakers get their projects seen by larger audiences.

The PBIFF has dedicated itself to making a difference in the lives of young people by helping to fulfill their dreams in the world of film. Proceeds generated each year go to the Palm Beach County Schools to provide new technologies for optimal learning in the form of grants and scholarships. On April 5 the festival will host, "Toast of the Town - A Tribute to Classic Hollywood at the Eau Palm Beach", a VIP level affair where guests will be sipping on the champagne featured in A Year in Champagne and enjoy special Tito’s Vodka Martinis while partying the night away with filmmakers and special guests. The festival ends its run April 10.

Now in its 23rd year, the Florida Film Festival in Maitland is an Oscar®-qualifying festival, premiering current, independent, and international cinema. Through ten days of presenting 170 films and various events, film lovers mingle with filmmakers and celebrities over hand-crafted cocktails and a locally-sourced menu. Opening Night Film, "The Trip to Italy", preceded by “Oh Sheep!” is followed by the Opening Night Party. Participating restaurants, bars, and brands include Cask and Larder, Coppola Fine Wines, The Courtesy, Etho’s Vegan Kitchen, Enzian and Eden Bar, Hyatt Grand Regency, K Restaurant, The Matador, Olea Grill, Sushi Pop, Smiling Bison, Tito’s Vodka, Troy and Sons, Whole Foods, and more.

Other Florida Film Festival parties and/or receptions include: April 5 on the lawn at Eden Bar for a farmers market, April 6 Sunday Brunch complete with buffet and a mimosa, free Tasting Reception during April 7 Italian Cinema Night with Italian treats presented between flicks, Whole Foods Market tasting reception of organic appetizers on April 8, April 9 Wednesday Night Pitcher Show on the lawn at Eden Bar serving cocktails and treats, an invite only Filmmaker Welcome Party hosted by Full Sail University serving complimentary bites and cocktails on April 10, April 11 Industry Party with complimentary beer and live music all night, Awards Bash with live DJ, cash bar, Celluloid Circus on April 12, Sunday Brunch with mimosas at Festival close on April 13.

For an April 10 Florida Film Festival panel, female visionaries share their personal experiences and what it means to be a successful woman working in movies today. Panelists include Meira Blaustein, filmmaker/Executive Director of the Woodstock Film Festival; Kim Kalyka, Director of Exhibitor Relations at IFC Films; Debra McClutchy, VP of Home Entertainment Production and Creative at Oscilloscope Pictures; and producer Andrea Roa (Drinking Buddies), a 2014 Independent Spirit "Producer of the Year" award nominee. Anne Russell, Program Director of Film at Full Sail University, will moderate.

The Florida Film Festival hosts A Filmmaker Forum with new independent filmmakers every year and always sets aside one day (April 11 for this session) to form a Q&A with them. This exchange of ideas and know-how defines the festival's intellectual intentions. Rollins College Professor Denise Cummings, Chair of the Department of Critical Media and Cultural Studies, will moderate the exchange. Giancarlo Esposito will be in attendance for a post-film Q&A after the screening of a new digital restoration of Spike Lee's 'Do The Right Thing' in celebration of the film’s 25th anniversary. Mr. Esposito will take part in a post-film Q&A. Brooklyn-born actor and singer Paul Sorvino will be in attendance at the screening of Last I Heard on April 11, at 16:15 at Enzian.

Since 1992, Enzian has been the proud host of the Florida Film Festival. As part of its mission to entertain, inspire, educate, and connect the community through film, Enzian, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, community-supported arts organization, presents innovative and original cinematic programming not just during the Festival, but all year long.

The annual Las Vegas NAB Show is essentially an exposition serving the digital media and entertainment industries by focusing on video, audio and broadcast practices and technology. It is structured as a resource for next-generation tools to develop, manage and deliver content across all platforms and allows visitors to take part in an international community of content professionals. NAB President and CEO Gordon H. Smith will open the show with the State of the Broadcast Industry Address on April 7. Several hours later a Television Luncheon honors "Everybody Loves Raymond" as the Television inductee to the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

Among several NAB conferences planned, the "Creative Master Series - Storytelling for All Screens", happening April 7-9, features award-winning directors, show runners, creative crew, and studio and network production executives for an insiders' perspective on the craftsmanship of content. Key topics for this conference focus on advances in animation, game storytelling, advancing story through sound, web series best practices and more. The "Disruptive Media Conference - Profiting in Entertainment's New Landscape", held April 9-10, gathers broader-casters to discuss how new media as well as more traditional OTT technologies that are impacting business models for distribution and consumer engagement. Roy Sekoff, Huffington Post Media Group, will deliver the opening keynote for this conference.

Some of the workshops scheduled for this year's NAB include: 2nd Screen Sunday, an event showcasing the latest business opportunities, creative case studies and technology innovations related to the creation of supplementary, synchronized and social TV content. Digital Strategies Exchange for Radio (DSX4r) as a one-day program that focuses on the many new technologies affecting radio broadcasting today, and provides recommendations for non-technical managers on how to best leverage them to local radio's advantage. Introduction to Professional Wireless Communications, presented by the IEEE Communications Society, is a 6-hour course for professionals who seek to stay competitive in today's job market with up-to-date knowledge of technologies, products and services in the mobile telecommunications industry.

Special pavilions and gathering areas at the 2014 NAB start with the Futures Park, a showcase of advanced projects presented by NAB Labs. It has demonstrations of high-tech media developments in progress, prototypes, and products not yet available for sale from academic, government, and/or commercial research laboratories in the United States or even the international market. The StudioXperience™ is where anyone can see the latest technologies being showcased and utilized as part of a live broadcast studio. Connected Media World focuses on the connected consumer experience including IPTV, mobile, social and cloud technologies, devices and content. Arx@des locations include Central Hall, North Hall, South Lower Hall and South Upper Hall outfitted with relaxation dens outfitted with gaming tables, audio headsets, fun with paints, other activities plus prizes and other surprises.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) advocates on behalf of America's free, local radio and television stations and broadcast networks before Congress, the Federal Communications Commission and the courts. Working on behalf of its radio and television membership, NAB provides members with advocacy efforts, legal expertise and timely communications and opportunities for career growth, professional development and networking with other broadcasters.

MUSEXPO happpens April 6-9, but it will be co-located with these other industry events: WorldWide Radio Sumit, Global Rock Summit. In Hollywood, MUSEXPO 2014 will be held following the 4th Annual Worldwide Radio Summit (April 2-4) and 1st Annual Global Rock Summit (April 4-5). This year’s MUSEXPO will also host the 5th Annual Global Synch and Consumer Brands Summit (April 9) which will bring together over 80 influential music supervisors from film, TV, games, advertising, retail and brands to meet with participating content creators and owners attending MUSEXPO from across the U.S. and global markets. In addition, the official Pepsi “Int’l Music Industry Awards” happens at the event on April 9. Songwriter Diane Warren, Founder and President at Realsongs, will be honored as MUSEXPO’s “International Music Person of the Year” with Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO, Universal Music Group presenting Warren with the coveted annual music industry award.

At MUSEXPO, CNN icon Larry King moderates the Global Keynote: The State of the Sonic Union, with panelists: Ian Rogers, CEO, Beats Music; Hartwig Masuch, CEO, BMG Rights Management; Frank Cooper III, Global Chief Marketing Officer Consumer Engagement, PepsiCo, Inc.; George Ergatoudis, Head of Music, BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra, Steve Schnur, Worldwide Head of Music, EA Games and Michael Chugg, Founder and Chairman, Chugg Entertainment. And in other activity Tracy McKnight, Tracy McKnight Entertainment, moderates a panel on Motion Picture Music: The Soundtracks & Trailers paneled by Howard Pear, Music Supervisor; Kaylin Frank, Walt Disney Studios, Lindsay Fellows, Theengine360.com; Rachel Levy, Universal Pictures; Richard Glasser, The Weinstein Co. and there will be a live performance by Ingrid Olava.

The origins of MUSEXPO stem from the roots of the intimate A&R Network (the predecessor to A&R Worldwide) networking dinners in Los Angeles, which first occurred back in 2001 and have since traveled to New York, Berlin and London. These exclusive dinners were organized by A&R Network and A&R Worldwide architect Sat Bisla with the purpose of bringing together friends and like-minded relationships from the global radio, A&R, film/TV music supervision, publishing, new media and artist management communities to engage in creative dialogue and establish fresh business relationships.

The 31st Annual French Quarter Festival will highlight New Orleans’ signature music, food, and culture in the historic neighborhood -- the French Quarter. From the 21 stages throughout the French Quarter, the festival celebrates local music and represents every indigenous genre from traditional and contemporary jazz to R&B, New Orleans funk, brass bands, Folk, Gospel, Latin, Zydeco, Classical, Cabaret, and international. Running April 10-14, French Quarter Festival will have many events and activities for the public to take part in -- and mostly all free.

Naturally a great deal of the festival is about music. But some very special and highlighted music events will include: the French Quarter Festival Second-Line Kickoff Parade led by The Original Pin Stripe Brass Band down Bourbon Street to Jackson Square on April 11, "Opera at Dusk" operatic performances with musical accompaniment on April 13, a Battle of the Bands with traditional jazz bands competing in a playoff on April 13, "Dancing at Dusk" with The Tomcats performing the sounds of Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Count Basie and other favorites from the 30s, 40s, and 50s on April 13. 'Shout, Sister, Shout!' The Boswell Sisters of New Orleans -- an exhibition presented by The Historic New Orleans Collection, will trace one of the city’s most celebrated musical exports through memorabilia, photographs, radio scripts, notes from fans and peers, and listening stations. The exhibition continues past the festival run through October 26.

Jazz and New Orleans go together -- but so does food. And the French Quarter festival highlights this in its own unique way. The festival has scheduled the Rouses World Championship Crawfish Eating Contest for April 12, hosted by Rouses and the IFEA (International Federation of Eating) at Louisiana State Museum’s Old U.S. Mint. The action (or eating) starts at noon. Throughout the festival, New Orleans' restaurants are invited to take part in and create the food and beverage offerings what is called “The World’s Largest Jazz Brunch” in Jackson Square, the Louisiana State Museum’s Old U.S. Mint and Woldenberg Riverfront Park during festival weekend. Satchmo SummerFest (an upcoming event) hosts New Orleans restaurants, known as “Red Bean Alley”, with Louis Armstrong-inspired dishes and local cuisine.

The French Market Traditional Jazz Stage and the Chevron Cajun-Zydeco Showcase will feature dancing and classes in  Traditional Jazz, 1920s Charleston, Swing Dance, Cajun Jitterbug, and Zydeco. Classes are taught by professional dancers from NOLA Jitterbugs, DancingMan504, and Dance Quarter. The sessions will be held April 11-14 and are free and open to the public. Children and families are not left out of this festival, and some of their activities will include: Little Red School House 5K Race and Family Fest on April 12, Chevron Children’s Headquarters on the Riverfront Plaza at Audubon Plaza with face painting, nature activities on April 12, Children’s Museum Activities and Fun at the Hermann-Grima House on April 12, Little Red School House Family Fest on April 14. French Quarter Festivals, Inc. (FQFI), a 501©3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the Vieux Carré and the City of New Orleans through special events and activities that showcase the culture and heritage of New Orleans, annually produces three festivals: French Quarter Festival, Satchmo SummerFest, and Christmas New Orleans Style.

Supanova Pop Culture Expo is a fan convention focusing on the world's most popular science fiction and fantasy film and TV, comic books, anime, gaming and collectables. It is held annually in the Australian cities of Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and the Gold Coast. One can think of Supanova as Comic-con, Australian style. Supanova Pop Culture Expo is where the public can come to meet the players and the creative talent that inspire their imaginary worlds of anime, comic-books, manga, sci-fi, tv shows, movies, gaming and cosplay (cos-tume role-play).

A sample of Supanova guest appearances include Lucy Lawless, also known as Universal’s combat worthy Warrior Princess, Xena, who is scheduled for Q&A, photo-op, autograph and VIP Party (April 12 only), from April 11-12. Keir Dullea, perhaps best known for the lead role in Stanley Kubrick’s epic science-fiction film, 2001: “A Space Odyssey” (1968), as the astronaut Dr. David Bowman, and who reprised the role for the sequel in “2010: The Year We Make Contact” (1984), will be available to meet fans for photo and autograph sessions each Saturday and Sunday during the festival run.

There are many other featured activities and events that make up the Expo's "Supa-Activities and Competitions" activities to participate in. Supanova Guest panels appear on stage at scheduled times over the weekend to talk directly to fans. Anime and cartoon screenings will be shown in the Anime Theatre. An anime themed game show, a fast-paced quiz show where two teams captained by "experts" will be conducted at various times and locations on Sunday of every Supanova. Newly devised Imagineer's Playground is an interactive demonstrations and ‘how to’ workshop on subjects ranging from Introduction to Airbrushing through to applying creature effect make-up and more. Anime Trivia has been brought back into the format with three rounds of questions ranging from Azumanga Daioh to Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei, from shoujo to shounen, from magic girls to mecha and more.

Supanova will have a Wacom Fan Art Competition giving visitors a chance to compete against other artists in the community, be crowned for the best artwork of the show and win a Wacom drawing tablet. The Australian Pinball League and Amusement Machine Distributors are teaming up with the Supanova Pop Culture Expo and Timezone Australia to offer the Timezone Supanova Pinball competition. There will also be Epic Gaming, the next level in authentic shooter gaming. Participants will be able to choose their teams and type of tagger as they battle it out over a custom made Inflatable battle field designed especially for the Supanova and slated this year only for Melbourne. Other SupaNova events in different parts of Australia will be happening besides Melbourne. Gold Coast 2014 is April 4-6, Sydney 2014 is June 13-15, Perth 2014 is June 20-22, Adelaide 2014 is November 21-23, Brisbane 2014 is November 28-30.

Founded in 2002 in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the resulting economic fallout in the Tribeca neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, the Tribeca Film Festival® celebrates New York City as a major filmmaking center. The Festival's program line-up includes a variety of independent films including documentaries, narrative features and shorts, as well as a program of family-friendly films. The Festival also features panel discussions with personalities in the entertainment world and a music lounge produced with ASCAP to showcase artists. At the Festival's Artists Awards program emerging and renowned artists celebrate filmmakers by providing original works of art that are given to the filmmakers' competition winners.

One of the most enduring movie musicals of all-time, 'Mary Poppins', starring Julie Andrews as the nanny with a magical touch and Dick Van Dyke in the role of handyman Bert, will be given a free screening at the Tribeca Drive-In Brookfield Place, April 17. Tribeca Film Institute® (TFI) will host the third annual TFI Interactive Day. The day-long meeting of the minds takes place on April 26 during Tribeca Innovation Week at the Tribeca Film Festival® (TFF) and is devoted to exploring the future of storytelling in an evolving digital landscape. TFI Interactive (TFIi) draws in content creators and innovators from multiple media for an all-day forum and “Interactive Playground,” a new addition that will connect participants with selections from their projects. Insights will be shared and there will be challenging assessments to contemporary storytelling paradigms during the interactive panels and presentations.

Additionally, TFI Interactive (TFIi) is part of the new Tribeca Innovation Week, which includes a series of panels, discussions, and events featuring creative and tech verticals sharing their insights. The week will expand on Tribeca’s tradition of connecting the creative and tech communities. Projects from several Tribeca Innovation Week events will be showcased at TFIi, including Storyscapes, a showcase of transmedia projects, as well as Tribeca Hacks , a two-day hackathon. presented with AT&T, that will focus on wearable technology.

The Tribeca Talks series is always an integral part of the festival. Topics up for discussion in this year's Tribeca Talks series include: Shooting The Film - An Exploration of Cinematography, Pen To Paper: Repercussions of Truth, Dolby Institute - The Art of Sound Design and Music, Directors Series: Lee Daniels, Pen To Paper: Adaptation and Creation, Directors Series: Ron Howard With Brian Williams, The Growth of Short Content. Another conference mainstay, the Tribeca Family Festival, will feature the annual Street Fair on April 26, from 10:00 to 18:00, on Greenwich Street from Chambers Street to Hubert Street, and at venues throughout the Tribeca neighborhood. Aside from the annual event, Tribeca is more than just the Tribeca Film Festival. With a distribution business -- Tribeca Film -- that releases more than 25 movies per year both in theaters and on nationwide VOD.

Education Expo TV (EET CRS) an Indian research and branding company was founded in the year 2010 with its main focus area in education. The company provides services of ratings, ranking, research and branding solution. The company also hosts a number of awards to recognize the best talent/companies working across India and operates India’s first online edutainment channel which connects school, colleges, universities, corporate and policy makers for sharing and understanding of knowledge. The Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival is a not-for-profit, independent film festival, established in 2011 in Noida (Delhi NCR) with a mission to celebrate the cinema and work of aspiring, young, independent and professional filmmakers.

Dada Saheb Phalke is important to the Indian film industry as it is launched each year on April 30 to mark the birthday of late Shri Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, who is regarded as a founding father of Indian Cinema and fondly remembered as Dada Saheb Phalke by the film fraternity in India and throughout the international community. The festival, managed by Miniboxoffice, has sections for feature films, short films, documentaries, animations, music videos and advertising films. Aside from the screening of films, the festival will feature a "Talent Meet" for the purpose of Producers interested in meeting Directors with potential feature film projects, Producers interested in meeting Writers with potential feature film screenplay, Directors interested in meeting Producers with my new film project, Actors interested in meeting Directors and Producers, Investors interested in meeting Producers/Distributors and any other accommodating connections and arrangements to facilitate film production.

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 North American opening of Captain America, starring Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson,Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Robert Redford and Samuel L. Jackson. 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 the American Movie Awards will be held in Las Vegas, Streaming Media East will be held in New York City, the 5th Annual International Film Finance Forum in association with Variety opens in Cannes, the Amsterdam Film Festival is set for the Netherlands, the Drama Desk Awards will be given in New York City, the Cannes Film Festival launches in Cannes.