Updated with reaction from nominee Simon Lereng Wilmont from original 9:04 a.m. story: Only a handful of documentary filmmakers have earned a pair of Oscars during their careers. Laura Poitras could join that august group after earning a nomination this morning for her acclaimed feature All the Beauty and the Bloodshed.
Poitras’ first win came eight years ago for Citizenfour, her film about cyber intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed focuses on an equally compelling figure, renowned artist Nan Goldin, who has led a campaign to expose the role of the Sackler family – owners of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma – in the opioid crisis.
Atbatb premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where it became a rare documentary to win the Golden Lion. The film will go up against a quartet of documentary features directed by first-time Oscar nominees: All That Breathes, directed by Shaunak Sen; Fire of Love,...
Poitras’ first win came eight years ago for Citizenfour, her film about cyber intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed focuses on an equally compelling figure, renowned artist Nan Goldin, who has led a campaign to expose the role of the Sackler family – owners of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma – in the opioid crisis.
Atbatb premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where it became a rare documentary to win the Golden Lion. The film will go up against a quartet of documentary features directed by first-time Oscar nominees: All That Breathes, directed by Shaunak Sen; Fire of Love,...
- 1/24/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Publicist Mara Buxbaum is still in a good mood two days after the Oscars and staying up all night in Koreatown as Bong Joon Ho and the team behind “Parasite” celebrated their historic four-Oscar win. Did Director Bong drink as promised? “We all did, we all drank all night,” said Buxbaum on the phone Tuesday. “We had so much fun, drinking Soju and beer. We ate and laughed and gave speeches. It was very moving.”
You can’t blame Buxbaum for being emotional. She’s the first to recognize that success has many fathers, and that when it came to pushing Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” to Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay and International Feature Film, “it takes a village.”
But Buxbaum did jump on board the “Parasite” train early. I ran into her back in Cannes in May, envious that she was hanging out with the Competition jury as the guest of Yorgos Lanthimos,...
You can’t blame Buxbaum for being emotional. She’s the first to recognize that success has many fathers, and that when it came to pushing Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” to Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay and International Feature Film, “it takes a village.”
But Buxbaum did jump on board the “Parasite” train early. I ran into her back in Cannes in May, envious that she was hanging out with the Competition jury as the guest of Yorgos Lanthimos,...
- 2/15/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Netflix programming head Ted Sarandos wants to win Oscars. Netflix does fine in the nominations department, this year adding to their short and feature documentary Oscar nominations a record 112 Emmy nods (beating HBO); in 2018, it received four Oscar narrative nominations for Dee Rees’ “Mudbound.” Needless say, global streamer Netflix isn’t in the theatrical business (any theater bookings to date have been to please filmmakers), but Oscar contention adds enormous heft to any title. It’s all about luring more top talent to the service, which reaches 130 million subscribers in over 190 countries around the world.
On Wednesday, Netflix saw the New York Film Festival embrace Alfonso Cuaron’s 70 mm black-and-white Mexican drama “Roma” as its October 5 Centerpiece Gala (after presumably debuting at Venice). Perhaps even more important to the company’s Oscar future was the news that heavyweight Oscar strategist Lisa Taback would be joining the staff as vice president of talent relations,...
On Wednesday, Netflix saw the New York Film Festival embrace Alfonso Cuaron’s 70 mm black-and-white Mexican drama “Roma” as its October 5 Centerpiece Gala (after presumably debuting at Venice). Perhaps even more important to the company’s Oscar future was the news that heavyweight Oscar strategist Lisa Taback would be joining the staff as vice president of talent relations,...
- 7/19/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Netflix programming head Ted Sarandos wants to win Oscars. Netflix does fine in the nominations department, this year adding to their short and feature documentary Oscar nominations a record 112 Emmy nods (beating HBO); in 2018, it received four Oscar narrative nominations for Dee Rees’ “Mudbound.” Needless say, global streamer Netflix isn’t in the theatrical business (any theater bookings to date have been to please filmmakers), but Oscar contention adds enormous heft to any title. It’s all about luring more top talent to the service, which reaches 130 million subscribers in over 190 countries around the world.
On Wednesday, Netflix saw the New York Film Festival embrace Alfonso Cuaron’s 70 mm black-and-white Mexican drama “Roma” as its October 5 Centerpiece Gala (after presumably debuting at Venice). Perhaps even more important to the company’s Oscar future was the news that heavyweight Oscar strategist Lisa Taback would be joining the staff as vice president of talent relations,...
On Wednesday, Netflix saw the New York Film Festival embrace Alfonso Cuaron’s 70 mm black-and-white Mexican drama “Roma” as its October 5 Centerpiece Gala (after presumably debuting at Venice). Perhaps even more important to the company’s Oscar future was the news that heavyweight Oscar strategist Lisa Taback would be joining the staff as vice president of talent relations,...
- 7/19/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
As promised, new Academy president John Bailey, a long-time and passionate voter on the foreign language committee, has pushed through some long-awaited changes in the voting rules. It’s meant to be simpler; here’s how the new system works.
By the October 2 deadline, the Academy expects some 90 foreign entries. These will be divided into multiple lists (the number is Tbd; last year, there were four); committee participants (volunteers from all 17 Academy branches) are each assigned a list. They are required to watch all of the films on their assigned list at one of two screening rooms in L.A. They can see as many films on other lists as they like, and will receive full credit for each movie they screen. (Previously, a committee member had to watch a given percentage of films to qualify for voting.)
The Academy acknowledges that many questions about the actual breakdown of lists...
By the October 2 deadline, the Academy expects some 90 foreign entries. These will be divided into multiple lists (the number is Tbd; last year, there were four); committee participants (volunteers from all 17 Academy branches) are each assigned a list. They are required to watch all of the films on their assigned list at one of two screening rooms in L.A. They can see as many films on other lists as they like, and will receive full credit for each movie they screen. (Previously, a committee member had to watch a given percentage of films to qualify for voting.)
The Academy acknowledges that many questions about the actual breakdown of lists...
- 9/23/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
As promised, new Academy president John Bailey, a long-time and passionate voter on the foreign language committee, has pushed through some long-awaited changes in the voting rules. It’s meant to be simpler; here’s how the new system works.
By the October 2 deadline, the Academy expects some 90 foreign entries. These will be divided into multiple lists (the number is Tbd; last year, there were four); committee participants (volunteers from all 17 Academy branches) are each assigned a list. They are required to watch all of the films on their assigned list at one of two screening rooms in L.A. They can see as many films on other lists as they like, and will receive full credit for each movie they screen. (Previously, a committee member had to watch a given percentage of films to qualify for voting.)
The Academy acknowledges that many questions about the actual breakdown of lists...
By the October 2 deadline, the Academy expects some 90 foreign entries. These will be divided into multiple lists (the number is Tbd; last year, there were four); committee participants (volunteers from all 17 Academy branches) are each assigned a list. They are required to watch all of the films on their assigned list at one of two screening rooms in L.A. They can see as many films on other lists as they like, and will receive full credit for each movie they screen. (Previously, a committee member had to watch a given percentage of films to qualify for voting.)
The Academy acknowledges that many questions about the actual breakdown of lists...
- 9/23/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
A veteran 1950s breakout who went on to a lengthy career in film and television, Rita Gam has died. Her publicist, Nancy Willen, told press the actress passed away in Los Angeles of respiratory failure on Tuesday. She was 88. Born in Pittsburgh in 1927, Gam made her Broadway debut in 1946 and returned several times throughout her career as actress and producer, notably in the cast of the 1967 British comedy hit There’s a Girl in My Soup. In 1963, she was a leading member…...
- 3/23/2016
- Deadline
Rita Gam, a glamorous actress who starred in such exotic films as Saadia with Cornel Wilde, Sign of the Pagan with Jack Palance as Attila the Hun and Nicholas Ray's biblical King of Kings, died Tuesday. She was 88. Gam, who was director Sidney Lumet's first wife and a bridesmaid at Grace Kelly's 1956 wedding to Prince Rainier, died of respiratory failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, publicist Nancy Willen said. Gam also appeared opposite Gregory Peck in Night People (1954) and Shoot Out (1971), in William Dieterle's Magic Fire (1955), with Victor Mature in Hannibal (1959) and with
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- 3/22/2016
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Hollywood Film Awards® was founded in 1997 and honors excellence in filmmaking and traditionally signals the Official Launch of the Award Season®. The HFAs showcase to the public at large previews of quality films released during the calendar year. The first-ever Hollywood Film Awards® gala took place in October 1997 in the historic Blossom Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, in Hollywood. Kirk Douglas took home the inaugural “Hollywood Lifetime Achievement Award.” The Hollywood Film Awards launch the awards season. Over the past 18 years, prior honorees have gone on to garner many Oscar nominations and wins. With participating Hollywood insiders, our Advisory Team identifies and selects the recipients of our honors. Our winners are pre-selected to receive our awards. Our selection is based on their outstanding achievement and contribution to the art of cinema. They are not “nominees.” 2014 honorees included some of the biggest names in Hollywood such as Keira Knightley,...
- 10/2/2015
- by HollywoodNews.com
- Hollywoodnews.com
The Hollywood Film Awards honor established Hollywood artists. The criteria for these awards is based on the recipient’s body of work and/or a film that they have coming out this year. These awards are bestowed in all disciplines of filmmaking*: Career, Leadership, Producer, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Screenwriter, Cinematographer, Editor, Film Composer, Production Designer, Costume Designer, Animation, and Visual Effects. Our award/tribute recipients are selected by our Advisory Team which is comprised of a cross section of Hollywood professionals. To read more about the Hollywood Film Awards The selection process for our honorees takes multiple elements into consideration and involves attending pre-press private industry screenings, press screenings, festival screenings, and research. It also includes the support and participation of established entertainment industry executives, from agents, critics, directors, managers, producers, publicists, screenwriters and studio execs to members of the craft guilds. With participating Hollywood insiders,...
- 10/2/2015
- by HollywoodNews.com
- Hollywoodnews.com
We're less than two weeks away from the start of the Stanley Film Festival and it's been officially announced that Tom Quinn will be the recipient of their Visionary Award. We also have details on the festival's panels and jurors:
April 20, 2014 (Denver, Co) - The Stanley Film Festival (Sff) produced by the Denver Film Society (Dfs) and presented by Chiller, announced today it will honor Tom Quinn, co-president of RADiUS-twc as its 2015 Visionary Award Winner. Quinn is behind this year’s breakout horror title It Follows as well as other genre heavy hitters such as Snowpiercer, Blue Ruin and Only God Forgives. The Visionary award is given to a figure in contemporary horror who is making forward-thinking contributions that elevate the genre and provides a platform for new, innovative artists to create work. Previous recipients include Daniel Noah, Josh C. Waller and Elijah Wood, co-founders of SpectreVision (2014) and Eli Roth (2013). Quinn,...
April 20, 2014 (Denver, Co) - The Stanley Film Festival (Sff) produced by the Denver Film Society (Dfs) and presented by Chiller, announced today it will honor Tom Quinn, co-president of RADiUS-twc as its 2015 Visionary Award Winner. Quinn is behind this year’s breakout horror title It Follows as well as other genre heavy hitters such as Snowpiercer, Blue Ruin and Only God Forgives. The Visionary award is given to a figure in contemporary horror who is making forward-thinking contributions that elevate the genre and provides a platform for new, innovative artists to create work. Previous recipients include Daniel Noah, Josh C. Waller and Elijah Wood, co-founders of SpectreVision (2014) and Eli Roth (2013). Quinn,...
- 4/20/2015
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Sundance Institute today announced the participants for its annual Creative Producing Labs and Creative Producing Summit, both held the week of July 28 at the Sundance Resort in Sundance, Utah. These activities are part of the Institute’s year-round Creative Producing Initiative, which encompasses a series of Labs, Fellowships and other signature events that support independent producers. The Creative Producing Labs and Summit wrap the summer season of 10 residential Labs hosted in Utah by Sundance Institute, collectively representing 15 weeks of residency support and mentorship for the most promising new independent film and theater projects from the United States and around the world.
Nine films, both documentary and narrative, will participate in the Labs (July 28 – August 1), where they will work with an accomplished group of Creative Advisors to develop their creative producing, communication and problem-solving skills in all stages of film production. These Producing Fellows will also receive ongoing creative and strategic support throughout the year, as well as direct granting for further development and production. This year’s Fellows represent nine projects identified by Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program and Documentary Film Program. Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute, said, ”Independent producers play a critical role in discovering, fighting for and shaping original voices. Sundance Institute is committed to developing and supporting independent producers whose skills and tenacity are critical to maintaining the health and vibrancy of independent film.”
Immediately following the Labs, the Summit (August 1-4) takes place. The Creative Producing Summit is a three-day, invitation-only gathering that connects 40 independent filmmakers with more than 50 top film industry professionals including producers, distributors, sales agents, financiers and broadcasters to build a dialogue on film producing and the state of the independent film industry. Programmed events include case study sessions, panels, roundtable discussions, one-on-one meetings and pitching sessions. Panelists this year include Michael Barker (Sony Pictures Classics), Christine Vachon (Killer Films), Tom Quinn (Radius-twc), Paul Mezey (Journeyman Pictures), Rena Ronson (UTA), Ron Yerxa (Bona Fide Productions),
Diane Weyermann (Participant), Jessica Lacy (ICM), John Sloss (Cinetic), Jess Search (BritDoc), Kevin Iwashina (Preferred Content), Lois Vossen (Independent Lens), Ian Bricke (Netflix) and Josh Braun (Submarine).
Feature Film Creative Producing Lab
The Feature Film Creative Producing Lab allows emerging narrative feature film producers to work with an accomplished group of Creative Advisors to develop their creative and strategic instincts and skills in all stages of film production. This year’s Creative Advisors include producers Paul Mezey ("Beasts of the Southern Wild"),Pam Koffler ("Boys Don’t Cry"), Jay Van Hoy ("Love is Strange") and Julie Lynn ("Albert Nobbs").
The Fellows and projects selected for the 2014 Feature Film Creative Producing Fellowship are:
Black Bats
Producing Fellows: Adam Hendricks and John Lang
Feeling cast out from society, two teens form a romantic relationship under the belief that they’re transforming into monsters. What begins as fantasy ends with horrific consequences as they both lose touch with reality. (Writer/Director: Rick Spears)
Adam Hendricks has had over a decade of experience in the entertainment industry, including development positions at The Jinks/Cohen Company and Macari Edelstein Entertainment. Adam left development to raise financing and produce the independent feature film Caroline and Jackie (Tribeca Ff 2012). He developed and produced a variety of web series for Fourth Wall Studios, including Dirty Work, winner of the 2012 Emmy for Original Interactive Programming. In 2013, Adam partnered with John Lang to form Divide & Conquer, a production company specializing in independent films, as well as commercials for clients including Ford, EA Sports and Victory Motorcycles.
John Lang began his career in Austin, Texas, working with the Austin Cinemathéque and South by Southwest Film Festival. Since relocating to Los Angeles in 2008, John has worked in a variety of fields within the film industry including production, development, festivals, and sales. In 2011, John joined Rough & Tumble Films as a development and production executive, where he co-produced We Gotta Get Outta this Place (Tiff 2013). In 2013, John partnered with Adam Hendricks to form the commercial and feature film production company, Divide & Conquer.
I’m No Longer Here
Producing Fellows: Gerry Kim and Mayuran Tiruchelvam
Following the death of his older brother, a teenage Mexican boy is forced to migrate to New York City. When he arrives, he quickly realizes that the violence plaguing his home is no match for the feelings of alienation and loneliness he experiences in America. (Writer/Director: Fernando Frias)
Gerry Kim & Mayuran Tiruchelvam formed Dodgeville Films to produce humanistic narrative and documentary films. Their most recent documentary, "To Be Takei," a portrait of actor/activist GeorgeTakei, premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by Starz Digital Media. Gerry produced House of Suh, a feature documentary that premiered at HotDocs in 2010 and aired on MSNBC. Mayuran wrote and co-produced "The Girl is in Trouble," executive produced by Spike Lee, and line-produced "The Mend," which premiered at SXSW in 2014. In addition to " I’m No Longer Here," Gerry and Mayuran are developing Christina Choeʼs Nancy, which was selected for the 2013 Ifp Emerging Storytellers Lab, the 2013 Venice Film Festivalʼs Biennale College Cinema Program, and Film Independentʼs Fast Track. They are in post-production on the documentary Farewell, Ferris Wheel, a participant in the 2014 Film Independent Documentary Lab. They received their MFAs from Columbia University in New York City.
Microchip Blues
Producing Fellow: Riel Roch Decter
Fed up with his mundane existence working at the microchip factory, Jimmy teams up with a washed up mystic scientist to build the world's fastest microchip, win back his ex-girlfriend and save his factory from going quantum. (Writer/Director: Aaron Beckum)
Riel Roch Decter is a Canadian-born, Los Angeles-based producer and the Co-Founder of Memory, a new media and film company. Riel began his career as the Director of Production for the independent production company Olympus Pictures working on such films a "Rabbit Hole" and "Beginners." He has produced numerous awarding-winning films including the short "Night Giant"and the feature film The Wait, starring Jena Malone and Chloë Sevigny which premiered at SXSW 2013.
Tracktown, USA
Producing Fellow: Laura Wagner
In a small American town obsessed with competitive running, a famous but sheltered and lonely young runner rebels against her parents, coach and everything she’s ever known in the midst of her first Olympic Trials. (Co-Writer/Director: Jeremy Teicher, Co-Writer: Alexi Pappas)
Laura Wagner is an independent producer, founder of Bay Bridge Productions and current resident at San Francisco Film Society’s FilmHouse. She recently produced the feature film"It Felt Like Love" by Eliza Hittman, which premiered at Sundance in 2013 and opened in theaters in 2014. She also produced the film "Memorial Day" by Josh Fox, and she was Associate Producer of the documentary "John Leguizamo: Tales from a Ghetto Klown," which premiered on PBS and "Pulse: A Stomp Odyssey," the award-winning Imax film directed by the creators of "Stomp."
We the Animals
Mark Silverman Honoree & Producing Fellow: Jeremy Yaches
Based on the bestselling novel by Justin Torres,We the Animals is about the brutal yet loving dynamic of a mixed-race working class family, seen through the eyes of the youngest son, as he discovers his heritage, his sexuality and his madness. (Co-Writer/Director: Jeremiah Zagar, Co-Writer: Dan Kitrosser)
Jeremy Yaches is an Emmy-nominated producer and co-founder of Public Record, a production company that specializes in film, TV, branded content, and commercials. He produced the award-winning documentary "In A Dream," which has screened all over the world and was broadcast on HBO. A graduate of Boston University, Jeremy lives and works in Brooklyn.
Documentary Film Creative Producing Lab
The Documentary Film Creative Producing Lab allows documentary filmmakers to work intensively with award-winning Creative Advisors to hone their craft. The Lab includes sessions on financing, creative distribution, marketing and outreach for independent documentary films. This year’s Creative Advisors include Producers Bonni Cohen ("The Island President"), Brenda Coughlin ("Dirty Wars"), Josh Penn (Court 13) in addition to Nancy Willen (Acme PR), Jess Search (Britdoc), and Josh Braun (Submarine).
The Fellows and projects selected for the 2014 Documentary Film Creative Producing Fellowship are:
Transgender Youth Documentary
Director: Eric Juhola
Producer: Jeremy Stulberg
The Mathis Family in Colorado Springs struggle when their 6-year-old transgender daughter, Coy, is banned from the girl's bathroom at her elementary school. Coy's parents hire a lawyer to fight back and the family is thrust into the media spotlight, causing their lives to change forever.
Eric Juhola founded the film and television production company Still Point Pictures and produced the Gotham Award nominated documentary "Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa," winning 8 best documentary prizes at festivals around the world, followed by a theatrical release and Us broadcast on the Sundance Channel. Eric has additionally directed and produced documentaries and specials for Itvs/PBS, Discovery Channel, MTV, TLC, and TruTV, and has been featured at many film festivals including Tribeca.
Jeremy Stulberg is a documentary filmmaker, writer, and motion picture editor. His feature documentary, "Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa," co-directed with his sister Randy, screened at over 40 film festivals in the Us and Europe Jeremy has produced and edited award winning documentaries and feature films such as "My Mother’s Garden" (HotDocs, MSNBC) and "White Horse" (Berlin Ff 2008, HBO).
(T)error
Co-Directors/Producers: Lyric R. Cabral & David Felix Sutcliffe
"(T)error" is the inside story of ******, an active counterterrorism informant for the FBI. Filmed on the ground, it captures the dramatic unraveling of the informant's 20-year career with the Bureau after the target of his investigation realizes that he’s been set up.
Named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film, Lyric R. Cabral is an independent documentary filmmaker and photojournalist based in New York City. Cabral's photography has been recently published through the Gordon Parks Foundation, the Aperture Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution Photography Initiative, and National Geographic Channel UK.
David Felix Sutcliffe is an independent documentary filmmaker recently named one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Film.” His first film, "Adama," was broadcast on PBS in November 2011. Sutcliffe has worked as a cinematographer on films in Paris, Indonesia, Kenya, and Kansas, and has taught documentary film for the Harlem Children’s Zone, the Tribeca Film Institute, and the Brooklyn Arts Council since 2003.
Uncertain
Co-Directors/Co-Producers: Anna Sandilands & Ewan McNicol
On the shores of a dying lake, neighbors in the once outlaw town of Uncertain, Texas, are haunted by their pasts and battling demons for a future more certain—a tender, humorous southern gothic tale.
Anna Sandilands is a documentary filmmaker and founder of Lucid Inc. a communications company that makes work for clients based in real stories and documentary films. With Ewan McNicol she has made the short films "The Roper," "Missing," "Ufologist," "Dirt Racer," and "Oil Man" and make TV commercials and communications for clients including Google, Apple, Nike, Nokia and BlackBerry. Anna was named Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 Fresh Faces To Watch” in 2013.
Ewan McNicol is a documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, photographer and partner of Lucid Inc. a communications company that makes work for clients based in real stories and documentary films. With Anna Sandilands, his work has received awards including the Webby for Best Documentary, The One Club’s One Screen award for Best Documentary, an Effie and been nominated for a Cinema Eye award. Their films have been screened at film festivals including Sundance, BFI London International Film Festival, Edinburgh, SXSW, True/False, Seattle, Hot Docs, Silverdocs, Visions du Reel and Idfa. Ewan was named Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 Fresh Faces To Watch” in 2013.
Speed Sisters
Producer: Avi Goldstein
The Middle East’s first all-women motor racing team has come together in Palestine. What will it take to go further and faster than anyone thought they could? Speed Sisters captures the drive to follow your dreams against the odds, leaving in its trail shattered stereotypes about gender and the Arab world.
Avi Goldstein co-founded SocDoc Studios to produce story-driven films that engage audiences with social issues. He recently completed the documentary film "Fire Lines" (to be distributed by Journeyman Pictures) with the Ma'an Network in Bethlehem and Common Ground Productions. Avi received an BA in Psychology from Princeton University and was previously a consultant at Vantage Partners, a Boston-based negotiation and relationship management consulting firm spun out of the Harvard Negotiation Project. He recently completed an Ma in Non-Profit Management and Leadership, and facilitates interest-based negotiation and problem-solving skills workshops for high schools students. "Speed Sisters" is his first feature-length documentary.
Sundance Institute
Sundance Institute is a global nonprofit organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981. Through its artistic development programs for directors, screenwriters, producers, composers and playwrights, the Institute seeks to discover and support independent film and theater artists from the United States and around the world, and to introduce audiences to their new work. The Institute promotes independent storytelling to inform, inspire, and unite diverse populations around the globe. Internationally recognized for its annual Sundance Film Festival, Sundance Institute has nurtured such projects as "Born into Brothels," "Trouble the Water," "Son of Babylon," "Amreeka," "An Inconvenient Truth," "Spring Awakening," "I Am My Own Wife," "Light in the Piazza" and "Angels in America."Join Sundance Institute on Facebook,Twitter and YouTube.
Nine films, both documentary and narrative, will participate in the Labs (July 28 – August 1), where they will work with an accomplished group of Creative Advisors to develop their creative producing, communication and problem-solving skills in all stages of film production. These Producing Fellows will also receive ongoing creative and strategic support throughout the year, as well as direct granting for further development and production. This year’s Fellows represent nine projects identified by Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program and Documentary Film Program. Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute, said, ”Independent producers play a critical role in discovering, fighting for and shaping original voices. Sundance Institute is committed to developing and supporting independent producers whose skills and tenacity are critical to maintaining the health and vibrancy of independent film.”
Immediately following the Labs, the Summit (August 1-4) takes place. The Creative Producing Summit is a three-day, invitation-only gathering that connects 40 independent filmmakers with more than 50 top film industry professionals including producers, distributors, sales agents, financiers and broadcasters to build a dialogue on film producing and the state of the independent film industry. Programmed events include case study sessions, panels, roundtable discussions, one-on-one meetings and pitching sessions. Panelists this year include Michael Barker (Sony Pictures Classics), Christine Vachon (Killer Films), Tom Quinn (Radius-twc), Paul Mezey (Journeyman Pictures), Rena Ronson (UTA), Ron Yerxa (Bona Fide Productions),
Diane Weyermann (Participant), Jessica Lacy (ICM), John Sloss (Cinetic), Jess Search (BritDoc), Kevin Iwashina (Preferred Content), Lois Vossen (Independent Lens), Ian Bricke (Netflix) and Josh Braun (Submarine).
Feature Film Creative Producing Lab
The Feature Film Creative Producing Lab allows emerging narrative feature film producers to work with an accomplished group of Creative Advisors to develop their creative and strategic instincts and skills in all stages of film production. This year’s Creative Advisors include producers Paul Mezey ("Beasts of the Southern Wild"),Pam Koffler ("Boys Don’t Cry"), Jay Van Hoy ("Love is Strange") and Julie Lynn ("Albert Nobbs").
The Fellows and projects selected for the 2014 Feature Film Creative Producing Fellowship are:
Black Bats
Producing Fellows: Adam Hendricks and John Lang
Feeling cast out from society, two teens form a romantic relationship under the belief that they’re transforming into monsters. What begins as fantasy ends with horrific consequences as they both lose touch with reality. (Writer/Director: Rick Spears)
Adam Hendricks has had over a decade of experience in the entertainment industry, including development positions at The Jinks/Cohen Company and Macari Edelstein Entertainment. Adam left development to raise financing and produce the independent feature film Caroline and Jackie (Tribeca Ff 2012). He developed and produced a variety of web series for Fourth Wall Studios, including Dirty Work, winner of the 2012 Emmy for Original Interactive Programming. In 2013, Adam partnered with John Lang to form Divide & Conquer, a production company specializing in independent films, as well as commercials for clients including Ford, EA Sports and Victory Motorcycles.
John Lang began his career in Austin, Texas, working with the Austin Cinemathéque and South by Southwest Film Festival. Since relocating to Los Angeles in 2008, John has worked in a variety of fields within the film industry including production, development, festivals, and sales. In 2011, John joined Rough & Tumble Films as a development and production executive, where he co-produced We Gotta Get Outta this Place (Tiff 2013). In 2013, John partnered with Adam Hendricks to form the commercial and feature film production company, Divide & Conquer.
I’m No Longer Here
Producing Fellows: Gerry Kim and Mayuran Tiruchelvam
Following the death of his older brother, a teenage Mexican boy is forced to migrate to New York City. When he arrives, he quickly realizes that the violence plaguing his home is no match for the feelings of alienation and loneliness he experiences in America. (Writer/Director: Fernando Frias)
Gerry Kim & Mayuran Tiruchelvam formed Dodgeville Films to produce humanistic narrative and documentary films. Their most recent documentary, "To Be Takei," a portrait of actor/activist GeorgeTakei, premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by Starz Digital Media. Gerry produced House of Suh, a feature documentary that premiered at HotDocs in 2010 and aired on MSNBC. Mayuran wrote and co-produced "The Girl is in Trouble," executive produced by Spike Lee, and line-produced "The Mend," which premiered at SXSW in 2014. In addition to " I’m No Longer Here," Gerry and Mayuran are developing Christina Choeʼs Nancy, which was selected for the 2013 Ifp Emerging Storytellers Lab, the 2013 Venice Film Festivalʼs Biennale College Cinema Program, and Film Independentʼs Fast Track. They are in post-production on the documentary Farewell, Ferris Wheel, a participant in the 2014 Film Independent Documentary Lab. They received their MFAs from Columbia University in New York City.
Microchip Blues
Producing Fellow: Riel Roch Decter
Fed up with his mundane existence working at the microchip factory, Jimmy teams up with a washed up mystic scientist to build the world's fastest microchip, win back his ex-girlfriend and save his factory from going quantum. (Writer/Director: Aaron Beckum)
Riel Roch Decter is a Canadian-born, Los Angeles-based producer and the Co-Founder of Memory, a new media and film company. Riel began his career as the Director of Production for the independent production company Olympus Pictures working on such films a "Rabbit Hole" and "Beginners." He has produced numerous awarding-winning films including the short "Night Giant"and the feature film The Wait, starring Jena Malone and Chloë Sevigny which premiered at SXSW 2013.
Tracktown, USA
Producing Fellow: Laura Wagner
In a small American town obsessed with competitive running, a famous but sheltered and lonely young runner rebels against her parents, coach and everything she’s ever known in the midst of her first Olympic Trials. (Co-Writer/Director: Jeremy Teicher, Co-Writer: Alexi Pappas)
Laura Wagner is an independent producer, founder of Bay Bridge Productions and current resident at San Francisco Film Society’s FilmHouse. She recently produced the feature film"It Felt Like Love" by Eliza Hittman, which premiered at Sundance in 2013 and opened in theaters in 2014. She also produced the film "Memorial Day" by Josh Fox, and she was Associate Producer of the documentary "John Leguizamo: Tales from a Ghetto Klown," which premiered on PBS and "Pulse: A Stomp Odyssey," the award-winning Imax film directed by the creators of "Stomp."
We the Animals
Mark Silverman Honoree & Producing Fellow: Jeremy Yaches
Based on the bestselling novel by Justin Torres,We the Animals is about the brutal yet loving dynamic of a mixed-race working class family, seen through the eyes of the youngest son, as he discovers his heritage, his sexuality and his madness. (Co-Writer/Director: Jeremiah Zagar, Co-Writer: Dan Kitrosser)
Jeremy Yaches is an Emmy-nominated producer and co-founder of Public Record, a production company that specializes in film, TV, branded content, and commercials. He produced the award-winning documentary "In A Dream," which has screened all over the world and was broadcast on HBO. A graduate of Boston University, Jeremy lives and works in Brooklyn.
Documentary Film Creative Producing Lab
The Documentary Film Creative Producing Lab allows documentary filmmakers to work intensively with award-winning Creative Advisors to hone their craft. The Lab includes sessions on financing, creative distribution, marketing and outreach for independent documentary films. This year’s Creative Advisors include Producers Bonni Cohen ("The Island President"), Brenda Coughlin ("Dirty Wars"), Josh Penn (Court 13) in addition to Nancy Willen (Acme PR), Jess Search (Britdoc), and Josh Braun (Submarine).
The Fellows and projects selected for the 2014 Documentary Film Creative Producing Fellowship are:
Transgender Youth Documentary
Director: Eric Juhola
Producer: Jeremy Stulberg
The Mathis Family in Colorado Springs struggle when their 6-year-old transgender daughter, Coy, is banned from the girl's bathroom at her elementary school. Coy's parents hire a lawyer to fight back and the family is thrust into the media spotlight, causing their lives to change forever.
Eric Juhola founded the film and television production company Still Point Pictures and produced the Gotham Award nominated documentary "Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa," winning 8 best documentary prizes at festivals around the world, followed by a theatrical release and Us broadcast on the Sundance Channel. Eric has additionally directed and produced documentaries and specials for Itvs/PBS, Discovery Channel, MTV, TLC, and TruTV, and has been featured at many film festivals including Tribeca.
Jeremy Stulberg is a documentary filmmaker, writer, and motion picture editor. His feature documentary, "Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa," co-directed with his sister Randy, screened at over 40 film festivals in the Us and Europe Jeremy has produced and edited award winning documentaries and feature films such as "My Mother’s Garden" (HotDocs, MSNBC) and "White Horse" (Berlin Ff 2008, HBO).
(T)error
Co-Directors/Producers: Lyric R. Cabral & David Felix Sutcliffe
"(T)error" is the inside story of ******, an active counterterrorism informant for the FBI. Filmed on the ground, it captures the dramatic unraveling of the informant's 20-year career with the Bureau after the target of his investigation realizes that he’s been set up.
Named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film, Lyric R. Cabral is an independent documentary filmmaker and photojournalist based in New York City. Cabral's photography has been recently published through the Gordon Parks Foundation, the Aperture Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution Photography Initiative, and National Geographic Channel UK.
David Felix Sutcliffe is an independent documentary filmmaker recently named one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Film.” His first film, "Adama," was broadcast on PBS in November 2011. Sutcliffe has worked as a cinematographer on films in Paris, Indonesia, Kenya, and Kansas, and has taught documentary film for the Harlem Children’s Zone, the Tribeca Film Institute, and the Brooklyn Arts Council since 2003.
Uncertain
Co-Directors/Co-Producers: Anna Sandilands & Ewan McNicol
On the shores of a dying lake, neighbors in the once outlaw town of Uncertain, Texas, are haunted by their pasts and battling demons for a future more certain—a tender, humorous southern gothic tale.
Anna Sandilands is a documentary filmmaker and founder of Lucid Inc. a communications company that makes work for clients based in real stories and documentary films. With Ewan McNicol she has made the short films "The Roper," "Missing," "Ufologist," "Dirt Racer," and "Oil Man" and make TV commercials and communications for clients including Google, Apple, Nike, Nokia and BlackBerry. Anna was named Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 Fresh Faces To Watch” in 2013.
Ewan McNicol is a documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, photographer and partner of Lucid Inc. a communications company that makes work for clients based in real stories and documentary films. With Anna Sandilands, his work has received awards including the Webby for Best Documentary, The One Club’s One Screen award for Best Documentary, an Effie and been nominated for a Cinema Eye award. Their films have been screened at film festivals including Sundance, BFI London International Film Festival, Edinburgh, SXSW, True/False, Seattle, Hot Docs, Silverdocs, Visions du Reel and Idfa. Ewan was named Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 Fresh Faces To Watch” in 2013.
Speed Sisters
Producer: Avi Goldstein
The Middle East’s first all-women motor racing team has come together in Palestine. What will it take to go further and faster than anyone thought they could? Speed Sisters captures the drive to follow your dreams against the odds, leaving in its trail shattered stereotypes about gender and the Arab world.
Avi Goldstein co-founded SocDoc Studios to produce story-driven films that engage audiences with social issues. He recently completed the documentary film "Fire Lines" (to be distributed by Journeyman Pictures) with the Ma'an Network in Bethlehem and Common Ground Productions. Avi received an BA in Psychology from Princeton University and was previously a consultant at Vantage Partners, a Boston-based negotiation and relationship management consulting firm spun out of the Harvard Negotiation Project. He recently completed an Ma in Non-Profit Management and Leadership, and facilitates interest-based negotiation and problem-solving skills workshops for high schools students. "Speed Sisters" is his first feature-length documentary.
Sundance Institute
Sundance Institute is a global nonprofit organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981. Through its artistic development programs for directors, screenwriters, producers, composers and playwrights, the Institute seeks to discover and support independent film and theater artists from the United States and around the world, and to introduce audiences to their new work. The Institute promotes independent storytelling to inform, inspire, and unite diverse populations around the globe. Internationally recognized for its annual Sundance Film Festival, Sundance Institute has nurtured such projects as "Born into Brothels," "Trouble the Water," "Son of Babylon," "Amreeka," "An Inconvenient Truth," "Spring Awakening," "I Am My Own Wife," "Light in the Piazza" and "Angels in America."Join Sundance Institute on Facebook,Twitter and YouTube.
- 7/30/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
As we know, a passage through the many Sundance labs doesn’t guarantee a gold ticket for Park City in January, but undoubtably its certainly a professional nudge in the right direction. A total of nine films (5 fiction) will be heading to the Labs (July 28 – August 1) with this year’s Creative Advisors including folk we’ve mentioned on several occasion here in Paul Mezey (Beasts of the Southern Wild), Pam Koffler (Boys Don’t Cry), Jay Van Hoy (Love is Strange) and Julie Lynn (Albert Nobbs). Among this year’s summer camp for film producers we have the likes of Riel Roch Decter (who produced 2013 SXSW entry The Wait
from helmer M. Blash) and producer Laura Wagner (from Eliza Hittman’s It Felt Like Love fame). Here are the projects and producers heading up to the mythic location. Press release follows.
Feature Film Creative Producing Lab
The Feature Film Creative...
from helmer M. Blash) and producer Laura Wagner (from Eliza Hittman’s It Felt Like Love fame). Here are the projects and producers heading up to the mythic location. Press release follows.
Feature Film Creative Producing Lab
The Feature Film Creative...
- 7/29/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Paul Mazursky, the innovative and versatile director who showed the absurdity of modern life in such movies as Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and An Unmarried Woman, has died. He was 84. The filmmaker died of pulmonary cardiac arrest Monday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said Mazursky's spokeswoman Nancy Willen. As a talented writer, actor, producer and director, Mazursky racked up five Oscar nominations, mostly for writing such films as Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and Enemies, A Love Story. He also created memorable roles for the likes of Art Carney, Jill Clayburgh and Natalie Wood. Later in life, Mazursky acted...
- 7/2/2014
- by Associated Press
- PEOPLE.com
Paul Mazursky, the innovative and versatile director who showed the absurdity of modern life in such movies as Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and An Unmarried Woman, has died. He was 84. The filmmaker died of pulmonary cardiac arrest Monday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said Mazursky's spokeswoman Nancy Willen. As a talented writer, actor, producer and director, Mazursky racked up five Oscar nominations, mostly for writing such films as Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and Enemies, A Love Story. He also created memorable roles for the likes of Art Carney, Jill Clayburgh and Natalie Wood. Later in life, Mazursky acted...
- 7/2/2014
- by Associated Press
- PEOPLE.com
Paul Mazursky has died, aged 84.
The director and screenwriter passed away of pulmonary cardiac arrest on Monday, June 30, according to family spokeswoman Nancy Willen.
Mazursky was well known for his sometimes controversial movie topics in the '60s and '70s, and penned and directed films such as Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, Harry and Tonto and An Unmarried Woman.
Over his long career, Mazursky directed six actors in Oscar-nominated performances, including Anjelica Huston in Enemies: A Love Story and Art Carney in Harry and Tonto.
He once told the Chicago Tribune: "I seem to have a natural bent toward humour and I seem to make people laugh, but I think there is in me a duality.
"I like to make people cry also… I like to deal with relationships. The perfect picture for me does all that."
The filmmaker also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in...
The director and screenwriter passed away of pulmonary cardiac arrest on Monday, June 30, according to family spokeswoman Nancy Willen.
Mazursky was well known for his sometimes controversial movie topics in the '60s and '70s, and penned and directed films such as Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, Harry and Tonto and An Unmarried Woman.
Over his long career, Mazursky directed six actors in Oscar-nominated performances, including Anjelica Huston in Enemies: A Love Story and Art Carney in Harry and Tonto.
He once told the Chicago Tribune: "I seem to have a natural bent toward humour and I seem to make people laugh, but I think there is in me a duality.
"I like to make people cry also… I like to deal with relationships. The perfect picture for me does all that."
The filmmaker also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in...
- 7/1/2014
- Digital Spy
While not all films mentioned below are necessarily guaranteed future place among the Sundance Film Festival elite, it’s certainly a step in the right direction for the filmmakers and more importantly the producers backing the future of independent film. Among the eleven project participants below selected for the annual Creative Producing Labs and Creative Producing Summit (July 30 – August 3) in the Feature Film category we find such names as future superstars in Summer Shelton (she worked with Ramin Bahrani) and receives the first ever Bingham Ray Creative Producing Fellow, Tory Lenosky (worked as an assistant to Jay Van Hoy and Lars Knudsen) and Lucas Joaquin (second unit producer for Beasts of the Southern Wild). Here is the full press release below.
Feature Film Creative Producing Lab
The Feature Film Creative Producing Lab is a five-day Lab where narrative feature film producers work with an accomplished group of Creative Advisors to develop their creative instincts,...
Feature Film Creative Producing Lab
The Feature Film Creative Producing Lab is a five-day Lab where narrative feature film producers work with an accomplished group of Creative Advisors to develop their creative instincts,...
- 7/18/2012
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
HollywoodNews.com: The Weinstein Company (TWC) announced today that Tom Quinn and Jason Janego have joined forces with TWC Co-Chairmen Harvey and Bob Weinstein to create a new TWC label to bring new films and other specialty entertainment to audiences simultaneously across multiple digital and traditional platforms. Quinn and Janego will serve as Co-Presidents of the yet-to-be named label, which will be based in New York. The announcement was made by TWC COO David Glasser.
Quinn and Janego were among the first in the film industry to explore the potential of emerging digital platforms and were in the vanguard of developing new strategies for alternative distribution during their tenures at Magnolia Pictures, where they were Senior Vice President and Head of Legal & Business Affairs, respectively. In 2005, Magnolia became one of the first distributors to implement the day/date releasing, premiering Steven Soderbergh’s Bubble and Alex Gibney’s Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room...
Quinn and Janego were among the first in the film industry to explore the potential of emerging digital platforms and were in the vanguard of developing new strategies for alternative distribution during their tenures at Magnolia Pictures, where they were Senior Vice President and Head of Legal & Business Affairs, respectively. In 2005, Magnolia became one of the first distributors to implement the day/date releasing, premiering Steven Soderbergh’s Bubble and Alex Gibney’s Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room...
- 9/6/2011
- by Anastasia Alvarado
- Hollywoodnews.com
The Weinstein Company officially announced their plans to launch a VOD label. Deadline reports that TWC have hired Tom Quinn and Jason Janego to run it. This makes sense to me as VOD continues to grow as a way to make money for studios on films that are not a good choice for a wide theatrical release.
Here is the official press release:
New York (September 6, 2011) – The Weinstein Company (TWC) announced today that Tom Quinn and Jason Janego have joined forces with TWC Co-Chairmen Harvey and Bob Weinstein to create a new TWC label to bring new films and other specialty entertainment to audiences simultaneously across multiple digital and traditional platforms. Quinn and Janego will serve as Co-Presidents of the yet-to-be named label, which will be based in New York. The announcement was made by TWC COO David Glasser.
Quinn and Janego were among the first in the film industry...
Here is the official press release:
New York (September 6, 2011) – The Weinstein Company (TWC) announced today that Tom Quinn and Jason Janego have joined forces with TWC Co-Chairmen Harvey and Bob Weinstein to create a new TWC label to bring new films and other specialty entertainment to audiences simultaneously across multiple digital and traditional platforms. Quinn and Janego will serve as Co-Presidents of the yet-to-be named label, which will be based in New York. The announcement was made by TWC COO David Glasser.
Quinn and Janego were among the first in the film industry...
- 9/6/2011
- by Tiberius
- GeekTyrant
Talk about chutzpah. David Bergstein is behind a group seeking to acquire the Miramax name and film library from Disney, while in Berlin, his Pangea Media Group and subsidiary Capitol Films will be hustling movies from their existing library during the European Film Market.
Pangea is pushing ahead on both fronts even though Bergstein's legal problems continue to mount, the company's domestic marketing and distribution staffers have been laid off, and there are questions about whether the firm controls some of the movies being offered to buyers at the Berlinale. These pics include "$5 a Day," starring Christopher Walken and Sharon Stone, and Taylor Hackford's "Love Ranch," starring Joe Pesci and Hackford's wife, Helen Mirren.
Despite his travails, Bergstein has found a Saudi Arabian investor and is working with Deutsche Bank to help him acquire the Miramax name and film library, which Disney values as high as $700 million. (There are other potential bidders for Miramax,...
Pangea is pushing ahead on both fronts even though Bergstein's legal problems continue to mount, the company's domestic marketing and distribution staffers have been laid off, and there are questions about whether the firm controls some of the movies being offered to buyers at the Berlinale. These pics include "$5 a Day," starring Christopher Walken and Sharon Stone, and Taylor Hackford's "Love Ranch," starring Joe Pesci and Hackford's wife, Helen Mirren.
Despite his travails, Bergstein has found a Saudi Arabian investor and is working with Deutsche Bank to help him acquire the Miramax name and film library, which Disney values as high as $700 million. (There are other potential bidders for Miramax,...
- 2/10/2010
- by By Alex Ben Block
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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