National Film Preservation Foundation
More than a source of entertainment, film is the most authentic eyewitness to our recent history. From the first silent shorts to war time news reels and avant-garde animation, much of our nation’s...
View ArticleSan Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking
Students get hands-on experience at SFSDF. The San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking is turning the idea of the traditional film school on its head. By throwing out the years of classroom...
View ArticleColorado Film School
Though it might not be the first place that comes to mind when discussing film production hotspots, Colorado has an extensive history of involvement in the moviemaking world. Colorado was the first...
View ArticleDito Montiel
Screenwriter/Director Dito Montiel with Robert Downey Jr. and Rosario Dawson on the set of A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints. Photo by Walter Thomson. Say you grew up in the working-class...
View ArticlePeter Morgan
Peter Morgan wrote the screenplay for Stephen Frears’ The Queen, starring Helen Mirren. While some might say that dabbling in several different careers is a risky undertaking, screenwriter Peter...
View ArticleTerry Gilliam
Terry Gilliam, Brendan Fletcher and Jodelle Ferland on the set of the movie Tideland. Over the course of his career, Terry Gilliam has come to be known as one of today’s most visually innovative...
View ArticleGuillermo Arriaga
Alfonso Cuaròn, Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro González Iñárritu are three names that might come to mind when thinking of contemporary Latin auteurs. But Guillermo Arriaga’s growing reputation...
View ArticleAnne Aghion
Credit: Allan Ashworth After producing two internationally-acclaimed documentaries on Rwanda, award-winning journalist-turned-documentarian Anne Aghion set her sights on capturing the experiences of...
View ArticleAustin, Texas
Douglas McGrath’s Infamous was one of many movies shot in Texas’ capital city of Austin. “Austin is just simply not like the rest of Texas,” boasts the Website for Austin’s visitor’s bureau. As the...
View ArticleMichael Apted
There aren’t many moviemakers who have as long and varied a career as Michael Apted. Born in England in 1941, Apted studied law and history at Cambridge University before embarking on his impressively...
View ArticleChicago, IL
Stuck halfway between the cinematic hubs of New York and Los Angeles, Chicago, Illinois has come to represent the unique atmosphere of the urban midwest. Though, ironically, most of the Oscar-winning...
View ArticleFilm Forum
Multiplexes cater to the majority because mega-budget superhero films are guaranteed to gross more than a social commentary funded on a few thousand bucks. Both genres have their place in the world of...
View ArticleThe Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
It was almost as if a voice whispered, “If you build it, they will come,†into the ear of Doug Hawes-Davis. Frustrated with the lack of venues for independently-made documentary films, Hawes-Davis...
View ArticleOliver Stone (60)
Born 1946 in New York City. Nominated for 11 Academy Awards with three wins (Best Adapted Screenplay in 1979 for Midnight Express (dir. Alan Parker), Best Director in 1987 for Platoon, and another Best...
View ArticlePaul Haggis
Unless they’ve been living under a rock, every aspiring screenwriter should recognize Paul Haggis’ name. He is the first person in the history of the Academy Awards to have scripted two back-to-back...
View ArticleJames Burke
James Burke. Credit: George Kraychyk Though he may be new to the director’s chair, James Burke is no stranger to the art of creating subtle and thought-provoking entertainment. With his company,...
View ArticleGreta Garbo
Born 1905, Stockholm, Sweden. Died April 15, 1990. Nominated for four Best Actress Academy Awards: in 1930 for the title role in Anna Christie (dir. Clarence Brown) and for Madame Rita Cavallini in...
View ArticleKevin Macdonald
Director Kevin Macdonald and Forest Whitaker on the set of THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND Photo Credit: Neil Davidson. It’s not always easy for documentarians to cross the bridge over to fiction, but it...
View ArticleA Streetcar Named Desire
Elia Kazan’s A Streetcar Named Desire opened in the United States this day in 1951. Nominated for 12 Academy Awards, the film walked away with four, including Best Actress for Vivien Leigh. Streetcar...
View ArticleFestival de Cannes
Now regarded as the crème de la crème event for international film premieres, the Festival de Cannes first opened on this day in 1946. Although the festival was meant to launch September 1st, 1939,...
View ArticleEcho Park
Nestled in the Hollywood Hills, Echo Park’s relationship with the moviemaking world stretches back to the first incarnation of the now iconic LA film industry. Featured in Brian De Palma’s The Black...
View ArticleBill Murray (56)
Born today in 1950 in Wilmette, Illinois. Nominated for an Academy Award (Best Actor for Sophia Coppola’s Lost in Translation). Also nominated for a Golden Globe for his work in Ghostbusters (dir....
View Articleiklipz
If you’re worried that online exhibition means that your film will wind up lost amid the clutter of lip-synching teenagers and videos of Junior’s high school graduation, fret no longer. Founded by...
View ArticleVictoria Independent Film and Video Festival
Location: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Festival Dates: February 2-11, 2007 Deadline: September 1, 2006 (Early), October 1, 2006 (Regular) You might expect most movie enthusiasts to head west in...
View Article2013 Forecast: My premature “Ten Best” list for 2013 by Josh Ralske
You can either look at January as a studio dumping ground and a wasteland, or you can see it as full of potential for the coming year. I’m not going to pretend to be able to guess what those crazy...
View ArticleJoseph Greco
Writing is often called a cathartic exercise, but turning this introspective psychological act into a compelling piece of entertainment is another thing altogether. Somehow, writer/director Joseph...
View ArticleErin Cressida Wilson
Ty Burrell and Nicole Kidman in Steven Shainberg’s Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus. Credit: Picturehouse Films. Whether she’s writing for the stage or the screen, Erin Cressida Wilson has a...
View ArticleRoyal Albert Hall, London, England
An ominous cymbal clash thrust London’s Royal Albert Hall into the cinematic Hall of Fame during the title sequence of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1956 film The Man Who Knew Too Much. In the knuckle-biting...
View ArticleThe Heartland Film Festival
It’s tough to argue with quality movies, a dedicated group of film lovers who moonlight as festival staffers and $200,000 in cash prizes. Which probably explains why Indianapolis’ Heartland Film...
View ArticleMM Remembers: Adrienne Shelly
Actually, it’s hard to believe I’m writing this. It’s just been reported that Adrienne Shelly, the lovely, talented New York-based independent film actor, director and writer, died suddenly and...
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