Adventure animation expected to be ready for release by Q3 2024.
Cinema Management Group will kick off EFM sales in Berlin next month on Buffalo Kids from 4 Cats Pictures and Atresmedia Cine, featuring a voice cast led by Gemma Arterton, Sean Bean, and Stephen Graham.
The new production comes hot on the heels of 4 Cats Pictures’ Mummies, which is currently in theatrical release in Australia via Warner Bros and is scheduled to become the most widely distributed Spanish feature released by a Hollywood studio.
Buffalo Kids centres on two orphans from Ireland who sail to New York and embark on...
Cinema Management Group will kick off EFM sales in Berlin next month on Buffalo Kids from 4 Cats Pictures and Atresmedia Cine, featuring a voice cast led by Gemma Arterton, Sean Bean, and Stephen Graham.
The new production comes hot on the heels of 4 Cats Pictures’ Mummies, which is currently in theatrical release in Australia via Warner Bros and is scheduled to become the most widely distributed Spanish feature released by a Hollywood studio.
Buffalo Kids centres on two orphans from Ireland who sail to New York and embark on...
- 1/30/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
This is van Vugt’s feature fiction debut after several award-winning documentaries.
Amsterdam-based sales outfit Fortissimo Films has snapped up international sales rights to Dutch director Jacqueline van Vugt’s Dutch feature Crossing, now in post-production.
This is van Vugt’s feature fiction debut after several award-winning documentaries, among them Borders (2014) and Up To G-cup (2022). It will be introduced to buyers at the European Film Market (EFM).
Crossing is an ensemble drama set in real time on a ferry crossing from Morocco to Spain as.a couple and their two sons travel home from their holiday, the ferry captain smuggles...
Amsterdam-based sales outfit Fortissimo Films has snapped up international sales rights to Dutch director Jacqueline van Vugt’s Dutch feature Crossing, now in post-production.
This is van Vugt’s feature fiction debut after several award-winning documentaries, among them Borders (2014) and Up To G-cup (2022). It will be introduced to buyers at the European Film Market (EFM).
Crossing is an ensemble drama set in real time on a ferry crossing from Morocco to Spain as.a couple and their two sons travel home from their holiday, the ferry captain smuggles...
- 1/30/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Marsh is the CEO of Studiocanal and deputy CEO of parent company Canal+.
Anna Marsh, CEO of Studiocanal and deputy CEO of Canal+ Group, will give a keynote speech exploring the changing dynamics of content strategies at the upcoming Mip-tv in Cannes in April.
Marsh’s speech will be a main event as part of the Media Mastermind series on the opening day of the market on April 17 during which she will take to the Debussy Theatre stage in the Palais to talk about the opportunities for talent, storytelling and creative strategies to emerge in the rapidly changing global content landscape.
Anna Marsh, CEO of Studiocanal and deputy CEO of Canal+ Group, will give a keynote speech exploring the changing dynamics of content strategies at the upcoming Mip-tv in Cannes in April.
Marsh’s speech will be a main event as part of the Media Mastermind series on the opening day of the market on April 17 during which she will take to the Debussy Theatre stage in the Palais to talk about the opportunities for talent, storytelling and creative strategies to emerge in the rapidly changing global content landscape.
- 1/30/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Former director of Toronto International Film Festival died on January 25, aged 55.
Filmmakers James Schamus, Atom Egoyan and Hirokazu Kore-eda have led tributes from across the industry to Noah Cowan, the influentional former director of Toronto International Film Festival who died last week.
Former TIFF colleagues, long-time business partner John Vanco and key figures from the film industry, festivals and arts institutions also paid tribute to Cowan, who died aged 55 on January 25 in Los Angeles, after an illness.
Veteran US producer Schamus said: “Noah’s resume oddly conceals as much as it reveals. It would be easy to conflate his roles...
Filmmakers James Schamus, Atom Egoyan and Hirokazu Kore-eda have led tributes from across the industry to Noah Cowan, the influentional former director of Toronto International Film Festival who died last week.
Former TIFF colleagues, long-time business partner John Vanco and key figures from the film industry, festivals and arts institutions also paid tribute to Cowan, who died aged 55 on January 25 in Los Angeles, after an illness.
Veteran US producer Schamus said: “Noah’s resume oddly conceals as much as it reveals. It would be easy to conflate his roles...
- 1/30/2023
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
The film world is remembering Noah Cowan, the beloved former TIFF leader, festival programmer, visual arts consultant, and Sffilm executive director, who died on January 25 at age 55.
Those filmmakers whose careers he touched and helped shape as former artistic director of TIFF Bell Lightbox, among many other posts, include Guy Maddin. The “My Winnipeg” director has shared words with IndieWire about his fellow Canadian film advocate, who in recent years consulted for organizations like IFC, the Telluride Film Festival, and the Centre for the Moving Image in Edinburgh.
Cowan regularly championed and screened Maddin’s influential avant-garde features in Toronto and San Francisco, throughout which the two maintained a friendship and admiration for one another. Below is Guy Maddin’s message, shared with IndieWire:
“Noah Cowan was one of the great ambushing charmers of the film business. He was a festival director who walked among us at sidewalk level, all...
Those filmmakers whose careers he touched and helped shape as former artistic director of TIFF Bell Lightbox, among many other posts, include Guy Maddin. The “My Winnipeg” director has shared words with IndieWire about his fellow Canadian film advocate, who in recent years consulted for organizations like IFC, the Telluride Film Festival, and the Centre for the Moving Image in Edinburgh.
Cowan regularly championed and screened Maddin’s influential avant-garde features in Toronto and San Francisco, throughout which the two maintained a friendship and admiration for one another. Below is Guy Maddin’s message, shared with IndieWire:
“Noah Cowan was one of the great ambushing charmers of the film business. He was a festival director who walked among us at sidewalk level, all...
- 1/26/2023
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Noah Cowan — a curator, critic, festival director and distributor — died yesterday in Los Angeles. He was 55, and the cause was Glioblastoma multiforme. Over his more than 30-year career, Cowan brought his passion and erudition to a number of organizations and endeavors, beginning with the Toronto International Film Festival, where he began as an intern in 1981. After graduating with a philosophy degree at University of Toronto, Cowan in 1989 became a programmer at TIFF, curating films for the Midnight Madness and, later, the Vanguard sections. He would go on to program major national cinema retrospectives on India […]
The post Noah Cowan, Former TIFF Festival Director, Curator, Critic and Distributor, Dies at 55 first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Noah Cowan, Former TIFF Festival Director, Curator, Critic and Distributor, Dies at 55 first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/26/2023
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Noah Cowan — a curator, critic, festival director and distributor — died yesterday in Los Angeles. He was 55, and the cause was Glioblastoma multiforme. Over his more than 30-year career, Cowan brought his passion and erudition to a number of organizations and endeavors, beginning with the Toronto International Film Festival, where he began as an intern in 1981. After graduating with a philosophy degree at University of Toronto, Cowan in 1989 became a programmer at TIFF, curating films for the Midnight Madness and, later, the Vanguard sections. He would go on to program major national cinema retrospectives on India […]
The post Noah Cowan, Former TIFF Festival Director, Curator, Critic and Distributor, Dies at 55 first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Noah Cowan, Former TIFF Festival Director, Curator, Critic and Distributor, Dies at 55 first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/26/2023
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Respected film festival executive Noah Cowan, who formerly headed the San Francisco Film Fest and served as co-director of the Toronto Film Festival and executive director of the TIFF Bell Lightbox, died Wednesday of glioblastoma multiforme after being diagnosed in December 2021. He was 55.
Former Toronto Film Fest executive director Piers Handling remembered Cowan, saying “It was a privilege to work with Noah for as long as I did. His contribution not just to TIFF but to Sffilm, the Global Film Initiative, and the entire independent film community around the world was matchless. He was a tireless advocate, had a large appetite for life, films, friendship, travel and fine dining! His artistic leadership of both the festival and TIFF Bell Lightbox was exemplary. He put some ground breaking programs together on China, Japan, and David Cronenberg and lit up every room he entered. His passing leaves a huge hole – both personally...
Former Toronto Film Fest executive director Piers Handling remembered Cowan, saying “It was a privilege to work with Noah for as long as I did. His contribution not just to TIFF but to Sffilm, the Global Film Initiative, and the entire independent film community around the world was matchless. He was a tireless advocate, had a large appetite for life, films, friendship, travel and fine dining! His artistic leadership of both the festival and TIFF Bell Lightbox was exemplary. He put some ground breaking programs together on China, Japan, and David Cronenberg and lit up every room he entered. His passing leaves a huge hole – both personally...
- 1/26/2023
- by Julia MacCary
- Variety Film + TV
Noah Cowan, former co-director of the Toronto Film Festival and executive director of Sffilm in San Francisco, died Wednesday of cancer in Los Angeles, Deadline has confirmed. He was 55.
Cowan died of glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive form of brain cancer he was diagnosed with in December 2021.
Related Story Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries Related Story 'Farha' Filmmakers Accuse Israel Of Attempting To Discredit Jordanian Oscar Entry, Condemn Moves To Get It Taken Off Netflix Related Story 'Alice, Darling': Anna Kendrick Thriller Getting Oscar-Qualifying Run Before 2023 Theatrical Release
Born on July 22, 1967, in Hamilton, Ontario, he joined TIFF in 1984 as a box office staffer after volunteering with the fest in summer 1981. He later ran its print traffic department before becoming one of the programmers of TIFF’s Midnight Madness program in 1989. He was promoted to Program Administrator in 1992, and co-ran Midnight Madness with Colin Geddes...
Cowan died of glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive form of brain cancer he was diagnosed with in December 2021.
Related Story Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries Related Story 'Farha' Filmmakers Accuse Israel Of Attempting To Discredit Jordanian Oscar Entry, Condemn Moves To Get It Taken Off Netflix Related Story 'Alice, Darling': Anna Kendrick Thriller Getting Oscar-Qualifying Run Before 2023 Theatrical Release
Born on July 22, 1967, in Hamilton, Ontario, he joined TIFF in 1984 as a box office staffer after volunteering with the fest in summer 1981. He later ran its print traffic department before becoming one of the programmers of TIFF’s Midnight Madness program in 1989. He was promoted to Program Administrator in 1992, and co-ran Midnight Madness with Colin Geddes...
- 1/26/2023
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Noah Cowan, a veteran film festival director and indie film specialty distributor, most recently with San Francisco International Film Festival, has died. He was 55.
Cowan died Wednesday in Los Angeles after a battle with glioblastoma multiforme that was first diagnosed in December 2021.
During a career that began in 1981 as a summer volunteer working in the box office at the Toronto International Film Festival, Cowan went on to be a veteran film festival programmer and director, a curator of visual art and film-related exhibitions, a film distribution executive and a journalist covering international film festivals and other events.
Veteran Hollywood producer James Schamus paid tribute to Cowan, emphasizing that the indie film champion represented far more than his many job titles over a long career.
“He was not simply one of the most important curators, institution builders, distributors, grantors, and festival heads of our era — although he was all these,” he...
Cowan died Wednesday in Los Angeles after a battle with glioblastoma multiforme that was first diagnosed in December 2021.
During a career that began in 1981 as a summer volunteer working in the box office at the Toronto International Film Festival, Cowan went on to be a veteran film festival programmer and director, a curator of visual art and film-related exhibitions, a film distribution executive and a journalist covering international film festivals and other events.
Veteran Hollywood producer James Schamus paid tribute to Cowan, emphasizing that the indie film champion represented far more than his many job titles over a long career.
“He was not simply one of the most important curators, institution builders, distributors, grantors, and festival heads of our era — although he was all these,” he...
- 1/26/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The film community is mourning the loss of film festival executive Noah Cowan, who died January 25 at his home in Los Angeles after a year-long battle with Glioblastoma multiforme. He was 55.
Cowan was an enthusiastic booster of independent film, a celebrated film programmer who rose from 14-year-old volunteer to co-director at the Toronto International Film Festival, cofounder of the non-profit Global Film Initiative in partnership with the Museum of Modern Art (2002-2004), Artistic Director at TIFF Bell Lightbox (2009-2014), and executive director at Sffilm (2014-2019).
In recent years he consulted for film, media, and visual arts organizations including IFC, the Telluride Film Festival, and Centre for the Moving Image in Edinburgh.
Born in Hamilton, Ontario in 1967, Cowan earned a degree in philosophy at McGill University that informed the way he looked at the world. He was that rare cinephile who not only was a festival programmer who loved to discover new talent,...
Cowan was an enthusiastic booster of independent film, a celebrated film programmer who rose from 14-year-old volunteer to co-director at the Toronto International Film Festival, cofounder of the non-profit Global Film Initiative in partnership with the Museum of Modern Art (2002-2004), Artistic Director at TIFF Bell Lightbox (2009-2014), and executive director at Sffilm (2014-2019).
In recent years he consulted for film, media, and visual arts organizations including IFC, the Telluride Film Festival, and Centre for the Moving Image in Edinburgh.
Born in Hamilton, Ontario in 1967, Cowan earned a degree in philosophy at McGill University that informed the way he looked at the world. He was that rare cinephile who not only was a festival programmer who loved to discover new talent,...
- 1/26/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Critic and writer led San Francisco Film Society; launched film consultancy.
Noah Cowan, the charismatic and widely influential former director of the Toronto International Film Festival, has died aged 55 after an illness.
Cowan, identified for so long with TIFF – he took a summer job there while still at high school before rising to become co-director of the festival and founding artistic director of TIFF Lightbox –was a popular and much-loved figure on the international film circuit. A former critic and writer, he went on to head up the San Francisco Film Society after leaving TIFF in 2014 before founding his own...
Noah Cowan, the charismatic and widely influential former director of the Toronto International Film Festival, has died aged 55 after an illness.
Cowan, identified for so long with TIFF – he took a summer job there while still at high school before rising to become co-director of the festival and founding artistic director of TIFF Lightbox –was a popular and much-loved figure on the international film circuit. A former critic and writer, he went on to head up the San Francisco Film Society after leaving TIFF in 2014 before founding his own...
- 1/26/2023
- by Fionnuala Halligan
- ScreenDaily
Sffilm has finally found its new Executive Director in Anne Lai, who joins the Bay Area-based nonprofit after 12 years of leadership at Sundance Institute. Lai will succeed Noah Cowan, who stepped down from his post back in April 2019. At Sundance, Lai currently serves as Director of Creative Producing and Artist Support, and will continue in her role at the Institute until officially joining Sffilm this March.
“I’m thrilled and honored to be joining Sffilm, an organization I have long admired for its world class programs and curation,” said Lai. “It’s an extraordinary opportunity to build upon a strong legacy and amplify not only the voices of its supported films and artists, but deepen the organization’s commitment to community and beyond through the festival, artist, and education programs.”
At Sundance Institute, Lai focused on discovering and nurturing emerging voices — typically indie producers, screenwriters, and directors on their first or second features.
“I’m thrilled and honored to be joining Sffilm, an organization I have long admired for its world class programs and curation,” said Lai. “It’s an extraordinary opportunity to build upon a strong legacy and amplify not only the voices of its supported films and artists, but deepen the organization’s commitment to community and beyond through the festival, artist, and education programs.”
At Sundance Institute, Lai focused on discovering and nurturing emerging voices — typically indie producers, screenwriters, and directors on their first or second features.
- 1/21/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
The San Francisco International Film Festival, known as SFFilm, named Anne Lai as its new executive director on Tuesday. She is the first woman of color to hold the title.
Lai, who is currently at the Sundance Institute as director of creative producing and artist support, will start her new role on March 11, ahead of the 63rd SFFilm festival kickoff on April 8. She replaces the festival's outgoing director, Noah Cowan.
“Her depth of experience guiding artist development and artist education programs and her experience working with big-budget productions, independents, and nonprofits will be essential ...
Lai, who is currently at the Sundance Institute as director of creative producing and artist support, will start her new role on March 11, ahead of the 63rd SFFilm festival kickoff on April 8. She replaces the festival's outgoing director, Noah Cowan.
“Her depth of experience guiding artist development and artist education programs and her experience working with big-budget productions, independents, and nonprofits will be essential ...
- 1/21/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The San Francisco International Film Festival, known as SFFilm, named Anne Lai as its new executive director on Tuesday. She is the first woman of color to hold the title.
Lai, who is currently at the Sundance Institute as director of creative producing and artist support, will start her new role on March 11, ahead of the 63rd SFFilm festival kickoff on April 8. She replaces the festival's outgoing director, Noah Cowan.
“Her depth of experience guiding artist development and artist education programs and her experience working with big-budget productions, independents, and nonprofits will be essential ...
Lai, who is currently at the Sundance Institute as director of creative producing and artist support, will start her new role on March 11, ahead of the 63rd SFFilm festival kickoff on April 8. She replaces the festival's outgoing director, Noah Cowan.
“Her depth of experience guiding artist development and artist education programs and her experience working with big-budget productions, independents, and nonprofits will be essential ...
- 1/21/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Fyzal Boulifa won best director for UK title ‘Lynn + Lucy’.
The 4th International Film Festival & Awards Macao (Iffam) closed on Tuesday night (10) with the top award going to Us film Give Me Liberty directed by Kirill Mikhanovsky.
Stars such as Carina Lau and Juliette Binoche were on the red carpet for the festival, which showed 43 films including 10 in International Competition and six in the New Chinese Cinema Competition. It ran from December 5-10 in and around the Macau Cultural Centre.
Chinese filmmaker Peter Chan Ho-sun headed the jury for first and second-time directors in the international competition. He was joined...
The 4th International Film Festival & Awards Macao (Iffam) closed on Tuesday night (10) with the top award going to Us film Give Me Liberty directed by Kirill Mikhanovsky.
Stars such as Carina Lau and Juliette Binoche were on the red carpet for the festival, which showed 43 films including 10 in International Competition and six in the New Chinese Cinema Competition. It ran from December 5-10 in and around the Macau Cultural Centre.
Chinese filmmaker Peter Chan Ho-sun headed the jury for first and second-time directors in the international competition. He was joined...
- 12/10/2019
- by 134¦Jean Noh¦516¦
- ScreenDaily
Kirill Mikhanovsky’s “Give Me Liberty” and Gu Xiaogang’s “Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains won the best picture prizes in the international and Chinese cinema sections on Tuesday at the International Film Festival and Awards Macau (Iffam).
“This film shouldn’t have existed because there were so many obstacles. Everything was a miracle. Us being here is an utter miracle,” said Mikhanovsky, who took the stage with his producer Alice Austen to describe the frenzy of trying to shoot their film for a quarter of their original budget.
“If someone had asked us a year ago if we’d like to show our film in Macau, we’d have said man, you’re out of your mind,” he laughed, before thanking the festival. “This is such a gathering of minds and intellects and true lovers of cinema, which is very rare. You’ve truly crafted a one-of-a-kind global event.
“This film shouldn’t have existed because there were so many obstacles. Everything was a miracle. Us being here is an utter miracle,” said Mikhanovsky, who took the stage with his producer Alice Austen to describe the frenzy of trying to shoot their film for a quarter of their original budget.
“If someone had asked us a year ago if we’d like to show our film in Macau, we’d have said man, you’re out of your mind,” he laughed, before thanking the festival. “This is such a gathering of minds and intellects and true lovers of cinema, which is very rare. You’ve truly crafted a one-of-a-kind global event.
- 12/10/2019
- by Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Attendees include Peter Chan Ho-sun, Tricia Tuttle and Noah Cowan.
Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit opened the fourth International Film Festival & Awards Macao (Iffam) at the Macao Cultural Centre on Wednesday (December 4).
International guests in town for the festival include Peter Chan Ho-sun, head of the international competition jury, and fellow jury members Ellen Eliasoph, Tom Cullen, Dian Sastrowardoyo and Midi Z, as well as New Chinese Cinema competition jury head Cristian Mungiu and his fellow jury members Qiu Yang, Kirsten Tan, Tricia Tuttle and Noah Cowan.
Director Mattie Do and her The Long Walk team including actor Yannawoutthi Chanthalungsy...
Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit opened the fourth International Film Festival & Awards Macao (Iffam) at the Macao Cultural Centre on Wednesday (December 4).
International guests in town for the festival include Peter Chan Ho-sun, head of the international competition jury, and fellow jury members Ellen Eliasoph, Tom Cullen, Dian Sastrowardoyo and Midi Z, as well as New Chinese Cinema competition jury head Cristian Mungiu and his fellow jury members Qiu Yang, Kirsten Tan, Tricia Tuttle and Noah Cowan.
Director Mattie Do and her The Long Walk team including actor Yannawoutthi Chanthalungsy...
- 12/5/2019
- by 134¦Jean Noh¦516¦
- ScreenDaily
Attendees include Peter Chan Ho-sun, Tricia Tuttle and Noah Cowan.
Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit opened the fourth International Film Festival & Awards Macao (Iffam) at the Macao Cultural Centre on Wednesday (December 4).
International guests in town for the festival include Peter Chan Ho-sun, head of the international competition jury, and fellow jury members Ellen Eliasoph, Tom Cullen, Dian Sastrowardoyo and Midi Z, as well as New Chinese Cinema competition jury head Cristian Mungiu and his fellow jury members Qiu Yang, Kirsten Tan, Tricia Tuttle and Noah Cowan.
Director Mattie Do and her The Long Walk team including actor Yannawoutthi Chanthalungsy...
Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit opened the fourth International Film Festival & Awards Macao (Iffam) at the Macao Cultural Centre on Wednesday (December 4).
International guests in town for the festival include Peter Chan Ho-sun, head of the international competition jury, and fellow jury members Ellen Eliasoph, Tom Cullen, Dian Sastrowardoyo and Midi Z, as well as New Chinese Cinema competition jury head Cristian Mungiu and his fellow jury members Qiu Yang, Kirsten Tan, Tricia Tuttle and Noah Cowan.
Director Mattie Do and her The Long Walk team including actor Yannawoutthi Chanthalungsy...
- 12/5/2019
- by 134¦Jean Noh¦516¦
- ScreenDaily
The fourth edition of the International Film Festival & Award kicked off in fine style Thursday night. The opening night event allowed plenty of chance for mingling before and after a quadri-lingual ceremony that still managed to wrap up in just 45 minutes.
After a trio of tenors opened proceedings with “Over The Rainbow” it was evident that glamour and celebration were the intended take-aways, not the challenging themes presented by several of the Iffam’s selected films, and certainly not political discourse.
Macau is the well-behaved Special Administrative Region, just a ferry ride away from Hong Kong, the larger and more troublesome S.A.R. which these days stands as the front line of the ongoing clash between liberal democracy and China’s authoritarian version of economic development.
Outside the breathless ceremony, security guards were highly visible and widely dispersed, seemingly posted on every corner within a half mile zone. Inside,...
After a trio of tenors opened proceedings with “Over The Rainbow” it was evident that glamour and celebration were the intended take-aways, not the challenging themes presented by several of the Iffam’s selected films, and certainly not political discourse.
Macau is the well-behaved Special Administrative Region, just a ferry ride away from Hong Kong, the larger and more troublesome S.A.R. which these days stands as the front line of the ongoing clash between liberal democracy and China’s authoritarian version of economic development.
Outside the breathless ceremony, security guards were highly visible and widely dispersed, seemingly posted on every corner within a half mile zone. Inside,...
- 12/5/2019
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Tom Hanks isn’t an unsung hero: At 63, he’s been a beloved, well-paid movie star since the ’80s, and has received five Oscar nominations and two wins. That said, he hasn’t been nominated in nearly two decades; although he’s been lauded for awards-worthy performances in “Captain Phillips” and “Sully,” the last nomination was for “Cast Away” in 2001.
This awards season, he is nabbing raves for his portrayal of the iconic children’s TV host Fred Rogers in Marielle Heller’s “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.” And, Hanks could get left out in the cold again.
What gives? Somewhere along the way, after serving as the charming and funny leading man in such classics as “Big,” “Splash!,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” “A League of Their Own,” and “You’ve Got Mail,” the movie star turned into an identifiably affable figure known as Tom Hanks. It’s not unlike what happened to Cary Grant,...
This awards season, he is nabbing raves for his portrayal of the iconic children’s TV host Fred Rogers in Marielle Heller’s “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.” And, Hanks could get left out in the cold again.
What gives? Somewhere along the way, after serving as the charming and funny leading man in such classics as “Big,” “Splash!,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” “A League of Their Own,” and “You’ve Got Mail,” the movie star turned into an identifiably affable figure known as Tom Hanks. It’s not unlike what happened to Cary Grant,...
- 11/18/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Tom Hanks isn’t an unsung hero: At 63, he’s been a beloved, well-paid movie star since the ’80s, and has received five Oscar nominations and two wins. That said, he hasn’t been nominated in nearly two decades; although he’s been lauded for awards-worthy performances in “Captain Phillips” and “Sully,” the last nomination was for “Cast Away” in 2001.
This awards season, he is nabbing raves for his portrayal of the iconic children’s TV host Fred Rogers in Marielle Heller’s “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.” And, Hanks could get left out in the cold again.
What gives? Somewhere along the way, after serving as the charming and funny leading man in such classics as “Big,” “Splash!,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” “A League of Their Own,” and “You’ve Got Mail,” the movie star turned into an identifiably affable figure known as Tom Hanks. It’s not unlike what happened to Cary Grant,...
This awards season, he is nabbing raves for his portrayal of the iconic children’s TV host Fred Rogers in Marielle Heller’s “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.” And, Hanks could get left out in the cold again.
What gives? Somewhere along the way, after serving as the charming and funny leading man in such classics as “Big,” “Splash!,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” “A League of Their Own,” and “You’ve Got Mail,” the movie star turned into an identifiably affable figure known as Tom Hanks. It’s not unlike what happened to Cary Grant,...
- 11/18/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
The New Chinese Cinema section returns for the second year.
The 4th International Film Festival & Awards Macao has unveiled its 2019 programme, including the return of the New Chinese Cinema section with a jury headed by Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu.
Mungiu will oversee a five-person jury watching six films from Chinese-speaking territories. His jury consists of BFI London Film Festival artistic director Tricia Tuttle; former Sffilm (San Francisco Film) executive director Noah Cowan; and filmmakers Kirsten Tan from Singapore and Qiu Yang from China.
Scroll down for the line-up
The films in the section include Anthony Chen’s Wet Season, which...
The 4th International Film Festival & Awards Macao has unveiled its 2019 programme, including the return of the New Chinese Cinema section with a jury headed by Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu.
Mungiu will oversee a five-person jury watching six films from Chinese-speaking territories. His jury consists of BFI London Film Festival artistic director Tricia Tuttle; former Sffilm (San Francisco Film) executive director Noah Cowan; and filmmakers Kirsten Tan from Singapore and Qiu Yang from China.
Scroll down for the line-up
The films in the section include Anthony Chen’s Wet Season, which...
- 11/6/2019
- by 1101321¦Ben Dalton¦26¦
- ScreenDaily
New York Film Festival director and selection committee chair Kent Jones will step down at the conclusion of this year’s festival, which begins next week. The news was first reported in Variety and confirmed by the festival this morning.
Last year, Jones made his feature directorial debut with the Mary Kay Place-starring “Diane,” which won the Best Feature award at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival, and his exit was reportedly inspired by his desire to continue making his own films. IndieWire first reported on the possibility of Jones’ exit earlier this summer.
Jones will continue to work with Film at Lincoln Center in a to-be-determined advisory position. Flc executive director Lesli Klainberg will oversee a search for Jones’ replacement. While no new director have been named, an announcement is expected soon.
Before stepping behind the camera, the longtime film critic and programmer had enjoyed an enviable and multi-facted career, from...
Last year, Jones made his feature directorial debut with the Mary Kay Place-starring “Diane,” which won the Best Feature award at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival, and his exit was reportedly inspired by his desire to continue making his own films. IndieWire first reported on the possibility of Jones’ exit earlier this summer.
Jones will continue to work with Film at Lincoln Center in a to-be-determined advisory position. Flc executive director Lesli Klainberg will oversee a search for Jones’ replacement. While no new director have been named, an announcement is expected soon.
Before stepping behind the camera, the longtime film critic and programmer had enjoyed an enviable and multi-facted career, from...
- 9/19/2019
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The Sundance Film Festival is in the market for a new kind of star: a festival director. The Sundance Institute has announced today that John Cooper, the long-time director of the Sundance Film Festival, will move into a newly-created “emeritus director” role following the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. Next year’s festival will mark Cooper’s 30th Sundance, his 11th as the event’s director, and his last year in the position.
The search for a new director for the Sundance Film Festival will be led by the Institute’s CEO, Keri Putnam. Cooper’s departure is not entirely unexpected, as the festival head recently moved to Napa, California.
Today’s announcement touts Cooper’s many achievements over his three decades with the annual Utah festival, including the creation of the short film section and competition, as well as the introduction of the documentary premiere, Next, and New Frontier sections. Cooper...
The search for a new director for the Sundance Film Festival will be led by the Institute’s CEO, Keri Putnam. Cooper’s departure is not entirely unexpected, as the festival head recently moved to Napa, California.
Today’s announcement touts Cooper’s many achievements over his three decades with the annual Utah festival, including the creation of the short film section and competition, as well as the introduction of the documentary premiere, Next, and New Frontier sections. Cooper...
- 6/27/2019
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Noah Cowan is stepping down as Executive Director of Sffilm, the non-profit entity behind San Francisco’s biggest film festival, after the 2019 edition. Cowan, who joined the organization after leaving his role as the founding artistic director of Tiff Bell Lightbox in 2014, oversaw some of the most dramatic changes in the San Francisco organization’s six-decade existence. Under Cowan’s tenure, the San Francisco Film Society became Sffilm, an institution responsible for the sprawling 10-day April festival as well as numerous filmmaking grants, an artists’ residency, and year-round programming.
“I spent some time recently thinking about my personal life needs and goals and this just felt like the right time to seek out new challenges and opportunities,” Cowan said in a Facebook post over the weekend. “I also cannot imagine a better Festival to use as a farewell moment – I am so proud of the selection that the programmers here...
“I spent some time recently thinking about my personal life needs and goals and this just felt like the right time to seek out new challenges and opportunities,” Cowan said in a Facebook post over the weekend. “I also cannot imagine a better Festival to use as a farewell moment – I am so proud of the selection that the programmers here...
- 4/1/2019
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
In today’s film news roundup, Alex Woolf and Imogen Poots are cast in a crime drama, Laura Dern gets a film festival honor and doggie movie “Buddy” gets distribution.
Casting
Alex Wolff and Imogen Poots are set to star in writer/director Joey Klein’s upcoming crime drama “Castle in the Ground.”
Wolff is portraying a teenager in a small town dealing with the untimely death of his mother. He befriends his charismatic but troubled next-door neighbor, who embroils him in a world of addiction and violence just as the opioid epidemic takes hold. Principal photography is currently underway in Sudbury, Canada.
Wolf starred Ari Aster’s “Hereditary” alongside Toni Collette, “House of Tomorrow” opposite Asa Butterfield, and “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” alongside Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart and in the recently wrapped untitled Jumanji sequel. Poots’ credits include ” Green Room,” “Frank & Lola,” “Sweet Virginia,” and “The Art of Self-Defense.
Casting
Alex Wolff and Imogen Poots are set to star in writer/director Joey Klein’s upcoming crime drama “Castle in the Ground.”
Wolff is portraying a teenager in a small town dealing with the untimely death of his mother. He befriends his charismatic but troubled next-door neighbor, who embroils him in a world of addiction and violence just as the opioid epidemic takes hold. Principal photography is currently underway in Sudbury, Canada.
Wolf starred Ari Aster’s “Hereditary” alongside Toni Collette, “House of Tomorrow” opposite Asa Butterfield, and “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” alongside Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart and in the recently wrapped untitled Jumanji sequel. Poots’ credits include ” Green Room,” “Frank & Lola,” “Sweet Virginia,” and “The Art of Self-Defense.
- 3/11/2019
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
For the first time in its six-decade existence, the 2019 San Francisco International Film Festival will kick off its opening night with an episodic series. However, the pick is very much on brand: It will screen the first full episode of Netflix’s much-anticipated new original series, “Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City.”
“Like nothing before it, Armistead Maupin’s series of ‘Tales of the City’ books defined the values and unique worldview of San Francisco and the Bay Area,” said Sffilm executive director Noah Cowan in a statement. “We are thrilled that this new take on his original vision, the remarkable result of a collaboration between Lauren Morelli and Alan Poul, that incredible cast, and our friends at Netflix, can be introduced to the world for the first time in the place that originally gave it life. It’s going to be one hell of a ‘coming home’ party!
“Like nothing before it, Armistead Maupin’s series of ‘Tales of the City’ books defined the values and unique worldview of San Francisco and the Bay Area,” said Sffilm executive director Noah Cowan in a statement. “We are thrilled that this new take on his original vision, the remarkable result of a collaboration between Lauren Morelli and Alan Poul, that incredible cast, and our friends at Netflix, can be introduced to the world for the first time in the place that originally gave it life. It’s going to be one hell of a ‘coming home’ party!
- 2/12/2019
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Sffilm executive director Noah Cowan knows how to play awards season. He moved the San Francisco Film Society’s annual awards fundraising night from April to December — in the awards corridor — knowing he could lure some awards players to San Francisco. What’s in it for them? Bay Area Academy members, who showed up for a Monday night pre-event cocktail party at The Palace of Fine Arts, including documentary filmmakers, costume designers, sound editors, animators, and visual effects artists. With Pixar and Lucasfilm based in San Francisco, it’s a crafts mecca.
This awards night belonged to Oakland filmmaker made good, Boots Riley, whose father beamed with pride along with novelist Ishmael Reed, who presented the Kanbar Award for Storytelling to the rookie director. Riley thanked Sffilm for making him a filmmaker in residence in 2014 and helping him to develop Sundance breakout “Sorry to Bother You,” which Annapurna turned into a summer hit.
This awards night belonged to Oakland filmmaker made good, Boots Riley, whose father beamed with pride along with novelist Ishmael Reed, who presented the Kanbar Award for Storytelling to the rookie director. Riley thanked Sffilm for making him a filmmaker in residence in 2014 and helping him to develop Sundance breakout “Sorry to Bother You,” which Annapurna turned into a summer hit.
- 12/4/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
This year, the San Francisco Film Society’s (Sffilm) annual awards night will unfold December 3 at San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts Exhibition Center with honorees including Oscar hopefuls Amy Adams (Annapurna’s “Vice”), Steve McQueen (Fox’s “Widows”) and Bay area rising star Boots Riley (Annapurna’s “Sorry to Bother You”). The annual celebration honors achievement in filmmaking craft – it’s also a fundraiser that benefits Sffilm’s youth education programs.
Amy Adams will be on hand to accept the Peter J. Owens Award for Acting; Steve McQueen will receive the Irving M. Levin Award for Film Direction; and emerging breakthrough talent Boots Riley will take home the Kanbar Award for Storytelling.
“These artists were selected because their work embodies the values of the Bay Area,” stated Sffilm Executive Director Noah Cowan, “in particular their role in championing innovative cinema, making the industry more diverse and inclusive, and...
Amy Adams will be on hand to accept the Peter J. Owens Award for Acting; Steve McQueen will receive the Irving M. Levin Award for Film Direction; and emerging breakthrough talent Boots Riley will take home the Kanbar Award for Storytelling.
“These artists were selected because their work embodies the values of the Bay Area,” stated Sffilm Executive Director Noah Cowan, “in particular their role in championing innovative cinema, making the industry more diverse and inclusive, and...
- 11/13/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
This year, the San Francisco Film Society’s (Sffilm) annual awards night will unfold December 3 at San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts Exhibition Center with honorees including Oscar hopefuls Amy Adams (Annapurna’s “Vice”), Steve McQueen (Fox’s “Widows”) and Bay area rising star Boots Riley (Annapurna’s “Sorry to Bother You”). The annual celebration honors achievement in filmmaking craft – it’s also a fundraiser that benefits Sffilm’s youth education programs.
Amy Adams will be on hand to accept the Peter J. Owens Award for Acting; Steve McQueen will receive the Irving M. Levin Award for Film Direction; and emerging breakthrough talent Boots Riley will take home the Kanbar Award for Storytelling.
“These artists were selected because their work embodies the values of the Bay Area,” stated Sffilm Executive Director Noah Cowan, “in particular their role in championing innovative cinema, making the industry more diverse and inclusive, and...
Amy Adams will be on hand to accept the Peter J. Owens Award for Acting; Steve McQueen will receive the Irving M. Levin Award for Film Direction; and emerging breakthrough talent Boots Riley will take home the Kanbar Award for Storytelling.
“These artists were selected because their work embodies the values of the Bay Area,” stated Sffilm Executive Director Noah Cowan, “in particular their role in championing innovative cinema, making the industry more diverse and inclusive, and...
- 11/13/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
San Francisco Bay Area film festival promoters Sffilm, in partnership with the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, has announced the development projects that will receive a total of $250,000 in funding in the latest round of Sffilm Rainin Grants.
The organization has backed a prominent slate of past grant winners, including current buzz films Sorry To Bother You and Blindspotting, as well as prominent alumni films Fruitvale Station and Beasts of the Southern Wild.
“Our track record of alerting the Us indie world to its most important new talent got a major shot in the arm with four-time Sffilm grant-winner Boots Riley’s Sorry To Bother You opening huge this past week, following in the footsteps of previous Sffilm/Rainin discoveries like Ryan Coogler with Fruitvale Station, Rei Green with Monsters and Men, and Benh Zeitlin with Beasts of the Southern Wild,” Sffilm Executive Director Noah Cowan told Deadline. “These are films we...
The organization has backed a prominent slate of past grant winners, including current buzz films Sorry To Bother You and Blindspotting, as well as prominent alumni films Fruitvale Station and Beasts of the Southern Wild.
“Our track record of alerting the Us indie world to its most important new talent got a major shot in the arm with four-time Sffilm grant-winner Boots Riley’s Sorry To Bother You opening huge this past week, following in the footsteps of previous Sffilm/Rainin discoveries like Ryan Coogler with Fruitvale Station, Rei Green with Monsters and Men, and Benh Zeitlin with Beasts of the Southern Wild,” Sffilm Executive Director Noah Cowan told Deadline. “These are films we...
- 7/13/2018
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
“Let mystery have its place in you; do not be always turning up your whole soil with the plowshare of self-examination, but leave a little fallow corner in your heart ready for any seed the winds may bring, and reserve a nook of shadow for the passing bird; keep a place in your heart for the unexpected guests, an altar for the unknown God.”
― Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Jack Palance recites the previous quote in Sudden Fear and it’s the manifesto for Guy Maddin and Evan and Galen Johnson’s new project, The Green Fog. The quote is one of a few lines of dialogue to appear in the film. It’s mostly ‘narrated’ with gestures, the breath between words and a score composed by Jacob Garchik and performed by Kronos Quartet. You hear nods to Bernard Hermann’s score of Hitchcock’s Vertigo throughout.
Commissioned by Noah Cowan for the...
― Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Jack Palance recites the previous quote in Sudden Fear and it’s the manifesto for Guy Maddin and Evan and Galen Johnson’s new project, The Green Fog. The quote is one of a few lines of dialogue to appear in the film. It’s mostly ‘narrated’ with gestures, the breath between words and a score composed by Jacob Garchik and performed by Kronos Quartet. You hear nods to Bernard Hermann’s score of Hitchcock’s Vertigo throughout.
Commissioned by Noah Cowan for the...
- 1/7/2018
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
At the San Francisco Film Society’s Doc Stories, Samantha Power — aka President Barack Obama’s U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations — is a true star. “What a crowd,” she tweeted after a rousing standing ovation for Greg Barker’s HBO documentary “The Final Year,” which features her as part of Obama’s foreign policy team. “Huge thanks to SFFilm Doc Stories & to an incredibly engaged San Francisco audience who saw @thefinalyeardoc not as a retrospective, but as a call to action.”
The third annual Doc Stories (Nov. 2-5) was a rich weekend of nonfiction features and shorts that launched with the world premiere of Alex Gibney’s “Rolling Stone: Stories from the Edge, Part I” (HBO) and closed with Chris Smith’s “Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton” (Netflix).
It’s part of Sffilm executive director Noah Cowan’s...
The third annual Doc Stories (Nov. 2-5) was a rich weekend of nonfiction features and shorts that launched with the world premiere of Alex Gibney’s “Rolling Stone: Stories from the Edge, Part I” (HBO) and closed with Chris Smith’s “Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton” (Netflix).
It’s part of Sffilm executive director Noah Cowan’s...
- 11/6/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
At the San Francisco Film Society’s Doc Stories, Samantha Power — aka President Barack Obama’s U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations — is a true star. “What a crowd,” she tweeted after a rousing standing ovation for Greg Barker’s HBO documentary “The Final Year,” which features her as part of Obama’s foreign policy team. “Huge thanks to SFFilm Doc Stories & to an incredibly engaged San Francisco audience who saw @thefinalyeardoc not as a retrospective, but as a call to action.”
The third annual Doc Stories (Nov. 2-5) was a rich weekend of nonfiction features and shorts that launched with the world premiere of Alex Gibney’s “Rolling Stone: Stories from the Edge, Part I” (HBO) and closed with Chris Smith’s “Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton” (Netflix).
It’s part of Sffilm executive director Noah Cowan’s...
The third annual Doc Stories (Nov. 2-5) was a rich weekend of nonfiction features and shorts that launched with the world premiere of Alex Gibney’s “Rolling Stone: Stories from the Edge, Part I” (HBO) and closed with Chris Smith’s “Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton” (Netflix).
It’s part of Sffilm executive director Noah Cowan’s...
- 11/6/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Keep up with the glitzy awards world with our bi-weekly Awards Roundup column.
– The Film Society of Lincoln Center has announced that Academy Award–winning actor Helen Mirren will be honored at the 45th Chaplin Award Gala on Monday, April 30, 2018. A beloved figure of stage, screen, and television, Mirren has bestowed upon the world a series of iconic performances in a career spanning more than fifty years. The annual event will be attended by a host of notable guests and presenters and will include movie and interview clips, culminating in the presentation of the Chaplin Award.
“It is an honor and a pleasure for us to present Helen Mirren with our 45th Chaplin Award,” said Ann Tenenbaum, the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Board Chairman. “From housemaid to Queen and everything in between, Ms. Mirren has delivered masterful performances of complex characters, upending stereotype after stereotype along the way.
– The Film Society of Lincoln Center has announced that Academy Award–winning actor Helen Mirren will be honored at the 45th Chaplin Award Gala on Monday, April 30, 2018. A beloved figure of stage, screen, and television, Mirren has bestowed upon the world a series of iconic performances in a career spanning more than fifty years. The annual event will be attended by a host of notable guests and presenters and will include movie and interview clips, culminating in the presentation of the Chaplin Award.
“It is an honor and a pleasure for us to present Helen Mirren with our 45th Chaplin Award,” said Ann Tenenbaum, the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Board Chairman. “From housemaid to Queen and everything in between, Ms. Mirren has delivered masterful performances of complex characters, upending stereotype after stereotype along the way.
- 10/20/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
San Francisco can claim more Oscar voters than any other city except Los Angeles and New York. (Many Los Angeles residents also live in the Bay Area.) That’s one reason the San Francisco Film Society executive director Noah Cowan, who witnessed the power of the Oscar race during his years at the Toronto International Film Festival, is jumping into the awards fray.
He’s moving the annual Sffilm Awards Night film achievement fundraiser out of the sprawling April festival, where it can get lost, and into the heart of awards season. The rebranded Sffilm Awards will take place December 5 at San Francisco’s renovated Palace of Fine Arts, in conjunction with the Sffs’s 60th anniversary.
Per usual, the program will honor contemporary cinema greats with onstage tributes including directing, acting, and storytelling awards. Past Sffilm awards have gone to Robert Altman, Ellen Burstyn, Frances Ford Coppola, Judy Davis,...
He’s moving the annual Sffilm Awards Night film achievement fundraiser out of the sprawling April festival, where it can get lost, and into the heart of awards season. The rebranded Sffilm Awards will take place December 5 at San Francisco’s renovated Palace of Fine Arts, in conjunction with the Sffs’s 60th anniversary.
Per usual, the program will honor contemporary cinema greats with onstage tributes including directing, acting, and storytelling awards. Past Sffilm awards have gone to Robert Altman, Ellen Burstyn, Frances Ford Coppola, Judy Davis,...
- 6/29/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
San Francisco can claim more Oscar voters than any other city except Los Angeles and New York. (Many Los Angeles residents also live in the Bay Area.) That’s one reason the San Francisco Film Society executive director Noah Cowan, who witnessed the power of the Oscar race during his years at the Toronto International Film Festival, is jumping into the awards fray.
He’s moving the annual Sffilm Awards Night film achievement fundraiser out of the sprawling April festival, where it can get lost, and into the heart of awards season. The rebranded Sffilm Awards will take place December 5 at San Francisco’s renovated Palace of Fine Arts, in conjunction with the Sffs’s 60th anniversary.
Per usual, the program will honor contemporary cinema greats with onstage tributes including directing, acting, and storytelling awards. Past Sffilm awards have gone to Robert Altman, Ellen Burstyn, Frances Ford Coppola, Judy Davis,...
He’s moving the annual Sffilm Awards Night film achievement fundraiser out of the sprawling April festival, where it can get lost, and into the heart of awards season. The rebranded Sffilm Awards will take place December 5 at San Francisco’s renovated Palace of Fine Arts, in conjunction with the Sffs’s 60th anniversary.
Per usual, the program will honor contemporary cinema greats with onstage tributes including directing, acting, and storytelling awards. Past Sffilm awards have gone to Robert Altman, Ellen Burstyn, Frances Ford Coppola, Judy Davis,...
- 6/29/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
It’s usually unwise to remake a masterpiece, but Guy Maddin has something different planned for “The Green Fog,” a meditation on Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo.” Unlike Gus Van Sant’s much-maligned 1998 shot-for-shot remake of “Psycho,” the Canadian director has revisited the 1958 thriller as an assemblage of old footage from San Francisco, the city where “Vertigo” takes place.
However, the project was never intended to have anything to do with “Vertigo.”
In “The Green Fog — A San Francisco Fantasia,” commissioned by San Francisco Film Society and set to close the San Francisco International Film Festival’s 60th edition on April 16, Maddin and co-directors Evan and Galen Johnson explore what Maddin has called “a rhapsody” on the Hitchcock movie. Set to an original score by composer Jacob Garchik that will be performed live by the San Francisco-based Kronos Quartet, the 63-minute “The Green Fog” reimagines the movie through an assemblage of...
However, the project was never intended to have anything to do with “Vertigo.”
In “The Green Fog — A San Francisco Fantasia,” commissioned by San Francisco Film Society and set to close the San Francisco International Film Festival’s 60th edition on April 16, Maddin and co-directors Evan and Galen Johnson explore what Maddin has called “a rhapsody” on the Hitchcock movie. Set to an original score by composer Jacob Garchik that will be performed live by the San Francisco-based Kronos Quartet, the 63-minute “The Green Fog” reimagines the movie through an assemblage of...
- 4/15/2017
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
On the first weekend of the 2017 Sf International Film Festival, Pixar co-founder and Disney president Edwin Catmull was supposed to be talking about the history of creativity at his company. Early on, however, he deviated from that to discuss the Advanced Research Projects Agency, which was founded in the Eisenhower era to enhance science and technology research beyond military purposes. “They decided to get smarter and try to fund smart people in schools around the United States,” Catmull said. “It was enlightened, because today, there are many political leaders who did not learn the lessons of the era.”
He stopped himself. “Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to get political.”
However, at a moment of radical change in the American political landscape, people working in arts and sciences often can’t help but politicize everything. With both the Environment Protection Agency and the National Endowment for the Arts endangered...
He stopped himself. “Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to get political.”
However, at a moment of radical change in the American political landscape, people working in arts and sciences often can’t help but politicize everything. With both the Environment Protection Agency and the National Endowment for the Arts endangered...
- 4/14/2017
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Over the last seven years, The San Francisco Film Society (now known simply at Sffilm) has become one the largest nonprofit supporters of independent and documentary film having doled out over $800,000 to individual films in 2016. With targeted and flexible filmmaking grants the SFFilm Maker program has been able to give individual films a significant financial boost when they need it most – ranging from before the script is written all the way to the sound mix.
Read More: San Francisco’s Master Plan to Keep Film Relevant In the 21st Century — Sf International Film Festival
Having played a critical role in successful films like “Short Term 12,” “Beasts of the Southern Wild” and “Fruitvale Station” getting made, Sffs’s support has also come to signal to the rest of the film world that a project is worth tracking.
However, the film society’s mission goes beyond being a key cog in...
Read More: San Francisco’s Master Plan to Keep Film Relevant In the 21st Century — Sf International Film Festival
Having played a critical role in successful films like “Short Term 12,” “Beasts of the Southern Wild” and “Fruitvale Station” getting made, Sffs’s support has also come to signal to the rest of the film world that a project is worth tracking.
However, the film society’s mission goes beyond being a key cog in...
- 4/6/2017
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
In order to understand the evolution of the San Francisco Film Festival on the eve of its 60th anniversary, it helps to look at its name, because it’s no longer called that.
Now, it’s the Sf International Film Festival, which is produced not by the San Francisco Film Society because the major nonprofit is now known simply as “Sffilm.” It’s an appropriately modern moniker for an institution nestled in the fast-paced technology circuit of the Bay Area, and chic enough to match the region’s progressive scene.
But that’s not the only way way in which Sffilm, which launches its 14-day festival this week, continues to stay relevant. “We’re sitting here in the Bay Area surrounded by an enormous amount of wealth that wants to be invested in media that matters,” said Sffilm executive director Noah Cowan. “We can really focus on who we are as a nonprofit,...
Now, it’s the Sf International Film Festival, which is produced not by the San Francisco Film Society because the major nonprofit is now known simply as “Sffilm.” It’s an appropriately modern moniker for an institution nestled in the fast-paced technology circuit of the Bay Area, and chic enough to match the region’s progressive scene.
But that’s not the only way way in which Sffilm, which launches its 14-day festival this week, continues to stay relevant. “We’re sitting here in the Bay Area surrounded by an enormous amount of wealth that wants to be invested in media that matters,” said Sffilm executive director Noah Cowan. “We can really focus on who we are as a nonprofit,...
- 4/6/2017
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
In 2002, director Thomas Riedelsheimer premiered his documentary “River and Tides – Andy Goldsworthy Working With Time” at the San Francisco International Film Festival. At the time, its future was uncertain: Unlike Sundance, San Francisco wasn’t an active marketplace for movies in search of U.S. distribution. Nevertheless, the movie won a top prize at the festival and began its theatrical life at the Roxie that year before gradually finding an audience nationwide. When it opened in Chicago in early 2003, Roger Ebert gave it four stars, noting its Bay Area origin story and a history of “finding its audience not so much through word of mouth as through hand on elbow, as friends steered friends into the theater.”
Now, Riedelsheimer is returning to San Francisco with a sequel to “Rivers and Tides” called “Leaning Into the Wind,” which updates viewers on the progress of British artist Goldsworthy, and the movie has...
Now, Riedelsheimer is returning to San Francisco with a sequel to “Rivers and Tides” called “Leaning Into the Wind,” which updates viewers on the progress of British artist Goldsworthy, and the movie has...
- 3/30/2017
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
The San Francisco Film Society has announced today that the 60th San Francisco International Film Festival’s anticipated Centerpiece event will be “Patti Cake$,” from first-time feature director Geremy Jasper. The film bowed at Sundance in January, featuring a star-making turn from Danielle Macdonald as the eponymous rapper Patricia “Patti Cake$” Dombrowski.
The film was purchased at the festival by Fox Searchlight, who paid a healthy $9.5 million for the feature. “Patti Cake$” was a Spring 2014 Sf Film Society / Krf Filmmaking Grant winner.
“We are thrilled that Patti Cake$,’ a film we supported in partnership with Kenneth Rainin Foundation, will be the Festival’s Centerpiece,” said Noah Cowan, Executive Director of the San Francisco Film Society. “The film is not only hugely entertaining, with great music and spectacular performances, but also deftly addresses issues of great importance in our current political climate, from the harsh social conditions faced by working-class families...
The film was purchased at the festival by Fox Searchlight, who paid a healthy $9.5 million for the feature. “Patti Cake$” was a Spring 2014 Sf Film Society / Krf Filmmaking Grant winner.
“We are thrilled that Patti Cake$,’ a film we supported in partnership with Kenneth Rainin Foundation, will be the Festival’s Centerpiece,” said Noah Cowan, Executive Director of the San Francisco Film Society. “The film is not only hugely entertaining, with great music and spectacular performances, but also deftly addresses issues of great importance in our current political climate, from the harsh social conditions faced by working-class families...
- 3/1/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Keep up with the always-hopping film festival world with our weekly Film Festival Roundup column. Check out last week’s Roundup right here.
Lineup Announcements
– Exclusive: Over the last five years, Jacksonville, Florida’s Sun-Ray Cinema has carved out a unique space for adventurous film programming while also reinventing how audiences enjoy blockbuster fare in Northeast Florida. Building on those successes, Sun-Ray has now unveiled their Sleeping Giant Fest. From March 30 – April 2, Sleeping Giant Fest promises to “open your eyes and perk your ears to work that often gets lost in the digital streams that dominate our viewing habits today.” The festival aims “to help you navigate an array of choices that often seems dizzying so you can immerse yourself in these so-called ‘less commercial’ films, repertory titles, and screenings with exciting special guests while enjoying the communal experience that the cinema provides.
With forty film and music events over four lively days,...
Lineup Announcements
– Exclusive: Over the last five years, Jacksonville, Florida’s Sun-Ray Cinema has carved out a unique space for adventurous film programming while also reinventing how audiences enjoy blockbuster fare in Northeast Florida. Building on those successes, Sun-Ray has now unveiled their Sleeping Giant Fest. From March 30 – April 2, Sleeping Giant Fest promises to “open your eyes and perk your ears to work that often gets lost in the digital streams that dominate our viewing habits today.” The festival aims “to help you navigate an array of choices that often seems dizzying so you can immerse yourself in these so-called ‘less commercial’ films, repertory titles, and screenings with exciting special guests while enjoying the communal experience that the cinema provides.
With forty film and music events over four lively days,...
- 2/16/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Colin Geddes, an international programmer at the Toronto International Film Festival, is stepping down after two decades at Tiff. Geddes was responsible for programming the festival’s Midnight Madness and Vanguard sections. Geddes’ programming associate Peter Kuplowsky will take over the role of Tiff programmer for Midnight Madness.
Read More: Why Tiff’s Midnight Madness Program Attracts Cinephiles From Around the World Every Year
Geddes will continue his work as curator for the horror streaming service Shudder, and serve as co-artistic director of the historic Royal Cinema in Toronto with his wife Katarina Gligorijević. He will also continue working as an executive producer and consulting producer. Some of his recent producing credits include the horror-thriller “Replace,” which will screen for buyers at the Berlin Film Festival’s European Film Market, the 2014 documentary “Why Horror?” and the comedy-drama “He Never Died” starring Henry Rollins.
Geddes joined Tiff in 1997 after being hired...
Read More: Why Tiff’s Midnight Madness Program Attracts Cinephiles From Around the World Every Year
Geddes will continue his work as curator for the horror streaming service Shudder, and serve as co-artistic director of the historic Royal Cinema in Toronto with his wife Katarina Gligorijević. He will also continue working as an executive producer and consulting producer. Some of his recent producing credits include the horror-thriller “Replace,” which will screen for buyers at the Berlin Film Festival’s European Film Market, the 2014 documentary “Why Horror?” and the comedy-drama “He Never Died” starring Henry Rollins.
Geddes joined Tiff in 1997 after being hired...
- 2/7/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
The Sundance Festival reveals the state of the indie film market, and 2017 will be remembered as the year of Amazon Studios and Netflix. And given the festival’s robust TV and Vr programs,, which were dominated by Google and Facebook/Oculus, there’s further digital disruption ahead.
According to one indie distributor, Sundance 2017’s valuations and sales are almost a third higher than last year. Put the same titles into the Sundance market two years ago, and they would have sold for far less. That’s because Netflix and Amazon Studios on the narrative side are dramatically driving up prices. “It’s just ridiculous what the digital guys are doing to the marketplace,” said one veteran indie CEO. “‘The Big Sick’ is a great little movie but it’s a $4 million -$6 million buy. There’s no logic to this model.”
However, Sundance has always been about the haves and the have-nots.
According to one indie distributor, Sundance 2017’s valuations and sales are almost a third higher than last year. Put the same titles into the Sundance market two years ago, and they would have sold for far less. That’s because Netflix and Amazon Studios on the narrative side are dramatically driving up prices. “It’s just ridiculous what the digital guys are doing to the marketplace,” said one veteran indie CEO. “‘The Big Sick’ is a great little movie but it’s a $4 million -$6 million buy. There’s no logic to this model.”
However, Sundance has always been about the haves and the have-nots.
- 1/27/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The Sundance Festival reveals the state of the indie film market, and 2017 will be remembered as the year of Amazon Studios and Netflix. And given the festival’s robust TV and Vr programs, which were dominated by Google and Facebook/Oculus, there’s further digital disruption ahead.
According to one indie distributor, Sundance 2017’s valuations and sales are almost a third higher than last year. Put the same titles into the Sundance market two years ago, and they would have sold for far less. That’s because Netflix and Amazon Studios on the narrative side are dramatically driving up prices. “It’s just ridiculous what the digital guys are doing to the marketplace,” said one veteran indie CEO. “‘The Big Sick’ is a great little movie but it’s a $4 million -$6 million buy. There’s no logic to this model.”
However, Sundance has always been about the haves and the have-nots.
According to one indie distributor, Sundance 2017’s valuations and sales are almost a third higher than last year. Put the same titles into the Sundance market two years ago, and they would have sold for far less. That’s because Netflix and Amazon Studios on the narrative side are dramatically driving up prices. “It’s just ridiculous what the digital guys are doing to the marketplace,” said one veteran indie CEO. “‘The Big Sick’ is a great little movie but it’s a $4 million -$6 million buy. There’s no logic to this model.”
However, Sundance has always been about the haves and the have-nots.
- 1/27/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Keep up with the glitzy awards world with our weekly Awards Roundup column.
– Jeffrey Katzenberg, Chairman of DreamWorks New Media, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 54th Annual International Cinematographers Guild (Icg, Iatse Local 600) Publicists Awards Luncheon to be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 24, 2017.
In making the announcement, Henri Bollinger, chairman of the Publicists Luncheon Awards Committee, commented, “.From the outset of his career, Jeffrey has demonstrated an ability to incorporate the essence of entertainment into a wide spectrum of projects. This has led to an unprecedented track record which continues to evolve with each passing year..”
Icg national president Steven Poster Asc added, .”Jeffrey Katzenberg is one of the giants of our industry, a man who has brought us some of the greatest films of our generation, be they live action or animation..”
.”I am thrilled and honored by this recognition,.” Katzenberg said of the honor.
– Jeffrey Katzenberg, Chairman of DreamWorks New Media, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 54th Annual International Cinematographers Guild (Icg, Iatse Local 600) Publicists Awards Luncheon to be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 24, 2017.
In making the announcement, Henri Bollinger, chairman of the Publicists Luncheon Awards Committee, commented, “.From the outset of his career, Jeffrey has demonstrated an ability to incorporate the essence of entertainment into a wide spectrum of projects. This has led to an unprecedented track record which continues to evolve with each passing year..”
Icg national president Steven Poster Asc added, .”Jeffrey Katzenberg is one of the giants of our industry, a man who has brought us some of the greatest films of our generation, be they live action or animation..”
.”I am thrilled and honored by this recognition,.” Katzenberg said of the honor.
- 1/5/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
While November's Doc NYC has announced its full program and influential Shortlist of 15, on the other coast the San Francisco Film Society is curating its own doc program. The inaugural Doc Stories Festival will celebrate the year's best long and short docs for four days, November 5-8, at the Vogue Theatre. The lineup ranges from new, unreleased films to breakouts from the festival circuit. Nearly every screening will include filmmakers and guest Q & As. Doc Stories is presented with support from HBO Documentary Films, Catapult Film Fund and Chicken & Egg Pictures. “The historical strength of the Bay Area in documentary filmmaking is a known fact to most industry professionals,” stated Sffs Executive Director Noah Cowan. “Doc Stories is an opportunity to help organize that community and inspire audiences through this vital art form. While the weekend will primarily focus on key films destined for awards consideration, we will also explore developing trends in the.
- 10/14/2015
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
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