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“Great actors fall into darkness backwards,” Bill Duke likes to say, quoting an early teacher of his who suggested that the leap of faith required for someone to become the person they imagine in their mind requires a sense of self-belief powerful enough to overcome their fear of the unknown. Not only has Duke consistently done that over the course of the actor-director’s 40-plus-year career, he’s done it with an unparalleled degree of excellence and grace.

While cinephiles and casual fans alike may be familiar with Duke’s performances in films like “Predator” and “Menace II Society,” few recognize the full impact of his contributions behind the camera during the ’90s, when he hit his stride with a series of major and enduring work that range from “A Rage in Harlem” and the masterful neo-noir “Deep Cover” to the beloved crowdpleaser “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit.

Olympia Dukakis, who died on May 1 at 89, had a face like no one else’s. Stern but perpetually amused, with a warm leer of a grin that could light up a scene, she looked like the comedy and tragedy masks fused together. That’s a fitting reference, since Dukakis was of Greek heritage and, in a stage career that stretched back to 1961, appeared in classics from “Electra” to “Titus Andronicus” to “Long Day’s Journey Into Night.” Yet even when she was carving out her place in movies and TV, often cast as the Grande Dame Who’s Smarter Than Anyone in the Room, the Dukakis face, part cherub and part statue, made it seem that whatever reality she was confronting, she saw the absurdity of it, and the heartbreak as well. She hopscotched from one ethnicity to the next: Italian in “Moonstruck,” Southern aristocrat in “Steel Magnolias,” Jewish in films like “The Cemetery Club.

Olympia Dukakis, a character actress best known for her Oscar-winning supporting turn in Norman Jewison’s “Moonstruck” and for her role as the wealthy widow in “Steel Magnolias,” has died. She was 89.

Dukakis’ brother, Apollo Dukakis, confirmed her death to Variety. Apollo Dukakis announced her death in a Facebook post, writing: “My beloved sister, Olympia Dukakis, passed away this morning in New York City. After many months of failing health she is finally at peace and with her Louis.”

The actress was 56 when she came to prominence overnight thanks to her Oscar-winning turn in “Moonstruck,” the 1987 film in which she played, with an extraordinary comic ethnic gusto characteristic of the movie as a whole, the mother of Cher’s character. The Washington Post singled out Dukakis for praise: Cher and Nicolas Cage are “backed by an equally quirky cast of marvelous supporting players — especially Olympia Dukakis, whose role as Loretta...

Beloved screen and stage actress Olympia Dukakis died May 1 at the age of 89. The news of the Oscar winner’s passing was shared by her brother, Apollo Dukakis, on Facebook. “My beloved sister, Olympia Dukakis, passed away this morning in New York City. After many months of failing health she is finally at peace and with her Louis,” Apollo wrote. Her husband, actor Louis Zorich, died in 2018 at the age of 93.

Olympia Dukakis starred in more than 130 stage productions, as well as more than 60 films and 50 television series. She won her Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1988 for her role in “Moonstruck” as Rose Castorini. She won a Golden Globe for the film as well, and received Emmy Award nominations for “Lucky Day” (1991), “More Tales of the City” (1998), and “Joan of Arc” (1999). She released an autobiography, “Ask Me Again Tomorrow: A Life in Progress,” in 2003. Last year, a feature-length documentary about her life,...

As high-ranking executives at the most famous record company in the world, it was essential for us to project the utmost professionalism at all times. We talked in hushed tones nodding politely at staff whom, when we approached lowered their heads once pass the whispered comments began.

Denys Cowan and I were walking the halls of Motown Records. Denys had just joined me at Motown Animation and Filmworks as Senior Vice President. I was giving him the ten-cent tour of Motown’s brand spanking new offices as we discussed plans to take over the world.

“My god, they nodded at us.”

“We’re so blessed.”

“Long live the saviors of Motown.”

“Nay, saviors of the entertainment industry!”

“Nay Nay The World!!”

“Why Y’All Keep Saying My Name?” Said, Nay Nay.

Nay Nay commented that we “Looked like GQ cover models.” Denys was in Armani, I wore Boss— we both...

John Carter, the pioneering African-American film editor whose credits spanned 1968’s Paper Lion and the original The Heartbreak Kid through Lean On Me, Barbershop and Madea’s Family Reunion, died August 13 at his home in White Plains, New York. He was 95.

Carter’s death was reported by his family in a notice in The New York Times. He was the first African-American editor to join the American Cinema Editors society.

A native of Newark, New Jersey, Carter began his career with Paper Lion, the comedy-drama based on George Plimpton’s New Journalism classic chronicling the author’s first-person account of enduring a grueling Detroit Lions training camp. The film starred Alan Alda as a fictionalized Plimpton.

Prior to Paper Lion, Carter had worked for 12 years at CBS – the family says he was the first African-American film editor employed by network television in New York – finishing his career there as supervising...

As the main topic of this year’s festival, Docaviv will feature a select group of thought-provoking films about a world that is changing with the collapse of physical and social boundaries, growing economic disparities, the waves of refugees and immigrants, civil wars, international terrorism, and the ultimate undoing of social solidarity.

Within the framework of this theme the program does not only include documentaries about terror and refugees, but also about a fragmented society which is losing its solidarity. Both in Israel and elsewhere the gap between the haves and the have-nots is widening, and so are the frustrations and the unrest. Israeli and international titles correlating to these themes can be found throughout the entire festival program:

“Death in the terminal” - Directors Tali Shemesh (“The Cemetery Club”) and Assaf Surd

A tense, minute-by-minute, Rashomon-style account of a tragic day. On October 18, 2015, a terrorist armed with a gun and a knife entered Beersheba’s bus terminal. Within 18 minutes Omri Levy, a soldier was killed and Abtum Zarhum, Eritrean immigrant asylum seeker, was lynched after being mistaken for a terrorist.

“The Settlers” - Premiered in Sundance, Director Shimon Dotan.

A far-reaching, comprehensive look at the Jewish settlement enterprise in the West Bank. It examines the origins of the settlement movement and the religious and ideological visions that propelled it, while providing an intimate look at the people at the center of the greatest geopolitical challenge now facing Israel and the international community. (Isa Contact: Cinephil)

“Town on a Wire” - premiered at Cph: Dox Dir: Uri Rosenwaks

While Tel Aviv is thriving, just ten minutes away lies the town of Lod, right in the backyard of Israel’s bustling urban center. Unlike its affluent neighbor, Lod is a city that suffers from the blight of racism, crime, and sheer desperation. Can it be saved? Is there some way to bring hope to Lod’s Arab and Jewish residents?

“Foucoammare”/ “Fire at Sea” - by Gianfranco Rosi - winner of Golden Bear, Berlinale 2016 -every day the inhabitants of the Italian Island Lampedusa are confronted with the flight of refugees to Europe . These people long for peace and freedom and often only their dead bodies are pulled out of the water. (Contact Isa: Doc & Film Int’l. U.S.: Kino Lorber)

“Between fences” – by Avi Mograbi -. In an Israeli detention center asylum-seekers from Eritrea and Sudan can’t be sent back to their own countries, but have no prospects in Israel either thanks to the country’s policies. Chen Alon and Avi Mograbi, initiate a theatre workshop to give these people the opportunity to address their own experiences of forced migration and discrimination and to confront an Israeli society that views them as dangerous infiltrators.

“A Syrian Love Story” – by Sean McAllister -You can’t be Che Guevara and a mother Amer tells Raghda, but maybe she can't do it any other way. After years of struggle, life without her homeland and the revolution has no meaning for her. It is hard to determine what is more demanding in this bold film: the revolution, or the search for inner peace. (Contact Isa: Cat & Docs)

“Homo Sapiens” – by Nikolaus Geyrhalter - what does humanity leave behind when its gone? It sometimes seems as if the mark that humans leave on this planet will last forever. The truth is that the iron, bricks, cement, and steel – the human traces everywhere abandoned and forgotten – are erased by the forces of nature. This unusually beautiful film may lack people and words, but that leaves even more room for thought.(Contact Isa: Autlook)

“Land of the Enlightened” – Premiered at Sundance Ff 2016. Shot over seven years on evocative 16mm footage, first-time director Pieter-Jan De Pue paints a whimsical yet haunting look at the condition of Afghanistan left for the next generation. As American soldiers prepare to leave, we follow De Pue deep into this hidden land where young boys form wild gangs to control trade routes, sell explosives from mines left over from war, making the new rules of war based on the harsh landscape left to them. (Contact Isa: Films Boutique)

“Flickering Truth” - Premiered at Toronto Ff 2015. Director Pietra Brettkelly (The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins) directs this harrowing, compelling film about the power of cinema to preserve our history and in so doing potentially change our futures. (Contact Isa: Film Sales Company)

“Requiem for the American Dream” - Directed by Peter D. Hutchison, Kelly Nyks, Jared P. Scott. In ten chilling but lucid chapters, Noam Chomsky, one of the great intellectuals of our time, analyzes the “system,” which allows wealthy capitalists to seize the reins of government and turn those without wealth into a passive herd, willing to forego power, solidarity, and democracy itself. (U.S.: Gravitas. Contact Isa: Films Transit)

The festival will open with a first film by Israeli director Roman Shumunov

“Babylon Dreamers” Directed by Roman Somonob. An intimate report about a troupe of immigrants from the former Soviet Union, from one of Ashdod’s poorest neighborhoods; they struggle to survive facing harsh conditions - poverty, mental illness, and broken families. They channel their anger and cling to their dream of attending and winning the International Breakdance Championship.

Israeli Competition

Some 70 Israeli films produced over the last year were submitted out of which 13 films have been selected for the Israeli Competition. They will be competing for the largest cash prize for documentary filmmaking in Israel 70,000 Nis (Us$ 15,000). Other awards in the competition include the Mayor’s Prize for the Most Promising Filmmaker, the Prize for Editing, the Prize for Cinematography, the Prize for Research, and the Prize for Original Score.

"The Wonderful Kingdom of Papa Alaev," directors Tal Barda, Noam Pinchas -Tajikistan’s answer to the Jackson Family. A modern-day Shakespearean tale about a famous Tajik musical family, controlled by their charismatic patriarch-grandfather - Papa Alaev.

"A Tale of Two Balloons" by Zohar Wagner - The tale of a women who thought a pair of perfect breasts would help her find true love. But when that love came along, those perfect breasts had to go.

"Aida's Secrets," director Alon Schwarz - At 68, Izak learns he has a brother he never knew about. As part of the discoveries about the family, the film uncovers the story of the Displaced Persons camps- the vibrant and often wild social life that flourished immediately after WW2.

"Child Mother" by Yael Kipper and Ronen Zaretzky - The story of elderly women born in Morocco and Yemen, who were married off when they were still little girls. Only now, as they enter the final chapter of their lives, do they openly face their past and the ways it still affects them and their families.

"The Last Shaman" directed by Raz Degan - Inspired by an article he read, James decides to travel to the Amazon rainforests, in search of a shaman whom he thinks can save him from a clinical depression that haunts him.

"The Patriarch's Room" by Danae Elon -The bizarre imprisonment of the former head of the Greek Orthodox Church in a tiny monastic cell in Jerusalem’s Old City leads to a fascinating journey in search of the truth, penetrating the remote world of the priesthood. The complex and unfamiliar picture that emerges is revealed here, on camera, for the very first time.

"Poetics of the Brain" by Nurith Aviv –weaving associative links between her personal biographical stories and neuroscientists’ accounts of their work. They discuss topics such as memory, bilingualism, reading, mirror neurons, smell, traces of experience.

"Shalom Italia," by Tamar Tal Anati (winner of Docaviv for Life in Stills) -Three Italian Jewish brothers set off on a journey through Tuscany, in search of a cave where they hid as children to escape the Nazis. Their quest, full of humor, food and Tuscan landscapes, straddles the boundary between history and myth, both of which really, truly happened.

"Week 23" by Ohad Milstein - Rahel, the daughter of a Swiss bishop, is coping with a difficult pregnancy in Israel. One of the identical twins she is carrying has died in utero, and now poses an almost certain threat to its sibling. The doctors are unequivocal about it. They tell Rahel that she should abort the surviving fetus and end her pregnancy.

"The Settlers" by Shimon Dotan; Town On A Wire directed by Uri Rosenwaksand Eyal Blachson; Death in the Terminal by Tali Shemesh and Asaf Sudry, and Babylon Dreamers by Roman Shumunov.

The Members of the selection committee included Sinai Abt, artistic director of the Docaviv Film Festival; director Reuven Brodsky, winner of Docaviv in 2012 for his film Home Movie and of Honorable Mention at Docaviv in 2015 and film editor Ayelet Ofarim.

Twelve films have been selected for the International Competition, which will open with the The Happy Film by Stefan Seigmeister. Also competing are Jerzy Sladkowski’s Don Juan, winner of the Idfa Award; Author: The J.T. LeRoy Story about the imaginary cult figure who became the darling of New York society and nightlife, picked up by Amazon at Sundance as its first doc title. Another festival favorite is A Flickering Truth and Sean McAllister's daring award winning documentary A Syrian Love Story.

The Depth of Field Competition will open with LoveTrue by director Alma Har’el, who will be a juror for the Israeli Film Competition. This is the Competition’s third year, held in conjunction with the Film Critics’ Forum that will award films for an outstanding and daring artistic vision. Other films that will be screened as part of the competition include Sundance winners Kate Plays Christine by Robert Greene, and Pieter-Jan De Pue’s hybrid documentary The Land of the Enlightened; other titles that will be shown are Hotel Dallas by wife and husband artist duo Livia Ungur and Sherng-Lee Huang, The Hong Kong Trilogy by noted cinematographer Christopher Doyle , and the musical- turned into documentary London Road by Rufus Norris and Alecky Blythe.

The Masters Section, a new category in the festival, highlighting new films by world renowned directors will be opened by Fire at Sea by director Gianfranco Rosi, winner of the Golden Bear at this year’s Berlinale. Avi Mograbi’s Between Fences will be accompanied by a play by the Holot Legislative Theater, with a cast of actors that includes Israelis and African asylum seekers.

Other films in this section include amongst others Junun, Paul Thomas Anderson’s portrayal of a musical project involving Shye Ben-Tzur and Jonny Greenwood, Homo Sapiens by director Nikolaus Geyrhalter, Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine by director Alex Gibney, To the Desert by director Judd Neeman, Unlocking the Cage by directors D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, De Palma by co-director Noah Baumbach and He Named Me Malala by David Guggenheim.

The Panorama selection of films will include amongst others the moving Strike a Pose, by Ester Gould and Reijer Zwaan about the dancers who accompanied Madonna on her “Blond Ambition” tour, Roger Ross Williams ‘Life, Animated depicting the remarkable story of an autistic boy, who learned how to communicate with his surroundings through Disney films, Those Who Jump about an African refugee who films attempts by other refugees to jump the barbed wire border fence in North Africa and Louis Theroux: My Scientology Film.

This year’s Arts Section will include Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble by Academy Award winner Morgan Neville; I Don’t Belong Anywhere: The Cinema of Chantal Akerman, which was produced shortly before her tragic death, Listen to Me, Marlon, which tells the story of Marlon Brando through the audio recordings he made throughout his life, Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict, the salacious story of art collector Peggy Guggenheim, Koudelka Shooting Holy Land, Gilad Baram’s film about famous Czech photographer Josef Koudelka’s travels along the Separation Fence, and more.

Seven films produced by the top film schools in Israel were selected to compete in the annual Student Film Competition. The prize for the competition was donated by the Gottesman family in memory of Ruti Gottesman, a leading supporter of Docaviv and of documentary.

The Members of the selection committee included Karin Ryvind Segal, programming director for Docaviv, Hila Avraham, curator and expert on film and audiovisual media preservation and screenwriter Danny Rosenberg, whose work includes the films My Father’s House , Susia and the television series Johnny and the Knights of the Galilee.

Special Guests attending the Festival:

Award winning Director Ondi Timoner, will be attending the Israeli premiere of her film Russell Brand: A Second Coming. Her Sundance-winning film Dig! will be among the music documentaries screened at the Tel Aviv Port. In conjunction with the Film Department of Beit Berl College, Timoner will also be conducting a special master class for students, professionals, and amateurs.

This year’s festival will include a special tribute to acclaimed director Nikolaus Geyrhalter who will be attending the festival with his recent Homo Sapiens. This year’s festival will also include two previous films of his, Our Daily Bread and Abendland,.

International jury members attending the festival include:

Adriek van Nieuwenhuyzen, Director of the Idfa industry office; Gary Kam, producer of Planet of Snail; film director Alma Har’el (Bombay Beach; LoveTrue) ; Nilotpal, Director of Docedge Kolkata, Sascha Lara Bleuler, Director of the Human Rights Film Festival in Zurich, and film director Tatiana Brandrup.

The Israeli jurors include:

Director Dror Moreh, director and producer Barak Heymann, director Robby Elmaliah, producer Elinor Kowarsky, photographer David Adika, and film editor Tal Rabiner.

Around town. A record number of twelve screening venues spread out across Tel Aviv will offer free screenings. These are: Habima Square, the Beit Danny Community Center, the Hatikvah neighborhood, the Arab-Jewish Community Center in Jaffa, the rooftop of Tel Aviv City Hall, WeWork, Levinsky Park, Bar Kayma, Beit Romano, the Nalaga’at Center, Picnic Little Italy-Sarona Tel Aviv, and Artport.

Outdoors. The Tel Aviv Port will continue to host the festival this year, with outdoor screenings of music films with guest deejays from KZRadio. Films to be screened at the port include Janis: Little Girl Blue, The Reflektor Tapes about the band Arcade Fire, P.T Andersoan’s Junun about the musical collaboration between Shye Ben Tzur, ‎Jonny Greenwood, Nigel Godrich, and a dozen Indian musicians.

Festival Firsts. DocaviVR: a collaboration between Docaviv and Steamer, Israel’s first Interactive and Virtual Reality Film Festival, presents original documentary projects from Israel and around the world, created especially for viewing with Vr gear. The event will take place at Beit Romano. A cinema will pop up in one of Tel Aviv’s trendy hubs, with 25 stations equipped with Vr gear.

The Docommunity conference aims to promote dcomentary across the country by bringing together cultural coordinators and artistic directors from across the country to introduce them to the latest documentary films from Israel and around the world.

The Platform for Alternative Documentation at Artport art space: A performative piece that brings together film artists, social activists, and researchers studying the various aesthetic, social, and philosophical aspects of documentation. Curated by Laliv Melamed and Gilad Reich.

Young audiences. For the first time, films from The Next Doc will be screened, a special initiative of Docaviv, the Second Channel, and the New Fund for Film and Television, which led to the production of three films created especially for a teenage audience.

Docaviv will also be hosting the final event of Docu Young, at which films by students in residential schools, who participated in film workshops , will be screened.

The Docyouth Competition will feature the best documentary films produced by students in high school film programs throughout the country. For the first time, voting for this year’s competition will be held online and open to high school students across the country.

Among the Screenings of docs for kids are Victor Kosakovsky’s “Varicella”, and “Landfilharmonic”.

Over the course of the festival, 110 films will be screened.

Talent is currently being sought out of Texas for the play, “The Cemetery Club,” which follows three Jewish widows who meet once a month for tea before visiting their husbands’ graves. Five roles are being cast for this production, which runs Jan. 22–Feb. 7 in Pasadena, Texas. Auditions will be held Dec. 7 and 8. For more details, check out the full casting notice for “The Cemetery Club” here, and be sure to check out the rest of our Texas audition listings!

I’m a sucker for a heist flick, especially if the picture in question is coated with a thick layer of comedy. Doesn’t matter what brand of comedy, really, just as long as there’s some sort of chuckle-inducing levity to be found in the story. Judging from the trailer posted blow, “My Wife is a Gangster” director Hyo-jin Kang’s latest effort “Revolver Gangster Gang” promises to be just as off-beat as the filmmaker’s previous endeavors. How could you possibly go wrong with a bunch of old ladies robbing banks? Think “Steel Magnolias” meets “Bandits”, or “The Cemetery Club” by way of “Heat”. Regardless of how you pitch the idea to yourself in the bathroom mirror, the movie looks entertaining, and I’m all about being entertained. “Revolver Gangster Gang” will hit Korean theaters this March. Several posters and the aforementioned teaser lie below. Huge kudos to...

This production features music by Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel), lyrics by Tony Award-winner Don Black (Sunset Boulevard, Song and Dance), book by Ivan Menchell(The Cemetery Club, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), and direction by Jeff Calhoun (Deaf West's Big River and Pippin, Grease!). Bonnie & Clyde began its run on November 10 and will run through December 20, 2009 in The Playhouse's Mandell Weiss Theatre.

This production features music by Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel), lyrics by Tony Award-winner Don Black (Sunset Boulevard, Song and Dance), book by Ivan Menchell(The Cemetery Club, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), and direction by Jeff Calhoun (Deaf West's Big River and Pippin, Grease!). Bonnie & Clyde began its run on November 10 and will run through December 20, 2009 in The Playhouse's Mandell Weiss Theatre.

This production features music by Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel), lyrics by Tony Award-winner Don Black (Sunset Boulevard, Song and Dance), book by Ivan Menchell(The Cemetery Club, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), and direction by Jeff Calhoun (Deaf West's Big River and Pippin, Grease!). Bonnie & Clyde began its run on November 10 and will run through December 20, 2009 in The Playhouse's Mandell Weiss Theatre.

This production features music by Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel), lyrics by Tony Award-winner Don Black (Sunset Boulevard, Song and Dance), book by Ivan Menchell(The Cemetery Club, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), and direction by Jeff Calhoun (Deaf West's Big River and Pippin, Grease!). Bonnie & Clyde began its run on November 10 and will run through December 20, 2009 in The Playhouse's Mandell Weiss Theatre.

This production features music by Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel), lyrics by Tony Award-winner Don Black (Sunset Boulevard, Song and Dance), book by Ivan Menchell(The Cemetery Club, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), and direction by Jeff Calhoun (Deaf West's Big River and Pippin, Grease!). Bonnie & Clyde began its run on November 10 and will run through December 20, 2009 in The Playhouse's Mandell Weiss Theatre.

La Jolla Playhouse is pleased to announce the complete cast of its world-premiere musical Bonnie & Clyde, music by Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel), lyrics by Tony Award-winner Don Black (Sunset Boulevard, Song and Dance), book by Ivan Menchell (The Cemetery Club, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), with direction and musical staging by Jeff Calhoun (Deaf West's Big River and Pippin, Grease!), playing November 10 - December 20, 2009 in the Playhouse's Mandell Weiss Theatre.

La Jolla Playhouse announced today the addition of the world-premiere musical Bonnie & Clyde, to its 2009-10 season, replacing The Big Time. This production features music by Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel), lyrics by Tony Award-winner Don Black (Sunset Boulevard, Song and Dance), book by Ivan Menchell (The Cemetery Club, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), and direction by Jeff Calhoun (Deaf West's Big River and Pippin, Grease!). Bonnie & Clyde will run November 10 - December 20, 2009 in the Playhouse's Mandell Weiss Theatre.

For Equity contract information, refer to our complete listings online at www.backstage.com/spotlight. If your company is not listed but you would like to be included in next year's list, contact Laura A. Butler, Research Editor, at Back Stage, at lbutler@backstage.com.California La Jolla Playhouse P.O. Box 12039 La Jolla, CA 92039 (858) 550-1070, fax (858) 550-1075 www.lajollaplayhouse.org Christopher Ashley, artistic director Casting: Casts productions in-house and through independent casting directors by invitation only. Send pix & resumes to above address, Attn: Casting. See website for more information. Internships available. Season: Mandell Weiss Forum Theatre: Continuous City (March 19 - 22). Future schedule Tba. Marin Shakespeare Company P.O. Box 4053 San Rafael, CA 94913 (415) 499-4485, fax (415) 499-1492 management@marinshakespeare.org www.marinshakespeare.org Robert S. Currier, artistic director Casting: Casts productions in-house. Send pix & resumes to: Robert Currier. Please see website for specific audition dates and information. Internships and/or apprenticeships available.

New York -- The fifth annual Miami International Film Festival has announced a tribute for director Luc Besson, participants in the Miami Encuentros program for emerging Latino directors, the Reel Education Seminar Series and 16 features in its World & Ibero-American Cinema documentary competition.

Besson, the French helmer of "La Femme Nikita" and "The Fifth Element," will appear at the Career Achievement Tribute and present the East Coast premiere of his tenth film, the black-and-white fable "Angel-a."

The Encuentros program, presented by Eastman Kodak and Entertainment Partners, will give filmmakers from nine Latino projects the chance to present new work to producers, agents, TV stations and distributors. The features set to be screened include Andre Ristum's Brazilian "Square Man," Carlos Moreno's Colombian "Dog Eat Dog," Gonzalo Justiniano's Chilean "Lokas" and Adrian Biniez's Argentinian "Giant." Paramount Vantage's Matt Brodlie, Warner Independent Pictures' Paul Federbush, Kodak's Anne Hubbell, Cinetic Media's Sarah Lash and Wma's Eric Rovner and Jerome Duboz are among the 22 delegates participating as filmmaker advisors.

This year's World & Ibero-American Cinema documentary feature contenders include Tali Shemesh's Holocaust survivor portrait "The Cemetery Club," Marco Williams' tale of post-Civil War discrimination, "Banished," John Fiege's immigration study "Mississippi Chicken" and Jennifer Baichwal's Toronto International Film Festival prizewinner "Manufactured Landscapes."

The winner will receive a $25,000 award sponsored by the John S. and James L. Night Foundation. Two other competitions for dramatic features, World Cinema and Ibero-American Cinema, will also award each winning film a $25,000 prize.

The 2007 World Cinema dramatic features jury includes writer/director Raoul Peck and producers Christine Vachon and Bernardo Zupnik. Sarajevo Film Festival programmer Howard Feinstein and producers Bertha Navarro and Jim Stark will judge the Ibero-American Cinema dramatic competition. American Documentary vp Cynthia Lopez, Film Forum programmer Mike Maggiore and acquisitions exec Rob Williams will judge the World & Ibero-American docu competition.

The fest's Reel Education Seminars Series will feature a hefty 26 panels. including "Agents, Packaging & Financing -- At What Stage Do I Look for Representation?" with The Collective's Shaun Redick, CAA's Roeg Sutherland, Endeavor Independent's Graham Taylor and UTA's Keya Khayatian. Other discussions include "Pitch to the Pros --? Writing Treatments That Sell" with Silverwood Films' Lynette Howell and UTA's Jon Huddle, "Documentaries --? Why Have They Become So Popular Recently?" with Submarine's Josh Braun and ThinkFilm's Daniel Katz, and "Us Distribution" with Brodlie, Federbush, Focus Features' Jason Resnick and IFC Films' Arianna Bocco.

The festival, presented by Miami Dade College, runs March 2-11.

This production features music by Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel), lyrics by Tony Award-winner Don Black (Sunset Boulevard, Song and Dance), book by Ivan Menchell(The Cemetery Club, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), and direction by Jeff Calhoun (Deaf West's Big River and Pippin, Grease!). Bonnie & Clyde began its run on November 10 and will run through December 20, 2009 in The Playhouse's Mandell Weiss Theatre.