“It’s poetic, really,” one veteran sales agent told me when the news broke that IndieWire co-founder and New York Film Festival head Eugene Hernandez would be taking over as director of the Sundance Film Festival. That’s one way of putting it; another would be calling it fate. Hernandez, a friend and mentor to many of us, has lived and breathed Sundance DNA for his entire adult life.
The seeds of this site were sown by a fateful 1993 trip to Park City, where Hernandez and college friend Cheri Barner met Mark Rabinowitz. The experiences they had there, at the height of the booming American independent film market, inspired the concept for IndieWire, which they launched as an email newsletter at the festival two years later. In an oral history for IndieWire’s 20th anniversary, Hernandez explained how the communal experience of Sundance motivated his work:
The ability to connect...
The seeds of this site were sown by a fateful 1993 trip to Park City, where Hernandez and college friend Cheri Barner met Mark Rabinowitz. The experiences they had there, at the height of the booming American independent film market, inspired the concept for IndieWire, which they launched as an email newsletter at the festival two years later. In an oral history for IndieWire’s 20th anniversary, Hernandez explained how the communal experience of Sundance motivated his work:
The ability to connect...
- 9/7/2022
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
When IndieWire launched on July 15, 1996, the first movies on DVD were still months away. Ewan McGregor became a star with “Trainspotting” and Sony Pictures Classics released Sundance acquisition “Manny & Lo,” starring 11-year-old Scarlett Johansson in her first leading role. NBC had a death grip on the Nielsen ratings; Reed Hastings ran a company that tested software.
IndieWire began when future New York Film Festival director Eugene Hernandez emailed a newsletter to a couple hundred members of iLINE, the AOL film community he created with Cheri Barner and Mark Rabinowitz. (Lead stories: “Trainspotting Rumors About Dubbing and Re-Cutting Put to Rest by Its Director” and “Antonia’s Line Banned in The Philippines.”) He’d tried this before, as a monthly, but realized he wasn’t exploiting his advantage: Being online meant providing news faster.
There’s much more to the story of IndieWire, which we’ve previously captured in a couple of oral histories.
IndieWire began when future New York Film Festival director Eugene Hernandez emailed a newsletter to a couple hundred members of iLINE, the AOL film community he created with Cheri Barner and Mark Rabinowitz. (Lead stories: “Trainspotting Rumors About Dubbing and Re-Cutting Put to Rest by Its Director” and “Antonia’s Line Banned in The Philippines.”) He’d tried this before, as a monthly, but realized he wasn’t exploiting his advantage: Being online meant providing news faster.
There’s much more to the story of IndieWire, which we’ve previously captured in a couple of oral histories.
- 7/15/2021
- by Dana Harris-Bridson
- Indiewire
In Pixar’s “Soul,” jazz pianist Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx) struggles to escape the afterlife after an injury endangers his upcoming gig. The movie is written by Pete Docter (“Inside Out”), Kemp Powers (“One Night in Miami”), and Mike Jones, who also makes his Pixar debut as a lead producer. Jones got his start as a film journalist for Filmmaker and IndieWire before turning to screenwriting and eventually landing at Pixar. Now, he’s on track for serious awards contention, with “Soul” leading the field for Best Animated Feature as well as contending in other categories.
It wasn’t an easy journey. Here, Jones recounts his history and how it inspired his new project.
I grew up in San Antonio, Texas in a film-loving family, but I never thought writing or being part of the film industry was an option for me. We didn’t have a lot of money.
It wasn’t an easy journey. Here, Jones recounts his history and how it inspired his new project.
I grew up in San Antonio, Texas in a film-loving family, but I never thought writing or being part of the film industry was an option for me. We didn’t have a lot of money.
- 12/25/2020
- by Mike Jones
- Indiewire
Want to relive a Coen Brothers classic with a fresh spin and some new cast members? The Pandemic Players, a troupe of stage and screen actors volunteering their time and talents to help fellow Americans impacted by Covid-19, will host a table read of the 1987 comedy “Raising Arizona” this Wednesday, November 25. The video will launch at 11 a.m. Pt, 2 p.m. Et. All proceeds will benefit Covenant House, founded in 1972 to shelter and care for young people facing homelessness. Below, check out an exclusive trailer for the read.
Troupe members participating in the table read include Zachary Levi (star of “Shazam!”), who will take on the role of Nicolas Cage’s H.I. McDunnough, and Alison Pill (“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”), who will play Holly Hunter’s Ed. Joining the pair will be Dean Norris, Clancy Brown, Macon Blair, Ross Partridge, Sarah Clarke, Jeff Dowd, Leila Almas Rose, Jaime Zevallos,...
Troupe members participating in the table read include Zachary Levi (star of “Shazam!”), who will take on the role of Nicolas Cage’s H.I. McDunnough, and Alison Pill (“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”), who will play Holly Hunter’s Ed. Joining the pair will be Dean Norris, Clancy Brown, Macon Blair, Ross Partridge, Sarah Clarke, Jeff Dowd, Leila Almas Rose, Jaime Zevallos,...
- 11/22/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Financing company offers to cash-flow the 25% Icelandic tax incentive as well as the 24% Vat refund.
Iceland’s sole dedicated film and television financing boutique Isold Film & TV Financing has become the first company to cash-flow both the country’s film and TV tax incentive and Vat refund.
Reykjavik-based producer-director Thoromar Jonsson founded Isold earlier this year to capitalise on a sought-after location that has hosted shoots for HBO smash Game Of Thrones [pictured], Captain America: Civil War and upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, among others.
Former Studio Babelsberg managing director Thierry Potok serves as chairman, while former Screen International editor-in-chief Colin Brown is president; La-based strategy and media consultant Francis DellaVecchia is head of operations, and Mark Rabinowitz serves as head of acquisitions.
Effective immediately, Isold offers to cash-flow the 25% Icelandic tax incentive as well as the 24% Vat refund. Its services extend to producers of film and TV shows that want to take advantage of Iceland...
Iceland’s sole dedicated film and television financing boutique Isold Film & TV Financing has become the first company to cash-flow both the country’s film and TV tax incentive and Vat refund.
Reykjavik-based producer-director Thoromar Jonsson founded Isold earlier this year to capitalise on a sought-after location that has hosted shoots for HBO smash Game Of Thrones [pictured], Captain America: Civil War and upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, among others.
Former Studio Babelsberg managing director Thierry Potok serves as chairman, while former Screen International editor-in-chief Colin Brown is president; La-based strategy and media consultant Francis DellaVecchia is head of operations, and Mark Rabinowitz serves as head of acquisitions.
Effective immediately, Isold offers to cash-flow the 25% Icelandic tax incentive as well as the 24% Vat refund. Its services extend to producers of film and TV shows that want to take advantage of Iceland...
- 11/4/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
On July 15, 1996, IndieWire launched as an e-mail newsletter providing “the daily news service for independent film.” (See the first newsletter here.) The original iteration of the site was the brainchild of Cheri Barner, Eugene Hernandez and Mark Rabinowitz, three recent college students obsessed with the movies. In the ensuing years, IndieWire grew and changed hands many times over. Barner now works as a talent manager in Los Angeles, Hernandez is the deputy director of the Film Society Lincoln Center, and Rabinowitz is a freelance publicist, consultant and programmer.
But they have remained a part of our close-knit community. As IndieWire arrives at its 20th anniversary, the trio gathered together for their first joint interview to recall the early days of IndieWire — as well as the thriving American independent film scene that inspired the publication.
Eugene Hernandez: IndieWire was an outgrowth of something that Mark, Cheri and I had started in 1995. At the time,...
But they have remained a part of our close-knit community. As IndieWire arrives at its 20th anniversary, the trio gathered together for their first joint interview to recall the early days of IndieWire — as well as the thriving American independent film scene that inspired the publication.
Eugene Hernandez: IndieWire was an outgrowth of something that Mark, Cheri and I had started in 1995. At the time,...
- 7/14/2016
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
It was 20 years ago, almost to the day, that Indiewire launched under Eugene Hernandez, Mark Rabinowitz, and Cheri Barner as "iLine." Daily Variety then described us as "A World Wide Web site dedicated to the indie film world." From that first Sundance, we grew to become the premiere voice of independent film. And for the last eight years, under SnagFilms, we've grown our site traffic to a massive degree, and brought our unique indie sensibility into new coverage areas like TV, Ott content, and more. Now, as we prepare to head into Sundance again, we have news almost as significant as our creation: We've been acquired by Penske Media Corp., where we'll join brands such as Variety, Deadline, Women's Wear Daily and many others. Our teams will be moving our offices to Pmc headquarters in Los Angeles and New York. We'll be expanding our coverage even further, and our reach.
- 1/19/2016
- by Dana Harris
- Indiewire
Read More: Watch: James Franco's 'The Sound and the Fury' Clip Features Award-Worthy Scott Haze The Oxford Film Festival, which takes place in Oxford, Mississippi, is accepting entries for next year's festival in all programming categories, including music videos, documentaries and more. The festival, which typically takes place after the Sundance Film Festival, has hosted regional premieres of films like James Franco's "The Sound and the Fury" and Chad Hartigan's "This is Martin Bonner." All submissions will be accepted at Film Freeway until November 15, but you can save money by submitting sooner. The festival will be run by newly-appointed Executive Director Melanie Addington, who will work alongside Mark Rabinowitz and Kim Voynar as head programmers. Mary Margaret Andrews, Courtney Hall, Newt Rayburn, Deborah Barker, Maggie Woodward, Michelle Emanuel and Brooke White will also make up the 2016 programming team. The 2016 Oxford Film Festival...
- 7/31/2015
- by Kaeli Van Cott
- Indiewire
Amos Gitai [pictured], Michael Smiley and Lenora Crichlow among the judges at this year’s festival.
Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) has announced this year’s juries.
Amos Gitai will chair the jury for the Michael Powell Award Competition for Best British Feature Film, with Nina Hoss and Michael Smiley also on the jury. The award carries a cash prize of £20,000 and the jury will also select the award for Best Performance in a British feature film.
The jury for Best International Feature Film Competition (£10,000) includes Niki Karimi (chair), Michael Fitzgerald and Mark Rabinowitz, while the Best Documentary Feature Film Competition (£10,000 and supported by Al Jazeera) will be chaired by Cynthia Beatt alongside Dominique Auvray and Sunmin Park.
Linda Ruth Williams will chair the jury for the Short Film Competition (supported by Virgin Atlantic) along with Lenora Crichlow and Nicole Gerhards.
Now in its third year, the Student Critics Jury programme will see seven aspiring film critics work under...
Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) has announced this year’s juries.
Amos Gitai will chair the jury for the Michael Powell Award Competition for Best British Feature Film, with Nina Hoss and Michael Smiley also on the jury. The award carries a cash prize of £20,000 and the jury will also select the award for Best Performance in a British feature film.
The jury for Best International Feature Film Competition (£10,000) includes Niki Karimi (chair), Michael Fitzgerald and Mark Rabinowitz, while the Best Documentary Feature Film Competition (£10,000 and supported by Al Jazeera) will be chaired by Cynthia Beatt alongside Dominique Auvray and Sunmin Park.
Linda Ruth Williams will chair the jury for the Short Film Competition (supported by Virgin Atlantic) along with Lenora Crichlow and Nicole Gerhards.
Now in its third year, the Student Critics Jury programme will see seven aspiring film critics work under...
- 6/10/2014
- by ian.sandwell@screendaily.com (Ian Sandwell)
- ScreenDaily
The Korean party at Sundance this year is where a different group of folks gathered to celebrate Korean cinema and filmmakers. It was one of the most fun parties to catch up with friends and meet new people. Party organizers Henry Eshelmann and Mark Rabinowitz created a relaxed atmosphere with great food in an easy to navigate space. While there I could do some matchmaking, one of my favorite pastimes, introducing Ula from the American Film Festival in Wroclaw Poland to Kiril of the Moscow Film Festival, and being introduced by Ula and Kiril to the Busan International Film Festival/ Asian Film Market's Steering Committee Deputy Director (who is responsible for international marketing of the market), Chanil Jeon, who then introduced me to the programmer for North American films, Dosin Pak whose email is "Program [At] biff.kr" for all you North American filmmakers looking to break into Asia.
I have written about Busan several times because I think South Korea's development and support of filmmaking, film education and film financing through its pre-sales market is a model other countries would be wise to follow. I would personally love to create an cross-cultural educational component to their activities which would make them trailblazers yet again. During one Cannes Festival, I spoke to their education director about that, so perhaps, with a little more time, I will be able to speak to a decision maker to actualize this idea.
“Korean film night,” presentedby the Korean film council (Kofic) with support from Korean Cultural Center of Los Angeles (Kccla), highlighted standout Korean films and filmmakers at Al Dente Trattoria e Bar january 21 in park city.
Filmmakers Park Chan-Wook (Stoker); O Muel (Jiseul); Kim Song E. Kim (Bite of the Tail); actor Daniel Dae Kim with host Soo Jin Hwangwere also there to meet people.
The four standout Sundance films from 2013 in the Korean community were Jiseul, written and directed by O Muel; Stoker, directed by Park Chan-Wook; You Are More Than Beautiful; directed by Kim Tae-yong Kim; and Bite Of The Tail, directed and written by Kim Song E. The four Korean films in Sundance 2013 were featured in this year’s World Cinema Dramatic Competition, the Animated Short Films Competition and the International Narrative Shorts Competition. Kofic came to Sundance to both develop relationships between Korean film and the rest of the world and support the work of the Korean film community with North American and worldwide production partners, distributors and exhibitors.
Soo Jin Hwang, Head of Kofic USA office hosted the event. Numerous film executives also attended the party, including Arclight Films; Film Movement; Funimation; Hulu; Participant Pictures and SnagFilm as well as reps from AFI; SXSW; Los Angeles International Film Festival; Walker Art Center; Dallas Film Society; Cleveland Film Festival; the Film Society at Lincoln Center, and Sundance itself.
About Kofic:
Kofic was established in 1973. It is a special organization, entrusted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea, aiming to support and promote Korean films. Kofic is composed of nine commissioners, including one full-time chairman and eight committee members, appointed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in order to discuss and decide main policies related to Korean films. Check out Kofic here.
About Kccla
The Korean Cultural Center of Los Angeles is the axis of Korean heritage in Los Angeles and welcomes the general public to experience the rich traditions and history of Korea through specialized programs, sponsored events , and multiple learning resources. Operated by the Korean government’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Kccla is dedicated to providing insights into the rich cultural heritage of Korea. Learn more about Kccla here.
I have written about Busan several times because I think South Korea's development and support of filmmaking, film education and film financing through its pre-sales market is a model other countries would be wise to follow. I would personally love to create an cross-cultural educational component to their activities which would make them trailblazers yet again. During one Cannes Festival, I spoke to their education director about that, so perhaps, with a little more time, I will be able to speak to a decision maker to actualize this idea.
“Korean film night,” presentedby the Korean film council (Kofic) with support from Korean Cultural Center of Los Angeles (Kccla), highlighted standout Korean films and filmmakers at Al Dente Trattoria e Bar january 21 in park city.
Filmmakers Park Chan-Wook (Stoker); O Muel (Jiseul); Kim Song E. Kim (Bite of the Tail); actor Daniel Dae Kim with host Soo Jin Hwangwere also there to meet people.
The four standout Sundance films from 2013 in the Korean community were Jiseul, written and directed by O Muel; Stoker, directed by Park Chan-Wook; You Are More Than Beautiful; directed by Kim Tae-yong Kim; and Bite Of The Tail, directed and written by Kim Song E. The four Korean films in Sundance 2013 were featured in this year’s World Cinema Dramatic Competition, the Animated Short Films Competition and the International Narrative Shorts Competition. Kofic came to Sundance to both develop relationships between Korean film and the rest of the world and support the work of the Korean film community with North American and worldwide production partners, distributors and exhibitors.
Soo Jin Hwang, Head of Kofic USA office hosted the event. Numerous film executives also attended the party, including Arclight Films; Film Movement; Funimation; Hulu; Participant Pictures and SnagFilm as well as reps from AFI; SXSW; Los Angeles International Film Festival; Walker Art Center; Dallas Film Society; Cleveland Film Festival; the Film Society at Lincoln Center, and Sundance itself.
About Kofic:
Kofic was established in 1973. It is a special organization, entrusted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea, aiming to support and promote Korean films. Kofic is composed of nine commissioners, including one full-time chairman and eight committee members, appointed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in order to discuss and decide main policies related to Korean films. Check out Kofic here.
About Kccla
The Korean Cultural Center of Los Angeles is the axis of Korean heritage in Los Angeles and welcomes the general public to experience the rich traditions and history of Korea through specialized programs, sponsored events , and multiple learning resources. Operated by the Korean government’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Kccla is dedicated to providing insights into the rich cultural heritage of Korea. Learn more about Kccla here.
- 2/11/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
The problem with the top festivals is that no matter what you are doing, you feel you should be doing something else. Whether to stay home and write or be out seeing films or partying/ networking, sometimes you feel like you're missing out of the really important things. And I lost my hat! If any readers find my white Russian fox hat that I bought in a Berlin flea market, please return it to me! Yesterday I missed the inauguration brunch Acme PR hosted in conjunction with the film Citizen Koch about Mayor Koch because I was trying to send out photos from my camera to my new MacBook Pro to my blog! I also missed Occupy Wall Street. But the truth of that is I am no longer in the mood for issue docs. Inequality For All satisfied my need for understanding that issue, God Loves Uganda repelled me, though one of the volunteers I was talking to was so incensed at the film's message of homophobia that I realized its value. I am going to write more on the docs in the coming days, but now just for fun, I'm going to do a survey of how many deal with personal subjects and how many with social issues. I did find a great parking lot for $5, but it was so far away that I was unable to see the films Big Sur (sold out) and C.O.G., but I did catch the buzz film Fruitvale about the New Years Eve shooting of Oscar, a 22 year old Bay Area resident. Starring the superb Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer and Melonie Diaz and directed by Ryan Coogler, it captured the family life so beautifully, Oscar was so sympathetic, so human, so young that at its end, I was totally depressed by the gun violence done in this film and in so many incidents over this past year. Another film about guns, Valentine Road by Sasha Alpert is getting very good buzz as well. Seeing Fruitvale because it was a buzz film and was so easy to enter with my press pass meant missing out of Gideon's Army which I really wanted to see but did not realize a ticket had been reserved for me and so I missed out on seeing it. Gideon's Army follows three young public defenders who are part of a small group of idealistic lawyers in the Deep South challenging the assumptions that drive a criminal justice system strained to the breaking point. I wanted to share it with my Pd friends in L.A. And the issue of justice and idealism would have taken me out of the depression over Fruitvale where the security guard who shot Oscar twice got off after serving 18 months in prison. Since this doc is an HBO doc, I might not get another chance to see it. At 4:00pm in Sundance (and Berlin, Cannes and Afm), the cocktail hour begins and we put aside watching films and switch to networking, catching up with news, meeting new people, etc. and so I went off to parties: The Louisiana Film Festival , Ifp, Film Independent and Indiewire, Kofic (the Korean film organization) and "The Party" of Sundance hosted by John Sloss and Cinetic were all on the calendar. Starting at the Riverhorse on Main, the Film Independent / Indiewire party was so exciting that I missed the Ifp party up the street. At the Find/ Indiewire party, I got to catch up with so many people including Bob and Jeannie Berney who will be opening their new company Picturehouse (2) with a Metallica film in 3D which sounds like a perfect Bob Berney film. I met Adam Donaghey, a partner of Aviation Cinemas who had been at the Arthouse Convergence. His theater is where they arrested up Lee Harvey Oswald and was originally the flag ship theater created by Howard Hughes as part of the Rko Theaters chain. They also have started the Oak Cliff Film Festival which is a festival of festivals, much like Toronto was in its early days before becoming the showcase and discovery festival it is today. We spoke of a new sort of festival scam that filmmakers need to heed, called Awards Festivals. You can buy an award so you can show your film to be a winner of a festival where it never even needs to screen! Withoutabox even lists these festivals without warning. Adam wishes Withoutabox would curate chosen festivals a bit more. I agree because uneducated filmmakers often tend to think that quantity not quality of film festivals their films show at makes the look better than it might be. For uneducated audiences who might then watch the film, disappointment may result. For the trade, it gives the film a tawdry look.
Michele Satter, Founding Director, Feature Film Program of the Sundance Institute and Paul Federbush, International Director of the Feature Film Program invited me to tomorrow's Mahinda Global Filmmaking Awards Reception which awards $10,000 to 4 filmmakers with projects which give voice to issues needing to be heard. Again I have to miss something if I go there…Narco Cultura plays at 6:30pm, the Awards ceremony starts at 6pm, And I have been invited to my host's dinner party. I hope I can catch Narco Cultura (Isa: K5) on Cinando! The winners are Sarthak Dasgupta,The Music Teacher from India; Jonas Carpignano, A Chjana from Italy-us; Aly Muritiba, The Man Who Killed My Dead Beloved from Brazil; and Vendela Vida & Eva Weber, Let The Northern Lights Erase Your Name UK-Germany-us. See more here
Rick Allen, Founder and CEO of Snagfilms (the owner of Indiewire) and I spoke of their ever-growing developments and I was startled and very happy to hear him praise my blog. Stefanie Sharis, COO and Andrew Mer, VP Content Partnerships of Snagfilms and I spoke of our plans in Berlin and Cannes.
Louisiana International Film Festival and Mentorship Program party where, for the second time during this festival, I caught a fantastic musical performance. The first was at the New York Film Lounge. This one was a "love riot" performance by jazz pianist extraordinaire, actor and educator Jonathan Batiste . Both the groups are represented by N.Y. Attorney Stephen Beers . I was with Ula again, and Indiewire's James Israel, doing the party circuit. I hope Ula will bring this fine New Orleans jazz pianist Jon Batiste to The American Film Festival in Wroclaw, Poland. He had the room rocking with a sax, drums and -- was that a tuba? -- backing him up. I have filmed both groups and hope I can upload them for your enjoyment! The Louisiana Film Festival will be held in April and includes a mentorship program. It is being organized by our friends Jeff Dowd and Dan Ireland. Dan is now working on his next feature which sounds great with a cast of great actors. I want to go to this new festival to celebrate my birthday especially since my parents met in New Orleans as university students there, married and moved to L.A. where I was born, so it means a lot to me. Coincidently, when I mentioned this to the Executive Director and filmmaker Chesley Heymsfield, telling her my father was in med school at Lsu, she told me her father was Chancellor of the Lsu Medical School. In addition I am thinking that perhaps we can join forces with their Mentorship Program with The Literacy Project, which I began 4 years ago at El Centro del Pueblo in Echo Park. Their Mentorship Program, from what I understood, is headed by a Nobel Prize Winning Scientist. I may have heard wrong however, because the noise at this party was horrendous and the speech given was too long for sustained silence. Ula, James and I proceeded to the Korean party was a different group of folks gathering of the trade. While there I could do some matchmaking, one of my favorite pastimes, introducing Ula to Kiril of the Moscow Film Festival, seeing Clay Epstein, party organizers Henry Eshelmann and Mark Rabinowitz, being introduced by Ula and Kiral to the Busan International Film Festival/ Asian Film Market's Steering Committee Deputy Director (who is responsible for international marketing of the market, Chanil Jeon, who then introduced me to the programmer for North American films, Dosin Pak whose email is "Program [At] biff.kr" for all you North American filmmakers looking to break into Asia. I have written about Busan several times because I think South Korea's development and support of filmmaking, film education and film financing through its pre-sales market is a model other countries would be wise to follow. I would personally love to create an educational initiative there about cross-cultural competence. During one Cannes Festival, I spoke to their education director about that. So perhaps, with a little more time, I will be able to speak of how to actualize this idea. From the Korean party we went (Early) to John Sloss's Cinetic party, The Hot Ticket party for me. I know I'll see old friends there and meet new and not only interesting but important people in the business, and sure 'nuff, I did. I also know that if you come late to this party you are liable to spend a long time shivering in the cold waiting to be admitted. There was Anne Thompson holding court, Christine Vachon holding court and I am sure many others. I got some good face time with Cotty Chubb who has 3 films nearing completion, and Carol (whose last name I have forgotten regrettably without her card to jolt my memory) whom I last saw in Paris many years ago and has now returned to filmmaking. She in turn introduced me to the L.A. Based Rio Film Commissioner who works with the Rio-based Steve Solet. We gathered with old friends Tom Davia (of Shoreline) and Rodrigo Bellot whose film he wrote, We Are What We Are (Isa: Memento), just sold to eOne for U.S. for a low 6 figures. Eone already has Canada and U.K. That's enough for now. See you tomorrow!!
Michele Satter, Founding Director, Feature Film Program of the Sundance Institute and Paul Federbush, International Director of the Feature Film Program invited me to tomorrow's Mahinda Global Filmmaking Awards Reception which awards $10,000 to 4 filmmakers with projects which give voice to issues needing to be heard. Again I have to miss something if I go there…Narco Cultura plays at 6:30pm, the Awards ceremony starts at 6pm, And I have been invited to my host's dinner party. I hope I can catch Narco Cultura (Isa: K5) on Cinando! The winners are Sarthak Dasgupta,The Music Teacher from India; Jonas Carpignano, A Chjana from Italy-us; Aly Muritiba, The Man Who Killed My Dead Beloved from Brazil; and Vendela Vida & Eva Weber, Let The Northern Lights Erase Your Name UK-Germany-us. See more here
Rick Allen, Founder and CEO of Snagfilms (the owner of Indiewire) and I spoke of their ever-growing developments and I was startled and very happy to hear him praise my blog. Stefanie Sharis, COO and Andrew Mer, VP Content Partnerships of Snagfilms and I spoke of our plans in Berlin and Cannes.
Louisiana International Film Festival and Mentorship Program party where, for the second time during this festival, I caught a fantastic musical performance. The first was at the New York Film Lounge. This one was a "love riot" performance by jazz pianist extraordinaire, actor and educator Jonathan Batiste . Both the groups are represented by N.Y. Attorney Stephen Beers . I was with Ula again, and Indiewire's James Israel, doing the party circuit. I hope Ula will bring this fine New Orleans jazz pianist Jon Batiste to The American Film Festival in Wroclaw, Poland. He had the room rocking with a sax, drums and -- was that a tuba? -- backing him up. I have filmed both groups and hope I can upload them for your enjoyment! The Louisiana Film Festival will be held in April and includes a mentorship program. It is being organized by our friends Jeff Dowd and Dan Ireland. Dan is now working on his next feature which sounds great with a cast of great actors. I want to go to this new festival to celebrate my birthday especially since my parents met in New Orleans as university students there, married and moved to L.A. where I was born, so it means a lot to me. Coincidently, when I mentioned this to the Executive Director and filmmaker Chesley Heymsfield, telling her my father was in med school at Lsu, she told me her father was Chancellor of the Lsu Medical School. In addition I am thinking that perhaps we can join forces with their Mentorship Program with The Literacy Project, which I began 4 years ago at El Centro del Pueblo in Echo Park. Their Mentorship Program, from what I understood, is headed by a Nobel Prize Winning Scientist. I may have heard wrong however, because the noise at this party was horrendous and the speech given was too long for sustained silence. Ula, James and I proceeded to the Korean party was a different group of folks gathering of the trade. While there I could do some matchmaking, one of my favorite pastimes, introducing Ula to Kiril of the Moscow Film Festival, seeing Clay Epstein, party organizers Henry Eshelmann and Mark Rabinowitz, being introduced by Ula and Kiral to the Busan International Film Festival/ Asian Film Market's Steering Committee Deputy Director (who is responsible for international marketing of the market, Chanil Jeon, who then introduced me to the programmer for North American films, Dosin Pak whose email is "Program [At] biff.kr" for all you North American filmmakers looking to break into Asia. I have written about Busan several times because I think South Korea's development and support of filmmaking, film education and film financing through its pre-sales market is a model other countries would be wise to follow. I would personally love to create an educational initiative there about cross-cultural competence. During one Cannes Festival, I spoke to their education director about that. So perhaps, with a little more time, I will be able to speak of how to actualize this idea. From the Korean party we went (Early) to John Sloss's Cinetic party, The Hot Ticket party for me. I know I'll see old friends there and meet new and not only interesting but important people in the business, and sure 'nuff, I did. I also know that if you come late to this party you are liable to spend a long time shivering in the cold waiting to be admitted. There was Anne Thompson holding court, Christine Vachon holding court and I am sure many others. I got some good face time with Cotty Chubb who has 3 films nearing completion, and Carol (whose last name I have forgotten regrettably without her card to jolt my memory) whom I last saw in Paris many years ago and has now returned to filmmaking. She in turn introduced me to the L.A. Based Rio Film Commissioner who works with the Rio-based Steve Solet. We gathered with old friends Tom Davia (of Shoreline) and Rodrigo Bellot whose film he wrote, We Are What We Are (Isa: Memento), just sold to eOne for U.S. for a low 6 figures. Eone already has Canada and U.K. That's enough for now. See you tomorrow!!
- 1/24/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
One dial-up connection shared with a fax machine in office space donated by an early supporter was Day 1 of indieWIRE back on July 15, 1996, recalled Eugene Hernandez today, on iW's 15th anniversary. The former Editor-in-Chief and co-founder of the publication, who now heads digital strategy at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, said the first issue of indieWIRE went to 200 people. "[My friends] Mark Rabinowitz, Cheri Barner ...
- 7/15/2011
- Indiewire
While it isn't fair to those still working there to pronounce Cinematical dead, this week has seen a steady stream of writers and editors leave the site in recent days, all but leaving it for dead, and without sounding too grandiose, taking a little bit of film culture along with it.
Of course, there are thousands of film sites now covering every crevice of the industry and artform. Whether you're into the films of Paul Thomas Anderson, title sequences, films of the '60s and '70s, or a podcast devoted strictly to the Criterion Collection, there's a place where nearly every cinematic interest can be satisfied. But that wasn't the case back in 2005 when Cinematical debuted with the drive to cover them all. At the time the site was launched under the stewardship of Weblogs founder Jason Calacanis, Mark Rabinowitz and Karina Longworth, film writing on the Web was...
Of course, there are thousands of film sites now covering every crevice of the industry and artform. Whether you're into the films of Paul Thomas Anderson, title sequences, films of the '60s and '70s, or a podcast devoted strictly to the Criterion Collection, there's a place where nearly every cinematic interest can be satisfied. But that wasn't the case back in 2005 when Cinematical debuted with the drive to cover them all. At the time the site was launched under the stewardship of Weblogs founder Jason Calacanis, Mark Rabinowitz and Karina Longworth, film writing on the Web was...
- 4/6/2011
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
Legendary comic book master Will Eisner’s groundbreaking graphic novel “A Contract with God” is being adapted into a live action feature film, it was announced on Saturday at Comic- Con International 2010 by the film’s producers. In what is considered by many to be one of the most influential graphic novels ever written, in “A Contract with God” Eisner utilizes the comic book format in an innovative and pioneering way to explore stories and memories from his childhood growing up in a New York City tenement. Each tale captures the brutality, fragility, and tenderness that exists among people living in close quarters in challenging economic times.
A quartet of acclaimed independent directors are attached to direct each of the graphic novel’s four adjoining chapters: Alex Rivera (“Sleep Dealer”); Tze Chun (“Children of Invention”); Barry Jenkins (“Medicine for Melancholy”); and Sean Baker (“Prince of Broadway,” MTV’s “Warren the...
A quartet of acclaimed independent directors are attached to direct each of the graphic novel’s four adjoining chapters: Alex Rivera (“Sleep Dealer”); Tze Chun (“Children of Invention”); Barry Jenkins (“Medicine for Melancholy”); and Sean Baker (“Prince of Broadway,” MTV’s “Warren the...
- 7/26/2010
- by Allan Ford
- Filmofilia
Will Eisner's graphic novel "A Contract With God" is being adapted into a live-action feature by writer-producer Darren Dean.
"God" recounts Eisner's memories of growing up in a New York City tenement, and four directors, who will each helm one chapter of the tale, have lined up to bring it to the screen.
The quartet consists of Alex Rivera ("Sleep Dealer"), Tze Chun ("Children of Invention"), Barry Jenkins ("Medicine for Melancholy") and Sean Baker ("Prince of Broadway").
Dean -- who also co-wrote and produced "Prince of Broadway," which will be released by Elephant Eye Films in the fall -- will produce the adaptation under the auspices of the Eisner estate. Bob Schreck and Michael Ruggiero will serve as co-executive producers, with Tommy Oliver as co-producer and Mark Rabinowitz as associate producer.
The project was announced at Comic-Con at the 22nd annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, honoring achievement in American comic books.
"God" recounts Eisner's memories of growing up in a New York City tenement, and four directors, who will each helm one chapter of the tale, have lined up to bring it to the screen.
The quartet consists of Alex Rivera ("Sleep Dealer"), Tze Chun ("Children of Invention"), Barry Jenkins ("Medicine for Melancholy") and Sean Baker ("Prince of Broadway").
Dean -- who also co-wrote and produced "Prince of Broadway," which will be released by Elephant Eye Films in the fall -- will produce the adaptation under the auspices of the Eisner estate. Bob Schreck and Michael Ruggiero will serve as co-executive producers, with Tommy Oliver as co-producer and Mark Rabinowitz as associate producer.
The project was announced at Comic-Con at the 22nd annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, honoring achievement in American comic books.
- 7/25/2010
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Based on Will Eisner's graphic novel
SuperHeroHype received the following press release about a movie adaptation of Will Eisner's "A Contract with God":
Legendary comic book master Will Eisner's groundbreaking graphic novel "A Contract with God" is being adapted into a live action feature film, it was announced this evening at Comic- Con International 2010 by the film's producers. In what is considered by many to be one of the most influential graphic novels ever written, in "A Contract with God" Eisner utilizes the comic book format in an innovative and pioneering way to explore stories and memories from his childhood growing up in a New York City tenement. Each tale captures the brutality, fragility, and tenderness that exists among people living in close quarters in challenging economic times.
A quartet of acclaimed independent directors are attached to direct each of the graphic novel's four adjoining chapters:...
SuperHeroHype received the following press release about a movie adaptation of Will Eisner's "A Contract with God":
Legendary comic book master Will Eisner's groundbreaking graphic novel "A Contract with God" is being adapted into a live action feature film, it was announced this evening at Comic- Con International 2010 by the film's producers. In what is considered by many to be one of the most influential graphic novels ever written, in "A Contract with God" Eisner utilizes the comic book format in an innovative and pioneering way to explore stories and memories from his childhood growing up in a New York City tenement. Each tale captures the brutality, fragility, and tenderness that exists among people living in close quarters in challenging economic times.
A quartet of acclaimed independent directors are attached to direct each of the graphic novel's four adjoining chapters:...
- 7/24/2010
- by editor@comingsoon.net (SuperHeroHype)
- Superherohype
It's not because Haneke, Lynch or Almodóvar aren't launching their next projects at Comic Con that I'm not keeping a semi watchful eye on the mountain of news spilling out from San Diego, but when I received the following press release in my inbox, my first reaction was: whoa. Up-and-coming indie filmmakers Tze Chun, Alex Rivera, Barry Jenkins and Sean Baker are embarking on a fairly special graphic novel adaptation from none other than, Will Eisner. A Contract with God will begin lensing next year. Here's the entire press release. San Diego, CA (July 23, 2010) - Legendary comic book master Will Eisner's groundbreaking graphic novel "A Contract with God" is being adapted into a live action feature film, it was announced this evening at Comic- Con International 2010 by the film's producers. In what is considered by many to be one of the most influential graphic novels ever written, in "A...
- 7/24/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
The Sarasota Film Festival's (April 13-22) director of programming Tom Hall, programmer Holly Herrick, executive director Jody Kielbasa and the rest of the staff and attending filmmakers are getting a reputation... for making the Sff quite possibly the most enjoyable regional film festival experience in the United States. Of course 10 days of sun, sand and sea doesn't hurt, but the real pleasure here is the feeling of artistic collaboration and celebration. One gets the feeling that the staff like working with each other and the attending filmmakers really like seeing each other's films and boy howdy do the local audiences love watching the films! In fact, on the ninth day of the fest, I overheard as an elderly couple (Sarasota's...
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- 5/13/2007
- by Jason Guerrasio
- Filmmaker Magazine_Festival Coverage
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