LightCube Video is seeking video and experimental film works exploring the themes of Freedom and Independence and their relation to Sustainability: societal, economic and environmental.
Chosen, curated videos will be exhibited at Visual Voice gallery in Montreal, and given online exposure and sales potential on LightCubevideo.com. Online digital formats will be specially formatted for fine art collectors or film distribution.
The FREEDOM SPARKS VIDEO AND FILM Festival will open July 1 (Canadian Independence Day) and run through the 4th of July, (American Independence Day) for two weeks.
THERE IS NO ENTRANCE FEE. Works will be curated by selected independent curators. DEADLINE: May 30, 2010.
Yesterday a scrappy little site called indieWIRE (whose brazen continued use of mixed-case letters in their title makes me think of software titles from the early 90s) released a list of 50 “leading” film festivals, including a look at those they consider to be the top ten. Those events who were included on the list expressed their gratitude. Those who weren’t on the list of fifty pondered their exclusion silently or in public. No one likes to be left off of a list of the best of anything (I’d like to be on this list, for example), but I’m sure the organizers of many of those festivals view being left out as a missed opportunity to attract submissions – or just plain attention – to their events. To them I say: you probably shouldn’t be as irked as you are. Here’s why.
We’re looking at the usual suspects. To see Cannes and Sundance at the top of the list shocks no one, and even those surprised at the inclusion of South By Southwest at number four did little more than raise their eyebrows. This looks like more of an attempt to collate indieWIRE’s past festival coverage than it is to make a serious effort at identifying the best festivals worldwide. Filmmakers who discover this top 50 list already know about these festivals or will find out about them elsewhere. As interesting lists go this is pretty weak sauce.
If you’re on the list, you don’t need to attract filmmakers to your festival. If you’re not, being on the list probably wouldn’t help anyway. Every informal poll of filmmakers (usually film school students or filmmakers at festivals) I’ve ever taken about their reading habits indicates that their knowledge of “the industry” is limited to what they read in Entertainment Weekly. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a filmmaker who read any of the trades before he started a festival run (and started Googling for the title of his film).To think that your inclusion on a list of top festivals in indieWIRE will affect your submission count is probably a mistake.
After several years of flying under the radar and letting competing showcases take root, the Boston Film Festival is getting organized early and seems ready to take off for its 26th edition.
Translated: the all-volunteer Independent Film Festival of Boston has been kicking the older festival’s ass. (Apparently a 19-year head start didn’t help.) I don’t know much about the fall festival but it seems to me Boston is a town big enough to support (at least) two quality indie film events each year. The current Boston FF site doesn’t give any insight as to the festival’s past programming, so I’ll be curious to see what they come up with for their 2010 slate.
It is with an extremely heavy heart that we are are posting this. After struggling for the past 18 months since the economic crisis, Gen Art has finally succumbed to the recession.
During this challenging time we did everything in our power to adjust our business to these new business realities by cutting costs and seeking out alternative funding solutions. However when a major, new, corporate partnership unexpectedly collapsed a few weeks ago, we found ourselves without sufficient resources or time to overcome this sudden and substantial loss of revenue. Their decision had the unintended effect of pushing Gen Art over the edge. We have now halted all operations, have let go all of our amazing staff, and shuttered the business that we hope was in some small way was as close to your heart – as it was ours.
Gen Art’s New York-based film festival served as a small but intense launching pad for independent filmmakers. This is a tough one for folks like Jeff Abramson who were the collective heart of a scrappy arts organization, the likes of which are rapidly disappearing in the U.S.
De Niro colleague Jane Rosenthal stated the ongoing intention of Tribeca to offer “a diverse group of films to a wide group of audiences”—in other words, something for everyone. As a guiding mandate, that declaration rings hollow, especially within the context of the program itself. In a sense, Tribeca indeed has it all, from midsize, star-studded indies to far-flung international selections. But the lack of connectivity makes it difficult to find the movies that are worth a damn, especially since even the good ones tend to divide people.
One of the highlights, or lowlights, of this weekend’s TFF will certainly be the world premiere of “Ticked Off Trannies With Knives,” Israel Duva’s revenge fantasy featuring such sure-to-be-indelible characters as Bubbles Cliquot, Tipper Sommore, Rachel Slurr and Emma Grashun. And Pinky La’Trimm. Already, the film has caused a tsunami of vitriol on Tribeca’s Web site: “To make the attacks and murders of transgender women into a form of stupid entertainment is beyond unenlightened, it’s offensive and ultimately sexist,” wrote Anna R. “Tribeca Film Festival should be ashamed of yourselves for presenting this!” All this, and for a film that has yet to premiere. The fact that there’s so much pre-emptive venom when no one has actually seen the movie will undoubtedly make it one of the hottest ticket at Tribeca. We can’t wait to cross the picket line.
The third in our series of South by Southwest 2010 videos features Managing Director of IFF Boston Brian Tamm. Brian talks about the reasons he and other IFF Boston staff members attend other festivals like SXSW.
The Independent Film Festival of Boston starts tonight with their opening night film, The Extra Man. Kevin Kline will be at the Somerville Theater after the screening to receive a career achievement award from the festival. If you live in the Boston area and you hadn’t made plans to attend, I highly recommend showing up.
Thanks to Mark Potts for shooting and editing this video.
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