Christopher Nolan to Be Honored with Inaugural Sundance Institute Trailblazer Award at 2024 Sundance Film Festival’s Opening Night Gala

Posted on November 1, 2023 by admin

The nonprofit Sundance Institute today unveiled details for the 2024 Sundance Film Festival’s fundraiser, Opening Night Gala: Celebrating 40 Years Presented by Chase Sapphire® which will take place on January 18, 2024 at the DeJoria Center in Utah. Kicking off the 40th edition of the Sundance Film Festival, the evening will honor trailblazing and breakout storytellers, as well as celebrate 40 years of Sundance’s commitment to elevating independent storytelling. Christopher Nolan will be honored with the first-ever Sundance Institute Trailblazer Award. Celine Song and Maite Alberdi — both of whom premiered films Past Lives and The Eternal Memory, respectively, at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival — will each receive the annual Vanguard Award Presented by Acura.

The annual opening night gala enables the nonprofit to raise critical funds to support independent artists year-round through labs, grants, and public programming that nurture artists globally. The 2024 event is made possible with the generous support of Chase Sapphire. The upcoming Sundance Film Festival will take place January 18–28, 2024 in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, as well as online from January 25–28.

“As we step into the 40th edition of the Sundance Film Festival, it is a distinct honor to recognize Christopher Nolan, a prodigious artist whose singular talent and remarkable body of work have made him one of the most respected filmmakers of our time. We are looking forward to spotlighting the unique voices of both Celine and Maite, storytellers we have been supporting and deeply believe in. All three of these storytellers represent Sundance’s values,” said Joana Vicente, Sundance Institute CEO. “From the Festival to our year-round programs, it is artists that have and always will be at the very core of what we do. We look forward to our guests joining us at the Opening Night Gala and, in turn, enabling us to continue championing independent storytellers and their art that adds great value to our culture.”
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Gravitas Ventures Sets Release Of Documentary “Sorry We’re Closed”

Posted on August 3, 2023 by admin

Gravitas Ventures has set the release of its documentary “Sorry We’re Closed” on demand on August 8th.

Do”Sorry We’re Closed” takes a look into the personal trauma, mental health, and livelihood of some of the best chefs during the hardest time of their careers.

In the summer of 2020, when restaurants are doubly hit hard by Covid-19 and the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, Chef Elizabeth Falkner sets out across the country to check in with her renowned chef and restaurateur colleagues to find out how they are coping with the impossible task of keeping their doors open.The film explores how chefs pivoted, trying to stay afloat through new take-out menus and pop-up grocery stores.

Innovations abounded and yet the cracks in the system loomed large. What if all of our ‘go-to’ places were gone? What if we were permanently told, “Sorry, We’re Closed”?

The documentary is executive produced by Raymond Esposito with subjects featured Chef Elizabeth, Dominique Crenn, Nancy Silverton, Ann Kim, Gerald Sombright, Maneet Chauhan, and many more chefs from around the nation.

Post-SDCC: EU AI Act Voice Amendment Proposal Submitted by NAVA and UVA

Posted on August 2, 2023 by admin

United Voice Artists (UVA) and The National Association of Voice Actors (NAVA) have submitted an amendment proposal to the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), seeking to safeguard the rights and interests of voice actors in the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence and voice technology.

United Voice Artists (EU Transparency register ID: 810100650765-18) is a global coalition of 35 voice acting guilds, associations and unions in Europe (France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Poland, Netherlands) together with Switzerland, the United States, Turkey, Canada, Africa, Asia and Latin America representing more than 20,500 artists that have united to ensure that the use of artificial intelligence in the creative and media industry does not harm artistic heritage and human creativity and to preserve artist’s rights in relation to the use of AI, in particular in the dubbing and voice-over industry.

The UVA acknowledges the efforts of the European legislators in designing the AI Act as the first European legislation for the regulation of certain use cases of AI. However, to ensure that the AI Act does not lead to the extinction of human creativity in the entertainment industry through synthetic and cloning AI techniques and the exploitation of artists and their work by infringing their rights, both from a privacy/publicity data protection and an intellectual property rights protection perspective, we have identified the following key areas that should be urgently addressed in the upcoming trilogue negotiations:

Prohibition to create or expand audio/vocal databases
Extension of transparency requirements
Introduction of unfair contract practices unilaterally imposed by generative AI providers

United Voice Artists and The National Association of Voice Actors call upon policymakers and stakeholders within the European Union to carefully consider the proposed amendment, recognizing its potential to elevate the voice acting community while setting a global standard for AI legislation that respects artistic integrity and the rights of creators.

You can read the proposal here >>.

Art Directors Guild Represents at Comic-Con 2023 with Three Panels, Portfolio Reviews and a Booth

Posted on July 17, 2023 by admin

The Art Directors Guild, IATSE Local 800 (#ADG800) will have a big presence at next week’s Comic-Con with three panels at the San Diego Convention Center, a booth on the floor and special awards to be handed out at the Masquerade.

ADG 800 will kick-off the weekend with two Friday panels. The first panel features Women of the Hollywood Art Department in Room 9 on Friday, July 21 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM. These panelists are responsible for dreaming, designing and drawing some of the most memorable and immersive environments for film and TV. They include Amelia Brooke (Everything Everywhere All At Once, Westworld), Danelle Davenport (Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, The Little Mermaid), Kelly Rae Hemenway (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Bullet Train), Rupali Ingle (Star Trek: Picard, Abbott Elementary), and Daniela Medeiros (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Thor: Ragnarok). Kate Weddle (Yellowstone, WandaVision) will moderate. Panelists will be available for autograph signing at Table# AA02 in the Sails Pavilion from 12:30 to 1:30 PM.

The artisans who created the look for the epic conclusion to the Guardians trilogy take over the same room, same day, from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM with a panel titled Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 – The Art Department. From the grandeur of spaceships to a villain’s geometric fortress, swimming through an endless planet of anatomy, or reconstructing a celestial body, this is the team that transported the cast, crew, and audience into these fantastic worlds. Panelists include IATSE Local 829 Production Designer Beth Mickle (The Suicide Squad, Drive), and IATSE Local 800/Art Directors Guild members: David Scott (Spider Man: No Way Home, Avengers: Infinity War), Art Director Lorin Flemming (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Justice League), Graphic Designer Kelly Rae Hemenway (Bullet Train, Batman vs Superman), and Set Designer Tim Croshaw (Loki, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2). Moderated by Samantha Avila (Spiderman: No Way Home, Our Flag Means Death). Panelists will be available for autograph signing at Table# AA02 in the Sails Pavilion from 3:30 to 4:30 PM.
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Art Directors Guild at Comic-Con 2023

Posted on July 14, 2023 by admin

Dynamite has announced an exciting panel for this year’s San Diego Comic Con, as creators and fans celebrate 50 fantastic years of Red Sonja! In addition to a retrospective discussion on the character’s legacy and past, her future will be looked to with new comics, novels, as well as an exclusive teaser trailer debut for her upcoming blockbuster Millennium Media film starring Matilda Lutz.

The panel will be held on Friday, July 21 from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM local San Diego time in room 5AB.

Red Sonja, LLC president, executive editor, and a producer of the coming film Luke Lieberman will serve as panel moderator, joined by franchise contributors Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, Amy Chu, Dan Panosian, producer Mark Canton, and other guests.

The beloved She-Devil With a Sword’s story began in comics in 1973, and now 50 years later she remains the greatest sword-and-sorcery female heroine of them all! She’s hacked and slashed her way into the hearts of fantasy and comics fans all around the world. An incredible range of writers and artists have taken on her stories in her native comics medium, including the likes of Roy Thomas, Frank Thorne, Gail Simone, Mirka Andolfo, Mike Carey, Michael Avon Oeming, Jim Zub, Louise Simonson, Mark Russell, Alex Ross, Mel Rubi, and countless more.
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Janelle Monáe Returns To The Stage For ‘The Age Of Pleasure’ North American Tour

Posted on May 31, 2023 by admin

Today, critically acclaimed and award winning singer and actress Janelle Monáe announced her Age of Pleasure Tour across North America. Produced by Live Nation, the 26-city tour kicks off on August 30 at WAMU Theater in Seattle, WA, making stops in Atlanta, Chicago, Toronto, Kansas City, New York City, Brooklyn, and more before wrapping up in Inglewood, CA at YouTube Theater on October 18.

Monáe’s highly anticipated new album, The Age of Pleasure, will be releasing June 9th via Atlantic Records featuring her latest scintillating new single, “Lipstick Lover,” available now via Wondaland Arts Society/Atlantic Records. An official emotion picture, directed by Janelle Monáe and Alan Ferguson – Watch here.

Her tour promises to light up your body, soul and all of your senses with an unforgettable performance featuring songs off her latest album and classic hits from her discography.

Tickets will be available starting with Verizon presales (details below) beginning Thursday, June 1 at 10 AM Local. Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general onsale beginning Wednesday, June 7 at 10 AM Local on Ticketmaster.com.

“Queenmaker: The Making Of An It Girl” Sets Release On Hulu

Posted on May 7, 2023 by admin

In the height of heiress-era NYC, an anonymous blogger infiltrated Manhattan’s elite, brings socialite celebrity to new heights. When the website creator was unmasked, the mastermind was not the one anybody expected.

The documentary follows the early aughts ushered in a golden era for the New York social set, a generation of rich young women desperate to recreate the success of Paris Hilton and Tinsley Mortimer, keener than ever to show off their fortunes and one-up each other on nightly red carpets.

On the surface, “Queenmaker: The Making Of An It Girl” is a fun, nostalgic romp through the mid-2000s pop culture that dominated mainstream media and laid foundation for current reality TV and the influences of the social media generation.

“Queenmaker: The Making Of An It Girl” premieres May 17, only on Hulu.

The Untold Tales Of I Hate Fairyland Set For Release This July

Posted on May 1, 2023 by admin

Eisner Award winning writer Skottie Young will bring Gert fans an all-new, five issue anthology of new Fairyland tales in the upcoming, The Unbelievable, Unfortunately Mostly Unreadable & Nearly Unpublishable Untold Tales of I Hate Fairyland. This verbosely titled miniseries will be written and drawn by a stellar lineup of contributing creators and land on shelves this July from Image Comics.

In this first issue, Young reunites with Bully Wars co-creator Aaron Conley to pit Gert against an uncouth barbarian in “Bruud the Brutal.” And in “Don’t Trust the P.I.G. in Apartment 23,” by Dean Rankine (Simpsons Comics, Invader Zim), Gert finds herself at the wrong end of a classic fairy tale.

“The only thing better than trying to create one of the longest titles in Comics,” said Young. “Is inviting friends like Dean Rankine, Aaron Conley, and others, to come and cause some trouble with Gert in the crazy world that is Fairyland!”
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Trailer Premiere: Peter Callahan’s “Out And About” Set For Release On May 16

Posted on April 28, 2023 by admin

The film was written and directed by it star, Peter Callahan, whose film Against the Current, starring Joseph Fiennes, was critically acclaimed at the Sundance Film Festivasl. Producers are Ivon Visalli (High Voltage) and Konstantin von Krusenstiern (Last Ball). David Snyder is the Executive Producer.

Here’s the official release about “Out And About”:
Out and About is an unconventional tale about Jeff, a middle-aged man trying to come to terms with his life over the course of an afternoon walk through his hometown. Distinctive in both style and substance and told in real time, the story weaves together the protagonist’s inner monologue with conversations he has with the people he encounters along the way.

Raw, brutally honest, poignant and funny, Out and About explores the contrast between our inner and outer selves, the conflict between old dreams and new realities, and one man’s search for meaning as he wrestles with aging, success and failure in America, and his ultimate place in the world.

“Out And About” will be available on DVD and streaming on May 16, 2023.

SFFILM Announces Golden Gate Award Winners at the 66th San Francisco International Film Festival

Posted on April 24, 2023 by admin

The juried awards recognize narrative and documentary films, and works from the Cine Latino and Youth Works spotlights. Winners of the Audience Awards were also announced. The SFFILM Festival ran April 13–23 in theaters across the Bay Area, and featured local and international filmmakers and works.

This morning, SFFILM announced the winners of the juried Golden Gate Awards competition at the 66th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM Festival). Created the same year the Festival was founded in 1957, the prestigious Golden Gate Awards have served as a launching pad for internationally renowned filmmakers who are early in their careers.

The awards are also notable as a qualifier for films under 40 minutes for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Previous Golden Gate Award winners include Panah Panahi, Reid Davenport, Nadav Lapid, Marlon Riggs, Céline Sciamma, Jia Zhang-ke, Stanley Nelson, Tasha Van Zandt, and many others across nearly seven decades.

This year, the SFFILM Festival ran from April 13–23, with events held in theaters across the Bay Area, including the Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland, the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA), and several San Francisco-based theaters: the Dolby Cinema @ 1275 Market, the Castro Theatre, the Premier Theater, The Walt Disney Family Museum Theater, and the Festival’s hub at the CGV San Francisco.

With a full slate of in-person programming and events, the 66th iteration of the Festival featured essential stories from both local and international filmmakers, who hailed from 37 countries. The SFFILM Festival also remained firm in its commitment to showcasing programming from artists with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences, with half of the films in the lineup being helmed by women or non-binary filmmakers.
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