AGBO Has Announced 2024 Winner Of The “Russo Brothers Italian American Filmmaker Forum”

Posted on December 3, 2024 by admin

AGBO and the Italian Sons and Daughters of America (ISDA) has announced “My Kind of People,” directed by Joe Picozzi, as the winner of the 2024 Russo Brothers Italian American Filmmaker Forum (RBIAFF). Earlier this year, five filmmakers received $10,000 production grants to create short films based on concepts exploring the Italian American experience. From these exceptional works, “My Kind of People” has been selected as the top prize winner and will receive an additional $10,000 grant, along with access to the AGBO Storytellers Collective. Picozzi’s short film tells the story of a proud paesano who, after a DNA test reveals his father’s adoption, must grapple with the devastating realization that he’s not genetically Italian. As the foundation of his identity crumbles and his familial bonds fracture, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery, wrestling with the meaning of heritage, belonging, and identity.

Since its inception in 2017, RBIAFF has supported emerging voices in cinema by awarding over $400,000 in grants to more than 50 talented filmmakers. This year marks a continued celebration of Italian American culture, language, and heritage through the lens of creative storytelling.

The winner was chosen by a selection committee composed of the AGBO creative team, ISDA leadership, and a distinguished panel of judges that included AGBO Co-Founders and Partners Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, AGBO’s Chief Creative Officer Angela Russo-Otstot, and ISDA National President Basil Russo, and ISDA representative Patricia Russo. The program’s mission remains steadfast: to elevate authentic, compelling narratives that highlight the richness of the Italian American experience.
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Winners of the 34th Edition of The Gothams Announced

Posted on December 2, 2024 by admin

The Gotham Film & Media Institute announced today the winners of the 34th edition of The Gothams at a ceremony held at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.

The Gothams provide early recognition and media attention for outstanding and groundbreaking storytellers, including writers, directors, producers and actors. Nominees were selected by independent committees of film critics, journalists, festival programmers, and film curators. Separate independent juries independent of writers, directors, actors, producers, editors, and other film industry professionals determined the final recipients of The Gothams.

The Gothams Tributes, the organization’s highest honors celebrating outstanding achievement in film, were also presented at the ceremony. The Tributes recognize the industry’s most accomplished creators and performers whose work has made an indelible impact on both the art form and popular culture.

The winner for Best Feature was A Different Man.
The winner for Best International Feature was All We Imagine as Light.
The winner for Best Documentary Feature was presented to No Other Land.
The winner for Best Director was RaMell Ross for Nickel Boys.
The winner for Best Screenplay was Azazel Jacobs for His Three Daughters.
The winner for Breakthrough Director Gotham was Vera Drew for The People’s Joker.
The winner for Outstanding Lead Performance was Colman Domingo in Sing Sing.
The winner for Outstanding Supporting Performance was Clarence Maclin in Sing Sing.
The winner for Breakthrough Performer was Brandon Wilson in Nickel Boys.
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Award-Winning Doc Feature “Fairy Creek” to Debut at WFF

Posted on November 30, 2024 by admin

Fairy Creek documents the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history; a blockade which made international headlines and broke records with nearly 1200 people arrested for protesting to protect BC’s last old-growth forests

Understory Films’ documentary feature film FAIRY CREEK will screen for audiences at home in BC for the first time at the Whistler Film Festival on December 7, 2024, 2024 at 3:45pm at the Village 8 Cinemas in Whistler. It was also recently announced that Cinema Politica boarded the film as distributor ahead of the film’s world premiere at Planet in Focus, where the film took home the Best Canadian Feature Award.

In FAIRY CREEK, director Jen Muranetz documents the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history, creating a searing portrait of contemporary environmental activism, bearing witness to the lengths activists are willing to go to protect British Columbia’s last old growth forests. With unique insider access, the team behind FAIRY CREEK follows the Ada’itsx (Fairy Creek) blockade from its early inception to its bittersweet ending through the lens of an ensemble cast of blockade vanguards and those who oppose them. Employing in-the-trenches cinema vérité, the film introduces spirited environmentalists embroiled in a series of often violent altercations with loggers and RCMP, all while trying to stop old-growth logging in the untouched Fairy Creek valley. The activists show unwavering dedication to their cause, while having compelling internal debates about whose voices are prioritized in the movement. By documenting this significant and contentious juncture in time, FAIRY CREEK calls attention to a much larger conversation: what does it take to find common ground in the fight for a climate-just future?
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New Poster And Clip For “Universal Language” Released

Posted on November 29, 2024 by admin

With over 15 festival wins, “Universal Language” continues to capture the hearts and minds of audiences worldwide. Universal Language is also Canada’s official submission for Best International Feature Film at the upcoming 97th Academy Awards. The film is eligible for all 2024 honors, having completed a one-week qualifying run earlier this year.

Directed by Matthew Rankin and co-written with Pirouz Nemati and Ila Firouzabadi, Universal Language marks Rankin’s second feature after the critically acclaimed The Twentieth Century (2019).

In a mysterious and surreal interzone somewhere between Tehran and Winnipeg, the lives of multiple characters interweave with each other in surprising and mysterious ways. Gradeschoolers Negin and Nazgol find a sum of money frozen in the winter ice and try to claim it. Meanwhile, Massoud leads a group of increasingly-befuddled tourists through the monuments and historic sites of Winnipeg. Matthew quits his meaningless job in a Québecois government office and sets out upon an enigmatic journey to visit his mother. Space, time and personal identities crossfade, interweave and echo into a surreal comedy of misdirection.

New Trailer For Vampire Horror Film “Bleeding”

Posted on November 26, 2024 by admin

BLEEDING follows Eric, a 17-year-old grieving the overdose death of his brother. When his cousin Sean, the hot-shot son of an alcoholic cop, gets pulled into the lucrative, deadly world of using and selling Blood, Eric will do whatever it takes to save him from the same fate that swallowed his brother whole.

With a debt to a vicious dealer and no way to pay it back, Eric and Sean break into an empty house and find a sleeping girl locked inside. What seems like an answer to their prayers brings new danger, a link to their past, and revelations that will test the bonds of blood and friendship.

“Bleeding delves into the raw and unfiltered realities of addiction, heartbreak, and hope. To me, it’s a personal reminder of the fragility and resilience of the human spirit, finding light in those moments of darkness, and I think it’s a message that’s needed now more than ever”, says producer Bofan Zhang.

BLEEDING is written, directed, and produced by Andrew Bell. Produced by Nicholas Payne Santos, Bofan Zhang, and Kenneth Green. Cinematography by Daniel Cho. Edited by Bell. Composed by Alex Symcox. A 88/90 production.

Jerome Yoo’s MONGRELS Wins FIPRESCI Prize at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF)

Posted on November 26, 2024 by admin

Jerome Yoo’s debut feature film MONGRELS has won the prestigious FIPRESCI Critics Prize at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF). The award, which is presented by a jury from the International Federation of Film Critics, promotes film art and supports new and young cinema globally. MONGRELS was also presented with the First Feature Competition’s Special Jury Prize For the Cast. Vancouver and Seoul-based Yoo was present to accept the award at the PÖFF ceremony on November 23rd in Estonia.

This is the second festival and second award win for Yoo, who recently had a sold out world premiere of MONGRELS at the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) where he was honoured with the Director’s Guild of Canada’s Horizon Award for emerging Canadian director. MONGRELS was one of five films in post-production selected to be highlighted at the Udine Far East Film Festival’s FOCUS ASIA.
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Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer To Be Released On VHS Nov 19th

Posted on November 2, 2024 by admin

The acclaimed thriller, starring Michael Rooker will be available on VHS exclusively through Dark Sky selects on November 19th.

It was a true game-changer, a film so upsetting in its blunt depiction of an amoral murderer that it made the slasher films of its time look like cartoons by comparison. HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER became a lightning rod in heated debates about cinema and censorship but has only grown in stature since its first showing in 1986. Now, for the first time, the film will be available as a collectable VHS nationwide exclusively via Dark Sky Selects (darkskyselects.com) on November 19, 2024. Pre-orders for the VHS will be available on darkskyselects.com beginning October 31, 2024.

HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER is a chilling profile of a cold-blooded killer that, 38 years after its historic festival premiere, has lost none of its power to shock. The film, loosely based on a true story, has been hailed as one of the most disturbing and terrifying examinations of mass murderers ever filmed. Henry (Michael Rooker, The Walking Dead) is a psychopathic drifter who has coldly murdered a number of people for no particular reason and without any remorse. Leaving bodies in his wake, Henry makes his way to Chicago, where his he settles into the run-down apartment of his drug-dealing former prison friend and occasional roommate Otis (Tom Towles).

Also moving into the space is Otis’s younger sister Becky (Tracy Arnold), who is fleeing her abusive husband. As she fends off her brother’s incestuous advances, Becky finds herself attracted to Henry – unaware that he, along with Otis, are continuing their murderous rampage.
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American Cinematheque’s PROOF Film Festival Wraps Up 2nd Outing With Filmmaker Awards Announcement

Posted on October 26, 2024 by admin

American-Cinematheque-PROOF-Film-Festival

Take Me Home, The Musical, Hema, Fishers of Men

The American Cinematheque’s PROOF Film Festival announced the innovative film festival’s filmmaker awards as it wrapped a successful 2nd edition at the Culver Theater (9500 Culver Blvd.). Leading the award winners were Liz Sargent’s Take Me Home, which took the Grand Jury Prize, and Giselle Bonilla’s The Musical, which was the Audience Choice Award winner.

Along with the Grand Jury Prize, Sargent also received a $60K camera package, courtesy of Panavision, to assist them with fleshing out a larger project from their proof-of-concept.

Established last year as one of the first-ever film festivals dedicated solely to the presentation of proof-of-concept short films looking to be expanded into feature-length productions or series, the festival upped the ante for its second outing by opening its PROOF Pitch Deck Show & Tell to the general public. That resulted in the film festival receiving over 100 submissions for feature film and series pitches, from which eight participants were chosen to present their pitch decks live in front of a panel of industry professionals at the festival.
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2024 Sundance Institute Latine Fellowship & Collab Scholarship Artists Selected

Posted on October 10, 2024 by admin

The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the storytellers selected for the 2024 Latine Fellowship and Collab Scholarship. Now in its third year, the program aims to expand Latine representation in independent media meaningfully by providing artist development through fellowships and mentorships to10 early career Latine artists. This year’s cohort will receive an intentional immersion in a community of like-minded creatives where both professional and creative growth is nurtured through professional and creative development support, networking opportunities, access to Sundance Collab and ELEVATE.

“This year’s Latine Fellowship and Scholarship recipients come from diverse disciplines, all united by their shared goals of growth and increasing representation for a wide range of Latine voices,” said Hajnal Molnar-Szakacs, Director of Sundance Institute’s Artist Accelerator and Women at Sundance. “We are thrilled to welcome them into this Program and look forward to seeing how creative and financial support will help them advance these goals.”

The Sundance Institute Latine Fellowship will uplift five early career Latine artists working in film or television with a yearlong fellowship experience. Each fellow will receive a $10,000 unrestricted grant, bespoke artist development support, creative and tactical support on their projects, and regular opportunities for community engagement and networking. The fellows were chosen from Sundance Institute artist support programs across fiction and nonfiction.
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“Strange Darling” Critically Acclaimed Thriller Debuts On Digital Streaming

Posted on September 30, 2024 by admin

Magenta Light Studios

“In Strange Darling, nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.”

The film premiered in theaters to a consensus of rave reviews, and is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with critics praising the film for its clever and fresh take on the cat-and-mouse genre.

Written and directed by JT Mollner (Outlaws & Angels), Strange Darling stars Willa Fitzgerald (The Goldfinch, Reacher), Kyle Gallner (Smile, Dinner in America), Ed Begley Jr. (Better Call Saul, A Mighty Wind), and Barbara Hershey (Black Swan, Insidious).

Distributed by Magenta Light Studios, Strange Darling is a Miramax and Spooky Pictures Production. The film is produced by Bill Block, Roy Lee, Steven Schneider, Giovanni Ribisi and Chris Ivan Cevic, with Giovanni Ribisi also serving as the Director of Photography.

Strange Darling will debut on digital streaming October 1st. The film will be available on a variety of digital platforms including iTunes, Amazon, Fandango at Home, Google Play, Verizon Fios, Charter, Cox on Demand, Altice, Kaleidescape, DirecTV, Dish, Frontier TV, and Microsoft.