By AICreative Media

Nominations for the 32nd annual Independent Spirit Awards were announced on Nov. 22. Leading the charge this year were “Moonlight,” “Manchester by the Sea,” “Jackie,” “American Honey” and “Chronic”, all of which were nominated for best independent features of 2016.

The nominations were announced by Edgar Ramirez and Jenny Slate at the W Hotel in Hollywood. Winners will be announced out on Feb. 25, one day before the Oscars in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica, California.

Here’s the complete list of noms:

BEST FEATURE

American Honey
Chronic
Jackie
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

BEST FIRST FEATURE

The Childhood of a Leader
Director: Brady Corbet
Producers: Antoine de Clermont-Tonnerre, Chris Coen, Ron Curtis, Helena Danielsson, Mona Fastvold, István Major

The Fits
Director/Producer: Anna Rose Holmer
Producer: Lisa Kjerulff

Other People
Director: Chris Kelly
Producers: Sam Bisbee, Adam Scott, Naomi Scott

Swiss Army Man
Directors: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
Producers: Miranda Bailey, Lawrence Inglee, Lauren Mann, Amanda Marshall, Eyal Rimmon, Jonathan Wang

The Witch
Director: Robert Eggers
Producers: Daniel Bekerman, Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Jodi Redmond, Rodrigo Teixeira

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BRAND NEW GENRE FEST IN MT.HOOD, OREGON TO LAUNCH ON APRIL 27, 2017
A 4-day celebration at horror’s most iconic hotel

Los Angeles, October 31, 2016 – The Overlook Film Festival, a four-day celebration at horror’s most iconic hotel The Timberline Lodge – the hotel used as the exterior setting of the infamous Overlook Hotel in Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece THE SHINING – will kickoff for the first time from April 27 through April 30, 2017. The festivity is expected to showcase experiential events, exciting work in new and classic horror cinema, and interactive activities where attendees can be fully immersed in the diverse world of the genre space. Located just one hour east of Portland, Oregon, The Overlook Film Festival will attract genre fans and cinephiles from all over the world along with major press and industry members who are excited for this unique experience.

The annual four-day celebration is created by veteran festival organizers Michael Lerman and Landon Zakheim, both sharing a passion and a vision for providing a rare experience for fans to not just watch the latest work from emerging genre filmmakers but to also connect with each other in order to foster a creative and engaging community. The duo plan to bring their signature events to the festival, including a full weekend long immersive game from interactive company Bottleneck Immersive and an original live version of radio play “Tales From Beyond The Pale” by Glass Eye Pix.

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By AI CreativeMedia

Mifune: The Last Samurai is a new documentary by filmmaker Steven Okazaki, who won an Oscar for the documentary short subject, Days of Waiting: The Life & Art of Estelle Ishigo (1990). Mifune screened at the Venice and Telluride film festivals and will get a select theatrical release in late November and early December.

Narrated by Keanu Reeves, the documentary includes interviews with: Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Teruyo Nogami (Kurosawa’s longtime script supervisor), Kyoko Kagawa (RED BEARD), Yoshio Tsuchiya (SEVEN SAMURAI), Takeshi Kato (THRONE OF BLOOD), Yoko Tsukasa (YOJIMBO), and many more. The feature-length documentary explores the evolution of the samurai film; Mifune’s childhood and World War II experience; his accidental entry into the movies; and dynamic but sometimes turbulent collaboration with Kurosawa.

Here is the official trailer and synopsis for Mifune: The Last Samurai:

Mifune: The Last Samurai, a new film by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Steven Okazaki, explores the accidental movie career of Toshiro Mifune, one of the true giants of world cinema. Mifune made 16 remarkable films with director Akira Kurosawa during the Golden Age of Japanese Cinema, including Rashomon, Seven Samurai and Yojimbo. Together they thrilled audiences and influenced filmmaking around the world, providing direct inspiration for not only The Magnificent Seven and Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood’s breakthrough, A Fistful of Dollars, but also George Lucas’ Star Wars.

Mifune: The Last Samurai opens theatrically on Friday, Nov. 25, 2016 in NY, Dec.2 in Los Angeles, Dec. 9 in San Francisco, and a wider national release to follow.

The Pulse-Pounding First Feature by Benjamin R. Moody Comes to
Digital HD and DVD on November 1, 2016

Classic slasher films often feature a young, usually female hero who alone manages to survive the carnage – but the films end there without showing the lasting effect the trauma has on that hero. The gripping new film LAST GIRL STANDING takes things that one step further, revealing the ongoing horror of life after near death. It arrives on DVD and digital platforms on November 1, 2016.

Five years ago, a masked killer brutally murdered a group of friends. Since then, Camryn, the lone survivor, has struggled to reclaim her shattered life. Wracked with guilt and paranoia, Camryn leads a depressingly lonely existence until Nick, a new co-worker, befriends her and attempts to integrate her into his group of friends.

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