James Beard Winner Eric Wolfinger’s Doc Short “Blessed by Grace” Spotlights Chef Lisa Dahl, Expands Festival Run

Posted on September 15, 2025 by admin

James Beard Award-winning photographer Eric Wolfinger’s short documentary Blessed by Grace is set to screen at a number of festivals throughout 2025 following its award-winning debut.

The film, which tells the story of Sedona chef and restaurateur Lisa Dahl, premiered at the Sedona International Film Festival in March and has since won the Indiana Spotlight Award and Audience Choice Award at Indy Shorts. Upcoming stops include the Newport Beach Film Festival, Burning Man’s Playa Film Festival, the Cordillera Film Festival in Reno, and the Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis.

Blessed by Grace traces Dahl’s personal and professional journey after the tragic loss of her son, Justin, in the 1990s. Channeling grief into her culinary career, she went on to build the Dahl Restaurant Group, now operating six acclaimed restaurants in Northern Arizona and employing more than 300 people.

The film highlights Dahl’s resilience, spirituality, and impact on the culinary world, while also capturing her broader philanthropic initiatives.

LAIKA’s ParaNorman Returns to Theaters in Remastered 3D with New Short Film

Posted on June 13, 2025 by admin

LAIKA’s stop-motion feature ParaNorman is returning to theaters this Halloween for a one-week limited engagement, presented in newly remastered RealD 3D and 2D formats. Originally released in 2012, the film will be accompanied by a brand-new CG short titled ParaNorman: The Thrifting, featuring voice work by Anna Kendrick and Finn Wolfhard.

International screenings begin October 23 via Trafalgar Releasing, with U.S. showings starting October 25 through Fathom Entertainment. The release follows the strong box office performance of Coraline’s 2024 reissue and kicks off a year-long celebration of LAIKA’s 20th anniversary.

Directed by Chris Butler and Sam Fell, ParaNorman received multiple award nominations and remains a notable entry in LAIKA’s catalog. The new short is directed by Thibault LeClercq and produced with Passion Pictures.

The announcement was made at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

SFFILM Announces Golden Gate Award and Audience Award Winners at the 68th San Francisco International Film Festival

Posted on May 1, 2025 by admin

L to R, top row: New Directors Awardee: INK WASH, Global Visions Awardee: ALL THAT’S LEFT OF YOU. L to R, bottom row: Cine Latino Awardee: BELOVED TROPIC, Kirby Walker Documentary Award Awardee: SEEDS Seeds. Courtesy of SFFILM and rights holders.

Today, SFFILM announced the winners of the juried Golden Gate Awards competition and the Audience Awards at the 68th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM Festival). Since the Festival’s first edition in 1957, the prestigious Golden Gate Awards have served as a launching pad for internationally renowned filmmakers who are early in their careers and have grown to include Audience Awards as well as serving as a qualifier for films under 40 minutes for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). In 2025, Academy Award-qualifying honors presented at the Festival included Narrative Short, Documentary Short, and Animated Short.

Golden Gate Awards were given in the feature film categories of New Directors–Ink Wash, Global Visions–All That’s Left of You, Cine Latino–Beloved Tropic, and the newly named Kirby Walker Documentary Award–Seeds.

Honoring the best documentary feature, the Kirby Walker Documentary Award celebrates the legacy of Kirby Walker, beloved Bay Area activist and filmmaker, whose profound curiosity about the lives of others and the world in general sparked a lasting love and respect for documentary filmmaking that allows audiences to develop their own informed viewpoint.
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2025 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Program Award Winners Announced

Posted on January 28, 2025 by admin

Tonight the nonprofit Sundance Institute awarded the prizes for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Program at the Short Film Awards Ceremony & Party Presented by Vimeo. Filmmakers from across all 57 shorts selected for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival gathered at The Park in Park City, Utah, for a private event celebrating short-form storytelling. Most award-winning short films are available online nationwide January 30 through February 2 for audiences to view from home. Visit festival.sundance.org for all details. The 2025 Festival, taking place now through February 2, has featured world premieres, screenings, talks, events, and more in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Grand Jury Prize went to The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing (International Nonfiction). Short Film Jury Awards were presented to Trokas Duras (U.S. Fiction), Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites (International Fiction), We Were The Scenery (Nonfiction), and Como si la tierra se las hubiera tragado (Animation).

Two Special Jury Awards were also presented: Short Film Special Jury Award for Animation Directing to The Eating of an Orange (Animation) and Short Film Special Jury Award for Directing to Tiger (Nonfiction).
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Annual Annie Awards 2025: “The Wild Robot” Leads Nominations

Posted on December 20, 2024 by admin

Dreamworks Animation “The Wild Robot” topped the nominations for the feature competition of the 52nd Annie Awards for animation. The Chris Sanders’ animated science fiction led with 10 nominations.

Disney/Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” and Aardman and Netflix’s “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl,” received norminations seven apiece; while Locksmith Animation and Netflix’s “That Christmas,” followed with six.

Honoring excellence in the field of animation, the 52nd Annual Annie Awards will be presented in 37 categories including Animated Feature, Animated Feature-Independent, Television/Media Production(s), Sponsored Production, Short Subject and Student Film, as well as the Achievement and Honorary awards.

The 52nd Annual Annie Awards is set to be held on February 8, 2025 at 7:00 pm PT at UCLA’s Royce Hall.

Here are the nominees:

Best Feature
Inside Out 2 – Pixar Animation Studios
Kung Fu Panda 4 – DreamWorks Animation
That Christmas – Locksmith Animation for Netflix
The Wild Robot – DreamWorks Animation
Ultraman: Rising – Netflix Presents in association with Tsuburaya Productions
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – Aardman and Netflix

Best Feature – Independent
Chicken for Linda! – Dolce Vita Films, Miyu Productions, Palosanto Films, France 3 Cinéma.
Flow – Sacrebleu Productions, Take Five, Dream Well Studio
Kensuke’s Kingdom – Paramount Pictures
Look Back – Studio Durian
Mars Express – Everybody on Deck, Je Suis Bien Content
Memoir of a Snail – Snails Pace Films / Arenamedia
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2025 Sundance Film Festival Unveils Short Film Program Presented by Vimeo

Posted on December 16, 2024 by admin

Top L–R: View From the Floor, THE LILY (เดอะลิลลี่), Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites, Hold Me Close
Center Row L-R: Azi, Debaters, Platanero, Sweetheart
Bottom L–R: Somebody Cares, Hoops, Hopes & Dreams, Entre le Feu et le Clair de Lune, Inkwo for When the Starving Return

Today the nonprofit Sundance Institute announced the 57 short films being presented at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. These shorts will screen as part of eight curated Short Film Programs presented by Vimeo that will include fiction, nonfiction, and animated titles from the U.S. and globally. The Festival will take place from January 23–February 2, 2025, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, with a selection of titles available online from January 30–February 2, 2025, for audiences across the country to discover bold independent storytelling. Access to watch almost all the short films on-demand (January 30–February 2) is available by purchasing a Short Films Pass: Online, now on sale. Single Film Tickets for in-person and online go on sale January 16 at 10 a.m. MT. Members have access to a Single Film Ticket pre-sale. Visit the Sundance Film Festival site for more information: festival.sundance.org.

“Our program would never be complete without a curation of outstanding short films, and we’re excited to share the 2025 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Program today,” said Kim Yutani, Sundance Film Festival Director of Programming. “These projects are varied in style and substance, but across all categories they represent the power of short-form storytelling beautifully.”

“Our Short Film Program celebrates fresh styles and unique stories. The short run time encourages innovation,” said Mike Plante, Senior Programmer, Short Film. “Audiences will find much of the next generation of film talent here, with raw, exciting and inspired filmmaking from around the world in each of our eight programs.”

The 57 short films selected for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival were chosen from 11,153 submissions. Of these submissions, 4,909 were from the U.S. and 6,244 were international. Work from 28 countries and territories represented in this upcoming year’s program.
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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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American Cinematheque’s PROOF Film Festival 2024 announces Film Lineup and new programs

Posted on August 1, 2024 by admin

The American Cinematheque announced the lineup of official selections and events for the 2nd Annual PROOF Film Festival, taking place October 18-20. The innovative film festival presents thematically curated programs featuring 46 official selections, filmmaking labs and panels – all taking place at the Culver Theater (9500 Culver Blvd.). PROOF is dedicated solely to the presentation of proof-of-concept short films, looking to be expanded into feature-length productions or series, and empowering the next generation of cinematic storytellers.

Once again, PROOF will look to spotlight a slate of innovative films from up-and-coming filmmakers, as well as panel conversations on the art and business of filmmaking. To that end, this year, PROOF will team with CALLO to schedule meetings between selected festival filmmakers and industry partners in the film festival’s CALLO Lounge. These meetings will assist in developing relationships and potentially make their proof-of-concept projects into fully realized films.

Another highlight is the PROOF Pitch Deck Show & Tell. This interactive session will be held during the festival on Sunday, October 20, and will feature 6 selected filmmakers who will pitch their project live in front of a film industry panel. A grand prize winner and a runner-up will be selected and announced at the PROOF Film Festival Award Show.
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2024 Sundance Film Festival Announces Shorts Film Tour

Posted on May 29, 2024 by admin

The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour, a 110-minute program of seven short films curated from the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

The short film tour will play in locations across the country and internationally throughout 2024 and into 2025. Filmgoers can enjoy this assortment of short films in over 50 theaters and independent art house venues. This specially curated selection is full of drama and thrills, including eye-opening and heartwarming indie shorts and a few jury prize winners that offer a peek into the Festival program.

For four decades, the Sundance Film Festival has supported short filmmaking, showcasing the work of many now-prominent independent feature filmmakers such as Damien Chazelle, Destin Daniel Cretton, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Dee Rees, Joey Soloway, Taika Waititi, Wes Anderson, and many others.
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American Cinematheque’s 2nd Annual PROOF Film Festival Announces Call For Entries

Posted on April 26, 2024 by admin

The American Cinematheque’s PROOF Film Festival returns for a 2nd edition of the L.A.-based proof-of-concept focused festival October 18-20. The festival is conducting an open call for its popular PROOF Pitch Deck Show & Tell, and CALLO joins this year to facilitate in-person matching for creative collaboration. PROOF will take place once again at the Culver Theater (9500 Culver Blvd.) in the heart of film industry hub Culver City.

Last year, PROOF established itself 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 uniquely focused film festival presented innovative work from up-and-coming filmmakers, as well as putting much attention on panel conversations looking at the art and business of filmmaking.

Regarding the success of last year’s edition and the continued development of PROOF’s mission to build the entirety of the film festival experience around building artist relationships and project development, American Cinematheque Film Programmer and Proof Film Festival Founder, Imani Davis, said, “Being located in Los Angeles in the heart of the film industry, we sought to not only give a platform to our selected filmmakers, but to also create the best environment for future success that we could. Last year’s inaugural edition of the festival was great, but we took notes as we went along to bring on more partners and add more tools to give our filmmakers an even better experience, show off their work in the best way, and create that essential platform so each of them could take the next step in their artistic careers.”

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