All articles by Wendy Mitchell – Page 115
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UK film 'parliament' to debate industry's global role
The UK's Independent FilmParliament is hosting a forum November 30 at the Insitut Francais in London.Among those expected to debate film policy will be Nik Powell of theNational Film and Television School, John Woodward of the UK Film Council,producer Chris Atkins and author Peter S. Grant. The forum will featuresessions ...
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Churches out to boost the lion's share of the box office
Disney and Buena VistaInternational are working with Christian groups to spread the word about theforthcoming release of The Chronicles ofNarnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The film, due out December9, has been promoted to UK religious groups and businesses since early thissummer, through an independent consultant. In the ...
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Blank Slate for UK ethnic minority film-makers
The UK Film Council's New Cinema Fund and b3 mediaare launching a new digital short film project to support black and ethnicminority filmmakers. The Blank Slate scheme, funded by the NationalLottery, is expected to commission eight shorts to be produced by spring 2006.Filmmakers from across the UKcan apply to make ...
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Too Good To Be True Film-makers bank on pixel sell
Following in the footstepsof a startlingly simple online marketing scheme launched this year,two UK screenwriters are raising funds online to develop theirfeature films. Screenwriters Talia Channon and Lee Curle of Lucre Films have launched PixelYourShops.com, asite based on the successful Million Dollar Homepage, developed by 21-year-old UK student Alex Tew. ...
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Australian VoD licenses Granada International films
Australianvideo-on-demand company Reeltime has signed a dealwith Granada International to license select film and television programmesfrom Granada's library.OnceReeltime launches in early 2006, the Granada content will be made available to all of its ISPpartners.Thedeal covers unspecified films and TV programmes including Prime Suspect,Cracker, 7Up and Nanny 911."Weare delighted to see ...
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Ferrara to be honoured at Sarajevo festival
TheSarajevo Film Festival will celebrate the work of Abel Ferrara during thefestival's 12th edition, to be held August 18-26, 2006. Ferrara isexpected to attend the festival and present a selection of his films, includinghis latest feature, Mary."This courageous filmmaker makes no concessions - in hismovies as well as in the ...
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New film agency to be established in Wales
The Welsh Development Agency and the Arts Council of Wales(ACW) have announced plans to establish a new film agency, Ffilm Wales. Theagency will operate under the Welsh Assembly Government's new CreativeIndustries initiative.The film agency will aim to "ensure that Wales can be moreeffective in developing talent and in making feature ...
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BAFTA/LA hands out Britannia awards
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA)'s LA branch gave out its highesthonours at the 2005 Britannia Awards last night. As previously announced, TomCruise received the Stanley Kubrick award forexcellence in film and Elizabeth Taylor picked up the award for artisticexcellence in international entertainment.Mike Newell, director of thelatest ...
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Revolver picks up Herzog and Huda for 2006
UK distributor Revolver Entertainmenthas acquired two films for release in early 2006: Werner Herzog's documentary Grizzly Man and MenhajHuda's adolescent story Kidulthood.Grizzly Man, set for a February 4 release, isabout the life and death of Timothy Treadwell, a follower of grizzly bears. Thefilm won the Alfred P. Sloan award at ...
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Sheffield documentary festival heads to Chile
The UK's Sheffield InternationalDocumentary Festival has announced that it will hold a three-day seminar inSantiago de Chile during the Festival Internacional de Documentales de Santiago(FIDOCS).The Catholic University of Chile andthe British Council are organising the seminar, to be held November 30 toDecember 2. The SheffieldInternational Documentary Festival On Tour: New ...
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Edinburgh artistic director steps down after five years
The EdinburghInternational Film Festival has confirmed that Shane Danielsenwill step down as artistic director after the 60th festival in August 2006.The move isanticipated as Danielsen has said since hisappointment in 2001 that he planned to say for five festivals.The EIFF willstart its search for a new artistic director in January ...
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Carnahan Starts Shooting Smokin' Aces
Director Joe Carnahan has started principal photography on dark action comedy Smokin' Aces, a Universal Pictures and Working Title Films production. The feature is shooting on location in Lake Tahoe and Los Angeles. Working Title's Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner are producing with Robert Graf and Liza Chasin serving as ...
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Intandem, Spice Factory set up FearFactory
UK-based financing, salesand distribution company Intandem Films, production company Spice Factory UK,and producers Colin Pons of Studio of the North and Mark Thomas of BallparkProductions have set up a new venture, FearFactory, to produce horror films andpsychological thrillers.Intandem CEO Gary Smith toldScreen that FearFactory, whichwill be set up under the ...
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Attenborough closes the ring with ContentFilm
ContentFilm Internationalhas taken worldwide rights to Richard Attenborough's forthcoming epic, ClosingThe Ring. ContentFilm isco-financing the film with the Bank of Ireland.Oscar-winning directorAttenborough will co-produce with Jo Gilbert. Shirley MacLaine is attached tostar, and discussions are ongoing with other actors. Closing The Ring is a UK-Canadian co-production to be shot onlocation ...
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Lumina launches thriller label Panic Attack
UK-based production andsales company Lumina Films is launching its thriller label Panic Attack withDan Reed's Straightheads,starring Gillian Anderson, Danny Dyer and Anthony Calf.Damian Jones (The HistoryBoys, Millions) and Kevin Loader (TheHistory Boys, Enduring Love) areproducing. The film is funded by FilmFour, the UK Film Council's New CinemaFund (which has invested ...
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IAC, Sequence Film pick up worldwide sales on Teresa
UK-based sales company IAC Films and its sisterproduction company Sequence Film have taken on worldwide sales and distribution(outside Spain) for Ray Loriga's Teresa.The Lolafilms production, produced by Andres VicenteGomez, stars Paz Vega, Geraldine Chaplin and Leonor Watling in the story of St.Teresa of Avila.IAC is also selling Lolafilm's The Feast ...
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Baldwin named CEO of UK production outfit Storitel
Bob Baldwin (pictured) has been named CEO of UK-basedproduction company Storitel, which also announced that it has established afeature film development fund to provide initial capital for UK and foreignprojects. Storitel is now in pre-production on twothrillers: Fragile Edge and Leona's Revenge.Fragile Edge, written by mountaineering expert Matt Dickinson, is ...
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Adept screenwriters join UK programme
Aristahas announced the eight screenwriters selected for its Adept 3 screenwritingprogramme, funded by Skillset (and the UK Film Council), the MEDIA Programmeand Arista's Writer Scholarship Fund.Thenine-month programme supports MA screenwriting graduates who haven't yet made afeature film.Thechosen writers are AndrewBernhardt, Fiona Birkbeck, Lucy Floyd, Helen Jacey, Phil Nodding, BerylRichards, Neil ...
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Hanway takes on Polley, Jarrold projects to sell
HanWay Films hasacquired international sales rights to two projects in pre-production: BecomingJane from Kinky Boots director Julian Jarrold starring AnneHathaway, and Away From Her, actress Sarah Polley's feature directorial debut starringVanessa Redgrave.Becoming Jane stars Hathaway (Brokeback Mountain,The Princess Diaries) asyoung future novelist Jane Austen, who is embroiled in a passionate ...
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Optimum, Madman join forces on home video front
UK distributor OptimumReleasing is teaming with Aussie distributor Madman Entertainment for a jointventure home entertainment business, Optimum Madman. Optimum Madman will acquirehome video products to be distributed both in the UK and Australia. Optimum Madman's firstrelease will be Bill Melendez'1979 animated film The Lion,The Witch and The Wardrobe. (Disney'snew live-action ...