Tribeca Heineken Audience Award

SERIES: Major Film Festivals
 RUSH  Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart 

Just announced. The documentary RUSH: BEYOND THE LIGHTED STAGE, directed by Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn is the Heineken Audience Award winner at the NYC Tribeca Film Festival. Rush is a Canadian rock band based in Toronto. They formed in 1968. They are still recording and performing. They will receive a $25,000 prize from Heineken. The award is chosen by attendees at the festival, either in person or those who purchased a Tribeca Film Virtual pass to view films online.

Second Place went to family favorite SNOWMEN, and in Third Place is the New York doc ARIAS with a TWIST: THE DOCUFANTASY. Together, these three films make for a diverse trio. All three will screen tomorrow (Sunday), plus other award winning films. Click title of this post for more on the films.

New York Film Festival Opens Today

The 47th New York Film Festival (NYFF) opens today in New York City (NYC), and will run through 11 October. One of the most interesting venues is always the New Directors / New Films.

This year, representing 20 countries, the titles in the 38th edition of New Directors/New Films will screen in their New York premieres or, in some cases, their United States and world premieres. From Opening Night's charming, multicultural drama AMREEKA, to Closing Night's WE LIVE IN PUBLIC, a documentary portrait of an early Internet pioneer, the festival once again affords movie goers the chance to discover the independent and world cinema stars of tomorrow.

The NYFF Main Slate selections will screen at the fully renovated Alice Tully Hall, with reserved seating, except where otherwise noted. See full Main Slate program by clicking the title of this post. Then, follow the links on the left sidebar of that page for Avant-Garde, special programs, Masterworks, ticket information, etc.

With award season starting soon, it will be interesting to see how the films entered in various festivals will "shake out" at the NYFF. For additional information on this blog about the NYFF, click the tag "NYFF" at the bottom of this post.

Upcoming Tony Awards

Actor Neil Patrick Harris will emcee the 2009 Tony telecast Sunday, 7 June, live from Radio City Music Hall, NYC, to be broadcast live on CBS. This is the American Theatre Wing’s 63rd annual Tony Awards® ceremony.

A Special Tony Award® for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre will be presented to Jerry Herman, 77, who received Tony nominations for six of the seven Broadway shows he created (Milk and Honey, Hello, Dolly!, Mame, Mack & Mabel, The Grand Tour, and La Cage Aux Follies). He took home the trophy for both Dolly and La Cage. Herman says he will not be doing anymore musicals, but is trilled to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, because in his case, it has truly been a lifetime endeavor.

The Regional Theatre Tony Award® goes to Signature Theatre, Arlington, Virginia.

Shows with most nominations: Billy Elliot, The Musical 15; Next to Normal 11; Hair 8; Shrek, The Musical 8; Mary Stuart 7; and The Norman Conquests 7.

List of nominees: http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/nominees/index.html

Tribeca Film Festival Winners

The eighth annual Tribeca Film Festival, co-founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, and presented by founding sponsor American Express, announced the winners of its competition categories in NYC last night, 30 April 2009. This year’s Festival included 85 features and 47 short films from 36 countries. The world competition winners were chosen from 12 narrative and 12 documentary features from 17 countries. All films at Festival.

Two awards were given to honor New York films, which were chosen from eight narrative and seven documentary features. Awards were also given for the best narrative, best documentary and student visionary films in the Shorts competition. The winner of The Heineken Audience Award, determined by audience ballot votes throughout the Festival, will be announced tomorrow 2 May, at the Festival Wrap party. This is a capsule of the 2009 winners in the World Narrative Feature and Documentary Feature Competitions.


2009 World Narrative Feature Film Competition (Jurors Bradley Cooper, Richard Fischoff, Todd Haynes, Meg Ryan and Uma Thurman):

The Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature – ABOUT ELLY (Darbareye Elly), written and directed by Asghar Farhadi (Iran, Persian with English subtitles). Deceit and tragedy abound when friends take a Caspian Sea seaside mini-break in this mysterious and lush who-done-it. Farhadi received the Golden Bear in Berlin this year as best director of a feature film.

Best New Narrative Filmmaker – Rune Denstad Langlofor NORTH (Nord) (Norway, Norwegian with English subtitles). A former ski champion recovering from a mental breakdown learns he has a five-year-old son. He hops on his snowmobile with a batch of moonshine, and heads for his ex-girlfriend's home in Norway's Far North. His oddball encounters along the way make this fresh and original debut comedy both tender and amusing.

Best Actor in a Narrative Feature Film – Ciarán Hinds in THE ECLIPSE, written and directed by Conor McPherson (Ireland).

Best Actress in a Narrative Feature Film – Zoe Kazan in THE EXPLODING GIRL, written and directed by Bradley Rust Gray (USA).


2009 World Documentary Feature Film Competition (Jurors Liz Garbus, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Whoopi Goldberg, Morgan Spurlock and Brian Williams):

Best Documentary Feature – RACING DREAMS, directed by Marshall Curry (USA). Three adolescent go-kart racers (to auto racing as little league is to baseball) vie for the national go-kart championship. They, and their parents, will soon find out if they have the talent, dedication, and sponsorship dollars to one day become NASCAR superstars.

Best New Documentary Filmmaker – Ian Olds for FIXER: The Taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi (USA). In 2007, the Taliban kidnapped 24-year-old Naqshbandi, an Italian journalist, one of Afghanistan's best "fixers"—someone hired by foreign journalists to facilitate, translate, and gain access for their stories.

Special Jury Mention: DEFAMATION (Hashmatsa), directed by Yoav Shamir (Denmark, Austria, USA, Israel).

HBO acquired FIXER at the Festival, First Fun the anti-Semitic documentary DEFAMATION, and ESPN the baseball documentary THE LOST SON OF HAVANA. Slim sales for Tribeca at this post, but there may be subsequent acquisitions as a result of the Festival.

For all winners and more information about the films such as juror comments, cash awards, etc., click title of this post.

Tribeca Film Festival Opens Wednesday

The Tribeca Film Festival in New York City opens this Wednesday (22 April). All available individual tickets are now on sale. See the previous post for more info.


You can access the Festival's Web site by clicking the graphic above or title of this post. Also, Tribeca is on Facebook this year. Visit either site and enter the sweepstakes to win a Transatlantic trip to England on the Cunard Queen Mary2, but hurry as sweepstakes close 31 May.

NYC Tribeca Film Festival Opens 22 April

Geoffrey "Geoff" Gilmore, formerly with Sundance, is the new Chief Creative Officer of Tribeca Enterprises. He will have been onboard less than two months when the 8th edition of the Tribeca Film Festival (TFFNYC) opens next week, 22 April. Of course, he has had a total of about 20 years of experience helming or assisting with film festivals, so he is probably fully acclimated to his new digs by now.

The Festival's opening film will be the world premiere of Woody Allen's WHATEVER WORKS, a Sony Pictures Classics release. The comedy, written and directed by Allen was filmed in NYC, and stars in alphabetical order: Ed Begley Jr. (PINEAPPLE EXPRESS), Patricia Clarkson (VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA), Larry David (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”), Evan Rachel Wood (THE WRESTLER), etc. The limited release date is 19 June. Next up for Allen? London.

MY LIFE IN RUINS (USA/Spain), starring Nia Vardalos of MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING (2002) fame, will close the festival 3 May. The director is Donald Petrie (HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS). The "ruins" in the title is a double entendre. You'll get it when you read the synopsis. The release date is 9 June.

You can access the Festival's Web site by clicking the title of this post. Also, Tribeca is on Facebook this year. Visit either site and enter the sweepstakes to win a Transatlantic trip to England on the Cunard Queen Mary2, but hurry as sweepstakes close 31 May.

Digitally Restored “Rashomon” to Premiere in NYC

Machiko Kyo

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ “Monday Nights with Oscar®” series will present the East Coast premiere of the new digitally restored print of renowned filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s 1950 masterpiece RASHOMON on Monday, November 17, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy Theater in New York City. The Academy Theater is located at 111 East 59th Street in New York City. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. All seating is unreserved.

RASHOMON won the Honorary Foreign Language Film Award for Japan and was nominated for Black-and-White Art Direction (Takashi Matsuyama, H. Matsumoto). It stars Toshiro Mifune and Machiko Kyo. This screening will feature the new restoration from the Academy Film Archive in association with the Kadokawa Culture Promotion Foundation and The Film Foundation.

A crime drama that questions the very nature of truth, RASHOMON is set in feudal Japan and depicts a violent incident from four different points of view. The film’s innovative approach and style cemented Kurosawa’s international reputation as a significant creative force and had a profound influence on cinematic storytelling, reflected in such films as THE USUAL SUSPECTS (1995) and COURAGE UNDER FIRE (1996), and on numerous works in other media.

Tickets are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Tickets may be purchased through the Academy's online ticketing system at http://www.oscars.org/. There are no transaction or processing fees. Tickets may also be purchased by mail or at the door on the night of the event (subject to availability). For additional information call (212) 821-9251 or visit www.oscars.org/events.

Film Festival Page Updated

My new updates include the about-to-wrap San Diego Latino and the just-wrapped South by Southwest (SXSW) Festivals. There is new information on the upcoming Memphis (TN), River Run (NC), Canadian Hot Docs Documentary (Toronto), Ebertfest (IL), Tribeca (NYC), San Francisco (CA), and the festival most festival-watchers consider the world's most prestigious film festival, Cannes (France).

You can read about those already completed this year, which included Berlin (Germany), Santa Barbara and Palm Springs (CA), Sundance (UT), Miami (FL), and the Mexican sister-festivals, Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta (MX). That's just Part I of Mimi Film Festivals 2008.

Part II, which will include festivals from June through September 2008, will go online sometime in April. The festivals highlighted will begin with Jackson Hole (WY) and probably conclude with San Sebastián (Spain) or San Diego (CA), but new ones are always cropping up, so there are no guarantees at this point.

In between, there will be the world's oldest festival, Venice (Italy), and the world's bravest, Sarajevo (Bosnia). Major festivals in the USA include Los Angeles (CA) and Telluride (CO). Foreign ones, other than San Sebastián, include Montreal and Toronto (Canada), Deauville (France), and Edinburgh (UK), plus any new ones that may spring up during this time frame.

Spain Sends THE ORPHANAGE to Fetch BFLF Oscar®

It's official. THE ORPHANAGE (EL Orfanato, Spain, 2007) directed by J. A. (Juan Antonio) Bayona and produced by Guillermo del Toro (PAN'S LABYRINTH), will represent Spain in the contest for Best Foreign Language Film Oscar®. That's a movie in languages other than English, and countries may submit only one film in the BFLF category.

ORPHANAGE bypassed the top film festival in Spain, San Sebastián, for the Film Festival of Catalonia at Sitges, a festival for fantasy and the fantastic. It will have its Spain premiere in Sitges at the opening gala 4 October.

Meanwhile, the Picturehouse release is making its U.S. premiere at the New York Film Festival as I write this, and is in competition. The movie stars Belén Rueda (Laura), Fernando Cayo (Carlos) and Geraldine Chaplin (Aurora), and it is the last name on the list that is very interesting, I think.

You see, one of the reasons the movie may have bypassed San Sebastián could be because that festival was pulling out all the stops to honor Carlos Saura for 50 years of filmmaking. They honored him with a Golden Shell. Before Saura, only Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel, "the master," received one in 1981. Buñuel died in 1983.

If you don't know, Saura and Chaplin had a close relationship for many years in which she collaborated on the writing of the scripts, helped finance some of his projects, starred in a number of his movies and gave him his third son, Sean Saura Chaplin. Carlos was married with two sons. She was not. They never married, but were together shortly after she starred in DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965) until the filming of her last movie with Saura, MAMA TURNS 100 (1979). There's much more, but you must wait for my book.

FADOS ("a musical documentary," from Portugal/Spain) is Saura's latest. The movie's Spanish premiere was at San Sebastián 21 September. It was a gala event where Saura received the Golden Shell from former Festival director and movie critic Diego Galán. Not only that, there was a live production of fado singers with flamenco dancers.

FADOS will have its U.S. premiere at the New York Film Festival in NYC, screening as a special event on 13 October. No word as yet if the fado singers will perform. The world premiere was at Toronto, the Spain one at San Sebastián, and the Canadian one at Vancouver. ORPHANAGE didn't appear at any of those.

Here, the plot thickens. FADOS is a Portuguese/Spanish production and Portuguese is spoken. So, I can hardly wait to find out if Portugal is submitting FADOS to AMPAS® as their official submission.

Geraldine Chaplin on the set of EL ORFANATO, 2007
The story of ORPHANAGE is that Laura (Rueda) returns with her family to the orphanage in which she grew up with the intention of opening a residence for children with disabilities. The new environment wakes up her son's imagination, and he begins to take on more and more intense games of fantasy.

As the games intensify, Laura becomes increasingly disturbed until she reaches the point where she thinks there is something in the house that is threatening her and her family. The escalation of events lead her to take her son for psychological help.


Scandinavian actor Per Oscarsson and Géraldine Chaplin in LA MADRIGUERS (The Burrow, 1969)
Have you seen Saura's movie LA MADRIGUERS, 1969? Take your pick of English titles: Honeycomb, The Burrow, The Den. If you have seen this movie, the above synopsis should prick your ears, because there is definitely a psychological similarity between the synopses of the two movies. At any rate, from what I am hearing, Geraldine may receive an Oscar nomination for her performance in this movie, and the movie stands a good chance, too.

Will someone please go see these movies in New York and send me a report? I Will appreciate it. If you have a fast Internet connection, you can catch the trailer here.

My Film Festival Page News

Counted today and found there is information and links for 34 film festivals so far this year on my Film Festival Page, including some that are difficult to find information about such as the Festival of New Latin American Cinema held each December in Havana, Cuba. Ten are upcoming, or going on now, with the rest already completed this year. Altogether, there's a wealth of info. Here is the list of the 34:

AFIFEST, Berlin, Boston, Times BFI London, Canadian Hot Docs, Cannes, Deauville, Edinburgh, Guadalajara, Huelva, Havana, Jackson Hole, Los Angeles Independents, Memphis, Miami, Montreal, New York, Palm Sprngs, Puerto Valarta, River Run, Rome, San Diego, San Sebatian, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Sarajevo, Sitges, Sundance, SXSW, Telluride, Toronto, Tribeca, Vancouver, and Venice.

This weekend, I installed quick links to help you find the festivals in which you are interested. Just find the name of the festival you want, click, and you are there. Click the title of this post, which will take you to my Film Festival Page, and near the top you will find the links for the festivals going on now, or upcoming through December, including the one in Havana. There is a separate set of links for those already completed. Remember, there is always a link to my Film Festival Page on the right sidebar of this blog as well.

George Clooney and Jerry Weintraub at a recent Boston Film Festival gala.

Want to know what Sally Field Said at EMMYs?

Would you like to know what was deleted from Sally Field's acceptance speech at the Emmys®? Do you know what Al Gore has won an Emmy and two Oscars® for this year (different projects)? You will find answers to these questions on my 2008 Award's Page.

Want to find out some more happenings in "Hollywood North" at the Toronto International Film Festival? How about what is, and will be, happening at the Film Festival in San Sebastián, Spain, and many others?

You need to access my Film Festival and Award Pages. The Emmy Awards for Prime Time were presented last night (15 September), and I have posted on my Award's Page, incorporating some information from the Creative Emmy Awards presented 8 September. There are extra tidbits as well.

So far this year, I have written about 25 international film festivals since the first of January on my Film Festival Page. I am currently following one recently closed (Toronto), one currently going (Boston), and five upcoming (San Sebastián, Vancouver, New York (NYC), Sitges (Spain), BFI-London). All have links to the Official Web sites, plus other links of interest. More upcoming festivals will be added the last of this month.

Once the last major film festival ends for this year, usually in late November, the awards season, in anticipation of the ultimate awards the last of February, kicks off. Those ultimate awards for movies are the Academy Awards® to be presented Sunday, 24 February 2008. There are links to both my Film Festival and Award pages on the right sidebar of this blog. Come visit.

My Film Festiva Page News

Wes Anderson’s new film, THE DARJEELING LIMITED, featuring Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, and Anjelica Huston. (Fox Searchlight)

Winners at the Sarajevo and Edinburgh Film Festivals were posted today on my Film Festival Page as the fall film festival season is underway. My MIMI'S FILM FESTIVAL PAGE is currently reporting on happenings at the Edinburgh (England) and Sarajevo (Bosnia) festivals as well as the following: Montreal (Canada), Venice (Italy), Telluride (Colorado, USA), Toronto (Canada), San Sebastián (Spain), Vancouver (B.C.), New York (NYC, USA), Catalonian (Sitges, Spain), and the Times BFI London (UK) festivals. Others will be added as information becomes available.

The page is designed as a "quick stop" for viewers/readers to catch the highlights, and access the official sites immediately through quick links. Updates are sporadic, because they are made whenever information is received from various sources.

So, go visit and bookmark/favor the page for convenient frequent checking.

My Film Festival Page News

My Film Festival Page is updated! Tomorrow, 15th, the 61st Edinburgh International Film Festival (Edinburgh, Scotland), kicks off the late-summer into fall season. The updates begin in Scotland and run through the Times BFI London Film Festival closing 1 November.

In between, you will find information about others, including festivals in New York (NYC), Montreal, San Sebastian, Sitges (Barcelona), Telluride, Toronto, Venice, etc. I try to find and post interesting highlights before the festivals, but you will always find links to the Official Web Sites and a notification, with highlights, when the awards are presented with easy links for more information.

This page is not static. I am constantly updating it as I receive new information, and there is a permanent link to it on the right sidebar of this blog. Visit often and enjoy!

MOVIE & ART EVENTS IN NYC

1. Exhibit of Famous Spanish Artists. The exhibit "Barcelona and the Modernity: Gaudí to Dalí" opened Wednesday, 7 March, at the Metropolitan Museum, NYC, Special Exhibition Galleries, The Tisch Galleries, 2nd floor.

Andalusian Pablo Picasso, the Catalans Joan Miró, Salvador Dalí and Antoni Gaudí are represented in the exhibition that will close 3 June. The president of the Metropolitan, Emily Rafferty, referred to the exhibition as one of the biggest international exhibitions of modern art."

The Metropolitan Museum is located at 1000 Fifth Avenue. New York, New York 10028 -0198. It appears that admission prices are recommended: Adults, $20; Seniors (65 and older) $15; Students, $10 (with some restrictions); and Children under 12 with an adult are free. For more specific information call 212-535-7710. Visit online.


2. "Monday Nights With Oscar®" Screenings. The movie NETWORK (1976) will screen at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences® (AMPAS®) Theater at Lighthouse International in New York City, Monday, 19 March. NETWORK opens the "Monday Nights With Oscar" screening series in New York City (NYC). The movie contains the famous line, “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!”

Hosted by Robert Osborne, host of Turner Classic Movies, the special guest will be the movie's director Sidney Lumet, and showtime is 7:30 p.m. The Theater at Lighthouse International is located at 111 East 59th Street, New York.

Tickets are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID and may be reserved over the phone by calling 1-888-778-7575. Depending on availability, tickets may be purchased in person the night of the screening. Doors open at 7 p.m. For more information.

General Information

Tickets for these, and other, Academy programs may be purchased by mail, at the Academy during normal business hours, or at the box office which opens one hour before the start of the event.

The Academy's main national office is at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California. Office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, except most major holidays. For further information on all Academy events and exhibitions in Los Angeles, call (310) 247-3600, unless otherwise noted.

The Academy's New York office is at 111 East 59th Street, New York, New York, closed most major holidays. For further information on all Academy events and exhibitions in New York, call (888) 778-7575, unless otherwise noted.

Oscar's "Shorts" to Show in NYC

Prior to the 79th Academy Awards® show, New York moviegoers will have two opportunities to see all ten of this year’s Oscar®-nominated films in the Animated and Live Action Short Film categories on Saturday, 17 February.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences annual “Shorts!” program will be presented 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. at the Academy Theater in New York City.

Robert Osborne, Hollywood Reporter columnist, host of Turner Classic Movies, and official biographer of the Academy Awards, will host. The 2006 Animated Short Film and Live Action Short Film nominees are:

Short Film (Animated) and director(s) - -
“The Danish Poet," Torill Kove, director;
“Lifted,” Gary Rydstrom, director;
“The Little Matchgirl,” Roger Allers, director;
“Maestro,” Geza M. Toth, director;
“No Time for Nuts,” Chris Renaud and Michael Thurmeier, directors.

Short Film (Live Action) and director - -
“Binta and the Great Idea,” Javier Fesser, director;
“Eramos Pocos,” Borja Cobeaga, director;
“Helmer & Son,” Soren Pilmark, director;
“The Saviour,” Peter Templeman, director;
“West Bank Story,” Ari Sandel, director.

Tickets for “Shorts!” are $5 for the general public, $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. All seating is unreserved. Reserve tickets by calling 1-888-778-7575. Depending on availability, tickets may be purchased the day of the screenings. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. The Academy Theater is located at 111 East 59th Street in New York City.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2006 will be presented Sunday, February 25, 2007, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network at 5 p.m. PST (8 p.m. EST), beginning with a half-hour arrivals segment, “The Road to the Oscars.” Vogue editor-at-large André Leon Talley, and Allyson Waterman will co-host. Talley will be the voice of fashion, and Waterman the main interviewer for the Oscar® red carpet arrivals segment.