Calling all creative and expressive film producers, flamboyant cultivators of the moving image!
Five Minutes of Madness challenges you to create and submit short films around the theme of Lunacy. Part of "The Festival of Lunacy" Presented by Compass this year. Five Minutes of Madness will bring together film-makers from far and wide to exhibit their work in Bristol.
We are exploring the realms of Lunacy in the broadest possible sense. Use as your muse anything inspired by this theme: notions of reality, the world of dreams, deviations from the quotidian, whether physical, psychological, or social; from filmic interpretations including experimental film, to mythical or historical interpretations.
Judged by a panel of industry professionals, awards will be given for Best Film, Audience Award, Local Film-maker and Youth Award.
Entries must be no longer than five minutes in length. Submissions will be accepted in the following formats: DVD, Mini DV or as full quality DV QuickTime files.
The 54th BFI London Film Festival, in partnership with American Express, is proud to announce that this year's Festival will open on Wednesday 13 October with the European premiere of Never Let Me Go, directed by Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo), based on the highly acclaimed, bestselling novel by Kazuo Ishiguro and adapted for the screen by Alex Garland (Sunshine, 28 Days Later).
The stars of the film are expected to attend the opening night screening, including Oscar nominee Keira Knightley (Pride & Prejudice, Atonement), BAFTA winner and Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan (An Education) and BAFTA TV award winner Andrew Garfield (Boy A, Red Riding).
FilmLab is a new festival for short films made by students and recent graduates. We are currently seeking submissions for the festival which will take place in London in November.
A bit about us:
We believe that experimental and world cinema should be available for all, and that some of the most innovative, fresh and exciting films around are being made by students. With so much pressure on students to compete against professional and established film makers, we wanted to create a festival which would showcase the high standard of student work currently being produced around the world.
FilmLab was born out of dissatisfaction with the diversity in UK cinema and the opportunities for new film-makers. With recent news about the UK film council’s closure, the debate over its long time suppression or support of British cinema has began. FilmLab festival is proud to be independent and non-profit. Run entirely by volunteers, we aim to give film-makers new exposure and most importantly to help people see good films.
Please visit our website at www.filmlabfestival.co.uk for more information and to download an application form.
The UK based movie-on-demand website Indie Movies Onlineis now online offeringa new way to watch new and classic and new free movies. It offers hundreds of great films to watch at high quality online legally. Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, James Rowley-Ashwood says “We are creating a site that focused on newer independent films from around the world, as well as classics, short films and documentaries. The idea is to help filmmakers reach a new audience and provide film fans with a genuine and free alternative.”
Since launching in June 2009, indiemoviesonline.com has attracted over 2.5m unique users with its unique blend of free movies. Indie Movies Online also has quality and regularly updated bespoke movie editorial on the site and a forum for film discussions. Content providers that license films include The British Film Institute, Aardman, East West, Soda Pictures, Hanway Films, ITV, Spolight, Screen Media, Cinetic, Content Films/Fireworks and Content Republic.
British director Garrick Hamm’s new short film The Man Who Married Himself has been selected for two prestigious US film festivals this summer.
The first of these is the LA Shorts Fest which has just started this July. This particular Festival has an uncanny knack of selecting short films that go on to win the Oscar for Best Short Film. The second Festival is the 2010 Rhode Island International Film Festival which is also a qualifying event for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
The Man Who Married Himself has a wealth of talent both in front of and behind the camera. It stars Richard E Grant as the title character, alongside British acting talentsWarren Clark, Emilia Fox and Celia Imrie. Behind the camera are director Garrick Hamm and award winning cinematographer Michael Seresin (Harry Potter, Angela’s Ashes, Angel Heart).
17.03 These Twitter streams are good places to keep up with latest developments and opinions: 'Film Council' and 'UKFC'. There's also a 'Save the UK Film Council' Facebook group and a petition.
15.31 Questions over - with hints that the axe may not have fully fallen and a clear sign that there will be further be consultations.
15.15 The DUP's Ian Paisley is asking about the UKFC. Jeremy Hunt replies: 'We have not announced a decision, we have announced that we are considering doing this, as we want to hear everyone's views. The UKFC spent £3m on back office administration last year and we want to ask how that money could be better used to support filmmakers."
15.10 So that was a very brief statement. Nothing new learned. Except asking about England's 2018 World Cup campaign is 'a very good question'.
15.08 Now on to the World Cup 2018. What!?!
15.08 'Every penny to be spent frontline services and not on back office bureaucracy'.
15.06 'A brief statement'. Says Jeremy Hunt. Finally. He does use the phrase 'considering the closure of the UK Film Council' as if to say there is still room for discussion.
14.58 Ben Bradshaw, shadow culture secretary is asking if the DCMS is lobbying for larger shares of the budget than other departments. Bradshaw notes there is no-one from the LibDem front bench in the Commons. Bradshaw, openly gay, is calling them the Brokeback Mountain Coalition.
14.55 Creative Partnerships (a brilliant scheme) being discussed in the Commons. May the axe not fall upon them. Vaizey at least acknowledges there lots of 'good initiatives on the ground'.
14.52: House of Commons questions continue. Lots of interesting questions on media ownership, the BBC and the Digital Economy Bill but not about today's announcements, presumably will come at the end after pre-submitted questions are asked. My connection keeps dropping as well, there must be a lot of people viewing it.
14.04: John Woodward, CEO of the UK Film Council has sent an email to industry colleagues which includes a timetable for closure:
"The Minister for Culture, Ed Vaizey, has said that the target is to have the organisation totally closed down with its assets and its remaining operations transferred out by April 2012. That does, at least, give us time to honour our current commitments and, as far as possible, to continue our funded support for film while the DCMS ensures an orderly transfer of remaining film functions to other Government departments and/or agencies. My one priority over the next few weeks will be to press the Government to confirm that the funding levels and core functions that are needed to underpin British film are locked-in.
"It’s important to stress that the Government has said it remains committed to both the current Film Tax Relief and to the principle of Lottery funding for film. To that end, our existing funded activities will continue to operate as normal while we work with the DCMS over the Summer to identify how they can guarantee both continuity and safe harbour for British film going forward.
"I completely understand that you will have lots of questions – but many of the answers will have to wait until the dust settles and the DCMS comes up with a new plan for film clearer in the months ahead. We will of course keep you abreast of further developments."
13.02 - UK Film Council statement. Responding to today’s announcement by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport of plans to abolish the UK Film Council as one of 16 quangos cut by the DCMS, Tim Bevan CBE, co-head of Working Title and Chairman of the UK Film Council, said:
“Abolishing the most successful film support organisation the UK has ever had is a bad decision, imposed without any consultation or evaluation. People will rightly look back on today’s announcement and say it was a big mistake, driven by short-term thinking and political expediency. British film, which is one of the UK’s more successful growth industries, deserves better.
“Our immediate priority now is to press the Government to confirm that the funding levels and core functions that are needed to underpin British film are locked-in, especially at a time when filmmakers and film companies need more support than ever as they make the challenging transition into the digital age. To that end, we will work with the DCMS over the summer to identify how they can guarantee both continuity and safe harbour for British film.”
Applications for Power to the Pixel's groundbreaking PIXEL MARKET will remain open for two more weeks. The innovative marketplace takes place on 13 & 14 October 2010 in London and will showcase 20 of the world’s best cross-media projects at Power to the Pixel’s Cross-Media Forum.
On 13 October up to 10 of the teams will compete for the £6,000 ARTE PIXEL PITCH PRIZE at Power to the Pixel’s public event, The Pixel Pitch at BFI Southbank. Producers will present their cross-media project to a handpicked roundtable of international judges made up of decision-makers, commissioning executives and financiers working in film, broadcast, publishing, online, advertising, gaming, the arts and interactive media.
On 14 OctoberThe Pixel Meetings will allow all 20 project teams to take part in one-to-one business meetings with potential investors and partners from across the tech, online, interactive, film, broadcast, arts, publishing and gaming industries.
Red Bull & Dave TV are looking for aspiring reporters to send to the Red Bull X-Fighter Jam event in Newcastle on the 24th July, and also the final at London's Battersea Park on 14th August.
There are 8 reporter positions available: 2 x Writers, 2 x Photographers, 2 x Filmmakers and 2 x Presenters
The reports produced by the chosen reporters for the regional Jams and the London main event will not only appear on redbullreporter.com but also on Dave’s website too.
The Red Bull editorial team will then pick the most creative reports from the Jams and the winning reporters will then be chosen to cover the main event in London, at Battersea Power Station!
On 14th July the remarkable British documentary Isolation will begin a limited theatrical run at Picturehouse Cinemas across the UK.
The film, which received a rapturous reception when it screened at last year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2009, deals with the scandalous statistic that a quarter of British ex-soldiers sleep rough after they return home. An impressionistic portrait of the emotional and physical aftermath of war, the film follows photographer and ex-soldier Stuart Griffiths as he travels across England uncovering the stories behind the military statistics. This bold documentary explores the personal demons and uncertain futures faced by soldiers leaving the army. Griffiths now photographs the 25% of British soldiers who find themselves on the streets after they leave active service.
Philips has launched an exciting global contest giving aspiring filmmakers the chance to have an original work judged by one of the world’s greatest film directors - Sir Ridley Scott, director of Hollywood blockbusters including Alien (1979), Blade Runner (1982) and Gladiator (2000).
The contest, called ’Tell It Your Way’, will also give one lucky winner the chance to gain a week’s work experience at Ridley Scott Associates (RSA) offices in Los Angeles, New York, London or Hong Kong.
The contest involves creating an original short film to accompany Philips’ ground-breaking Parallel Lines series of short films, directed by RSA talents, Greg Fay, Johnny Hardstaff, Carl Erik Rinsch, Jake Scott and Hi-Sim. The five short films, released on the Philips website are part of a cinematic project whereby each director created a film in a different genre, with a different storyline, but all following the same dialogue.
Make a video mash-up for Red Bull X-Fighters and win a trip to Rome!
Red Bull and Dave TV are calling on the UK’s aspiring editors and filmmakers to take Red Bull’s archive of X-Fighters footage, images and sounds to create a high-energy mash-up that gets the adrenaline pumping for the Red Bull X-Fighters event in London.
On 14th July the remarkable British documentary Isolation will begin a limited theatrical run at Picturehouse Cinemas across the UK.
