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News stories from Jan 2006 to 2012..

  • 03 June 2006
    Sales

Global Audience To Glimpse Red Road

  The low-budget Scots movie that scooped a prestigious award at Cannes last week is set to be seen by film fans all over the world after it was bought up by a raft of international distributors at the French festival. Red Road, made by the Glasgow production company, Sigma Films, won the Jury Prize at Cannes last Sunday. It was also nominated for the festival's top award, the Palme D'Or.   The £1.2 million film is due to be released i…
28 March 2006
  Kodaks 15th Short Film Showcase will take place at BAFTA London in June 2006. An esteemed panel of industry judges will select eight short films to be screened to a voting audience. In-kind support has grown to an estimated £50,000 thanks to huge industry sponsorship from Technicol…
25 May 2009
A new button at the end of our menu bar is for the increasing number of events mentioned here and in the forum. Click events above and you can see a listing of events (one at the mo!), and if you're logged in you can add one, because, like everything round here, it's user generated. So dive in, pre…
11 October 2008
The Festival is now accepting submissions its next edition which will take place at the end of April 2009. The Cambridge International Super 8 Film Festival, a unique short film festival, is looking for innovative and exciting films (shot on Super 8 or Single 8) from across the globe of…

  • 01 November 2006
    Festivals

20th Leeds International Film Festival gets underway

A quartet of premieres Thursday night kicked off the 20th Leeds International Film Festival Venus from Notting Hill's Roger Michell with a Hanif Kureshi script stood face to face with Penny Woolcock's collaboration with the brains behind Shameless, Mischief Night. Meanwhile, the meditiative Into Great Silence explored the world of a Carthusian Order of monks in a French Alps monastery, at the opposite end of the audio spectrum to the documentary Loudquietload…
11 June 2008
From Raindance:  The original pioneer of independent filmmaking in the UK, Raindance courses have inspired a whole generation of filmmakers including Christopher Nolan, Guy Ritchie and Matthew Vaughan. Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight is one of the most anticipated…
05 October 2006
We've said no to lots of people who want to make it into a cool, big commercial film... The ever wonderful BoingBoing is reporting on an RU Sirius interview with Neil Gaiman earlier this week where the author of Mirrormask and the forthcoming Matthew Vaughan helmed Stardust, talked abo…
13 July 2010
article submitted by Philips Cinema publicist 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 Run…

  • 19 May 2006
    Production

Sir Walter Rallies To Help Superstar Cate

  Movie star Cate Blanchett looks simply stunning as Queen Elizabeth, as she re-enacted the famous scene from history when Sir Walter Raleigh - played by Clive Owen - lays down his cloak over a puddle.   The scene was being shot this week at St John's College, one of Cambridge University's most beautiful colleges, which is providing the stunning backdrop for the new all-star film about the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, a sequel to the 1998 prod…
20 January 2006
Scotland's screen agency has come out in support of a proposal that will see it become part of a much larger creative arts agency, Creative Scotland, while its unique screen archive, including of some of the earliest films made in Britain, will transfer to Scotland's National Library.  The scr…
18 March 2007
Hull Film, organisers of the excellent Hull International Short Film Festival, is poised to evolve over the coming months with the appointment of a new Director. Laurence Boyce, longtime Netribution friend and author of the excellent Special Edition, who has been involved with Hull Film since it&…
20 December 2010
After the sold-out premier workshop in London, Sheffield Doc/Fest and the Scottish Documentary Institute are bringing Seize the Future to Edinburgh. Sheffield Doc/Fest is now inviting applications for this special 2 -day Master Workshop on Wednesday 23rd and Thursday 24th March 2011. This course…

  • 16 May 2006
    Internet

Internet TV Leaping Up the Ratings

  The number of viewers watching TV piped into homes over the internet - known as IPTV - is increasing... and more and more broadcasters are looking to offer their content this way.   Research just out shows the number of people downloading television content or watching it live online is growing rapidly in the UK. Findings from Continental Research show, 5.4 per cent of the UK population have watched IPTV. In total, 3.6 per cent have watched streamed l…
04 November 2009
From South West Screen's Chris Moll; South West Screen and BBC Films have launched iFeatures, a new digital film initiative, open to writers, directors and producers from across the UK. Headed up by Chris Moll who was behind last year's Digital Departures scheme ('Of Time and The City', 'Kicks' a…
31 May 2006
Future Films Australia has launched a new film investment fund designed  to appeal to savvy investors who want to invest in film through a structured vehicle instead of as a one-off speculative investment.   Future Films Australia founding directors Sam Gullotta and Jas Sekhon have&…
01 November 2010
THE MOËT BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM AWARDS ANNOUNCE NOMINATIONS AND JURY FOR 13th EDITION The nominations and jury members for the thirteenth annual Moët British Independent Film Awards were announced today, Monday 1st November at St Martins Lane, London by Jared Harris. The Film…

  • 25 September 2006
    Finance

DFG and Channel Five Films call for entries

There is a month left to get applications in to the FiveNews / Documentary Film Group Five Films competition. The new talent initative, now in its second run, sets out to produce five three-minute topical documentaries using the medium in 'an innovative way'. The application deadline is October 26th, with shortlisted applicants invited to pitch to a panel at the Sheffield DocFest on November 2nd. The films will be broadcast after Five News in December 2006…
13 November 2009
From Naomi Li @ Jameson Empire Awards: Edgar Wright, director of Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead, has been announced as a judge of the Done In 60 Seconds short film competition. As the name suggests, film fans are invited to re-create a popular movie in 60 seconds for their chance to attend and…
09 November 2008
A contest by Alfonso 'Children of Men' Cuarón to accompany his son Jonás' debut feature Año Uña (pictured) has had its entry date extended to November 19.  The competition is inspired by Año Uña’s unique format made entirely from photographic…
19 February 2006
Bollywood and the Roman Catholic Church in India have jointly produced a commercial film highlighting the problem of Aids. The controversial film-maker Mahesh Bhatt, whose films are known for steamy, bold scenes, has helped with the production. The low budget film, Why Does This Happen? cost nearl…

  • 19 January 2007
    Bollywood

Chancellor Brown Visits Yashraj Bollywood Studio

  Gordon Brown has been welcomed in Mumbai, India, at one of Bollywood's film studios. At Yashraj Films, Britain's prime minister in waiting was warmly welcomed by Yash Chopra and his wife. Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukerji and Karan Johar also welcomed the Chancellor. The visitor toured the studio's state-of-the-art facilities, including a recording studio and in the preview theatre watched the blockbuster song "Kajira Re." Yash Chopra and…
09 September 2008
The London Film Festival's programme was announced by the BFI's Artistic Director, Sandra Hebron, at the press launch today. Ron Howard's Frost/Nixon, with Michael Sheen and Frank Langella (pictured) in the starring roles, will be premiering in the opening night slot on 15th October. Danny Boyle…
19 August 2011
from Berserk Films UK short film, SAILCLOTH by Elfar Adalsteins and starring John Hurt has been awarded the highest accolade at the 15th Annual Rhode Island International Film Festival - the Grand Jury Prize for Best Short. As a result of winning at Rhode Island the film automatically qualifies fo…
30 September 2006
  Oscar-winning documentarian Kevin Macdonald (One Day in September) hadn't been harbouring a strong desire to do a dramatic film. "The pleasure of documentaries are in the spontaneity," he says. But after working with actors in his last film, the documentary re-enactme…

  • 12 May 2006
    Copyrights

Major Copyright Overhaul Long Overdue

  Copyright laws governing the UK’s creative industries are outdated and need to be radically overhauled to fit in with today’s modern and digital society, says the National Consumer Council. The NCC declaration is targeted at the former editor of The Financial Times, Andrew Gowers, who is currently reviewing the UK’s intellectual property framework.   Gowers has been told by the Council that although other areas of Intellectual Proper…
09 June 2007
Some 12,000 fans were at the Hallam FM Arena, with more at BBC big screens in Leeds, Bradford and Rotherham, to witness the stars arrive at the annual Indian film awards. The event is held in a different location around the world each year to increase the profile of Bollywood film. S…
19 May 2006
    British film-maker Ken Loach will make his next film with FilmFour. Loach will direct the contemporary story With the provisional title  These Times> the film is set in Britain which reignites the leftwing director's longstanding links with FilmFour.  …
27 March 2006
Pinewood Shepperton, the studios group chaired by BBC chairman Michael Grade, has reported a near 60% fall in operating profits, reflecting the decision by many Hollywood studios to desert the UK because of uncertainties over tax breaks. Profits fell from £11.4m in 2004 to just £3.7m fo…

  • 22 June 2009
    Community projects

Bollocks To Poverty offering the job of a lifetime....

This in from Emma Carter about the latest project from our pals at Good Pilot, Chris Aldhous and Pete Hodgson, who we previously worked with on the HyPe Gallery, and who ditched the big corporate ad world soon after to focus on projects they believed in, including this provocatively-titled youth campaign for Action Aid. Bollocks To Poverty, the youth arm of international charity Action Aid, are looking to recruit a 'Tour Ambassador'. It's a once of a lifetime opportunity fo…
30 June 2006
  Oscar winning actress  Charlize Theron has convinced legendary British director Alan Parker to helm her pet project, 'Ice At The Bottom Of The World'. The South African born actress is set to star in and produce the project for which she acquired film rights a decade ago…
17 August 2006
  European Film Funding Opportunities to be Explored Ten UK producers are headed for the first ever Nordic Co-production Forum, to be held in Haugesund from 21-22 August as part of the Norwegian International Film Festival. Chosen from almost 50 applications, the producers will meet…
11 May 2006
Ruth Pitt, a key architect behind the BBC’s move to increase production outside London has quit the corporation, saying she has become frustrated by “resistance” to the plans. The creative director for the BBC's “Out of London” development, Pitt is reported to ha…

  • 23 April 2006
    Film industry

Alida Valli Star of The Third Man Has Died

  Alida Valli, one of Italy's most famous movie actresses, who starred in The Third Man and The Paradine Case, has died aged 84. Valli, also known by her family name of Alida Altenburger, died at home in Rome.   She rose to fame in Italy in the late 1930s and 1940s with a string of romantic films that endeared her to her war-weary compatriots and earned her the soubriquet "Italy's girlfriend".   Valli's beauty and un…
30 August 2006
  Young Film Critics and Journalists - Call for Applications FIPRESCI - The Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique is looking for film critics and journalists under 30 years of age who would like to go to Berlin to report on the 57th Berlin In…
14 August 2006
  Hope That Film's Debts May Be Paid   The Flying Scotsman film, detailing the troubles and triumphs of Scots cycling champion Graeme Obree, opened the Edinburgh International Film Festival last night, after union leaders cancelled a planned boycott. Broadcasting…
17 September 2006
Back on March 27th 1994, when Schindlers List won seven Academy Awards, it seemed that the film - giving an entire generation a glimpse of the full scale and horror of the holocaust - would help ensure such genocide would never happen again. Yet over the next three months, while the world and…

  • 23 April 2008
    Contests

The Inaugural Edinburgh 48 Hour Film Project

  From Sam Goldblatt of the 48 Hour Film Project:  The 48 Hour Film Project (48HFP) will tour to Edinburgh for the first time ever in 2008.  Over the May 16-18 weekend, Filmmakers from all across Scotland will compete to write, shoot and edit a short film in just 48 hours.  All films will be screened at The Cameo on May 20 and 21. The 48HFP is the world's oldest and largest timed-film competition and takes place…
27 March 2006
Reuters News Agency is now reporting that Chinese police have detained Chinese-born film maker Hao Wu,a permanent U.S. resident, a family member said on Monday, weeks before President Hu Jintao visits the United States and one week after Netribution broke the news. Hao Wu, who returned to Ch…
19 May 2011
Submitted by Studio Beyond CEO Like many successful businesses, Studio Beyond was created to solve a problem. In Hollywood, there are often significant barriers for film makers who often find themselves unable to tap into Hollywood resources. Since Hollywood is a giant business oriented towards m…
30 October 2006
As the first UN sponsored World Internet Governance Forum gets under way, Amnesty International is calling for greater awareness of countries with censorship and freedom of speech violations. The forum aims to provide global discussion between the multitude of potentially conflicting interests on…