Animation, Art, & VR at Animation Nights New York Best of Fest

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Wednesday, 13 September 2017 17:31

Written by Renzo Adler

Combining animation, art installations, virtual reality, professional panels, and industry events, the Animation Nights New York Best of Fest (September 29 - 30, 2017) at 180 Maiden Lane in NYC have something for industry pros and people that want to learn more about animation alike.

At the center of the festival is the ANNY Best of Fest Winners, a screening of 20 animated short films in a wide array of styles, selected by a panel of judges.

For those of you looking for something more immersive, the Virtual Reality Animation showcase on the 29th Floor Showroom at 180 Maiden Lane takes place in a 26,000 sq foot space with 360-degree views from 500 feet above Manhattan with VR experiences from Within, Penrose Studios, Jakob Steensen, Pirahna / Hey Mister!, Midas Touch, Artella / Sketchfab, Third Wish Media, High Fidelity, NYU MAGNET, and more.

There will also be a series of panel presentations featuring industry participants scheduled include Kickstarter, ASIFA East, Penrose Studios, The Mill, Sesame Studios, Artella, SketchFab, SVA, VR Voice, Children’s Media Association, Tommy Stathes, John Dilworth, Stash Media, Max Rothman, Augenblick Studios, Abelana, High Fidelity, and Framestore.

To learn more, go to: http://www.annybestoffest.com

Animation Nights New York Best of Fest

September 29 - 30, 2017

180 Maiden Lane
New York, NY 10038

Independent Filmmaker Project Week Announces Massive Slate of Films

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Tuesday, 05 September 2017 19:30

Written by Brad Balfour

The IFP (Independent Filmmaker Project) announced its 2017 IFP Week feature film slate in their latest press release. The festival features over 110 narrative and documentary projects in development from over 15 countries. This follows the earlier announcement of 37 television, digital and web series in development that have also been selected for the annual event. Combined, over 145 projects will be presented in DUMBO, Brooklyn September 17-21, 2017 (final venue TBA).

Under the curatorial leadership of Amy Dotson (Deputy Director/Head of Programming, IFP) and Milton Tabbot (Senior Director of Programming, IFP), the slate showcases original and provocative work, across a broad range of budgets, genres, sensibilities and platforms. Selections ranges from highly commercial indie fare to as well as work that tackles controversial subject matter, introduces wildly engaging and often hilarious worldviews, and challenges traditional form. Selected directors and producers will attend IFP Project Forum during IFP Week, the only International Co-Production Market in the U.S. featuring stories for all platforms.

 IFP has played a vital role in launching the first and second features of now-established directors including Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine), Robert Eggers (The Witch), Ciro Guerrra (Embrace of the Serpent), David Lowery (A Ghost Story), Laura Poitras (CitizenFour), Dee Rees (Mudbound), Denis Villeneuve (Arrival), Roger Ross Williams (Life, Animated), and Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild).

“This year’s feature film program doesn’t shy away from tackling the controversial and key issues of our time. Art often reflects the times we live in, and this slate certainly represents a multitude of points of view and perspectives on America today,” says IFP Executive Director Joana Vicente. “Through the lens of race, religious expression, disability, female empowerment, immigration, truth, political correctness, radical inclusion and disenfranchisement, our artists pull no punches sharing their stories, demanding attention for the visions they share. ”

Highlighted projects include:

• The directorial debuts of singular actors Franke Potente (Run, Lola, Run), Clea DuVall (Better Call Saul), Colman Domingo (The Scottsboro Boys) as well as a new feature project produced by Elisabeth Moss (Handmaid’s Tale).

• Second features from Tahir Jetter (How to Tell You’re a Douchebag), Adam Pinney (The Arbalest), Clay Liford (Slash), and Meera Menon (Equity).

• New talent supported by established producers include Jason Michael Berman (The Birth of a Nation), Marttise Hill & Julius Pryor (Cronies), James M. Johnston (A Ghost Story), Amy Lo (If Not Love), Seith Mann (The Breaks), Billy Mulligan (Yelling to the Sky), Sev Ohanian (Fruitvale Station), Pacho Velez (Manakamana), and Shin Yamaguchi (Enter The Void).

• International features in development from over 15 countries include new work from producers Eilon Razkovsky (Zero Motivation), Cristina Gallego (Embrace of the Serpent), Gaston Pavlovich (Silence), Alice Braga (City of Gods) Luc Dery & Kim McCraw (Incendies), Sylvain Corbell (It’s Only The End of the World), Martin Katz (Cosmopolis), and Ryan Zacarias (Mediterranea).

To learn more, go to: http://www.ifp.org/programs/independent-film-week/

IFP Filmmaker Week
September 17 - 21, 2017

DUMBO
Brooklyn, NY

Rooftop Films 2017: Cinema & Skylines

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Thursday, 29 June 2017 15:32

Written by Brad Balfour

Encompassing shorts, documentaries, features, animation, foreign directors, and home-grown heroes, the Rooftop Films series features daring films set against New York’s skyline. Running through August 19, multiple venues in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Long Island City play host to the film series, with each venue providing a unique backdrop and personality to the fest.

Films include:

• The Challenge (Yuri Ancarani)
  On the roof of The Old American Can Factory. 232 Third St. Brooklyn
  If you have it, spend it: Italian artist Yuri Ancarani’s visually striking documentary enters the surreal world of wealthy Qatari sheikhs who moonlight as amateur falconers, with no expenses spared along the way. The Challenge follows these men through the rituals that define their lives: perilously racing blacked-out SUVs up and down sand dunes; sharing communal meals; taking their Ferraris out for a spin with their pet cheetahs riding shotgun; and much more. Ancarani’s film is a sly meditation on the collective pursuit of idiosyncratic desires.

• Brigsby Bear (Dave McCary)
  On the roof of New Design High School. 350 Grand St. Manhattan
  After 25 years of secluded existence with his protective parents in their isolated, off-the-grid home, James (Kyle Mooney) is tossed out into a new life in relatively daunting Cedar Hills, Utah. As his world upends, the most shocking revelation to James is that he’s the only person who has ever watched his favorite television program, Brigsby Bear Adventures. Struggling to adjust to the show’s abrupt end, he begins to see Brigsby’s lessons as his only way to make sense of a big, scary new world, and James decides to make a movie to end Brigsby’s story—and re-begin his own.

• The Incredible Jessica James (Jim Strouse)
  On the roof of The William Vale. 111 N 12th St. Brooklyn
  Jessica Williams (“The Daily Show”) stars as a young, aspiring playwright in New York City who is struggling to get over a recent breakup. She is forced to go on a date with the recently divorced Boone, played by Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids) and the unlikely duo discover how to make it through the tough times in a social media obsessed post-relationship universe. Lakeith Stanfield (FX’s “Atlanta”, Straight Outta Compton) and Noël Wells (Netflix’s “Master of None”) co-star. The film was written and directed by Jim Strouse and produced by Michael B. Clark and Alex Turtletaub of Beachside. Jessica Williams and Kerri Hundley serve as executive producers.

• Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George’s Creators (Ema Ryan Yamazaki)
  On the roof of the JCC in Manhattan. 334 Amsterdam Ave. Manhattan
  Featuring a narrow escape from the Nazis on makeshift bicycles, Monkey Business explores the extraordinary lives of Hans and Margret Rey, the authors of the beloved Curious George children’s books.
  New York Premiere.

• Trapped: Uncanny Short Films
  In the courtyard of Industry City. 274 36 St. Brooklyn
  Join us for a program of stories most unusual: the meeting of a spaceman and a cave man; an encounter with an alien phenomenon via public access television; and the imagined experiences of the forgotten subject of a famous photograph. These amusing and disquieting short films offer mix-tape portraits, analytic tragicomedies of infinite human desire and potentially-killer workplace procedurals. Experience startling cinematic spectacles you won’t soon forget.

And many more films!

To learn more, go to: http://www.rooftopfilms.com/

Rooftop Films
Through August 19

Various Venues