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Film Festivals
Worldwide Short Film Festival
- Details
- Parent Category: Film Festivals
- Category: Previews
- Published on Saturday, 28 May 2011 05:00
- Written by L E Shannon
The 17th annual CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival runs May 31 - June 5, 2011 at the Canada Film Centre in Toronto, Canada.
Presented by TELUS, North America’s largest short film festival showcases the best short films from Canada and around the world, with an unparalleled line-up of contemporary short films in 33 programs specially selected from a record-breaking 4,200 submissions.
"This year the WSFF has really come into its own," says Festival Director Eileen Arandiga. "Short films have never been more popular. The record number of submissions received is clearly a testament to the growing popularity and importance of short film. This is a very exciting time for shorts, and we have never seen so many recognizable faces both in front of and behind the camera."
Directors with shorts screening include:
- Spike Jonze
- Michel Gondry
- Neil LaBute
- Taika Waititi
- Sima Urale
- Jonathan Caouette
- Harmony Korine
- and the directorial debut of Rachel Weisz
Starring in shorts are:
- Colin Firth
- Anthony Hopkins
- Imelda Staunton
- Tom Hardy
- Chloë Sevigny
- Scott Thompson
- Jeremy Irons
- Max von Sydow
- Steve Coogan
- Joseph Fiennes
- Ian McKellan
- John Slattery
- Gerard Depardieu
- Rosemary DeWitt
- Selma Blair
- Jeremy Davies
- Julia Stiles
- Debra Winger
- Keira Knightley
Opening Gala: Award-Winning Shorts from Around the World – Hailing straight from some of the film world's most competitive forums, The Festival Opening Gala offers a selection of the most celebrated films from Canada and across the globe.
Official Selection – The competitive programming debuts the films that become the world‛s most critically acclaimed short films. The 12 programs of selected shorts are a diverse blend of 95 engaging live action, animation, documentary and experimental films from Canada and 25 countries across the globe. Some of them are:
Shorts for Shorties – Visit the CN Tower’s theatre and watch some of the best short films for kids. These two colorful collections of animated tales from far and wide will entertain both the young and young-at-heart.
After the screening, kids can participate in the NFB Mediatheque’s hands-on 3-D animation workshops. Experienced NFB workshop facilitators will introduce children aged 3-13 to stop motion animation, before helping them create their own original films.
Spotlight on Italy – Each year the Festival focuses on a region or country. This year the spotlight is on Italy, showcasing contemporary shorts in two programs.
Straight 8 – See what no-budget, guerilla filmmakers can do with only one cartridge of film. A 10-year "Best of" retrospective from the Straight 8 filmmaking challenge: one Super 8 cartridge, no editing.
Tel Aviv University Film School Spotlight – Each year, the WSFF highlights the work at an exceptional film school, giving local film students a chance to see what’s coming out of other academic institutions.
This year, the WSFF presents a spotlight on Tel Aviv University’s (TAU) Film School. Israel’s oldest and biggest film school has launched the careers of a generation of filmmakers and is internationally respected for the work it produces.
Laughter Without Borders – This fresh crop of comedy shorts from home and abroad is proof that comedy is truly a universal language.
Indie Comedy Showcase – "For Shorts & Giggles" brings the funny to both screen and stage with a sidesplitting showcase of comedians and comedic short films. The brightest, weirdest and wildest emerging comedians from Toronto, New York and L.A. gather for this red-hot combination of laugh inducing live performances and crazy-indie-cool comedy shorts.
CFC Short Dramatic Films – An eclectic crop of award-winning films created by CFC‛s Short Dramatic Film Program in 2010.
Scene Not Herd – A snapshot of the hottest and most creative music videos from around the world, this cinematic treasure chest of short film gems give music and sound a starring role.
Two Programs of Celebrity Shorts – Hollywood stars love short films: they’re a playground for trying out new characters as actors, or testing new roles behind the camera. This year, a record number of A-listers perform, write and direct in these two programs of star-studded short films.
Sci-Fi: Out There – This global array of animation and live action sci-fi shorts is always a great bet for fantastically imaginative works and a taste of sharp parody.
Trilogy of Trilogies: New Zealand’s Got Talent – This year’s trilogy program turns the spotlight on the many and varied talents of some of New Zealand’s most unique filmmaking voices: Taika Waititi, Jason Stutter and Sima Urale.
Slap ‘N’ Tickle and Introducing Slap ‘N’ Tickle: Hardgore – Two programs of titillating shorts: true stories, naughty animations, seductive dramas and saucy comedies.
Midnight Mania – The two midnight programs, "Freaky" and "Creepy," are a mélange of the most unsettling, eerie and flat-out frightening shorts the world has to offer laced with the occasional dose of comic relief.
Symposium 2011
Short Film Big Ideas is a four-day symposium on the art and commerce of short filmmaking, the largest short film marketplace in North America.
A variety of panels cover a diverse range of topics including:
- funding
- self packaging
- casting
- finding and working with an agent
- digital distribution
- music licensing
New this year is The Feedback Loop, where selected filmmakers can have their short film critiqued by industry professionals in front of a live audience with the aim of helping filmmakers to monetize their shorts.
For more information, go to worldwideshortfilmfest.com.
Worldwide Short Film Festival
May 31 - June 5, 2011
Canadian Film Centre
2489 Bayview Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
M2L 1A8 Canada
Seattle Intl Film Fest: "See Interesting Films First"
- Details
- Parent Category: Film Festivals
- Category: Previews
- Published on Tuesday, 17 May 2011 05:00
- Written by Lynne Shannon
The 37th annual Seattle International Film Festival 2011 (SIFF) is screening May 19 - 
June 12, 2011 at SIFF Cinema, SIFF Film Center, and several other venues around Seattle, as well as festival branches in Everett, Kirkland and Renton, in Washington State.
SIFF ("See Interesting Films First") is the largest and most highly attended film festival in the United States, showcasing more than 400 films from over 60 countries to an audience of 150,000 attendees annually.
Ireland on Film at MoMA
- Details
- Parent Category: Film Festivals
- Category: Previews
- Published on Tuesday, 17 May 2011 05:00
- Written by L E Shannon
The new film series, Revisiting The Quiet Man: Ireland on Film is screening May 20 – 
June 3, 2011 at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City.
Curated by renowned Irish actor Gabriel Byrne, this series explores representations of Irish identity in cinema. Byrne has selected films from and about Ireland that develop and amplify key themes -- an emigré's sense of "home," politics, the role of women, religion, and Irish identity -- providing a multifaceted view of America's complex cinematic relationship with the Irish.
The films are:
Dreaming The Quiet Man
Written and directed by Sé Merry Doyle (2010)
In this documentary, commentators and filmmakers, including Peter Bogdanovich, Martin Scorsese, Jim Sheridan and Maureen O'Hara, wrestle with the 50-year legacy of John Ford's signature Irish American film.
Sunday, May 22, 2011, 2:30 p.m.
The Quiet Man 
directed by John Ford (1952)
Screenplay by Frank Nugent, based on the short story by Maurice Walsh
Starring John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Barry Fitzgerald, Ward Bond, Victor McLaglen Ford’s romantic, rollicking vision of a pastoral Ireland follows an ex-boxer as he attempts to settle back into the land of his birth and marry the girl of his dreams -- if only the locals would let him.
Sunday, May 22, 2011, 5:30 p.m.
The Informer
Directed by John Ford (1935)
Screenplay by Dudley Nichols, based on the novel by Liam O’Flaherty
Starring Victor McLaglen, Heather Angel, Preston Foster, Margot Grahame, Wallace Ford, Una O’Connor, J. M. Kerrigan
In 1920, during the Irish War of Independence, an Irish rebel informs on his friend, and his growing sense of guilt leads to his undoing. Ford’s atmospheric film makes use of Dublin’s Abbey Theatre actors and shows the influence of German Expressionism from his time at Fox. The film eventually won four Academy Awards.
Monday, May 23, 2011, 4:30 p.m.
Thursday, June 2, 2011, 7:00 p.m.
This Other Eden
Directed by Muriel Box (1959)
Screenplay by Patrick Kirwan, Blanaid Irvine, based on the play by Louis D’Alton
With Audrey Dalton, Leslie Phillips, Niall MacGinnis
Bearing parallels to The Quiet Man, this film centers on a wealthy Englishman who settles in rural Ireland and falls for a local girl. The story differs in its comedic exploration of the romanticization of Ireland and the Irish by nationals and foreigners alike. Produced by Emmet Dalton, the film was one of three popular Abbey Theatre adaptations that kick-started Ireland's modern film industry through the establishment of Ardmore Studios.
Monday, May 23, 2011, 8:00 p.m.
Thursday, June 2, 2011, 4:00 p.m.
The Dead
Directed by John Huston (1987)
Screenplay by Tony Huston, based on the story by James Joyce
Starring Anjelica Huston, Donal McCann, Dan O’Herlihy, Donal Donnelly
Set in 1904, during the elderly Morkan sisters' annual Feast of the Epiphany dinner party, this subtle film perfectly captures the social atmosphere and emotional nuances of what Joyce called his "ghost story."
Wednesday, May 25, 2011, 4:30 p.m.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley
Directed by Ken Loach (2006)
Screenplay by Paul Laverty
Starring Cillian Murphy, Padraic Delaney, Liam Cunningham
In 1920s Ireland, two brothers join the fight against British rule during the Irish War of Independence. While the uprising is successful, the terms of surrender set them on opposite sides of the civil war that follows. Loach's class-conscious historical drama proved controversial in his native England, but it claimed the Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and was a box-office phenomenon in Ireland.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011, 8:00 p.m.
Friday, May 27, 2011, 4:30 p.m.
The Magdalene Sisters
Written and directed by Peter Mullan (2002)
Starring Geraldine McEwan, Anne-Marie Duff, Nora Jane Noone
Set during the 1960s while the "outside world" was swinging, behind the walls of a Magdalene laundry four young women labor to atone for their sins. Convincing performances and an unsentimental script make for gripping drama and a chilling portrait of the Catholic church's once unquestioned power. Winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
Thursday, May 26, 2011, 4:30 p.m.
Kisses
Written and directed by Lance Daly (2009)
Starring Kelly O’Neill, Shane Curry
A beguiling combination of realism and romance, this low-budget drama follows the picaresque adventures of a pair of young kids, Dylan and Kylie (played by nonprofessional actors), who run away from dysfunctional homes to spend the night on the streets of inner-city Dublin.
Thursday, May 26, 2011, 8:00 p.m.
Friday, June 3, 2011, 7:00 p.m.
The Butcher Boy
Directed by Neil Jordan (1997)
Screenplay by Jordan, Patrick McCabe, based on McCabe’s novel
Starring Stephen Rea, Fiona Shaw, Eamonn Owens
Jordan uses powerful visual language to articulate McCabe's demented "bog-Gothic" tale of psychotic childhood in a conservative Irish rural town. Set during the 1950s, against the backdrop of American popular culture and the Cold War, this caustic commentary on mid-century Ireland remains unmatched in ambition or blackly comic tone.
Friday, May 27, 2011, 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011, 4:00 p.m.
Darby O’Gill and the Little People
Directed by Robert Stevenson (1959)
Screenplay by Lawrence Watkin, based on the short stories of Hermione Templeton Kavanagh
Starring Janet Munro, Sean Connery, Albert Sharpe
Over a decade in development and featuring visual effects that hold their own even today, this Disney leprechaun classic remains endearing and engaging largely on the basis of its charming performances. Good evidence that for Connery, there was life before Bond.
Saturday, May 28, 2011, 2:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 29, 2011, 5:30 p.m.
In the Name of the Father 
Directed by Jim Sheridan (1993)
Screenplay by Sheridan, Terry George, based on the autobiography of Gerry Conlon
Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Emma Thompson, Pete Postlethwaite, John Lynch
A compelling miscarriage-of-justice drama featuring powerhouse performances, Sheridan's film eschews politics to explore the father-son relationship of Gerry and Giuseppe Conlon, who were wrongly convicted as part of the "Guilford Four" after a 1975 IRA bombing.
Saturday, May 28, 2011, 4:30 p.m. – Introduced by Jim Sheridan, post-screening conversation between Jim Sheridan and Gabriel Byrne
Monday, May 30, 2011, 8:00 p.m.
Hunger
Directed by Steve McQueen (2008)
Screenplay by Enda Walsh, McQueen
Starring Michael Fassbender, Liam Cunningham
Set in Northern Ireland's notorious Maze prison, the film uses an extended conversation between incarcerated Irish republican Bobby Sands and a Catholic priest to examine the motivations behind the 1981 hunger strikes undertaken by IRA prisoners seeking political status from the British government. An unflinching portrait of human defiance in the face of institutional power, Hunger reinvented Irish political cinema.
Saturday, May 28, 2011, 8:00 p.m. – Introduced by Enda Walsh, post-screening conversation between Enda Walsh and Gabriel Byrne
Monday, May 30, 2011, 4:30 p.m.
Into the West
Directed by Mike Newell (1993)
Screenplay by Jim Sheridan
Starring Gabriel Byrne, Colm Meaney, Ellen Barkin
An extraordinarily rich fable in which two young Irish boys leave Dublin to explore their country on a magical white horse.
Sunday, May 29, 2011, 2:30 p.m. – Introduced by Jim Sheridan, post-screening conversation between Jim Sheridan and Gabriel Byrne
Come On Over
Directed by Alfred E. Green (1922)
Screenplay by Rupert Hughes
Starring Colleen Moore, Ralph Graves, J. Farrell MacDonald, Kate Price
In this star-driven romantic tale, Moyna Killea is left behind in Ireland when her sweetheart emigrates to the U.S. When the narrative shifts from Ireland to New York, Irish eyes start smiling again, as she discovers that he has not forgotten their love.
Showing with:
The Lad from Old Ireland
Directed by Sidney Olcott (1910)
Come Back to Erin
Directed by Sidney Olcott (1914)
restored by MoMA with support from the Irish Film Institute.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011, 7:00 p.m. – Silent, with musical accompaniment by Ben Model, Ivan Goff
For more information, visit moma.org.
Revisiting The Quiet Man: Ireland on Film
May 20 - June 3, 2011
The Museum of Modern Art
11 W. 53rd Street
New York, NY
212-708-9400
Taiwan Films Now and Then
- Details
- Parent Category: Film Festivals
- Category: Previews
- Published on Thursday, 05 May 2011 05:00
- Written by L E Shannon
The cinema series Taiwan Stories: Classic & Contemporary Films from Taiw
an screens May 6 - 19, 2011 at Lincoln Center‛s Walter Reade Theater in Manhattan, New York, in celebration of the Centennial of the Republic of China.
"Taiwan is responsible for giving us some of the greatest directors in world cinema. This new series explores three generations of talent that have emerged from this small island nation, including must-see new discoveries."
