American Cinema and the Global Market
Week 7 Readings and
Assignment
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and assignment for Week 7.
Reading 1 | Reading 2 | Assignment | TOP
INTRODUCTION:
Festivals are one of the places where distributors and exhibitors find new product. As such they are one of the means by which the global film biz gathers and exchanges information. Often the festival is associated with a market (especially Cannes International Festival du Film). Since exhibition in the festival is usually open only to films not currently in distribution, they offer the primary means by which new and/or independent film makers can break in. There are at least 550 festivals annually, or about 10 per week, on average. I have put together info from sources in Variety and elsewhere to present those festivals from September 99 to January 2000.
Reading 1 | Reading 2 | Assignment | TOP
Reading 1 | Reading 2 | Assignment | TOP
Reading 1: Excerpts from VARIETY guide
to Festivals
This inaugural edition of
Variety’s new annual Film Fest Guide arrives at a particularly exciting if
uncertain moment for international film festivals.
Relied upon more and
more for the delivery of cutting-edge talents and masterworks of the major
filmmakers, fests around the world are in a fierce competition for high-profile
films. At the same time, filmmakers are depending upon the kindness of fest
programmers to build critical and popular buzz and fests are serving as an
alternative theatrical system.
That may be good for
cachet, but the economics of fests, both for the organizers and the filmmaking
community, keeps the pocketbook upside an ephemeral goal.
How do the fests survive
and proliferate? Close your eyes and imagine the excitement of Venice,
Deauville, Toronto, Cannes, Karlovy Vary, San Sebastian and the rest. Peek into
our Fest Diversions guide, glance at the astounding lineup of filmmaking talent
on display in all corners of the globe. Bottom line: Forget the bottom line and
celebrate global culture, filmic and otherwise.
There's
an event for everyone
By Lisa D.
Horowitz
Film festivals are a growth industry. Our listings this year encompass more
than 550 film and television festivals and markets.
There are fests that
specialize and fests that generalize. There are fests showing every kind of
film, from studio product to the most independent, low-budget, festival reject;
from silent classics to futuristic sci-fi; from international fare to regional
works. Producers of TV fare will find outlets for showing and selling their
productions. Makers of digital multimedia will find showcases for their work as
well.
And we guarantee there’s
a festival near you. From the Antarctic Film Festival (“for filmmakers left out
in the cold”), which found attendance wasn’t as good as hoped on the icy
continent and plans to hold its second edition in sunny Santa Monica, to
Kathmandu to San Francisco to Rio de Janeiro, festivals are popping up all over
the globe. There’s even the Floating Film Festival, which takes place on a
cruise ship wending its way through the Panama Canal.
Scattered throughout the
listings are profiles of a dozen festivals around the globe: Telluride, Mill
Valley, Fort Lauderdale, Hof Film Days, Amiens, Palm Springs, Gothenburg,
Seattle, Sydney, Art Film, Karlovy Vary and Montreal. Perhaps lesser known than
some, these events have their own particular charms and quirks.
Providing an opportunity
for filmmakers to mingle with their audience and for cinephiles to see movies
that will never be shown anywhere else, spotlighting new trends and new talent,
festivals are the life’s blood of the industry. Enjoy.
September | October | November | December | Reading 2 | Assignment | TOP
September
Venice Intl. Film
Festival (56th)
Ca Giustinian
San Marco 1364A
Venice 30124, Italy
Phone: (39-041) 521-8878
Fax: (39-041) 522-7639
Director: Alberto Barbera
Programmer: Silvia Menegazzi
Location: Venice, Italy
Competitive.
Deadline: June 30
Dates: Sept. 1-11
Noosa Intl. Film
Festival (1st)
218 Crown St., Suite 1
East Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia
Phone: (612) 9360-5384
Fax: (612) 9360-7893
E-mail: noosafilmfest@ozemail.com.au
Web site: www.noosafilmfestival.com
Director/contact: Luke Davis
Location: Noosa, Queensland, Australia
International competitive fest screening features, shorts and docus.
Deadline: July 1
Dates: Sept. 2-8
Figueira da Foz
(28th)
Apartado dos Correios 50407
1709 Lisboa Codex, Portugal
Phone: (351-1) 812-6231
Fax: (351-1) 812-6228
Director: Jose Viera Marques
Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Aims at discovering new talents as well as unknowns. Attached independent film
market, MICI. Competitive.
Deadline: July 15
Dates: Sept. 2-12
Intl. Festival of
Fantastic Films (10th)
33 Barrington Road
Altrincham, Cheshire, WA14 1HZ, U.K.
Phone: (44-161) 929-1423
Fax: (44-161) 929-1067
E-mail: glaneyoung@compuserve.com.uk
Director/contact: Gil Lane-Young
Programmer: Harry Nadler
Location: Manchester, England
Fantasy, sci-fi, horror. Competitive sections for independent and amateur films
of both feature and short length. Also special guests, classics in 3-D,
retrospectives. Held in Manchester.
Deadline: July 25
Dates: Sept. 3-5
1 Reel Film
Festival (4th)
1725 Westlake Ave. N., Suite 202
Seattle, WA 98109
Phone: (206) 281-7788
Fax: (206) 281-7799
E-mail: filmfest@onereel.org
Web site: www.onereel.org
Directors/programmers: Anne Rosellini, Cory Wynne
Location: Seattle, Wash.
Showcase of short cinema, under the umbrella of one of the largest cultural
arts festivals in North America. Competitive.
Deadline: May 10
Dates: Sept. 3-6
Telluride Film
Festival (26th)
53 S. Main St., Suite 212
Hanover, NH 03755
Phone: (603) 643-1255
Fax: (603) 643-5938
E-mail: Tellufilm@aol.com
Web site: www.telluridefilmfestival.com
Directors/programmers: Bill Pence, Tom Luddy
Location: Telluride, Colo.
Features and shorts of all styles and lengths are eligible for consideration,
provided they are new works and remain unseen by the public before the
festival. Also retrospectives and three major tributes to guest artists. This
year’s guest director is Peter Sellars.
Deadline: July 15
Dates: Sept. 3-6
Deauville
Festival of American Films (25th)
40 rue Anatole France
92594 Levallois-Perret Cedex, France
Phone: (33-1) 4134-2033
Fax: (33-1) 4134-2077
E-mail: jlasserre@le-public-systeme.fr
Web site: www.festival-deauville.com
Directors: Lionel Chouchan, Andre Halimi
Programmer: Bruno Barde
Location: Deauville, France
U.S.-produced features, shorts, docus, 35mm only. Competitive for indie
features and shorts. FIAPF-recognized.
Deadline: Aug. 6
Dates: Sept. 3-12
Zimbabwe Intl.
Film Festival (2nd)
P.O. Box A4
Avondale, Harare, Zimbabwe
Phone: (263-4) 794-355
Fax: (263-4) 707-852
E-mail: djawitz@usa.net
Web site: www.zimbabwe.net/ziff
Directors: Dan Jawitz, Nigel Munyati
Programmer/contact: Dan Jawitz
Location: Harare, Zimbabwe
Competitive for feature films.
Deadline: July 20
Dates: Sept. 3-16
Latin American
Film Festival (10th)
79 Wardour St.
London W1V 3TH, U.K.
Phone: (44-171) 734-8508
Fax: (44-171) 287-2112
Web site: www.metrocinema.co.uk
Director/programmer: Eva Tarr Kirkhope
Location: London
Lineup of contemporary feature films, shorts and documentaries from Latin
America. This year features sections on Mexico, Brazil and Cuba, plus
10th-anniversary look back at the best films of the decade. Noncompetitive.
Deadline: July 2
Dates: Sept. 3-16
MadCat Women’s
Intl. Film Festival (3rd)
937 Fell St.
San Francisco, CA 94117
Phone: (415) 436-9523
Fax: (415) 934-0642
E-mail: alionbear@earthlink.net
Director/programmer: Ariella Ben-Dov
Location: San Francisco
International films made by women, all genres. Noncompetitive.
Deadline: June 1 (early); July 24 (late)
Dates: Sept. 7, 14, 21, 28
Bar Harbor Film
Festival (1st)
93 Cottage St.
P.O. Box 550
Bar Harbor, ME 04609
Phone: (207) 288-3686
Fax: (207) 288-5723
E-mail: bhff@acadia.net
Web site: www.barharborfilmfest.com
Director/contact: Andrea Sponberg
Location: Bar Harbor, Maine
Juried selection of shorts, features and documentaries. Workshops, panel
discussions, seminars. Deadline: July 1
Dates: Sept. 7-12
Tacoma Tortured
Artists Film Festival (4th)
P.O. Box 1817
Tacoma, WA 98401
Phone: (888) 202-5827
Fax: (253) 627-1525
E-mail: TacomaFilm@aol.com
Web site: www.clubseven.com
Director: James Hume
Programmer: Kristen Revis
Location: Tacoma, Wash.
Independent film and video of all formats, lengths and genres. Competitive.
Deadline: July 31
Dates: Sept. 7-12
Oldenburg Intl.
Film Festival (6th)
Bahnhofstrasse 15
26122 Oldenburg, Germany
Phone: (49-441) 925-0855
Fax: (49-441) 925-0856
E-mail: tnt@filmfest-oldenburg-de
Web site: www.filmfest-oldenburg-de
Director/programmer: Torsten Neumann
Location: Oldenburg, Germany
Independent film from around the world. Noncompetitive.
Deadline: June 30
Dates: Sept. 8-12
Athens Intl. Film
Festival — Opening Nights (5th)
Athens Film Society
5 Benaki St.
15235 Metamorphosi Halandri
Athens, Greece
Phone: (30-1) 606-1413
Fax: (30-1) 601-4137
E-mail: festival@pegasus.gr
Web site: www.pegasus.gr.sinema/festival
Programmer: George Krassakopoulos
Contact: Konstantinos Kontovrakis
Location: Athens
Showcase for American indies as well as shorts, docus and a panorama of world
cinema. Noncom-petitive.
Deadline: July 15
Dates: Sept. 8-16
St. Louis Intl.
Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (8th)
PMB #388
6614 Clayton Road
St. Louis, MO 63117-1602
Phone: (314) 997-9846
Fax: (314) 863-6993
E-mail: slilagff@aol.com
Web site: www.slilagfilmfestival.org
Director/contact: Linda Serafini
Programmers: Linda Serafini, Bill Young
Location: St. Louis, Mo.
Noncompetitive fest showcasing international independent films of interest to
the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and straight-allied community.
Deadline: June 25
Dates: Sept. 8-16
RESFEST Digital
Film Festival (3rd)
109 Minna St., Suite 390
San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: (415) 437-2686
Fax: (415) 437-2687
E-mail: resfest@resfest.com
Web site: www.resfest.com
Director: Jonathan Wells
Location: San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles
Spotlights the future of filmmaking with screenings, panels, tech
demonstrations. Short films plus a few digital features.
Deadline: June 5 (early); July 5 (late)
Dates: Sept. 9-11 (SF), Sept. 17-19 (Chi), Oct. 21-23 (N.Y.), Nov. 10-14
(L.A.)
Toronto Intl.
Film Festival (24th)
2 Carlton St., Suite 1600
Toronto, Ontario, M5B 1J3, Canada
Phone: (416) 967-7371
Fax: (416) 967-9477
E-mail: tiffg@torfilmfest.ca
Web site: www.bell.ca/filmfest
Director: Piers Handling
Programmers: Piers Handling, Michele Maheux, Noah Cowan, Kay Armatage,
Dimitri Epides, Ramiro Puerta, June Giovanni, Steve Gravestock, Colin Geddes,
Liz Czach, Helen du Toit
Contact: Nuria Bronfman
Location: Toronto
A celebration of cinema featuring hundreds of films and filmmakers from Canada
and abroad. Non-competitive. FIAPF-recognized.
Deadline: May 7 (Canadian shorts); May 14 (Canadian features); June 25
(intl. features)
Dates: Sept. 9-18
Intl. Widescreen
Festival — Le Nombre d’Or (5th)
Intl. Broadcasting Convention
Aldwych House
81 Aldwych
London, WC2B 4EL, U.K.
Phone: <