Industry News for New England

Festivals

CT-based filmmaker Bret Stern's "Road to Park City," a mockumentary about a newbie filmmaker whose mission is to get his film into Sundance, will open the Slamdance Festival (January 22-29) this year. Also screening at Slamdance are Richard Allen's films "Crash Pad" and "The One-Arm Bandit." Allen's City Pound Productions in RI is seeking a co-producer and funding for "A Drop in the Ocean," co-starring Blythe Danner. He hopes to begin filming early this summer. For more information, contact Allen at (401) 253-2937.

Several local films were selected to compete and screen at Sundance this year: Karyn Kusama's "Girlfight" and Tim Disney's "Blessed Art Thou," both in the Dramatic Competition; Susan Todd and Andrew Young's "Americanos: Latino Life in the United States" in the Documentary Competition; Andrew Mudge's "Chicken Pox Pal" in Shorts; and Zachary Stratis' "Could Be Worse!" in the noncompetitve American Spectrum category. Sundance runs from January 20-30. A complete listing of film selections and schedules is available at http://www.sundancechannel.com/festival00/. 

FableVision's animated short "The Blue Shoe" was selected to screen at the 2000 New York International Children's Film Festival. Based on an original story by FableVision's Peter Reynolds, "The Blue Shoe" is the story of the love between a blue shoe and a green boot. The animation will play February 5 and 6 at the NYU Cantor Film Center in New York City. A digital book version of the film can be seen at http://www.fablevision.com/place/library/SHOE. 


Now Playing

Angelica Allende Brisk's "Freshman Year on Beacon Hill" premieres on WGBH's "La Plaza" on January 8. The film follows state representative Jarrett Barrios through his first year as a newcomer in the Massachusetts State House. One of only three Latino state representatives, he is asked to act on behalf of his own Cambridge district as well as the interests of all Latinos in Massachusetts, in spite of his limited experience. Allende Brisk is a producer at WGBH and the former board president of Women in Film and Video/New England. For local show times, visit http://www.wgbh.org/wgbh/pages/laplaza/programs.html. 

The Boston Jewish Film Festival presents Laurel Greenberg's "94 Years and 1 Nursing Home Later" at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The Jamaica Plain filmmaker's documentary is part of the Boston Film Artists Series. Also showing in the series this month, "A Hero for Daisy." The BJFF teams up again with the MFA with screenings of "Aimee and Jaguar" and "The Volcano," as part of the New German Cinema Series. Tickets for all of the above are $6 for MFA and BJFF members, students, and seniors and $7 general admission. To order tickets, call the MFA Box Office at 617-369-3770, and to check show times, visit http://www.mfa.org/calendar/. 

Call for Submissions

Coolidge Corner's Coolidge Shorts program seeks local short films between 30 seconds and 16 minutes. Selected films will be shown before full-length features at the Coolidge Corner Theatre. Coolidge Shorts is made possible by a grant from the LEF Foundation. For further information about the program, contact David Nugent at 617-666-2918 or dwnugent19@yahoo.com. 

SUPERFEST XX, International Media Festival on Disabilities, seeks works about disability or by media makers with a disability. Winners will be screened in the San Francisco Bay area. For guidelines, fees, and entry and release forms, send a legal size SASE to Corporation on Disabilities and Telecommunication (CDT), P.O. Box 1107, Berkeley, CA 94701; phone at 510-845-5576; or email Superfest@aol.com. There is a discount for entries postmarked by January 15, and the final deadline is January 31.


Also in the News

Paul Cambell has stepped down as head of the Providence Film Commission. Eric Onlin is taking his place. To learn more about Providence Film Commission's latest projects, go to http://www.providenceri.com/film/frame.html. 
 
Bugeye Films, a new division of the two-and-a-half-year-old production company
Allied Artists, is coming out with two 80-minute Mini-DV format features. The first, currently in post-production, is the comedy "(I'm Living) A Charmed Life," in which three friends--gay, straight, and lesbian--all find love in a weekend. The second, the suspense thriller "Barghest," is the story of greed, two sisters, and a demon dog. Shooting begins at the end of the month. For more information, contact Betsy Carson at bugeye56@maine.rr.com. 

BuyIndies.com, an online community for buying and selling independent films, launches on January 15.  Created by the founders of NewEnglandFilm.com, BuyIndies.com will launch with approximately 50,000 titles and will enable indie filmmakers to sell their movies online.  See story in this month's issue: Online Indie Distribution and visit http://www.buyindies.com for more info.