Industry News

A report of news & happenings in the local industry for April 2008. 

By Erin Trahan

Email news to news@newenglandfilm.com. 

This Month

Show your moves, midnight at the Coolidge.

Does the wrap of March Madness leave you craving midnight movie madness?  At the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline you can even sing along – to R. Kelly (April 4^th) or Michael Jackson (April 5^th).  Be ready for hidden props and strangers who know every word and every move, thanks to Thriller video postings on YouTube (and those unsettling dancing lizard ads). 

Perhaps you’ll be rolling into the midnight show after the 2-6 pm gathering of Peter Kelley’s Screenplay Lit for Actors, in Boston April 5-6.  (He also teaches a feature film actors’ lab April 26-27.)  “I want you to be able to recognize the characteristics of a strong screenplay, to see what makes it strong -- and to understand the role of the actor in work written for the screen, and how it differs from work written for the stage,” wrote Kelley in an email blast from CP Casting. 

The 48 Hour Film Project once again comes to Boston on April 4-6 where nearly 100 teams will be attempting to write, direct and edit a short film in one weekend.  All the films completed will screen at the Kendall Square Cinema in Cambridge, MA on April 8, 9, 10 and 15th.  For more see the Boston 48 Hour Film Project website.

Lots of locals are featured in the first-ever Lowell Film Festival, April 4-5.  NewEnglandFilm.com didn’t know Bette Davis had Lowell roots til we read this. 

The Martha’s Vineyard Film Society invited Bill Haney to comment after a screening of his documentary, The Price of Sugar, on April 5th, at 7:30 pm.  The even is co-presented with "Fish Farm For Haiti Project" and all proceeds go to this charitable cause.  For more information visit www.mvfilmsociety.com. 

The Dhamma Brothers, a doc by MA-based filmmaker Jenny Phillips, will open at the Cinema Village on April 11th in New York City, followed by a limited release in select cities nationwide.

Every year the Coolidge Corner Theatre honors a film master with the Coolidge Award.  (Last year NewEnglandFilm.com learned How to be a Master Editor from Thelma Schoonmaker, Coolidge Award winner 2007!)  This year British producer Jeremy Thomas will be celebrated April 16-17, with a tribute, screenings, and panel discussions.  Thomas collaborated with Bernardo Bertolucci on The Last Emperor, which won nine Academy Awards in 1988.  For a thorough seasoning of his record, click here. 

Ana's Time, a short film written and directed by MIT alum (now Brooklyn-based) filmmaker, Alice Cox, will premiere at the Atlanta Film Festival on April 16^th.  Cox and crew shot the film in Cambridge and Somerville in fall 2005, including scenes at 1369 coffee shop, Toscannini's, PA's Lounge, and People's Republik bar.

Been waiting for the Providence College Student Film Festival?  It’s on April 21st. 

The Tribeca Film Festival runs April 23rd-May 4^th.  Tip of the hat to those representing New England:  Zombie Gets a Date (Newton, MA); God’s Beach (North Haven, ME); and Tale of Two Bondage Models (Providence, RI). 

Film and video projects by students at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts will screen at the MFA, Boston on April 24^th (undergrads) and April 30^th (grads).  Admission is free. 

Also at the MFA this month:  The Other Side of the Mirror: Bob Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival, the most recent documentary by Harvard’s film production society founder Murray Lerner, as well as his first Newport documentary, Festival! (winner of the  Academy Award for Best Documentary in 1967). 

Filmmakers must be versed in all visual trades, no?  So it may be relevant to hear graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister reflect on Things I have learned in my life so far (also his book title), April 25, 6:30 pm at ICA Boston. 

Documentaries of “discovery” will screen throughout April at locations across RI.  It’s the third annual Roving Eye Documentary Film Festival and producing director Adam Short writes, “We have films from across the globe, including a great series of award winning docs out of China's prestigious Guangzhou Documentary Film Festival.”  Many screenings include discussion. 

The Artists' Exchange 2nd Annual Short Film Festival, slated for this month, has been cancelled.  “Rest assured that all submission fees will be returned within the next two weeks. We apologize for any inconvenience,” writes operations manager Christina Mealey.  

Lionel Mark Smith as Larry in Larry (The Actor).

The Independent Film Festival of Boston (IFFBoston) will be held April 23-29 and features 96 films.  NewEnglandFilm.com spoke to one of 12 directors of Twelve, premiering this month.  We also heard an update from Brett Portanova.  His film Larry (The Actor) has undergone some major retooling since we heard from he and film partner Eric Poydar in 2005.  Portanova describes the film as “a mofaux doc about a struggling black actor at the end of his rope.”

Portanova and Poydar dedicated the film to Lionel Mark Smith, who passed away last month.  The three met on the set of David Mamet’s State and Main, shot in MA in 2000.  Smith (who produced Larry as well as played the lead) “saw the film just before picture lock, was extremely proud of it, and was excited and looking forward to it creating a dialogue among like-minded viewers,” wrote Portanova. 

Saddened by his friend and colleague’s death, Poydar reflected, “Lonnie used to leave us messages on our voicemail during the whole process...this kept us fired up for the project and sure that we were on course. I'll never forget one of the first messages Lonnie ever left for us -- Eric and I were driving home from a meeting where our DP agreed to shoot the film -- we had just sent Lonnie the final draft of the script, and were anxious/terrified awaiting his response, until we heard his deep voice on the message, ‘Got the script...I loved it. I loved the hell out of it.’”  More at www.larrythemovie.com.

Boston producer/director Mike Pecci wrote to say that he and Ian McFarland are codirecting a music video for MTV2 for the Grammy winning metal band Mesuggah. “It’s a high concept piece with extremely heavy production design very much like the film The Cell,” wrote Pecci.  He also expressed difficulty booking crew, given the recent Boston production boom.  Read more about them here.

Anyone else having trouble finding crew?  Tell NewEnglandFilm.com your story . . .            

Coming Soon

The Cloud Place’s teen film curators are seeking films 20 minutes or less made by teens ages 13-19. Submit for the May 16th screening by April 28^th. 

Bongo & Okapi by Maine Master Dahlov Ipcar.

Beginning in May and running through January 2009, The Maine Masters series -- video portraits of some of Maine’s most distinguished visual artists -- will be broadcast on a new television series, Open Air, on Portland’s WPME-TV, channel 35. The show will air the first Saturday of each month at 10:30 pm.  The series includes portraits of painter Dahlov Ipcar, photographer Olive Pierce, and sculptor Clark Fitz-Gerald, to name a few.

Open Air is seeking additional shows about Maine or by Maine filmmakers.  Interested?  Contact WPME program coordinator Meg Dion at mdion@ourmaine.com. 

The next New Hampshire Filmmaker Roundtable, presented by the New Hampshire Film and Television Office, will take place June 11th from 12-3 pm at Red River Theatres in Concord.  BYOL (Bring Your Own Lunch)! 

New England college students and recent grads, send your films to the New England Student Film Festival by June 15^th.  

The Provincetown International Film Festival celebrates 10 years, June 18-22.  Festival leaders just named Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill) the 2008 Filmmaker on the Edge.  All 10 of the previous Filmmaker on the Edge Award recipients: John Waters, Christine Vachon, Ted Hope, James Schamus, Gus Van Sant, Todd Haynes, Jim Jarmusch, Mary Harron, Gregg Araki, and Todd Solondz  have been invited to participate in the anniversary celebration. 

The Rhode Island International Film Festival is calling for screenplay entries (all genres, written after 2005) for its 12th annual festival, which takes place August 5-10, 2008 in Providence, RI.  Deadline is July 1^st. 

KidsEye Summer Filmmaking Camp, for youth ages 8-17 will take place July 7-11 in Kingston, RI.   

The Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism and state Office for Workforce Competitiveness are planning a seminar in July to train high school, vocational school and college students to work on film crews.  Time and location TBD.

Director Mark Lewis recently finished Bay State Blues, a feature that he says, “chronicles the 24 hour period that leads up to the implosion of couple's marriage in Massachusetts farm country.”  It was shot throughout Western and Central MA.  Find out more www.baystateblues.net. 

Plenty of time to send submissions to the 4th annual Boston Bike Film Festival – not due till September 20th.

Held Over

Tom Adams of Williamsburg, MA picked up a Telly Award for Establishing a Local Historic District – an educational video produced with The Massachusetts Historical Commission.  Learn more about Adams at www.ReelifeProductions.com.  He also works as the studio manager for South Hadley Community Television. 

RI documentary filmmaker Rocco Michaluk won the PBS Independent Lens Online Film Festival for Translate, about the New England transgendered community.  Translate can be seen here.

Alix Flood has taken distribution matters into her own hands.  Her ensemble comedy, A Totally Minor Motion Picture, screened at the Newport International Film Festival in 2004.  Now, viewers can download a copy for just $1.99.  But that’s not all. Flood has issued a manifesto, credo, and motto (yes, all three!) on behalf of indie filmmakers and audiences.  And she is seeking great films to join her distribution revolution.  So flood her with your films . . . or help her reach her goal of one million downloads. 

Rule Broadcast Systems of Watertown, MA announced new partnerships with Apple and Avid Technology.  According to Rule, prior to these partnerships they supported -- via rental or long-term lease -- both Avid and Apple systems as part of Rule’s rental business.  The new partnerships allow Rule to sell and integrate these systems. 

The full line of each vendor’s postproduction products, such as Apple’s MacPro, MacBookPro, Xserve, Xsan, Final Cut Pro Studio, Final Cut Server, and Avid’s Media Composer HD, Symphony Nitris, Unity ISIS, as well as all Deko Broadcast, On Air Graphics systems, and more will be available.  Visit www.rule.com. 

Blue Sky Studios, which specialize in digital animation and employs 300, is seeking an $8 million low-interest loan from the state of CT to help it relocate from White Plains, NY to Greenwich, CT.  More.

Waltham, MA-based Center for Independent Documentary was awarded a $65,000 grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council for "Refocusing the Lens."  The program will provide skills training and workforce development for the state’s film community and a national film conference in Boston.  Collaborators include Filmmakers Collaborative, The Color of Film, WGBH, Central Productions, the LEF Foundation, the Massachusetts Production Coalition, and IATSE 481.   

Screenings, festivals, meetings and other events at at www.NewEnglandFilm.com/events/

Erin Trahan is the editor of NewEnglandFilm.com and the managing editor of The Independent.  Contact her at editor@newenglandfilm.com.

Sponsors: