Those concerned that the movement of the Edinburgh Film Festival from its August spot would mean a shortage of quality titles may need to hold their breath as the festival unveiled it's 2008 lineup today. There are 15 World Premieres at the festival, including Vito Rocco's My Movies Mashup winner FaintHeart, Duane Hopkins’ Better Things, Terence Davies’ Cannes Entry, Of Time and City, 90s Nostalgia piece and Sundance hit, with Ben Kingsley as a stoned shrink, The Wackness, Martin Raddich's hotly awaited Crack Willow and The New Ten Commandments, a series of short films marking the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights directed by a lineup of new filmmakers including Irvine Welsh, Mark Cousins and Tilda Swinton.

Other treats include a screening of Pixar's latest Wall-E, on the same days as its US release, Shane Meadow's Somers Town, Errol Morris' Abu Ghraib expose Standard Operating Procedure, Werner Herzog's documentary Encounters at the End of the World, the new Under the Radar strand, and masterclasses from Errol Morris, Ray Harryhausen, Roger Deakin and Brian Cox. Full press release follows.

After being inspired by John Waters’ visit to the Edinburgh International Film Festival during 2007, EIFF Artistic Director Hannah McGill has announced a new strand of cult films for 2008’s edition. 

Under The Radar will play host to films that ‘deploy low budgets to imaginative effect and range from being variously kitsch, gory, disturbing and hilarious.’ Casting its net wider than simply horror/sci-fi/fantasy – which the EIFF had previously catered for with such strands as Night Moves – the selection aims to ‘break boundaries of both art and entertainment, drawing in elements of experimental video and gallery art as well as subversive comedy and extreme genre cinema’.

The trailer for the 63rd festival, made up of 1,000 stills and created by O Street and Pete Dibdin is previewed below: 

A quick roundup of recent award winners 

We're pleased to hear that Alexander Snelling's debut feature Tantric Tourists, covered here recently, picked up the Best UK Debut at the East London Film Festival, where it had its Gala Premiere.  

Mike Rymer's 15k short Sick, dealing with mental illness, has picked up the Gold award at the 41st Houston Film Festival. Endorsed by the Samaritans, the film looks at anxiety and depression and was funded almost entirely by NHS charitable trusts after development at the Wales Screen Academy.

Meanwhile the winner of online community Filmaka 's web contest has been anounced as I Refuse to Forget by 21-year-old Nuru Rimington-Mkal. The tender tail of sensory memories of love won acclaim from Jury member Neil LaBute. Nuru will now, apparently, get to direct his own feature, funded by Filmmaka. Next year's contest, with the prize of getting a feature produced, has been announced with the theme of 'Behind Closed Doors'. 

The films selected for the official competition at the 61st edition of the Cannes Film Festival (May 14-25) were unveiled at midday today in Paris.  They included the directorial debut of Charlie Kaufman, as well as the latest film from two-times Palme D'Or winners the brothers Dardenne. No British films were featured, but the Hollywood friendly out of competition slot includes both the world premiere of Indiana Jones IV and Kung Fu Panda - as well as the latest pictures from Woody Allen and Steven Soderbergh - whose hotly anticipated Che Guevara double bill (The Argentine & Guerilla) staring Benicio del Torro missed out on the competition because of delays in editing. Sean Penn heads the Jury.

The Raindance Film Festival is probably the UK's leading independent film festival, and is currently looking for submissions for 2008. Here's what they submitted to Netribution:

We want you to be a part of it! We are currently accepting submissions from ALL OVER THE GLOBE.

Have a fantastic short film? The next-big-thing-feature?

Represent your corner of the world and send us your work!

For our Film Festival Toolkit, email toolkit@raindance.co.uk for a quick and comprehensive look into Raindance!

For more information, feel free to contact us at 44-207 287 3833. 

A critically acclaimed Pakistani film exploring the relationship between liberal and fundamentalist Muslims has been released across cinemas in India. It is the first Pakistani film to get a wide commercial release in India in over four decades. Khuda Kay Liye (In the Name of God) focuses on the lives of Muslims after the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States.

Officially, India and Pakistan have banned each other's films since going to war in 1965. But in recent years, the two countries have made exceptions. In 2003, Pakistani film Khamosh Paani (Silent Waters) had a limited release in India. In 2006, Pakistan allowed three Indian films to be shown.

The 6th Hull International Short Film Festival returns with a new name and attitude from 15th April. The debut festival from director Laurence Boyce, Netribution DVD editor, and one of the most passionate people about short film in the UK, GLIMMER will provide audiences with the very best new short films from across the world alongside numerous special events and exclusive guests, including a BAFTA masterclass with one of the UK's hottest short directors of the moment, Simon Ellis.

Highlights of this year’s Film Festival will include the Glimmer Award for Best International Short which will see directors from around the globe vie for the prize of £1000 sponsored by World Trade Centre Hull & Humber, a hub for developing, promoting and facilitating international trade and investment. Included in the programme will be the UK premiere of Ian Strang’s PIVOT a Canadian film that wryly deals with the notion of masculine competitiveness.

Africa in Motion, Edinburgh's African film festival, launches a new Short Film Competition for emerging African filmmakers.

The Africa in Motion film festival (AiM), which takes place annually in October at Edinburgh Filmhouse, is officially inviting African filmmakers to submit short films for a new AiM  competition. In order to target the competition specifically towards young and emerging African talent, filmmakers who enter a film for consideration must not have completed a feature-length film previously. Films entered must have been completed in 2005 or after, and must be no longer than 30 minutes.

No Country for Old Men and There Will be Blood lead the Oscar nominations with 8 nods apiece. Atonement, fresh from a Golden Globes win, and Michael Clayton picked up seven, with Ratatouille taking 5 and indie hits Juno / The Diving Bell and the Butterfly both picking up 4. 

Best foreign language film
Beaufort, Israel
The Counterfeiters, Austria
Katyn, Poland
Mongol, Kazakhstan
12, Russia

Here is the line-up for the 58th Berlin Film Festival, which runs 7th-17th February 2008:

Submitted by Edinburgh International Film Fest:

Submissions are open for the 2008 Edinburgh International Film Festival . Shorts, features, animation, documentary and music video that will be no older than 12 months by June 2008 are eligible. You can download the relevant forms and regulations from our site or you can submit your film via the online submissions service withoutabox.com.

After years of efforts, the unions of LA have done what no awards show producers has ever succeeded in doing - getting the winners announced in under an hour. At Sunday's Golden Globes Press Conference , Britflick Atonement picked up Best Film, while UK-shot and set Sweeney Todd picked up Best  Musical or Comedy. Other winners include Daniel Day Lewis for There Will be Blood, Julie Christie for Away from Her and director Julian Schnabel for Ronald Harwood' s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, which also picked up best foreign film. Ricky Gervais won best comedy series for Extras. Full list follows.

The projector with teeth continues at the ICA in London through to the weekend. What's more, tomorrow night's panel debate with Asif Kapadia, features free (as in free software) beer..

6pm – Curzon Soho C’mon, it’s the VX Auteur Theory 3A showcase of the next generation of D.I.Y auteurs for whom filmmaking is a more rounded, personal process as apposed to clear-cut, traditional film making roles, for those who produce, write, direct, shoot and edit or written the music and acted in it too! Created by Lucia Helenka, a London based artist and filmmaker and supported by Vauxhall, the competition will showcase undiscovered, talented filmmakers with a strong personal vision and hands on approach to filmmaking. This third VX Auteur Theory invites and challenges cross disciplined filmmakers to prove they are the ones to watch, following in the footsteps of last year’s winners Simon Ellis with his film A STORM AND SOME SNOW and Greg Butler with his film A MOUSE FUNERAL. The judges for the 3rd VX Auteur Theory will include actress Natalie Press (MY SUMMER OF LOVE, WASP, NIGHTWATCHING) and filmmaker Asif Kapadia (THE WARRIOR, FAR NORTH). The award ceremony will take place in the Curzon bar immediately following the screening, and tunes will be provided by Hannah Missinthemix. Ticket stub will entitle you to a Vedett beer!
 
6pm, Curzon Soho, 99 Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1
Tickets: £5.50 0871 703 3988 www.curzoncinemas.com
 
The programme:
THE BARTER – Gustavo Arteaga * BEING THERE – Matthew Murdoch * FLORA & THIEVES - Xanthe Hamilton * JOYEUX NOEL - Ben Adler * MAGNETIC MOVIE – Semiconductor * PETER & BEN – Pinny Grylls * PROCRASTINATION - Johnny Kelly * SHH - Ben Slotover * SURRENDERING SEAMEN – Marco Espirito Santo * TRA-LA-LA – Magali Charrier * UNPOSSIBLE – Robin King
 
And of course, there’s still 5 and a half days left to go!!!  Still to come: music vids at The Roxy * docs at The Roxy * Shorts International, Dazzle ShortFilmLabel & Bitesize Cinema guest screenings * Howling Feedback panel sessions * Teenage Britain * DepicT! * Soundtracks live music-to-film event * UK Film Council shorts * Lo-budget Mayhem * American Hardcore * Club des Femmes & Kathy Acker * Radar Festival * Darryl’s Hard Liquor & P0rn Film Festival * Asif Kapadia & Far North * filmmakers-in-bands

Anton Corbijn's Control took five awards at the British Independ Film Awards, hosted at the Roundhouse, Wednesday night. Paddy Considine's short, staring Peter Mullan, picked up best short film. Special Award were given to Ray Winstone, Daniel Craig and the Artificial Eye founders.

Adam Dawtrey in Variety has pointed out that Control was the only film competing for Best Picture that was genuinely a British independent films - the rest were part financed by US majors. The winners below:

"The fact is that the world around us is a very troubled place, but the response of the filmmakers isn't always dark, but is about people finding a way though it and about persevering, not succumbing." Geoffrey Gilmore, fest director

Less political and socially focussed films were chosen this year, with a greater focus on people dealing with their everyday lives and finding a way through it. "There's more personal expression about the daily aspects of lives, about people's state of mind.. .you sense the need for an escape from the exhausting pressures of reality" said festival director Geoffrey Gilmore

Highlights include Be Kind Rewind (below), Michel Gondry's hotly hotly hotly awaited new film; What Just Happened, Barry Levinson's Robert de Niro starer; Morgan Spurlock's Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden and, Choke, film adaptation of Chuck "Fight  Club" Palahniuk’s headslam of a novel. The 2008 Sundance Film Festival runs January 17-27, 2008, in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Sundance, Utah.

The UK documentary renaissance continues at Sundance where five of the 16 films selected for the world documentary strand were British, including Marc Evan's In Prison My Whole Life; Tanaz Eshaghian's Be Like Others, a look at Iranian men seeking sex-change operations and Isaac Julien's Jarman bio, Derek. No British films made it into the dramatic competition, although In Bruges, the debut from playwright Martin McDonagh, has been selected as the opening film and the lovely Sharon 'Bridget Jones' Maguire's suicide bomber film Incendiary - starting Ewan MacGregor - also plays.

In Bruges or Incendiary might be British but they were not backed by the UK Film Council, which is why they are only brielfy mentioned at the bottom of a press release ('other films selected include') from the Quango which championed only the lottery backed films selected for the festival, which includes Donkey Punch, whose title describes one of the grimmest sexual practices there is. 

Submitted by Sky Movies:

Over one thousand guests will gather for the 20^th anniversary of the European Film Awards at Berlin Arena. Sky Movies Indie will present extended highlights of the ceremony in a 90-minute programme on 3^rd December 2007.

The hosts for this year's awards will be French actress Emmanuelle Beart and German actor Jan Josef Liefers and special guests will include French screen siren Jeanne Moreau. Legendary director Jean-Luc Godard will receive an honorary award at the ceremony.

Ian Lewis, Director of Sky Movies and SBO said,

"The European Film Awards are one of the biggest nights in the European film calendar and Sky Movies is delighted to be associated with such a prestigious event."

The announcement follows on from Sky's recent launch of SBO World in September, one of the largest on-demand World Cinema services anywhere with over 150 titles - many of which are exclusive to the service in the UK.  

The British Independent Film Awards are just two days away. One of the nominees is a film that has been covered extensively here on Netribution, Extraordinary Rendition, which is up for Best Achievement in Production. The full list of nominees and jury members after the jump...

Africa in Motion (AiM)
25 October - 4 November 2007

Africa in Motion will be taking place from 25 October - 4 November 2007 at the Edinburgh Filmhouse. Now in its second year, the festival programme will include at least 30 outstanding, thought-provoking and innovative African films from all over the continent, from pioneering African filmmakers to young and emerging contemporary directors.