The Men Who Stare at Goats and Keats biopic Bright Star opened the 23rd Leeds International Film Festival - the UK's largest film festival outside London and Edinburgh - last night. The writer of the book behind the movie, Jon Ronson joined fans at the screening at Leeds Town Hall. The festival, extended to run eighteen days this year, and the UK's largest outside of London and Edinburgh, is packed with new films, documentaries, special guests and events. Running across five strands, highlights include new films from the Coen Brothers (A Serious Man), Julian Temple (Oil City Confidential), Hiayao Miyazaki (Ponyo), Harmony Korine (Trash Humpers) and Catherine Breillet (Bluebeard).

Also screening is Colin, the £50 Britsih zombie movie that has wowed critics and the Bunny and the Bull from the Mighty Boosh director Paul King. The Cinema Versa strand returns featuring the best of documentaries covering music and human rights, while the Fanomonem fantasy strand delivers horror, action, sci-fi. Events include a Film Music Conference and an Open Cinema Unconference which we are helping to organise (more details to follow). During the first weekend at the Festival guests include include Julien Temple (Oil City Confidential), Éric Tessier (5150 Elm Street), Philip Ridley (Heartless), Marc Price (Colin), composer Ilan Eshkeri (Film Music Conference), Tom Six (The Human Centipede), Benoit & Julien Decaillon (Sodium Babies), and Felix Van Groeningen (The Misfortunates).

From South West Screen's Chris Moll;

South West Screen and BBC Films have launched iFeatures, a new digital film initiative, open to writers, directors and producers from across the UK.

Headed up by Chris Moll who was behind last year's Digital Departures scheme ('Of Time and The City', 'Kicks' and 'Salvage'),  iFeatures aims to harness fresh stories, outstanding creative talent and innovative production methods to create 3 full-length feature films during 2010.

Following an open call for submissions that runs to 8th December 2009, iFeatures will invite 12 filmmaking teams to take their ideas through an intensive creative and commercial development process. From these, it plans to ‘greenlight’ 3 films into production next summer. Each film will be produced in and around the City of Bristol, and must be capable of being realised on a budget of £300,000. The completed films are intended to be released theatrically and to embrace the myriad opportunities of digital distribution – DVD, online and mobile. The BBC is the UK TV broadcast partner.

From ShoutFilm's Steven Waterfall:

We are pleased to announce the launch of ShoutFILM, a social networking site tailored specifically for filmmakers of all ages and skill levels. Members can share their work and communicate with each other with ease. ShoutFILM is the based on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter and founded by filmmakers for filmmakers.

ShoutFILM incluces:

• Free, quick and easy sign up.
• Cinema - View, rate and write reviews for independent films and upload your own trailers, showreels or completed films to the cinema.
• Studio - Follow the progress of independent films currently in production as well as posting your own.
• Scripts - Find your next film script and get it direct from writers.
• Production Companies - Add your production company and allow fans to follow your current projects in development.
• and more!

ShoutFILM is completely free, sign up is required to access all the site has to offer. Check it out at www.shoutfilm.com

From Tamsin Ranger @ MayaVision:

Individual producers or production companies are invited to send a rough cut of their unfinished short film (up to 15 minutes in length) to Maya Vision International, along with a completed application form. The closing date for applications is 5pm, Monday 30 November 2009.

There will only be ONE call for applications for 2010 - so do make sure you get your film into us and don't hold back on the good stuff! Full guidelines, forms and more information can be found at www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/shortfilms

from Thierry Bonnaud:

The Festival is now accepting submissions for its next edition which will take place at the end of April 2010.

The Cambridge International Super 8 Film Festival is now accepting entries for its 2010 showcase. Films in any genre, including feature films, documentaries, short films, music videos, and student films are being accepted. The Festival accepts only films which have be shot on the Super 8 format (or at least 50% of the running time). Films must have been completed after January 1, 2003.

The festival will run from Thursday April 21, 2010 to Saturday April 24, 2010. Entry deadline is December 26, 2009 (final). No entry fees. Films 20 minutes or more are considered the panorama programme. Films under 20 min. are in the official competition. Information on how to apply can be found by visiting www.cambridge-super8.org

An all-star jury ranging from UKFC Premiere Fund head Sally Caplan to YouTube's Sara Pollock will judge the Pixel Pitch award for a cross media project, with details of the seven finalists now released and detailed below. One winner will walk away with the £6,000 Babelgum Pixel Pitch Award.

Tickets are now on sale for the event, which will accompany the Power to the Pixel conference, where a host of names from the Open Video Conference (including Brian Newman, Ted Hope, Nina Paley, Lance Weiler) along with Age of Stupid's Franny and Lizzie - will talk about digital marketing and distribution strategies for filmmakers.

Since 1998, Raindance Film Festival has continued in its strong support for Japanese filmmaking, with its Way Out East section the largest annual showcase for new Japanese cinema in the United Kingdom, screening at least ten recent features and documentaries annually. The 17th Raindance Festival, held between 30 September - 11 October 2009, this year turns its spotlight on the rising number of women filmmakers in Japan, with a special selection of five features and one shorts program from some of the country's most exciting talent.

Director Momoko Ando will be in attendance to introduce the World Premiere of her debut feature, A PIECE OF OUR LIFE - KAKERA -. The film, scored by Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, is a touching portrait of a romantic relationship between Haru, a college student whose relationship with her self-centred boyfriend is going nowhere, and Riko, a bisexual medical artist who makes prosthetic body parts. Born in 1982, Ando is the daughter of the acclaimed actor-director Eiji Okuda and the sister of rising starlet Sakura Ando (LOVE EXPOSURE, AIN'T NO TOMORROWS). A former student of the Slade School of Fine Art, her return to London to present her new film promises to be an unforgettable experience.

From Raindance's Joe Pearshouse

The Box Office of the 17th Raindance Film Festival (30 September - 11 October 2009) opened on 15 September and some screenings are already sold out.

New this year: Raindance opens the Raindance Film Cafe on 2nd Oct for seminars/masterclasses/networking and live music events. Raindance's famous pitching event LIVE!AMMUNITION! as well as 'Plug and Play' - chances for you to screen your own work will also be held at the Cafe.

Highlights of this year's screenings include COLIN, the 45-pound micro-budget Zomebie feature and Steven Soderbergh (Ocean's Eleven, Che, Sex, Lies and Videotape) 's highly anticipated new feature 'The Girlfriend Experience'.

George Clooney, fresh from his naked press conference proposal for The Men Who Stare at Goats in Venice will join Bill Murray, Steven Soderbergh, Jim Jarmusch, Julian Moore, Emma Thompson and Michel Gondry at the 53rd Times BFI London International Film Festival. With special events focussing on environmental filmmaking, Iranian Cinema and production design, the festival will screen 191 features and 113 shorts from around the world, including the latest films from John Lasseter, Ang Lee, Lone Sherfig, Julian Temple, Stephen Poliakof, Gaspar Noé, Todd Solondz, Claire Denis and Harmony Korine.

Opening Night film, Wes Anderson’s FANTASTIC MR. FOX - which controversially Americanises the heroes while keeping the villains as British - is one of the Festival’s 15 world premieres and will be presented by the director and cast members including Meryl Streep, George Clooney, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman and Helen McCrory.   Other films celebrating their world premieres include Sam Taylor-Wood’s Closing Night Gala NOWHERE BOY and the Festival’s first ever Archive Gala, the BFI’s new restoration of Anthony Asquith’s UNDERGROUND, with live music accompaniment by the Prima Vista Social Club, led by Neil Brand.  The Festival will also host 23 European premieres, including Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s MICMACS, Scott Hicks’ THE BOYS ARE BACK and Robert Connolly’s BALIBO, as well as Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni’s THE WELL and Lucy Bailey and Andrew Thompson’s MUGABE AND THE WHITE AFRICAN.  The 4 international premieres that will be featured are 45365 from Bill and Turner Ross, Celine Danhier’s BLANK CITY, Mike Judge’s EXTRACT and Rumle Hammerich’s HEADHUNTER. Festival audiences will also have the chance to enjoy the UK premiere of John Lasseter’s TOY STORY 2 in Disney Digital 3D™.

I Cine Fest Brasil London - 17th to 20th September 2009 - Riverside Studios

From Rose Chamberlein

NO LIMITS FOR BRAZILIAN CINEMA is how Inffinito presents their worldwide festival circuit. After wrapping up their New York edition, in Central Park and the Tribeca Cinema, they are getting the reels ready to fly across the Atlantic, to the heart of London, at the Riverside Studios. Well-established as a cultural brand, the Inffinito Festival Circuit has been working in partnership with the Brazilian Government for the last 14 years to promote Brazil's audiovisual productions overseas.

Following Inffinito's international success in Buenos Aires, Canudos, Miami, Vancouver, Rome, Moscow, Madrid, Barcelona and New York, it is bringing its cinematic showcase to London in September, to continue its mission of screening a selection of the finest contemporary Brazilian cinema to a global audience. The programme of the 1^st edition of the Cine Fest Brasil is made up of 20 productions comprising feature films, documentaries and short films, from a range of different genres that includes everything from blockbuster hits to talented-newcomer discoveries.