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News stories from Jan 2006 to 2012..

  • 20 July 2006
    Documentary

BritDocs Fest looks to Shake up British Documentary World

One of the most exciting things I spotted in the bursting inaugaural programme for the Brit Doc film festival - which runs next weekend - is a networking event where 20 filmmakers are introduced to charities and campaigners who have issues which need highlighting. Supported by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, the event will use speed dating to link doc shooters with stories in the UK and around the world which need highlighting. A similar event from the Wellco…
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06 September 2007

Setback for Network Neutrality as US Department of Justice rejects it

 The US Department of Justice has declared themselves against Network Neutrality. The background of this issue is  that ISPs and internet providers earn £15 and upwards a month for providing access to the Internet. But unlike similar subscription services such as Sky Movies and Vi…
09 November 2008

Jonás and Alfonso Cuarón Launch new short film competition

A contest by Alfonso 'Children of Men' Cuarón to accompany his son Jonás' debut feature Año Uña (pictured) has had its entry date extended to November 19.  The competition is inspired by Año Uña’s unique format made entirely from photographic…
22 October 2006

Stranger than Fiction: European Premiere at The Times BFI London Film Festival

The Times BFI London Film Festival hosted the European premiere of Stranger Than Fiction on Friday, at the Odeon West End. In attendance were the stars, Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman, as well as writer Zach Helm and producer Lindsay Doran. Suchandrika Chakrabarti reports from th…
  • 23 May 2006
    Festivals

Connery to Attend Edinburgh 60th

  Sir Sean Connery is to spend 10 days this summer attending the Edinburgh International Film Festival of which he is patron. In this 60th anniversary year he is to host a special "60th Edition" party on the 19th of August and he will also take part in a Festival of Politics, organised by the Scottish Parliament.   Edinburgh is the longest continually running film festival in the world, having begun in 1947 as a documentary-based festival est…
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12 January 2009

India gets first Globe on night of international success

One of India's best loved film composers, AR Rahman, picked up the country's first Golden Globe, on a night which saw Danny Boyle's Mumbai-set Slumdog Millionaire take home four awards, including Best film, Best screenplay and Best director. In an evening of international success, Kate Winslett c…
07 February 2010

Food Inc

One of DogWoof's two Oscar nominated documentaries (the other - Burma VJ) goes on release this week following a Stella McCartney-hosted cleb-packed premiere tonight..   Elizabeth Hurley, Arun Nayer, Leona Lewis, Vivienne Westwood, Neil Tennant, Jasmine Guinness…
23 May 2006

Indo-British Film Collaboration Intensifies

  Activity over the Indo-British film co-production treaty is building steadily towards signing of the final agreement that will put the treaty into full effect and it looks as though India's film minister is to be invited to London for the official signing. Culture Minister Te…
  • 09 February 2006
    Festivals

Toronto Names New Documentary Programmer

 The well-regarded documentary director, lecturer and journalist Thom Powers has been hired by the Toronto International Film Festival to head its international documentaries programme. New York-based Powers is likely to exercise a lot of influence in helping documentary films receive wide public notice. Powers is known as much for his programming work and teaching as for his own documentaries. A lecturer at New York University, founder of the production company Sugar P…
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06 August 2007

Calls for Social Networks to open up

"Humans are migratory beasts and as soon as they figure out that they’ve been locked-in-they’ll rebel." Marc CanterAs Facebook faces a lawsuit from uni-peers of founder Mark Zuckerberg claiming he stole the idea from them, Wired publishes a debate of why Facebook - and othe…
18 February 2006

Channel 4 First Look At Revolutionary Films

Channel 4 has signed an exclusive first-look deal with 24 Hour Party People and Cock and Bull director Michael Winterbottom's production company Revolution Films. Under the deal, Channel 4 gets first look at all Winterbottom's TV dramas made with his long-term producer partner Andrew Eaton, through…
03 April 2006

Documenting 'Racist' Empire Writer Rudyard Kipling

  A BBC team has been filming in Lahore for a documentary on the life of the famous poet, novelist and journalist Rudyard Kipling. Kipling spent five years in Lahore as assistant editor of the Civil and Military Gazette. Kipling became the first Englishman to receive the Nobel Prize for Li…
  • 09 September 2009
    Festivals

London Film Festival unveils auteur-packed programe and star-studded opening

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 Lasse…
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03 April 2006

Documenting 'Racist' Empire Writer Rudyard Kipling

  A BBC team has been filming in Lahore for a documentary on the life of the famous poet, novelist and journalist Rudyard Kipling. Kipling spent five years in Lahore as assistant editor of the Civil and Military Gazette. Kipling became the first Englishman to receive the Nobel Prize for Li…
01 August 2006

The Battle of Brick Lane

  Rant by Self-appointed Community Leaders The hotly anticipated demonstration against the filming of Monica Ali's novel in East London was in fact a ragbag collection of short-tempered, middle-aged men. A small group of middle-aged Bangladeshi men staged a demonstration in…
09 March 2006

Britfilm Indies To Get WARP Drive

British filmmakers are to get a shot in the arm as Warp X, a new digital film studio designed to shake up the way feature films are financed and produced in Britain, launches on 23rd March. Warp X is backed by £4.5 million of funding from the National Lottery, Film Four and regional screen ag…
  • 22 February 2006
    Documentary

Documentary Filmmakers – On Your Bikes, Quick!

Channel 4, ITN and the  BRITDOC team have put out a call to emerging filmmakers for short documentaries based on footage from ITN's archive - the best documentaries will be broadcast on Channel 4's 3 Minute Wonder strand. The scheme launches tomorrow 23rd February. ITN is offering free use of its amazing archive, which contains over 700,000 hours of footage dating back from 1896 to the present day. All entrants need to do is prepare a pitch for a 3 minute documentary. T…
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07 July 2006

Wippit Moves Into Movie Downloads

  The UK's movie download scene is to brighten with the Wippit online music store signing a deal with Universal to offer download-to-own features. The link-up will bring a welcome range of new releases, including King Kong and Jarhead, as well as some back-catalogue films available for…
21 June 2006

Broadcasters Hope to Copy the iTunes

  Video-on-demand hopes to do for broadcasting what iTunes did for the record industry. In a VoD world, armchair viewers tap into a vast onscreen catalogue and download the film or TV programme of their choice, which can be stored on a hard drive or set-top box, burned on to a disc or rent…
06 June 2011

2011 Short Form Script Contest

from Runadun We have officially released the 2011 Runadun Movie Production (RMP) Short Form Script Contest.  This contest will focus on finding a talented writer who can script a new short form screenplay for D. R. Hirschberg to direct and produce with Runadun Movie Production (RMP). Are you a…
  • 06 September 2011
    Festivals

CALL FOR ENTRIES - Lancaster Children's Film Festival 2012

Lancaster Children's Film Festival (LancsCFF) is issuing a call for entries for the upcoming 2012 festival, to take place from February 15th – 18th 2012. Screenings will take place at the Dukes Cinema and various other venues around Lancaster. For entry form and requirements go to: http://www.lancasterchildrensfilmfestival.co.uk/?page_id=34 Categories include: · Live Action Feature: Any live action children’s or family feature (40mins+) · Animation: Animated films wit…
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07 April 2007

Tutti Frutti Cast Furious Over BBC Re-Run

  It was a comedy classic that amassed a cult following and scooped six Baftas, only to be shelved for two decades. Now, as the BBC finally contemplates Tutti Frutti's return, the original cast members have branded the broadcaster's decision to run it on BBC4 a disgrace. Descr…
24 February 2010

Yorkshire/Iraqi feature gets two awards in Berlin, makers donate 10k prize to charity

While BAFTA was making history on Sunday with all four directing awards going to women, Yorkshire based Mohamed Al Daradji's Iraq set feature follow-up to Ahlaam became the only British film* to take any awards at the 60th Berlinale. Following its success in Sundance, Son of Babylon - a road movie…
04 May 2009

Ditto - a new film and music experience launches on 16th May

From PR Marek Steven: Ditto is a new multi-platform collaboration between top names in music, film and writing. Individual, exclusive pieces inspired by classic works from various fields will come together live in an inspiring celebration of life - Creation, Joy, Love, Despair, Hope, Destruction a…
  • 26 April 2006
    TV

C4 To Launch Video On Demand Service

  Channel 4 is gearing up to provide a video on demand (VOD) service featuring UK commissioned programmes, but only after the long-running new media rights dispute with Pact has been resolved.   Reporting C4's 2005 annual results, chief executive Andy Duncan said a C4-branded VOD service would be available via PCs and through TV. The service would offer catch up episodes, previews and archive programmes. "We hope to have all our commis…
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28 July 2006

Amazon Moves Into The Movie Business

  Bookseller Follows Coffee Shop Into Film Internet retailer Amazon.com is making its first foray into the big-screen movie business after buying an option to develop a film from Keith Donohue's fantasy novel "The Stolen Child." Amazon said it will not co-finance t…
11 October 2006

Eight Killed in Attack on New Satellite TV Station

Gunmen dressed as police stormed the offices of the Shaabiya channel in Zayouna in the east of Baghdad killing eight workers. The channel has so far only broadcast test images and patriotic music, and is said to be aimed at a Sunni Muslim audience. Sunni-Shia violence dominates much of the cu…
17 April 2006

Britains Pioneer Colour Filmmaker Exposed

  Following the enormous international success of the BBC/ bfi collaboration on The Lost World of Mitchell & Kenyon, the BBC and the bfi are launching a new co-production, this time following in the footsteps of British pioneer colour cinematographer Claude Friese-Greene.   The O…
  • 03 September 2006
    Documentary

Loose Change: Filmmaker uses Google Video to challenge official line on 9/11

22-year-old Dylan Avery’s wish to delve into the reasons behind the 9/11 attacks led to him making Loose Change, a documentary that involves some very compelling conspiracy-theorising. It is also bolstered by some impressively persuasive evidence. Since the first edition appeared on the internet in April 2005, it has maintained its position as one of Google Video's top 100. By placing his film on the internet, Avery (of Oneonta, New York) has reached…
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03 May 2006

Starbucks Signs William Morris to Discover New Entertainment Deals

  Starbucks has signed Hollywood talent agency William Morris to suggest music, film and book projects for the Seattle-based coffee retailer to consider marketing and distributing in its stores, according to the Los Angeles Times.   Starbucks entered the movie marketing indust…
01 November 2006

People-powered film financing raises $267,000 from 4 emails in 9 days

Adam P Davies and I have recently begun work on a new film funding book - an update to the One With The Pig on the Front. One of the things I'm most interested in this time round, following on from the Cluetrain stuff, is community-driven financing, and in particular how filmmakers who commun…
03 April 2006

Documenting 'Racist' Empire Writer Rudyard Kipling

  A BBC team has been filming in Lahore for a documentary on the life of the famous poet, novelist and journalist Rudyard Kipling. Kipling spent five years in Lahore as assistant editor of the Civil and Military Gazette. Kipling became the first Englishman to receive the Nobel Prize for Li…
  • 10 August 2006
    TV

Sky One And Vodafone Join Forces To Announce ‘The Big Idea’

  Inventive Business Entrepreneurs Apply Within Sky One and Vodafone today announced THE BIG IDEA - the UK's largest-ever search to discover the next great British invention or business idea. Voted on by the viewers, budding entrepreneurs will compete for a £100,000 investment in launching their idea or venture.  "a huge opportunity for anyone who reckons they've got a cracking business idea that will take the nation by storm"…
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20 September 2006

Warner Bros files patent for joint Blu-Ray / HD-DVD Disc

Could this be the sollution to the forthcoming DVD-war? Warner Bros has applied for a patent on a technology that will allow DVDs, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD to be burnt and played on the same disc. It should make choices for consumers a lot easier in the upcomming VHS-Betamax style battle between t…
22 November 2006

HD Hardware to Sit Idle Until 2010?

Design, Style and DVD Systems Will Fuel Consumer Demand  High definition simply isn't worth investing in until at least 2010 for most Europeans, according to some analysts, citing a paucity of content, both broadcast and pre-recorded. But new HD hardware such as Blu-ray and HD DVD play…
23 September 2006

Raindance Film Festival Kicks off this Week

Wednesday sees the opening of the 14th Raindance Film Festival, with the Tony Grisoni-penned conjoined twin punk film Brothers of the Head. Other festival highlights include a Stanley Kubrick retrospective, a music documentary filmed a few days before Johnny Ramone's death, discussion pane…
  • 12 March 2006
    Festivals

RIMA - Race in the Media Closes Fast

The UK Film Council is sponsoring the film category for the Commission for Racial Equality's Race in the Media Awards (RIMA).  Now in its second year, the film category is hoping to attract entries from the widest possible talent spectrum.  Applicants have until the 17 March to submit their work. Winners of last year's film award were Paul Morrison's Wondrous Oblivion (Apt Films) for best film feature; Jonathan Jones's Who Killed PC Blakel…
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12 October 2007

AURORA 2007 illuminates Norwich

AURORA is the new name for Norwich International Animation Festival.  A uniquely art-focused, progressive event, it fuses artist retrospectives and thematic film programmes with incisive debate, live performance and installations, alongside the very best new work from across the world in wid…
14 April 2006

Film Shorts International # 2

 Film Shorts International today includes: Italy's drive to boost quality Screens – Ireland's Producer on the Move – UK releases two Berlin award winners – Portugal's Indiefest Attracts Buyers – Hungary's “Certain Regard” Director Shoots his…
24 April 2007

EU passes controversial 'anti-consumer' copyright legislation

From the Electronic Frontier Foundation: The European Parliament has just voted to pass the Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive (IPRED2) without substantive amendment, despite growing public opposition from across the European Union. The final vote of 374 to 278 with 1…