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News stories from Jan 2006 to 2012..

  • 23 October 2006
    Documentary

Documentary film at the East European Forum

The sixth East European Forum begins Wenesday October 25 and for the first time includes a meeting of East European documakers, comissioning editors, and other doc professionals. Running until October 29 in Jihlava, Czech Republic, the event mixes panels, pitching fora, networking and a market.   EAST EUROPEAN FORUM 2006 Dates: October 25-29, 2006 Venue: Jihlava, Czech Republic East European Forum has been for six years one of the two focal points of the…
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05 May 2006

BBC Releases Video Search Widget For Macs

  BBC film-footage licensing arm, BBC Motion Gallery, has released a Dashboard widget for Mac OS X that allows users to search its online film archives without a browser. The widget is available now for download and BBC Motion Gallery says the release underlines its commitment to providing…
26 July 2006

Brick Lane Filmmakers Cancel Filming

  Producers of the film Brick Lane have cancelled filming in the London area where it is set owing to opposition from the Bangladeshi community there. The film was due to start shooting in the area this weekend. Ruby Films said it had been advised by police and Tower Hamlets council not to…
08 January 2009

Whitby in Shorts

"WHITBY in SHORTS" - the first of our monthly short-film nights, at the Coliseum in Whitby last night [Wed. 7th January], was a resounding success. Close to a full house turned out on a cold winter's night to partake in a showcase of talent and a varied selection of films, nearly al…
  • 06 March 2006
    Festivals

Crash Confounds Oscar Predictions in Night of the Indies

Paul Haggis' Crash beat Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain to the best film award at the Oscars on Sunday in a night which favoured independent titles over studio pictures, and saw the brits pick seven gongs. The race relations drama also won best original screenplay and the award for best film editing.Brit winners pictured - Rachel Weisz & Nick Park (click the photos for exclusive in-depth netribution interviews from Stephen  Applebaum).  Despite picking up eight no…
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28 December 2007

Ahead of the Arts Council cull, smaller companies turn to Facebook and YouTube for help

“they wouldn’t dare take away funding from any of the larger organisations because they would be able to put up a huge fight. So they have mainly gone for the smaller companies.” Thelma Holt The Arts Council's recently announced massacre for 2008 - which will see h…
02 August 2006

Film Festival Shuns Israeli Cash

  Organisers of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) have said they would not be accepting sponsorship from the Israeli government. The undisclosed sum would have funded the visit of an Israeli documentary maker to the festival. Shane Danielsen, Artistic Director of the E…
24 April 2006

Free Induction Courses For London Freelancers

  London-based freelancers new to the business can now get their hands on a Skillset Audio Visual Industries Induction course and it will cost them absolutely nothing. The Video College is offering freelancers the chance to go on a free City and Guilds course that has the potential to help…
  • 02 April 2008
    Festivals

Hull's Short Glimmer of Light : 15th - 20th April 2008

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…
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05 January 2009

Rotoscoping - A new niche in outsourcing?

Who would have ever thought before that clipping path can be such a profitable niche in the outsourcing industry. There were brave ones who saw the opportunity, the need was there and they filled it. Now, a lot of graphic outsourcing companies are offering clipping path services…
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…
25 July 2006

Elizabeth Taylor – Film’s New Jane Austen?

Hollywood Filmmakers Turn to a 20th Century English Novelist Francois Ozon directed "8 Women" and "Swimming Pool," so he knows a juicy woman's story when he sees one. Midway through the 1957 novel "Angel" by the late Elizabeth Taylor, he already could envi…
  • 01 March 2006
    Cross media

Lights! Camera! Mobile?

A feature-length film made using mobile phones. Sound improbable? Not in South Africa, where a feature has just been made using eight cellphones and USD160,000, and a good idea that might just be the future of film-making. South African director Aryan Kaganof believes this is the way things are going and to prove it, he made SMS Sugar Man, billed as the world's first feature film shot entirely on mobile phones. SMS Sugar Man was filmed on eight phone cameras, over 11 days…
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19 May 2006

Loach To Collaborate With FilmFour Again

    British film-maker Ken Loach will make his next film with FilmFour. Loach will direct the contemporary story With the provisional title  These Times> the film is set in Britain which reignites the leftwing director's longstanding links with FilmFour.  …
04 May 2007

Sony's New XDCAM EX Solid State Camcorder

  Sony's all-new XDCAM EX solid-state camcorder was first seen at NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) show in Las Vegas where it was the most talked about product at the show. Crowds of people fought to get a glimpse of it. The EX series is Sony's first solid-state onl…
17 August 2006

Clunes Discovers Loneliness and Isolation of Cancer Victims

  Men Behaving Badly star Martin Clunes is turning away from sitcom with his next TV appearance. He's back on screen next month, playing a man who discovers he has testicular cancer, in a bittersweet drama called Losing It (ITV1, September). It's written by former advertising…
  • 03 April 2008
    Contests

Three new contests for vloggers and online filmmakers

From the brilliant Global Voices website , comes news of three contests for vloggers around the world. Two are on Spannish sites but are open to anyone anywhere. One is for mobile movies, one to promote causes you care for and the last to report news through online video. More details and sample films from previous winners at Global Voices : From Spain, ElPais.com brings us the Movil Film Fest, an online mobile 1 minute video contest. Although it is geared primari…
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27 April 2008

Recent awards: Sick in Houston, Tantric Tourists in London and I Refuse To Forget wins feature funds

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 wit…
03 September 2008

Danny Boyle's SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE to close London Film Festival

From the official LFF press release: London – Wednesday 3 September: The Closing Night Gala of The Times BFI 52nd London Film Festival will be the European Premiere of Danny Boyle’s SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE.  The festival opens with Ron Howard's Frost/Nixon. SLUMDOG…
02 April 2007

Sony’s New F23 HiDef Camera is Cinematographer-Friendly

  Sony has received the first orders for its new, top-end, digital cinematography F23 acquisition camera, with five F23 cameras going to equipment and rental company Band Pro in Munich and further orders in the UK and the Netherlands. The F23 is aimed at the top-end of movie-making, commer…
  • 03 May 2007
    Festivals

Netribution's Plans at Cannes 2007

As Cannes puts the finishing touches to its 60th edition, we're just making plans for the launch there of our new world funding book on May 16th.  With information on funding and tax incentives in over 50 countries, details of more than 1000 funds around the world,  a new chapter on the Internet, 400 entry glossary and significantly expanded information about low and microbudget production, production finance, the new UK, German and US tax incentives, and ap…
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26 April 2006

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-b…
21 November 2006

EA UK Announces Sims Shorts to offer Machinima Outlet in 58 cinemas

The winner of a new Machinima competion - The Sims Shorts - will have their 2 ½ minute film shown throughout December in 58 Vue cinema screens across the UK alongside some of the big Christmas  blockbusters. The winner will also get a cash prize of £1000 and have their short…
14 September 2010

Edinburgh Int Film Festival - Submission Dates

Submissions for the 65th Edinburgh International Film Festival, 15 - 26 June 2011, will open on 1 November 2010.   The Festival aims to stand internationally as a festival of discovery, a celebration of cinema, a centre of debate and a catalyst for new films.  For a chance to be part of it check t…
  • 01 November 2006
    Festivals

20th Leeds International Film Festival gets underway

A quartet of premieres Thursday night kicked off the 20th Leeds International Film Festival Venus from Notting Hill's Roger Michell with a Hanif Kureshi script stood face to face with Penny Woolcock's collaboration with the brains behind Shameless, Mischief Night. Meanwhile, the meditiative Into Great Silence explored the world of a Carthusian Order of monks in a French Alps monastery, at the opposite end of the audio spectrum to the documentary Loudquietload…
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21 June 2006

Plans For New Broadcasting Rights Anger Podcasters

  The UK is backing a controversial new broadcasting treaty that opponents say gives big media companies new rights over content. The UK joins the US, the BBC, Yahoo! and other nations and firms supporting WIPO's draft Broadcasting Treaty. Intellectual property campaigners and podcaste…
25 May 2006

An Inconvenient Truth speaks loud and clear for Participant

After a few hanging chads lost him the presidency and set the world in a different direction, what did Al Gore do next? He made a movie, of course. An Inconvenient Truth, a documentary looking at the effects of climate change around the world, opens this weekend in the US, and hopes to wake…
27 February 2007

Work Experience Exploiters Named and Shamed by NUJ

  Shocking Exploitations Revealed in Media Companies The NUJ will today (27/02/07) deliver a letter to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) naming and shaming employers who exploit journalists on work experience. The union, which is launching its Work Experience Guideli…
  • 05 December 2010
    Awards

HUSH YOUR MOUTH Double Win

UK urban drama HUSH YOUR MOUTH was awarded top prizes at Festival Bragacine in Portugal. At the Augusta Awards 2010, HUSH YOUR MOUTH was awaded the Grand prize for BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM and director TOM TYRWHITT won the award for BEST DIRECTOR. This gritty micro-budget drama featuring a largely young cast of talented new-comers has been described by critics as "a seething, stylish and raw piece of cinema". www.hushyourmouthmovie.co.uk
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09 August 2011

How to support the indie film & music companies who lost 1000s of DVDs/CDs in Enfield fire

As well as helping the countless small businesses and shops who've lost stock and suffered damage, buying digital downloads from any of the indie companies who've lost all their stock in the huge depot fire in Enfield would be a nice thing to do. It might mean the difference for some between surviv…
07 April 2006

Lovefilm and Video Island Join Forces

  Lovefilm and Video Island Inc, the owner of screenselect.co.uk, are to merge. Video Island's chief executive Simon Calver said the move won't affect customers in the short term. “There will be no change, it's business as usual,” he said. However, he a…
07 August 2006

Raw Cuts – Teenage Ideas on Vulnerability to Air on Channel 4

  Four Unknowns Get Broadcast Writing Credit   Four films written by teenagers are now in post- production, preparing for peak-time broadcast on Channel 4 this autumn. Over 1,500 film ideas were submitted for Raw Cuts, a joint writing initiative set up between the National S…
  • 18 July 2006
    Internet

Yahoo Enlists Film Students to Announce Redesign

  Yahoo's new home page has gone live in the U.S., and the company has enlisted several film school students to spread the word. The new, dynamic site has been in a preview phase since May. It is more customizable and interactive than the previous version, utilizing technologies like AJAX to refresh content on the fly, which Yahoo hopes will keep users on the page longer.   To spread the word about the site's redesign, Yahoo and its agency, Soh…
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25 November 2010

Pepsi 'Max It' Film Competition

from the publicist for Pepsi Max It Legends WIN: £30,000 film production budget Screening at the opening night of Raindance Film Festival 2011 VIP trip for 2 to Cannes Film Festival 2011 On Monday 15th November Pepsi Max launched the Pepsi ‘MAX IT’ Film Competition.&nb…
07 August 2006

Indian Filmmakers Gain UK Environment Fellowships

  Films To Air on Discovery Channel & Wildscreen Festival Seven Indian wildlife documentary filmmakers have been awarded British Environment Film Fellowships for 2006. The fellowships, worth Rs 600,000 each,  have been awarded to Sonya V Kapoor, Himanshu Malhotra, Jay Mazoomd…
25 September 2009

17th Raindance Film Festival premieres new Japanese films and spotlights Japanese women directors

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, h…
  • 27 February 2007
    Live AV

Lookandlisten AV Party - This Time It's War - March 3rd

 it's nearly the end of the month, which means it's nearly the first sunday of next month, and time for another lookandlisten, the leeds live av night   this time out its war, with an evening of themed muzak and visuals loosely themed around war, or more likely how it’s a bit of a wrong do including cal.tv's john lennon george bush mashioke Imagine This (cork film festival winner, below)  
we&r…
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26 May 2010

Encounters International Film Festival & Depict - submission deadline

From Encounters International Film Festival This is just a gentle reminder that Encounters International Film Festival’s Early bird submission prices end on Monday 31st May.  After this date the cost of DVD entries will rise from £20 to £25. However, we are still offering filmmakers the oppo…
16 September 2008

Berlinale 2009: Talent Campus News

 From the official Berlinale press release: Berlinale Talent Campus #7, February 7 – 12, 2009 The application deadline for the Berlinale Talent Campus is October 8, 2008. Producers, directors, actors, cinematographers, screenwriters, editors, production desig…
15 April 2008

Glimmer : 6th Hull Short Film Festival shines a light

Over the years I've been lucky enough to visit most of the main film festivals in the UK. By far my favourite experience was the Hull Short Film Festival, back in 2003, where I saw some truely mind-expanding films from Oscar-winning master Virgil Widrich, participated in some lively debates and p…