ARTHOUSE FILM NEWS - Cosmic Disco Detective Rene at Facets, Chicago 11/29/23

From Hammer to Nail : "In Krik’s resourceful if didactic movie, shot in a high contrast black-and-white that milks maximum atmospheric effect out of its wide, busy compositions and chiaroscuro lighting, Adam Nee plays Thomas Flynn, skinny and nebbish, a lefty bookstore owner and author of 9/11 conspiracy books. One of these books leads him into a situation of increasingly deadly intrigue involving a mysterious Eastern-European woman named Kasia (Elina Lowensohn), who comes to his store one day claiming to have information verifying Mohammad Atta’s involvement with the US Government. After she waltzes into his Brooklyn bookstore Vox Pop and claims to have answers to his many questions, they set off together on a trip down the noir paradigm of secrets and lies, betrayals and cover ups." Read the rest of the review here . Go here to buy tickets for the NYC screenings of Danger at Pioneer.

Check out the comsCore report here .

A trailer for the new film Obsession - Radical Islam's War Against the West . From the description of the film : "Using images from Arab TV, rarely seen in the West, Obsession reveals an ‘insider's view' of the hatred the Radicals are teaching, their incitement of global jihad, and their goal of world domination. With the help of experts, including first-hand accounts from a former PLO terrorist, a Nazi youth commander, and the daughter of a martyred guerrilla leader, the film shows, clearly, that the threat is real. A peaceful religion is being hijacked by a dangerous foe, who seeks to destroy the shared values we stand for. The world should be very concerned." A trailer:

From this article : "The movie service, currently in beta, will launch in mid-November with the same basic proposition as TuneCore's music offering: 1. Pay upfront flat fee 2. Have your work sent out to the digital download stores of your choice 3. Profit! TuneCore takes no rights nor percentages, so artists keep all of the money (the stores still take their cut, of course). While an album of music can be delivered for $20 or $30, films will cost much more. Pricing will depend on the length of the work; a 60-minute film will cost $550 and a 90-minute film will cost $770." More at the ars technica article . Visit TuneCore's site . - Sujewa

Here . Thanks Docs Interactive for the link. Here's most of a recent post from Docs Interactive re: Berends, his interpreter George & their situation in Nigeria: "American filmmaker Andrew Berends and his interpreter Samuel George are back in the custody of the Nigerian State Security Service after a weekend of freedom. Something similar apparently happened to another documentary filmmaker earlier this year, but she was released entirely after one day of being back in custody. Andy has not been. So it is more important than ever to continue the international pressure to get Andy and Samuel released. For recommendations how, please continue to visit http://helpandy.wordpress.com/ " - Sujewa

The LHC gets turned on this Wednesday, the last I heard. And some people think it will cause the planet to blow up. Not so says Professor Brian Cox in the YouTube video below. About the LHC's goals, from Wikipedia : "When activated, it is theorized that the collider will produce the elusive Higgs boson , dubbed the "God Particle" [6] , the observation of which could confirm the predictions and missing links in the Standard Model of physics and could explain how other elementary particles acquire properties such as mass ."

Looks good; first feature by Gary King: NEW YORK LATELY - Theatrical Trailer from Kitchen Table Films on Vimeo .

After making a lot of short films, Amir has completed his first fiction feature - titled Whale, here's the trailer & some info. about it: " whale Cameron, a writer who seems to have never finished his first novel, returns home to his mother’s house in Orange County Ca., after a failed relationship and lack of direction with life. Back home, Cameron spends his time reacquainting with old high school friends, only to find that life has only gotten more confusing for everyone. What is a young man to do when he seems to have lost all hope? The film uses a cast made up of mostly non-actors, including Motlagh’s real life parents. Many of the cast were first seen in Amir Motlagh’s short film, Dino Adino (2001). By using an alternative narrative style, the film destroys the lines of fiction and documentary by engaging the audience in a way that traditional narrative fictions cannot. Motlagh utilized an approach that mixes the cinematic language, using influences ranging from Dogme

A brief history of independent film, at New York Times . - Sujewa

Finally some indie film news to blog; this place was in danger of turning into a full-blown X-Files type strange stories zone :): "Kitchen Table Film Presents NEW YORK LATELY Friday, October 17 at Tribeca Cinemas New York, New York – September 8, 2008 - On Friday, October 17, Kitchen Table Films will hold a private premiere event of the independent feature film drama NEW YORK LATELY at the Tribeca Cinemas in New York. Written, directed and produced by Gary King, the premiere will feature a full screening of the 92-minute film and host an after party at the same venue. The filmmakers and select cast will be in attendance for post-screening Q&A's. NEW YORK LATELY follows multiple characters as they weave through their daily lives struggling to find happiness. Using New York as the backdrop, filmmaker Gary King interweaves several unrelated tales into a larger tapestry that not only pulls viewers into these intimate day-to-day lives,but also draws on those interactions to sho