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

Like something straight out of Amelie, there is a news site called GNN - Good News Now (i think it's an AOL owned site). Need to take a break from reading about the coming war on piracy? How about a story about a porcupine who saved jobs at a zoo ? Check it out at GNN . - Sujewa  :: ADVERTISEMENT Alfonse Maiorino - Italian Genealogy, Public Strategy Group, & more! - http://alfonsemaiorino1.blogspot.com/ Blogger: User Profile: alfonse maiorino http://www.blogger.com/profile/01850766319936497029 Alfonse Maiorino / Al Maiorino blog -  almaiorino .blogspot.com/ Alfonse Maiorino - Linkedin http://almaiorino.blogspot.com/2012/04/al-maiorino-linkedin.html New Projects COMING SOON at: Alfonse Maiorino blog 2 http://alfonsemaiorino2.blogspot.com/2012/04/blogger-user-profile-alfonse-maiorino.html Alfonse Maiorino blog 3 http://alfonsemaiorino3.blogspot.com/2012/04/blogger-user-profile-alfonse-maiorino.html Alfonse Maiorino blog 4 http://alfonsemaiorino4

And now, a word from Amir Motlagh's dog Charlie: Charlie: A dogumentary of sorts from Amir Motlagh on Vimeo .

About the event & the film, from the ATLFF website : "The Opening Night Gala is presented by Turner, and sponsored by Film Finish and Macquarium. VIP Reception hosted by Amnesty International Based on Howard Zinn’s groundbreaking, best selling books A People’s History of the United States and Voices of a People’s History of the United States chronicled the rich history of dissent in our country, presenting the story of America through the eyes of those rarely heard in mainstream histories. Prior to a speaking engagement at the University of Georgia in 1998, Howard Zinn explained that he had set a goal of starting a "quiet revolution" when writing A People’s History: "Not a revolution in the classical sense of a seizure of power, but rather from people beginning to take power from within the institutions. In the workplace, the workers would take power to control the conditions of their lives.” A People's History, a stubbornly dissident work, has become a majo

:: [If the embed above did not work, check out Episode 1 of Indie Film Blogger Road Trip at Blip.TV here ] In this segment of Indie Film Blogger Road Trip we are introduced to film journalist Anthony Kaufman - he talks about a career breakthrough moment. Following the opening titles, filmmaker Sujewa Ekanayake introduces the project, explains why a documentary about indie film bloggers was made. The first bloggers that we visit in our road trip are Brooklyn, New York based Tambay Obenson (The Obenson Report) & Brandon Harris (Cinema Echo Chamber). Some of the subjects discussed in that first visit to Brooklyn include: networking & Black film blogs, one African-American indie filmmaker's reaction to the first major wave of publicity regarding the Mumblecore "film movement", digital filmmaking & its effect on minority filmmaking, the film "I'm Through With White Girls" & marketing challenges faced by some movies by African-American directors,

Plot thickens a bit when Jordan's girlfriend & a slightly long term plan are introduced: Jordan & Bear: Episode 02 from Phase Four Productions on Vimeo .

Any film that uses a man in a bear costume could be a sign post to cinematic genius, in my opinion, so, here's Episode 1 of a show called Jordan & Bear: Jordan & Bear: Episode 01 from Phase Four Productions on Vimeo . Here is the website for Jordan & Bear . - Sujewa

At Atlanta-Journal Constitution . All 3 films have ties to the South and are playing at the Atlanta Film Festival (4/16-25).

This is pretty good, enjoyed it: Low Budget - Part 01 "Creative Financing" from Jedrzej Jonasz on Vimeo . * For more on Low Budget, go here . - Sujewa

Check out this video - a promo thing for a movie called Obsessed.

Except maybe for 1 or 2 ATLFF related posts, taking a break for a few days while I finish up various things so that I can head to Atlanta & enjoy the mighty Atlanta Film Festival (ATLFF) next week. So, see ya, for the most part, next Thu 4/16 - when I will be live from The ATL for the fests' kick-off. - Sujewa

Prague's Franz Kafka International Named World's Most Alienating Airport

Museum of the Moving Image is presenting An Evening With Jim Jarmusch - go here & scroll down a bit for the info. From the AMMI site : "An Evening with Jim Jarmusch Thursday, April 23, 8:00 p.m. At the School of Visual Arts Theater 330 West 23rd Street, Manhattan Jim Jarmusch, whose brilliant and laconic style has made him one of America's most distinctive filmmakers since his debut with Stranger than Paradise in 1984, will participate in a conversation with clips moderated by Chief Curator David Schwartz. In addition to an exclusive look at scenes from his remarkable new film The Limits of Control, which was photographed by Christopher Doyle and has an ensemble cast including Isaach de Bankolé, Paz de la Huerta, Gael Garcia Bernal, and Bill Murray, the evening will include scenes from Stranger than Paradise, Mystery Train, Night on Earth, Dead Man, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Warrior Samurai, and Coffee and Cigarettes. Tickets: $18 public/$15 IFP Members/$12 Museum member

Something that I've been wanting to do for a while is joining Independent Feature Project (IFP) - an organization that I first heard about in 1991 - the year I decided to become a filmmaker. Now that I am a member, looking forward to getting to know IFP better & participating in that community of filmmakers. From IFP's About page : "What IFP does IFP knows where independent film is coming from, helped it get to where it is today, and has the experience and programs to advance its future. IFP fosters the development of 200 feature and documentary films a year through Independent Film Week™, the Independent Filmmaker Labs™ and other activities. IFP offers education in the art, technology and business of independent filmmaking through workshops, seminars, conferences, mentorships and Filmmaker Magazine™, the premier publication in the field. IFP builds the audience for independent films by showcasing them in collaboration with other cultural institutions and celebratin

Filmmaker & Brooklyn Fantastic cast member Amir Motlagh was recently interviewed by OC Arts & Culture . From the interview : " Evan Vincent: Please tell us more about yourself, your background, education and what you do. Amir Motlagh: I am a filmmaker, more specifically, a film director. Initially, I started as an actor, spent a few years getting professional training (Stella Adler, Meisner, Strasburg etc.), then one day, came up with an idea for a film, got a few people together to help, hustled my way into some equipment, and made my first film, Dino Adino in 2001. That was the start of a long love affair with media creation. At that point, I also had a BA in Psychology from UCLA. In some strange misguided way, I thought that this would help me be a better actor. After another five films, some success, some failure, I went back to school to get an MFA, specifically in directing, at Chapman University, mostly to better understand the process of film directed, not just

While reading stuff re: film criticism I found these two paragraphs in a David Bordwell post re: the new doc For The Love of Movies : "...What new ideas are forthcoming from mainstream film criticism? In the Q & A Gerry, like the rest of us, couldn’t come up with many. On reflection, I wonder if the rise of academic film studies forced ideas to migrate to the specialized journals and the Routledge monograph. These ideas also had a different ambit—sometimes not particularly focused on cinema, or on aesthetics, or on creative problem-solving. Of course ideas don’t move on their own. A more concrete way to put this is that bright, conceptually oriented young people who in an earlier era would have become journalistic critics became professors instead. The division of labor, it seems, was to aim Film Studies at an increasingly esoteric elite, and let film reviewers address the masses. It’s an unhappy state of affairs that we still confront: recondite interpretations in the univer