News

Bloodsucking creatures of the night take a bite out of the professional dancing world with dire consequences when vampire Charlotte Neville gets a taste of ballerina Violette Lenoir in Freda Warrington’s The Dark Blood of Poppies, her follow-up to A Dance in Blood Velvet. Titan Books has provided us with an exclusive excerpt that sees Sebastian Pierse facing sinister seductions in 1700’s Ireland.

“The ballerina Violette Lenoir has fallen victim to the bite of the vampire Charlotte. Her fire and energy have fuelled a terrifying change and a dreadful realisation; that Violette has become Lilith, the demon mother of all vampires. Haunted both by what she has done and by Violette’s dark sensuality, Charlotte and her immortal lover Karl are drawn towards the dancer and the terrible destiny that has fallen on her shoulders. But other, far more dangerous shadows are gathering around Violette. To the vampire Sebastian...

Ewan McGregor will once again return as host for this year’s Go Go Gala for charity.

The fourth annual Go Go Gala will benefit the Go Campaign, an organization dedicated to empowering orphans and vulnerable children throughout the world to secure a better future. The Go Campaign is a youth-driven nonprofit that cuts out the red tape and provides a direct connection to deserving grass-roots organizations serving children in need.

This year, Ewan will join the Go Campaign in honoring Chris Mburu. Chris grew up in Kenya having his $15 a month school fees sponsored by a schoolteacher in Sweden – a Holocaust survivor who felt it was important to give back. She had no idea how her small act of paying it forward would change the life of this boy she had never met. Chris not only excelled in school, but upon graduating from Harvard Law, Chris started a foundation...

• Toronto Entry #3

If more people were like Tilda Swinton, what a better world this would be. She looks people straight in the eye. She levels. She notices and cares about them--not just the big shots, but everyone. She still corresponds with Hilde Back, the 83-year-old Swedish woman who was the heroine of the great documentary "A Small Act" at Ebertfest 2011. She personally helps haul a trailer across the north of Scotland so that movies can be exhibited in towns without cinemas. She is formidably intelligent and forthright. She has a good heart. She freshens my faith in the cinema.

She makes movies she believes in. She says they always begin with a conversation with a director. She makes films, not projects. She has joined her considerable prestige to the work of many independent directors, and is also at home in high-profile work like Tony Gilroy's "Michael Clayton," for which...

On Monday, August 15, 2011, Wif and Ida joined forces at The Cinefamily to produce a panel of esteemed women documentary filmmakers called Doc U: Women Behind the Camera. Moderated by producer Lucy Webb, the panel featured the insight of Lauren Greenfield (Thin), Jennifer Arnold (A Small Act), and veteran filmmaker Michele Ohayon (S.O.S/State of Security, Colors Straight Up). The three panelists each took their turns answering questions from Ms. Webb and the audience. Here's some of the educational and inspiring things they had to say.Jennifer Arnold on choosing a ...

Jennifer Arnold (A Small Act) has officially signed on to join Michele Ohayon (S.O.S/State of Security, Colors Straight Up) and Lauren Greenfield (Thin) on the Women Behind the Camera panel as a part of Doc U on Monday, August 15 at 7pm. Moderated by producer Lucy Webb, these accomplished women filmmakers will discuss the rewards, challenges and opportunities women face in producing and directing documentary films. This special engagement is one night only. The night's conversation will be followed by an audience Q&A and a reception on the Cinefamily's backyard Spanish patio.

Purchase Tickets ...

This week on indieWIRE Cannes 2011 came to a close, Lars von Trier spoke about his recent scandal, Scott Erickson attempted to revive Grand Rapids, Michigan and much more. Reviews This week's Small Screens column was doc heavy. Among those not to miss: "A Small Act," Jennifer Arnold's moving account of a Kenya-born boy and her Swedish sponsor, the Yves Saint Laurent love letter, "L'Amour Fou," and the Martin Scorsese ...

This week two critically acclaimed docs hit DVD, Yves Saint Laurent gets remembered on VOD and David Hyde Pierce plays the perfect host. Top DVD Pick for This Week: Title: "A Small Act" Director: Jennifer Arnold The Deal: A big winner on the festival circuit, Jennifer Arnold first feature documentary, "A Small Act," interweaves the lives Kenya-born Chris Mburu and his Swedish sponsor Hilde Back, to prove what a difference ...

I didn't attend the April 30 critics' screening for "Thor" because it was at the same time Ebertfest was showing "A Small Act," about an 88-year-old woman named Hilde Back. She'd flown from Sweden, and I wanted be onstage to present her with the Golden Thumb. Missing "Thor 3D" was not an inconsolable loss, because Richard Roeper covered it for the paper and I was able to see it in Chicago in nice, bright 2D. The house was surprisingly well-populated for a 8:50 p.m. screening on a Monday, suggesting that some people, at least, will make an effort to avoid 3D.

"Thor" is failure as a movie, but a success as marketing, an illustration of the ancient carnival tactic of telling the rubes anything to get them into the tent.

"You won't believe what these girls take off!" a carny barker promised me and my horny pals one steamy night at the Champaign County Fair.

The 2011 edition of a movie critic's dream unreels again this week. In my own home town, I'll be able to show the films of my choice in a classic movie palace, flawlessly projected on a giant screen before a movie-loving audience. To paraphrase Orson Welles when he was given the run of Rko Radio Pictures to make his own movie, it's the biggest train set a boy could ever want.

Ebertfest 2011 runs April 27-May 1. The passes have been sold but we've always been able to find room for everyone in line inside the 1,600-seat Virginia Theater. Its long-term renovation continued this year with work on the lobby, the concession stand and the upstairs lobby. The marquee is a work in progress.

The preservation of theaters like this is invaluable; such buildings will never again be constructed, and most of our filmmakers will never have seen their films with such a large audience.

Return of Wes Craven franchise has audiences out for blood, while Rio and Hop benefit from Easter holiday bounce

The winner

Leaving a gap of 11 years between sequels always runs the risk of audiences losing interest, and backer Dimension Films must have thought long and hard about the title of its fourth Scream movie. Scream 4, you'd think, wouldn't have strong appeal to audiences that hadn't seen the earlier films, and today's 20-year-old was aged only nine when Scream 3 was released back in 2000. Looking at the examples of other franchises, despite arriving only three-and-a-half years after Final Destination 3, a fresh start was suggested with the title of the next instalment, 2009's The Final Destination, and a similar thing happened when Fast & Furious (2009) followed its series' third episode Tokyo Drift (2006). Even when films are sequels, they are often presented as reboots.

Presumably Dimension's research showed that today's audiences had seen,...

Meek's Cutoff (PG)

(Kelly Reichardt, 2010, Us) Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood, Shirley Henderson, Paul Dano, Will Patton. 102 mins

Take away the epic music, the widescreen vistas, the male chauvinism, the gunfights, and just about every other Hollywood western convention, and you get this sparse, haunting evocation of American pioneering – which is probably far closer to how the west was really won. This group of settlers breaks away from the Oregon trail only to wander through an uncharted desert limbo in a trance of thirst, tension and uncertainty. Putting women's roles and the hardships of frontier survival very much to the fore, the result is a western unlike any other.

Your Highness (15)

(David Gordon Green, 2011, Us) Danny McBride, James Franco, Natalie Portman. 102 mins

A medieval stoner-com, dude! Which sounds like a great idea if you're baked, but not if you remember how Year One, that caveman stoner-com, turned out.

Scream 4 (15)

(Wes Craven,...

This week Jason discovers a new twist on the whodunnit as indie director Aaron Katz pulls off a fine homage to crime fiction in his home town of Portland, Oregon.

Jennifer Arnold talks about her new documentary A Small Act which tells of a humble Swedish woman's decision to sponsor the education of a poor but gifted Kenyan boy and its life-changing consequences.

Xan Brooks joins Jason to review James Franco and Danny McBride in the comedy Your Highness, Michelle Williams in Meek's Cutoff and Marion Cotillard in the French drama Little White Lies.

Jason SolomonsXan BrooksJason Phipps...

Sponsorship from an unknown Swedish woman led Chris Mburu towards a Un job and to a national education fund

We all face crossroads in life, but few present choices as stark as those confronting Chris Mburu as he grew up in rural Kenya. He was an exceptionally bright and hard-working lad, but the road to secondary education – and a better life – was exclusively for the well-off. It was the other path, towards a life of poverty and hard graft in the fields, that he would have to take.

Or at least, that was the case until he became the beneficiary of charitable sponsorship by a Swedish woman, Hilde Back. A thought-provoking new documentary, A Small Act, shows how her $15-a-month sponsorship enabled him not only to complete his school education, but to attend the University of Nairobi and - thanks to a Fulbright scholarship - Harvard law school. It all...

Armadillo (15)

(Janus Metz, 2010, Den) 105 mins

After last year's Restrepo, another fine documentary from the Afghanistan front line, bringing us closer than we'd like to a war we'd rather not think about. Again we track a tour of duty with its mix of boredom, adrenaline and futility, but the key differences here are that they're Danish soldiers (who seem a lot less uptight about access) and the camerawork is better than in most fictional war movies. As a result, we're brought right into the soldiers' lives, and pitched into the heart of battle when things really heat up.

Cold Fish (18)

(Sion Sono, 2010, Jap) Makoto Ashikawa, Denden, Mitsuru Fukikoshi. 146 mins

Not your average serial killer, this one's sociable, presentable and a big fish in the fishkeeping world – even if there's a grisly explanation for his success. As we follow a meek colleague drawn into his demented orbit, proceedings get uglier and messier,...

Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, London

What a wonderful world it isn't. But despite the global sweep of conflict, oppression, torture and other abuses dealt with, this festival is never a depressing experience. Instead it's the power of information in action, a vivid picture of what's going on in the world and how to change it. There are hot-button topics like Arab democracy (The Green Wave, on Iran's 2009 elections) and the war on terror (You Don't Like The Truth – 4 Days Inside Guantánamo, The Oath), but there's also powerful drama, like family mystery Incendies or Belgian immigration saga Illégal, and even heartwarming stories like A Small Act, on the far-reaching consequences of a charitable donation.

Various venues, Wed to 1 Apr

Werner Herzog, London & Nationwide

You'd think the German veteran had seen it all, but he keeps finding new wondrous sights to show us. In recent years that has included cash...

Laura Gabbert, Scott Hamilton Kennedy, Caroline Libresco, Doug Pray, Heather Rae, Eddie Schmidt, Aj Schnack to Serve as Lab Mentors .

Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, has launched a new Documentary Lab, sponsored by Latino Public Broadcasting, with 14 filmmakers and 9 projects participating. Documentary Lab is an intensive seven-week program, with a main focus of assisting documentary filmmakers on their works-in-progress and providing creative feedback. All of the Film Independent Labs are designed to support strong, original voices develop their filmmaking careers in a nurturing, yet challenging creative environment. Documentary Lab Mentors include filmmakers Laura Gabbert (No Impact Man), Scott Hamilton Kennedy (The Garden), Doug Pray (Art & Copy), Aj Schnack (Convention),Sundance Film Festival Senior Programmer Caroline Libresco, and producers Heather Rae (Frozen River) and Eddie Schmidt (Troubadours). filmmakers Jen Arnold (A Small Act), Jeff Malmberg (Marwencol), Chicken & Egg.s Julie Benello,...

Maggie Lunn Casting Cdg

Open Call Auditions

Sunday 27Th February 2011

At Rada (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art)Address: Malet Street, London WC1E 7JNEntrance can be found at Rada Theatre’s box office on Malet StMap on www.rada.ac.uk click ‘contact us’ Tubes- Goodge St 5 min walk - Warren St 10 min

Arrive by 10am

Film: Broken – Children’S CASTINGDirector: Rufus Norris Producers: Dixie Linder – Cuba PicturesIn association with BBC Film

Who we are looking for:skunk Cunningham- Leading Role Female – White or Mixed Race, aged between 11 - 14 years to play 11.A bright kid, she is kind, innocent, watchful & curious.

Skunk has a loving dad, an absent mother and a brother (13) they live on a quiet suburban street in London. But they have the neighbours from hell - The Oswalds. A small act of cruelty by one of the Oswald girls leads to increasingly troubled events.

Leading role in the...

If it's too cold to leave the house for your local theater, there's plenty of options if you stay inside online, on demand and on DVD. What follows is your guide to all the new releases coming your way between now and April.

Online and On Demand

My French Film Festival

Thanks to bids for Oscar consideration, the winter is traditionally one of the rare times foreign films get plenty of attention in the States, particularly at West Coast festivals such as Palm Springs and Santa Barbara. However, Francophiles in particular will be excited to know you won't have to go to California or New York -- or even Paris for that matter -- to be able to catch some of the most recent cinema from France since uniFrance is unveiling My French Film Festival, which is being billed as the "first exclusively online film festival celebrating French talent" that...

As the top 10 lists and award nominee announcements continue to roll in, Roger Ebert has thrown his hat in the ring by offering up his own Best of 2010 list. This is one of the few annual lists that I usually give more than a passing glance to, and this year he even ranked his top 10 films too. Beyond that he also offered an additional list of the second ten best films", in addition to lists of his favourite documentaries, foreign films, animated films and thrillers (don't ask me why the thriller genre deserved its own list separate from the rest). There aren't many surprises here, although he did include The Bounty Hunter on his list of best thrillers. Go figure. As Ebert himself says, "2010 was not a great movie year, but it has many great movies." Check out the full list after the jump, or head over to RogerEbert.com [1] to read the whole article.

Los Angeles, CA – Following up on last month's announcement of the Film Forward: Advancing Cultural Dialogue initiative, Sundance Institute announced today the ten films selected to participate in the inaugural year of this cultural exchange program. The first Film Forward slate includes five American and five international films which will be presented in collaboration with public and private partners. These films and their filmmakers will kick off the ambitious project in New York and Tunisia in December. The five American films that will tour throughout the United States and abroad as part of the initiative are: A Small Act directed by Jennifer Arnold; Amreeka directed by Cherien Dabis; Freedom Riders directed by Stanley Nelson; La Mission directed by Peter Bratt, and the 2010 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize Winner, Winter's Bone, directed by Debra Granik. The five international films chosen to complete the line up of independent films are: Afghan Star...

Best Picture

Frontrunners

“The Social Network” (Columbia, 10/1, PG-13, trailer)

“The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company, 11/26, R, trailer)

“Inception” (Warner Brothers, 7/16, PG-13, trailer)

“127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight, 11/5, R, trailer)

“True Grit” (Paramount, 12/25, Tbd, trailer)

“Black Swan” (Fox Searchlight, 12/1, R, trailer)

“The Fighter” (Paramount, 12/10, Tbd, trailer)

“Toy Story 3” (Disney, 6/18, G, trailer)

“The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features, 7/9, R, trailer)

“Winter’s Bone” (Roadside Attractions, 6/11, R, trailer)

Major Threats

“Waiting for ‘Superman’” (Paramount Vantage, 9/24, PG, trailer)

“Rabbit Hole” (Lionsgate, 12/17, Tbd, trailer)

“Another Year” (Sony Pictures Classics, 12/31, PG-13, trailer)

“Get Low” (Sony Pictures Classics, 7/30, PG-13, trailer)

“Shutter Island” (Paramount, 2/19, R, trailer)

“Blue Valentine” (The Weinstein Company, 12/31, Nc-17, trailer)

“How Do You Know” (Columbia, 12/17, R, trailer)

Possibilities

“The Town” (Warner Brothers, 9/17, R, trailer)

“The Way Back” (Newmarket, 12/29, PG-13, trailer)

“Inside Job” (Sony Pictures Classics, 10/8, PG-13, trailer)

“Love and Other Drugs” (20th Century Fox, 11/24, R, trailer)

“Secretariat” (Disney, 10/8, PG, trailer)

“Hereafter” (Warner Brothers, 10/22, PG-13, trailer)

“Somewhere” (Focus Features,...

Best Picture

Frontrunners

“The Social Network” (Columbia, 10/1, trailer)

“The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company, 11/26, trailer)

“Inception” (Warner Brothers, 7/16, trailer)

“127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight, 11/5, trailer)

“True Grit” (Paramount, 12/25, trailer)

“Black Swan” (Fox Searchlight, 12/1, trailer)

“Another Year” (Sony Pictures Classics, 12/31, trailer)

“Toy Story 3” (Disney, 6/18, trailer)

“The Fighter” (Paramount, 12/10, trailer)

“The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features, 7/9, trailer)

Major Threats

“Winter’s Bone” (Roadside Attractions, 6/11, trailer)

“Rabbit Hole” (Lionsgate, 12/17, trailer)

“Waiting for ‘Superman’” (Paramount Vantage, 9/24, trailer)

“Get Low” (Sony Pictures Classics, 7/30, trailer)

“Shutter Island” (Paramount, 2/19, trailer)

“How Do You Know” (Columbia, 12/17, trailer)

“Biutiful” (Roadside Attractions, 12/17, trailer)

“The Town” (Warner Brothers, 9/17, trailer)

Possibilities

“Blue Valentine” (The Weinstein Company, 12/31, trailer)

“Inside Job” (Sony Pictures Classics, 10/8, trailer)

“Love and Other Drugs” (20th Century Fox, 11/24, trailer)

“Secretariat” (Disney, 10/8, trailer)

“Hereafter” (Warner Brothers, 10/22, trailer)

“Somewhere” (Focus Features, 12/22, trailer)

“Made in Dagenham” (Sony Pictures Classics, 11/19, trailer)

“The Way Back” (Newmarket, 12/29, trailer)

Outside Shots

“Fair Game” (Summit, 11/5, trailer)

“Country Strong” (Screen Gems,...

Best Picture

Frontrunners

“The Social Network” (Columbia, 10/1, trailer)

“The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company, 11/26, trailer)

“Inception” (Warner Brothers, 7/16, trailer)

“127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight, 11/5, trailer)

“True Grit” (Paramount, 12/25, trailer)

“The Fighter” (Paramount, 12/10, trailer)

“Black Swan” (Fox Searchlight, 12/1, trailer)

“Toy Story 3” (Disney, 6/18, trailer)

“Another Year” (Sony Pictures Classics, 12/31, trailer)

“The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features, 7/9, trailer)

Major Threats

“Waiting for ‘Superman’” (Paramount Vantage, 9/24, trailer)

“Get Low” (Sony Pictures Classics, 7/30, trailer)

“Shutter Island” (Paramount, 2/19, trailer)

“Secretariat” (Disney, 10/8, trailer)

“Rabbit Hole” (Lionsgate, Tbd, trailer)

“Love and Other Drugs” (20th Century Fox, 11/24, trailer)

“Winter’s Bone” (Roadside Attractions, 6/11, trailer)

“The Town” (Warner Brothers, 9/17, trailer)

Possibilities

“Biutiful” (Roadside Attractions, 12/17, trailer)

“How Do You Know” (Columbia, 12/17, trailer)

“The Way Back” (Newmarket, Tbd, trailer)

“Hereafter” (Warner Brothers, 10/22, trailer)

“Blue Valentine” (The Weinstein Company, 12/31, trailer)

“Inside Job” (Sony Pictures Classics, 10/8, trailer)

“Somewhere” (Focus Features, 12/22, trailer)

“Country Strong” (Screen Gems, 12/22, trailer)

Outside Shots

“Made in Dagenham” (Sony Pictures Classics,...

Best Picture

Frontrunners

“The Social Network” (Columbia, 10/1, trailer)

“The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company, 11/26, trailer)

“Inception” (Warner Brothers, 7/16, trailer)

“127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight, 11/5, trailer)

“True Grit” (Paramount, 12/25, trailer)

“The Fighter” (Paramount, 12/10, trailer)

“Toy Story 3” (Disney, 6/18, trailer)

“Black Swan” (Fox Searchlight, 12/1, trailer)

“Another Year” (Sony Pictures Classics, 12/31, trailer)

“The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features, 7/9, trailer)

Major Threats

“Waiting for ‘Superman’” (Paramount Vantage, 9/24, trailer)

“Secretariat” (Disney, 10/8, trailer)

“Rabbit Hole” (Lionsgate, Tbd, teaser)

“Love and Other Drugs” (20th Century Fox, 11/24, trailer)

“Hereafter” (Warner Brothers, 10/22, trailer)

“Inside Job” (Sony Pictures Classics, 10/8, trailer)

“The Town” (Warner Brothers, 9/17, trailer)

“Get Low” (Sony Pictures Classics, 7/30, trailer)

“The Way Back” (Newmarket, Tbd, trailer)

Possibilities

“How Do You Know” (Columbia, 12/17, trailer)

“For Colored Girls” (Lionsgate, 11/5, trailer)

“Shutter Island” (Paramount, 2/19, trailer)

“Biutiful” (Roadside Attractions, 12/17, trailer)

“Blue Valentine” (The Weinstein Company, 12/31, trailer)

“Made in Dagenham” (Sony Pictures Classics, 11/19, trailer)

“Somewhere” (Focus Features, 12/22, trailer)

“Country Strong” (Screen Gems, 12/22, trailer)

Outside...

Best Picture

Frontrunners

“The Social Network” (Columbia, 10/1, trailer)

“The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company, 11/26, trailer)

“Inception” (Warner Brothers, 7/16, trailer)

“127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight, 11/5, trailer)

“True Grit” (Paramount, 12/25, trailer)

“Another Year” (Sony Pictures Classics, 12/31, trailer)

“The Fighter” (Paramount, 12/10, trailer)

“Toy Story 3” (Disney, 6/18, trailer)

“The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features, 7/9, trailer)

“Black Swan” (Fox Searchlight, 12/1, trailer)

Major Threats

“Secretariat” (Disney, 10/8, trailer)

“Get Low” (Sony Pictures Classics, 7/30, trailer)

“Rabbit Hole” (Lionsgate, Tbd, no trailer yet)

“Love and Other Drugs” (20th Century Fox, 11/24, trailer)

“Waiting for ‘Superman’” (Paramount Vantage, 9/24, trailer) New

“The Town” (Warner Brothers, 9/17, trailer)

“Made in Dagenham” (Sony Pictures Classics, 11/19, trailer)

“Blue Valentine” (The Weinstein Company, 12/31, trailer)

“The Way Back” (Newmarket, Tbd, trailer) New

Possibilities

“Somewhere” (Focus Features, 12/22, trailer)

“Hereafter” (Warner Brothers, 10/22, trailer)

“Shutter Island” (Paramount, 2/19, trailer)

“Biutiful” (Roadside Attractions, 12/17, trailer)

“Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” (20th Century Fox, 9/24, trailer)

“Winter’s Bone” (Roadside Attractions, 6/11, trailer)

“How Do You Know” (Columbia,...

Best Picture

Frontrunners

“The Social Network” (Columbia, 10/1, trailer)

“The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company, 11/26, trailer)

“Inception” (Warner Brothers, 7/16, trailer)

“127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight, 11/5, trailer)

“True Grit” (Paramount, 12/25, trailer)

“Another Year” (Sony Pictures Classics, 12/31, trailer)

“The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features, 7/9, trailer)

“The Fighter” (Paramount, 12/10, trailer)

“Toy Story 3” (Disney, 6/18, trailer)

“Black Swan” (Fox Searchlight, 12/1, trailer)

Major Threats

“Secretariat” (Disney, 10/8, trailer)

“Get Low” (Sony Pictures Classics, 7/30, trailer)

“Rabbit Hole” (Lionsgate, Tbd, no trailer yet)

“Love and Other Drugs” (20th Century Fox, 11/24, trailer)

“Made in Dagenham” (Sony Pictures Classics, 11/19, trailer)

“The Town” (Warner Brothers, 9/17, trailer)

“Somewhere” (Focus Features, 12/22, trailer)

“Hereafter” (Warner Brothers, 10/22, trailer)

Possibilities

“Shutter Island” (Paramount, 2/19, trailer)

“Biutiful” (Roadside Attractions, 12/17, trailer)

“Fair Game” (Summit, Tbd, trailer)

“Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” (20th Century Fox, 9/24, trailer)

“Blue Valentine” (The Weinstein Company, 12/31, no trailer yet)

“Winter’s Bone” (Roadside Attractions, 6/11, trailer)

“How Do You Know” (Columbia, 12/17, no trailer yet)

Outside Shots

“For Colored Girls” (Lionsgate,...

This past Saturday at the TheTimesCenter, Ifp and the Un's Envision program, which seeks to work on important global social issues through film celebrated its second year. This year's focus is on achieving universal primary education across the globe. Jennifer Arnold's "A Small Act" and Davis Guggenheim's "Waiting for Superman" were screened as part of the event. Here, Envision board member Kiyo Akasaka, the Undersecretary-General for Communication and Public Information, Un, ...

Presented by the Ifp and Un, Envision is a daylong program dealing with the addressing of global issues through documentary. It takes place Saturday, July 10, and you can learn more here. Jennifer Arnold’s A Small Act is one of two features that will be screened at the event. As an impoverished boy in Kenya, Chris Mburu received the fortune of one person’s small donation. When WWII-survivor Hilde Back anonymously sponsored an African child’s education, Chris not only went through school but also became a Harvard-educated human rights lawyer for the Un, all unbeknownst to Hilde. So inspired, Chris and his cousin Jane Wanjiru Muijai started the Hilde Back fund, their own scholarship fund to help Kenyan children pay to go to...

See the first poster and new images from HBO's "A Small Act. The trailer can be found here. Look back for a MovieJungle.com version later today or tomorrow. Jennifer Arnold directed the documentary which airs on . Visit the Official Site. See it on July 12th at 9pm. Next, check out a new clip from the second episode of season 2 of "Hung." The series returned on June 27th and airs at 10:00 p.m. Starring are Thomas Jane, Jane Adams, Anne Heche, Charlie Saxton, Sianoa Smit-Mcphee, Eddie Jemison and Rebecca Creskoff. From "Entourage" you can see a new clip from the second episode of the seventh season. The critically-acclaimed Doug Ellin-created series with Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara and Jeremy Piven returned on June 27th.

Writer/director Jennifer Arnold (2005 Fast Track, 2005 Directors Lab) talks with Film Independent about her film A Small Act.  

The film premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, and also played the Los Angeles Film Festival in June.  Arnold received the Elle/Garnier Directing Fellowship from Film Independent at the 2010 Spirit Awards.  A Small Act will air on HBO on Monday July 12 9pm / 8c.

 

Q: How and when did the idea of A Small Act originate for you?

A: I was actually trying to sponsor a Kenyan student when I heard the story.  I went to University of Nairobi for my year abroad as an undergraduate and I made a lot of friends in Kenya. One of my best friends had been sponsored and I always remembered what a huge impact it made in her life. I called this friend (Jane Wanjiru Muigai, who is in the movie) and asked her how...

Burt Lancaster in Luchino Visconti‘s The Leopard (top); Marko Zaror in Ernesto Diaz Espinosa‘s Mandrill (upper middle); Elsa Daniel in Leopoldo Torre Nilsson‘s The Fall (lower middle); Jennifer Arnold‘s A Small Act (bottom) Luchino Visconti‘s restored The Leopard, Ernesto Diaz Espinosa‘s Mandrill, Leopoldo Torre Nilsson‘s The Fall, and Jennifer Arnold‘s A Small Act are some of the highlights at the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival on Saturday, June 26. Starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, and Claudia Cardinale, Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winner Il Gattopardo / The Leopard (1963) is considered by some to be Visconti’s masterpiece. Set in mid-19th century Sicily, The Leopard explores the foibles of an old-school patriarch (Lancaster) intent on preserving his family’s prestige. An all-around sumptuous production, The Leopard was beautifully shot by Giuseppe Rotunno. (The long ballroom sequence is particularly striking.) Mandrill is described as an...

The 15th anniversary edition of the Nantucket Film Festival (Nff) wrapped up this past Sunday, following a four day event where over 40 features and shorts screened. The big winner at Sunday's closing ceremony was Jennifer Arnold's "A Small Act," which nabbed the Adrienne Shelley Excellence in Filmmaking Award for Arnold, and the Audience Award for Best Feature. Another high profile winner was the popular documentary "Bill Cunningham New York" from ...

Two highly-anticipated second feature films from U.S. underground filmmakers will be making their World Premieres all the way over at the 64th annual Edinburgh International Film Festival, which will run for twelve days on June 16-27. The films are Rona Mark’s The Crab and Zach Clark’s Vacation!.

The Crab, which screens on June 21, is the touching story of a verbally abusive man born with two enormous, mutant-like hands; while Vacation!, which screens on June 20, tracks four urban gals let loose in a sunny seaside resort down South.

Both Mark and Clark previously screened their debut features at Eiff. Mark’s Strange Girls screened there in 2008 and Clark’s Modern Love Is Automatic screened in 2009. Both films also ended up as runners-up in Bad Lit’s annual Movie of the Year award, again Strange Girls in 2008 and Modern Love in 2009. Sadly, these two masterpieces are still unavailable on...

The 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival is set to run June 17-27 in a brand new location. Oh, it’s still in L.A, but it’s moving across town, from Westwood — where it’s been held the past few years — all the way over to Downtown.

The main “hub” for the fest will be the new L.A. Live complex, but there will also be screenings at other locations, such as the Downtown Independent and Redcat theaters. The city is really trying to build downtown up into a major arts and culture hub, so the festival moving there fits in with that agenda. Film Independent, the organization that runs Laff, also runs the annual Independent Spirit Awards, an event that also moved downtown — from Santa Monica — this year.

On Bad Lit, I tend to like to put up festival lineups that include days and times of screenings. However, since I...

North America's largest Documentary festival, HotDocs,  has wrapped up and audiences really, really liked Thunder Soul, a film chronicling the reunion of the Kashmere High School Band - 35 years after their initial success - in honour of their mentor (who turned the school's mediocre jazz band into a legendary funk powerhouse over three decades ago.) 

Much like the Toronto international film festival, the HotDocs awards are given out by way of audience votes, and they put out a top 10 (none of which I personally caught at the festival, and I saw some real quality, in particular The Parking Lot Movie and Life With Murder. 

The complete Top 10:

1. Thunder Soul (D: Mark Landsman; USA)

2. A Drummer's Dream (D: John Walker; Canada)

3. My Life With Carlos (D: German Berger; Chile, Spain, Germany)

4.  Autumn Gold (D: Jan Tenhaven; Austria, Germany)

5.  Leave Them Laughing (D: John Zaritsky; Canada, USA)

6.  Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage (D: Scot McFadyen,...

There are plenty of films to be excited about at this year’s Los Angeles Film Festival, but sadly they’ll probably be overshadowed by one. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse will make its world debut at the festival on June 24th, six days before the film’s release date. However, the screening is invitation-only. How do you get an invitation? I have no idea. Maybe if you sign a contract saying your shrieking won’t rise above a certain decibel level.

As for the other films that aren’t invitation-only, there’s also the Sundance hit The Kids Are Alright, the closing night film Despicable Me, the Duplass Brother’s Cyrus, Neil Marshall’s Centurion, the education documentary Waiting for Superman, and Golden Lion-winner Lebanon.

Hit the jump to check out the full line-up. The 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival will from June 17 – 27.

Here’s the full line-up. For more details,...

Like the headline says, the complete lineup for the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival has been announced and it's a fascinating, eclectic mix. How happy am I to see music doc Separado! in there? Pretty damn happy, as it's one of my absolute favorites of the year and has been resoundingly overlooked.  Read the complete announcement below!

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Los Angeles (May 4, 2010) - Today Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards, the Los Angeles Film Festival, and year-round artist development programs and exhibition events, announced the official selections for the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by the Los Angeles Times. The Festival will run from Thursday, June 17 to Sunday, June 27 in downtown Los Angeles, with its central hub at L.A. Live. Now in its sixteenth year, the Festival is recognized as a world-class event, showcasing the best in new American...

Today Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards, the Los Angeles Film Festival, and year-round artist development programs and exhibition events, announced the official selections for the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by the Los Angeles Times. The Festival will run from Thursday, June 17 to Sunday, June 27 in downtown Los Angeles, with its central hub at L.A. Live. Now in its sixteenth year, the Festival is recognized as a world-class event, showcasing the best in new American and international cinema and providing the movie-loving public with access to critically acclaimed filmmakers, film industry professionals, and emerging talent from around the world.

The 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival will screen over 200 feature films, shorts, and music videos, representing more than 40 countries. This year, the Festival received more than 4,700 submissions from filmmakers around the world. The final selections represent 28 World, North American, and U.S. premieres, which more...

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- Focus Features' The Kids Are All Right to Kick Off Festival   -

- World Premiere of Universal Pictures' 3-D CGI Feature Despicable Me Selected for Closing Night   -

- Summit Entertainment's The Twilight Saga: Eclipse to have World Premiere -

- Galas include Animal Kingdom, Cyrus, Mahler on the Couch, Revolución,& Waiting for Superman   -

Los Angeles (May 4, 2010) - Today Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards, the Los Angeles Film Festival, and year-round artist development programs and exhibition events, announced the official selections for the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by the Los Angeles Times. The Festival will run from Thursday, June 17 to Sunday, June 27 in downtown Los Angeles, with its central hub at L.A. Live. Now in its sixteenth year, the Festival is recognized as a world-class event, showcasing...

Los Angeles (March 5, 2010) – Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, handed out top honors to Precious and Crazy Heart at this evening’s 25th Spirit Awards. (500) Days of Summer, Anvil! The Story of Anvil, An Education, Humpday, The Messenger, and A Serious Man also received awards at the milestone ceremony, held at La Live’s event deck in downtown Los Angeles and broadcast live and uncut on IFC. Acclaimed comedian Eddie Izzard was Master of Ceremonies, and Ben Stiller served as Honorary Chair.

The Spirit Awards was the first event to exclusively honor independent film, and over the past 25 years, has become the premier awards show for the independent film community, celebrating films made by filmmakers who embody independence and originality. Artists receiving industry recognition first at the Spirit Awards include Joel & Ethan Coen, Spike Lee, Oliver Stone, Ashley Judd,...

While our Sundance home page is the place for all our coverage from Park City, here is a brief rundown of what's been going on during the last 24 hours, including the IFC News podcast with Alison Willmore and Matt Singer weighing the positives and negatives of this year's festival including the much-hyped screening of the Banksy doc "Exit Through the Gift Shop," "Restrepo" and "Hesher," plus a new photo gallery for the Ben Affleck-Tommy Lee Jones drama "The Company Men" and reviews of "The Runaways" and "Smash His Camera."

"The Runaways" wasn't music to Sam Adams' ears. Here's an excerpt from his review, which can be found in full here:

Coming-of-age movies are Sundance's stock in trade, but few announce themselves as boldly, and broadly, as "The Runaways," whose first shot is a splotch of menstrual blood hitting the pavement. Said splotch emanates from Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning...

When Chris Mburu and Hilde Back came to Sundance this week to share their story in Jennifer Arnold’s A Small Act they never expected to come away with cold, hard cash. But that’s exactly what happened after their film debuted here on Friday. A Small Act tells the story of Mburu, a Kenyan student who despite his amazing grades had little hope of a future beyond a life of coffee picking, had his life transformed when Back anonymously sponsored him for a few dollars a month. Her donation paved the way for Mburu to graduate high school, go...

Sometimes two films set up an uncanny resonance with one another. I saw two documentaries back to back. One filled me with hope and the other washed me in despair. They were both about the education of primary school children.

"A Small Act" centers on the life story of Chris Mburu, who as a small boy living in a mud house in a Kenyan village had his primary and secondary education paid for by a Swedish woman. This cost her $15 a month. They had never met. He went on to the University of Nairobi, graduated from Harvard Law School, and is today a United Nations Human Rights Commissioner.

"Waiting for Superman" studies the failing American educational system. Oh, yes, it is failing. We spend more money per student than any other nation in the world, but the test scores of our students have fallen from near the top to near the bottom among developed nations.

Sometimes two films set up an uncanny resonance with one another. I saw two documentaries back to back. One filled me with hope and the other washed me in despair. They were both about the education of primary school children.

"A Small Act" centers on the life story of Chris Mburu, who as a small boy living in a mud house in a Kenyan village had his primary and secondary education paid for by a Swedish woman. This cost her $15 a month. They had never met. He went on to the University of Nairobi, graduated from Harvard Law School, and is today a United Nations Human Rights Commissioner.

"Waiting for Superman" studies the failing American educational system. Oh, yes, it is failing. We spend more money per student than any other nation in the world, but the test scores of our students have fallen from near the top to near the bottom among developed nations.

Jennifer Arnold shot her first feature documentary on the fly in a Kenyan village where she didn’t speak the language. The film, “A Small Act,” follows Chris Mburu, a Kenyan boy whose life was dramatically changed when an anonymous Swedish woman sponsored his primary and secondary education. Now a Harvard-educated human-rights lawyer, he hopes to replicate the generosity he once received by founding his own scholarship fund to aid a new …...

Jennifer Arnold shot her first feature documentary on the fly in a Kenyan village where she didn't speak the language. The film, "A Small Act," follows Chris Mburu, a Kenyan boy whose life was dramatically changed when an anonymous Swedish woman sponsored his primary and secondary education. Now a Harvard-educated human-rights lawyer, he hopes to replicate the generosity he once received by founding his own scholarship fund to aid a new ...

Jennifer Arnold shot her first feature documentary on the fly in a Kenyan village where she didn’t speak the language. The film, “A Small Act,” follows Chris Mburu, a Kenyan boy whose life was dramatically changed when an anonymous Swedish woman sponsored his primary and secondary education. Now a Harvard-educated human-rights lawyer, he hopes to replicate the generosity he once received by founding his own scholarship fund to aid a new …...

As I said in Toronto and again at the Hof Flm Festival, until there is parity between male and female directors I will continue to look at women directors. I heard the other day that the number of women directors is actually decreasing in the television world.

Here are some quick facts on Sundance this year:

If you include shorts- 51 women directors are represented at Sundance.

In the Premiere section, out of 16 films 7 have women directors.

John Cooper, Director, Sundance Film Festival, brought it to my attention that "Low Budget is dominated by the boys still but that is changing with Lynn Shelton, Katie Aselton etc stepping up. Even there, many have women producers. I have a hunch in the indie creative producer world women dominate. Like I said, that is just a hunch I have never done a study."

Sundance Film Festival is showing approximately 115 features. Of those 25 (20%) are...

Judging by names like Gibney, Blitz, Poitras, Guggenheim, Stern/Sundberg and Grady/Ewing, 2010's Sundance Documentary Competition will be stellar edition with so many return Sundance filmmakers clogging up the section. - Judging by names like Gibney, Blitz, Poitras, Guggenheim, Stern/Sundberg and Grady/Ewing, 2010's Sundance Documentary Competition will be stellar edition with so many return Sundance filmmakers clogging up the section. I'll do more groundwork but off the bat, I'm automatically interested in Gibney's exploration of Jack Abramoff and crew (the official title for the doc is Casino Jack and the United States of Money), Amir Bar-Lev moves from Kids who paint pictures to adults creating their own pictures as was the bad judgment calls from some high ranking folk in the U.S. government (I'm Pat ------- Tillman) and Jeffrey Blitz's long awaited doc on lottery winners (Lucky). Dammit. I pretty much want to see the entire section.