Chicago filmmakers will have just 48 hours to write, direct and edit original films this weekend as part of the 13th Chicago 48 Hour Film Project. The 48 Hour Film Project (48HFP) is an international film festival that pushes filmmakers to create a short film from start to finish over the course of two days. There are 48 Hour Film Projects in over 130 cities across six continents throughout the year. The winning film from each city has the opportunity to compete in the Filmapalooza international competition, which will be hosted in Paris in 2018. The top 12 films coming…
Author: World Cinema Reports' Editors
Stream thousands of movies, including hundreds of Criterion Collection titles, for free? And all you need is a library card? Surely, it can’t be this simple, right? It is. More than 200 public library systems in the United States have teamed up with the streaming platform Kanopy to bring some 30,000 movies to library cardholders, free of charge. Kanopy’s emphasis is on documentaries and international films, all of which can be streamed on your computer, through a Roku box or on iOS and Android phone apps. Be careful not to plan a mega binge-watch just yet, though. Each library imposes its own…
DJI, the world’s leader in civilian drones and aerial imaging systems, today announced its partnership with South Korea’s top production house, Zanybros, taking video content creation to new heights with DJI’s aerial and camera technology. The first example of this partnership is the “Love Whisper” music video for the popular K-pop girl group GFriend, which has already generated more than 22 million YouTube views in just three weeks. The strategic partnership will see DJI providing hardware and technical support to Zanybros’ future filming and production projects. There are also plans to collaborate on training programs for professionals especially those in…
It is probably a festival you have not heard many hypes made for especially in Africa. However, the Chelsea Film Festival has been around and is waxing strong as it enters its fifth-anniversary edition set to hold in New York, October 2017. The Chelsea Film Festival is an international film festival that enlightens the works of emerging filmmakers, producers, and actors. With offerings for short films, documentaries, and feature-length pieces, the festival, seeks to give voices to the unheard by providing a platform to promote independent films and discover new talents. Founded in 2013 by French actress Ingrid Jean-Baptiste and…
The wife of Ghana’s Vice-President, Samira Bawumia has advised local movie producers to learn from their foreign counterparts and improve upon what they are doing. According to her, there was no need for Ghanaian movie producers to reinvent the wheel but rather strive to meet the expectations of movie lovers. Mrs Bawumia has recently been criticised by some sections of the public after she posed for photos with casts of popular telenovela Kumkum Bhagya when she visited India in July. https://youtu.be/zHWtxBKA2PU The criticisms were born out of concerns that tee novels have gradually killed the local movie industry. But speaking…
Returning for a 12th year, Sydney’s Latin American film festival will give movie lovers the chance to embrace the diversity of Latin American cultures on screen. With eight films, two documentaries, seven short films plus two fiestas, the festival is set to pack a lot into five days. The festival’s focus this year is on themes of human resilience, political turmoil and redemption. Opening night starts the festival with a bang, with pre-screening drinks from 6.30pm and empanadas from Mexican catering company Pablo’s Kitchen. Award-winning Cuban film On the Roof will have its Australian premiere for opening night. The film…
Iranian documentary ‘Mashti Esmaeil’ will take part in the competition section of the 15th Experimental International Film Festival (flExiff 2002-2022), which is due to be held in Sydney, Australia, on September 23-24, 2017. Directed by Mahdi Zamanpour Kiasari, the documentary is about an old man who, despite losing his eyesight at the age of forty due to a genetic disorder, is not only leading a normal life independently, but engages in activities that even ordinary people fail to perform. In late September 2017, the flExiff 2002-2022 will present its 15th and last edition, despite lack of funds, with unconditional support…
Iranian cinema has seen over a 100-percent growth in box office receipts over the past five months compared to a similar period a year earlier. About 30 movies hit the Iranian theaters over the past five months, grossing over 1,740 billion rials (over $45.5 million), while the theaters earned 1,560 billion rials (about $41 million) from the screening of 60 films during 12 months from March 20, 2016 to March 20, 2017, the Persian service of ILNA reported. Saman Moqaddam’s comedy “Sperm Whale 2: Roya’s Selection” was the top-grossing movie of the past five months with over $5.2 million, followed…
The Board of the European Film Academy wishes to express its deepest concern about the Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov being placed under house arrest and calls for his immediate release. Kirill Serebrennikov, one of the most prominent Russian theatre and film directors who was part of the EFA Selection 2013 with BETRAYAL (Izmena) and 2016 with THE STUDENT (Uchenik), for which Ilya Demutsky received the award European Composer 2016, and whose films were presented at festivals like Cannes, Venice and Locarno, was charged with fraud, detained in Moscow and placed under house arrest. This means that he is unable to continue his…
New Yorkers were treated to a series of rare Indonesian films, mostly in Bahasa Indonesia with subtitles in English, during the just-concluded Indonesia Film Festival New York 2017. The films screened at a local cinema house, were unusual not only in thematic terms but also the presentation techniques, including animated form of presentation, dwelling on a variety of subjects that hinge on the country’s socio-cultural realities. The three-day festival, which was wrapped up Monday night with a dinner hosted by the Indonesian consul general in New York, Abdul Kadir Jailani, who told Bernama that this was the “very first time”…