Film Festival Roundup: True/False Announces Childcare Initiative, Hamptons Rolls Out Anniversary Screening Series and More
Keep up with the always-hopping film festival world with our weekly Film Festival Roundup column. Check out last week’s Roundup right here.
New Initiatives
– EXCLUSIVE: For its 2017 edition, the True/False Film Fest is partnering with Kickstarter to expand its staff childcare initiative to include visiting filmmakers, artists, and musicians. True/False will provide free, professional daycare during the four-day weekend of the Fest in order to make the festival more accessible to artists with young children.
Through this initiative, True/False and Kickstarter seek to support the real, current needs of low-income and single parents, as well as model possibilities for other festivals on how to be more feminist and equitable. With the support of Kickstarter, True/False hopes to offset the cost of expensive child care and help parents give birth to their films, build essential industry relationships and remember why documentary filmmaking is an urgent art.
“Festivals play a vital role as gathering places for the film world” says True/False Co-conspirator David Wilson. “If our guests can’t travel because of young children, they risk missing out on making connections that could lead to future projects.”
The True/False Film Fest will take place March 2 – 5 in downtown Columbia, Missouri.
Special Events
– The Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) will celebrate its 25th anniversary with “25 Years: 25 Films,” screening one film from each year of the festival. 24 screenings throughout The Hamptons, Palm Beach, New York City, and Los Angeles will lead up to one final screening and Lifetime Achievement Award presentation before the annual October Festival.
The “25 Years: 25 Films” series will kick off on February 17 at Guild Hall in East Hampton with “The Piano” from HIFF 1993, and then head to Palm Beach on February 23 for “Black Swan” from HIFF 2010. Notable friends of HIFF, filmmakers, and special guests will participate in exclusive conversations at many of these events.
“We thought this would be a great opportunity to bring some of the best films of the last 25 years to moviegoers around the country,” said HIFF Executive Director Anne Chaisson. “While our hearts are in the Hamptons, our mission is to share great narratives and documentaries with our film-loving supporters everywhere.”
The 25th annual Hamptons International Film Festival will take place over Columbus Day Weekend: October 5 – 9, 2017.
Lineup Announcements
– The Oscar-qualifying New York International Children’s Film Festival announced the complete short film lineup for its 2017 event, which runs February 24 – March 19 at theaters throughout New York.
Proudly celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the 2017 festival offers four exciting weeks of groundbreaking, artistically distinct, fun, thought-provoking, and lively new feature and short film programs carefully curated for a new generation of filmgoers ages 3 to 18. The Festival’s signature short film programs are carefully selected from around the globe and culled from thousands of submissions.
The festival will culminate with the Closing Night Celebration, which will include the announcement of the 2017 award winners and a special program of the Best of the Fest short films. The Festival is an Oscar-qualifying festival, and winners of its Jury Awards qualify for consideration for the 2018 Academy Awards in the Live Action and Animated Short Film categories. You can view the full schedule at their official site.
– The BFI and Radio Times has announced the full line-up for the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival, celebrating the current golden age of TV with more than 40 events featuring some of the biggest names on the small screen.
The new announced today include the stars, writers and producers of some of the biggest TV shows of the year; including “The Crown,” “Victoria,” “The Night Manager,” “Line of Duty,” “Poldark,” “Sherlock,” “Black Mirror” and “Strictly Come Dancing.” Joining the line-up of TV stars is acclaimed director Sir Ridley Scott, who will be in conversation following a screening on April 8 of “The Author of Beltraffio,” a precious gem which has recently been rediscovered by the BFI National Archive, and was directed by Sir Ridley’s brother, the late Tony Scott.
Check out more information on the full lineup, plus how to buy tickets, at the fest’s official site.
– Billed as “the film industry’s best kept secret,” the 13th annual Topanga Film Festival returns February 10 – 12, 2017, and aims to pair the classic cinema form with explorations on immersive storytelling. At this year’s festival the audience can expect an exhilarating weekend of screenings, panels, talks, workshops, parties and VR installations.
Returning in 2017 is the famous International Short Film Competition and the Coveted Coyote Award. The International Short Film program highlights excellence in storytelling including fiction, factual and experimental films — past winners have gone on to win Academy Awards.
The unique film festival takes place in Topanga Canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains overlooking Los Angeles, and is frequented by the California film and music industry, artists, environmentalists, technologists, activists, foodies, and the eccentric Topangan community, providing a unique opportunity to enjoy a wealth of international and local content that ranges from creative to educationally empowering. Check out the full program and book your tickets now at their official site.
– Outfest, the Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization dedicated to nurturing, showcasing and protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) media, today announced its lineup for the 2017 Outfest Fusion LGBT People of Color Film Festival. Outfest Fusion, the only multicultural LGBT film festival of its kind, will be held March 1 – 7 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, Highland Park Cinema and various locations throughout Los Angeles.
Now in its 14th year, Outfest Fusion will include seven days of short and feature film screenings, filmmaker Q&As and networking events that celebrate the diversity of the LGBT community, followed by nine filmmaking workshops. Outfest Fusion is presented by HBO and supported by premiere sponsor Comcast NBCUniversal.
For complete listings and to purchase tickets, log on to the festival’s official website.
Date Announcements
– The Franco-American Cultural Fund has announced the dates for the 21st Anniversary of the COLCOA French Film Festival, which will take place April 24 – May 2, 2017.
The COLCOA French Film Festival was founded in 1997 by The Franco-American Cultural Fund, a unique collaborative effort of the Directors Guild of America, the Motion Picture Association, the Writers Guild of America West, and France’s Society of Authors Composers and Publishers of Music (SACEM). COLCOA is also supported by l’Association des Auteurs-Réalisateurs-Producteurs (ARP), the Film and TV Office of the French Embassy in Los Angeles (French Consulate), the CNC, TVFI, and UNIFRANCE.
COLCOA is the acronym of “City of Light, City of Angels” the original name of an event celebrating relationships between filmmakers from two capital cities of cinema.
Submissions and Calls for Entry
– The DTLA Film Festival announced today that its 9th annual edition will be held September 21 – 30, 2017 in venues throughout burgeoning downtown Los Angeles, including Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE.
Known for its progressive programming and emphasis on diversity, the festival will present more than 100 films of all genres, as well as related events including live music performances, seminars and interactive activities. The festival is the largest film-related event in the City’s historic center. Film submissions are now open.
Submission rules and regulations and complete information regarding eligibility for the 2017 DTLA Film Festival are now available online right here.
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