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Kansas City FilmFest Submission Deadline is August 15th

25-Jul-08

The KC Jubilee Film Festival & FilmFestKC have joined forces to bring you a NEW film extravaganza in 2009: Kansas City FilmFest

The new festival will be presented by the Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee. All filmmakers, anywhere, are invited to submit your short or feature film - drama, comedy, documentary, animation, or experimental work. It must have been completed since January 1, 2007.

EARLY DEADLINE DATE: August 15, 2008 (Other deadlines: 10/1/2008, 11/15/2008. and 12/01/2008)

ENTRY FEES:
* Heartland Division (any filmmaker in Missouri or Kansas): Open:$10 / Student: $5 (short or feature)
* US/International & CinemaJAZZ Divisions: Shorts: $15 / Features: $25

Go to our website - www.kcjubilee.org - for complete details, entry form, and pay fee online.

Check out our special CinemaJAZZ division if you have made a work (short or feature) inspired by JAZZ

Send your screener (DVD-region 1), check, entry form to:
KC Jubilee
4826 W. 77th Terrace
Prairie Village, KS 66208-4321

If you have any questions - call 913-649-0244 or email: kcjub@kcjubilee.org

Fred G. Andrews, President

Kansas City 48 Hour Film Project Registration Deadline July 28th

24-Jul-08

The 48 Hour Film Project comes to Kansas City on the weekend of August 15. Filmmakers from all over the Kansas City area will compete to see who can make the best short film in only 48 hours. The winning film will go up against films from around the world for the title “Best 48 Hour Film of 2008″.

Enter today! Space is limited.

Teams will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Once the initial registration is full, we will put teams on a waiting list. If a registered team drops out or if we add additional theater space, teams on the waiting list will be added to the Project.

Join Us for A Meet & Greet
Date: Wednesday, July 30th
Time: 5:30p-7pm
Place: Bar Natasha, 1911 Main Street
Notes: Form a team, join a team, get tips, learn the rules, hear the genres, hang out, meet the competition, and get all the info!

Special registration rate for new cities is $125. Registration ends July 28.

1927’s ‘Metropolis’ Long-Lost Reels Recovered

23-Jul-08

Paula Felix-Didier of the Museo del Cine in Buenos Aires, Argentina, discovered more than 20 minutes of missing film footage from the classic science fiction silent movie Metropolis in her museum’s archives. German filmmaker Fritz Lang directed the film, and three reels have been missing almost since its premiere in 1927.

Felix-Didier, the museum’s director, talks with Deborah Amos of NPR.

“About A Son” Director AJ Schnack On His Branson Project

22-Jul-08

AJ Schnack, Director of “About a Son: The Kurt Cobain Story” writes on his blog about his current project that is underway in Branson, Missouri:

For the past two months, I’ve been spending the majority of my time not in Los Angeles, but in Branson, Missouri, at work on a new nonfiction feature about the community that Bart Simpson once referred to as “Vegas if Ned Flanders ran it” and once famously dubbed “the live entertainment capitol of the world”.

For the first time in my filmmaking career, I am co-directing with my good friend David Wilson (on left in the photo), whom most of you know as the co-conspirator behind the popular and influential True/False Film Festival, but who I have known for years as an accomplished artist in his own right. David and I have been talking for a while about working on a project together and he had long wanted to make a film about Branson, specifically about those who make their home in Branson - a town of 7,000 that draws more than 8 million visitors a year with its mix of music shows, outdoor recreation and self-described family friendly values (read: patriotism and religious values worn proudly on sleeve).

We hope that our film - one that looks to the future of what Branson may soon become - is one that will challenge pre-conceived notions and we’re incredibly grateful to everyone in the community that has opened their door to us, particularly our main subjects who are constantly putting up with our cameras and our questions and what may sometimes appear to be stalker-like behavior.

Welcome back to the Ozarks AJ

Make a Backyard Movie Theater

21-Jul-08

In case the crowds at Founders Park have scared you away (or the choice of films), here’s some basic instructions on setting up your own Backyard movie screening. Besides the projector, the screen and audio choices are the most important and there are several examples of inexpensive screens that are particularly useful.

Step 1: Pick a space
You can’t throw up an outdoor theater just anywhere. Details like physical space and access to power are extremely important.

Ideally you’ll want enough room to place the screen, while still providing enough space to stage a seating area. If you’re unsure of screen size or position, leave a little extra space for last minute projector adjustments.

Also keep in mind you’re going to need room for more than just people. With a DVD player, a projector and a sound system, it’s likely you’ll need room for tables and other furniture.

TIP: It’ll also be worthwhile to free up a surge protector since the Audio/Video gear is going to require a lot of juice. If your chosen space is light on outdoor outlets, remember you can always run the surge protector outside via an extension cord.

click on the link for the rest of the details. Hat tip to Lifehacker.

New York Reality TV School Seminar

20-Jul-08

What would I do without the Wall Street Journal to keep me up-to-date on reality TV?

The New York Reality TV School, which offers a three-hour course for $139, opened its doors last month to a variety of aspiring wannabes: contestants in reality shows who need coaching, actors wanting to make a career move, mere amateurs, and anyone in between. Oh blessed New York, which harbors such preposterous phenomena still.

Mr. Galinsky launched the evening with “The 7 Commandments of Reality TV.” Commandment No. 2 requires that “Thou Shall Never Say ‘I Am an Actor’” and commandment No. 6 demands that “Thou Shall Say ‘Yes’ as Often as Possible.” And the eighth “Bonus” commandment says “Thou Shall Show Confidence Not Cockiness.”

Pixar Animator Blog

19-Jul-08

I read way too many blogs, but they can be a nice diversion when I’m trying to avoid real work. They can also be enlightening and fun as well and this one qualifies under both categories.

Nate Wragg grew up in Davis, a small town in Northern California. After High School he moved down to LA and went to CAL ARTS for three years. Studied animation under James Baxter for a summer, and now works at PIXAR as an artist.

Some great art. Hat tip to Frank Chimero, an MSU graduate responsible for the 1st Friday Art Walk graphic among other fine examples of the graphic arts.

SnagFilms.com

17-Jul-08

Lot’s of news to share with you on SnagFilms, a new company founded by Ted Leonsis and backed by Steve Case and Miles Gilburne. Let’s start here:

SnagFilms Offers Free Instant Streaming And Viral Sharing Of Hundreds Of Documentary Films. Ad Revenue Shared With Filmmakers, Viewers Connected To Causes

Washington, D.C., July 17, 2008 – At a time when independent documentary films are experiencing a creative boom, yet theatrical distribution channels have gone bust, the beta launch today of SnagFilms helps both independent filmmakers and iconic production companies – and the audiences that want to see their movies.

SnagFilms was created to address the bottleneck in distribution for quality documentaries that has left many great films unable to reach their potential audience or to provide a viable financial return. It also offers established media companies with deep libraries a way of getting “long-tail” documentaries out of the vaults and before a worldwide, on-demand audience.

    In addition to that

SnagFilms, which brings the best nonfiction films to a global web audience and promotes viral web distribution through virtual movie theater widgets, today announced the acquisition of indieWIRE, the leading news, information, and social networking site for the international independent film community, from its publisher GMD Studios. SnagFilms went into beta release this morning and its launch was announced here (also above)

    Finally, here’s a review of the service by Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal

SnagFilms Finds Virtual Theaters For Documentaries
Thousands of feature-length documentary films are produced every year, but almost nobody gets a chance to see them. A few dozen are shown to small audiences at major film festivals, and a handful make it into theaters. For every blockbuster like “An Inconvenient Truth,” there are hundreds of documentaries that never find an audience.

Starting Thursday (today), however, there will be a new online service that aims to change all that. The service, called SnagFilms, allows anyone with a blog, a Web site, or even a page on a social-networking site, to open a virtual movie theater and show these documentaries, free. The virtual theater is a small widget that contains the film, and that can be embedded easily and quickly in a wide variety of popular social-networking services and blog platforms. No technical knowledge is needed.

So, what do we have? A free online repository of documentary films that is funded by advertising on the website that is also offering the online community tools that help take a video viral. I’ve added the application to my Facebook profile and invited a few of you (it cut me off after 30 invites) to try it as well. Follow the links above and tell me if you upload a documentary of yours!

Still working to add it to this site. More to come I’m sure!

Christian Gaines Joins Withoutabox

15-Jul-08

Gaines Bolsters Withoutabox as B-Side Prepares Rival Online Fest Submission Site
by Eric Kohn (July 14, 2008)

Last week, Christian Gaines officially left his post at the American Film Institute, paving the way for his new job as Director of Festivals for Withoutabox, marking the latest example of the digitally-oriented film community reaching into the professional grab bag of the larger industry. As Gaines joins Withoutabox, the company is facing the threat of competition from a similar upstart service from B-Side, a would-be rival online film festival submission service.

For Withoutabox, the decision to hire Gaines suggests its desire to emulate the workings of a mainstream festival. “I will be responsible for overseeing Withoutabox’s film festivals business, including relations and business development on the global festival circuit,” Gaines told indieWIRE.

Since launching in 2001, Withoutabox has been virtually unmatched in its festival submission services, which enables filmmakers to pay a flat fee to have a single film submitted to hundreds of festivals. Earlier this year, the company was purchased by the Internet Movie Database (itself owned by Amazon), ultimately ramping up the cash flow and heightening its resources.

“True to Life” Benefit Concert Sunday At Big Momma’s

11-Jul-08

From the Green Glass Productions Facebook event page:

We are in pre-production for an up and coming short film called “True to Life” written by Jana Thomas and directed by Jonna Howes. Making good movies costs money. Come and jam out to some amazing music and support our film.

$3 cover (gets you 1 free raffle ticket)
Some of the BEST musicians in Springtown and $1 Drinks.

Bands include: South Avenue Jazz Band, Superstar Runner, Canto 17, Lyal Strickland and APIA
In addition, there will be Local Short Films featured, a Silent Auction and a Raffle.

Oh ya…and every drink is $1! WHEN THEY’RE GONE, THEY’RE GONE.