Rooftop Films in New York City is celebrating its 20th Annual Summer Series. This year’s series will feature more than 50 outdoor screenings in more than 13 spectacular venues, with live music, special enhancements and the best new, independent films from around the world.
A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, winner of this year’s Academy Award for Best Documentary, Short Subject, recently made its world premiere on HBO. Directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (who also won an Oscar in 2012 of Saving Face) and edited by Geof Bartz, A.C.E., the 40-minute film went through editorial conforming, final color grading and preparation for broadcast at Technicolor PostWorks New York.
As the U.S. Supreme Court decides in 2016 whether individual states may essentially outlaw abortion (Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt), a new documentary, Trapped, follows the struggles of the clinic workers and lawyers who are on the front lines of a battle to keep abortion safe and legal for millions of American women. The movie premieres April 25 as part of the Big Sky Film Festival in Montana.
Two acclaimed documentary film production companies are teaming up to chronicle an unlikely contender in the battle to halt climate change: soil. A co-production of The Big Picture Ranch (Fuel, The Big Fix, Pump) and Benenson Productions (Dirt! The Movie, The Hadza: Last of the First), Kiss the Ground will be produced by Josh Tickell, Rebecca Harrell Tickell and Bill Benenson. Josh and Rebecca Tickell are directing. Laurie Benenson, Anna Getty and Michelle Lerach are executive producing.
Roundabout Entertainment provided sound design, sound mixing and DCP services for Seth, director Zach Lasry’s short film screening at this month’s SXSW Film Festival. Lorenzo Gutierrez was the sound designer and re-recording mixer for the dark comedy about a man’s desperate attempt to impress his father. Seth will screen as part of SXSW’s Midnight Shorts Competition.
Director Arlene Bogna's independent film The Ballad of Snake Oil Sam will be screened at the New Filmmakers Los Angeles Festival on Match 19. New Filmmakers Los Angeles is a non-profit organization designed to showcase innovative works by emerging global filmmakers. “Part of the Alliance of Women Directors initiative with NFMLA, The Ballad of Snake Oil Sam is an off beat ride into the creative areas we seldom explore with captivating photography and production design along with committed performances,” said NFMLA creative director/co-founder, Susie Kim. “This curious short film will engage you till the end.”
Three Arab films supported by Sanad, the development and post-production fund of twofour54, have won awards at the 66th annual Berlin International Film Festival held this month in Germany. Mohamed Ben Attia, director of Inhebbek Hedi (Hedi), supported by Sanad in development and post-production, received the Best First Feature Award (50,000 euros) during the official closing ceremony, and the film’s lead actor Majd Mastour received the Silver Bear for Best Actor as part of the official competition awards.
The entertainment equity crowd-funding company IndieCrowdFunder.com has filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to register as a Funding Portal under Title III of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012. The new rules, approved October 2015, will allow filmmakers to raise up to one million every twelve months via equity platforms from accredited and unaccredited investors.
Kodak announced the Grand Prize winners of the Kodak Super 8 Filmmaking Challenge following last night’s screening of works from the 15 semi-finalists’ films at the Slamdance Film Festival. Kodak launched the Super 8 Filmmaking Challenge last November as part of the company’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of Super 8. The Grand Prize Audience winners of Kodak’s inaugural online contest are:
Kodak and Sundance Institute are collaborating to support the Institute’s preservation efforts while also supporting independent filmmakers who are using motion picture film. As part of the new alliance, Kodak is providing film to the Sundance Institute’s Archives, which hosts a wealth of images, tapes and artifacts preserved over its rich 35-year history. Kodak is also creating 35mm exhibition prints for filmmakers who originated their projects on film and those with features in the U.S. Competition categories at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival who want to screen a film print. Additionally, Kodak is offering Sundance Lab participants a 50 percent discount on film purchased for origination of their project.
