2012 Daejong (Grand Bell) Film Awards – winners

Tonight the 한국영화인협회 (The Motion Pictures Association of Korea) and the Ministry of Culture and Information held the gala ceremony for their 49th 대종상 (Grand Bell) Film Awards for Korean cinema. The hosts were 신현준 (Shin Hyun-Joon) and 김정은 (Kim Jung-Eun).

Sweeping the field tonight was 광해:왕이 된 남자 (Gwanghae: The Man Who Became King / Masquerade) with fifteen awards. Its wins included Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor (이병헌 Lee Byung-Hun), Best Supporting Actor (류승룡 Ryoo Seung-Ryong) and Best Screenplay. The film tells the story of King Gwanghae, the 15th ruler of Korea's last kingdom (the Joseon Dynasty) and the humble acrobat Ha-sun who stands in for him when his life is threatened.

피에타 (Pieta) by acclaimed filmmaker 김기덕 (Kim Ki-Duk) won Best Actress for 조민수 (Jo Min-Su). It also won the Special Jury Award. It recently won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

Call for submissions: 2013 YoungCuts Film Festival

The call for submissions has been put out for the 13th edition of the YoungCuts Film Festival. The festival takes place every fall in Montreal.

They accept films of up to 30 minutes in length from both students and non-students who are 29 years of age or younger on December 31, 2012. They prefer receiving their entries online and will contact you if they need a physical copy.

The Early Bird Deadline for submitting entries is January 31st, 2013. The regular deadline is March 31st, 2013, while the Late Deadline is June 15th, 2013.

2012 Artios Awards – winners

The Casting Society of America held its 28th Annual Artios Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Casting last night at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. The event was hosted by Nicole Sullivan. However, the joint ceremony at the XL Nightclub, Cabaret and Lounge in New York was canceled because of Hurricane Sandy. The award's name derives from an ancient Greek term meaning "perfectly fitted."

The winners for Big Budget Feature – Drama were Kerry Barden, Paul Schnee for The Help. They beat the casting directors for The Descendants, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Hunger Games and Moneyball.

Mindy Marin and Kara Lipson won Big Budget Feature – Comedy for Crazy, Stupid, Love. For Studio or Independent films, the Drama winners were Deborah Aquila, Tricia Wood and Nina Gold for My Week With Marilyn, while the Comedy prize went to Heidi Levitt and Michael Sanford for the Oscar-winner The Artist.

Gala de l’ADISQ 2012 – winners

The Association québécoise de l’industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la vidéo (ADISQ) held their 34th annual Gala de l’ADISQ to present the winners of their 12 main trophées Félix on Sunday night. ADISQ's trophées Félix honour the best in the music industry of Quebec. The event was hosted by comedian Louis-José Houde.

Richard Desjardins and Cœur de pirate both took home two prizes each. Desjardins won Album of the Year – Adult Contemporary for L’existoire as well as Concert of the Year — Singer-Songwriter-Performer. Cœur de pirate won Album of the Year – Pop and Female Performer of the Year.

The Felix for Male Performer of the Year went to Vincent Vallières.

Prix Louis-Delluc 2012 – nominations

The eight nominees for the 70th edition of the Prix Louis-Delluc (Louis Delluc Prize) for the best French film of the year.

Among the nominees were Festival de Cannes competition films Amour by Michael Haneke, Holy Motors by Leos Carax and De rouille et d'os (Rust and Bone) by Jacques Audiard. Noémie Lvovsky's Camille redouble (Camille Rewinds) also was at Cannes in the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs section.

Jacques Audiard recently won the Prix Louis-Delluc in 2009 for Un prophète (A Prophet), while Leos Carax won in 1986 for Mauvais Sang (Bad Blood). Nominees Lucas Belvaux and Noémie Lvovsky shared the prize in 2003 for Trilogie: Un couple épatant / Cavale / Après la vie and Les Sentiments (Feelings) respectively.

2012 Premios Sur (Argentinian film awards) – nominations

The Academia de las Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas de la Argentina (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Argentina Awards) has announced the nominations for their 7th annual Premios Sur (South Awards) for Argentinian film.

Benjamín Ávila's Infancia clandestina (Clandestine Childhood) led the field with a whopping 16 nominations. They included Best Film, Director, Actress (Natalia Oreiro), Supporting Actress (Cristina Banegas), Actor (Ernesto Alterio), Supporting Actor (César Troncoso), and Original Screenplay. It was nominated in every category in which it was eligible. It is Argentina's entry to the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.

Armando Bo's Debut Film El último Elvis (The Last Elvis) followed with 13 nominations. In addition to Best Film and Director, it was nominated for Best Debut Film, Supporting Actress (Griselda Siciliani), New Actor (John McInerny) and Original Screenplay.

NFB's Get Animated!, Oct 26–Nov 10

Get Animated! is the NFB’s annual cross-Canada animation celebration, bringing you some of Canada’s finest animated films.

Meet a troubled young vampire and a six-year-old who collects sounds, board a plane with a traveller who is embarking on a journey into fantasy, and get to know one man who’d rather be a donkey—and another whose broken romance leads him on an absurd exploration of his life.

The NFB, in partnership with a number of organizations across the country, is bringing the magic of animation to over a dozen cities through three exclusive screening programs, including two for children and families.

Designing 007: Fifty Years of Bond Style, Oct 26–Jan 20

Today is the official opening day for the North American premiere of the Designing 007: Fifty Years of Bond Style exhibition at TIFF Bell Lightbox, which runs from October 26, 2012 to January 20, 2013. In addition, three TIFF Cinematheque film programmes will run parallel to the exhibition.

Titled after Bond's famous preference for martini preparation, Shaken, Not Stirred: Bond on Film will offer audiences an exciting on-screen journey through five decades of James Bond action and adventure inviting them to watch the evolution of 007 from the first James Bond film Dr. No (1962) to Quantum of Solace (2008). Curated by Jesse Wente, Head of Film Programmes, TIFF Bell Lightbox, Bond vs. Blofeld (October 26 - October 27) will feature the six films from the series in which Bond battles his arch-nemesis, criminal mastermind Ernst Stavro Blofeld in a back-to-back marathon screening from Friday, October 26 at 7p.m. until Saturday, October 27 at 1p.m. Curated by Colin Geddes, International Programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival, Beyond Bond: The Other Secret Agents will launch on November 9. This sidebar programme will focus on the wave of spy films from Europe, Asia and the US that sprang up in response to the enormous international popularity of the Bond series.

Call for submissions: TSV's Video Fever 2013

Do you have…VIDEO FEVER?

Then you should SUBMIT!

Trinity Square Video, Toronto’s most important video-based artist-run center is proud to announce Video Fever, the first annual juried student video screening event. If you are in your 3rd or 4th year at a Toronto and surrounding area post-secondary institution and you make videos, you qualify. 

Submissions must be single channel videos under 10 minutes in length and will be selected for screening by the Trinity Square Video selection committee. All genres of video are accepted. The top three videos will be chosen by the Trinity Square Video jury and the artists will be awarded cash prizes, a membership to Trinity Square Video (redeemable after you graduate, if you like—when you’ll really need it!), various Trinity Square Video services like equipment use and workshops, and a portfolio review with Trinity Square Video’s programming director, Jean-Paul Kelly. The screening will take place downtown Toronto at the Trinity Square Video Gallery space on January 12, 2013. SUBMIT!

Montreal Greek Film Festival 2012, Oct 25-Nov 3

The 4th edition of the Festival du Film Grec de Montréal (Montreal Greek Film Festival) begins tonight with a screening of the documentary EnCardia, η Πέτρα που Χορεύει (Encardia, the Dancing Stone) by Angelos Kovotsos. Journalist Aphrodite Salas and Mose Persico who has hosted and produced several award-winning shows will present the Opening Night screening. Dining Cocktail and live music performance by Cirque du Soleil’s singer and composer Nitza Melas will follow. The screening takes place at Rialto Theatre, 5723 Avenue du Parc.

The Closing Night will also take place at the Rialto, on November 3rd. The screening will be Mediterraneo by Gabrielle Salvatores, an Italian feature film shot in the beautiful Greek island landscape. Live music and cocktail will follow.

2012 IDA Documentary Awards – nominations

The International Documentary Association has announced the nominations for their 28th annual IDA Documentary Awards.

The contenders for the Best Feature Award were The Central Park Five by Ken Burns Sarah Burns and David McMahon; The Invisible War by Kirby Dick; The Queen of Versailles by Lauren Greenfield; Searching for Sugar Man by Malik Bendjelloul; and Women With Cows by Peter Gerdehag. The Central Park Five picked up an additional nomination for the ABC News VideoSource Award.

The Academy Award-winning short film Saving Face by Daniel Junge and Pakistani-Canadian Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is in contention for the IDA's Best Short Award. It competes against God Is the Bigger Elvis, Kings Point, Mondays at Racine and Open Heart.

British Academy Scotland Awards 2012 – nominations

BAFTA in Scotland announced the nominations for the British Academy Scotland Awards 2012 which honour the very best Scottish talent in film, television and video games industries.

The Angels’ Share leads the way with four nominations, followed by Kevin Bridges: What’s The Story? and Zam Salim's Up There with two each. From Rab C Nesbitt, Gregor Fisher and Elaine C Smith go head-to-head in the Best TV Actor /Actress Category.

This year’s shortlist of 36 celebrates a diverse range of talent and work across 12 different categories including: Actor/Actress for Film, Actor/Actress for TV, Animation, Comedy/Entertainment Programme, Current Affairs, Director, Factual Series, Features/Factual Entertainment, Feature Film, Games, Single Documentary and Writer.

2012 Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) announces programming

Montreal, Wednesday, October 24, 2012 – The 15th edition of the Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) will take place from November 7 to 18. This anniversary edition will be an inclusive celebration of reality-based cinema and the people behind it. The programming team has selected over a hundred films from 38 countries through a long process and many trips overseas, to bring Montreal audiences an exceptional line-up of films.

The RIDM is honoured to open and close this year’s edition with new films by great documentary filmmakers: acclaimed Canadian essayist Peter Mettler will be on hand to present his superb cinematic odyssey The End of Time at the festival’s opening, while the event will close with the North American premiere of Journal de France, by French documentary filmmaker Raymond Depardon and his spouse and creative partner Claudine Nougaret.

2012 Ekran - Toronto Polish Film Fesitval, Oct 25-28

The 4th Ekran - Toronto Polish Film Festival gets underway tonight with an Opening Gala Reception and screening of the film Big Love by debut filmmaker Barbara Białowąs. The evening will also include live music by the ZimZum Jazz Band.

The festival also presents three other films by women directors – Anca Damian’s Crulic. The Path to Beyond; Maria Sadowska’s Women’s Day; and Anna Plutecka-Mesjasz’s Lose to Win.

Many industry and related events will take place, including free special screenings at the Runnymede Library, a lecture by Professor Marek Haltof on “Polish Film and the Holocaust: Politics and Memory”, the exhibition Roman Polański: Actor and Director, and a three day intensive filmmaking workshop.

Awards season screenplays for 2012 [UPDATED]

Every year, Hollywood studios campaign heavily to win as many awards as they can, especially the Oscars. As part of that campaigning, they will release the screenplays of the films that they think have a strong chance of winning gold.

The first bunch of screenplays has been released by Universal Pictures and Focus Features. Currently available are the complete scripts for Anna Karenina, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, Hyde Park On Hudson, Moonrise Kingdom, ParaNorman, Promised Land, Snow White and the Huntsman, Ted and This is 40. As I did last year and the year before, I am providing the links to all of the screenplays as they become available. Just click on the film title below.

The screenplay for Les Misérables by William Nicholson, Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg and Herbert Kretzmer was briefly posted before being quickly pulled for some unknown reason (you can read the cached version here). [UPDATE – the full version is now included in the links below]

2012 Rebels with a Cause Film Festival, Oct 22-25

York University and the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) at York host their second edition of the Rebels with a Cause Film Festival starting tonight. All events are free.

Tonight's screening is Red Riot and features a collection of works that "confronts the systemic effects of patriarchy, from issues of violence towards Aboriginal women to gender-based oppression happening on our campus. Each short whilst acknowledging trauma, conveys a defiant spirit." After the screening, a panel discussion will take place with Jesse Gouchey, James Diamond, Chase Joynt, Deidre (D-Lishus) Walton and Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (via Skype). The discussion will be moderated by Audrey Huntley.

Rebels With A Cause is a film festival organized for and by York University community members. The festival screens films that are artistically, politically and socially critical, combined with artist's talks, panel discussions, and q&a's. The films represent the voices of York students, alumni and faculty as well as independent filmmakers from the larger Toronto community. Rebels With A Cause aims to (re)introduce its audience to the political and social spheres at York and its community while inciting action and education through the avenue of film.

2012 Korean Association of Film Critics Awards – winners

The winners of the 32nd annual 한국영화평론가협회상 (Korean Association of Film Critics Awards) have been announced.

Leading the field was 피에타 (Pieta) by acclaimed filmmaker 김기덕 (Kim Ki-Duk). It won for Best Film and Best Director as well as Best Actress for 조민수 (Jo Min-Su). The film is a crime drama about a violent loan shark who receives a visit from a mysterious woman claiming to be his long-lost mother. It recently won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

No other film picked up more than a single prize. The Best Actor award went to 안성기 (Ahn Sung-Ki) for 부러진 화살 (Unbowed). 신아가 (Shin A-Ga) and 이상철 (Lee Sang-Cheol) won Best New Director for their joint effort 밍크코트 (Jesus Hospital).

World Soundtrack Awards 2012 – winners

The 39th Ghent Film Festival came to a close with a presentation by the World Soundtrack Academy of the 12th World Soundtrack Awards

Alberto Iglesias was the night's big winner. He was named Film Composer of the Year 2012 for his soundtracks for Le Moine (The Monk), La Piel Que Habito (The Skin I Live In) and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. He also received the award for Best Original Film Score of the Year for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

Brian Byrne was also a double winner for his work on Albert Nobbs. He received the World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Song Written for Film for ’Lay Your Head Down’ and also won the Discovery of the Year Award.

The winner of the Public Choice Award was Abel Korzeniowski for the film W.E. Pino Donaggio was presented with the World Soundtrack Lifetime Achievement Award.

Festival du nouveau cinéma 2012 awards – winners

The 41st edition of the Festival du nouveau cinéma drew to a close last night with a closing awards ceremony to go with the Closing Gala screening of Noémie Lvovsky's Camille redouble (Camille Rewinds).

The top prize known as the Louve d'or (Gold Wolf) went to Antonio Méndez Esparza's Aquí y Allá. The film is an examination of migrant labour and the life of a poor Mexican family. Previously, it won the Grand Prize at La Semaine de la Critique at Cannes.

In the International Selection, there was a tie for the Prix de l’AQCC between Boy Eating the Bird's Food by Ektoras Lygizos and Sudoeste by Eduardo Nunes.

Directors Guild of Canada's 2012 DGC Awards – winners

The Directors Guild of Canada celebrated the 50th anniversary of the DGC in Toronto this evening with the 11th edition of the DGC Awards. Three special career acknowledgments were handed out along with 19 awards honouring the best work created by Members this past year. They went to Michael Anderson, John Houston and Peter Grant.

Comedian Seán Cullen hosted the Gala which was held at the historic Fairmont Royal York Hotel. For the first time ever, the DGC Awards were streamed live online.

The evening's top winner was David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method with five awards. In addition to Best Direction – Feature Film and Best Feature Film, it won for Best Production Design, Best Picture Editing and Best Sound Editing.

Toronto African Film & Music Festival 2012, Oct 19-21

Tonight, the Toronto African Film & Music Festival 2012 gets underway with an opening party at Lucy Restaurant on the Danforth which will feature live music.

The films screening at the festival will be Real VooDoo by Sandra Whiteley, Laan by Lula Ali Ismail, Beyond the Secret part 1 and Beyond the Secret part 2 by Ejike Chinedu Obim and Elimina by Emmanuel Apea Jr. Screenings take place at The Projection Booth, 1035 Gerrard St. East.

Doc Circuit Montreal 2012 announces programming

Montreal, October 19, 2012 – Doc Circuit Montreal, Quebec’s documentary marketplace, is pleased to present its eighth edition, which will be held on November 11, 12, 13 and 14, 2012 during the Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM). A forum for learning, dialogue and business development, this event brings together over 300 industry professionals to look at innovative projects and current issues in the documentary industry.

We are always working to create opportunities for networking and business development. This year is no exception, thanks to our guests from France, Switzerland, Germany, Finland, Mexico, the United States and Canada. More than 30 representatives of major broadcasters and distributors, European producers, specialists and consultants, along with seven representatives of film festivals, will also be with us.

2012 Montreal Stop Motion Film Festival, Oct 19-21

The fourth edition of the Montreal Stop Motion Film Festival is proud to announce the release of its official program for 2012. This year, the Festival will be taking place on October 19th, 20th, and 21st in the J.A. de Sève Theater at Concordia University (1453 Mackay Street, Montreal).

The Montreal Stop Motion Film Festival is the “Ultimate Stop Motion Week-end”! The festival is the first in the world to showcase Stop Motion, and we have put together the best event we can to delight our festival attendees. The top notch selection of exceptional films presented during this week-end long event proves once again that a huge revival for Stop Motion animation is currently taking the animation world by storm.

Brazil Film Fest 2012, Oct 18-21

BRAZIL FILM FEST BRINGS RIO TO TORONTO 

Katia Adler, Executive Director of the Brazil Film Fest, announced that famed film director Cecília Amado will be in attendance at the festival for the Canadian Premiere of her film CAPTAINS OF THE SAND, winner of top prize at this year’s Los Angeles Brazilian Film Fest.

“We are thrilled and honoured to have Cecília in attendance at this year’s festival, especially given that this year marks the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of her esteemed grandfather, novelist Jorge Amado,” said Adler.

This year, Brazil Film Fest is celebrating RioFilme’s 20th anniversary, with a selection of ten successful features produced and/or distributed by RioFilme. RioFilme invests in projects by companies based in the City of Rio – including movies, TV series, festivals, awards, and movie theatres.

2012 Pomegranate Film Festival, Oct 18-21

Tonight is the lick-off for the 7th annual Pomegranate Film Festival which celebrates Armenian-inspired film. The opening film at Hamazkayin Theatre is the Disney/Pixar film Brave, which was produced by Katherine Sarafian. Sarafian will participate in a Q&A via Skype after the film. This will be followed by Symphony of Sin, a collection of 8 short films.

Other films include Nadine Labaki's TIFF Audience Award-winner Where Do We Go Now? which was produced by Lara Chekerdjian; M. Tayfur Aydın's Trace; Un monstre à Paris (A Monster in Paris) co-written by Stéphane Kazandjian; and Armenian Rhapsody by Cassiana Der Haroutiounian, Cesar and Gary Gananian.

The closing night gala presentation will be Gor Kirakosian's Lost & Found in Armenia. Kirakosian will introduce the film and there will be a Q&A with lead actors Jamie Kennedy & Angela Sarafyan followed by Awards Presentation afterwards.

Free French Films On Campus – Oct 18, 20, 26

The University of Toronto's Cinema Studies Students Union (CINSSU) and Ryerson University are presenting free screenings of French films over three days during the next week beginning tonight. All films will be presented in the original French with English subtitles.

At 7pm, they will show Tomboy by Céline Sciamma, followed by Polisse by Maïwenn at 9pm. On Saturday night, they will screen Le Tableau by Jean-François Laguionie at 7pm, followed by Rubber by Quentin Dupieux at 9pm. Both nights take place at Innis Town Hall at 2 Sussex Avenue at St. George Street South of Bloor Street.

Next week on October 26, they will present Le Voyage extraordinaire by Serge Bromberg with director Bromberg in attendance. The screening will take place at 7:30pm at Ryerson Library Theatre.

2012 Toronto After Dark Film Festival, Oct 18-26

The 7th annual Toronto After Dark Film Festival begins tonight with the Sundance Irish Monster comedy Grabbers, followed by the Canadian premiere of the Horror Film American Mary.

The festival continues with nine nights of horror, sci-fi, action and cult movies including [Rec] 3 Genesis, Cockneys vs. Zombies, Doomsday Book, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, and Wrong. Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning starring Jean-Claude Van Damme was almost selected for this year's Midnight Madness at TIFF by programmer Colin Geddes.

The Festival comes to a close with the Toronto premieres of A Fantastic Fear of Everything starring Simon Pegg, and the Spanish film Game of Werewolves.

Gotham Independent Film Awards 2012 – nominations

The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), the nation’s oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers announced today the nominees for the Gotham Independent Film Awards™. Signaling the kick-off to the film awards season, IFP’s Gotham Independent Film Awards™ nominations were given to a total of 26 films across six competitive categories for Best Feature, Best Documentary, Breakthrough Director, Breakthrough Actor, Best Ensemble Performance, and Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You.

The Gotham Awards ceremony will be held on Monday, November 26th at Cipriani Wall Street. In addition to the competitive awards, actors Marion Cotillard and Matt Damon, director David O. Russell, and Participant Media founder Jeff Skoll will each be presented with a career tribute.

As the first major awards ceremony of the film season, the Gotham Independent Film Awards™ provide critical early recognition and media attention to worthy independent films. Previous winners for Best Feature and Best Documentary include Beginners (2011), The Tree of Life (2011), Better This World (2011), Winter's Bone (2010), The Oath (2010), The Hurt Locker (2009), and Food, Inc. (2009). The awards are also unique for their ability to assist in catapulting award recipients prominently into national awards season attention, including recent winners and ultimate Oscar® contenders: feature winners Beginners (2011), The Tree of Life (2011), Winter's Bone (2010) and The Hurt Locker (2009); Breakthrough Actors Melissa Leo (2008), Ellen Page (2007), Rinko Kikuchi (2006) and Amy Adams (2005).

2012 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, Oct 17-21

The 13th imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival begins tonight with a gala screening featuring the world premiere of Alanis Obomsawin's The People of Kattawapiskak River at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema (506 Bloor Street West). Beforehand, the festival will officially launch with a Welcome Gathering, a free event held at the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto.

The closing night presentation will be Anita Doron's The Lesser Blessed, which recently had its premiere at the 37th annual Toronto International Film Festival.

In addition to many other screenings, the festival will host their always-memorable music night The Beat at Lee’s Palace, and many industry events including the ROCK YOUR DOC! Documentary Pitch Competition and the DRAMA QUEEN! Drama Series Pitch Competition.

Call for submissions: The REEL Challenge Contest

TAKE 4: THE REEL CHALLENGE RETURNS
CELEBRATING THE MOVIE AND TELEVISION INDUSTRY AT WORK

Toronto, October 16, 2012 - The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) proudly announces the fourth round of The REEL Challenge Contest: Celebrating the Movie and Television Industry at Work.

The REEL Challenge Contest is an opportunity for aspiring filmmakers to speak out on the importance of promoting and protecting a vibrant production industry in Canada, and those who work within it. This year's contest, however, comes with a new twist. It offers participants the opportunity to showcase their work through comedic shorts or animation. The new categories will encourage filmmakers to be creative with their entries.

Call for submissions: NSI Drama Prize

The National Screen Institute – Canada (NSI) is now accepting applications for its NSI Drama Prize course. Applications must be received by Tuesday, November 27, 2012.

NSI Drama Prize is an ambitious short film training course that provides up to $10,000 in cash, $20,000 in services and mentoring from Canada’s industry leaders for up to four writer/director/producer teams to develop and produce a short film.

The year-long, three-phase course kicks off in Winnipeg with an intensive boot camp in writing, directing and producing. Topics include script writing, film budgeting and financing, working with actors, blocking and shooting scenes and social media marketing.

Planet in Focus 2012 – award winners

TORONTO, October 15, 2012 – The 13th edition of Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival wrapped up another hugely successful event and announced this year’s award winners on Sunday night. Award highlights include Best International Feature Film HEART OF SKY, HEART OF EARTH by Frauke Sandig and Eric Black, Best Canadian Feature Film OCCUPY LOVE by Velcrow Ripper, Best International Short Film HOT & BOTHERED by Giannina Lasalvia and Best Canadian Short Film THE PIPEDREAMS PROJECT by Faroe Des Roches and Ryan Vandecasteyen.

Planet in Focus also awarded the recipients of The Mark Haslam Award, The Green Pitch Award, The Green Screen Award and the previously announced Eco Heroes, Jennifer Baichwal and James Balog.

Best International Feature and Short Film

Nandi Awards 2011 – winners

The Government of Andhra Pradesh, India held a press conference this weekend to announce the winners of the Nandi Awards for the films of 2011, honouring excellence in Telugu cinema (Tollywood).

The big winner was Sri Rama Rajyam, written and directed by Bapu. It won the Best Feature Film and six other awards including Best Leading Actress for Nayanatara, Best Screenplay and Best Cinematographer.

Also winning seven awards was Dookudu by Srinu Vaitla. Its wins included Best Popular Feature Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, Best Leading Actor (Mahesh Babu), Best Supporting Actor (Prakash Raj), and Best Screenplay Writer. Mahesh Babu's Best Actor win is his third at the Nandi Awards.

Call for submissions: Canadian Film Fest 2013

The Canadian Film Fest has put out a call for submissions for their 2013 festival.

They are a Toronto-based festival uniquely devoted to the celebration, promotion and advancement of Canadian filmmaking talent. By exclusively featuring Canadian films, its goal is to provide filmmakers with valuable showcasing and networking opportunities and to offer the public homegrown productions to view and enjoy.

Submitted films must be Canadian productions. Preference will be given to Canadian or Toronto premieres and films completed within the last two years. They accept films of any genre, both short or feature length.

Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2012 – nominees

Nominees in the sixth annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards (the APSAs) have been announced with 34 films from 18 Asia Pacific countries and areas nominated in the region’s highest accolade in film. The five films nominated for Best Feature Film are Khers (Bear) from the Islamic Republic of Iran, Tepenin Ardi (Beyond the Hill) from Turkey, Greece, Orda (The Horde) from the Russian Federation, Bumchoiwaui Junjaeng Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time from the Republic of Korea and Wu Xia from Hong Kong (PRC), People’s Republic of China.

An unprecedented total of 264 films were entered in this year’s competition. Asia Pacific countries and areas represented by the nominated films are Australia, Hong Kong (PRC), India, Indonesia, Iraq, Iraqi-Kurdistan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Palestine, People’s Republic of China, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Taiwan and Turkey. Seven of the 2012 nominees are already members of the rapidly expanding APSA Academy.

Oscar 2012 shortlist of 8 documentary shorts

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that the field of Documentary Short Subject contenders for the 85th Academy Awards® has been narrowed to eight films, of which three to five will earn Oscar® nominations.

Voters from the Academy's Documentary Branch viewed this year's 31 eligible entries and submitted their ballots to PricewaterhouseCoopers for tabulation.

The eight films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies:

1K Wave screenings at the Royal Cinema, Oct 11-13

pUNK films & The Royal present the $1000 Feature Film Challenge Screenings - 1K WAVE - October. 11, 12, and 13, at The Royal. Purchase ADVANCE TICKETS.

On May 22, Ingrid Veninger (pUNK Films Inc.) and Stacey Donen (The Royal/Theatre D) initiated the $1000 Feature Film Challenge for Toronto-based filmmakers. Amazingly, 34 filmmaking teams took up the Challenge. Five were selected.

On June 25, 2012, the five $1000 feature films were green-lit for production and Toronto’s 1K WAVE was born. The films were shot in July/August, editing and post-production happened in August/September, and now the films will be presented over three nights at The Royal on October 11th, 12th and 13th - featuring Filmmaker Q&A’s.

Festival du nouveau cinéma 2012, Oct 10-21

The 41st Annual Festival du nouveau cinéma begins tonight with the Opening Night Gala screening Small Blind (La Mise à l’aveugle) by Quebec's Simon Galiero. The screening will be the film's world premiere. Galiero will be in attendance as will crew members including Micheline Bernard, Louis Sincenne, Pierre-Luc Brillant, Christine Beaulieu and Julien Poulin.

The Closing Night Gala will be French actress/director Noémie Lvovsky’s comedy Camille Rewinds (Camille Redouble). It won the SACD Award (Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques) during the Directors’ Fortnight at the 2012 festival de Cannes and the Variety Piazza Grande Award at the 65th Locarno International Film Festival.

Over the next twelve days, the FNC will screen 288 films from 52 countries, 41 of which are world premieres. In addition, they have 4 international premieres, 66 North-American premieres and 39 Canadian premieres. The festival will pay tribute to a number of filmmakers with retrospectives, including the late Chris Marker. And the FNC Lab section will again highlight experimental and cutting edge works with installations/performances, films, interactive works/Web projects and lectures.

2012 ACTRA Short Film Festival, Oct 10

The Montreal branch of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) hosts its 10th annual edition of the ACTRA Short Film Festival tonight at the Rialto Theatre. The night will feature short films made by and with members of the actors' union.

The screening begins at 7pm. This event is free and open to members and non-members.

Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival 2012, Oct 10-14

Although the school program began yesterday, the 13th Annual Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival officially gets underway tonight with the world premiere of Lost Rivers by Caroline Bâcle. Director Bâcle and producer Katarina Soukup will be in attendance at the screening to introduce the film and participate in a Q&A after the screening. A number of the film's subjects and participants will also be attending.

The closing film will be Jeff Orlowski's Chasing Ice which recently won the 2012 Environmental Media Association (EMA) Award for Best Documentary. The film's subject James Balog will be in attendance.

In addition to screening around 70 Canadian and international films, the festival hosts an excellent industry series with many different panels, workshops and events. The Green Screen Toronto: Energy panel and The Green Pitch competition are free events.

Reel Asian 2012 announces complete programming

REEL ASIAN CELEBRATES SWEET 16
NOVEMBER 6 TO 17

Toronto, October 9, 2012 — The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival (Reel Asian) will celebrate its 16^th annual edition this year with more screenings, international guests and special events as it continues its expansion outside the downtown Toronto core to bring Richmond Hill residents a taste of the best in Asian cinema.

Founded in 1997, Reel Asian began as a 3-day event established in response to meet the needs of an existing demand for Asian films in Toronto, and has since grown to a 10-day multi-city annual event attracting over 10,000 people. Reel Asian strives to develop programming that reflects the cultural diversity of Canada and increase public understanding and appreciation of the artistic, social and cultural contributions of those of Asian heritage through film. This year’s festival will take place November 6-11 in Toronto and November 16-17 in Richmond Hill to present 60 films and videos from 14 countries including Canada, China, France, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Kashmir, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States.

2012 American Music Awards – nominations

Recording artist Christina Aguilera revealed the “The 40th Anniversary American Music Awards®” (“AMAs”) nominations this morning from the J.W. Marriott Los Angeles. It was also announced that Christina Aguilera will be performing on this year’s show which will be broadcast live from the NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE on SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18 (8:00-11:00 p.m., ET/PT) on ABC. Additional acts and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks.

Nicki Minaj and Rihanna both lead this year with 4 nominations individually, while Drake, Justin Bieber, Maroon 5, One Direction and Usher follow with 3 nominations each and Carrie Underwood, Chris Brown, fun., Gotye, J.Cole, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Luke Bryan and Pitbull collected 2 nominations. This year’s 2012 Artist of the Year nominees are Justin Bieber, Drake, Maroon 5, Katy Perry and Rihanna. This year also marks the creation of the new Electronic Dance Music Category. Nominees include David Guetta, Calvin Harris and Skrillex.

Nordic Council Film Prize 2012 – winner

THE SWEDISH FILM PLAY IS THIS YEAR'S BEST NORDIC FILM

The winner of the Nordic Council Film Prize 2012 is PLAY, written and directed by Ruben Östlund and produced by Erik Hemmendorff for Plattform Produktion. The prize will be awarded during the Nordic Council Session in Helsinki on 31 October.

The Film Prize's Adjudication Committee, which is made up of film experts from the five Nordic countries, give this motivation for their choice of this year's winner:

"Director Ruben Östlund once again confirms his position as one of today’s most original filmmakers in the Nordic countries. Through his ongoing artistic project - dissecting and analysing human behaviour, Ruben Östlund presents thought-provoking insights into social roles and role play. The stylistic imagery, the relentless pace of the story and the astounding performances from non-professional actors makes Play a gut wrenching drama that prompts us to reflect on important issues in modern western society."

2012 Gouden Kalveren (Dutch Film Awards) – winners

The 2012 Nederlands Film Festival came to a close this weekend in Utrecht with the ceremony for the 32nd annual Gouden Kalveren (Golden Calf Awards) for the best in Dutch cinema. The awards are named after the Biblical golden calf from the story of Moses in Exodus.

Jos Stelling's Het Meisje en de Dood (The Girl and Death) won the top prize of Best Film. It also won for Best Cinematography and Best Sound.

De Heineken ontvoering (The Heineken Kidnapping) also picked up three awards, winning for Best Actor (Reinout Scholten van Aschat), Editor and Production Design.

Paula van der Oest took Best Director for The Domino Effect, the film's only award. The third Best Film nominee Plan C won for Best Supporting Actor (René van 't Hof) and Best Screenplay.

Complete submissions for 2012 Foreign Language Film Oscar

71 Countries Vie for 2012 Foreign Language Film Oscar®

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – A record 71 countries, including first-time entrant Kenya, have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 85th Academy Awards®.

The 2012 submissions are:

Afghanistan, The Patience Stone, Atiq Rahimi, director

Anugerah Blokbuster 2011 – winners

The Persatuan Penerbit Filem Malaysia (Malaysian Film Producers Association) or PFM held their inaugural edition of Anugerah Blokbuster (Blockbuster Awards) to award films from 2011 at the Stadium Melawati in Shah Alam on Saturday. The ceremony was hosted by Afdlin Shauki, Zizan Razak and Lisa Surihani.

The young director-actor Syamsul Yusof, son of actor-director-writer-producer Datuk Yusof Haslam, dominated the evening with five awards himself. His film KL Gangster won for Best Picture, Director and Action Film. Another film of his, Khurafat, won Best Horror Film. To top it off, Yusof won the PFM Special Award.

Hantu Bonceng (Pillion Ghost) picked up two awards. It won for Best Comedy and its star Zizan Razak won Best Hero.

2012 Toronto Crē’ōl Film Fest, Oct 5-7

Tonight, the second edition of the Toronto Crē’ōl Film Fest kicks off with a screening of Toussaint Louverture, about the leader of the Haitian Revolution who successfully led a rebellion slaves to create a society of free, self-governing people.

The closing film will be Donoma about a female teacher who begins an ambiguous relationship with a student, an agnostic teenager is "called" by God.

The Toronto Crē’ōl Film Fest (CFF) is dedicated to celebrating Creole culture from around the world through the art of cinema. In promoting theatrical displays of work that pertain to Creole culture, CFF aims to increase opportunities for the Canadian public to share in works to which they may not otherwise have access.

2012 She's Canadian, Eh? Women's Comedy Festival, Oct 4-6

Tonight, the She's Canadian, Eh? 2nd Annual Women's Comedy Festival kicks off with an all-Montreal show hosted by Chantal Desjardins, and featuring Heidi Foss, DeAnne Smith and festival founder Eman El-Husseini.

The festival continues Friday and Saturday with shows hosted by Christina Walkinshaw, and with Torontonian Steph Tolev in place of Heidi Foss.

The She’s Canadian, Eh!: Second Annual Women’s Comedy Festival runs Thursday to Saturday at Club Privateer, 1222 Mackay Street. Shows are Thursday 8pm; Friday and Saturday at 8pm and 10pm.

2012 Off Festival de Jazz, Oct 4-12

The 13th edition of L'OFF Festival de Jazz de Montréal starts tonight with a show by the Joe Sullivan Big Band at Lion d'Or.

The Closing Night performance will be Fragrances of Compassion for Lawrence D. "Butch" Morris. Morris is himself unable to attend so the bassist William Parker will lead the 15-piece orchestra.

The Off Festival de Jazz was started in 1999 by local Montreal jazz musicians who felt the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal didn't have enough local representation. Thus they created their own festival to highlight local talent, with some international performers in selected shows.

2012 Golden Horse Awards for Chinese film – nominations

The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival announced the nominations for the 49th annual Golden Horse Awards for Chinese-language cinema.

The French-Chinese co-production 浮城謎事 (Mystery) by 婁燁 (Lou Ye) led the field along with 女朋友。男朋友 (Gf * Bf) by 楊雅喆 (Yang Ya Che). Both films received seven nominations that included Best Feature Film and Best Director. 浮城謎事 (Mystery) premiered at Un Certain Regard at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. 婁燁 (Lou Ye), however, has said he will remove his name from the film after it Chinese censors demanded extensive cuts to the film.

奪命金 (Life Without Principle) by 杜琪峯 (Johnnie To) followed closely with six nominations, also including Best Feature Film and Best Director. Also nominated for Best Feature Film were 神探亨特張 (Beijing Blues) and 消失的子彈 (The Bullet Vanishes).