Inaugural ASEAN International Film Awards – winners

The first ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) International Film Festival and Awards in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia concluded this weekend at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching with the presentation of the award-winners.

The top winner of the event was Emmanuel Quindo Palo's Sta Nina (Philippines). It won Best Picture - Drama as well as Best Actress (Alessandra de Rossi) and Best Supporting Actress (Anita Linda).

The Malaysian film Songlap by Effendee Mazlan and Fariza Azlina Isahak was also a multiple prize-winner. It took Best Picture - Action and Best Actor (Shaheizy Sam).

The Best Picture - Comedy winner was another Malaysian film, Istanbul Aku Datang by Bernard Chauly. Malaysia's Hanyut by U-Wei Haji Saari was given a Special Honour Award. Saari incidentally was the head of the nominating jury.

Call for submissions: Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS!

Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS!

This September, Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS! returns to the Toronto International Film Festival® for its 14th consecutive year!

Six participant teams have six minutes to pitch their feature film idea to a live audience of over 200 industry professionals. The winner, selected by a jury of international industry experts, will be awarded $10,000 CAD from Telefilm Canada to develop the project further.

Congratulations to Ian Harnarine, winner of the 2012 Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS! competition for his project Doubles with Slight Pepper!

Call for submissions: Toronto After Dark Film Festival

The Toronto After Dark Film Festival is now accepting submissions for its 8th annual festival this fall of 2013.

Toronto After Dark Film Festival is one of the world’s leading showcases of new horror, sci-fi, action and cult films. Now in its 8th year, the critically acclaimed annual event, screens thrilling new feature films and shorts from around the world, and a number of Toronto After Dark titles can also be found amongst the Official Selections of the Sundance, South By South-West (SXSW), Tribeca, and Cannes film festivals.

On a local level, the festival has grown to become a signature event in Canada’s largest city, enjoying an annual attendance of over 10,000 enthusiastic film fans and 100-plus members of press and industry. In a poll of local filmgoers, Toronto After Dark was also voted Runner-Up for Best Film Festival in the City.

Call for submissions: Innoversity Pitch Competition

The Innoversity Creative Summit has announced their call for submissions for their 2013 Innoversity Pitch Competition.

The Innoversity Pitch Competition offers four talented teams a chance to make their production dream come true. Winners in each category will receive development funds, post-production services and professional mentorship - everything you need to launch your project. The deadline for entries is April 15, 2013 at 11:59pm EST.

The four possible categories are 1. TV: Scripted; 2. TV: Unscripted; 3. Digital Media Storytelling; and 4. Short Film.

Call for submissions: Thought for Food pitch competition

Your WorldView has teamed up with the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, the largest documentary festival, market and conference in North America, to launch an exclusive online pitching opportunity to be awarded a £1,000 grant to fund a short film, as part of the Your WorldView Thought for Food season.

Filmmakers will have only 3 weeks to tweet their pitch for a short film on ‘food’. The 140-character pitches will then be judged by both organisations and a shortlist of 6 will be asked to film their pitches and submit them to Your WorldView. The winner will be announced at the ‘I’ve pitched. Now what?’ session on Friday 3 May and via Twitter at the 20th Hot Docs, running from 25 April to 5 May 2013. The winner will receive a grant of £1,000 to turn their idea into a reality.

Call for submissions: Mascara & Popcorn Film Festival

The Mascara & Popcorn Film Festival is now accepting submissions to their 2013 festival.

Mascara & Popcorn is a film festival that delves into the horror genre for the most part, as well as the experimental, the weird and the wonderful. Mascara and Popcorn also showcases projects that go beyond film: theatre, music, fundraisers and live performances within the underground arena, helping entrepreneurs and artists connect and kick start opportunities for themselves. The festival strives to support independent film, promote all types of thought-provoking dark art and human passions to the extreme: horror, experimental, post-apocalyptic, film noir, horror-comedy, gore, dark fiction, dark fantasy, dark animation, dark science-fiction and most dramas. Any film of the imagination that steps out of the ordinary. Intense, disturbing, provocative, unclassifiable material. Low budget works with high production value.

Premiile Gopo 2013, Romanian film awards – winners

Tonight, the Asociaţia Pentru Promovarea Filmului Românesc (Association for Romanian Film Promotion) held the gala ceremony for their 7th Annual Premiile Gopo (Gopo Awards) for Romanian cinema at the Opera Națională in Bucharest. Mihai Bobonete (Bobo) hosted the evening.

Two films dominated the evening. Radu Jude's Toată lumea din familia noastră (Everybody in Our Family) came away with six awards including the top awards of Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor (Şerban Pavlu), Best Supporting Actor (Gabriel Spahiu), Best Supporting Actress (Mihaela Sîrbu) and Best Screenplay.

However, Silviu Purcărete's Undeva la Palilula (Somewhere in Palilula) managed to scoop more awards overall with seven, all in the technical and craft categories. It had led the nominations with eleven. The film's cinematographer Adrian Silișteanu picked up an additional prize from the Romanian Society of Cinematographers.

2013 Festival International du Film sur l'Art (FIFA) Awards – winners

The 31st Annual Festival International du Film sur l'Art (International Festival of Films on Art) or FIFA, presented in association with Astral, closed on Sunday with supplementary screenings of some twenty films. From March 14 to 24, FIFA’s legions of fans were able to enjoy a total of 248 films from 28 countries, embracing a wide range of artistic disciplines, at nine of Montreal’s most prominent cultural institutions. For the first time, FIFA proudly presented recent works from Cuba, Cambodia, South Korea and the Bahamas.

The international jury of the 31st FIFA, presided over by Olivier Kaeppelin, director of the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence (France), revealed the 12 prizewinners from 8 countries at the Awards Ceremony held at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts last Saturday, March 23. The other jury members included American filmmaker and composer Michael House; New Brunswick producer, director and screenwriter Monique LeBlanc; Quebec producer Michel Ouellette; and Belgian producer-director Françoise Wolff.

Canadian Society of Cinematographers (CSC) Awards 2013 – winners

The Canadian Society of Cinematographers hosted the ceremony last night for their 56th Annual CSC Awards at the Frontenac Ballroom of the Westin Harbour Castle.

The winner for Theatrical Feature Cinematography was Kamal Derkaoui for his work on The Tall Man by Pascal Laugier and starring Jessica Biel. For Documentary Cinematography, the winner was Vic Sarin for the shooting his own documentary Desert Riders.

In the television categories, the winners included Paul Sarossy for The Borgias and Glen Winter for Arrow.

Japanese Documentary Festival, Mar 25-28

The Japan Foundation of Toronto is hosting "an observational film festival" featuring four films by acclaimed filmmaker Kazuhiro Soda. All of the screenings are free.

The films being screened are Theatre 1, Campaign, Peace, and Theatre 2. All films will be screened in the original Japanese with English subtitles. After the screenings, discussions will take place in English.

Soda takes a verité approach and believes that "a filmmaker should minimize preconceived ideas and should simply learn from the crude reality captured on camera," encouraging the view to form their own opinions about the images they see with little interference from the filmmaker.

Jameson Empire Awards 2013 – winners

Tonight at the Great Room at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London, the presentation for the Jameson Empire Awards took place, with comedian Ed Byrne hosting the evening's festivities.

Skyfall picked up Best Film, with director Sam Mendes also winning Best Director and a special Empire Inspiration award for good measure. The awards, voted for by fans, also saw The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey take Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy and Best Actor for Martin Freeman, while Jennifer Lawrence was voted Best Actress for The Hunger Games.

Elsewhere, Sightseers won Best British Film and Headhunters took Best Thriller, while Best Comedy went to Ted. Hammer's The Woman In Black was Best Horror, and its star Daniel Radcliffe won an Empire Hero prize. Best Male Newcomer was The Impossible's Tom Holland, while Samantha Barks was Best Female Newcomer following her turn in Les Misérables.

2013 Genesis Awards – winners

The Humane Society of the United States held its 27th Annual Genesis Awards last night at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The awards are given in honour of news and entertainment media “for their role in raising awareness of animal issues.”

Big Miracle by Ken Kwapis was named winner for the Feature Film award. The drama starring John Krasinski and Drew Barrymore is about a reporter who gets help from his ex-girlfriend to save a family of trapped whales. It won against competition from Darling Companion, Delhi Safari and To the Arctic.

Television winners included the series Harry's Law, Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, and the Discovery Channel's Ivory Wars.

Kids' Choice Awards 2013 – winners

Nickelodeon held its ceremony for the 26th Annual Kids' Choice Awards tonight at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, California. Actor Josh Duhamel hosted the event. Performers included Pitbull and Christina Aguilera with "Feel This Moment" and Ke$ha with "We R Who We R" and "C'Mon".

The Hunger Games by Gary Ross was the winner of Favourite Movie. The series of books by Suzanne Collins also won for Favorite Book.

Kristen Stewart took two awards on her own. She won Favorite Movie Actress for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 and Favorite Female Buttkicker for Snow White and the Huntsman.

Schweizer Filmpreis 2013 (Swiss Film Awards) – winners

This evening, the Schweizer Filmakademie (Swiss Film Academy) held their awards ceremony for the 16th Annual Schweizer Filmpreis (Swiss Film Awards) at the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices in Geneva. The evening was co-hosted by Fabienne Hadorn and Alain Croubalian.

Three films dominated this year’s awards. Sister won in the Best Fiction Film and Best Screenplay categories. More than Honey took the Best Documentary Film and Best Film Score awards, while Hiver Nomade (Winter Nomads) won the Best Cinematography Award as well as the Special Award of the Academy.

The 2013 Best Actress/Actor awards went to Sibylle Brunner, Kacey Mottet Klein and Antonio Buil. All winners received a “Quartz” trophy, designed by French artist and sculptor, Jean Mauboulès.

2013 Indie Music Awards – winners

The 13th Annual Independent Music Awards or SiriusXM Indies were handed out last night at the Kool Haus in Toronto. Nine of the 39 awards were handed out at the presentation. Live performers at the show included Cadence Weapon, The Wooden Sky, Diamond Rings, Matt Mays, Yukon Blonde and Metric.

The top winner of the night was Carly Rae Jepsen who claimed Artist of the Year to go with her wins for Single of the Year (Call Me Maybe) and Most Played Independent Artist or Group of the Year. Her win was greeted with boos by the live audience.

Metric had a good night, winning Group or Duo of the Year to go with a win for Best-Selling Independent Release of the Year for Synthetica. Their win and performance was enthusiastically received by the crowd.

Call for submissions: TIFF Next Wave Jump Cuts

A call for submissions has been announced by the TIFF Next Wave Film Festival. TIFF Next Wave Jump Cuts takes place on May 22, 2013. TIFF Next Wave is now accepting submissions for the Jump Cuts Young Filmmakers Showcase, which presents short films created for young people, by young people.

Jump Cuts is open to young amateur filmmakers in grades 9–12. All submissions must be accompanied by a completed Jump Cuts submission form, which must be signed/approved by a responsible parent or guardian.

Entrants must be residents of Ontario. Adult participation limited to a supervisory or actor role. Films must have been completed after January 1, 2012.

Call for submissions: Astral's Harold Greenberg Fund's Shorts-to-Features Program

“Short Film Program” gets a new name and more money to help filmmakers develop a first feature

Toronto – Astral's Harold Greenberg Fund (“Fund”), in association with premium pay television networks Astral's The Movie Network and Corus Entertainment's Movie Central, today announces the re-launch of the “Astral's Harold Greenberg Fund's Shorts-to-Features Program” to encourage emerging Canadian filmmaking talent.

Previously called the “Short Film Program,” the initiative has been renamed to further reinforce the connection between the calling card short and the feature film version. New to the program is a boost in funding from the addition of Movie Central, additional script-development support from The Fund, and the potential of additional financial support from various Provincial agencies and production service providers.

Deutscher Filmpreis 2013 (German Film Awards) – nominations

The Deutsche Filmakademie (German Film Academy) has announced the full list of nominations for the 63rd annual Deutscher Filmpreis or German Film Awards, also known as the "Lolas".

The divisive big budget production Cloud Atlas by Lana Wachowski, Andy Wachowski and Germany's own Tom Tykwer led the nominations with nine. Its nods included Best Film and Best Director, but none of the acting categories despite its all-star cast. It received mentions in all the technical categories including Makeup – which controversially portrayed actors crossing race and gender lines.

Next with eight nominations was Jan Ole Gerster's bleak comedy Oh Boy. Its nominations included Best Film Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor (Tom Schilling), Best Supporting Actress (Friederike Kempter) and Best Supporting Actor (Michael Gwisdek).

Call for submissions: EAST Documentary Collective

CALL FOR YOUTH FILM-MAKERS & DOCUMENTARIANS

EAST is calling for youth between the ages of 15 to 19 who are interested in videography for the EAST Documentary Collective!

Presented by Scarborough Arts, EAST is a project creating a buzz and attracting attention from aspiring young musicians, new media journalists and youth interested in getting into the arts and entertainment industry. EAST is made up of three components: Project Management Collective, Music Collective and Documentary Collective.

2013 aluCine Latin Film & Media Arts Festival, Mar 21-31

The 13th aluCine Latin Film + Media Arts Festival opens tonight with the unveiling of Juan Si Gonzalez’s Stay-at-Home Dad multimedia installtion at the Toronto Free Gallery (1277 Bloor Street West at Lansdowne). The gallery also be open free to the public Friday and Saturday from noon-6pm, Sunday 2-6pm, and Tuesday through Saturday next week from noon-6pm. Juan will discuss his installation on Friday, March 22, 7-9 also at The Toronto Free Gallery. Free to all.

Juan Andrés Arango’s La Playa D.C. will make its Canadian premiere when it opens the thirteenth annual film programme of the multi-disciplinary festival. A native-born Bogotáno, writer/director Arango has trained and worked in his homeland, Canada and the Netherlands. He returned to Bogotá to shoot La Playa D.C., his debut feature, which he will personally present on March 27 at 7:30pm at Jackman Hall inside the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Water Docs International Film Festival, Mar 21-24

Ecologos presents the 2nd annual Water Docs International Film Festival
March 21 – 24, 2013
Jackman Hall (AGO – 317 Dundas St. W.)

Water. We send probes to other planets seeking that telltale marker of life. Meanwhile, the fate of our water here on Earth looms as our greatest threat.

The 2nd annual Water Docs International Film Festival is a unique event weaving the leading voices of water awareness with the expressive power of great filmmaking. Produced by the water issues group Ecologos, Water Docs this year will present 17 films, accompanied with director and guest speaker Q&As. All screenings will take place at Jackman Hall at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), 317 Dundas St. W., from March 21 – 24, 2013.

2013 Canadian Radio Music Awards – winners

The 16th annual Canadian Radio Music Awards (CRMAs) were held last night at Kool Haus in Toronto.

The evening's top winners were Carly Rae Jepsen and Marianas Trench. Jepsen won two awards, taking the Sennheiser Chart Topper Award and also claiming the SOCAN song of the year for her blockbuster hit Call Me Maybe, co-written by Tavish Crowe and Marianas Trench's frontman Josh Ramsay.

Ramsay's Marianas Trench was also named winner of the Fan's Choice Award. No one else picked up more than one award at the event.

2013 Canadian Film Fest, Mar 20-23

Today, the Canadian Film Fest kicks off with some industry events during the day, followed by the evening gala presentation of Martin Doepner's Rouge sang (The Storm Within). The opening night party takes place at The Monarch Tavern at 12 Clinton Street, just south of College Street.

Other feature films being presented include Shandi Mitchell's The Disappeared, Josh Jensen's The Scene: An Exploration of Music in Toronto, and Please Kill Mr. Know It All by Sandra Feldman and Colin Carter. The Closing Night screening will be Alex Boothby's Mr. Viral.

2012 Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards – winners

The Film Critics Circle of Australia presented their 13th Annual FCCA Awards last night at the Paddington Woollahra RSL Club in Sydney.

Kieran Darcy-Smith's Cambodia-set Wish You Were Here dominated the night with five wins including Best Film. It also won for Best Actor (Joel Edgerton), Best Screenplay, Best Editing, and tied for Best Supporting Actor (Antony Starr) with Ryan Corr of Not Suitable For Children.

The Best Director trophy, however, went to Cate Shortland for her German-language World War II drama Lore. The film's star Saskia Rosendahl won earned the film an additional prize for Best Performance by a Young Actor.

Wayne Blair's hit The Sapphires had also led along with Wish You Were Here with nine nominations. It came away with just two awards, for Best Cinematography and Original Music Score.

Toronto International Film Festival announces 2013 Asian Film Summit

Hong Kong – Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of the Toronto International Film Festival, today announced the return of the Asian Film Summit. Returning to the Shangri-La Hotel, Toronto, the 2013 Summit will take place during the Festival, on Tuesday, September 10, 2013. The Summit is a key element of TIFF’s ongoing commitment to building bridges between Asian cinema and the West.

“Last year we were honoured to have among our Asian Film Summit guests filmmakers Chen Kaige, Mira Nair and Eli Roth, film executives Harvey Weinstein, Bill Kong, Chris Dodd, Nina Lath Gupta and Stuart Ford, and global superstar Jackie Chan,” said Bailey. “We're looking forward to welcoming another stellar lineup of key influencers and film leaders from both sides of the Pacific.”

Canadian Music Week 2013, Music, Comedy & Film Festival, Mar 19-24

Canadian Music Week kicks off Canadian Music Fest 2013 today in Toronto. Now taking over the city for six days, the festival will welcome more than 1000 artists from Canada and around the globe.

In addition to music performances, Canadian Music Week presents the second annual Canadian International Comedy Festival and the sixth annual CMW Film Fest. The comedy festival begins tomorrow night at various venues, while the film portion of the festival will take place from March 21 to 23 at TIFF Bell Lightbox. They will also host a conference and trade show.

Hot Docs announces programming for 2013 festival

Toronto, March 19, 2013 – Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival announced its full film line-up for the upcoming 20th edition, April 25 - May 5, at a press conference this morning at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema in Toronto. From 2,386 film submissions, this year’s slate will present 205 titles from 43 countries in 11 screening programs.

"This year’s festival is about looking back and celebrating our 20th anniversary, and also looking forward,” says Hot Docs director of programming Charlotte Cook. “This year we are celebrating, big ideas, innovation and the future. We will have many new and exciting experiences at the festival to give back to the local, and filmmaking, community that have supported us for two decades. This festival is for them."

In addition to the opening night World premiere of Shawney Cohen’s THE MANOR, a first-time filmmaker’s intimate tragi-comic family portrait, other notable films in the Special Presentations program include: Gus Holwerda’s THE UNBELIEVERS, which follows renowned scientists Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss advancing the importance of science and reason; AJ Schnack’s CAUCUS, a behind-the-scenes look at the 2012 Iowa Caucus; Malcom Ingram’s CONTINENTAL, a stylish portrait of the legendary NYC gay bathhouse; Lucy Walker’s THE CRASH REEL, a high adrenaline look at snowboarder Kevin Pearce’s fighting for his life; Penny Lane’s OUR NIXON, a revealing look at one of the most controversial presidencies in US history; Marta Cunningham’s VALENTINE ROAD, depicting a heartbreaking tragedy in which at an eighth-grader fatally shoots his LGBTQ classmate; and Raoul Peck’s FATAL ASSISTANCE, a portrayal of the failure and corruption behind international aid post-disaster.

2013 Asian Film Awards – winners

The 7th Annual Asian Film Awards took place tonight at the Grand Hall of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, to open the Hong Kong International Film Festival.

The acclaimed and somewhat controversial Chinese film 浮城谜事 (Mystery) by 娄烨 (Lou Ye) led the night with three wins including Best Film. Actress 齊溪 (Qi Xi) won for Best Newcomer, and the team of 梅峰 (Mei Feng), 于帆 (Yu Fan) and 婁燁 (Lou Ye) won Best Screenwriter.

Also winning three awards was the Iranian and Turkish co-production Rhino Season by Bahman Ghobadi. It won for Best Cinematographer, Production Design and Visual Effects.

Japan's 北野武 (Kitano Takeshi) won Best Director for アウトレイジ ビヨンド (Outrage Beyond). Filipino actors won both lead acting awards. Eddie Garcia took Best Actor for Bwakaw while Nora Aunor won Best Actress for Thy Womb.

National Film Awards 2012 for Indian cinema – winners

The prestigious 60th National Film Awards for the year 2012 were announced in New Delhi in a joint Press Conference addressed by the Chairpersons of the three juries, Shri Basu Chatterjee for Feature Films, Ms. Aruna Raje for Non-Feature Films and Shri Swapan Mullick for Best Writing on Cinema on Monday, March 18.

The top honour in the feature film category goes to Paan Singh Tomar (Hindi) produced by UTV Software communications Ltd. and directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia . In non-feature film category, the top honour Best Film goes to Shepherds of Paradise (Gojri & Urdu) produced and directed by Raja Shabir Khan. In Best Writing on Cinema section, the book Silent Cinema in India – A Pictorial Journey (English) written by B.D. Garga and published by Harper Collins Publisher India has bagged the top honour, whereas Shri P.S. Radhakrishnan has been declared the Best film Critic.

La Soirée des Jutra 2013 (Quebec film awards) – winners

Tonight, Radio-Canada and Québec Cinéma held their gala ceremony at the Salle Pierre-Mercure of the Centre Pierre-Péladeau in Montreal for the 15th Annual La Soirée des Jutra, the awards given for the Quebecois film industry. The event was hosted by actor Rémy Girard.

The Oscar-nominated Rebelle (War Witch) by Kim Nguyen dominated the night by winning eight Jutras from its nine nominations. It won for Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress (Rachel Mwanza), SUpporting Actor (Serge Kanyinda), Editing, Cinematography and Sound.

Xavier Dolan's Laurence Anyways had led with ten nominations. It won three awards for Best Art Direction, Best Make-Up and Best Hair.

2013 Bodil-prisen (Danish film awards) – winners

The Filmmedarbejderforeningen (National Association of Film Critics) of Denmark held the gala ceremony for their 66th Bodil-prisen or Bodil Awards for Danish movies last night at Bremen Teater in Copenhagen. Mikael Bertelsen hosted the event.

The awards were spread around very evenly . The high-seas drama Kapringen (A Hijacking) by Tobias Lindholm claimed the top prize of Best Danish Film. The foreign film winners were Michael Haneke's Amour and Sean Durkin's Martha Marcy May Marlene.

The Best Documentary went to Putins kys (Putin’s Kiss) by Lise Birk Pedersen. Joshua Oppenheimer's remarkable documentary The Act of Killing was presented with a Special Bodil Award.

Free Panel Discussion – The Art of Adaptation, Mar 21

On Thursday night, York University is presenting a free panel on the Art of Adaptation, hosted by Howard Wiseman with four award-winning writers. The panel will take place at TIFF Bell Lightbox. RSVPs are required as they only have space for the first 50 registrants.


Panel Discussion – The Art of Adaptation: From Faithful to Ruthless

GLAAD Media Awards 2013 – winners pt 1

Madonna presented the Vito Russo Award to advocate, award-winning journalist, author and talk show host Anderson Cooper tonight at the 24th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York, presented nationally by Ketel One Vodka and Wells Fargo and presented locally by Delta Air Lines. The Vito Russo Award is presented to an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equality.

Hip hop mogul Russell Simmons presented the Ally Award to Hollywood director Brett Ratner. Ratner and GLAAD, in partnership with Comcast, launched the "Coming Out for Equality" PSA campaign at the show and attendees were treated to special screenings of the videos produced and directed by Ratner. The GLAAD "Coming Out for Equality" PSA Series features a diverse group of straight celebrities and athletes "coming out of the closet" as supporters of equality and calling for other Americans to speak out.

South African Film and Television Awards 2013 – winners

The National Film and Video Foundation held their ceremonies for the 7th annual South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs) or Golden Horn Awards on Friday and Saturday night in Midrand’s Gallagher Estate. The event was hosted by Nik Rabinowitz and Connie Ferguson.

The top SAFTA winner was Material by Craig Freimond. The comedy about a young Muslim man who wants to become a stand-up comedian against his father's wishes won five awards, for Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Actor (Riaad Moosa), Best Supporting Actor (Vincent Ebrahim) and Best Sound.

Die Wonderwerker (The Miracle Worker) by Katinka Heyns had led with ten nominations. It won two awards, for Best Writing Team of a Feature Film and Best Editor.

African Movie Academy Awards 2013 – nominations

Last night in Lilongwe, Malawi, the African Movie Academy announced the full list of nominations for the 9th Annual African Movie Academy Awards.

Leading with 11 nominations was the South African film Elelwani by Ntshavheni Wa Luruli. The story is about an educated young woman whose return home to her rural family results in her being caught between traditional Venda culture and modern society. Its nominations included Best Film, Best Film in an African Language, Best Director and Best Actress (Florence Masebe).

Next with nine nominations was Kenya's Nairobi Half Life by David Kitounga. It also receive nominations for Best Film, Best Film in an African Language and Best Director, as well as acting mentions for Best Supporting Actor (Olwenya Maina) and Most Promising Actor (Joseph Wairimu).

Bell Free Weekend 2013: Family Screenings and Activities Mar 16-17

Now in its third year, Bell Free Weekend returns on Saturday, March 16 and Sunday, March 17, when you can see our programme of great family films, participate in fun family activities, and see any of our regular film screenings at TIFF Bell Lightbox absolutely free, courtesy of Bell!


Films and Activities on Bell Free Weekend

Karnataka State Film Awards 2012 – winners

Last night, a committee headed by senior director Sunil Kumar Desai and the Chief Minister of Karnataka presented the winners for the Karnataka State Film Awards for the best of 2013 in the Kannada film industry in Karnataka, India.

The top winners was Prasad by Manoj C Satti. In addition to taking First Best Film, it won for Best Actor (Arjun Sarja) and Best Child Artist (Master Sankalp). The winner for Second Best Film was Kurmavatara by Girish Kasaravalli. It also won for Best Story Writer (Ku Veerabadrappa) and Best Cinematographer.

The Third Best Film winner was Allide Nammane Illi Bande Summane by Gopi Peenya. It also was a three-time winner, also claiming Best Dialogue Writer (Gopi Peenya) and Best Editing.

2013 Rwanda Movie Awards – winners

The inaugural Rwanda Movie Awards took place in the Banquet Hall at Kigali Serena Hotel in a ceremony hosted by Radio Rwanda presenter Tidjara Kabendera. Winners were selected by jury, except for some popular awards selected by online voting. The ceremony was a lengthy affair, lasting three-and-a-half hours even though only 10 awards were presented.

The winner for Best Film Documentary was The Impact of a Cow Given to the People of Rwanda by Ishmael Ntihabose. Ntihabose was the executive producer and co-writer of the Sundance award-winning film Kinyarwanda.

The Best Short Film was Kivuto while the People's Choice for Best Movie was Ibanga.

2013 Festival International du Film sur l'Art, Mar 14-24

OPENING NIGHT AND AWARDS CEREMONY FILMS OF THE FIFA’s 31st EDITION
THE FATWA – SALMAN’S STORY AND ROAD MOVIE, A PORTRAIT OF JOHN ADAMS

Montréal – The International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA) is proud to present its Opening Night and Awards Ceremony in one of Montreal’s finest cultural institutions: the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. The film The Fatwa – Salman’s story by Jill Nicholls will open the FIFA’s 31st edition on Thursday, March 14 at 8 p.m. and on the eve of the closing of the Festival, the film Road movie, un portrait de John Adams / Road Movie, a Portrait of John Adams by director Mark Kidel will be presented on the Awards Ceremony, held on Saturday, March 23 at 8 p.m.

MONITOR 9: New South Asian Short Film + Video, Mar 14

MONITOR 9: NEW SOUTH ASIAN SHORT FILM + VIDEO is an annual short film and video screening program that showcases new and innovative work by artists from Canada and internationally.

MONITOR 9 is a unique platform for independent work that brings together poignant films and videos that explore bodies in flow. Programmer Nahed Mansour employs the notion of global flows, through which the artists negotiate various mediascapes, technoscapes, financescapes, ethnoscapes and ideoscapes in their work.

Call for submissions: Regent Park Film Festival

The 11th Annual Regent Park Film Festival – Call For Submissions is Now Open!

Regent Park Film Festival is Toronto’s only free-of-charge, multi-cultural, film festival dedicated to showcasing the best local and international film and video works. The stories we celebrate resonate with the inner city, community-driven, trans-national, transient context of Regent Park, as well as with other similar communities in Toronto, across Canada and all over the world. We encourage local, national and international participation.

The Regent Park Film Festival is in its 11th year of connecting community and film to present a unique festival experience for audiences and filmmakers alike. All activities at the Regent Park Film Festival are free-of-charge; we provide free childcare and pay artist fees.

Call for submissions: DOC Toronto's Community Connections

The Toronto branch of the Documentary Organization of Canada has put out a call for submissions to their Community Connections screening series. Community Connections is a free documentary screening and public discussion series that utilizes documentary film as a tool for community engagement and activism.

Community Connections links Torontonians to important social issues of our time through the work of local filmmakers. The screenings will simultaneously support the outreach and awareness- raising efforts of GTA community groups and the audience development efforts of filmmakers. All screenings will be followed by a moderated audience discussion forum with the filmmaker, participants from the film, and other experts.

2013 South Bank Sky Arts Awards – winners

The best of British arts and culture celebrated at the South Bank Sky Arts Awards 2013 in a glittering ceremony hosted by Melvyn Bragg

From Olympic arts and comedy to new and emerging talent, this year's South Bank Sky Arts Awards once again celebrated the best of British culture and achievement. In a ceremony attended by some of the most illustrious patrons, practitioners and performers in the arts, the winners in visual art, theatre, opera, dance, comedy, classical music, pop, TV drama, literature and film were presented with their awards.

Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts 2013 – winners

Montreal, March 12, 2013 – The Canada Council for the Arts announced today the winners of the 2013 Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts at the Cinémathèque québécoise in Montreal.

The winners are:

2013 KFCA's Atlas Film Awards – winners

Yesterday, the Kerala Film Critics Association announced the winners for their 2013 KFCA Awards or Atlas Film Awards for the best of the Malayalam-language film industry (Mollywood).

Kamal's controversial portrait of the "father of Malayalam cinema" J. C. Daniel Celluloid dominated the awards with seven prizes. Not only did it win Best Film, but its wins also included Best Director, Best Supporting Actress (Mamtha Mohandas) and Best Music Director.

Madhupal's Ozhimuri was next with four awards. The film about the loss of the matrilineal system in the 1940s ("Ozhimuri" means "divorce record") was named Second Best Film and captured the top acting prizes for Lal and Swetha Menon (who was also recognized for her work in Ithramathram).

Festival de Cannes announces opening film The Great Gatsby

It is on The Great Gatsby by Australian director Baz Luhrmann, that the curtain will rise at the inauguration of the 66th Festival de Cannes, on Wednesday 15th May, in the Grand Théâtre Lumière of the Palais des Festivals, out of Competition in the Official Selection.

Adapted from the famous novel by American author Francis Scott Fitzgerald and set against the roaring twenties on the East Coast of the United States, the film depicts the romantic and tragic figure of Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), as narrated by his friend Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire). Carey Mulligan is Daisy Buchanan, whose husband is played by Joel Edgerton. This prestigious occasion will also be graced with the presence of Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan, as well as the American pop star, rapper Jay-Z.

Call for submissions: Adapt This! screenwriting conference

STUDIO, the year-round TIFF Industry programming for professional development, is now accepting applications for Adapt This!, a three-day professional development conference on adaptation. Fifteen writers and fifteen producers will take part in engaging seminars and workshops, followed by an opportunity to pitch and acquire adapted products. Applying and/or participating in the conference is free of charge.

The conference will be open to fifteen mid-career producers who are actively looking to option a property, and fifteen writers who have written adaptation(s) and are looking for a literary agent and/or a producer. Both authors looking to adapt their novels into a feature film or documentary, and screenwriters with completed or adapted scripts nearing completion, are encouraged to apply. Producers and writers must have a minimum of one feature film and/or two short film credits. Novelists should have a minimum of one published work to their name.

The inaugural Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards – winners

The Africa Magic network held the first ever Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards this weekend over two nights in Lagos, Nigeria. The events were hosted by IK Osakioduwa and Wimbai Mutinhiri.

The South African film Otelo Burning by Sara Blecher was the night's top film winning four awards including Best Movie (Overall). It also won three craft awards for Best Art Director, Best Make-up Artist and Best Lighting Designer.

Also capturing four awards was another South African film, Man on Ground by Nigerian director/actor Akin Omotoso. It won Best Director, as well as Best Cinematographer, Picture Editor and Sound Editor.

Call for submissions: Reel Asian Film Festival

The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival has opened its call for submissions to its 17th annual festival. They accept new film and video submissions by and/or about East/South/Southeast Asians from around the world, including North America.

"Reel Asian is Canada’s largest and longest-running showcase dedicated to contemporary Asian cinema and media arts from Asia, North America and all over the world. Annually, the festival attracts thousands of attendees to screenings, industry events and galas. We invite you to submit new independent films and videos of all genres by and/or about East, South and Southeast Asians. The 17th Annual Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival will take place November 5-10 in Toronto and November 15-16 in Richmond Hill."

Call for submssions: CFC Actors Conservatory

The Canadian Film Centre in Toronto has opened the nomination process for its Actors Conservatory. Applicants must first be nominated by an agent, casting director, director, producer, artistic director, writer/playwright, or broadcast or production executive. The nominator must email the contact information of the actor they are nominating to actors@cfccreates.com. Then the CFC will follow-up with the actor via email and forward the online application instructions.