Tuesday 12 February 2008

Pangea Day

On May 10, 2008 - Pangea Day - people on each continent will stop, gather, and listen to each others' stories. Sites around the world will be video-conferenced live to produce a 4-hour program of powerful films, visionary speakers, and uplifting music. Thus, the Event seeks short films with extraordinary power which portray diverse parts of the world and create a cinematic view of the human experience that will make viewers laugh, cry, think, or question.

Official selections will be broadcast to the world via the internet, television, digital cinemas, and mobile phones, and will later be included in the Pangea Day DVD. Accepted filmmakers receive a $3000 USD licensing fee, and will be considered for a special grant and awards program, in association with Participant Productions (AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, SYRIANA).

With its socially conscious mission to strengthen tolerance and compassion, Pangea Day has attracted major star support, including JJ Abrams (LOST, ALIAS), Lawrence Bender (KILL BILL), Judy McGrath of MTV Networks, Jeff Skoll of Ebay, Will.I.Am of The Black Eyed Peas, and actresses Goldie Hawn, Cameron Diaz, and Meg Ryan. The Event is also endorsed by many of the world's leading film festivals.

MISSION AND OBJECTIVE
Pangea Day plans to use the power of film to bring the world a little closer together. The world is divided by borders, race, religion, conflict...but most of all by misunderstanding and mistrust. Pangea Day seeks to overcome that - to help people see themselves in others -through the power of film.

MORE ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
The Outstanding Filmmakers Awards Program awards $5000 USD filmmaker grants to five Pangea Day filmmakers representing different continents. Additionally, all accepted Pangea Day filmmakers will be invited to submit a feature or documentary treatment to Participant Productions, who will reward one winner with a development grant of $20,000 USD, and a non-binding, first-look deal.

What's more, if you need music for your Pangea Day film, Elias Arts, the renowned music company in Santa Monica and New York, has created a Pangea Day Music Library. This music is a gift to Pangea Day filmmakers in appreciation for their efforts, and because powerful images and themes deserve music to match.

"Movies alone can't change the world, but the people who watch them can," says Pangea Day creator and award-winning documentary filmmaker of CONTROL ROOM, Jehane Noujaim. Pangea Day was created after Noujaim won the prestigious TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) prize which granted her one wish to change the world.

www.pangeaday.org

John Brabourne Big 5 Award

New Big 5 Film Award hunts upcoming British Directors [Film, Commercial, TV]

Pinewood have joined four of the biggest names in British cinema, who are all donating their services and expertise, to offer an upcoming talented director the opportunity to make their first professional short film with the new John Brabourne Big 5 Award.

Created by the trade charity of the UK film and TV industry, the CTBF, a newly-established prestigious award named after one of Britain's most prolific producers aims to help galvanise the next generation of filmmakers in the UK and provide a launch platform for future British talent.

Valued at over £140K and offering invaluable experience, the prize includes over 100 minutes of 35mm film stock donated by Kodak, the hire of cameras and lighting by Arri Rental Group; studio space and audio post production by Pinewood Studios Group as well as lab costs, digital print and visual post production from Technicolor. Kaos Films will offer a winning script from their highly regarded British Short Screenplay Competition. Kaos Films will work with the winning director to produce the film and subsequently manage it on the festival circuit around the world following a BAFTA screening. The award is supported by Working Title Films, who will help select the final script and assist in funding the production.

The successful candidate will be presented with their award by Lord Attenborough at a high profile ceremony at St. James' Palace in London on June 25th. The film will be completed in time for the BAFTA screening in Spring 2009, where the next year's Big 5 Award will be announced.

John Brabourne was one of Britain's most prolific producers with an illustrious career spanning four decades and twenty seven films. John produced some of the greats of British cinema including Death on the Nile, Sink the Bismarck! at Pinewood Studios and HMS Defiant, The Mikado and A Passage to India at Shepperton Studios.

More information online at www.ctbf.co.uk/johnbrabourneawards

Bradford International Film Festival

14th Bradford International Film Festival
National Media Museum, Bradford
Friday 29 February – Saturday 15 March 2008
Box office 0870 70 10 200
www.bradfordfilmfestival.org.uk

Kenneth Branagh and Michael Palin headline the 14th Bradford International Film Festival, receiving a BIFF Fellowship Award and BIFF Lifetime Achievement Award respectively, in the latest edition of one of the UK’s most anticipated film festivals.

BAFTA-award winner and four times Oscar nominee, Branagh will be honoured with a season of films covering his career as actor and director. There will also be a Michael Palin retrospective featuring a variety of his writing and acting credits.

Running for 16 days at the National Media Museum, the Festival will be crammed with new releases, vintage classics, retrospectives, tributes and a glittering array of special guests. Barry Norman will be attending the Festival to talk about his career and there will be a season dedicated to the work of emerging German film maker, Christian Petzold, also due to visit Bradford.

For fans of film and music, there will be a series of features, documentaries and pop promos from pioneer of punk, Julien Temple. Composer Patrick Doyle will headline the Festival’s fourth Film and Music Conference. Doyle’s credits include Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Calendar Girls and Gosford Park.

The Museum’s unique facilities allow the Festival to present films in every format from 16mm and 35mm to 70mm and 3-strip Cinerama. The 2008 line-up will once again include CineFile (documentaries on movies and movie-makers), the Widescreen Weekend, Premieres and Previews, the Industry Weekend and a second taste of Uncharted States of America, which celebrates new independent cinema from the US. The Shine Award will be presented to the best new short film selected from the hundreds of entries received each year.

Tony Earnshaw, artistic director of Bradford International Film Festival, said: “We have yet another fully packed programme in store for film fans which promises something for everyone. We are delighted to be welcoming so many exciting guests to the Museum and look forward to showcasing their work during the 14th Bradford International Film Festival.”

For details of further guests, strands and the programme itself bookmark www.bradfordfilmfestival.org.uk for further updates.