Thursday 18 September 2008

4TH LONDON BICYCLE FILM FESTIVAL

Wednesday 1 to Saturday 4 October
www.barbican.org.uk/film Cinema Hotline: 0845 120 7527

Now in its eigth year, the Bicycle Film Festival (BFF) rolls into the
Barbican from 1 to 4 October 2008 for the London leg of its 16 city
international tour. A carnival of films, music, seminars and events that
bring together diverse aspects of global cycling culture, LBFF celebrates
the numerous ways this beautiful machine is able to transport us; through
the city, the mountains and beyond. Or, as recent events in Beijing
illustrate, to Olympic gold!

Founder and director Brendt Barbur says ³We are thrilled that BFF has aided
to catalyze one of the largest youth movements in the world. We hope to show
everyone how huge and important bicycle culture is, and how many people live
for bikes. The bicycle film festival has been credited with pushing bicycle
culture forward throughout the world.²

2008 highlights at the Barbican include: the highly anticipated UK premiere
of Road to Roubaix; the UK premiere of Macaframa; a programme of Fun Bike
Shorts including footage of the day orange DKNY bike took over New York in
Orange Bikes Take Manhattan and Matthew McGuiness, George Bliss and Matthew
Modine talking about building a bike movement in Bicycle Stories; and Urban
Bike Shorts; a series of films that showcase the thrills and skills of city
cycling worldwide, including Japanese streetriders in Bang-King 2007 and
digital stop-motion animation in The Toolbox (Spare Parts Race).

See www.barbican.org.uk/film or visit www.bicyclefilmfestival.com for full
festival programme details.

The Times BFI 52nd London Film Festival

15 - 30 October 2008

We are pleased to announce the Times BFI 52nd London Film Festival programme,
including a record number of world premieres and a stellar line-up of special
events.

View the full programme online now at www.bfi.org.uk/lff

CINEMA OF BRAZIL: Afro-Brazilian Perspectives

Thursday 9 - Wednesday 15 October 2008
www.barbican.org.uk/film Cinema Hotline: 0845 120 7527

Barbican Film, in partnership with the Embassy of Brazil, presents the 2nd
Brazilian Film Festival from Thursday 9 to Wednesday 15 October 2008, this
year celebrating the nation¹s foremost Afro-Brazilian actors and directors,
intellectuals and musicians, 120 years on from the abolition of slavery in
Brazil.

Africa in Motion festival launches the AiM2008 film programme

Stop and Stir Arts Ltd is delighted to announce the programme for the third Africa in Motion film festival, taking place from 23 October - 2 November 2008 at Edinburgh Filmhouse. AiM 2008 will be a celebration of Africa's diverse cinematic output, with a greater focus on under-represented regions and a more adventurous programme than ever before.

AiM 2008 will open with Egyptian director Youssef Chahine's feature The Earth (El Ard), as a tribute to the pioneering filmmaker who passed away on 27 July this year. We are extremely excited to announce that two of the continent's most celebrated and distinguished directors will be joining us in person at the festival: Malian director Souleymane Cissé (whose extraordinary coming-of-age feature Yeelen was awarded the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1987), and Burkinabe director Gaston Kaboré (whose feature film Buud Yam won the grand prize at the FESPACO film festival in 1997) will both be in attendance to present retrospectives of their work.

AiM 2008 will include a programme of animation short films from all over the continent, consisting of various types of animation such as 2D, 3D, cut-out, claymation, stop frame animation, and computer animation. Animation film screenings will be accompanied by African storytelling events and a film animation workshop.

Nollywood, the prolific Nigerian video industry that has taken the continent by storm over the last few years, will receive a special focus with the screening of Bleeding Rose, winner of Best Nigerian Feature Film at the 2007 Lagos International Film Festival, followed by a discussion with director Chucks Mordi afterwards.

For the first time at AiM, there will be a series of late-night screenings of African horrors, erotica and experimental work. This audacious programme will include the Namibian-set cult classic Dust Devil by South African director Richard Stanley, and SMS Sugar Man, the first feature-length film to be shot entirely on mobile phone cameras, by experimental South African director Aryan Kaganof.

Contemporary films will feature prominently; festival highlights are Nigerian director Newton Audaka's Ezra, a hard-hitting film that deals with the pressing issue of African child soldiers and won the grand prize at the FESPACO film festival in 2007; and Guinean director Cheick Fantamady Camara's Clouds over Conakry, the closing screening of the festival and a film which offers a romantic twist on the tradition-versus-modernity theme.

Feature films from East Africa will also be screened (an area hugely under-represented in African cinema), including the UK premiere of an exciting new film from Tanzania.

Documentaries screened at the festival will include a range of films exploring African identity through various themes such as sport, music and dance. The screening of Nigerian-born broadcaster and filmmaker Zina Saro-Wiwa's documentary This is My Africa will be accompanied by a discussion with Zina after the screening.

As part of AiM's commitment to supporting filmmaking activity on the continent, the festival is hosting a short film competition for young and emerging African directors. The eight shortlisted films will be screened during the festival, and the winner announced at a prize-giving ceremony; the winner is to be selected by a high-profile jury consisting of African filmmakers and Edinburgh-based film practitioners.

"This year we are hoping to challenge and delight our loyal audiences, and draw new audiences, with a programme more diverse and daring than ever before. AiM 2008 is a celebration and exploration of the multiplicity of forms, themes, styles and approaches we find in the African film industries today", says Lizelle Bisschoff, director and founder of Africa in Motion.

For full programme details please visit www.africa-in-motion.org.uk/programme.html

Tickets go on sale Friday 19th September from the Filmhouse: Box Office 0131 228 2688 or www.filmhousecinema.com. Concessionary discounts and ticket deals will be available.

11TH ANNUAL METHOD FEST SEEKS STRONG ACTING FILMS

• Indie fest slated for March 26 - April 2, 2009

The 11th annual The Method Fest independent film festival, scheduled for March 26 - April 2, 2009 in Calabasas, is looking for character and story-driven films featuring strong acting performances.

The Method Fest features American and foreign feature films and short films and is named after "The Method" school of acting, which revolutionized the approach in acting, particularly in film.


Deadlines for film submissions for the 11th annual The Method Fest are: Early Bird: October 1, 2008; Early Deadline: December 1, 2008; Late Entry: January 31, 2009 (all postmarked).

Entry fees are: $40 Early Bird entry ; $50 Regular entry; $60 Late entry, for features; $30 Early Bird entry; $35 Regular entry; $45 Late entry for short films; student entries are $20 Early Bird entry; $25 Regular and Late Entry. Screen formats accepted are 35 mm, DigiBetaCam and HDCam. For film submission information call (310) 535-9230 or visit the festival web site at www.methodfest.com Filmmakers are encouraged to register through www.withoutabox.com

The Method Fest takes great pride in being a discovery festival, looking to help launch the works of young fresh filmmakers and to discover breakthrough performances by young, bold new actors. More than 100 films that have premiered or played at The Method Fest have received distribution.

The Method Fest has also taken great delight in sharing career-defining performances of established performers and in showcasing a few chosen well-known directors to screen at the festival. "We've prided ourselves on not just following other festivals’ lineups. We screen world premieres and true discoveries, mixed with a few larger films, " said Don Franken, executive director of the Method Fest.

A variety of other activities will complement the Method Fest screenings - filmmaking seminars, daily/nightly parties and receptions, industry events, a variety of Indie Music events, Lifetime Achievement Tribute, and the Awards Ceremony. The Method fest’s Youth Outreach program include a short film and screenplay competition for middle school and high school students.

The Method Fest is sponsored by the City of Calabasas and presenting media partners, Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications and the L.A. Daily News / LA.com. Lead sponsors include Corona, Prudential California Realty, the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley / Valley of the Stars, Sony, Christie, JetBlue, Country Inn & Suites by Carlson, Modern VideoFilm, FilmFinders, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Final Draft, Red Bull, Bernards, and Barefoot Winery.