ADELAIDE FILM FESTIVAL NAMED IN VARIETY’S LIST OF TOP FIFTY FILM FESTS!
Entertainment industry bible Variety Magazine has ranked the Adelaide Film Festival among the world's top 50 film festivals - and is the only festival in Australia to make the list!
Variety made their selection from ‘the planet’s 1000 plus film fests’, with festivals selected for their ‘industry punch or by virtue of vision, originality, striking setting, audience zest and /or their ability to mine a unique niche, which ranks them as must attends.’
Premier of South Australia, the Hon Mike Rann said: “This is high praise indeed coming from such an influential and respected industry publication. I am delighted that so soon after it began, the Festival is gaining such high international praise.”
Director of the Adelaide Film Festival, Katrina Sedgwick, said: “As a new event, seeking to find strong points of difference, and to genuinely engage with and celebrate the creative process of filmmaking, its very affirming to have been listed in such a stellar line up of film festivals from around the globe.”
new money for SA short film makers
The AFF has committed to co-fund at least one of the three SAFC Short Film Fund films, to the amount of $40,000 per project. The maximum level of SAFC funding available for any one project is $53,000 and the SAFC will fund up to three short films in the 2007/08 financial year.
Films must be less than 25 minutes in length and can be short fiction films, short documentaries, or animations. Films must be shot and post-produced in South Australia and all crew members must be residents of South Australia.
DEADLINE: 5pm Monday 15 October 2007
For initial enquiries about the SAFC's funding programs and initiatives, and for application forms and guidelines contact:
Program Coordinator
Tel: (61 8) 8348 9320
Email: safc@safilm.com.au
subscriber offer: free FILM tickets!!!
be quick - first in, best dressed!
On offer to our lucky subscribers this month are double passes galore to the following films: John Pilger's thought-provoking documentary: THE WAR ON DEMOCRACY (6.30pm sharp on Monday 24th September, at Palace Nova Eastend) , the emotionally devastating: AWAY FROM HER (6.30pm on September 26, an Nova Eastend CInema) , and the smash hit from AFF07: AIR GUITAR NATION.
To win your tickets, CLICK HERE and fill in ALL of your details. Make sure you type in the name of the film you want tickets for in the 'Which Film?' field. Tickets are limited, and will fly out the door, so be quick!
If you have trouble filling out the form, please CLICK HERE and email your contact details and film name.
THE WAR ON DEMOCRACY
80 double passes thanks to Hopscotch Films
The War on Democracy is Australian writer-filmmaker John Pilger's first major feature film for the cinema, an extraordinary and illuminating documentary with Latin America at its heart. It explores people’s yearning for democracy – government, for, by and of the people – and demonstrates the brutal reality of America's foreign policy of 'spreading democracy'. It also reveals the remarkable rise of true popular democracy and people power among the poorest on earth, the people of Latin America, whose grassroots movements are often ignored in the West.
Above all, The War On Democracy is an inspiring and thought-provoking film, for it sees the world not through the eyes of the powerful, but through the hopes and dreams and extraordinary actions of ordinary people. In Cinemas September, 27, 2007
AWAY FROM HER
45 double passes thanks to Dendy Films
Sarah Polley’s triumphant directorial debut starring Julie Christie is an adaptation of Alice Munro’s story about the effects of Alzheimer's on a long and happy marriage. A man coping with the institutionalisation of his wife faces an epiphany when she transfers her affections to another man, who is also a patient at the nursing home.
The film that the 28-year-old Canadian actress Sarah Polley has made from Alice Munro’s The Bear Came Over the Mountain is emotionally devastating, but its insights into the complexities of love and marriage and memory are not the sort you’re likely find on Lifetime. Its tears are earned in more honest, surprising ways.
AIR GUITAR NATION
AGN follows a group of young, born-to-mock motorheads, dudes and real life Waynes & Garths all the way from the first East Coast air guitar championships in New York City to Finland where otherwise normal men and women transform into 11-year-olds on their first tequila shot to compete for the WORLD air guitar championships. If you thought those spelling bee films were enthralling, then Air Guitar Nation
will make you lose your mind. While gut-achingly hilarious from the word ‘let’s rock’, this is no joke. To make a dent with the judges—a panel of none other than Brian May of Queen, Nina Gordon of Veruca Salt, and Tom Morella of Audioslave (rock on!)— you gotta have method, technique, shtick and balls the size of Rundle Mall. But to win it's gotta come from deep inside… but for everyone’s sake, not too deep. The mullets, the heartache, the groupies and the sheer naffness of it makes for a rock journey not to be missed at any cost. As they say: To air is human, but to air guitar is divine. Now make a fist, raise your index and little fingers and bite your lower lip hard because
AGN is coming to get you!
affif FILMS WIN AGAIN!
The historic 40th Annual Australian Writers’ Guild AWGIE Awards took place on Friday 31st August at Doltone House in Sydney where some of Australia’s most well known and up-and-coming scriptwriters and playwrights were awarded AWGIE Awards across 21 categories in film, TV and theatre.
Judges were torn in the Feature Film Original category and awarded both Keith Thompson’s Clubland and Tony Ayres, for his film festival-favourite The Home Song Stories.
'The standard was very high all round again this year, so much so that in the Feature Film Original category we were unable to distinguish one winner. The judges strongly felt that both Clubland and The Home Song Stories are wonderfully developed scripts and Tony and Keith equally deserved the recognition', said AWG President Tim Pye.
What the Future Sounded Like (which screened on the ABC last night) has been accepted into the Sheffield International Documentary Festival, and the Liepzig Film Festival selection committee has chosen it for the DOK Market Digital with main festival acceptance announced September 7th.
Also a big congratulations to Lucky Miles and Boxing Day - both films have been selected to screen in the Pusan Film Festival.
Shorts Film Festival postponed to 2008
In an opportunity not to be missed, filmmakers around the country will now have until the end of July 2008 to get their entries into the Shorts Film Festival. So keep the entries coming in and have a shot at the coveted first prize – a return airfare, accommodation and introductions at the Cannes Film Festival – or the opportunity to be selected for a screening at Rushes Soho in the UK!
Due to recent key changes, the 2007 Shorts Film Festival has now been postponed until November/December 2008, with the iconic Shorts Outback highlights screening kicking off 2008 at The Prairie Hotel Parachilna.
Whilst the need to take this rapid decision has been deeply disappointing, Shorts has seized the opportunity to substantially strengthen the event going forward, and continues to encourage emerging filmmakers from across Australia to focus on one thing – strong storytelling through the genres of animation, claymation, comedy, documentary, drama and digital media.
More information about the festival, prizes, entry forms and guidelines can be found at www.shortsfilmfestival.com. For all enquiries, please contact admin@shortsilmfestival.com.
The Festival Directors thank all our filmmakers for their continuing involvement and look forward to putting on our best Shorts in 2008!
