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It’s a fraught moment for any director — “locking picture,” with all the finality the term signifies. But, as a panel on “Scoring for Television & Film” at the recent Independent Film Festival Boston (Iffboston) revealed, for composers it’s a vital stage in their process of scoring a film. The panel was moderated by filmmaker and musician Tim Jackson, and the panelists were composers Mason Daring, John Kusiak and Sheldon Mirowitz. The discussion covered how they got into the business, how they write music, the differences between drama and documentary and much more, but Daring’s fairly lengthy exhortation on locking […]...

You may have thought we were done for the day with distro news, but one more announcement just slipped in under the wire. Grindstone/Lionsgate Home Entertainment have acquired North American rights to Dark Feed, and Recreation Media has taken on international rights for the film, which is currently screening at Afm.

From the Press Release:

Grindstone Entertainment Group has acquired North American rights, and Recreation Media has acquired international rights to writer/directors Michael Rasmussen and Shawn Rasmussen’s anticipated directorial debut, the horror film Dark Feed. Lionsgate Home Entertainment will distribute in North America. The deals with Grindstone and Recreation were negotiated by Ronna Wallace from Eastgate Pictures. The Rasmussen brothers produced the film along with Glenn Cooper, Roger Danchik and Jon Huberman.

In Dark Feed, a group of young professionals are terrorized while working in an abandoned psychiatric hospital when it appears that insanity is spreading among them like a virus.

Steve James' The Interrupters Steve James' The Interrupters, Frederick Wiseman's Harrowing Expose Titicut Follies Win Cinema Eye Honors Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking: The Interrupters directed by Steve James; produced by Alex Kotlowitz and Steve James Outstanding Achievement in Direction: Steve James, The Interrupters Audience Choice Prize: Buck, directed by Cindy Meehl Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature Film: Clio Barnard, The Arbor Outstanding Achievement in Production: Gian-Piero Ringel and Wim Wenders, Pina Outstanding Achievement in Editing: Gregers Sall and Chris King, Senna Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography: Danfung Dennis, Hell and Back Again Outstanding Achievement in an Original Music Score: John Kusiak, Tabloid Spotlight Award: The Tiniest Place, directed by Tatiana Huezo Sánchez Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design and Animation: Rob Feng and Jeremy Landman, Tabloid Heterodox Award: Beginners, directed by Mike Mills Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking: Diary, directed by Tim Hetherington Hell Yeah Prize: Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky,...

The Cinema Eye Honors revealed the nominees for the 5th Annual Awards honoring Non-Fiction Filmmaking. Winners will be announced on January 11. Here's the list of the 2012 Cinema Eye Honors:

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking:

"The Arbor," Directed by Clio Barnard, Produced by Tracy O.Riordan

"Senna," Directed by Asif Kapadia; Produced by James Gay-Rees, Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner

"Project Nim," Directed by James Marsh, Produced by Simon Chinn

"Position Among the Stars," Directed by Leonard Retel Helmrich, Produced by Hetty Naaijkens-Retel Helmrich

"Nostalgia for the Light," Directed by Patricio Guzmán, Produced by Renate Sachse

"The Interrupters," Directed by Steve James, Produced by Alex Kotlowitz and Steve James

Outstanding Achievement in Direction:

Clio Barnard for "The Arbor"

Leonard Retel Helmrich for "Position Among the Stars"

Patricio Guzmán for "Nostalgia for the Light"

Steve James for "The Interrupters"

Danfung Dennis for "Hell and Back Again"

Outstanding Achievement in Production:

Erik Nelson...

Two new movies are opening in wide release this weekend:

Already beating box office records is the fantasy sequel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. The film’s music is composed by Alexandre Desplat who scored his second Harry Potter film. A soundtrack album featuring Desplat’ score has been released on Watertower Music (click here for our soundtrack announcement including audio clips). To watch a short video from the score’s recording sessions and to listen to an audio interview with the composer, check out our previous article. Also check out Classic FM’s short interview with Desplat talking about his music for the final Harry Potter installment.

Also opening wide is Walt Disney Pictures’ animated film Winnie the Pooh. Henry Jackman composed the score for the movie. A soundtrack album featuring Jackman’s score, the film’s songs written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez and an...

A film we put up on our list of Most Anticipated Films From 2011 We’ve Already Seen as well as on our rundown of Alternative Summer Movie Highlights, Errol Morris' "Taboid" is truly unlike any documentary you will see this year. And as it gears up to roll into theaters this Friday, we have a great prize for a very lucky reader. A grand prize featuring a "Tabloid" poster signed by director Errol Morris, as well as a copy of the soundtrack featuring the film’s score by composer John Kusiak is up for grabs. Thirty years before the antics of…...

Milan Records has announced a soundtrack release for the documentary Tabloid. The album includes the film’s score by composer John Kusiak. The soundtrack will be released on July 12, 2011. To listen to two tracks from the album, visit Milan’s soundtrack website. Tabloid is directed by Errol Morris (The Fog of War, Standard Operating Procedure) and follows a former Miss Wyoming who is charged with abducting and imprisoning a young Mormon Missionary. Morris’ previous two feature documentaries were scored by Philip Glass and Danny Elfman. Tabloid premiered at last year’s Toronto Film Festival and is scheduled to be released in theaters on July 15 by Sundance Selects. For more information, check out the official movie website and Facebook page.

Documentaries became a box office factor with the rise of such films as "Hoop Dreams" and "Roger & Me." Before then, there were hit music documentaries like "Woodstock" but most other nonfiction films could expect short runs in few theaters before dutiful audiences. What a small but growing minority of Friday night moviegoers is beginning to discover is that there's a good chance the movie they might enjoy most at the multiplex is a doc.

In alphabetical order, these were the best documentaries I saw in 2010:

"45365" is the zip code of Sidney, Ohio. The brothers Bill and Turner Ross were born there perhaps 30 years ago. They knew everybody in town, and when they spent seven months of 2007 filming its daily life, their presence must have become commonplace. Their film evokes what Winesburg, Ohio might have looked like as a documentary.

The film is privileged. No one is filmed with a hidden camera.

• Toronto Report #1

I walk out the hotel door and don't know where I am. I've spent almost ten months in Toronto, one film festival at a time, and I know my way around. So where am I? The concierge says the district is "near the Entertainment District."

Not far away are some of the big Toronto legit houses. Turn a corner and I realize

I'm near both Queen and King, two great streets for walking. And towering over everything is the new Bell Lightbox, the new high-rise home of the Toronto Film Festival.

The Reitman family, which includes Ivan and Jason, kicked off the Lightbox with a cool $22 million. Toronto developer John Daniels, who essentially underwrote Tiff in its earliest years, built the Lightbox and was a supporter. Among the many other donors was the late Toronto film critic Brian Linehan, in for a million. Those Torontonians. My far-flung correspondent...