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Prepare for the ultimate magic adventure as National Geographic reveals the trailer for David Blaine Do Not Attempt, premiering March 23 at 9/8c and streaming the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.

Produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s award-winning Imagine Documentaries, this six-part series follows world-renowned magician and endurance artist David Blaine exploring the world through the lens of magic.

David Blaine takes us on a fascinating cultural exchange and a jaw-dropping journey through extraordinary cultures, where he meets with performers and masters — kindred spirits who inspire and share with him exceptional skills (and secrets) — in Brazil, Southeast Asia, India, the Arctic Circle, South Africa and Japan.

David is widely recognized for his epic stunts and illusions. Through intimate documentary storytelling, this series also reveals a surprising and more personal side to David, which has rarely been seen before.

Traveling through the urban and natural jungles of Brazil to...

Orlando Bloom is taking audiences on a thrilling journey of self-discovery as he pushes his limits physically and mentally in a new three-part docuseries for Peacock.

“Orlando Bloom: To The Edge” will see the actor participate in three extreme sports – wingsuiting, free diving and rock climbing. With family, friends and his spiritual Buddhist practice guiding the way, Bloom will be trained by experts who help him overcome obstacles, face his fears and discover valuable lessons about himself.

The series is produced by STX Television and Amazing Owl. Bloom, Adam Karasick, Al Berman, Robert Simonds, Noah Fogelson, Jason Goldberg, and Scott Weintrob serve as executive producers while Matthew Akers, Jamie Bovshow, Susan Hoenig serve as co-executive producers.

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Pete Davidson’s ‘Bupkis’ Renewed for Season 2 at Peacock

Bloom is best known for starring in the two largest film franchises of all time – “The Lord of the Rings” and “Pirates of the Caribbean.

Peacock has ordered Orlando Bloom: To The Edge, a limited adventure docuseries following the actor and adventure enthusiast, from STX Television and Bloom’s Amazing Owl.

Per the description, in the three-episode, hourlong series, Bloom “takes viewers on a thrilling journey of self-discovery as he pushes his limits physically and mentally in order to reach his personal edge of what is possible. Through fear defying adventures and spiritual awareness, Bloom overcomes his fears and learns more about himself, while inspiring the audience at home to explore and expand their own limits in everyday life.”

In the series, Bloom undertakes learning three extreme sports — wingsuiting, free diving and rock climbing. “With family, friends and his spiritual Buddhist practice guiding the way, Bloom is trained by experts who help him overcome obstacles, face his fears and discover valuable lessons about himself.”

A premiere date is Tba.

Bloom executive produces the docuseries, along with Adam Karasick,...

London-based Sideways Film has taken world sales on British director Carey Born’s “Cyborg: A Documentary” about a man who was born color blind and has an antenna embedded in his head to help contend with this condition.

Filmed in the U.K., Spain, Denmark, Australia and across the U.S. in New York, Los Angeles, San Jose and New Jersey, the doc about the world’s first officially recognized cyborg premiered last month at the Cph:dox festival in Copenhagen and was selected by the fest to screen online on its Para:dox platform.

“Cyborg” centers on “cyborg artist” Neil Harbisson who was born with a rare condition called achromatopsia, which means he sees only in black and white. In 2003 Harbisson had an illegal operation. A so-called “eyeborg” antenna was implanted in the back of his head enabling him to “hear colour” as waves that are translated into sound frequencies and transmitted to his auditory cortex.

1. “Black Mirror” Season 5 (available June 5)

Why Should I Watch? At this point, what choice do you have? Between its mind-bending sci-fi stories, topicality, and aggressive advancement of the medium itself, new episodes of “Black Mirror” always dominant TV discussion for a few weeks a year. If you want to stay current with the culture (and can handle the darkness), you pretty much have to watch.

Creator Charlie Brooker’s latest season is a bit shorter than previous entires — “Bandersnatch” took up a lot of time, you guys — but the three episodes are getting a prime spotlight on Netflix: They’ve each got their own trailers, stars, and synopses, all of which you can see here. Just remember: It’s called “Black Mirror” for a reason. These are all bound to pretty… bleak.

Bonus Reason: In “Rachel, Jack and Ashley, Too” (Episode 3), Miley Cyrus plays a pop star named Ashley...

Tom Fleischman working on Aviva Kempner's captivating Moe Berg documentary The Spy Behind Home Plate Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

After I watched the rough cut of Aviva Kempner's The Spy Behind Home Plate, the director invited me to meet her at Soundtracks F/T, where re-recording mixer Tom Fleischman, Oscar-winner for Martin Scorsese's Hugo (with John Midgley) and nominee for The Aviator, Gangs of New York, Jonathan Demme's The Silence Of The Lambs, and Warren Beatty's Reds, was working on her documentary on the elusive Moe Berg. Ira Spiegel, Aviva's sound editor, was also on hand inside Stage B, where Tom was working on the film.

Aviva Kempner on William Donovan's Oss recruitments, including John Ford: "Really bright people, Ivy League, Moe fit in that. A lot of women, Julia Child, Marlene Dietrich - who is my heroine of heroines." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

In 1934, Moe...

There are few TV shows with as much obsessive attention to detail as “Documentary Now!” That’s probably why it came as no surprise to series co-creators Alex Buono and Rhys Thomas that one shot of Cate Blanchett riding a mini tricycle in a massive Hungarian courtyard ended up taking a big chunk of an entire day.

“There was one moment in it where she’s riding on a tricycle in the square. And that’s on screen for like five seconds. And that probably cost us about five hours to get that shot. When you’re shooting for four days total, that was an expensive shot to get. But it’s worth it because they’re just going to take place as her somewhere,” Buono told IndieWire.

It’s the kind of creative choice that “Documentary Now!” has the freedom to make, given its bizarre mission statement. Over 17 episodes to date,...

Half way through David Blaine’s latest ABC special, the famed magician is seen visiting his dentist, who gives him an order: Stop eating glass.

Indeed, in one segment, Blaine bites into a wine glass in front of Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is a tad shocked. And even Blaine admits that it’s starting to take a toll on his body.

“That one I have to stop,” he admitted to IndieWire. “Every time I drink hot and cold, I really feel it. That one I’ll agree with [the dentist] on. It doesn’t mean that I’ll stop. But I’ll agree with him.”

“David Blaine: Beyond Magic” follows Blaine as he attempts to perfect the challenge of catching a bullet in his mouth. It’s not easy, and viewers will see Blaine struggle with it: “It’s a very dark note for an ABC special,” he admitted. (But spoiler alert: Blaine is still alive.

Last Week’S Podcast: ‘Good Behavior’ Producer Chad Hodge on How Michelle Dockery’s Edgy New Role Draws from ‘Downton’ – IndieWire’s Turn It On Podcast

David Blaine isn’t a witch… or is he? The superstar magician is returning to ABC for the first time in three years with “David Blaine: Beyond Magic,” but this special is a little different. For the first time, cameras go behind the tricks to show a little bit about Blaine’s process – and how the people around him aren’t always pleased with his choices.

It’s the precursor for a potential full documentary that Blaine is kicking around.

Blaine has made headlines over the years as he continues to risk his life for his art. His endurance stunts include burying himself alive, under a 3-ton water-filled tank, for seven days. He was once encased in a block of ice for 63 hours,...

ABC announced two upcoming specials as part of its 2016-17 programming slate. David Blaine returns to the network for a follow-up to his 2013 ratings hit David Blaine: Real or Magic, Emmy winner Matthew Akers, who helmed Real or Magic, will be back to direct the new untitled special, and Blaine will executive produce, along with Justin Wilkes and Dave O’Connor for Radical Media. Also on tap is Ali: The Champion (working title), a two-hour special which will honor the…...

Premiering in Cartagena Film Festival 2014 and then going to the filmmakers’ hometown, New York City, where " Manos Sucias" ("Dirty Hands") won Tribeca Film Festival’s Best New Narrative Director Award and 2nd place Audience Award, this film has not yet closed Us distribution, but has been acquired internationally by some of the best distributors.

In Cannes, Marina de la Fuentes’ international sales agency, 6 Sales, sold it to Paris-based Pretty Pictures who acquired not only France – its usual home territory – but also Germany, Austria, Benelux and Switzerland. James Velaise of Pretty Pictures screened the film at Tribeca and “immediately fell madly in love with it,” he said.

“It came totally out of the blue, we were mesmerized by the filmmaking. As a first-time film 'Manos Sucias' is outstanding, as good as anything we’ve seen coming out of Latin America in a long time,” said Velaise.

Shot on location in Colombia, using local actors who speak the patois of Buenaventura, "Manos Sucias" reflects years of painstaking research by Josef Wladyka.

“What is fascinating is that the filmmaker spent five years in Buenaventura learning what was going on there and building up the trust of people. The average filmmaker would never take the time to do that. You feel that in the film: There a sense of genuineness which you don’t get in 99% of indie films today,” said Velaise.

At the same time, 'Manos Sucias' is “incredibly tight: On paper, it has some breakout potential to it, because it is a thriller, ” he added.

Pretty Pictures will now seek to sell the film on to distributors in the other four territories, all significant distributors for arthouse films. Velaise reasons that companies exist in these territories that often buy the same films as Pretty Pictures, and share similar tastes. (e.g., "La Jaula de Oro", premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard 2013 and was acquired by Belgium-Fourcorners Distribution, France-Pretty Pictures, Germany-Films Boutique, Hong Kong (China)-Encore Inflight Limited, Hungary-Cirko Film Kft., Italy-Parthenos S.R.L., Mexico-Canibal Networks, Netherlands-Wild Bunch Benelux, Norway-As Fidalgo Film Distribution, Poland-Art House, Puerto Rico-Wiesner Distribution, Switzerland-Xenix Filmdistribution Gmbh, Taiwan-Maison Motion, Inc., U.K.- Peccadillo Pictures or "Love is Strange" by Ira Sachs premiered at Sundance 2014 and was acquired by U.S.-Sony Pictures Classics, Australia-Rialto Distribution (Australia), Canada-Métropole Films Distribution, Canada-Mongrel Media Inc., France-Pretty Pictures, Italy-Koch Media, Mexico-Cinemas Nueva Era, Portugal-Midas Filmes, Spain-Golem Distribución, Switzerland-Xenix Filmdistribution Gmbh, Turkey-Kurmaca Film, U.K.- Altitude Film Sales). These distributors are all likely candidates to acquire rights to "Manos Sucias" as well.

U.S. rights to "Manos Sucias" are handled by Wme Global’s Mark Ankner and Christine D’Souza. Distributors seeking to win over the booming Latino audience, and who have an affinity for gritty, action-packed, arthouse thrillers, or any of Pretty Pictures’ recent acquisitions (see below) owe it to themselves to check out this film.

This pioneering U.S.- Colombia production was the debut feature by writer-director, Josef Kubota Wladyka and co-writer-dp Alan Blanco. It was produced by Elena Greenlee, Márcia Nunes, Mirlanda Torres Zapata and Carolina Caicedo and exec-produced by U.S. Film Director Spike Lee.

"Manos Sucias" follows two estranged brothers, both Afro-Colombian fishermen, who embark on a fishing-boat from Buenaventura, Colombia’s biggest Pacific Coast port and a violent drug trade emporium. Their mission is to tow underwater a “narco-torpedo” packed with 100 kilos of cocaine to Panama. En route, they must circumnavigate marauding paramilitaries and impoverished villagers eager for their cargo.

In Cartagena, I interviewed the director, Dp, and producers. Josef Wladyka is a U.S. citizen who is the son of a Japanese mother and a Polish father. He received the Spike Lee Fellowship while attending the Tisch School of the Arts at Nyu.

Josef:

You could say this is a drug story, but you should know it is much more than that. In a fisherman’s village the Afro Colombians are confronted with drug traffic taking place on their ancestral beaches where they have lived for generations.

Before I started Grad Film School at Nyu, I spent several months backpacking with a close friend in South America. We traveled along the Pacific coast of Ecuador and Colombia, and went through these towns that were under siege by narco-trafficking. The locals would tell us stories about homemade submarines, narco-torpedoes, and different armed groups that would fight to control these areas. I became very interested in the subject and wanted to immerse myself more in the world. With the help of a friend from the region, I went back several times to Buenaventura, Tumaco, and other parts of the Pacific coast of Colombia to continue researching and collecting stories.

I also got permission to go to Malaga Naval Base where I saw confiscated narco-torpedoes and submarines first hand. I always had a camera with me and shot lots of footage during my travels. I used that footage to make a pitch video for raising money from Kickstarter and private equity.

The film is an official Colombian production, recognized by the Ley de Cine (The Cinema Law). It is a 50-50 coproduction with Colombian producers Carolina Caicedo and Mirlanda Zapata. With our U.S. producers, Márcia Nunes and Elena Greenlee, that makes four female producers on this film.

Cine Colombia , Colombia’s largest distributor and theater owner, one of the Cartagena Film Festival sponsors as well, invested in the film, as did Caracol, one of Colombia’s top two broadcasters.

Márcia knew Cine Colombia from her previous life in international sales with Goldcrest. Elena, Alan and I scouted in October 2012, one week in Bogotá and through Proimagenes we met many possible co-producers and visited locations. We chose young producers who were hungry for their first film; they were not rigid.

The U.S. producers wanted to do the film U.S. indie style, not in the usual Colombian style. We shot it in Buenaventura, Colombia’s largest port, which has been hit very hard by narco traffickers and violence.

This was the first feature for everyone. Except for Márcia, who got her Masters of Film Business at Gallatin School of Nyu, the others all got their MFAs from Tisch, though some graduated two years ago and others four years ago.

How we, as foreigners, were able to make this film, opening up delicate, sensitive and violent stories, was based on my having no assumptions. And our own cross-cultural backgrounds helped.

We had a great premiere in Cartagena. The festival permits people to see films for free and we were able to test the Colombian audience’s reaction. The film explores the international issue of drug trafficking and the social-exclusion of the Afro-Colombian community on the coast from the mainstream economy in Colombia. The film is genre bending; it is not too arty and is not fully a genre movie. The audience of 800 to 1,000 Colombians laughed and cried, even danced in their seats. Three of the actors also saw the film for the first time, as did the crew. When the actors came up for the Q & A they received a standing ovation from the crowd. It was a beautiful moment.

We offered free audiovisual workshops for the community before we shot the film, and found many of our actors and crewmembers through that process. We used Kickstarter to raise Us $60,000 to greenlight production and fund our community workshops in Buenaventura.

Film Independent bestowed the Canon Filmmaker Award upon the film’s two producers, who are also Film Independent Producing Fellows. The Canon Filmmaker Award Program is a program for Film Independent Fellows, alumni of the Los Angeles Film Festival and Spirit Awards Nominees and Winners. Producers Elena Greenlee and Márcia Nunes who had participated in the Find Producing Lab with the project were awarded with the loan of a Canon camera package for their production. Further support was granted by the San Francisco Film Society, who, together with the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, awarded the film with two grants, one during the production phase, and one during post-production.

Jennifer Kushner, Director of Artist Development at Film Independent spoke with Elena and Márcia in those early days about Manos Sucias and its upcoming shoot, and here’s what they had to say then:

Manos Sucias, Canon Filmmaker Award Winner Round 2

"The social exclusion of the Pacific coast — home to much of the Afro-Colombian population — is felt throughout the country, echoed in the sentiment that Colombia “doesn’t really have a black population.” While popular culture glamorizes cocaine “cowboys,” and the Us takes a tough stance in the “war on drugs,” few people acknowledge the oppression and resilience of these citizens.

Our goal is for the film to inspire change in our audience, and in the region. We want audiences to realize that people like Jacobo and Delio are not perpetuating the drug trade, they are trapped in it; and to reflect on the impact their personal choices have on the situation.”

“When Josef and Alan brought us the script in early 2012, we immediately fell in love with it. The characters jumped off the page, and we couldn’t stop thinking about it.”

Pretty Pictures roster of films illustrates their exceptional taste in films:

"The Dark Valley" ("Das Finstere Tal") By Andreas Prochaska (Acquired From Films Distribution In Feb 2014)

"Dancing In Jaffa" By Hilla Medalia (Acquired From K5 International In Apr 2013)

"Omar" By Hany Abu-Assad (Acquired From The Match Factory In Feb 2013)

"The Look Of Love" By Winterbottom Michael (Acquired From Studiocanal In Aug 2012)

"Pieta" By Ki-Duk Kim (Acquired From Finecut Co. Ltd. In Aug 2012)

"Wadjda" By Haifa Al-Mansour (Acquired From The Match Factory In May 2012)

"The Hunt" ("Jagten") By Thomas Vinterberg (Acquired From Trust In Apr 2012)

"Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present" By Matthew Akers (Acquired From Dogwoof In Feb 2012)...

Are David Blaine’s magic tricks real? Can they be done anywhere? Those are the questions Blaine is addressing in his upcoming 90-minute special, David Blaine: Real or Magic, which EW has learned exclusively will premiere Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 9:30 p.m. on ABC.

After working mainly on stunts since 1999, Blaine recently decided it was once again time to stretch his magic-trick muscles on camera. The twist? He wanted to go into the homes of some of the world’s most famous people to get real reactions. From Kanye West to Katy Perry, Robert De Niro, Will Smith, Harrison Ford,...

This Saturday, during the first weekend of the New Directors/New Films festival at New York's Museum of Modern Art, it was announced that indie queen Tilda Swinton would be bringing back a 1995 performance that debuted at the Serpentine Gallery in London and went on to be performed in Rome and Paris. In the performance, "The Maybe," Swinton lays in a glass box with a sheet-covered mattress, pillow, eyeglasses and water. MoMA curator Klaus Biesenbach, who has kept a high profile recently after bringing Kraftwerk and Marina Abramovic to the museum (he is featured heavily in Matthew Akers' film "Marina Abramovic The Artist is Present."), worked with Swinton to mount her work this year at the MoMA. According to a report from Gothamist, Swinton will show up unannounced for a day at a time at the museum and museum staff will not know she is there until the day of a performance.

It would be the film with the juju in David O. Russell’s zany black comedy that was the toast of the 28th Independent Spirit Awards beating Beasts Of The Southern Wild – its fiercest rival in all major categories. Silver Linings Playbook cleaned up, grabbing Best Feature, Director, Screenplay and Best Actress went to Jennifer Lawrence – the heavy favorite for tomorrow’s Oscar. Fox Searchlight might have grabbed only one award for Beasts in the Cinematography category, but it’s other Sundance pick-up The Sessions managed to nab a pair of acting prizes for Helen Hunt and Oscar snubbed John Hawkes for Best Male Lead. In our favorite grant categories, Adam Leon (Gimme the Loot) nabbed the Someone to Watch Award (last year it went to Mark Jackson), the Piaget Producers Award went to Mynette Louie (she produced Tze Chun’s sophomore film Eye of Winter which we are keeping...

David O. Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook" was the big winner at the 28th annual Independent Spirit Awards held in Santa Monica, CA this afternoon and hosted by Andy Samberg. "Silver Linings" took home the Best Feature, Actress (Jennifer Lawrence), Director, and Screenplay trophies.

McConaughey, who nearly stole the show in Steven Soderbergh's "Magic Mike," won the Best Supporting Male award for a performance that was largely ignored by the Academy Awards. As Samberg astutely observed, "We've got Matthew McConaughey...Hollywood fuck you!"

Jennifer Lawrence won the Best Female Lead award for "Silver Linings Playbook," while John Hawkes took home the Best Male Lead trophy for "Sessions." His co-star, Helen Hunt, won the Best Supporting Female award.

Michael Haneke's "Amour," a darling of the 85th Academy Awards, deservingly won Best International Film.

The awards show can be seen on IFC tonight at 10 pm (Est).

Here's the full list...

Today the 2013 Spirit Awards were handed out and it was a dominating effort from Silver Linings Playbook as it won Best Picture, Director (David O. Russell), Actress (Jennifer Lawrence) and Screenplay (Russell). The only award it was nominated for and didn't win was Best Actor where Bradley Cooper lost to John Hawkes for The Sessions, but that's only a minor blip on the radar when you win this big. Among the early awards handed out, Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower won for Best First Feature while Derek Connolly won for Best First Screenplay for the romantic sci-fi film Safety Not Guaranteed. Then the Twitterverse exploded with a Best Supporting Actor win for Matthew McConaughey and his work in Magic Mike, which, for a time, seemed like it may be able to eek into that last Supporting slot at the Oscars. No dice, a Spirit Award it will have to be.

Sorry Oscars. But after the Indie Spirit Awards, the number two spot in terms of Award Season importance are the Cinema Eye Honors. Seems like it was only yesterday when Aj Schnack & Thom Powers teamed up for one basic, logical concept: an event that would reward yearly output of documentary film in a rightfully sound manner. With the wind in their sails, the 6th annual edition was held last night and deservingly so, adding to its double wins at the Idfa and Sundance, it is 5 Broken Cameras that took the top honors for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking. Co-directed by Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi – political activism via you guessed it, five video cameras. The film was released via Kino Lorber.

The night’s only double winner, could be regarded as the silver medal doc film of the year: Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s Detropia grabbed the Outstanding...

At the end of a bumper year for film-making, Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw unveils the contenders for his very own – imaginary – film awards

Most critics compile year-end roundups in a mood of shrugging acceptance that not every year can be great. But actually 2012 has been vintage, with some really brilliant films from the biggest names doing their best work – and some fascinating documentaries. So once again, I have created my imaginary awards nominations in the following categories: best film, best director, best actor, best actress, best supporting actor, best supporting actress, best documentary and best screenplay. You will have to imagine me, in full tuxedo-style evening wear announcing the Braddies at the Dorchester. (I have put Seth MacFarlane, Michael Haneke and Kylie Minogue on my table.)

So, the nominations are …

Best film

Amour (dir. Michael Haneke)

The Master (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)

Holy Motors (dir. Leos Carax)

Killing Them Softly (dir.

"The Imposter" and "Searching for Sugar Man" each received 5 nods from the Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking. 31 features and 5 shorts will vie for the best of the best in documentary filmmaking. Check out the full list of nominees below including the Audience Award and Heterodox Award.

Winners of the 6th Annual Cinema Eye Honors will be announced on January 9, 2013 as Cinema Eye returns for a third year to New York City.s Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens.

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking

5 Broken Cameras

Directed by Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi

Produced by Christine Camdessus, Serge Gordey, Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi

Detropia

Directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady

Produced by Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady and Craig Atkinson

The Imposter

Directed by Bart Layton

Produced by Dimitri Doganis

Marina Abramović The Artist is Present

Directed by Matthew Akers

Produced by Jeff Dupre and Maro Chermayeff...

The 22nd Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards on November 26, 2012, began with a red carpet entrance by the filmmakers being honored into the ballroom of Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. I spoke with Marion Cotillard, Marina Abramovic, Jack Black, Mickey Sumner, and Sacha Gervasi.

In addition to the filmmakers for the competitive awards, career tribute honoree Marion Cotillard walked the red carpet. As the spokesperson for Christian Dior she looked glamorous in brand new House of Dior designer Raf Simons' very contemporary variation on Dior's famous 1947 New Look. Cotillard was thrilled to receive acknowledgment for her work in film.

Marina Abramovic walked the red carpet with Klaus Biesenbach, Director of MoMA PS1. When I asked her about the nominated documentary directed by Matthew Akers Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present, she replied: "We got really good material out of it. One year...

The 22nd Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards on November 26, 2012, began with a red carpet entrance by the filmmakers being honored into the ballroom of Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. I spoke with Marion Cotillard, Marina Abramovic, Jack Black, Mickey Sumner, and Sacha Gervasi.

In addition to the filmmakers for the competitive awards, career tribute honoree Marion Cotillard walked the red carpet. As the spokesperson for Christian Dior she looked glamorous in brand new House of Dior designer Raf Simons' very contemporary variation on Dior's famous 1947 New Look. Cotillard was thrilled to receive acknowledgment for her work in film.

Marina Abramovic walked the red carpet with Klaus Biesenbach, Director of MoMA PS1. When I asked her about the nominated documentary directed by Matthew Akers Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present, she replied: "We got really good material out of it. One year...

The 28th Annual Film Independent Spirit Award nominations were announced eaelier today and while Moonrise Kingdom and Silver Linings Playbook both grabbed five noms a piece, it is Bernie, Keep The Lights On and Beasts of the Southern Wild who are glowing with their four noms each. Our jeers, cheers and snubs commentary shall be coming soon. Here are the entire list of nominees for the 2013 Film Independent Spirit Awards:

Best Feature:

Beasts of the Southern Wild – Producers: Michael Gottwald, Dan Janvey & Josh Penn

Bernie – Producers: Liz Glotzer, Richard Linklater, David McFadzean, Dete Meserve, Judd Payne, Celine Rattray, Martin Shafer, Ginger Sledge, Matt Williams

Keep the Lights On – Producers: Marie Therese Guirgis, Lucas Joaquin, Ira Sachs

Moonrise Kingdom – Producers: Wes Anderson, Jeremy Dawson, Steven Rales, Scott Rudin

Silver Linings Playbook – Producers: Bruce Cohen, Donna Gigliotti, Jonathan Gordon

Best Director

Wes Anderson – Moonrise Kingdom

Julia Loktev – The Loneliest Planet

David O. Russell...

Nominations for the 28th Film Independent Spirit Awards were announced today and were led by Moonrise Kingdom and Silver Linings Playbook with five nominations each followed closely by fellow Best Feature nominees Beasts of the Southern Wild and Keep the Lights On as well as Ava DuVernay's Middle of Nowhere, each with four nominations. Richard Linklater's Bernie was the fifth Best Feature nominee while Middle of Nowhere found its four nominations largely in the acting categories with Emayatzy Corinealdi, David Oyelowo and Lorraine Toussant all being nominated and the fourth for the John Cassavetes Award, which goes to the "best" film made for under $500,000. Looking over the list of nominees I can't help but shrug at the screenplay nomination for Ruby Sparks (a film I loathed), but it's nice to see some First Time Feature love for Colin Trevorrow's Safety Not Guaranteed and Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower,...

Having taken home the Best Picture award at last night’s Gotham Independent Film Awards, Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom finds itself nominated in the same category in the upcoming Independent Spirit Awards, with the full list of nominations announced tonight.

Anderson’s latest film has been nominated in a healthy five categories – Best Feature, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Male, and Best Cinematography – with David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook also racking up an impressive five nominations, adding Best Female Lead and Best Male Lead to Best Feature, Director, and Screenplay.

Also coming in as strong contenders are Jacques Audiard’s Rust and Bone; Mary Elizabeth Winstead in the Best Female Lead category for her performance in Smashed; Colin Trevorrow in the Best First Feature category for Safety Not Guaranteed, and Derek Connolly in the Best First Screenplay for the same film; director Benh Zeitlin and Beasts of the Southern Wild...

Actors Anna Kendrick, Zoe Saldana and Common presented the nominees for the 28th Film Independent Spirit Awards in a press conference on Tuesday, November 27 at 10:00 am at The W Hotel in Hollywood.

Both "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Moonrise Kingdom" lead the nominations including best picture where they will compete with "Beasts of the Southern Wild," "Bernie," and "Keep the Lights On."

Directors Wes Anderson ("Moonrise Kingdom") and David O. Russell ("Silver Linings Playbook") are also nominated in the best director category along with Julia Loktev ("The Loneliest Planet"), Ira Sachs ("Keep the Lights On"), and Benh Zeitlin ("Beasts of the Southern Wild").

And actor Matthew McConaughey's transformation is now complete. He is nominated for both best actor ("Killer Joe") and best supporting actor ("Magic Mike").

Winners of the 28th Film Independent Spirit Awards will be announced on February 23, 2013 when they will hold their traditional Saturday afternoon awards show...

In the battle of the Andersons, it was Wes who beat P.T for Best Feature at the 2012 Gotham Awards. Moonrise Kingdom would go 1 for 2 as Lynn Shelton’s Your Sister’s Sister easily among the year’s the best, for its natural, on-screen chemistry was handsomely awarded the Best Ensemble Performance prize. Making it an almost all Sundance Film Festival takes Gotham kind of year, in the Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You it’s Terence Nance’s An Oversimplification of Her Beauty which gets an extra boost for theatrical play. Pic was produced by Andrew Corkin who is lining up Jim Mickle’s We Are What We Are for festival play next year.

The heavy favorite in all categories combined was Beasts of the Southern Wild‘s Benh Zeitlin as Best Breakthrough Director and Audience award, while in the Breakthrough Actor category, it’s Emayatzy Corinealdi...

At an event hosted by the AFI Film Festival today, Cinema Eye Honors announced its Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking. Bart Layton’s The Imposter (pictured) and Malik Bendjelloul’s Searching for Sugar Man led the pack, with five nominations each. Both films were nominated the group’s Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Filmmaking Award, joining fellow nominees Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi’s 5 Broken Cameras; Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s Detropia; Matthew Akers’ Marina Abramovic The Artist is Present, and Jason Tippet and Elizabeth Mims’ Only the Young. Tippet and Mims, who Filmmaker selected for our 25 New Faces of 2012, had the most individual nominations, with four apiece.

Cinema Eye was founded in 2007 to honor achieve in non-fiction filmmaking. As the organization writes, “It was the first and remains the only international nonfiction award to recognize the whole creative team, presenting annual craft awards in directing, producing, cinematography, editing, composing and graphic design/animation.

With five nominations each, "The Imposter" and "Searching for Sugar Man" topped the 6th annual Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking. Nominees for the top award, Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking, are Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi for "5 Broken Cameras," Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s "Detropia," Bart Layton’s "The Imposter," Matthew Akers’ "Marina Abramović The Artist is Present," Jason Tippet and Elizabeth Mims’ "Only the Young" and Malik Bendjelloul’s "Searching for Sugar Man." "Detropia," "Only the Young," "Room 237" and "¡Vivan las Antipodas!" received four nominations each. Cinema Eye is often posited as an alternative to the Academy Awards' best-documentary race, which has had to fight the perception of overlooking popular and well-regarded documentaries every year. Read...

Bernie, Middle of Nowhere, Moonrise Kingdom and Beasts of the Southern Wild each received a pair of nominations for the 22nd Gotham Independent Film Awards, but the big surprise has to be the Best Picture snub of Benh Zeitlin’s Sundance and Cannes winner. The jury of five favored Moonrise Kingdom, Bernie, Middle of Nowhere, The Loneliest Planet and The Master over other well-received truly indie titles such as Craig Zobel’s Compliance and James Ponsoldt’s Smashed. The awards will be handed out on November 26th.

Best Feature

Bernie

Richard Linklater, director; Richard Linklater, Ginger Sledge, Celine Rattray, Martin Shafer, Liz Glotzer, Matt Williams, David McFadzean, Judd Payne, Dete Meserve, producers (Millennium Entertainment)

The Loneliest Planet

Julia Loktev, director; Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Helge Albers, Marie Therese Guirgis, producers (Sundance Selects)

The Master

Paul Thomas Anderson, director; Joanne Sellar, Daniel Lupi, Paul Thomas Anderson, Megan Ellison, producers (The...

This morning, the Gotham Awards nominations were announced (indeed tweeted), and in a very competitive field, Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild, Richard Linklater’s Bernie, Ava DuVernay’s Middle of Nowhere and Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom lead the way, each earning two nominations.

Commenting on the nominations, IFP’s executive director Joana Vicente said, “From master film artists to richly talented newcomers, this year’s nominees comprise a diverse group of filmmakers and actors that defines the spectrum of independent film today. In addition to celebrating the work and the community, we also hope that the Gotham Award attention will encourage more audiences to explore the range of vibrant, entertaining, challenging, and innovative films represented here.”

As previously announced, this year the Gothams will honor actors Matt Damon and Marion Cotillard, director David O. Russell and Participant Media founder Jeff Skoll.

Below are the nominations in...

New York, NY – The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), the nation’s oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers announced today the nominees for the Gotham Independent Film Awards™. Signaling the kick-off to the film awards season, IFP’s Gotham Independent Film Awards™ nominations were given to a total of 26 films across six competitive categories for Best Feature, Best Documentary, Breakthrough Director, Breakthrough Actor, Best Ensemble Performance, and Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You.

The Gotham Awards ceremony will be held on Monday, November 26th at Cipriani Wall Street. In addition to the competitive awards, actors Marion Cotillard and Matt Damon, director David O. Russell, and Participant Media founder Jeff Skoll will each be presented with a career tribute.

As the first major awards ceremony of the film season, the Gotham Independent Film Awards™ provide critical early recognition and media attention to worthy independent films. Previous winners...

A completely absorbing, starkly powerful film, Matthew Akers' Marina Abramović The Artist is Present documents an amazing performance that is deceptively simple yet clearly the work of a master artist. It made me want to strip naked and stare into a mirror. As our own Christopher Bourne explained in his review, published in June 2012: Far from being a mere document, Marina Abramović The Artist Is Present, Matthew Akers's film about "the grandmother of performance art" Marina Abramović's massively popular (750,000 visitors) 2010 Museum of Modern Art retrospective, is itself a moving work of art, visually and emotionally powerful. The documentary gives us a crash course on Abramović's pioneering work and details her extensive preparations for the show which, among other purposes, was intended to...

By Olivia Calderon-Stucky

Recently at the Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar, Austin had its first-ever viewing of Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present as part of the Austin Film Society's monthly Doc Nights. The film's Austin premiere featured director Matthew Akers in attendance. He was in Austin to serve on this year's Texas Filmmakers' Production Fund jury.

Beginning with her retrospective show at the MoMA in 2010, Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present intimately captures Abramovic's world from the hectic months leading up to the show to its final bittersweet night. Along the way, audiences glimpse pieces of the artist: from her manifesto delivered to an Italian audience to her past life with fellow artist and collaborator Uwe Laysiepen, who also appeared in the documentary for a sort of engineered once-lovers' reunion. The movie is as fearless and provocative as the artist herself and I left the theatre feeling the full...

Glenn of Stale Popcorn fame continues his Melbourne International Film Festival odyssey. He previously spoke enthusiastically on behalf of "Holy Motors" and clapped mildly for future Oscar backlash sufferer "The Sessions".

I wasn’t sure what I thought when I left my sold out session of Ruby Sparks. I think I was initially taken aback by the fact that it was both written by and stars Zoe Kazan (not to mention co-directed by a woman, Valerie Faris, alongside Jonathan Dayton who both made a big splash several years back with Little Miss Sunshine). What exactly was Kazan trying to say about women? Are they all subconsciously wanting to be manipulated by men? What exactly was Kazan trying to say about men? Do they really only want a woman that they can mould into the perfect being? What exactly was Kazan trying to say about herself? Does she really consider herself...

We're excited at the Austin Film Society to annouce that filmmakers Matthew Akers (Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present), Paola Mendoza (Entre Nos) and Brent Hoff (Wholphin) will be coming to town in August to serve on our 2012 Texas Filmmakers' Product Fund review panel. All three will be part of the process of dividing up the $100,000 in cash and in-kind support that will go toward helping Texas filmmakers work on their film and video projects.

Tfpf, created in 1996, has given away around $1.2 million to assist Texas filmmakers in getting their projects made. Funding for the program comes from revenues from benefit film premieres as well as donations and the Texas Commission on the Arts. So far, over 348 projects have been the beneficiary of Tfpf grants. This year, we received over 168 applications seeking funding. Grants for the 2012 Tfpf will be announced on Monday, August 27.

"We're honored to have three highly accomplished...

In one of those odd-seeming consequences cinema nevertheless regularly turns up, Willem Dafoe narrated a piece called The Life and Death of Marina Abramovic, premiering in Manchester last year. While he stars on screen in The Hunter this week, she is now the subject of an excellent documentary about the staging of her own retrospective show, The Artist Is Present, at New York's Museum of Modern Art in 2010.

For that show, she sat for seven and half hours, every day, for three months, on a chair, without food or water, gazing into the eyes, expressionless, of audience members and visitors who sat opposite her, gazing back. It was a staring contest of the sort kids do in the playground, but performed with utter seriousness and solemnity in one of the world's great galleries. How, asks the documentary, was this art?

Matthew Akers's fascinating film ponders not only the nature...

The Amazing Spider-Man (12A)

(Marc Webb, 2012, Us) James Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Martin Sheen, Sally Field, Denis Leary. 136 mins

New, improved-formula Spider-Man: does whatever last decade's Spider-Man couldn't! The world was hardly screaming out for a rejigged "origins" story, but this at least gives you less comic-book primary colour and more teen-drama shading. Plus better special effects, although the rooftop monster-battle climax feels same-old. Yes, it's a brazenly commercial exercise, but Garfield's limber geekiness tips the balance.

God Bless America (15)

(Bobcat Goldthwait, 2011, Us) Joel Murray, Tara Lynne Barr, Mackenzie Brooke Smith. 105 mins

American media idiocy literally comes under fire in this outlandish Falling Down-meets-Natural Born Killers shooting spree.

The Hunter (15)

(Daniel Nettheim, 2011, Aus) Willem Dafoe, Frances O'Connor, Sam Neill. 102 mins

Dafoe's craggy gravitas dominates this scenic tale of a hunt for the extinct (or is it?) Tasmanian Tiger.

Strawberry Fields (15)

(Frances Lea, 2012, UK) Anna Madeley, Christine Bottomley.

Artist Marina Abramović's piece de resistance has been captured in a sharp documentary

Marina Abramović emerges from this arresting documentary as the Maria Callas of performance art. At 65 years old, though looking far younger, the Serbian-born Abramović has become a virtual legend in this enclosed world after decades of highly personal work, and Matthew Akers's film is about the simple yet strangely brilliant idea she had for her 2010 show The Artist Is Present at the New York Museum of Modern Art. It may be destined to go down as her masterpiece. The piece consisted simply of Abramović, seated at a table in a sort of Whistler's Mother pose; onlookers were invited to become part of the exhibit by coming into the performance space and, seated opposite, gazing into her eyes for a few minutes before being moved on: the performance would continue all day every day for three months.

★★★★☆ In one of her performance pieces, Serbian artist Marina Abramović lies totally naked, having eaten a kilo of honey and drunk a litre of wine. She carves a pentagram onto her stomach with a razor, and then lies bleeding on a cross made of ice for half an hour. For an artist who has rarely, if ever, played it safe, Matthew Akers' Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present (2012) takes a fairly conventional documentary form which celebrates her incredible work without seeking to challenge it, in a manner quite unlike her art.

Read more »...

Sure, Sunday is overcrowded with high-end TV like "True Blood," "The Newsroom," the just-returned "Weeds" and the can't-get-here-soon-enough "Breaking Bad," but what to watch the rest of the time? Each Monday, we bring you this guide to five noteworthy highlights from the other six days of the week. "Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present" (Broadcast Premiere) Monday, July 2 at 9pm on HBO Matthew Akers' documentary follows the Serbian performance artist as she prepares for a retrospective of her work at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, one that became a sensation thanks to the title work, in which Abramović sat silent and immobile in the atrium of the museum as visitors lined up to sit with her. (Check out the Marina Abramović Made Me Cry Tumblr for a look at people so moved by the experience they were brought to tears.) But tread carefully -- Indiewire's Eric Kohn,...

Australia’s Revelation Perth International Film Festival will be holding it’s explosive 15th annual edition on July 5-15 with one of it’s most jam-packed lineups yet.

One of the most special events that Revelation will be holding is July 14‘s retrospective of the films of Jeff Keen, the pioneering British underground filmmaker who very sadly just passed away on June 21. Keen’s work has been having a major resurgence lately and Revelation is the latest organization to so boldly feature his breathtaking experimental film work, from classics like 1967′s Marvo Movie to modern films like Artwar (1993) and Joy Thru Film (2000). This is absolutely an event not to be missed.

Another staggering event this year is a very special live presentation of Crispin Hellion Glover‘s notorious underground films What Is It? and It Is Fine! Everything Is Fine. (Click film titles for Bad Lit reviews!) These very...

So begins my interview with Sophie Dulac, President of the Champs Élysées Film Festival, film distributor, exhibitor and producer. The first edition of the Festival, co-presided by actors Lambert Wilson and Michael Madsen reached an audience of 15,000 people in Paris, June 6 – 12, 2012.

"And I work with another real blond and her name is Isabelle” [Svanda, General Manager], she adds.

Champs Elysees Film Festival

We are sitting in the outdoor restaurant of Fouquet’s Barriere Hotel, Paris. Also with us are Astrid de Beauregard who has handled all the 50 industry-ites converging on the festival to view four well curated U.S. indie films for the second edition of U.S. in Progress. Maxine Leonard, the festival's publicist and Matthew Akers, the director and cinematographer of Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present are also present. Little did I know he was going to win the Audience Prize for a feature length film from the U.S.

The Festival ended for me with current French resident, with white hair and beard, Donald Sutherland presenting Klute by Alan J. Pakula and starring Jane Fonda, and then giving a A Hollywood Conversation in his American accented but fluent French in a good humored atmosphere. I could write an entire blog on what that film and all that he and Jane meant to me at the very beginning of my career in the film business, but I won’t do that here. He was subsequently post-film appointed Commandeur des Arts & Lettres by Frédéric Mitterrand.

My interview with Sophie is the summit of my experience so far as a "blogger". After all I am not a journalist, nor do I pal around with the glitterati or the “elite” folks in the film business. I knew I was entering a rare atmosphere strolling everyday along the Rue de Montaigne to the Champs Elysees. And now, I was going to talk to the granddaughter of one of France's most illustrious citizens. (and no slouch herself! What a truly lovely, amazing woman!!)

U.S. in Progress

The night before, we, the jury of 9, presented the winners of the 2nd edition of U.S. in Progress with their prizes of post production services. First Prize went to a film worthy of a Cannes slot in Un Certain Regard or Fortnight or Critics Week, A Teacher by Hannah Fidell ♀, whose about-to-turn-thirty protagonist is forced to acknowledge her sin of having an affair with a student. The film's affect upon us women was overwhelmingly cathartic. Receiving an Honorable Mention, I Am I, a Sundance-worthy film, well executed very interesting story, well acted by the extremely professional first-time director Joceyln Towne ♀ with additional casting by Ronnie Yeskel ♀, one of the top indie film casting agents. Julie Bergeron, one of the nine-member jury loved Desert Cathedral, a man's quest for peace after an increasing estrangement from his life. She liked its combination of documentary depiction of the desert and the fictional story about a contemporary and universal dilemma faced by too many people today. I want to see more of the three actors, Lee Tergesen is a young and handsome William Macy type and Chaske Spencer, a charismatic First Nation descendant of Lakota (Sioux) Nation, and Petra Wright. The fourth film Michael Bartlett's House Of Last Things is Bonnie Darko meets Twin Peaks, a paean to the Maestro, David Lynch. More than 50 distributors and sales agent watched these films with us.

As part of the selection, the winner of U.S. in Progress from the 1st edition in Wroclaw, Poland last November, Not Waving But Drowning directed by Devyn Waitt and produced by Nicole Emanuele was also showing and Nicole was accompanied by the star, her boyfriend Steven Farneth from Cinetic, the godmother of the movie and other "family" members. Nicole is now working with Google and YouTube in Content Partnerships, Film/ TV while contemplating her next moves in the business.

Created by Sophie Dulac, the Festival programmed some 50 films enabling Parisian audiences to discover the variety of productions available from France and the United States, in the 5 cinema theaters of the Champs Elysees, the most beautiful avenue in the world: the normally rival cinemas Le Balzac and Le Lincoln, the rivals Gaumont Champs-Elysées and Ugc George V, and the Publicis Cinéma.

This success was thanks to an inquiring public which appreciated the simplicity of organization, the fact that projections started on time, and also the quality of programming, with a special heartfelt interest for the 10 independent films from the U.S. in the official selection.

What Makes Sophie Run?

One night at an extraordinary dinner at the Renault Restaurant on the Champs Elysees, where we sat with Julie Bergeron (of Cannes Marche prominence), Pascal Diot (former Paris based sales agent and now organizer in chief of both Venice and Dubai Ff’s Markets), Adeline Monzier (founder of U.S. in Progress and Europa Distribution), and Producer Christophe Bruncher (whose latest film, If We All Lived Together stars Jane Fonda), I learned about Sophie’s grandfather, Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet,who founded Publicis in 1926 and in effect, invented modern advertising in much the same way that Lucien Barriere invented the resort and the casino. Today Publicis is a French multinational advertising and communications company, headquartered in Paris, France and one of the world's three largest advertising holding companies holding among others, Saatchi & Saatchi and Leo Burnett Worldwide. The company conducts its operations in over 200 cities in 104 countries and has a strategic alliance with Dentsu, Inc. He began it as a young man and the Nazis confiscated it as Jewish property. He fled and fought with The Free French...and worked in the Resistance under the name of Blanchet. When he returned to France, he got back his advertising agency and continued doing the sort of pioneering work he loved the best. He also added Blanchet onto his surname. Publicis' current president is Maurice Lévy who was just in the news for having called for higher taxes on the wealthy and now objecting to France’s new President's pledging that he would tax the rich 75% of their income. Read more about the company here.

One more boast about this family: One of Bleustein-Blanchet’s daughters was a legislator and is responsible for abolishing capital punishment in France.

Aside from being totally impressed by all I was hearing, I was beginning to see what informed the personality of the festival and of Sophie herself who was there and everywhere, meeting and mixing with us all. As Maxine said, in effect, Sophie is a mensch. She is the real thing, feet planted firmly on the ground and real. And yet she seems so idealistic in the choices she makes. To this remark of mine, she responded, that in fact, she is very pragmatic, but one must take pleasure in life.

Her grandfather and grandmother raised her and her brother and half brother after their 27 year old mother died in an automobile accident. Sophie was eight years old at the time.

Her grandfather told her that when he began Publicis as a teenager, he never thought about the money he might make. He did it for pleasure. He thought of how best to do what he loved to do the most. For her too, life is about innovation and being happy. She hopes that in ten years the festival and her film business will continue to inspire and motivate her.

Sophie has three children and she tells them to do whatever they want as she would advise everyone: Do what is inside of you, even if it is not what you end up doing. It will make you a better person. Her first son, whom she had when she was 17 and who is now 24, lived one year in Australia and another year in Canada. He is now working with her at the festival. Her 22 year old daughter whom she had when she was 19, lives in London, and the 19 year old, following in his brother’s footsteps, is spending a year in Australia, alone and exploring on his own.

If she succeeds in the movie business, it is because she was not born into films. She has been in the business of Arthouse film production, distribution and exhibition for ten years. Before that she was a practicing psycho graphologist, counseling people from 16 to 60 years old, male and female. You can know a person totally through the handwriting she says. She also did a stint in PR which she hated, before going into film. Her father was a writer and told her to read and so she can talk of many things, not only of business. At the end of the day, she closes her door and business does not exist (unless of course there is a problem at one of her theaters which she does drop in on on Sundays when she is not expected.) She has no scripts at home and does not watch movies for work at home. She has a well rounded education and is proud not to be 100% business.

Today she is also a sort of guardian of Israeli films in France as well. She even wears a small gold Jewish star.

Film Career

She began her film career in 2003 producing a documentary DÉCryptage which examined the French media coverage of the Arab–Israeli conflictand concludes that the media's presentation of the Arab–Israeli conflict in France is consistently skewed against Israel and may be responsible for exacerbating anti-semitism. That documentary was very successful in France, drawing some 300,000 viewers and it caught the attention of Israeli filmmakers.

Famed Israeli actress Ronit Elkabetz, ♀a friend of hers, suggested she help her produce a film she wrote and wanted to direct and she agreed to make Rendre Femme (aka To Take A Wife ♀ produced by Marek Rozenbaum. When Ronit asked her to produce The Band’S Visit, she did not know what to make of the script. But when she saw the footage, she recognized its great potential and stepped in as producer. Unfortunately it could not qualify for the Academy Award Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film because it was filmed in Hebrew, Egyptian and English. She went on to produce My Father My Lord an implicit critique of ultra-Orthodox dogma by a filmmaker who grew up in a Hasidic community but abandoned it when he was 25 to study film.

Sophie produces other world films, including her second American film Benny And The Kids (Go Get Some Rosemary), Argentina’s Little Sky and The Camera Obscura both by Maria Victoria Menis ♀ and others including French films like the upcoming film by Jacques Douvenne.

In Cannes this year, she acquired Room 514 (Isa: Docs & Film) de Sharon Bar-Ziv ♀ which played in l'Acid in Cannes and Les Voisins De Dieu (God’S Neighbors) (Isa: Rezo) de Meni Yaesh which played in La Semaine de la Critique in Cannes as well as Directors’ Fortnight entry Le Repenti and Bence Fliegauf’s Berlin competition entry Just The Wind.

She sees festivals as a place where people can discover new films. Theaters need new ideas, directors, and distributors can take risks only if they own theaters. The triangle of festivals, distributors and exhibitors are complimentary and she finds that having all three allows her to keep selected films longer in theaters or allows for changing theaters (she owns 5 theaters including the famous St. Germain arthouse Harlequin). She recognizes that France has so many subsidies for production and distribution – 12 to 15 new films are released every week – and that gives her films more of a chance to succeed as well.

France also has, after 3 years of discussion, finally, in one year made all its theaters digital. The cost to convert is 1 million Euros. 30% of that is paid by Cnc, the government fund made up of a percentage of box office receipts. The digital norm is 2K and the Vpf (Virtual Print Fee is 5,000 Euros. All distributors must pay this first the first time showing for 4 weeks and then, there are not more VPFs.

When she asks Americans for DCPs, she is surprised to learn that they don’t have them. Even Harvey Weinstein who had a retrospective at the Festival did not have digital prints and he said that to use Blu-Ray or HD was all right with him.

Why Harvey?

Everyone loves a good Harvey story. We had heard that he did not want to travel and I was curious how she had such good luck to get him to Paris. Apparently he flew in, appeared, and flew out again.

“The opening night, with the tribute paid to American producer Harvey Weinstein who accepted, with modesty and as a film enthusiast, a trophy was presented by Sophie Dulac, in the presence of VIP guests: Virginie Ledoyen, Deborah François, Audrey Dana, Thomas Langmann, Olivier Nackache and Eric Toledan.”

What he said at this opening event was that Sophie’s brother is the godfather of his son. And when the Godfather makes a request, he cannot refuse to honor it.

So ended my interview with Sophie. As we all struck out to continue the day, Matthew Akers of Marina Abramovic said, “See you in Sarajevo”. And Sophie responded, “How chic!”...

Far from being a mere document, Marina Abramović The Artist Is Present, Matthew Akers's film about "the grandmother of performance art" Marina Abramović's massively popular (750,000 visitors) 2010 Museum of Modern Art retrospective, is itself a moving work of art, visually and emotionally powerful. The documentary gives us a crash course on Abramović's pioneering work and details her extensive preparations for the show which, among other purposes, was intended to once and for all assert performance art's proper place as a legitimate and respected art form alongside painting, sculpture, photography, and video art. Abramović at one point remarks that at this late date, she is no longer asked the rather insulting question, "But why is this art?" as much as she used to be. However,...

Hey there! The world of the creative takes center stage on the big screen this week, as singers, writers, and performance artists feature heavily in the weekend releases. From ‘80s rock bands to the New York art scene to ex-pat writers in the birthplace of literary circles, The City of Lights itself, a hefty dose of the artistic graces the cinemas and adds some interesting and nontraditional subject matter to the lineup. Though the obligatory summer fare – another adult male with Peter Pan syndrome, a grisly murder flick, and even more aliens – isn’t very far behind. Looks like a blast!

Wedding bells reunite a father and son in this weekend’s “That’s My Boy,” from director Sean Anders (“Hot Tub Time Machine”). Of course, the reunion’s motives are mixed, as drunk, deadbeat dad Donny (Adam Sandler) is just looking for a handout from his son Todd (Andy Samberg...

You don’t get much more intense than the work of Marina Abramović. Born in Belgrade, the performance artist’s work ranges from replicating a recorded 5-finger fillet game to laying abeyant while participants chose an object to use on her (offerings included honey, scissors, and a gun) -- and it’s this kind of risky, powerful work that eventually led her to her own exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in 2010, titled “The Artist is Present.” Aside from being a retrospective there was also a titular piece, one that involved Abramović sitting across from a willing participant for a certain amount of time. Yes, it’s much more restrained than her a lot of her previous works, but the piece holds an immense strength -- a number of patrons were moved to tears after taking the seat and participating in the performance.

All of this, including the lead up to the show,...

In 2010, performance artist Marina Abramović had the attention of everybody, from snobby Manhattanites to Fox News. Her work (which includes a nude couple standing in a busy doorway, which is exactly what sent Fox News into a rage) was to be recreated by a number of assistants selected by the artist herself while, at the same time, she put on a new piece: “The Artist is Present.” The idea was simple -- Abramović would be seated in a large room, mute and still, with a patron perched across from her -- yet it proved to be intensely powerful for many (some were even moved to tears) and incredibly exhausting for the performer herself. With “Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present,” Matthew Akers attempts to give an informative overview of her oeuvre, while detailing the extensive and strenuous Museum Of Modern Art retrospective of her work and the strangely ethereal titular performance.

The self-described “grandmother of performance art,” Marina Abramovic has for almost 40 years been one of the leading lights of a still-marginalized form. Born to ex-partisan parents in 1946, in the early days of Tito’s Yugoslavia, she is the fascinating subject of Matthew Akers‘ new documentary, Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present. Despite her international renown, the Belgrade-born, New York-based Abramovic failed to enter the public consciousness in the States until her blockbuster 2010 MoMA retrospective. Akers’ film is a sinewy tour through Abramovic’s peculiar life and working process as she embarks upon her most high profile performance yet, one that she hopes will finally push performance art out of the margins and into the mainstream. Mixing biography, interviews and vérité, Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present captures a snapshot of a high-art world in flux and one of its most ambitious inhabitants at the top of her form.

Akers is a veteran documentary cameraman,...

It is around noon and Marina Abramovic is incredibly hungry. There is a large chocolate chip cookie in front of her but she doesn’t touch it. Instead, she awaits the post-interview delivery of beef soup from her favorite Vietnamese place around the corner. Since the round of interviews she’s giving will last an hour, she will continue to wait, moving the cookie a few inches away from her seemingly each time she thinks about food. This is not about empty calories, this is about control. The grandmother of performance art has an almost superhuman ability to wait for time to pass, a skill she took to extreme levels during her last –- and longest –- continuous performance to date.

For three months, Abramovic spent seven and a half hours each day sitting across from strangers and loved ones at the Museum of Modern Art in New York for her 2010 performance piece titled,...

Paris -- The lights went down on Paris’ most famous avenue on Tuesday night as the Champs-Elysées Film Festival closed after a successful first run. Matthew Akers’ documentary Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present won the Audience Prize for a feature film at the closing ceremonies held at Publicis Cinema on Tuesday night. The event attracted more than 15,000 people during its week-long run that kicked off last week with an homage to Harvey Weinstein and A-list guests including The Artist producer Thomas Langmann, The Intouchables directing duo Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, Virginie Ledoyen, Audrey Dana

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Some 750,000 spectators crowded the Museum of Modern Art last year to watch Marina Abramović sit in a chair. The perplexing draw of the Serbian performance artist's biggest exhibit in years was a self-propagating myth, one of the more fascinatingly enigmatic moments of the art world in recent years. Documentarian Matthew Akers' "Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present" pulls back the veil to provide a cogent overview of Abramović's preparation for the exhibit and her years of output preceding it. The result is a competent exploration of her methods that's also disappointing for the same reason. In her MoMA exhibit, from which the movie draws its name, Abramović spent nearly eight hours a day for three months last spring sitting motionless in the wide open room at the entrance to her exhibit. Anyone in attendance -- or at least those willing to wait in an increasingly jammed line -- could...