News

“Forever We Are Young,” a new documentary charting BTS’ global rise to fame through the lens of their fans, is coming to theaters next month.

The feature-length documentary, by award-winning directors Grace Lee and Patty Ahn, will hit screens on July 30 via Trafalgar Releasing. The film centers around the massive fandom of the K-pop superstars — a.k.a the BTS Army, an acronym standing for Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth, which currently has 90 million members globally.

“There is no BTS without Army and no Army without BTS,” Lee and Ahn said in a statement. “We’re excited for audiences to go on an emotional journey and meet a fandom that made us laugh, cry and think. We were constantly moved by the fans’ power, resilience, creativity and humor and hope audiences will be too.”

“Forever We Are Young” is not the first BTS-centric film, with previous releases including “Burn...

The 2021 Sundance Film Festival’s New Frontier program will showcase 14 VR and new media projects from across the globe — and, fittingly, they’ll be housed in a custom-built immersive, interactive experience.

“In a certain sense, New Frontier was built for this moment,” said Shari Frilot, senior programmer at Sundance and chief curator of New Frontier.

Given the Covid pandemic, next year’s Sundance will run Jan. 28-Feb. 3 with socially distanced screenings in cities across the country. The fest’s New Frontier track, featuring 32 artists across the 14 projects, will be available online and feature three spatialized digital venues that orbit the Earth alongside the International Space Station. [The full Sundance 2021 lineup is available at this link.]

At Sundance’s 2021 edition, attendees will be able to engage with the New Frontier works, the artists and fellow festivalgoers via a bespoke virtual 3D platform, developed in partnership with digital experience agency Active Theory. In the virtual space, accessible via computers and VR headsets,...

The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles has announced the juries and additional programming for the upcoming 14th edition, which runs April 6-10 in Hollywood.

Three films have been added to the line-up on April 10, including Lena Khan’s feature debut The Tiger Hunter, and a community screening of Sami Khan’s Khoya.

A restored version of Sujata, provided by the National Film Archive Of India, will screen as a tribute to director Bimal Roy on the 50th anniversary of his death.

The jury for the 2016 Narrative Film Competition includes:

· Shonali Bose, film-maker (Margarita, With A Straw & Amu);

· Shalini Dore, Variety; and

· Alesia Weston, international consultant to independent film-makers and film festivals.

The jury for the 2016 Short Film Competition includes:

· Rizwan Manji, actor (Jim Jarmusch’s upcoming Paterson);

· Aldo Velasco, director and editor (Chittagong); and

· Laura Nix, documentary film-maker (The Yes Men Are Revolting).

As previously announced, the festival will open with Angry Indian Goddesses (pictured) and the...

JuntoBox Films has announced the eights feature scripts and 18 filmmakers selected for the inaugural incubator initiative.

The JuntoBox Feature Film Incubator has begun its session and runs through December 15 under the supervision of vice-president Kelly Thomas.

The incubator makes a tailor-made accelerated development programme sets up a wide net of consultancy and advice for participants.

By the end, JuntoBox Films executives and co-chair Forest Whitaker (pictured) will greenlight at least one project to be financed and produced in the spring of 2015.

“We are thrilled to welcome this exceptional group of filmmakers with unique and captivating stories that all deserve to be made,” said Thomas. “We look forward to fostering community among filmmakers while facilitating their artistic development, honing their vision and supporting these filmmakers to drive their projects to the next level.”

The JuntoBox Films Feature Film Incubator filmmakers and projects are:

Die Like A Man, wrt-dir Eric Nazarian, pdr Javier Chapa (producer);

God Loves Stu, wrt-dir...

Film Independent has selected rising filmmakers Nicholas Greene, Jacob Hatley, Krisy Gosney, Aldo Velasco, Amber Sealey, Daniel Casey, Morna Ciraki, and Alex Moratto for its 2013 Directing Labs, an annual intensive program that helps promising directors develop new feature films, perfect their craft, and advance their careers.From now until mid-April, these eight filmmakers will work on their next projects with the aid of professional mentors, stipends, access to a variety of production resources including digital camera and sound packages, and more.James Ponsoldt (“The Spectacular Now,” “Smashed”), Karen Moncreiff (“The Trials of Cate McCall,” “The Dead Girl”), and Angela Robinson (“True Blood,” “The L Word”) are among the mentors who will help guide these filmmakers with script feedback, casting and workshopping scenes, and more.Greene, a New York-based British filmmaker whose short film “Salar” was shortlisted for the 2011 Oscars, will work on “A Death in the Andes,” his film about...

• Find Fellow Koji Sakai talks with Film Independent about his film The People I've Slept With - 

Writer/producer Koji Steven Sakai left no stone unturned when it came to getting his film The People I've Slept With made.  Opting for locations including his mother's house and his office, Sakai, alongside director Quentin Lee and co-producer Stanley Yung, set out to make a high quality low budget film.  A sexy rom-com about a promiscuous woman on a hunt to find the man who got her pregnant, The People I've Slept With has made quite a mark on the festival circuit, premiering at the 2009 Hawaii International Film Festival and numerous other fests including Sao Paulo International Film Festival, Golden Horse Film Festival, San Francisco International Asian American Film, and Outfest Fusion.  The film was also the Centerpiece screening at the 2010 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.  The film opens theatrically in New York,...

Going into SXSW, I knew there were going to be a lot of short films screened, and there were several that I had highlighted as must-see’s. I was immediately drawn to Tze Chun’s name, as his film Children of Invention has been on my radar since last year’s Iff Boston. Children of Invention was also among the films chosen to test out YouTube’s new rental service, around Sundance this past January. When I saw that he was going to be directing a sci-fi short film, I knew it would be something worth making myself available to. I didn’t read too much up on the other films in the Futurestates series, apart from the basic synopses that it was a series of short films, centered around the idea of taking current social and environmental problems, and extending them forward in time. Who knew that this screening...

Diversity seems to be the key this year at the SXSW festival, which takes place in Austin, TX from March 12-20, as they’ve now announced the full lineup of Panels and short films that will be at this years event. As with the feature films schedule, this list of panels and shorts should provide an almost endless supply of diverse and interesting programming for attendees.

Following sre some highlights of panels we think are worth checking out. For a full list and descriptions, head over to the SXSW official site. Also, be sure to check back here at The Flickast as we’ll be at SXSW this year to bring you all the details on these great events and much more.

A Conversation with Michel Gondry

The stratospheric rise of Academy Award-winning visionary Michel Gondry is one of the great success stories of modern film. Working with fellow travelers like Spike Jonze,...

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival (March 12 - March 16, 2010) has announced the short film program and the list of panel participants. Michel Gondry, David Gordon Green, Jody Hill, Danny McBride, Ruben Fleischer, Matt Reeves, Eli Roth, Quentin Tarantino, and Ti West are among the people scheduled to participate. The full list can be viewed at the provided link. As to the shorts program, the list is featured at the bottom of this post. The lineup is extensive, and full of unique films waiting to be discovered.

Comprehensive Short Films Lineup

Narrative Shorts

A selection of original, well-crafted films that take advantage of the short form and exemplify distinctive and genuine storytelling. The winner of our Grand Jury Award in this category is eligible for a 2011 Academy Award nomination for Best Narrative Short.

Anatinus

Director: David Wanger

A glimpse of the dawn of a strange new era.

Bedford Park Boulevard...