WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE WORLD OF ENTERTAINMENT?

• FILM ANNEX PROGRAMMER TIZIANA FINZI IS NAMED DIRECTOR OF MIAMI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL!

Film Annex programmer Tiziana Finzi, formerly known as the deputy director of the International Locarno Film Festival, is continuing her exciting career as the director of the Miami International Film Festival. With her over 20 years of experience in the film festival circuit, Finzi will surely bring a new perspective and new audiences to this festival.

For more information, please read: www.screendaily.com/ScreenDailyArticle.aspx?intStoryID=41697

• INDEPENDENT FILM FINANCING IS IN GOOD SHAPE

Despite the fact that America is facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the independent film market is flourishing and moving on to new projects with firm steps.

So what does it take to have your film land on some dough? Imperial Capital Bank's David Hutkin says, "If a producer has the right film, with the right cast, with the right budget, it's going to get financed.”

However, the banks and other financial institutions are getting pickier about their choices. While comedies, horror films, action-packed pictures, and thrillers are luckier in attracting the funds, the dramas require the involvement of major actors in order to reach adequate funding.

To read this article, please visit: www.variety.com/article/VR1117995058.html?categoryId=3309&cs=1

* Got any news to spread? Send them to eg@filmannex.com and we’ll publish it on our next newsletter!


WHAT'S NEW ON FILM ANNEX?

• IMAGINE SCIENCE FILM FESTIVAL JOINS FILM ANNEX

Film Annex welcomes Imagine Science Film Festival into its community!

Imagine Science Films is a registered non-profit organization born out of the Rockefeller Film Series at Rockefeller and is committed to promoting a high level dialogue between scientists and filmmakers. ISF will encourage a greater collaboration between scientists who dedicate their lives to studying the world we live in, and filmmakers that have the power to interpret and expose this knowledge. Ultimately, Imagine Science Films’ mission is making science accessible and stimulating to a broader audience.

The Imagine Science Film Festival (ISFF) is full-fledge New York Science Film Festival. ISFF 2008 is in mid-October from 16-25 and will include screenings in Manhattan and Brooklyn. The objective of the festival is to showcase films, especially fiction films, that effectively incorporate science into a compelling narrative while maintaining credible scientific groundings.

To read more about Imagine Science Film Festival, visit their Film Annex page at: www.filmannex.com/ImagineScienceFilmFestival


WHAT SHOULD I WATCH ON FILM ANNEX?

BREGMAN, EL SIGUIENTE (AS FOLLOWS)

Synopsis: Rafael Bregman is going through a process of physical development: He is a bit shy, and unlike most of his schoolmates, he has acne. Rafael prepares for the Jewish ritual of passage into adulthood, the Bar Mitzvah.

In this heart-warming coming-of-age story, we watch Rafael develop into a young man from an innocent kid and realize how much his social surroundings affect his growth, finally leading him to lose his innocence.

To watch the film for free, go to: www.filmannex.com/movie/film/2/bregman_el_siguiente_as_follows


PASSERS BY

Synopsis: Passers By is an absurd comedy about the fleeting, subconscious judgments we make about random events in our lives.

This short film is based on a story written by Franz Kafka and combines live action with computer animation. Live action sequences were filmed on location in Prague, Czech Republic, where Kafka lived all his life. Animated sequences are used to represent the main character’s thoughts while he seeks an explanation for the late night occurrence.

To watch this film for FREE go to: www.filmannex.com/movie/film/494/passers_by


THE MOST BEAUTIFUL

In this week’s classic by Akira Kurasawa, you’ll watch the stories of several young women who work in a 'precision optical instruments' factory during the Second World War. Despite illness, injury, and tremendous personal hardship, the women persevere in their tasks, devoted to their work and their country's cause.

To watch the film for free, go to: www.filmannex.com/movie/film/597/the_most_beautiful


WHAT ELSE IS PLAYING? WHAT'S GOOD?

• SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK

Synopsis: A wild-eyed theater director (Philip Seymour Hoffman) attempts to build a life-sized replica of New York City in preparation for an ambitious play in the feature directorial debut of notoriously quirky screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams, and Emily Watson co-star in a tale of one man's quest to stage the ultimate love letter to the Big Apple.

* Check out locations and show times here: movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809873025/info


• DEAR ZACHARY: A LETTER TO A SON ABOUT HIS FATHER

Synopsis: On the evening of November 5, 2001, Dr. Andrew Bagby was murdered in a parking lot in western Pennsylvania; the prime suspect, his ex-girlfriend Dr. Shirley Turner, promptly fled the United States for St. Johns, Newfoundland -- where she announced that she was pregnant with Andrew's child. She named the little boy Zachary. Filmmaker Kurt Kuenne, Andrew's childhood friend, originally began shooting the film as a way for little Zachary to learn about his father -- until Shirley Turner, whom Canada allowed to walk free on bail while awaiting extradition to the United States, killed again.

*Check out locations and show times here: movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809994818/details


Seen anything good? Send your reviews to eg@filmannex.com and we’ll publish them on our next newsletter!


WHAT EVENTS SHOULD I NOT MISS?

• AFM IS APPROACHING

American Film Market opens next Wednesday on November 5th.

At the AFM you will... MEET over 400 production companies, SEE over 500 motion pictures, PREVIEW more than 100 world premieres, NETWORK with 8,000 industry professionals, FIND INSPIRATION in 1000s of new projects, LEARN at seminars from 100+ industry leaders, and DISCOVER where the industry will be tomorrow.

For more information, visit: www.ifta-online.org/afm/home.asp


...SEND YOUR OWN NEWS to Film Annex by emailing eg@filmannex.com

…Film Annex reaches 30 million people worldwide. And you’re one of them! Stay tuned for more news…