February 2010

THE HURT LOCKER pushed AVATAR aside at the BAFTA awards to collect BEST FILM, an excellent result for KATHRYN BIGELOW's film which had been tipped to win for a long time before her Ex-husband, James Cameron, showed up late for the event with the visually stunning AVATAR. MS BIGELOW also collected BEST DIRECTOR as confirmation of the BAFTA voter's ability to award both wisely and well. Good results for the UK too, starting with CAREY MULLIGAN and COLIN FIRTH receiving BEST ACTRESS and BEST ACTOR respectively. The SHORT FILM award went to JAMES BOLTON & MARTINA AMATI for I DO AIR. Listings of other awards on our BLOG Page....read more ›

The 2010 European Film Market in Berlin opens next week on the 11th Feb. The 'Berlinale' also hosts the 'Talent Campus' from 13th Feb, take a look at their site for details - http://www.berlinale-talentcampus.de/ where young film makers are invited to discuss and develop their skills and make new contacts. This is an excellent time of year in Berlin (v cold though!) with a lot of buzz surrounding the film market, which is well attended by production, sales and distribution teams from around the world. As a result accomodation close to the event is usually booked well in advance. However a little investigation can find inexpensive options within striking distance and getting about in Berlin is not a problem. Well worth a visit, MM...read more ›

Watched AVATAR last week, in 3D, not expectimg to enjoy it as much as I did, but I really, really did. If you have made something of the quality of THE HURT LOCKER or AN EDUCATION, you should feel pretty confident about taking part in the awards season. Then something like AVATAR turns up! It is in a different world, (literally), and so different in scale and execution from any of the other nominees, one can't help thinking that perhaps it would have been approapriate to further sub-categorise the films on offer? Would that hinder or help the process and what exactly should we be looking for in the winning film? W Full listing of all nominated parties on our Blog page....read more ›

The LIFF from April 15th to 27th, 2010 in London, UK. Based on the South Bank of the Thames and Running over a 12 day period, the Festival is a vibrant promotional opportunity for low & micro-budget films. The festival has capacity for 38 feature films and 110 shorts. It provides a platform for emerging independent filmmakers in particular those films shot for under £100,000. In addition to a "Grand Prize" sponsored by Prime Focus in Soho, (apparently valued at £50,000), the Short Film Competition also awards over £10,000 in prizes. With a late entry deadline approaching on March 6th, get your film in fast if you want to take part. Entry fees are now £45 for Features, £35 for Shorts and £25 for Music Videos or Short Shorts. Check out full details on the official site at - http://www.londonindependent.org/ Of course if you miss that deadline, simply submit your film to www.moviemogul.co.uk for a more conservative £6 and guarantee your film will be available to see on line for a minimum period of two months and you can win those big prizes with us too. Let us know how it goes if you do decide to take part, MM. ...read more ›

Spring Courses for Producers Applications are now open for Spring producing courses at The London Film School. For more info click on the links below, visit www.lfs.org.uk or contact Carolyn Atherton: workshops@lfs.org.uk/+44 (0)20 7836 9642. . Let us know how it goes MM...read more ›

The National Student Film Festival, 'Screentest' is on this weekend (26th - 28th Feb). It is held in Bristol which is easily reached from just about anywhere! A delagate pass for the weekend costs £10 and entitles you to attend their student competition screenings, the Screentest Awards Ceremony, 2010, a "Screentest Retrospective" of the highlights from previous years. There will also be additional special screenings including all the BAFTA-nominated Shorts, screening on Fri 26th at 8:00PM in the Ansom Rooms, University of Bristol Students' Union, Queens Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1LN They also run a programme of talks & workshops. It sounds like excellent value for money to us, visit their official site http://www.screentestfest.org.uk/about-us/ for more info. MM....read more ›

Hi Everyone, Usual last minute call for entries for February and votes for the Jan Comp entries too please, only a few more days to go and then you will have missed the chance to to win this month's heat and see your work presented before our eminent Judging panel later this year. V best to all MM...read more ›

Another monthly heat has now closed for entries. You can vote on the films submitted in January until Feb 28th....read more ›