Sundance Institute and G2Go Entertainment have announced the short film competition finalists, a screenwriting intensive for Taiwanese filmmakers and panel events for the upcoming Sundance Film Festival Asia in Taipei, which runs from August 21 to August 25.
The short film competition will feature works by six Taiwanese filmmakers, one of which will be awarded the Best Short Film Jury Prize, sponsored by non-profit organization Gold House, on the opening night.
This year's six films include Peng Zi-hsun's “Addiction,” Charles Barratt's “Century Egg,” Hou Ming-chun's “Darling This Was Hard,” Effie Cheng's “MAMU,” Qing Wen's “Side By Side” and Lin Chengyu's “Suo Jiang.”
The screenwriters' intensive aims to showcase and promote emerging talent in Taiwan by providing creative guidance to up-and-coming filmmakers who are working on their first or second feature. Doug Wright (Quills, I Am Your Wife), Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain Marvel) and Tom Siu-Yu Lin (Winds of September, Zinnia) will advise and mentor the program.
Festival panels will feature guest speakers such as anime director Makoto Tezuka, Academy Award-winning sound designer Skip Lievsay and cinematographer Lawrence Sher.
Tickets for the film screenings, short film program and panels are on sale now on the Sundance Film Festival: Asia website.
Director Robert Schwartzman honored at Maui Film Festival
Robert Schwartzman, director of “The Good Half,” starring Nick Jonas, will be honored at the Maui Film Festival, which runs Aug. 29-Sept. 2 at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center in Kahului.
The festival is celebrating its 25th anniversary and will feature 13 feature films and 27 short films from Hawaii and around the world. Festival founder and director Barry Rivers expressed his excitement for the milestone, saying the festival showcases “stories of compassion and change.”
“The Maui Film Festival is excited to celebrate our 25th anniversary while showcasing inspiring filmmaking that tells stories of compassion and change. We are thrilled to recognize director Robert Schwartzman for his extraordinary contributions to the world of cinema with his film 'The Good Half.' Our screening is full of compelling, entertaining and captivating stories that unite and inspire the Maui community, which has endured so much hardship this past year in the aftermath of the wildfires,” he said.
Other films scheduled to be screened at the festival include Universal Pictures' “The Good Half,” directed by Schwartzman and starring Jonas, and Amazon-MGM Studios' “My Old Us.”
To purchase tickets and see the film schedule, click here.
MPAC's Hollywood bureau partners with Film Independent to launch $10,000 artist development fellowship
Nonprofit arts organization Film Independent has announced an expansion of its Muslim Public Affairs Council Hollywood Chapter Fellowship, which will provide $10,000 grants to filmmakers who identify as American Muslim and are accepted into Film Independent's artist development program.
In the past, the MPAC Hollywood Bureau Fellowship focused on supporting American Muslim writers who have participated in Film Independent’s Screenwriting Lab, Episodic Lab and Project Involve.
“Film Independent and MPAC have a longstanding relationship and a shared mission of fostering talented filmmakers from America's Muslim communities,” Film Independent president Josh Welsh said in a statement. “We are pleased to further this relationship and expand the MPAC Hollywood Bureau Fellowship to all artist development programs and encourage American Muslim filmmakers – writers, directors, producers, editors, cinematographers and executives – both fiction and non-fiction, to consider applying to our programs.”
Selected to participate in the Artist Development Program and the Global Media Makers Program, Film Independent Fellows are recognized globally for their artistry and for transforming the cultural landscape through their work.
Additional information regarding applying for grants and awards, including the MPAC Hollywood Bureau Fellowship, can be found here.
Fran Drescher Receives Backstage Vanguard Award from the Vocal Arts and Sciences Association
The Vocal Arts and Sciences Association has announced that Fran Drescher will be presented with the Behind the Scenes Trailblazer Award for visionary leadership in the arts. The awards ceremony will be held at That's Voiceover! Career Expo on December 6th at the LAX Marriott.
The award recognizes individuals who have made groundbreaking contributions to the voice-over industry. Drescher, president of SAG-AFTRA and star of the CBS comedy “The Nanny,” will be honored for her work advocating for voice actors, particularly her work promoting the growth of the voice-over community.
Russell Bobbitt receives MacGuffin Humanitarian Award
The Property Masters Guild will present the Hill Valley Humanitarian Award to Marvel Cinematic Universe Property Master Russell Bobbitt at the inaugural MacGuffin Awards. The ceremony will be held on September 14 at the Belasco Theatre in downtown Los Angeles.
Bobbitt, who has been involved with charitable organizations such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Los Angeles Unified School District and Trilis Studios' Black Male Initiative, will be recognized for his charitable work.
As a prop master, Bobbitt has been responsible for creating many of the superhero props in films, including Captain America's shield and Thor's hammer. His work has appeared in films such as the Iron Man series, Captain America: Civil War, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Ant-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 & 3, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
