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Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the GI Film Festival at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. The Festival took place in one day and showed films that portray American enlisted men and women in a favorable light as opposed to the usual Hollywood fare. This festival was an offshoot of the main GI Film Festival which takes place in May every year in Washington D.C. The main event lasts seven days and includes showings of approximately 50 films. This was a one day shortened version in which the crème of the crop were exhibited. You can...

GENEVA (AFP) – Dutch-born director Jan Kounen has withdrawn his Cannes-premiered movie about Coco Chanel from the Zurich film festival in protest at the arrest of filmmaker Roman Polanski, the organisers said Friday. Kounen asked the festival to halt the planned first Swiss screening of "Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky" on Friday evening, festival spokeswoman Nadja Schildknecht told the Swiss news agency ATS. The film, screened as the out-of-competition closing movie at the Cannes Festival this year, tells the story of an intense love affair between the glamorous French fashion icon and destitute Russian composer Igor Stravinsky in the 1920s....

Jane Fonda expresses regret over film fest protest Cassandra Szklarski, The Canadian Press Jane Fonda is expressing regret over endorsing a protest letter that targets an Israeli film spotlight at the Toronto International Film Festival. The celebrity activist appears to back away from the controversy in a column posted Monday on the Huffington Post website just as big-name performers including Jerry Seinfeld, Natalie Portman and Sacha Baron Cohen added their names to a growing list of the protest's critics. "I signed the letter without reading it carefully enough, without asking myself if some of the wording wouldn't exacerbate the situation...

HOLLYWOOD studios love to use the Toronto Film Festival... In an online letter to event chiefs, an array of notables -- Jane Fonda, Naomi Klein, Danny Glover and David Byrne among them -- have protested the festival's choice to spotlight the city of Tel Aviv and 10 Israeli moviemakers.

Emotions ran high at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival over the showing of Rachel, a film that looks at the International Solidarity Movement activist Rachel Corrie and her death in Gaza in March 2003. The controversy had been brewing for some time, concerning both the showing of the film and the invitation to Rachel's mother, Cindy Corrie, to speak at the festival. In the wake of protests against the showing of the film last Saturday, Peter Stein, the festival's executive director, invited Dr. Mike Harris, one of the leaders of the local Stand With Us chapter, to speak in...

The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival has come under siege after deciding to show a documentary about Rachel Corrie, a Washington state 23-year-old killed in 2003 while trying to prevent an Israeli military bulldozer from demolishing a Palestinian's home. Whether Corrie naively put herself in harm's way in support of terrorists or was intentionally killed by the Israeli military is the nexus of the controversy. Compounding the issue, festival organizers invited Corrie's mother, Cindy, to speak after today's showing at the Castro Theatre of the film "Rachel." It is one of 71 films at this year's festival, which includes two...

TICKY FULLERTON, PRESENTER: China is facing criticism on yet another front. The violent riots in the far western province of Xinjiang have brought international attention to how China is dealing with long-simmering ethnic conflicts. Now it seems China is trying to exert control over how these issues are being portrayed beyond its borders. The director of the Melbourne International Film Festival says he received a call last week from a Chinese consular official demanding that he withdraw a documentary about a prominent Uyghur figurehead, Rebiya Kadeer. It's a move that some believe will backfire. Mary Gearin reports. FILM VOICEOVER: This...

Cinema Comes To Riyadh for First Time in Decades By DONNA ABU-NASR | Associated Press | For the first time in three decades, Saudis in the nation's capital did something that most Westerners take for granted _ they went to the movies. But it wasn't exactly date night. No women were allowed.

Those who want to know the truth about Iranian justice must see Cyrus Nowrasteh’s gripping feature documentary film “The Stoning of Soraya M.” The film - based on the book written by Friedounce Sahebjam and debuting today at the Toronto International Film Festival - depicts the true life story of Soraya M, an Iranian woman falsely accused of adultery. She was then sentenced to death by stoning so that her husband would be free to marry a 14-year old. Partially buried in the ground, she was savagely stoned to death by a mob of men that included her own father,...

The Cannes Film Festival has kicked off, and as a result, we can look forward to an outstanding week of stunning couture gowns, bedazzling brilliance and some movie drama, of course. Another cutie was Elizabeth Banks, who wore a red shouldered Armani Privé Spring 2009 gown for her Up premiere.

PERFECT VALOR TO PREMIERE MAY 16th On May 16, 2009, Citizens United Productions will premiere “Perfect Valor” at the GI Film Festival in Washington DC. Peabody Award winning Producer, David C. Taylor and noted contemporary author and military historian, Richard S. Lowry, have worked tirelessly with the talented production staff to create a compelling tribute to all the men and women who have served in Iraq. ORLANDO, FLORIDA April 14, 2009 — Every American needs to see Perfect Valor. This film captures the sacrifices of those who have served our nation. From the young man who joined the Marines to...

.... gay activists remain up in arms over the star-studded Sundance Film Festival's involvement with supporters of California's Proposition 8 banning same-sex marriage. The film festival is held every year in January in Park City, Utah, a Mormon stronghold whose elders "organized its followers to support the amendment banning same-sex marriage . . . and encouraged them to give generously to the cause." Sundance screens many films in Cinemark Theaters, owned by Alan Stock, who made a personal donation of $9,900 to support Prop 8. Openly gay actor Alan Cumming, whose "Dare" is a Sundance selection, is skipping the festival...

Richard Raddon, the director of the Los Angeles Film Festival who has been at the center of controversy ever since it was revealed almost two weeks ago that he had contributed $1,500 to the campaign to ban gay marriage in California, resigned from his post over the weekend. The nonprofit arts organization Film Independent sponsors both the Los Angeles Film Festival, held in May, and the popular Independent Spirit awards. Raddon is a member of the Mormon Church, which actively called on its congregants to work for the passage of Proposition 8, the constitutional amendment defining marriage as only between...

Under mounting pressure, LA Film Festival director Richard Raddon has ankled his post. Raddon and Film Independent (FIND), the festival's parent org, have faced a barrage of protests over Raddon's contribution to the successful Yes on Prop 8 campaign that banned same-sex marriage in California. After bloggers published his name, culled from public records of donors, Raddon tendered his first resignation on Nov. 13 to Film Independent’s board of directors, which was not accepted. Film Independent then released a statement saying, in part, "Our organization does not police the personal, religious, or political choices of any employee, member, or filmmaker."...

The American Film Renaissance celebrates timeless American values by producing, showcasing and distributing films that promote freedom (including free speech, free enterprise and freedom of worship), rugged individualism and the triumph of the human spirit; and through supporting, nurturing and training filmmakers who share AFR’s mission. Washington, DC Oct 1-4 2008 Guide FAQ

British actress Kate Beckinsale stepped out in a stunningly beautiful Elie Saab Spring Couture strapless cocktail dress...

Tehran, May 25, IRNA American filmmaker and author, Michael Moore held talks with the representative of Iran's Documentary and Experimental Cinema Development Center at the 61st Cannes International Film Festival in southern France on Sunday. In the meeting, Moore voiced his willingness to take part in the Second Iran International Documentary Film Festival slated for October 14-19. Moore, a vocal critic who denounced Bush and the war in Iraq, further expressed regret for not participating in Iran's first documentary film festival.

Jack Black, master thespianwhat's goin on with this ensemble? short pantsuit = little Hillary?Richie HavensJulianne Mooreand this year's President of the Jury, that's right, your friend and mine, Jeff Spicoli.

The GI Film Festival (GIFF) will present films from new and established international and domestic filmmakers that honor the heroic stories of the American Armed Forces and the worldwide struggle for freedom and liberty. Some of the films screened will be fan favorites. Others will be screened for the first time. All will in some way express the courage and selflessness of our fighting men and women and the value of their work.

There was a momentary groundswell at the San Francisco International Film Festival gala Thursday evening when somebody - OK, it was me - asked Warren Beatty if he'd run for president and pry his beloved Democratic Party out of its stalemate. "That would be a barrel of laughs," said Beatty, who flirted with a run for the White House in 2000. He had come to the party at the Westin St. Francis to present the Kanbar Award for screenwriting to Robert Towne who, in turn, proclaimed that he would vote for Beatty. A couple of people in the crush surrounding...

Officials of an Egyptian-sponsored children’s film festival will not allow Denmark or The Netherlands to participate due to the countries’ mocking of Islam The director of an international children’s film festival to be held in Egypt next week has prohibited anyone from Denmark or The Netherlands to take part in the event or to submit films. Fawzi Fahmi told Radio Netherlands that the action was ‘a symbolic gesture toward all those who have insulted and degraded monotheistic religions’. Denmark has recently been the target of protests from Muslim countries because its media reprinted the infamous Mohammed drawings after police thwarted...

And the fun from the Venice Film Festival continues.... Here's Paul Haggis on his film, "In the Valley of Elah" (based upon a Playboy article, "Death and Dishonor", by Mark Boal, regarding the stabbing death of a soldier by his fellow soldiers): Haggis said he had tried not to allow his personal opinion about the war in Iraq to influence "Elah" too heavily."We set about to make a political film certainly, but not a partisan film," he told a news conference in Venice, where the film has its world premiere on Saturday. Um...yeah....kind of like how Bill Moyers, Dan Rather,...

Yesterday, Brian De Palma's "Redacted" screened at the Venice Film Festival. ... ........ ..........Where are the Hollywood conservatives at a time when no less than 8 anti-war movies are coming out at this critical juncture? David Gritten writes, there's no doubt Redacted packs an extraordinary emotional punch. It ends with shocking still photos of Iraqis, dead, disfigured or in extreme distress because of the war. This montage left the audience at a Venice press screening stunned, silent and in a few cases tearful. The combination of De Palma's visceral style and the horrifying subject matter left me reeling. What about...

August 24, 2007 -- Friday Schedule 6:00am -- Love Is On The Air (1937) 7:15am -- Brother Rat (1938) 8:45am -- Code Of The Secret Service (1939) 9:45am -- Angels Wash Their Faces (1939) 11:15am -- Dark Victory (1939) 1:00pm -- Hell's Kitchen (1939) 2:30pm -- Desperate Journey (1942) 4:30pm -- One For The Book (1947) 6:15pm -- John Loves Mary (1949) 8:00pm -- Bedtime For Bonzo (1951) 9:30pm -- Kings Row (1942) 11:45pm -- Knute Rockne All American (1940) 1:30am -- Girl From Jones Beach, The (1949) 3:00am -- Night Unto Night (1949) 4:30am -- Prisoner Of War (1954)...

For the past few years, Turner Classic Movies has had a feature in August called "Summer Under the Stars". Each day features one movie actor/actress, and the whole day (6 AM to 6 AM - ET) consists of movies made by that star. This Friday (August 24th) will be 24 hours of Ronald Reagan movies. Here is the schedule of movies to be shown (ET): 6:00 AM Love Is On The Air (1937) 7:15 AM Brother Rat (1938) 8:45 AM Code Of The Secret Service (1939) 9:45 AM Angels Wash Their Faces (1939) 11:15 AM Dark Victory (1939) 1:00 PM...

Anti-Gun Film Festival Honors Pro-Gun Filmmaker -- Sort Of Apparently unaware that its producer/writer/director is an outspoken pro-gun advocate, the Moondance International Film Festival, whose stated goal is to "encourage and inspire non-violent conflict resolution," has selected J. Neil Schulman's Lady Magdalene's as a semifinalist in this year's competition. Upon learning of the selection, Schulman congratulated the festival's director "on her openness in placing art before politics, in an age when virtually all film festivals filter out any film not promoting their own narrow prejudices." Informed that Schulman is the webmaster of the World Wide Web Gun Defense Clock, which...

The First Annual GI Film Festival will be held on Memorial Day weekend, May 25-28, 2007, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC. The festival will present both classic and premier films from international and domestic filmmakers celebrating the heroic stories of the American Armed Forces and the worldwide struggle for freedom and liberty. The GI Film Festival is unique among the thousands of film festivals held each year, because it focuses specifically on honoring American soldiers. Some of the films screened will be fan favorites. Others will be screened for the first time. All...

Accused Terrorist Is Big GOP Donor February 19, 2007 1:51 PM Justin Rood Reports: Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari gave $15,250 to the NRCC since 2002, according to FEC records published on the Web site opensecrets.org. On Friday, Alishtari pled not guilty to funding terrorism and other crimes, including financial fraud. The NRCC is the main political group dedicated to helping the Republican party win seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Reached Monday morning for comment, an NRCC spokeswoman declined to discuss the matter on the record. The indictment against Alishtari unsealed in Manhattan federal court Friday charges him...

TEL AVIV (EJP)--- A group of Israeli filmmakers were dropped from the schedule of the Documentary Film Festival in the French town of Lussas last week with their films replaced by movies by Palestinian and Lebanese filmmakers. The directors received a letter from the directors of the festival explaining that they were dropped because of the latest Middle East crisis. In what appears to be the latest in a long list of cultural boycotts against Israeli artists, the letter informed the Israelis that their films would be replaced. Lack of detachment According to Ynet News, the letter, signed by the...

The recent Locarno Film Festival dropped Israel as the co-sponsor of one of the programs because of the retaliatory bombing against Hizbullah targets in Lebanon. Lebanese and other Arabs filmmakers protested Israel's participation in the Swiss event. Israel was listed as a co-sponsoring the Leopards of Tomorrow program. Organizers of the Edinburgh International Film Festival have also cancelled Israeli Embassy sponsorship of their program and returned the Israeli check following a protest. The Edinburgh branches of the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the Stop the War Coalition had planned to picket all major film festival events if the link with...

CANNES, France - Oliver Stone presented a 25-minute preview at the Cannes Film Festival of his upcoming “World Trade Center,” promising an agonizing portrait of courage, camaraderie and perseverance. Stone, who introduced the footage that was shown Sunday night before a 20th anniversary screening of his Vietnam saga “Platoon,” said that war film and his Sept. 11 drama both deal with working-class heroes, not superhuman deeds. “It seems like the Vietnam War, Watergate, Iraq, all these things get built up, 9/11, into mythologies,” Stone told The Associated Press. “This is about what it was like at ground zero.” “World Trade...

Former Vice President of the United States Al Gore is seen during a press conference for the film 'An Inconvenient Truth,' at the 59th International film festival in Cannes, southern France, on Saturday, May 20, 2006. (AP Photo/Laurent Emmanuel)

Early critics seemed happy to try to break "The Da Vinci Code." Reaction ranged from halfhearted admiration to boredom to derision among journalists at the first press screening of the Ron Howard-Tom Hanks blockbuster in waiting, premiering Wednesday at the Cannes Film Festival and opening worldwide through Friday. "`Da Vinci' never rises to the level of a guilty pleasure. Too much guilt. Not enough pleasure," wrote critic Kirk Honeycutt in the trade paper The Hollywood Reporter.

Jeers, hisses and laughter was not "Canned", and what must have been a real disappointment for Tom Hanks who always looks surprised because of his facelift. The movie "The DaVinci Code", which is based upon a fictional story about how Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married and had a child, takes two and a half hours to finish, but only thirty minutes to put a number of the audience to sleep, only to be awakened by laughter, where laughter is not appropriate or planned.According to reports some people walked out during the movie's closing minutes, and when the credits rolled there...

Quotes from early reviews of "The DaVinci Code" at Cannes:"CANNES, France - "The Da Vinci Code" drew lukewarm praise, shrugs of indifference, some jeering laughter and a few derisive jabs Tuesday from arguably the world's toughest movie crowd: critics at the Cannes Film Festival.""One especially melodramatic line uttered by Hanks drew prolonged laughter and some catcalls, and the audience continued to titter for much of the film's remainder. Some people walked out during the movie's closing minutes, though there were fewer departures than many Cannes movies provoke among harsh critics. When the credits rolled, there were a few whistles and...

Long criticized by conservative Christians for profiting from violent or sexually graphic films that corrupt the young, Hollywood is starting to see there is money to be made catering to those critics. "On Sunday, 43 percent of America was in church," Jonathan Bock, head of a movie marketing company that specializes in religious audiences, said at a panel discussion on "What Would Jesus Direct?" at the Tribeca Film Festival this week. "For studios to not recognize that's an audience is like them saying, 'We're not marketing movies to men,"' Bock said. You can read the rest of the story at...

My fellow Freepers: I need your help! As many of you already know, I ran for Congress in New York’s 12th CD in 2004. As part of the experience, I became one of the principal subjects of a documentary being filmed on the Republican National Convention being held in the city that year. As a result, I had a camera follow me around during my campaigning in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan, to the convention at Madison Square Garden, to various meetings and events of our NY Young Republican Club, to my uncle’s house in Staten Island, and even to my...

BERLIN (Reuters) - The good guy in the Wachowski brothers' latest cinematic adventure is a "terrorist" at war with the British government. The masked crusader makes homemade bombs, which he plants on London's subway system, and condones violence in pursuit of justice. The Orwellian authorities rule chiefly by fear. With "V for Vendetta", the scriptwriters who brought us "The Matrix" may be asking for trouble. Starring a shaven-headed Natalie Portman as the foil to the mystery man known only as V, the film is based on a 1980s graphic novel warning readers about the danger of lurching to the political...

Celebrity took an unusually nerdy form at this year's Sundance Film Festival. The man everyone wanted to meet, talk to and be seen with wasn't a film star or daring new director. It was a politician, who is in his sixth year of retirement and more famous for what he didn't achieve than for what he did. Al Gore has been to Sundance before, but never as a leading man. This year he was appearing in An Inconvenient Truth, a 90-minute star-vehicle documentary. If 'former vice-president turns movie star at the age of 57' sounds improbable, remember that this is...

Has ever a little indie film faced a greater hurdle? Imagine this sales pitch: Babe, it's a movie about global warming. Starring Al Gore. Doing a slide show. With charts. Hours before the filming of "An Inconvenient Truth," former vice president Al Gore works with a team to choose the best from among 400 slides and animations from his environmental show. (Participant Productions) Improbable? Perhaps. So it's all the more amazing that "An Inconvenient Truth" had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on Tuesday night before an enthusiastic audience that gave the former vice president and his movie...

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) - Al Gore is not all that comfortable being a star of the Sundance Film Festival. He's far more concerned that the celebrity watchers hear what he has to say. The former U.S. vice-president came to town for the premiere of An Inconvenient Truth, a documentary chronicling what has become his crusade since losing the 2000 presidential election: educating the masses that global warming is about to toast our ecology and our way of life. Gore has been saying it for decades, since a college class in the 1960s convinced him that greenhouse gases from oil,...

PARK CITY, Utah - Actors are directing. Singers are acting. Drama directors are making concert films. Former presidential rivals Al Gore and Ralph Nader are hitting the big screen. [snip] The Sundance Film Festival, the country's foremost showcase for independent cinema, gets under way Thursday with an intriguing mix of role reversals among its cast. Gore and Nader lead what's shaping up as a powerhouse year for documentaries, always a strong suit at Sundance. Director Davis Guggenheim's "An Inconvenient Truth" chronicles former Vice President Gore's dogged campaign to convince a reluctant society of fossil-fuel profiteers and consumers about the dangers...

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Billed as the world's first black Jesus movie, "Son of Man" portrays Christ as a modern African revolutionary and aims to shatter the Western image of a placid savior with fair hair and blue eyes. The South African film, which premieres on Sunday at the U.S. Sundance festival in Utah, transports the life and death of Christ from first century Palestine to a contemporary African state racked by war and poverty. Jesus is born in a shanty-town shed, a far cry from a manger in a Bethlehem stable. His mother Mary is a virgin, though feisty enough...

At Sundance Film Festival... Many celebrities keep their kids out of the public eye to avoid the paparazzi and kidnappers. Not Rosie O'Donnell. O'Donnell said it was Madonna — her co-star in "A League of Their Own" — who explained to her why she appeared with her daughter Lourdes in public. Rosie, wife Kelli Carpenter O'Donnell and their two sons and two daughters will be on hand Tuesday for the world premiere of the documentary "All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise" at the Sundance Film Festival. Kelli, whom Rosie married in San Francisco in 2004, and Parker, 10; Chelsea, 8; Blake,...

The American Film Renaissance www.afrfilmfestival.com the organization presenting patriotic and pro-America alternatives to typical movie fare, goes to the heart of the industry to host its first festival in Hollywood, Calif., next month. AFR was begun to encourage the production and promotion of more traditional-values oriented movies in the U.S. Gary Sinise (CSI: NY, Forrest Gump) and Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond)are some of the celebrities who have committed to attend . . . . .

Pro-freedom film festival hits Hollywood Event to screen movies celebrating 'the triumph of the human spirit' -------------------------------------------------------- Posted: December 30, 2005 American Film Renaissance, the organization presenting patriotic and pro-America alternatives to typical movie fare, goes to the heart of the industry to host its first festival in Hollywood, Calif., next month. AFR was begun to encourage the production and promotion of more traditional-values oriented movies in the U.S. "Conservatives have been on defense in this culture war going on 40 years," founder and President Jim Hubbard told WorldNetDaily last year. "No war has ever been won playing defense. …...

Thursday, October 20, 2005 SP filmmakers showcase a conservative Hollywoodarts: Mostly unknown movies are on the bill for this weekend's Liberty Film Festival in West Hollywood.By Nick Green Daily Breeze "We the Living," a rarely seen 1942 Italian black-and-white film based on a book by teen-favorite novelist Ayn Rand, tells the tale of two young lovers who fight against conformity in communist Russia. A series of Kurdish shorts from the inaugural Iraqi Film Festival -- film production was virtually banned under the tyranny of former president Saddam Hussein -- explores the rejection of violence and terrorism.And "Brainwashing 201: The...

.10/14/2005 ALERT: Larry Elder, Ted Hayes and Director Hal Needham to Speak at Liberty Film Festival Filed under: General— Jason @ 11:58 am Larry Elder.We’re pleased to announce that national talk show host Larry Elder will be speaking at this year’s Liberty Film Festival. Larry will be introducing Nina May’s film Emancipation, Revelation, Revolution, which is about the role of the Republican Party in the Civil Rights movement and in ending slavery. Nina’s extraordinary new documentary will be showing on Saturday, October 22nd at 1:30PM at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood. Tickets for this great event are selling...

Reprinted from NewsMax.comWednesday, Oct. 12, 2005 8:43 a.m. EDTLiberty Film Festival Opens in L.A. [featuring FReeper AnnaZ!]The Liberty Film Festival, Hollywood's only conservative film festival, returns for its second year with opening night premieres of "Broken Promises: The United Nations at 60," narrated by actor Ron Silver, and "Brainwashing 201: The Second Semester," directed by Evan Maloney. The festival will be held October 21-23, 2005, at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood. From Citizens United (the producers of "Celsius 41.11") and Peace River Company, "Broken Promises" is an explosive documentary about the enormous potential of the UN at its...

From www.libertyfilmfestival.com: The 2005 Liberty Film Festival will be held this October 21-23, 2005 at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood. The Liberty Film Festival showcases films that celebrate the traditional American values of free speech, patriotism, and religious freedom. Please note that festival tickets are only available for purchase on-line at this Liberty Film Festival website. We do not accept checks or phone reservations. Please do not contact the Pacific Design Center for tickets. The festival will be held at the Pacific Design Center, SilverScreen Theatre, 2nd Floor Center Green, 8687 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood, CA 90069. Parking...