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By Mark Maurer/The Jersey JournalMay 14, 2010, 9:00PMStar-Ledger file photoFilmmaker, founder of Hoboken International Film Festival and North Arlington Municipal Judge Kenneth Del Vecchio resigned his judgeship so he could promote his controversial satire about President Barack Obama.Filmmaker, founder of Hoboken International Film Festival and North Arlington Municipal Court Judge Kenneth Del Vecchio has decided to resign his judgeship in order to promote his controversial movie, the Washington Times reports. The decision arose shortly after the N.J. Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on Extrajudicial Affairs recently advised that he “not be interviewed, promote and participate in the press and publicity” of...

Commentary by Fr. Thomas Euteneuer, President, Human Life InternationalFebruary 10, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Honestly, the last place I ever imagined seeing my face was on the big screen at the Sundance Film Festival. But I actually appeared in a documentary film last week called "12th and Delaware," which attempts to show the struggle between life and death in the real-life scenarios of abortion-minded women. The name of the film derives from the street names on an ordinary corner in Ft. Pierce, FL where extraordinary things happen every day. On one side of the street is a death camp (i.e., an...

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GENEVA (AFP) – Dutch-born director Jan Kounen has withdrawn his Cannes-premiered movie about Coco Chanel from the Zurich film festival in protest at the arrest of filmmaker Roman Polanski, the organisers said Friday.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...

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.