John Thomas Sayles is an American independent film director, screenwriter, editor, actor, and novelist. He is known for writing and directing the films The Brother from Another Planet (1984), Matewan (1987), Eight Men Out (1988), Passion Fish (1992), The Secret of Roan Inish (1994), Lone Star (1996), and Men with Guns (1997).
Lawrence Edward Kasdan is an American filmmaker. He is the co-writer of the Star Wars films The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Return of the Jedi (1983), The Force Awakens (2015), and Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018). He also wrote Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and The Bodyguard (1992), and is the writer-director of Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Silverado (1985), The Accidental Tourist (1988), and Dreamcatcher (2003).
Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screenwriting, casting, pre-production, shooting, sound recording, post-production, and screening the finished product before an audience, which may result in a film release and exhibition. The process is nonlinear, as the director typically shoots the script out of sequence, repeats shots as needed, and puts them together through editing later. Filmmaking occurs in a variety of economic, social, and political contexts around the world, and uses a variety of technologies and cinematic techniques to make theatrical films, episodic films for television and streaming platforms, music videos, and promotional and educational films.
The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival takes place in Park City, Utah, in late January and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization, which also hosts a screenplay competition, workshops, screenings throughout the year and events with an emphasis on independent films with budgets under US$1 million.
The Adelaide Film Festival is a film festival usually held for two weeks in mid-October in cinemas in Adelaide, South Australia. Originally presented biennially in March from 2003, since 2013 AFF has been held in October. Subject to funding, the festival has staged full or briefer events in alternating years; some form of event has taken place every year since 2015. From 2022 it takes place annually. It has a strong focus on local South Australian and Australian produced content, with the Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund (AFFIF) established to fund investment in Australian films.
The American Screenwriters Association (ASA) is a community of screenwriters and filmmakers, sharing their combined knowledge of screenwriting and the movie industry. Its primary mission is to help emerging screenwriters hone their screenwriting skills and market their screenplays They encourage dialogue between screenwriters, producers, filmmakers, actors, and industry. They promote and market their members’ screenplays, and develop relationships within the industry to increase member visibility.
The Hollywood Black Film Festival (HBFF), dubbed the "Black Sundance," is an annual six-day film festival held in Los Angeles, California dedicated to enhancing the careers of new and established black filmmaking professionals by bringing their work to the attention of the film industry, press and public. It is open to the public.
Li Yu is a Chinese female film director and screenwriter. Li began her career in entertainment at a young age, serving as a presenter at a local TV station. After college, she worked for CCTV, where she directed television programs before moving on to documentaries and feature films.
The Atlanta Film Festival (ATLFF) is an international film festival held in Atlanta, Georgia and operated by the Atlanta Film Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Started in 1976 and occurring every spring, the festival shows a diverse range of independent films, with special attention paid to women-directed films, LGBTQ films, Latin American films, Black films and films from the American Southeast. ATLFF is one of only a handful of festivals that are Academy Award-qualifying in all three short film categories.
The Boulder International Film Festival (BIFF) is held annually in March in Boulder, Colorado. BIFF features films by new and emerging filmmakers, as well as industry directors, writers, producers, and actors. There are 25,000 attendances annually.
The Insight Film Festival (IFF) is a biennial short film event focusing on interfaith films that has taken place in the UK from 2007 to the 4th Festival, held in 2013. IFF claims to be the UK's only interfaith film festival and has the tagline "Faith in Film". IFF exists to encourage filmmakers throughout the world to make films about the subject of faith, irrespective of their own personal world views. The Festival creates events and spaces where such films can be displayed, discussed and celebrated. It welcomes participants from all faith backgrounds and none and focuses particularly on young filmmakers. In doing so it wants to make positive contributions to understanding, respect and community cohesion. IFF organises an awards ceremony to reward film of excellence and relevance to the objectives of each prize. IFF is not a religious organisation: it is a Community Interest Company that allows space for discussion, learning and screening films. The Festival welcomes filmmakers and other participants of all faiths and none to take part. IFF continues to expand into new areas of work outside the Festival itself: expansion of awards; education events; Insight Annual Lectures; workshops; curation projects; and participation within other film festivals and other relevant events to screen an Insight strand.
The Nantucket Film Festival is a film festival founded in 1996 which focuses on screenwriting. Board members include Donick Cary, Nancy Dubac, Chris Matthews, Kathleen Matthews, Ben Stiller, and Tom Scott.
Black women filmmakers have made contributions throughout the history of film. According to Nsenga Burton, writer for The Root, "the film industry remains overwhelmingly white and male. In 2020, 74.6 percent of movie directors of theatrical films were white, showing a small decrease from the previous year. In terms of representation, 25.4 percent of film directors were of ethnic minority in 2020. Of the 25.4 percent of minority filmmakers, a small percentage was female.
The Australian Film Festival is an annual film festival held in the Australian city of Sydney. The festival showcases the films of Australian talent working in a variety of mediums, including; feature films, short films, television and online web content. In addition to showcasing Australian film, the festival promotes the growth and recognition of Australian cinema through industry led workshops and discussion forums. It is well known for hosting the Australian Film Walk of Fame, which has honoured recipients such as Claudia Karvan, Jack Thompson, Gary Sweet, Roy Billing, Steve Bisley and Michael Caton.
Nayan Padrai is a screenwriter, producer, and director. Padrai co-wrote, produced, and directed his first feature film When Harry Tries to Marry released in the US on April 22, 2011. He also produced the film's soundtrack. His next film is Billion Dollar Raja inspired by the true story of the largest insider trading case in US history.
Andrei Sergeyevich Smirnov is a Soviet and Russian actor and filmmaker who is known for directing the films Belorussian Station (1971), Autumn (1974) and A Frenchman (2019). He was a member of the jury at the 38th Berlin International Film Festival in 1988.
The San Luis Obispo International Film Festival (SLOIFF) is an American film festival held in San Luis Obispo, California. It is a six-day annual event, showcasing contemporary and classic film screenings at the historic Fremont Theater, the Palm Theatre, and other venues in Atascadero, Paso Robles, and the neighboring seaside towns of Avila Beach and Pismo Beach. The current festival includes three competitions, the George Sidney Independent Film Competition, the Central Coast Filmmakers Showcase, and the Young Filmmakers of Tomorrow Competition.
The Munich International Film Festival is the largest summer film festival in Germany and second only in size and importance to the Berlinale. It has been held annually since 1983 and takes place in late June or early July. The latest festival was held from June 23 to July 2, 2022. It presents feature films and feature-length documentaries. The festival is also proud of the role it plays in discovering talented and innovative young filmmakers. With the exception of retrospectives, tributes and homages, all of the films screened are German premieres and many are European and world premieres. There are a dozen competitions with prizes worth over €250,000 which are donated by the festival's major sponsors and partners.
Below Zero is a 2011 Canadian thriller-horror film. It is directed by Justin Thomas Ostensen, and stars Edward Furlong, Michael Berryman and Kristin Booth.
Anita Doron is a Hungarian-Canadian film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, author, and a 2010 TED Fellow. Doron is best known for her 2012 film adaptation of the 1996 novel The Lesser Blessed, written by Canadian author Richard Van Camp.
