The Dallas International Film Festival is still in full swing. And this year, its Latino Showcase highlights some great Latino-directed films. Looking through the list of Latino Showcase films, I was instantly interested in checking out Lavoe, The Untold Story. Read More
Ahhh April. Warm weather, gentle showers, birds chirping, flowers blooming, and, um, film festivals, I guess. We realized that April has an insane amount of film fests (see the list below), so we’ll be taking a look at various fests around the country, as well as offering ideas and tips on holding your own neighborhood festivals. We started late last week with Karina’s review of the Dallas International Film Festival opening night. We’ll be plying you with even more awesome fest-related-stuff throughout the month.
April Film Festivals
Dallas International Film Festival
Aspen Shortsfest
WorldFest Houston International Film Festival
Florida Film Festival
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
Nashville Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
San Francisco International Film Festival
Atlanta Film Festival
USA Film Festival
Hot Docs Festival
Yesterday marked the start of the annual Dallas International Film Festival, and I was there for opening night.
The event was held at the Winspear Opera House, complete with a red carpet entrance and plenty of media. The dress code was black tie optional, which surprised me because I don’t necessarily expect indie filmmaker types to be black tie kind of people. Being at the opera house, I think the venue itself automatically calls for a spiffy getup. Read More
SXSW Film officially came to an end last Saturday. Over the duration of the festival, I managed to catch close to 30 films. Here are the best of those I saw during the last leg of the fest. Read More
I’m coming close to the last portion of my stay in the always-amazing city of Austin, Texas. This has been by far one of the best SXSW I’ve ever attended. The quality of the films screened has been nothing shy of fantastic.
Here are some of those that really left a great impression. Read More
I’ve been in Austin for two and a half days, and have managed to catch about 10 films so far. At this very moment I’m waiting to get in to the historic Paramount Theater for the screening of Takashi Miile’s latest film, 13 Assassins. It promises to be nothing shy of bloody samurai brilliance. I’ll have an update on that one upon my next check in.
What follows are the best of the films I’ve seen so far. Read More
We’re starting a regular feature on the blog: interviews with BLOCKBUSTER corporate employees.
Today we have Keith Leopard, the Director of Content for BLOCKBUSTER Online. He decides which movies we’re going to buy for the rental service, so he’s kind of a big deal. Keith recently returned from a trip to the Cannes Film Festival.
Favorite movie: Citizen Kane
Most recently watched movie: The Hangover
Last movie purchased: The Bicycle Thief
First movie you remember seeing in the theater: The Jungle Book
What is a day at the Cannes Film Festival like for you?
I begin the day with a movie around 9am and then see 4-5 per day for about a week. I pack a lot of food in a backpack as I usually do not have time to stop for a meal. When I did, it was a ham and cheese sandwich and a diet coke (or Cola Light as they say in France).
I had dinner meetings every night with vendors so I would usually end my day around 1am. That 9am movie the next day came pretty early. Of course I will never get any sympathy from my friends and co-workers as they view me off at film festivals hobnobbing with the stars.
What is your main goal when attending a film festival?
I go to festivals to find movies that would fit into one or more of our current initiatives. This year I was trying to see films that would be good for our new BLOCKBUSTER Premieres series of films. I saw quite a few and hope they show up on our shelves in the next six months or so.
Do you do anything else while in Cannes?
I try to eat as much stinky French cheese as I possibly can.
What was your favorite movie at Cannes this year?
Middle Men — a fun little comedy with Luke Wilson and Giovanni Ribisi.
Which upcoming release had the most buzz?
Inglourious Basterds — Quentin Tarantino’s new film
What is your favorite event at the festival?
Any opportunity to walk the red carpet. I did this last year and I was nervous, excited, and in such awe, I barely remember doing it.
Did you spot any movie trends for the upcoming year while at Cannes?
It felt like there were less “big” movies and more good solid films that people should look forward to seeing in theaters or at home in the next year.
