Friday, August 20, 2010

Twilight Saga IV - Eat, Prey, Suck

Twilight Saga IV: Eat, Prey, Suck (2010)
Not coming soon to a theater near you.
By Richard Trombly

Middle-aged Bella Swan-Cullen (Julia Roberts)  had everything a modern woman is supposed to dream of having - an eternally teenage boy toy vampire husband (Robert Pattison) , a house with a dog door for her lupine lover, the eternally shirtless werewolf (Taylor Lautner), a successful career - yet like so many others, she found herself lost, confused, and searching for what she really wanted in life - (which all along has been to be turned into an undead, since in this crazy mythos vampires aren't really evil because they are so handsome - and looks are more important than your soul.) 


Evil hag Bella Swan (Julia Roberts) bares her fangs to suck the life out an unwitting Italian epicurean

Newly deceased and undead, - and still yet to actually have sex with Edward - she is at a crossroads, Being eternal and dead wasn't all she thought it would be. Bella steps out of her comfort zone, risking everything to change her life (or is that undeadness?), embarking on a journey around the world that becomes a quest for self-discovery.

Bella tells Edward she has new boyfriend who has a special surprise for him

 In her travels, she discovers the true pleasure of nourishment in a frenzied blood lust of eating Italians; then desecrating the power of prayer in India by discovering the true evil of vampire kind, and, finally and unexpectedly, the inner peace and balance of truly debauched sexual ecstasy in Bali with a hot hunk named Blade, the new addition to the Twilight love triangle (.And let's face it-  after decades of teenage angst from metrosexual Edward's endless coquetry, she needed a good lay, and in the end she realizes that indeed vampires suck. (as does the parody film of that name.)  



Coming in 2011 ... (which is still sooner than Edward ever will!)

Twilight Saga V: Necrophilia or Furries

Monday, August 16, 2010

48 Hour Film Project for machinima

48 Hour Film Project for machinima


CALLING ALL Machinimatographers!

The 48 Hour Film Project, the oldest and biggest time filmmaking competition, is looking for machinima! In a wild, sleepless weekend, you and a team will make a movie ---- write, shoot, edit and score it. From scratch. In 48 hours. On Friday, September 17, you'll get a character, a prop, a line of dialogue and a genre, all to include in your movie. By Sunday, September 19, the movie must be complete and uploaded to our server in California.
Each completed film is guaranteed a screening in Twinity, Inworldz and Second Life.
Winner ánd runner up will be screened at MachinimaExpo 2010.

Meet other machinimatographers, spend 48 hours in intense movie making, have your film screened in several virtual worlds, and compete to represent machinima against the other 90 48HFP cities! Come on out and make a movie!
To be part of the 48HFP, register online at: http://www.48hourfilm.com/machinima
Registration costs $48 per team. Space is limited, so register today!
The events in 2010 are held in Second Life, which is a free download at: http://secondlife.com/support/downloads/
Teamleaders are expected to be present at kickoff and screening event, if you need any help at all in entering Second Life; please contact Chantal Harvey, and you will be coached step by step. It is also possible to come to the events in a ready made account. (talk about it being easy.)
Communication can be through using skype @ chantal.harvey, and by email: machinima@48hourfilm.com



The UWA_BOSL Theater in Second Life

This SLurl will take your avatar to the 48HFP theatre : http://slurl.com/secondlife/UWA/6/248/1638
Some dates to remember: (all times are sl/pacific times)

September 14: Meet and greet the 48HFP teams - 3 pm
September 17: Kickoff event at 5 pm, genres/prop/line/character handout and start of contest September 19: Dropoff event at 5 pm, end of contest is 6.30 pm
September 23: Screening of the films, awards and winners announced

Dont miss the change to bring your machinima to the World, the winner will be screened at our Filmapalooza Festival, and winners there will go to Cannes!!

Chantal Harvey
Machinima Producer 48 Hour Film Project
http://www.48hourfilm.com/machinima
machinima@48hourfilm.com

info@mamachinima.eu

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Lovers in the Water

Love triumphs over death in rural China

Shanghai Aug. 16, 2010 -- Lovers In The Water, a feature film by co-directors Zheng Zheng and Chen Fu, is currently undergoing the final stages of post production in Shanghai. This is Chongqing Normal University film professor Zheng’s third feature film. Singer Shang Hua, best known for her hit pop single QQ Love and films like Lao Wu’s Oscar, takes the female lead and male supermodel Li Xueqing makes his acting debut in the lead role.

Lovers In The Water (手舞之恋 or Bai Shou Wu Zhi Lian literally “Waving Hand Dance of Love”) was filmed in June 2010 in quaint locations like Gongtan old town along the 1200-kilometer Wujiang River about 260 kilometers outside of Chongqing, China’s largest city. The rural location is important to this tale, which reflects the mindset and metaphysical angst of China’s “thirty-something” generation.

In this tale, an upwardly mobile Chongqing professional (Li) in his thirties learns he has a terminal illness. He cleans out his desk, walks out of his office and throws away his cell phone and then returns to his tiny home village seeking some meaning to his life. When he boards the bus to the rural hill town of his youth, he has a fateful meeting with the village school teacher (Shang).. In a nostalgic gesture, he reopens his deceased father’s restaurant, which brings him into further contact with the teacher. What results is a platonic love story as well as a return to a simpler time.
Shang Hua (left) and Li Xueqing (right) pose on set in Gongtan village


Zheng filmed this feature in the minimalistic style of the Taiwan new wave directors like Hou Hsiao-Hshien. While his last film, I Think Your Dancing is Beautiful (2009,) showed his ability to produce a film with modern style, pacing and cinematic skill, the camera language of Lovers in the Water is a simple as the rustic society in the Wujiang mountains. Zheng had big production filming equipment like dolly and crane and an expert crew but most of the time, he was shooting very simple shots that lend a very basic sense to this film.

Director of photography Jeffrey Chu, was also cinematographer on films including Japanese director Atsuhiro Yamada’s Happy Ending (2009.) Chu said Zheng clearly visualized the film and practically edited it with the camera. This may have been common in the past when shooting on expensive film stock, but modern directors shooting on HD tend to have fast-paced editing and strong coverage, shooting each scene from several angles. But Lovers in the Water indulges in long shots and a slow lyrical pace.

“I started making suggestions for some creative shots and to get ‘coverage’ of the scenes,” said Chu. “But Zheng was not interested. He really knew exactly what he wanted. It is rather experimental in this modern age, but for this film, it really works.”

The simplicity of the shooting builds a mood that reflects the soul-searching of the protagonsit, said Chu. It does evoke the style of Taiwan’s new wave filmmakers or the French auteurs. Zheng however points to South Korea’s Jin-ho Heo’s Christmas In August, also a platonic romance between a terminally ill man and a charming young woman. There are certain scenes in Lovers In The Water which echo Christmas In August. In both films, the protagonist is suddenly taken to the hospital and the lover, who has no idea of the illness, returns to find only the closed shop.

“Urban life and modern love can become complicated,” said Zheng. “I wanted to make a film that explores the purity of love.”
Zheng Zheng (left) prepares to film a scene with actress Shang Hua (center)


In Christmas In August, the two lovers have an unrequited love, but nonetheless develop a relationship that is very powerful and becomes the center of the film. Zheng’s lovers remain platonic, but never seem to form a deep bond. The center of the film becomes more about the protagonist coming to terms with his death … and his life.

 This film is a spiritual journey that expresses the zeitgeist of the generation in China approaching middle age. They are beginning to come to terms with mortality and the meaning of their lives. In a pivotal scene, one of the protagonist’s childhood friends dies suddenly and all of his friends share his own need for soul searching as they realize that all too soon they will all face the same fate. In this rural village, life is centered around the water. We never see the protagonist’s death, rather the last we see of him, he is diving into the pure water as If it were a sort of communion.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Chongqing announces 4th indie film fest

Organizers of the Chongqing Independent Film and Video Festival  2010, which will be held from November 14-20, 2010 , said that this fourth installment of the annual festival will be bigger, more diverse and pursue higher quality than the previous years. The festival seeks to support cultural exchange and develop the independent film industry in China. The festival is open to all submissions and focuses on promoting film rather than competitions or awards.Submissions should be made in China or related to China or Chinese culture to fit the theme and focus of this festival.

Call for submissions deadline August 15, 2010.



http://www.cifvf.org/zh/index.php

rough translation from the above website.


CIFVF2010 sign film started (deadline: August 15, 2010)
 2010-08-06 19:00:58
CIFVF2010 (11 月 14 日 -20 days) will be held in Chongqing, after the first three festivals of experience, this year CIFVF in overall size, the pursuit of quality and diverse programming, inter-cultural exchanges, and more extensive peripheral activities and so continue the fine tradition of last year, and try to do better. 2010 video collection has been started to work actively welcome all friends to attend.
Application forms and prospectus information please go to the download page to download.
-------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- --------
Contrast Youth: The Fourth Film Exhibition in Chongqing civil works exhibition prospectus
Chongqing Independent Film & Video Festival 2010 4th edition, 2010 Regulations
Contrast City: Chongqing civil Film Exhibition (Chongqing Independent Film & Video Festival, CIFVF) purpose is to promote the private film and digital video media creation and exchange, to encourage Chongqing and China's New video creators, and the expansion of youth groups artistic vision and imagination.
The Film Festival by the Milky Way Film Co Ltd and Chongqing outdoor movie studio (Open-air Theatre Studio), organized 90 minutes movie studio 90 Minutes Film Studio) Co; in November each year, held in Chongqing, China. This festival every effort to provide high quality images for the local audience programs throughout the world to create images of space to express freely; in the audience and between the structures of a liberal, freedom, equality, exchange and communication platform.

Nature
1. The festival is to work for the main purpose of screening the exchange of image arts and cultural activities;
2. This does not establish any official film festival awards.
Qualifications
1. No qualifications, all artists are invited to submit their works;
2. The festival no entry fee.

pre-work. Accepted genres include drama, documentary, animation and experimental films; welcome cross-type creation, declined to TV column and commercial applications programs;
2. Works shall be in January 2009 and thereafter produced;
3. Video show length does not exceed 60 minutes, the length of a long slide show of not less than 60 minutes;
4. Works shall not contain any violation of PRC laws and regulations related to the content;
5. Works of non-Chinese dialogue, accompanied by bilingual subtitles; Chinese Putonghua works, accompanied by English or in Chinese and English subtitles; Chinese works of non-Mandarin dialogue, accompanied by subtitles in English and Chinese;
6. All works completed by CIFVF selection of films pre-selection panel; CIFVF film selection panel constituted by the following persons: to be bright, Ou Ning, the cloud (LI Yun-bo), Zhou Hao, Li Ning and Lei Lei.

Submit
1. Limit each participant to submit entries of up to more than two;
2. Entries must be submitted in each of two identical standard DVD discs (PAL format) for pre-selection;
3. Entries must each also submit the following materials:
• A completed application form
• According to a director, JPG format, size less than 1M;
• two different photo stills and a job, JPG format, within each size of 3M;
• A work summary, 500 words or less, WORD or plain text format;
• A director explained, 500 words or less, WORD or plain text format;
• Director Biography and other works of the situation, WORD or plain text format;
Submit the above materials in kind to the film festival organizers, digital files, please send an email to opentheatre@gmail.com .
4. All participating works, together with a completed application form and relevant explanatory documents to be submitted before the deadline Film Festival Organizing Committee;
5. All works submitted must be clearly marked on the DVD disc title, name of film and director;
6. All work from the field sent to the organizing committee, please use EMS, DHL or other courier services to package the form of submission; delivery costs borne by the participants;
7. DVD disc of all submitted works and related materials will not be refunded.
Deadline
August 15, 2010.
Screening time and place
November 14, 2010 -20 Day. China • Chongqing, Galaxy Pictures Shapingba Chongqing University, and other cinema and screening room.
Selected works
1. Works selected filmography will be held in late September 2010 the official web site; all sign up will receive if selected for the work of individual notice;
2. All candidates will receive a certificate of selected screenings;
3. Selected will be required to provide complete copies of the works and new (video or DVD) for screening purposes; screening copy copy the contents to be consistent with the pre-selection;
4. If selected to provide a screening copy of the DVD, will not be refunded; if selected to provide a screening copy of the video, except with the prior statement, the organizing committee will retain copies of the show; for all the work to retain copies of the Organizing Committee, panellist will ensure that only for data archiving and academic activities;
5. Provide screening of selected videos, the acceptable format for DV, DVCAM, HDV or BETACAM SP, PAL standard;
6. For the prior statement to the return of the pony show video, the organizing committee is responsible for showing video from the day before the festival to play the end of the custody period, if lost or damaged, the Organizing Committee will only compensate for the corresponding number of new formats and blank video;
7. Apply to all field work participants sent to the participants own expense, send the cost of the return video showing borne by the Organizing Committee.

Invite
All selected works director (a) the whole festival will be invited to attend the event, accommodation and food costs during borne by the Organizing Committee; and to provide full, as the case from tolls or subsidies for certain travel expenses.

Participants authorize one. Participants are required to ensure full copyright ownership of the work / or may authorize the public screening of the works;
2. Participants Organizing Committee may be authorized to work pieces (not more than 3 minutes) and the relevant data for television channels, print media, radio and the Internet for non-commercial promotional activities;
3. Organizing Committee have the right of participants to modify their work, but will only be made after participants agreed to amend;
4. Participants are required to fill out the application form to ensure that all personal and other information with the authenticity of the Organizing Committee to consider whether the information is only for selected purposes, and subject to the laws and regulations on the protection of personal privacy terms of constraints;
5. Participant agreement with the Organizing Committee, if the participants in the festivals because under this statute the violation of intellectual property rights of any person, portrait, reputation or contain defamatory, or for any other reason of any breach of the provisions, resulting Zuwei Hui or suffer any third party actions, proceedings, claims, claiming, liabilities and expenses, at any time, participants must take full responsibility, and to ensure not involved with the organizing committee.

The right one. Participants enroll in this festival not only of accepting the Constitution, not the Constitution in the face of limited cases, the committee will be handled through consultations with the participants, as participants do not accept the negotiation of handling, the Organizing Committee the power to make the final decision;
2. The festival organizing committee reserves the right to charter all.
-------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- --------
Contrast City: Chongqing civil Film Exhibition (CIFVF) Organizing Committee Contact: Ms Zang (CIFVF Film Festival co-ordination)
Address: Jiangbei District, Chongqing Jianxin Road 2 North City Arts Building (next to the New Century) 14 F -11 E Postal Code: 400020
Tel: +86 13696406684
E-mail: opentheatre@gmail.com
Official Website: http://www.cifvf.org