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In the News

Documentary Educational Resources (DER) has received a second grant from the federally funded National Film Preservation Foundation (NFPF). “The Ax Fight,” shot in 1968 in a remote Yanomami village in the rainforest of Venezuela will be one of the films preserved by this grant. Currently, John Marshall’s first ethnographic film classic, “The Hunters,” filmed in the Kalahari Desert in the 1950’s, is being restored with funds awarded to DER from the previous NFPF grant cycle. For more information on DER, please visit http://www.der.org. For a complete list of the awards, visit the NFPF site at http://www.filmpreservation.org. 

The third annual Women in Film and Video New England (WIFV/NE) Spring Fundraising Gala will take place Thursday, May 24th, at 7 p.m. at the Fairmont Copley Hotel. For the past two years, WIFV/NE’s Fundraising Gala has honored members of the local industry with their “Image Awards.” This year, in celebration of WIFVNE’s 20th Anniversary and their community outreach, the gala event will include a short program and screening of the G.I.R.L.S. (Growing Individuals Reacting to Life’s Struggles) video. The G.I.R.L.S. Project is WIFV/NE’s second video as part of its Community Outreach Video Project. This is a non-profit teen led organization dedicated to teaching leadership skills to girls, and helping engender social change in their communities. For more information please visit http://www.womeninfilmvideo.org. 

Film Festivals

The Boston Gay and Lesbian Film and Video Festival will be held May 2-20, 2001 at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Some of the films include “Southern Comfort,” “Julie Johnson,” “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” “Desis’ Looking for a New Girl,” “Nico and Dani,” and “Boy Named Sue XXXY.” For more information visit http://mfa.org or call 617-369-3770. Read a profile on the festival in this month’s issue of NewEnglandFilm.com.

The Harvard Short Film Festival will take place May 6th, beginning at 6 p.m., at the Carpenter Center, 24 Quincy St, Cambridge, MA. The festival will feature short (45 min or less) works in all genres by undergraduate filmmakers. Admission is free and open to the public. For further details visit http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hea/filmfest/ or contact Anthony Gabriele at 617-493-1713 or gabriele@fas.harvard.edu.

Following up the success of a year ago, the Last Festival On Earth will again feature local filmmakers’ work with a focus on digitally produced films. The filmmakers and actors will be on hand during the festival, for discussion of the filmmaking process.  This year’s lineup includes "The Race" by William Fitzgerald, "Set ‘Em Up Joe" by Scot Broderick and Vincent Hemmeter, a compilation from Peter Bohush’s WriterDirector.com online festival and two short films from Zone 5 Pictures of Shrewsbury, "Clarence-Homo Sapien" and "Sexual Predator."  The festival takes place at The Bijou Cinema. (Located in the Worcester Center Mall) on Saturday, May 5 at 5- 9 p.m. For more information,  contact: Bill Nay 508-841-8650.

Local Productions

“The Strangler’s Wife,” a new 35mm low-budget suspense thriller by movie producer Roger Corman and Cityscape Motion Picture Education, now has its cast and crew in place. The story is about a woman who comes to suspect that the man she loves is a serial strangler, and bears echoes of a previous strangler in Boston’s history. “The Strangler’s Wife” will shoot in Roxbury and Jamaica Plain.

The launch of Cobweb Films, a new Rhode Island Production Company will take place on May 1, 2001 at the Marriott Hotel in Providence, Rhode Island. Spearheaded by Tony Lockwood, Cobweb Productions has responded to legislation passed last year that provides tax credits on investments made on locally produced films. Cobweb Films will announce its plans to make five, $2 million feature movies in the Ocean State. More information and specifics on the productions will be released at the May 1st event. Flickers Arts Collaborative and the Rhode Island International Film Festival have helped facilitate crew, talent and production needs for Cobweb Films.