NewEnglandFilm.com

What’s Happening

Kingdom County Productions begins the 100 town tour of Jay Craven’s film Disappearances, the third in a  trilogy of Vermont "frontier films". Based on the award-winning novel by Howard Frank Mosher, Disappearances is a spellbinding tale of high-stakes whiskey-smuggling, a family’s mysterious past, and a young boy’s rite of passage. For complete schedule, visit www.kingdomcounty.com.

The Maine International Film Festival (July 14-23) announced its festival line-up which includes 80 of the best American independent, international, and Maine-made films. The festival also hosts a special Claymation Workshop for children on July 15.  For more information, visit http://www.miff.org/.

Woods Hole Film Festival has announced it’s 2006 schedule for its 15th annual festival which include several local films including Live Free or Die, The Hole Story, and Buddy. The festival takes place July 29-August 5 on Cape Cod.  For more information, visit http://www.woodsholefilmfestival.org/.

The Plymouth Independent Film Festival on July 20-23 presents its program, A Sense of Being There: With Richard Leacock and Collaborators, along with this year’s competition films, workshops, special screenings and events. They have also added Made in Mass, a collection of shorts from Massachusetts, co-programmed by Gallery East in Boston, Massachusetts.  For more information, visit http://www.plyfilmfest.org/

The 8th Annual Roxbury Film Festival: Featuring Films Celebrating People of Color takes place July 26-30, 2006.  Nearly 70 films will be screened at RFF 2006 at more venues than ever before and featuring subjects from the United States, Brazil, Haiti, Trinidad, Cape Verde, Puerto Rico, India and more. Many of the filmmakers will be in attendance to engage in Q & A with the audience after their films are screened. For more information, visit http://roxburyfilmfestival.org/

The Maine Social Forum will host a new Film Festival July 27-29at the Public Library in Lewiston. The organizers are interested in showing works that address important issues in keeping with the theme of the Social Forum "Another Maine is Possible."  Festival organizers also hope to have filmmakers present (thought not necessarily a requirement) to engage discussion and debate. The call for film submissions ends May 30th. For more information, visit: www.mainesocialforum.org/filmfestival.htm

The MFA and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy present the 11th Boston French Film Festival on July 6-23. This year’s festival comprises 25 area premieres featuring some of France’s most beloved actresses whose works spans more than four decades.  Special guests include director Patrice Chéreau, who will be present on Opening Night for the screening of Gabrielle, set in a stunningly recreated turn-of-the-century France (followed by reception).  For more information, visit www.mfa.org/film.

What’s Happened

Connecticut-based independent film makers Michael Maglaras and Terri Templeton of 217 Films returned to Maine to shoot their second Maine-made movie: Visible Silence: The Life of Marsden Hartley, Poet and Painter, a documentary about the life of Lewiston-born Marsden Hartley. The documentary will include more than 45 of Hartley’s paintings and drawings — from his earliest work as a child to the last painting found on his easel in Corea, Maine the day he died in 1943.  For more information about the film, visit http://www.two17films.com/.  

This past month brought Underdog to Providence, RI — the Walt Disney Pictures/Spyglass Entertainment live-action family film.  According to an interview with Executive Producer Todd Arnow, they have an 80-day schedule, 60 of which are location days.  The film which stars Jason Lee, Peter Dinklage, and Amy Adams tells the story of a dog who gains superpowers — a secret he eventually shares with the young boy who becomes his owner and friend.

What Will  Happen

The 1st Annual Ruff Cutz Indie Film Conference will take place in Boston on August 27. The conference will showcase independent films & videos, presentations in a seminar/forum setting, and networking events. Here filmmakers can also share a "rough cut" presentation of their film projects without interfering with festival world or US premier. The day will feature key presenters such as award winning indie filmmaker Rick Schmidt, Enigma Factory’s Alex Ferrari and Jorge Rodriguez; and films such as Eric Latek’s ground breaking cinematic documentary Sweet Dreams. This event will also benefit the worthy charitable organizations such as New Beginnings youth awareness programs. For more information, visit   http://www.imageiconent.com/Ruff_Cutz.html

The 6th Annual New Hampshire Film Expo (NHFX) is gearing up for October 13-15 when it will host films, workshops and media events. Last year’s NHFX screened 54 films in three days. The expo has already received more than 70 film submissions from New Hampshire filmmakers, filmmakers from across the United States, and abroad including Switzerland, Australia, and Canada. The early submission deadline is June 30, 2006 and July 31, 2006 for final submission.

The Vermont Film Commission in cooperation with Vermont Public Television and the Vermont Filmmakers Forum announce a new season of Reel Independents, a series of Vermont films to be broadcast on VPT.  The series begins weekly on July 7.

For the third year in a row, WGBH will host filmmakers and innovators from related industries to work on their independently funded projects during a nine-month residency at WGBH. Selected participants will receive a stipend, working space, administrative support, editing equipment, editorial guidance, and access to WGBH staff to advance their projects from September 2006 to May 2007. Entrance is open to all filmmakers and media makers from related industries, but priority is given to applicants from the New England area. The deadline for entries is July 7, 2006. For complete details, please visit wgbh.org/producingfortv

As listed last month, the 48 Hour Film Project will come to Providence, RI for the first time the weekend of July 14, 2006.  For more information on participating and screening times, visit
http://www.48hourfilm.com /providence.