Dear Colleague, Just writing to let you know about this terrific thing called indieWIRE. If you want to know what's happening on the indie film scene -- and don't feel like subscribing to VARIETY or THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER -- I strongly recommend that you subscribe. You get incredibly timely and convenient indie film news fresh in your e-mail box every morning (which I think makes it BETTER than VARIETY). In fact, it's SO timely that they just sent out this year's entire Sundance festival line-up (which was announced this morning). They do a substantial amount of queer film coverage with regular festival listings, calls for entries, resources, screenings, etc. (Speaking of which -- you should send them info about anything you're trying to promote -- they reach a ton of industry professionals). Plus, it's free. So, here's a sample issue for you -- with a very nice little promo of PopcornQ, by the way! To subscribe just send your name, title, company/affiliation, country and postal/zipcode to <[log in to unmask]>. All the best, Jenni Olson Producer, PopcornQ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- Subject: indieWIRE 1:350 ++ 12.4.97 Sent: 12/4/97 12:04 AM Received: 12/4/97 9:40 AM From: [log in to unmask] BCC: [log in to unmask] From: [log in to unmask] [EDITORS NOTE: indieWIRE will publish a separate Sundance special issue as a supplement to today's edition. The EXTRA issue includes the complete lineup of the 1998 Sundance Film Festival.] indieWIRE 1.0 Issue 350 December 4, 1997 ===================================================== http://www.indiewire.com (c) 1996-1997 iLINE, Ltd. ______________________________________________ Re-publication and re-distribution of material included in indieWIRE is prohibited in any medium without prior written consent. ______________________________________________ H E A D L I N E S indieWIRE NEWS: (1) + IFFCON GEARS UP FOR e98, ANNOUNCES 60 PROJECTS (2) + UNIVERSAL PICKS _KISSING A FOOL_ FOR EARLY 1998 (3) + BRITS CELEBRATE 40 YEARS OF GUTS AND GLORY ______________________________________________ indieWIRE ON THE SCENE: (4) + MIX, NEW YORK LESBIAN/GAY FILM/VIDEO FESTIVAL ______________________________________________ indieWIRE LISTINGS: (5) + THURSDAY: In Retrospect & Revival ===================================================== SUBSCRIBE to indieWIRE on the Internet at <http://www.indiewire.com> or send email to <[log in to unmask]> (MUST include name, title, company/affiliation, country and postal/zipcode). To unsubscribe, send an email message to <[log in to unmask]> with <unsubscribe indiewire> in the subject line. ===================================================== indieWIRE NEWS: (1) + IFFCON GEARS UP FOR e98, ANNOUNCES 60 PROJECTS by Mark Rabinowitz/indieWIRE IFFCON (The Independent Film Financing Conference) has announced its lineup for the 1998 edition, taking place from January 9-11 in San Francisco. Now in its fifth year, IFFCON is a three day conference that brings together filmmakers, buyers, financiers and sales agents to help projects from North American producers become films. The conferenceis first day is open to the general public, but the Saturday and Sunday sessions are open to invited conference participants, only. Domestic companies set to attend this yearis conference include: Miramax, New Line Cinema, October Films, Next Wave Films, Good Machine, ITVS and First Look Pictures/Overseas Filmgroup. Foreign attendees will include: Jacquie Lawrence from Britainis Channel Four; Claus Josten-ARTE; Andreas Lindenberg from Austriais Vienna Film Financing Fund; and Carol Scotta & Caroline Benjo, producers of MA VIE EN ROSE from France. 60 projects have been accepted for the 1998 event, they are: Chris Angel -- MR. OCTOBER; Ralph Arlych -- SEAN NOW AND THEN; Jeffrey Brown -- ZOE; Margaret Cho -- CHERRY; Catherine Crouch -- BUTCH BABES ON BIKINI BEACH; Andre Degas -- THE KITCHEN; Tina Defeliciantonio -- SILENT VOICES; Joshua Gibson -- TWO RIVERS; Jordana Glick - Franzheim -- THE FISH BURGLARS; Noam Gonick -- GRAND THEFT CANOE; Robert Goodman -- GIFTS IN THE MAIL; Lisa Gossels -- THE CHILDREN OF CHABANNES; Sam Green -- REVOLUTION! THE STORY OF THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND; Michelle Handelman -- SUGAR BABY; Buzz Hays -- NOT FADE AWAY; Hugo Heppell -- DOWN TO YOU; Robert Hillmann -- DO IT LIKE YOU KNOW IT; Chris Hoover -- AFRAID OF EVERYTHING; Ken Jacobson -- THE BATTLE OF THE SEXES: BILLIE JEAN KING VS. BOBBY RIGGS; Chuck Jessen -- THE VOW; Larry Kamerman -- THE STINGERS; Susan Kaplan -- FROM LITTLE ACORNS...MIGHTILY OAK TREES GROW; Joel Katz -- JOHNNY AND CLYDE; Josh Kornbluth -- HAIKU TUNNEL; Norman Kurtin -- "HEIMZAHLEN" (GETTING EVEN); David Lancaster -- LOVING JEZEBEL; Quentin Lee -- IN A WAVELESS CITY; Mark Leonard -- WARRIOR IN TWO WORLDS; Andrew Louca -- ANGELS ON THE ROOF; G Mac Brown -- COMMITTED; Deborah Magocsi -- RIGGS LOCKS; Sharon Mcgowan -- KLEE WYCK; David Mcilwraith -- WILL SERGEANT; Richard Natale -- EISENHOWER'S CAFE; Ary Park -- SECRET HOLIDAY; David Paul -- CEMENT; Byron Pickett -- THE BUDDHA FROM BROOKLYN; Gerald Rafshoon -- A DOLL'S HOUSE; Shari Robertson -- ASYLUM; Edward Rosenstein -- THE RESURRECTION; Phillip Roth Jonathan Goldstein -- TEEN MASOCHIST; Alicia Sams -- SUNBURN; Lina Shanklin -- THE DIVIDED HEART; Lara Shapiro -- UNTITLED; Leslie Smith -- IN HER SISTER'S LINCOLN; Geeta Sondhi -- MONARCHIES IN DISARRAY AT THE END OF THE MILLENNIUM; Peter Stein -- THE HAIGHT-ASHBURY; Anna Stratton -- REPUBLIC OF LOVE; Anne Sundberg -- IN MY CORNER; Francesca Talenti -- SNAKE TAILS; Cassius Titus -- ESTA ES MI VIDA (THIS IS MY LIFE); Sarah Vogel -- DELPHINE; Gary Weimberg -- THE DOUBLE LIFE OF ERNESTO GOMEZ-GOMEZ; Roger Weisberg -- LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI; Hilary Weisman -- NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST; Yvonne Welbon -- SISTERS IN CINEMA; David Wells -- SCRABYLON; Michael Williams -- LADIES OF LLANGOLLEN; Harrison Witt -- BAR BELLES: DIARY OF A HIGH SCHOOL POWERLIFTER; and David Zeiger -- THE BAND. [For more information on IFFCON, visit their website at: <http://www.iffcon.com>] ______________________________________________ (2) + UNIVERSAL PICKS _KISSING A FOOL_ FOR EARLY 1998 by indieWIRE Director and screenwriter, Doug Ellin, sold the US and Canadian rights for KISSING A FOOL to Universal Pictures. Produced by Tag Mendillo, Andrew Form and Rick Lashbrook, FOOL is about a iyoung man engaged to be married, who becomes insecure about commitment and enlists his best friend in a test to see if his fiancee will cheat on him.i While the film stars David Schwimmer, one of televisionis FRIENDS, the cast also includes Jason Lee, (CHASING AMY, MALLRATS) and Mili Avital (Jim Jarmuschis DEAD MAN). Universal is planning an early 1998 release for FOOL. Largo Entertainment is distributing internationally. ______________________________________________ (3) + BRITS CELEBRATE 40 YEARS OF GUTS AND GLORY Hammer Film Studios, the legendary horror workshop, is celebrating 40 years of celluloid gore with an exhibition at Londonis Museum of the Moving Image. According to Reuters, the British studio was responsible for such cult classics as THE VAMPIRE LOVERS, SLAVE GIRLS and THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN. Hammer was famous for its sensational violence and nudity. They created topless versions of many films for European audiences and extra violent scenes for Asian audiences. American audiences saw the more modest versions. Over 100 films will unspool during the exhibition. Hammer films are favorites of Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino and Steven Spielberg. Scorsese once said, iIf we saw the logo of Hammer films we knew it would be a very special picture.i ===================================================== Are you or someone you know making news? Do you have a press release to share? Got an anonymous tip or a lead we should pursue? Send email to: <[log in to unmask]> ===================================================== indieWIRE ON THE SCENE: (4) + MIX, NEW YORK LESBIAN/GAY FILM/VIDEO FESTIVAL by Ed Halter Following the success of the New Queer Cinema in the early 90s, gay and lesbian film festivals have achieved more community awareness, bigger sponsors and greater industry attention. As a result, they have also become increasingly mainstream, abandoning much of the more experimental material these same events were built on in their early days. MIX, New York's Experimental Film & Video Festival, was founded over a decade ago as an alternative to mainstream gay fests. Now entering its second decade, MIX continues to promote queer works that confront conventional cinema and break new ground. Don't show up if you're looking for the next distributor-friendly gay love story featuring a shirtless bohunk on the posters and a soundtrack by ABBA. First-year festival director Rajendra Roy states emphatically that Mix exists to showcase "film for art's sake." Though less overtly political than previous editions, the 11th outing was no less challenging, presenting 10-day showcase of guerrilla documents, scratches on celluloid and video feedback, and tapping into the outsider heritage of filmmakers like Jack Smith, Kenneth Anger and Barbara Hammer. The opening night program featured a selection of shorts ranging from Sundance alumni to camcorder epics. The gem of the program was Greg Sax's newest film, 28, a meticulously paced and gorgeously hued meditation on time and desire. Jason Romily's unsettling ALONE marries neorealist acting with a candy-colored visual style to relate three interlocking stories of loneliness and despair. Hypnotically rhythmic and surprisingly formalist, Stephen Grandell's video SLAP DRAG ONS presents a poker-faced drag queen throwing attitude into her own hand-held camera -- sort of like a TO WONG FOO as directed by Michael Snow. Meena Naji's IT IS A CRIME serves up a dizzying montage of Subcontinental images taken from Western films with pulsating textual commentary. Two of the most untraditional programs were also the most popular. A youthful blue-hair-and-chain-choker contingent turned out in droves for QUEER(S)PUNK, curated by Steven Kent Jusick, which explored the contemporary collusion of punk and queer aesthetics. G.B. Jones' glorious catfight THE YO YO GANG screened in its long-awaited final form. Shot in saturated super-8 with overdubbed audio, the first half is a masterpiece of trash, chronicling the battles between two rival punk girl gangs. TASTE THE SWEAT, from twin skinhead brothers Dominik and Ben Redding, envisions a carefully rendered daydream of tattoo parlors and punk-on-punk love. It's a beautifully accomplished film that should garner further gay festival attention, despite its fringey subject matter. David Wilson's KANSAS ANYMORE tells a surprisingly sensitive coming-out story with an anti-WalMart stance, set in the world of midwestern slackers. Although marred by poor audio, Wilson's first film shows the beginnings of a do-it-yourself John Hughes for the eyebrow ring generation. Curator Anie Stanely's SCARED STIFF presented queer works with horror themes, many of which also indulged in a punky aesthetic. Highlights included INTERVIEW WITH A ZOMBIE (featuring a spasmodically undead Bruce La Bruce), Doug Buck's notorious family gorefest CUTTING MOMENTS, and THE ABBOTESS & THE FLYING NUN, a strangely alluring, Cocteau-inspired nightmare. SCARED STIFF also featured a horror-themed art exhibit with edgy works from Michelle Handelman & Monte Cazazza, Richard Kern, Teri Rice, Kelly Webb and other underground notables. Although a decidedly youthful, renegade spirit informed this year's MIX as a whole (including a zine-y program design and closing night performances by queer punk bands Tribe 8 and Pansy Division), the festival showcased new work from established experimentalists as well. New films and videos were presented from international festival mainstays Matthias Muller (PENSAO GLOBO), Louis Khlar (PONY GLASS), M.M. Serra (JUST FOR YOU GIRLS) and Cecilia Dougherty (THE DREAM AND THE WAKING). The indefatigable and always-evolving Barbara Hammer, a pioneer lesbian experimental media artist, scanned artwork brought to the fest for her Lesbian Community Cyberspace project. Mix also premiered Warren Sonbert's final film, WHIPLASH, a lyrical home-movie shot in the early 90s but with an early 60s New Cinema flair. Two archival programs presented rarely-screened films from queer New York underground filmmakers of past decades. Early Warhol drag superstar Mario Montez starred in Jose Rodriguez-Soltero's LUPE (1966), an improvised retelling of the rise and fall of tragic Hollywood starlet Lupe Velez -- complete with a thankfully restrained suicide scene. Swathed in tacky glamour, crayola-rich color and dreamy superimpositions, LUPE recalls the early films of George Kuchar and well deserves a place in future retrospectives of the early New York scene. A newly restored 1975 work by FLAMING CREATURES maker Jack Smith also screened, with the fabulous title I WAS A MALE YVONNE DECARLO FOR THE LUCKY LANDLORD UNDERGROUND. A curiously ritualistic Hollywood fantasy, the film was used by Smith as part of a performance piece of the same name. For the performance, Smith reportedly screened the film while engaging in a maniacally improvised argument with the projectionist. But by far one of the most accomplished and impressive films was Laurence Brose's DE PROFUNDIS. 65 minutes of over-processed, abstracted images of men washed in opalescent fashion colors, set to a rhythmic, looping score of overlapping voices and text from Oscar Wilde, DE PROFUNDIS is a rigorously structured investigation of queer identity at the end of the millenium. Brose took over four years to complete the work, hand-processing the footage in a variety of materials including his own urine. Although Mix screened to sell-out crowds at Cinema Village for shows like QUEER(S)PUNK and SCARED STIFF, many of the best programs like DE PROFUNDIS were less well attended. Mix does have a somewhat unfair reputation for showing films of "mixed" quality, and perhaps it could improve by being less inclusive at times. Overall, however, few festivals can match Mix for pure do-it-yourself attitude and an unwavering devotion to its mission to promote and screen unconventional, decidedly uncommercial lesbian and gay work. [Ed Halter is director of the New York Underground Film Festival <http://www.nyuff.com>] ===================================================== FRESHLY POPPED! CHECK OUT ALL THE NEW FEATURES ON POPCORNQ 2.0! PopcornQ: The Ultimate Online Home for the Queer Moving Image is available now at http://www.popcornq.com or at AOL Keyword: PopcornQ. PopcornQ is proud to present the first global online lesbian and gay movie channel, the PQ Online Cinema. You've got a queer film festival in your living room with our lesbian and gay shorts, classic queer trailers, audio clips, and archival movie shorts. Sit back, relax, and enjoy some fresh PopcornQ. Current PQ Online Cinema exclusives include: THE COST OF LOVE (Richard Kwietniowski) SOMETIMES MY FEET GO NUMB (Lourdes Portillo) HIV: UNINFECTED DOES NOT EQUAL UNAFFECTED (David Weissman) INSTANT PUSSY (Alix Umen) LATEX -- STEP OUT SMARTLY (Charline Boudreau) TICK TOCK BIO CLOCK (Julie X. Black and Lexi Leban) That's www.popcornq.com! Go there now! ===================================================== indieWIRE LISTINGS: Edited by Maya Churi Monday - DEADLINES! Call for Entries / Grants Tuesday - Festivals, Forums & DIY Wednesday - Tee Vee & Multiple Media ---> Thursday - In Retrospect & Revival Friday - Premieres ---NEW YORK--- JACK SMITH RETROSPECTIVE - Jack Smith (1932-1989), legendary Lower East Side filmmaker and performer was the edgiest of creative personalities and the antithesis of the Hollywood glamour that ambivalently obsessed him. His incendiary Flaming Creatures--banned in New York for its orgiastic nudity and transvestism-was the most liberating underground film of the 1960s as well as the most influential. Key works from the heroic age of the New American Cinema, Jack Smith's films have been preserved by Jerry Tartaglia on behalf of the Plaster Foundation, Inc. The first Jack Smith film retrospective, with numerous premieres of restored films, a selection of Smith's film-performances, and a few of his favorite movies, will be presented at the American Museum of the Moving Image on weekends from November 29 through December 14. For information: call 718-784-0077, or email [log in to unmask] DANGER ADDICTS: THE CINEMA OF LARRY FESSENDEN. presented by THE NEW YORK UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL. A first-ever retrospective of underground filmmaker Larry Fessenden, director of the critically acclaimed HABIT (1997). FessendenIs gritty, Lower East Side filmmaking documents individuals pushed to the limits by their own addictions for pleasure and pain. Program includes HOLLOW VENUSE: DIARY OF A GO GO DANCER (1986) and STUNT, a musical documentary on David Leslie, Ithe Evel Knievel of performance artO (1989). Saturday, Dec. 6 at 7:00 pm. At the Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard St., NYC. For more info check out the website @ <http://www.knittingfactory.com> ---LOS ANGELES--- LACMA BING THEATER - 213.857.6010 - Presents "Polonsky and Garfield." Friday @ 7:30pm BODY & SOUL (1947), Dir. Robert Rossen and written by Abraham Polonsky w/ John Garfield. (special guest Abraham Polonsky) then stay for FORCE OF EVIL (1948), Dir. Abraham Polonsky. Then on Saturday @ 5:30pm don't miss "Classics of the American Left"- POINT OF ORDER (1964), Dir. Emile Antonio and then @ 7:30pm SALT OF THE EARTH (1953), Dir. Herbert J. Biberman and NATIVE LAND (1942), Dir.Leo Hurwitz and Paul Strand. ---HOUSTON--- MUSEUM FINE ARTS - 713.639.7531 - Presents REPULSION, Dir. Roman Polanski. Catherine Deneuve stars as a manicurist in Paris who goes mad when left alone in her sisters apartment. It's amazing on the big screen. Friday @ 7:30pm; Sat @ noon and Sun @ 7PM. [Please submit listings via email <[log in to unmask]> or to the office address below. The weekly DEADLINE is FRIDAY.] ===================================================== DISCLAIMER: Editorial information provided in indieWIRE does not indicate an endorsement of a person, company, organization, or event. ===================================================== indieWIRE 110 W. 57th St. New York, NY 10019 Phone 212/581-7642 Fax 212/581-1857 indieWIRE is published by iLINE, Ltd. Email: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Editor in Chief: Eugene Hernandez; Associate Editor: Mike Jones; Managing Director: Mark Rabinowitz; Features Editor: Anthony Kaufman; Listings Editor: Maya Churi; Contributing Editors: Aaron Krach (New York), Tom Cunha (Los Angeles); Senior Writer: Mary Sampson; Writers: Kate Hutchison, Maud Kersnowski, Jessica Dugan Shulsinger; Publishing Advisors: Brian Clark and Karol Martesko ----------------------- Headers -------------------------------- Return-Path: <[log in to unmask]> Received: from relay26.mail.aol.com (relay26.mail.aol.com [172.31.109.26]) by air15.mail.aol.com (v36.0) with SMTP; Thu, 04 Dec 1997 03:04:23 -0500 Received: from filmmag.com (filmmag.com [192.41.14.177]) by relay26.mail.aol.com (8.8.5/8.8.5/AOL-4.0.0) with ESMTP id UAA02588; Wed, 3 Dec 1997 20:35:17 -0500 (EST) From: [log in to unmask] Received: by filmmag.com; Wed, 3 Dec 1997 18:35:10 -0700 (MST) Date: Wed, 3 Dec 1997 18:35:10 -0700 (MST) Message-Id: <[log in to unmask]> Subject: indieWIRE 1:350 ++ 12.4.97 Jenni Olson Producer, PopcornQ PopcornQ: The Ultimate Online Home for the Queer Moving Image is available now at http://www.popcornq.com or at AOL Keyword: PopcornQ. DO YOUR HOLIDAY SHOPPING TODAY IN THE NEWLY REMODELED PQ VIDEO SHOP! PlanetOut - 965 Mission St. #730 - San Francisco CA 94103 VOX 415/547-2800 x309 * FAX 415/547-2801 http://www.planetout.com ---- Screen-L is sponsored by the Telecommunication & Film Dept., the University of Alabama.