Film at Eleven

Tokyo FILMeX 2008 will take place in Tokyo, Japan from November 22nd (Sat) to 30th (Sun), 2008 and they have issued their call for entries.

The deadline for submissions is 31st July and the regulations and entry form are available as a PDF here.

Libby, Montana which was broadcast nationally in 2007 on the PBS Series, POV/The American Documentary, has received a News & Documentary Emmy nomination in the category, “Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story - Long Form.” The nominees were announced on July 15 by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS). Four other television documentaries (including two more from POV) are nominated in the category. The News and Documentary Emmy Awards will be presented on Monday, Sept. 22 at a ceremony in Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, in New York’s Time Warner Center.

P.O.V., public television’s premier showcase for independent point-of-view films, received six total nominations in the 29th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards. “P.O.V. celebrated its 20th season on PBS last year with a diverse slate of films by established and emerging filmmakers,” said Simon Kilmurry, P.O.V.’s Executive Director. “From the struggles of refugees, immigrants and working Americans to stories of personal transformations, the nominated films introduce us to people whose lives, we hope, will enrich our own.”

From the high-desert fortress of Santa Fe-based Tidepoint Pictures, distributor of Sion Sono’s Nokrko’s Dinner Table, and Takashi Miike’s Dead or Alive, comes a brand-new label of the unusual, the bizarre, and the fantastic: Bone House Asia!

Bone House Asia’s first serving is the surreal nightmare of Higuchinsky’s Long Dream (Nagai Yume), from the director of Uzumaki (Spiral), and Junji Ito, the popular Japanese manga writer responsible for the Tomie series and the remarkably twisted Gyo. Junji Ito’s impact is felt industry-wide. Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy), skillful conjurer of dark fantasy and cinematic magic elates, “Master Junji Ito’s images and ideas are enthralling and powerful in a way that only great art is. His unique view of the world infects our mind and devours our conscience. The darkness in him will blind you.”

Bone House Asia’s DVD release for Long Dream, released June 24, includes interviews with director Higuchinsky, manga creator Junji Ito, the film’s star, trailers, and English and Spanish subtitles.

Tidepoint Pictures has been instrumental in releasing the tops in Asian genre films with classic cult releases including Higuchinsky’s uzumaki, and Katsuhito Ishii’s Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl. Tidepoint was also spirited enough to introduce Hideo Nakata to the US with their release of Chaos, years before his Ringu hit American shores. Add Sion Sono’s Noriko’s Dinner Table to the mix (from the director of Suicide Club and Hair Extensions) and you’ve got a library of cult classics with just the first handful of releases.

Says Tetsuki Ijichi, President and CEO of Tidepoint Pictures, “There is much more to Asian cult cinema than what typically gets shown in the U.S. With Bone House Asia, we want to open up American audiences to the fresh voices of talented Asian filmmakers who will challenge your mind and disturb your sleep.”

Bone House Asia also concentrates on theatrical releases so you can share bizarre fantasies with strangers in the dark… This summer be sure to check online or in your inbox for news on Bone House Asia’s latest theatrical release, Go Shibata’s Late Bloomer (Osoi Hito), enjoying a New York run at the Pioneer Theater from July 25 to July 31. Late Bloomer turns the serial killer genre upside-down as the benign-looking Sumida-san, confined to a wheelchair but loving to ‘rock out,’ is an obsessive psychopath who erupts into lethal violence.

Giuliani be dammed! Wild Eye Releasing blushingly and boldy presents the Return of XXX to New York City theaters with the 42nd Street Smut Show on Saturday, July 19th in New York City at the Two Boots Pioneer Theater. The sin begins at 10pm for this triple-X, triple feature with The Perverted Preview Picture Show - a screening of over twenty vintage dirty movie trailers, all from the heyday of hardcore, when sleaze-seekers had to venture out of their homes and into the asphalt jungle for their fill of follicled fornicators on the big screens of the city.

The evenings events will be highlighted with some very special surprise guests from the 70s 42nd scene on hand to answer questions and color the perverted picture of days gone by. Plus free gifts like DVDS and T-shirts!

Following the trailer show is a quick trip down Mammoth-ry lane with the unspooling of the best tool in the business – John Holmes – in a batch of rare and bare Super-8 loops, direct from the long-gone peep booths of NYC, and right into your laps.

And to top off this spectacle of skin is Vicious Virgin the 1970s breezy feature that purports to star a very well-known Hollywood actress at the time – one better known for spitting out pea soup, not swapping spit, on screen. Bring your own holy water and chained heat.

So, if you’re feeling a bit randy in your panties – grab your raincoat and join Wild Eye in paying homage to the decadent days of The Deuce – just be very careful when digging into your popcorn box.

Tickets are available online from Tix.com.

The new animated short film by writer/producer Alex Ferrari and artist extraordinaire Dan Cregan will be screening at the San Diego Comic Con Film Festival. Red Princess Blues Animated: The Book of Violence (review, trailer) is an animated short film prequel to writer/director Alex Ferrari’s upcoming live action feature film Red Princess Blues starring the lovely Paula Garces (Knight Rider, The Shield, Harold & Kumar). Artist and Creative Director of the Visual Effects House Numb Robot, Dan Cregan makes his directorial debut. RPB Animated is a chance to explore the world of “Princess,” the main character of Red Princess Blues. The film is done completely hand drawn with a few shoots using 3-D and pays homage to the great Japanese Anime films of the past.

Attending the screening and panel discussion are Paula Garces, Knight Rider, The Shield, Harold & Kumar; Alex Ferrari, creator/producer; Dan Cragan, director/producer. The film will screen on Friday, July 25, 2008 between 12:55pm - 1:20 pm in ROOM 26AB. The film will be followed by a panel discussion and then an autograph session with the star Paula Garces. She’ll be signing Comic Con limited edition Red Princess Blues posters.