Academy Award Winner Brendan Fraser will be the honoree of the Inspiration Award at this year’s inaugural Greenwich International Film Festival (GIFF) held on Wednesday, May 3.
The Inspiration Talk & Award Ceremony will benefit the non-profit organization Abilis, an entity committed to providing services and support for individuals with special needs and their families throughout the duration of their lives.
The GIFF Inspiration Award is allotted to an artist whose philanthropic work inspires others. Fraser will be honored with the award at The Village, 4 Star Point, in Stamford, C.T. on Wednesday, May 3.
“We are thrilled that our first-ever GIFF Inspiration Award will go to Academy Award winner Brenden Fraser, who inspired the whole world with his achingly authentic performance of Charlie in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale. GIFF is honored to celebrate him and to support Abilis on May 3rd,” said Wendy Stapleton, chairwoman of the GIFF.
Fraser’s lead role in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale” has been attributed to his widespread acclaim as an actor. Applauded for his multifaceted yet motivating acting style, Fraser’s performance in “The Whale” landed him several award nominations, including his first Academy Award win and nomination for best lead actor.
Machine Gun Kelly’s “Mainstream Sellout Tour” Concert to Come to Cinema for One Night Only
Machine Gun Kelly will transform his 2022 “Mainstream Sellout Tour” concert in his hometown of Cleveland, O.H. to a worldwide theatrical experience via Trafalgar Releasing on Saturday, May 13.
Directed by Sam Cahill (Hulu’s “Life in Pink,”) “Machine Gun Kelly: Mainstream Sellout Live from Cleveland: The Pink Era” is an exclusive one-night-only cinema event for fans to catch a behind-the-scenes peak at Machine Gun Kelly’s tour. Tickets are on sale at MainstreamSelloutMovie.
The film will showcase fan favorite hits from the night set list, including “Bloody Valentine,” “lonely,” “el diablo,” “my ex’s best friend,” “Till I Die,” “I Think I’m OKAY,” among others.
“Machine Gun Kelly’s remarkable journey from Cleveland to meteoric superstardom and back to where it all began gives us an unfiltered look at the emotion and rawness of coming home,” said Kymberli Frueh, SVP of programming and content acquisitions for Trafalgar Releasing. We are so lucky that this moment was captured so it can be shared with fans across the globe.”
In 2022, Machine Gun Kelly went on an extravagant 52-night tour across North America and Europe. The standout show of the trip, his returning hometown performance at FirstEnergy Stadium, attracted a crowd of 50,000. The sellout concert makes Machine Gun Kelly the first and only Ohio native to sell out the largest venue in the city.
“Machine Gun Kelly: Mainstream Sellout Live from Cleveland: The Pink Era” is the first full-length feature distributed by Floor 13.
Check out the official trailer below.
Jellyfish Pictures Launches in Mumbai and Appoints Jasjit Singh as General Manager for India
VFX and animation studio Jellyfish Pictures announced it will expand to the Indian market and has appointed former ReDefine producer Jasjit Singh as its new general manager for India.
As an industry-leading cloud-based technology the company has been rapidly expanding its global scale to meet client demand. Jellyfish Pictures has hired over 220 new artists since the beginning of 2023, all in an effort to develop new and high-profile projects across its award-winning VFX and animation divisions.
CEO of Jellyfish Pictures, David Patton said “We will soon have over 500 creatives working for Jellyfish Pictures around the world. Given that India is home to so many fantastic VFX and Animation artists, it makes perfect sense for us to set up a base in Mumbai to ensure we are able to work closely with the very best of this incredible talent. We anticipate that we’ll have over 100 Jellyfish Pictures artists working in Mumbai by the end of the year, supported by our next generation production platforms.”
DNEG and Prime Focus Technologies (PFT) Enter a Memorandum of Understanding To Acquire the Software and Artificial Intelligence Company
Animation and visual effects studio DNEG entered a memorandum of understanding to acquire the software-as-a-service business Prime Focus Technologies (PFT). As a leader in cloud-based software and AI technology, PFT will advance DNEG’s status as an end-to-end solutions provider.
The new partnership will expand DNEG into media tech and distribution services. In addition, DNEG will add the media workflow and automation software suite of CLEAR and CLEAR AI. The two will assist DNEG, studios, broadcasters, brands and service providers with transformational solutions to help manage content, video collaboration, production and distribution.
“DNEG is the entertainment industry’s go-to premium turnkey solutions provider thanks to organic market share expansion and key, strategic acquisitions, including today’s MOU with PFT,” said Namit Malhotra, DNEG chairman and CEO. “In concert with DNEG’s deals for several lines of production and post-production services from Prime Focus Limited earlier this year, and our latest studio opening in Sydney, DNEG is truly a global, 24/7 force in the business.”
The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) Announces 2023 Programming Schedule
The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) has announced its in-person programming for CAAMFest 2023 which will take place from May 11 to 21. This year’s festival will kick off with Lionsgates’s anticipated comedy “Joy Ride,” directed by Adele Lim. Opening night will be held at The Castro Theater in San Francisco on May 11 with a commemoration during the opening night gala.
“These last few years have deeply altered us and we are only starting to journey towards each other again,” says festival and exhibitions director Thúy Trần. “CAAMFest 2023 is a call to gather so that we may witness each other’s transformations, restore our bonds, and bask in our joys.”
“Joy Ride” is a comedic story of identity and self-discovery that follows a group of friends that head out on an international adventure. After Audrey’s business trip takes a left turn, she calls for the help of her childhood best friend, Lolo; her college best friend that happens to be a Chinese soap star, Kat; and Lolo’s unique cousin, Deadeye. Their journey highlights how “bonding, friendship, belonging, and wild debauchery [ultimately] reveal the universal truth of what it means to know and love who you are.”
The film stars Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu and Sabrina Wu. Ronny Chieng, Lori Tan Chinn, David Denman, Annie Mumolo, Desmond Chiam, Alexander Hodge and Chris Pang also join the cast,
“As we’ve seen in the latest awards season, Asian American stories resonate with audiences,” says CAAM executive director Stephen Gong. “Some of those stories come from Hollywood, and others originate in communities like the ones we live in here in the Bay Area. That’s why it’s been the mission of our festival for over 40 years to bring the diversity of Asian American narratives to local audiences.”
“Joy Ride” will be released in theaters on July 7.
American Cinematheque launches PROOF of Concept Film Festival
The American Cinematheque announced its new upcoming film festival, the PROOF film festival, which will celebrate cinema’s next generation, by showcasing the best proof-of-concept films. The Los Angeles festival will take place Oct. 20-22.Submissions are now open here.
PROOF is the industry’s first-ever festival, and will be dedicated to proof-of-concept films to assist filmmakers to bring their concepts to fruition. The festival will host a jury made up of creative executives, managers, agents and filmmakers, who will award four filmmakers at the festival. Those included on the jury include Kyle Bowles, Kristina Cuello, Kate Hagen, Priyanka Kapoor, Sarah Minnie, Yasmin Felice Morris and Kayla Stamps.
The four winning filmmakers will also receive prizes from the festival’s partners, The Black List, ShotDeck and Panavision. The Black List will provide free script hosting for winners, ShotDeck will provide free yearlong subscriptions to their services and Panavision will provide a $60K camera package for the grand jury award winner. Additionally, the selected filmmakers will receive mentorship workshops and professional development preparation ahead of the festival.
Composer Christopher Lennertz to be named BMI Icon at the 39th Annual BMI Film, TV and Visual Media Awards
Broadcast Music, Inc. will be naming composer Christopher Lennertz a BMI Icon at the 39th Annual BMI Film, TV and Visual Media Awards. Lennertz is a Grammy winning and Emmy nominated artist and will be receiving the icon award for his contributions to the music and entertainment community.
“We’re thrilled to celebrate Christopher Lennertz and his tremendous musical accomplishments by presenting him the BMI Icon Award,” said Tracy McKnight, vice president of creative, film, television and visual media at BMI.
“His compelling body of work, from blockbuster films to hit TV shows and gaming, highlights Christopher’s passion for all styles of music and has made him one of the industry’s most sought-after composers. He is also dedicated to giving back through philanthropic work and advancing the next generation of composers.”
Lennertz’s work spans across numerous industries, and includes film scores like “Bad Moms,” “Ride Along” and “Horrible Bosses” and television scores like Marvel’s “Agent Carter.” He is also an acclaimed video game composer, and has created music for Medal of Honor, James Bond, The Godfather and the Mass Effect series. He has also written songs with Glenn Slater for artists such as Lizzo, Kelly Clarkson and Janelle Monae.
In addition to his other accolades, Lennertz has won 20 BMI awards and dedicates his time to philanthropic endeavors, working with Education Through Music-Los Angeles, Mr. Holland’s Opus foundation and Hands Together Haiti. Following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, he launched the Symphony of Hope project, which brough together dozens of composers and musicians in support disaster relief.
The award ceremony will be held on May 10 in Beverly Hills, Calif. The event will be hosted by McKnight and BMI president and CEO Mike O’Neill.
