Thursday, October 23, 2008

Update of upcoming shows and festivals

-Los Angeles - Arab Film Festival (Oct 24) Opening Film
-Spain - Valladolid International Film Fest (Oct. 24) - Opening Film
-USC School of Cinema - Special Screening (Oct. 25)
-Wichita, Kansas - Tallgrass Film Festival (Oct. 25, 26)
-Hollywood - Variety Screening Series - Archlight on Sunset (Oct. 28)
-Carthage Film Festival (Oct. 25- Nov.1)
-Washington DC International Film Festival (Nov. 1 & 2)
-Palm Desert, California - Nov. 5
-Delaware - Rehoboth Beach Film Festival (Nov 5,6,9)
-Chicago (Mid. Nov, more info soon)
-Greece - Thessaloniki International Film Festival (Nov 14,16)
-Egypt - Cairo International Film Festival (Nov. 17-22)
-Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur International Film Festival (Nov. 27, 28)
-Opening in Los Angeles Nov 7th Laemlle Music Hall in Beverly Hills

Links to get tickets at www.CaptainAbuRaed.com

Monday, October 20, 2008

Captain Abu Raed wins Grand Prize at Heartland

LINK
"Captain Abu Raed," a Jordanian drama about a janitor who pretends to be an airline pilot, took the top prize at the 2008 Heartland Film Festival on Saturday night. Writer/director Amin Matalqa won the $100,000 grand prize for Best Dramatic Feature, the largest cash award given by any U.S. film festival. The film stars Nadim Sawalha as a humble but wise man who is mistaken for a pilot by the children in his neighborhood, and delights them with fictional stories of his adventures. "At Sundance, we won the award for world cinema. I was so excited, and got up on stage and said, 'I think we can make movies that make a difference.' And I felt like such a doofus, because it was such an idealist thing to say," Matalqa said.
"And here we are 10 months later, and I feel like we're being appreciated, and there is a place where these movies are here to make a difference. It feels like it's just the beginning."

Friday, October 17, 2008

The Oscar race between 67 countries

A record number of 67 countries are competing for the Oscar this year for Best Foreign Film. Here's the final list.

It's a strange and exciting feeling, but I keep telling myself focus on the next movie, focus on the next movie. It's not the destination, it's the journey.