Insights by Jasmina Nevada

Tribeca Film today announced it has acquired U.S. rights to the heartwarming documentary I Am Big Bird, directed and produced by Dave La Mattina and Chad Walker. The film had its world premiere at Hot Docs earlier this year and will go on to play at DOC NYC in November. It will be released theatrically and on VOD day-and-date in the first quarter of 2015. For over 40 years, Caroll Spinney has been beloved by generations of children as the man behind Sesame Street's Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch - and at 80 years old, he has no intention of stopping.  A loving portrait of the man in the yellow suit, I Am Big Bird features extraordinary footage of Spinney's earliest collaborations with Jim Henson as it traces his journey from bullied child to childhood icon. And as the yellow feathers give way to grey hair, it is the man, not the puppet, who will steal your heart.  http://www.iambigbird.com/ “Big Bird is one of the iconic figures in American television and thi...

BBC Worldwide North America announces the New York and Los Angeles theatrical premiere of Private Peaceful, a feature film directed by Pat O’Connor (Dancing at Lughnasa, Sweet November). Adapted from the best-selling novel by former children’s laureate Michael Morpurgo (War Horse), the World War I film stars two of the UK’s most promising young actors, Jack O’Connell (Starred Up, Unbroken) and George Mackay (Pride, Defiance), and features Richard Griffiths’ (The Harry Potter series, The History Boys) final performance. Set to open on October 31, 2014, at New York’s AMC Empire 25 and Los Angeles’ Laemmle’s Playhouse 7, Private Peaceful will expand to other markets nationwide in late 2014 and early 2015. Private Peaceful tells the story of two devoted brothers who struggle through a harsh childhood and adolescence in rural Devon, England, before enlisting in the military for the First World War. They experience the brutal realities of the trenches and the killing f...

AFI FEST 2014  presented by Audi, a program of the American Film Institute, announced the films that will be  featured during this years Film Festival which takes place November 6th to 13th November 2013 in the categories of New Auteurs, Shorts and American Independents.  The New Auteurs and Shorts sections both showcase filmmakers from around the world; the New  Auteurs section highlights first and second-time feature film directors and the Shorts selections  represent diverse and varied international perspectives. The Shorts program this year features a full  program of animated films in addition to a program of midnight shorts.  Both sections are juried and  are available for the Grand Jury Awards. This year's New Auteurs jury features Alonso Duralde  (The Wrap and The Advocate), Tim Grierson (Screen International), Eric Kohn (IndieWire) and  Anne Thompson (Thompson on Hollywood). The Shorts jury features Kahlil Joseph (film...

Sir Howard Stringer, Chair of the American Film Institute's Board of Trustees, announced the Board's decision to honor Steve Martin with the 43rd AFI Life Achievement Award, the highest honor for a career in film, known to be Americas highest honor within the industry. The award will be presented to Martin at a gala tribute in Los Angeles, CA on June 4, 2015. The 43rd AFI Life Achievement Award tribute special will return for its third year on TNT when it airs in June 2015, followed by encore presentations on sister network Turner Classic Movies (TCM). "Steve Martin is an American original," said Stringer. "From a wild and crazy stand-up comic to one who stands tall among the great figures in this American art form, he is a multi-layered creative force bound by neither convention nor caution. His work is defined by him alone, for he is the author – and a national treasure whose work has stuck with us like an arrow in the head. AFI is proud to present...