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...

One Wall : Kings of Coney Island had it's European Premiere in the Feature Documentary Section, selected for the 25th Anniversary of the Galway Film Fleadh (Film Festival), in Galway, west of Ireland, which took place 9th - 14th July 2013.  Winner of the Audience Choice Award at the Art of Brooklyn Film Festival and the New Hope Film Festival. Nominee of Best Documentary and Best Director at the Idyllwild Cinemafest 2013, and the official selection at the New Hope Film Fest 2013. The film takes a look at handball as an ultimate, beautiful, challenging and seriously brutal game, even one player comparing it to boxing, except with a ball. For over 50 years the National One Wall Handball Championships has been played at the Seaside Courts in Coney Island. This film sets out to follow and explore the most talented athletes as they compete for the prestigious title, and showcases comparisons and contrasts of the young, handsome, talented reigning champion Tyree Bastida...

$150,000 in Documentary Finishing Funds to be Awarded to Nine Filmmakers; Spotlighting Women Documentary Award Presented in Partnership with the Kering Corporate Foundation Jada Pinkett Smith, Olivia Wilde, Roger Ross Williams, Molly Thompson and Brian Sirgutz among 2013 Jury Members The Tribeca Film Institute (TFI) and Gucci today announced the 2013 recipients selected for the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund. The Fund provides production and finishing finances, year-round support and guidance to domestic and international documentary filmmakers with feature-length films highlighting and humanizing critical issues of social significance from around the world. Nine projects have been selected from 500 submissions from 60 countries to receive a total of $150,000, to be administered by the Tribeca Film Institute. Now in its sixth year, the Fund has supported 45 films. For the third year, the Kering Foundation (formerly the PPR Corporate Foundation for Women’s Digni...