For the last 25 years as the program director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center Richard Pena has shaped the New York Film Festival upholding the standards of cutting edge cinema and opening new perspectives for film directors and the audience. By introducing new film making countries  to the critical film community  in New York and other major festivals he has shifted the festival’s  Eurocentric orientation to a global perspective presenting production...

Dick Van Dyke, beloved actor, singer, dancer, writer and comedian, will receive SAG-AFTRA’s highest honor – the SAG Life Achievement Award for career achievement and humanitarian accomplishment. Van Dyke will be presented the performers union’s most prestigious accolade, given annually to an actor who fosters the “finest ideals of the acting profession,” at the 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards®, which premieres live on TNT and TBS on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013, at 8 p.m. ET, ...

The Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) announced today that legendary producer and entertainment industry icon Jerry Weintraub (“Ocean’s Eleven” series, “Karate Kid” series) will be the recipient of the Festival’s coveted ‘Golden Eye’ Career Achievement Award at this year’s Festival, taking place September 20th – 30th. Weintraub will receive the ‘Golden Eye’ for his life’s work and also celebrate his birthday in Zurich on Wednesday, September 26th. The awa...

By Maria Esteves – June 5, 2012 The Sunday Night Fever special tribute to the Bee Gees with host Award-winning pop icon Randy Jones (Original Village People Cowboy) commenced Sunday, June 3, 2012, 8:00 PM – 11:00 PM at SPLASH nightclub, New York. Renowned resident DJ Max Rodriguez showcased powerful Disco hits before a dance audience, from the Bee Gees to Culture Club to Donna Summer to the Village People, and many others. The sensational Randy Jones live performance included a remi...

It's amazing...the more I share my experiences about becoming a stand up comedian the more people I run into who tell me, "That is so cool. I've always wanted to become a comic. How did you do it?" and they'll begin sharing with me how long they've had this dream. The first thing I tell them is, "Do it. It's one of the greatest things I've ever done for myself and you will be glad you did, too." After appearing as a guest on myConversation Crossroad radio show, S...

By Maria Esteves – May 23, 2012 The 57th Annual 2012 Village Voice OBIE Awards (OBIES 2012) honoring theatrical excellence and achievements in Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway commenced Monday, May 21, 8:00 pm the legendary Webster Hall ballroom, New York, Monday, May 17, 8:00 pm. The ceremony also featured three outstanding performances by Joshua Henry and Sumayya Ali from ten-time Tony Award nominated Broadway musical The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, David Patrick Kelly from eleven-t...

Mark Kingwell, co-author with Joshua Glenn of The Wage Slave's Glossary, the book The New York Times called "a witty guide" for "energized Marxists and depressed Dilberts alike" visits the Conversation Crossroad radio program. Listen to the podcast:  http://conversationcrossroad.com/?p=4713     ...

Mark Kingwell, co-author with Joshua Glenn of The Wage Slave’s Glossary, the book that The New York Times called “a witty guide” for “energized Marxists and depressed Dilberts alike” visits the Conversation Crossroad radio program.  http://conversationcrossroad.com/?p=4713         ...

The New York Asian Film Festival (June 29 - July 15) returns - and this year we’re bringing crazy back!   The opening night film is Pang Ho-cheung’s astonishingly filthy, extremely hilarious VULGARIA, a movie about making movies, shot in just 12 days, all about gangsters named Brother Tyrannosaur, sleazy lawyers, the sex film industry, and men who love donkeys a little too much. The Hollywood Reporter calls it a “...laugh-out-loud, aptly titled comedy.” Pang himself, Hong Kong's hotte...

Comic On A Half Shell Trailer Released “Are stand up comedians born or are they made?” The answer to this nature versus nurture issue was put to the test when radio talk show host Garrison Leykam took the stage for his "Comic On A Half Shell" debut performance at The Gotham Comedy Club.   After appearing as a guest on Leykam's Conversation Crossroad radio show, Stephen Rosenfield (dubbed "the best known comedy teacher in the country" by The New York Ti...

What is creativity and how can it be cultivated and enhanced? This was the provocative set of questions at the heart of the Advancing Creative Thinking: Imagination To Innovation conference held in Ridgefield, CT this past weekend. The 2-day event, co-presented by the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, the Ridgfield Library and the Ridgefield Arts Council, brought together a truly eclectic set of speakers to explore the prism of creativity and its pragmatic use from the perspecti...

Page One: Inside the New York Times looks at the inner workings of one of the world’s most influential news organizations in an age of technological transition.  The one-time “New York Times Effect”, where second-tier media outlets follow the NYT by a day, is dependent on a daily print distribution cycle.  Today, as noted by NYT’s Bill Keller, “WikiLeaks doesn’t need us.  Daniel Ellsberg did.”  Page One investigates how “The Grey Lady” adapts to the landscape of 24/7 inform...

Tribeca Film Institute's Interactive Day on April 23 to Feature Thought Leaders from Across Media, Technology and Education; Slate Features Keynote from Bartunde Thurson and Speakers from The New York Times, IDEO, Games for Change, Plus Interactive Case Study of HBO's Game of Thrones Tribeca (Online) Film Festival Expands Future of Film Bto Live Lunch Series at 92Y Tribeca With Guests Including Paranormal Activity Producer Jason Blum, Tumblr Founder David Karp, College Humor F...

Comedy from Forgetting Sarah Marshall Creative Team Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller and Producer Judd Apatow to Kick Off 11th  Edition of TFF on April 18 The Tribeca Film Festival (TFF) and Universal Pictures  announced that The Five-Year Engagement will open the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by American Express. Director/writer/producer Nicholas Stoller and writer/star Jason Segel of Forgetting Sarah Marshall reteam for the irreverent comedy, which also stars Emily Blunt, Rh...

  The 2012 Tribeca Film Festival (TFF), presented by Founding Sponsor American Express, today announced the return of its signature free community events: the Tribeca Drive-In (April 19-21), Family Festival Street Fair (April 28), Tribeca/ESPN Sports Day (April 28) and the second annual Tribeca/NYFEST Soccer Day (April 21).   The Festival also announced the three film titles that will be screened at the Tribeca Drive-In, co-sponsored by JetBlue and Time Warner Cable, hosted b...

  The President, Board of Directors of the Arab Film Festival in the USA! : "Dear Friends and ers of the Arab Film Festival, I am delighted to announce the hiring of our new executive director, Mr. David Andrusia. This was a very competitive process as we had over 50 talented applicants and a very intensive review process. After careful consideration and many interviews, David overwhelming emerged as the best candidate. I am pleased to say that David has accepted the...

Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, has announced the filmmakers and projects selected for its second annual Documentary Lab, sponsored by Latino Public Broadcasting. Starting this week and continuing through the end of April, the Documentary Lab is an intensive seven-week program in Los Angeles, with the main focus of assisting documentary filmmakers on their works-in-progress and providing creative . All ...

The 18th Sarajevo Film Festival (6-14 July 2012) will proudly present the Tribute to Todd Solondz. This exceptional US filmmaker will be ing us in Sarajevo to present to our viewers a selection of his impressive opus that earned him a place among the most renowned directors and writers of today. Solondz has been critically acclaimed for his examination of the "dark underbelly of middle class American suburbia", a reflection of his own background in New Jersey.  ...

  A NEW FILM FESTIVAL EXPERIENCE   The Fourth Annual International Love Unlimited Film Festival & Art Exhibition Offers An Alternative To The Usual Film Festival Fare Many of today’s film festivals have become crowded, impersonal events that follow the same formulaic routines. If celebrities, directors, or casts from movies are present, interactions are very limited, sometimes staged, and offer little or no opportunity for networking or close . Wo...

By Maria Esteves – January 23, 2012 A Tribute To Horowitz sold out concert with piano virtuoso Lola Astanova commenced Thursday, January 19, 2012, 8:00 PM, at the Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, Carnegie Hall, New York. Sponsored by Tiffany & Co., the extraordinary enchanting evening to benefit the American Cancer Society presented gala chairman Donald J. Trump and special guest artist host Julie Andrews with the American Cancer Society Lifetime Achievement Awards. The Stonewall Chora...

Starbuck Receives Mercedes-Benz Audience Award Best Narrative Feature; The Girls in the Band and Wish Me Away Tie for Audience Award Best Doc Feature; The Turin Horse Receives FIPRESCI Award; The House Receives New Voices/New Visions Award; The Tiniest Place Receives The John Schlesinger Award   The 23rd Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) announced this year’s award winners at a glamourous luncheon at Spencer’s Restaurant on Sunday, January 15, 20...

The 23rd Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) announced this year’s award winners at a luncheon at Spencer’s Restaurant on Sunday, January 15, 2012. The Festival, held from January 5-16, 2012, screened 188 films from 73 countries, including 40 of the 63 foreign language entries for this year’s Academy Awards®. Palm Springs ’ increasingly popular Festival continues to expand its diverse programming of quality independent and foreign films, setting the stage for the yea...

Goodfella Martin Scorsese Returns to Lincoln Center Film Society's Walter Reade Theater  for an Intimate Night of  "Mean Streets" and  Q & A                 Rest assured: film director Martin Scorsese's legacy as perhaps the greatest living American director is secure. Seeing him in the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center's Film Society Tuesday was both a privilege for film fans, knowing that his ion for filmmaking is equally matched...

Coming to an end with today's screening of the closing film The Ides of March by George Clooney, the Viennale 2011 continues on its path of success. With an attendance of 96,700 at the 2011 festival as compared to last year's 96,300, the Viennale saw a slight increase in the number of visitors, less so than in previous years but at the same time an important and wonderful confirmation of the Viennale's steadily growing popularity. The festival's overall attendance figures also rose slightly fr...