By Patrick Shanley
Managing Editor
This year’s best documentary feature nominees continues a long trend of music docs being recognized by the Academy, as two music-related films have earned nominations at this year’s Oscars.
Amy, which tells the story of late songstress Amy Winehouse in her own words through never-before-seen archival footage and unreleased tracks and is nominated for best doc this year, earned nominations for the Queer Palm and Golden Eye awards at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival for director Asif Kapadia.
Filmmaker Liz Garbus earned the second nomination of her career with the Netflix documentary, What Happened, Miss Simone? The film focuses on the life of iconic R&B singer Nina Simone and her life as a singer, mother, and civil rights activist. Garbus earned her first Oscar nomination in 1998 for her documentary The Farm: Angola, USA.
Music-related docs have been a hot topic for the Academy in years past,...
Managing Editor
This year’s best documentary feature nominees continues a long trend of music docs being recognized by the Academy, as two music-related films have earned nominations at this year’s Oscars.
Amy, which tells the story of late songstress Amy Winehouse in her own words through never-before-seen archival footage and unreleased tracks and is nominated for best doc this year, earned nominations for the Queer Palm and Golden Eye awards at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival for director Asif Kapadia.
Filmmaker Liz Garbus earned the second nomination of her career with the Netflix documentary, What Happened, Miss Simone? The film focuses on the life of iconic R&B singer Nina Simone and her life as a singer, mother, and civil rights activist. Garbus earned her first Oscar nomination in 1998 for her documentary The Farm: Angola, USA.
Music-related docs have been a hot topic for the Academy in years past,...
- 1/22/2016
- by Patrick Shanley
- Scott Feinberg
A case study of the success of "Awake: The Life of Yogananda" will highlight the second annual Illuminate Film Festival’s "Conscious Film Convergence," a series of workshops and panels offering filmmakers – those with experience as well as those just starting out – the opportunity to learn about developing, producing and distributing conscious films, May 27-31 in Sedona, Arizona.
After its southwest premiere at last year’s inaugural Illuminate Film Festival, "Awake: The Life of Yogananada," the unconventional biography of the legendary East Indian mystic, went on to screen at 250 venues across North America and booked more than 30,000 tickets through the Gathr® theatrical on-demand platform. At this year’s Festival, the filmmakers and their distribution partners will discuss how they combined strategic partnerships, grassroots marketing and a hybrid distribution model to gross over $1 million at the U.S. box office within the first three months of release.
Additional panels at the Conscious Film Convergence, the first gathering of significant industry executives in this independent film genre, will feature master distribution strategist Peter Broderick and industry icons Barnet Bain ("What Dreams May Come," "The Celestine Prophecy"); Elizabeth Sheldon, Senior Vice President at Kino Lorber; and Abramorama President Richard Abramowitz, among others, as part of the Festival’s five days of life-affirming cinematic works that encourage audiences to ponder existence more deeply than their daily routines.
The Illuminate Film Festival curates narrative features, documentaries and shorts in the mind-body-spirit genre, featuring inspirational human journey stories and themes related to mindfulness, self-discovery, body-mind science, yoga, meditation, spiritual practice, organic and plant-based food movements and sustainable living.
“As a launching platform for conscious cinema, our goal is to get enlightening content into movie theaters across the globe,” said Illuminate Film Festival Executive Director and Founder Danette Wolpert. “The Conscious Cinema Movement has reached a tipping point. Conscious concepts, once trivialized, have become mainstream thanks to moguls like Oprah, Russell Brand, Deepak Chopra and Russell Simmons. The Illuminate Film Festival is poised to establish conscious cinema as a viable business sector within the independent film business.”
The Conscious Film Convergence schedule is:
Friday, May 29
• Spotlight Conversation with Barnet Bain:
Bain, a television and film industry veteran whose credits include Oscar-winning "What Dreams May Come," Emmy-nominated "Homeless to Harvard," spiritual classic "The Celestine Prophecy" and the new documentary, "When I Was Young I Said I Would Be Happy," will tell you that to make a conscious film, you must first become a conscious individual. In this Q&A with Barnett, attendees will discover how to connect with their true calling and unleash their full creative potential.
• Conscious Film Financing: "The Connected Universe"
Perhaps it’s fitting that a film that explores the science behind the interconnection of all things has just become the highest funded documentary in Indiegogo history with over $290 thousand raised via the popular crowdfunding website. Join "The Connected Universe" director Malcom Carter and others for insight into cracking the crowdsourcing code.
Saturday, May 30
• The Conscious Cinema Accelerator:
Five applicants will be invited to participate in 20-minute speed meetings for personalized project and career coaching from veteran film professionals in conscious film production, finance, marketing and distribution. Submissions: https://filmfreeway.com/festival/ConsciousCinemaAccelerator.
• Powered By Your Audience with Peter Broderick
How can a filmmaker increase their independence and build a sustainable career that goes far beyond one film? Distribution guru Peter Broderick presents a comprehensive guide to help filmmakers develop and maximize their “own” audience and establish a strong foundation from which they can build a long-lasting filmmaking career. Using examples from across the Us and around the world, he will demonstrate how filmmakers are aggregating their audiences film by film and becoming empowered by followers who champion their work.
• Million Dollar Movie: "Awake: The Life of Yogananda" Case Study
Panelists: "Awake" Director Paola di Florio, Producer Peter Rader (CounterPoint Films); Richard Abramowitz (President, Abramorama); Richard Matson (Head of Distribution & Acquisitions, Gathr); The inaugural Illuminate Film Festival in 2014 was a launching platform for "Awake: The Life of Yogananada," the unconventional biography of the legendary East Indian mystic, whose box office success has turned the heads of distribution executives nationwide. Is this a model that can be replicated? Find out.
• Champions of Conscious Cinema: Meet the Distributors
Panelists: Elizabeth Sheldon (Senior Vice President, Kino Lorber), Richard Cohn (President, Beyond Words), Richard Abramowitz (President, Abramorama), Brian Parsons (Head of Content Partnerships, Tugg); Abundant Internet connectivity and social media tools beckon today’s filmmaker to flirt with the very real possibility of self-distribution, while the lure of traditional distribution offers remains strong. Join the leaders of conscious film distribution as they explore the pros and cons of "all-rights” vs. "hybrid" distribution, debate the logic of day-and-date releasing and consider direct engagement via theatrical-on-demand. Learn your best options for theatrical, broadcast, video-on-demand and educational distribution as panelists share their outlook on the future of conscious cinema and the factors they consider before acquiring a film.
Sunday, May 31
• Conscious Cinema Summit (Industry Guests Only): a roundtable discussion with conscious film industry visionaries and media change-makers to discuss how conscious cinema can become a viable business independent film-sector business. Conversations will range from how to define conscious cinema to new business models to brainstorming new collaborative strategies to increase quality, quantity and availability of conscious cinema around the globe.
To register for the Conscious Film Convergence, visit Here!
The 2015 Festival will feature 22 films and more than 50 expert facilitators, practitioners, healers, performers, musicians, speakers and new thought leaders. In addition to the panels and films, the Festival’s series of “View and Do” events will let audiences more deeply integrate a movie’s message into their lives.
The full list of films exhibiting at the 2015 Illuminate Film Festival are online. For more information, visit Here!
After its southwest premiere at last year’s inaugural Illuminate Film Festival, "Awake: The Life of Yogananada," the unconventional biography of the legendary East Indian mystic, went on to screen at 250 venues across North America and booked more than 30,000 tickets through the Gathr® theatrical on-demand platform. At this year’s Festival, the filmmakers and their distribution partners will discuss how they combined strategic partnerships, grassroots marketing and a hybrid distribution model to gross over $1 million at the U.S. box office within the first three months of release.
Additional panels at the Conscious Film Convergence, the first gathering of significant industry executives in this independent film genre, will feature master distribution strategist Peter Broderick and industry icons Barnet Bain ("What Dreams May Come," "The Celestine Prophecy"); Elizabeth Sheldon, Senior Vice President at Kino Lorber; and Abramorama President Richard Abramowitz, among others, as part of the Festival’s five days of life-affirming cinematic works that encourage audiences to ponder existence more deeply than their daily routines.
The Illuminate Film Festival curates narrative features, documentaries and shorts in the mind-body-spirit genre, featuring inspirational human journey stories and themes related to mindfulness, self-discovery, body-mind science, yoga, meditation, spiritual practice, organic and plant-based food movements and sustainable living.
“As a launching platform for conscious cinema, our goal is to get enlightening content into movie theaters across the globe,” said Illuminate Film Festival Executive Director and Founder Danette Wolpert. “The Conscious Cinema Movement has reached a tipping point. Conscious concepts, once trivialized, have become mainstream thanks to moguls like Oprah, Russell Brand, Deepak Chopra and Russell Simmons. The Illuminate Film Festival is poised to establish conscious cinema as a viable business sector within the independent film business.”
The Conscious Film Convergence schedule is:
Friday, May 29
• Spotlight Conversation with Barnet Bain:
Bain, a television and film industry veteran whose credits include Oscar-winning "What Dreams May Come," Emmy-nominated "Homeless to Harvard," spiritual classic "The Celestine Prophecy" and the new documentary, "When I Was Young I Said I Would Be Happy," will tell you that to make a conscious film, you must first become a conscious individual. In this Q&A with Barnett, attendees will discover how to connect with their true calling and unleash their full creative potential.
• Conscious Film Financing: "The Connected Universe"
Perhaps it’s fitting that a film that explores the science behind the interconnection of all things has just become the highest funded documentary in Indiegogo history with over $290 thousand raised via the popular crowdfunding website. Join "The Connected Universe" director Malcom Carter and others for insight into cracking the crowdsourcing code.
Saturday, May 30
• The Conscious Cinema Accelerator:
Five applicants will be invited to participate in 20-minute speed meetings for personalized project and career coaching from veteran film professionals in conscious film production, finance, marketing and distribution. Submissions: https://filmfreeway.com/festival/ConsciousCinemaAccelerator.
• Powered By Your Audience with Peter Broderick
How can a filmmaker increase their independence and build a sustainable career that goes far beyond one film? Distribution guru Peter Broderick presents a comprehensive guide to help filmmakers develop and maximize their “own” audience and establish a strong foundation from which they can build a long-lasting filmmaking career. Using examples from across the Us and around the world, he will demonstrate how filmmakers are aggregating their audiences film by film and becoming empowered by followers who champion their work.
• Million Dollar Movie: "Awake: The Life of Yogananda" Case Study
Panelists: "Awake" Director Paola di Florio, Producer Peter Rader (CounterPoint Films); Richard Abramowitz (President, Abramorama); Richard Matson (Head of Distribution & Acquisitions, Gathr); The inaugural Illuminate Film Festival in 2014 was a launching platform for "Awake: The Life of Yogananada," the unconventional biography of the legendary East Indian mystic, whose box office success has turned the heads of distribution executives nationwide. Is this a model that can be replicated? Find out.
• Champions of Conscious Cinema: Meet the Distributors
Panelists: Elizabeth Sheldon (Senior Vice President, Kino Lorber), Richard Cohn (President, Beyond Words), Richard Abramowitz (President, Abramorama), Brian Parsons (Head of Content Partnerships, Tugg); Abundant Internet connectivity and social media tools beckon today’s filmmaker to flirt with the very real possibility of self-distribution, while the lure of traditional distribution offers remains strong. Join the leaders of conscious film distribution as they explore the pros and cons of "all-rights” vs. "hybrid" distribution, debate the logic of day-and-date releasing and consider direct engagement via theatrical-on-demand. Learn your best options for theatrical, broadcast, video-on-demand and educational distribution as panelists share their outlook on the future of conscious cinema and the factors they consider before acquiring a film.
Sunday, May 31
• Conscious Cinema Summit (Industry Guests Only): a roundtable discussion with conscious film industry visionaries and media change-makers to discuss how conscious cinema can become a viable business independent film-sector business. Conversations will range from how to define conscious cinema to new business models to brainstorming new collaborative strategies to increase quality, quantity and availability of conscious cinema around the globe.
To register for the Conscious Film Convergence, visit Here!
The 2015 Festival will feature 22 films and more than 50 expert facilitators, practitioners, healers, performers, musicians, speakers and new thought leaders. In addition to the panels and films, the Festival’s series of “View and Do” events will let audiences more deeply integrate a movie’s message into their lives.
The full list of films exhibiting at the 2015 Illuminate Film Festival are online. For more information, visit Here!
- 5/11/2015
- by Peter Belsito
- Sydney's Buzz
The independent feature documentary, "Awake: The Life of Yogananda," has grossed well over $1 million in theatrical release and theatrical on-demand release via Gathr®, it was reported today.
The film -- exploring the life and teachings of Indian yoga master Paramahansa Yogananda, author of the best-selling classic Autobiography of a Yogi, which last month ranked number 4 on the La Times best-sellers list for non-fiction – was co-directed by Paola di Florio ("Speaking in Strings," "Home of the Brave") and Lisa Leeman ("Out of Faith," "Crazy Wisdom: The Life and Times of Chogyam Trungpa"), and produced and self-distributed by award-winning CounterPoint Films. Richard Abramowitz of Abramorama spearheaded the theatrical component of the release.
“The commitment, professionalism and enthusiasm of the 'Awake' team were essential elements in the extraordinary reception this film received in the theatrical marketplace,” says Abramowitz. “Audiences showed up in force from the first day, and continue to do so in great numbers four months later. It’s a testimony to the power of the film and the community that has embraced it. I feel privileged to be a part of it.”
"Awake: The Life of Yogananda" premiered theatrically on October 10, 2014 in New York. The film has been shown across the country in over 100 theaters, as well as in more than 150 screenings via the Gathr® “Theatrical On Demand” platform.
“We attribute the success of the film to a combination of the timeliness of the subject matter and the hybrid distribution model that we have embraced,” says "Awake" producer Peter Rader. “As part of our strategy we have relied heavily on grass roots support and the booming interest in Yoga today, as well as the flexibility of an on-demand platform like Gathr to appeal to potential movie-goers across the country, not just those in major markets.”
The successful grassroots efforts is evidenced by the film’s robust performance in certain markets with significant community outreach. As an example, in November there were times "Awake" out-grossed "Interstellar" in weekend numbers at several venues, including the Sundance Sunset in Los Angeles and The Texas Theatre in Dallas.
“It’s profoundly gratifying to see how the message of this film is reaching people of all backgrounds across the country, and soon the world,” says Paola di Florio, Co-Writer and Co-Director along with Lisa Leeman.
“Awake has broken the mold by appealing to diverse audiences with its experiential, meditative journey and its message of empowerment,” adds Rader. “We now have plans for international distribution, to be announced shortly.”
For more information about "Awake: The Life of Yogananda," visit Here...
The film -- exploring the life and teachings of Indian yoga master Paramahansa Yogananda, author of the best-selling classic Autobiography of a Yogi, which last month ranked number 4 on the La Times best-sellers list for non-fiction – was co-directed by Paola di Florio ("Speaking in Strings," "Home of the Brave") and Lisa Leeman ("Out of Faith," "Crazy Wisdom: The Life and Times of Chogyam Trungpa"), and produced and self-distributed by award-winning CounterPoint Films. Richard Abramowitz of Abramorama spearheaded the theatrical component of the release.
“The commitment, professionalism and enthusiasm of the 'Awake' team were essential elements in the extraordinary reception this film received in the theatrical marketplace,” says Abramowitz. “Audiences showed up in force from the first day, and continue to do so in great numbers four months later. It’s a testimony to the power of the film and the community that has embraced it. I feel privileged to be a part of it.”
"Awake: The Life of Yogananda" premiered theatrically on October 10, 2014 in New York. The film has been shown across the country in over 100 theaters, as well as in more than 150 screenings via the Gathr® “Theatrical On Demand” platform.
“We attribute the success of the film to a combination of the timeliness of the subject matter and the hybrid distribution model that we have embraced,” says "Awake" producer Peter Rader. “As part of our strategy we have relied heavily on grass roots support and the booming interest in Yoga today, as well as the flexibility of an on-demand platform like Gathr to appeal to potential movie-goers across the country, not just those in major markets.”
The successful grassroots efforts is evidenced by the film’s robust performance in certain markets with significant community outreach. As an example, in November there were times "Awake" out-grossed "Interstellar" in weekend numbers at several venues, including the Sundance Sunset in Los Angeles and The Texas Theatre in Dallas.
“It’s profoundly gratifying to see how the message of this film is reaching people of all backgrounds across the country, and soon the world,” says Paola di Florio, Co-Writer and Co-Director along with Lisa Leeman.
“Awake has broken the mold by appealing to diverse audiences with its experiential, meditative journey and its message of empowerment,” adds Rader. “We now have plans for international distribution, to be announced shortly.”
For more information about "Awake: The Life of Yogananda," visit Here...
- 1/12/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
By Anjelica Oswald
Managing Editor
Keep on Keepin’ On, director Alan Hicks’ debut film, follows four years of the friendship and mentorship between jazz legend and trumpeter Clark Terry, who played with Count Basie and Duke Ellington and taught a young Quincy Jones how to play, and Justin Kauflin, a talented 23-year-old blind pianist. The two musicians support each other as Terry begins to lose his eyesight due to health issues and as Kauflin deals with stage fright as a semi-finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. The film is one of 15 films on the Oscar documentary shortlist, five of which will be nominated on Jan. 15.
The Academy is particularly fond of music-related documentaries, nominating 17 since 1942, with eight winning. Keep on Keepin’ On could join the following Oscar-nominated films:
Festival (1967)
Director Murray Lerner’s black-and-white documentary offers a glimpse into three years (1963-1966) of the Newport Folk Festival, which...
Managing Editor
Keep on Keepin’ On, director Alan Hicks’ debut film, follows four years of the friendship and mentorship between jazz legend and trumpeter Clark Terry, who played with Count Basie and Duke Ellington and taught a young Quincy Jones how to play, and Justin Kauflin, a talented 23-year-old blind pianist. The two musicians support each other as Terry begins to lose his eyesight due to health issues and as Kauflin deals with stage fright as a semi-finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. The film is one of 15 films on the Oscar documentary shortlist, five of which will be nominated on Jan. 15.
The Academy is particularly fond of music-related documentaries, nominating 17 since 1942, with eight winning. Keep on Keepin’ On could join the following Oscar-nominated films:
Festival (1967)
Director Murray Lerner’s black-and-white documentary offers a glimpse into three years (1963-1966) of the Newport Folk Festival, which...
- 1/8/2015
- by Anjelica Oswald
- Scott Feinberg
Yoga’s journey from 5,000-year-old spiritual practice to means to achieving flat abs and tight glutes encapsulates the interlocked processes of cultural appropriation, ravenous capitalism, and the Western ability to reduce everything to a trend.
In telling the larger-than-life true story of Paramahansa Yogananda, the guru who brought yoga and meditation to the American mainstream in the 1920s, co-directors Paola di Florio and Lisa Leeman remind viewers of the practices' spiritual meaning.
Composed of seamlessly interlocked stock footage, old photos, and dramatic re-enactments, the film traces Yogananda’s life from childhood (when mystics foretold his spiritual powers and path) and his apprenticeship with his own guru to his triumphant introduction of Hindu ...
In telling the larger-than-life true story of Paramahansa Yogananda, the guru who brought yoga and meditation to the American mainstream in the 1920s, co-directors Paola di Florio and Lisa Leeman remind viewers of the practices' spiritual meaning.
Composed of seamlessly interlocked stock footage, old photos, and dramatic re-enactments, the film traces Yogananda’s life from childhood (when mystics foretold his spiritual powers and path) and his apprenticeship with his own guru to his triumphant introduction of Hindu ...
- 10/10/2014
- Village Voice
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