Please email avantchicago@gmail.com for more information.

“Woman’s Prison” will be screening at Vicker’s Theater in Three Oaks, Michigan on June 20th at 1:00 pm!

This will be a wonderful event for everyone who worked on the film and others from Michigan/Indiana! Rose Waldschmidt, a MAF memeber, is one of the actresses in this film.

Come on out and help support the local independent film community!

We have completed one feature in Chicago- http://offthecuffmovie.com.  Visit the website for the current project at www.welcometogentlewatersmovie.blogspot.com.

Shoot dates- August 12-19th in North Webster, IN (2 hours from Chicago). Unpaid (but receive food-3 meals a day, travel if needed, and lodging). Copy and Credit.

Great opportunity for student or recent graduate. We are a very fun but professional group of people.

Send resume/inquiries to info@avantchicago.com. Thank You!

Each year, MAF screenwriters are given the challenge to write a short film based upon a certain premise, and at the Winter Screening, the scripts are all read to the audience, and the audience then votes for which one to make into a short film for $100, to premiere at the next year’s Winter screening.  Last year’s winner, “Valentine’s Day” was written and directed by David Boyer, and he had been given the task of writing a short centered on the holiday Valentine’s Day in the style of a Silent Movie.  David did a great job on his first short, and we congratulate him on his premiere this past Friday!

This year’s writers had to write a short flick about a blind date in the style of a famous film maker, such as Tim Burton or George Lucas.  After the screening, members of the writer’s group read each script, or I should say, attempted to act out each script in a rather spirited fashion.  The readings were a lot of fun, and the audience really seemed to enjoy the lively action on stage.  We would like to thank each of the screen writers for their scripts, as you all did a great job, however, in the end, there can be only one!  And the winner of the MAF $100 movie screenwriters challenge this year is…

David Boyer! With his short script about a blind date in the style of Judd Apatow called “5cm Peter”!  That’s right, for the second year running, David wowed the audience with his script and his hilarious send up of a, erm, romantically challenged man named Peter and his attempts to find just the right woman.  Congrats David!  You did a great job with your script, and we can’t wait to see “5cm Peter” at next year’s screening!

The evening also served as the launching point for the River Bend Film Fest coming this May 1st and 2nd at the Century Center.  This will be the first annual River Bend Film Fest, and we’re looking forward to showing off even more films and shorts produced locally, as well as flicks from around the country, and even a few from around the world.  Be sure to set aside those dates, as the 1st Annual River Bend Film Fest promises to be an exciting and fun time in downtown South Bend.

We would also like to thank the Century Center and Down Town South Bend (DTSB) for their assistance in Friday’s screening, as well as for all of their help as we gear up for the River Bend Film Fest.  Thanks!  We couldn’t have done it without your support!

There will also be a staged reading of short screenplays presented by the MAF screenwriters group. After the reading, the audience will pick their favorite script which will then get made into a $100 film.  Last year’s winner, “Valentine’s Day”, by David Boyer, will screen on this same night.

The event is free, however their is a charge for parking in the Century Center lot.

If you’d like to help us out and place some posters advertising the event, you can download the poster and print some out yourself!  You can grab either the jpeg or pdf version below.  Thanks!

Poster – JPEG version

Poster – PDF version

The Goshen Historical Society Museum (124 S. Main Street) presents the Goshen video We’re In the Movies. Enjoy a Valentine’s Day dinner special at The Constant Spring (219 S. Main Street) watching a silent movie on their big screen, or attend an author and illustrator book signing for The Door in the Floor at Better World Books (118 E. Washington Street).

Local merchants will be kicking off “Goshen is for Lovers” (goshenis4lovers.com)

Visit the First Fridays web site to see all the evening’s events and promotions:
gofridays.com

A $54 million film studio and production facility is being planned for Pontiac, Michigan.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s spokeswoman Liz Boyd tells the Detroit Free Press a new company called Motown Motion Picture Studios will open the facility at the site of a former General Motors Corp. truck plant and office complex.  The newspaper says the project is expected to generate more than 3,500 direct jobs, and the Democratic governor plans to announce the deal Tuesday night in her annual State of the State address.  The Detroit News also reported details of the project, which is awaiting incentives from the Michigan Economic Growth Authority.  Michigan has been drawing more moviemakers since tax incentives went into effect last year.

The wildly popular Notre Dame Student Film Festival returns to campus on Thursday January 22nd, Friday January 23rd, and Saturday January 24th, 2009 in the state-of-the art Browning Cinema inside the DeBartolo Center for the Performing Arts.

This year we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the festival which began in the basement of the Center for Continuing Education in 1990 (now McKenna Hall) with 50 people in attendance. Today, the festival traditionally sells out each screening with over 1000 people expected to watch a brand new slate of creative, intelligent, and entertaining student films produced in the Dept. of Film, Television, and Theatre during the past year.

The Notre Dame Student Film Festival screens each night at 6:30pm and 9:30pm. Tickets are $3 for Notre Dame students, $5 for Notre Dame faculty and staff and $6 for the general public, and can be purchased online at performingarts.nd.edu or in advance at the Performing Arts Center Box Office, 574-631-2800.

With past festivals selling out, we recommend buying your tickets early!

See the festival trailer at: ftt.nd.edu/news-events/film-fest

2009 CALL FOR ENTRIES

We are looking for films from the midwest region as well as films from throughout the US and the rest of the world.  Have a film you’d like to enter into the festival?  Then download the entry form below and visit the Film Fest website for more details!

*NEW* EARLY DEADLINE JAN. 20, 2009 & LATE DEADLINE JAN. 30, 2009

DOWNLOAD 2009 ENTRY FORM