Oscar Nominated Shorts

We now know the Oscar Nominated Shorts for both animation and live action. The animation shorts will be played on Febuary 8th at 7 & 9:30 pm and the live action shorts come to IFS on the 15th of Febuary at 7 & 9 pm.

And the animation nominations are:

LAVATORY - LOVESTORY, by director Konstantin Bronzit, 10 min
OKTAPODI, by director Julien Bocabeille, 3 min
LE MAISON EN PETITS CUBES, by director Kunio Kato, 12 min
THIS WAY UP, by directors Adam Foulkes and Alan Smith, 9 min
PRESTO, by director Doug Sweetland, 5 min

(This nights shows will be followed with an additional 40 min of animated shorts)

The live action nominies are:

AUF DER STRECK (ON THE LINE), director Reto Caffi, 30 min
NEW BOY, director Steph Green, 11 min
TOYLAND, director Jochen Freydank, 14 min
THE PIG, directors Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh, 22 minMANON ON THE ASPHALT, directors Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont, 15 min

These should all be great and we hope to see you all there!

First Week

Just a reminder that this is week 1 for IFS. So be sure to come see this weeks amazing lineup!

 On Wednesday we have RELIGULOUS at 7 & 9:15 pm

Thursday night is KNIFE IN THE WATER at 7 & 9 pm

Friday and Saturday is LET THE RIGHT ONE IN at 7 & 9:30 pm

and Sunday we are showing PRAY THE DEVIL BACK TO HELL at 7 pm only.

All showings are in the Muenzinger Auditorium on the CU Campus.

Hope to see you all there!

Mailing of Calendars Delayed

I just got back from Sundance and found out that the IFS schedules that were delivered to a mailing business two weeks ago - and that should have been mailed at that time - were only dropped into the mail yesterday. This was due to the fact that this business (whose name I won't mention) will only send out the mailings upon receipt of pre-payment from the university. Unfortunately, even though I put a RUSH payment request on their invoice about a month ago, the university (unbeknownst to me) ignored that rush request, and processed payment at their usual snail's pace of three-to-four weeks.

Compounding the problem were vague communications from the mailing company: Here's the email exchange between me and the contact for the mailing business. Keep in mind that the schedules were delivered to this company on January 9th:

Jan 13 -

Hi Pablo,

We have received the calendars and we should be dropping the mail on 1/15/09.

I also needed to check on the postage.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you~~

Jan 15

Hi -

- I'm at Sundance, but feel free to call if there's any issue - otherwise I'll presume we're good to go. Thanks!
Sent from my iPhone

Jan 15 -

Hi Pablo,

We just need to check on the postage check.

Thank you

Jan 15:

Hi -

I'm unclear from your email below if what you mean is that the mailing of the IFS schedules is being held up because you have not received a check yet from the university.

To that end, I'm cc'ing (name of guy who handles our accounting) so that, if need be, you can email him directly with any inquiry into the status of the check.

Because I'm in screenings throughout the day, my cell phone is off and I can only catch-up on emails late in the evenings, so I apologize in advance for not being more accessible.

Best,

pk

Jan. 16 -

Hi Pablo.

I sent an email to (accountant) to check on the status of the postage check.

I will keep you updated.

Thank you~~

Jan 23 -

Hi Pablo,

The mailing went out yesterday, 1/22/09.

So the schedules that I gave this company two weeks ago only got mailed yesterday. That means many of you won't get it in time, and this is unacceptable. To that end I promise you this; I will take my business to a different mailing company, one that either accepts credit card payment (which would have avoided this mess) and/or accepts some other form of payment other than a check, especially since the university bureaucracy is unreliable in such matters. But, either way, I will take my business to a company that will not sit on time-sensitive mailings and also communicate effectively with the customer. For example, in this case, it would have helped to have gotten the following email: "Your schedules will not be dropped in the mail until payment is received, and we still have not gotten payment from the university." The vagueries of "We have received the calendars and we should be dropping the mail on 1/15/09. I also needed to check on the postage" is misleading and instills a false confidence that everything is fine. In reality, the situation was far from fine.

News from Sundance

Here is some news from the Sundance Film Festival which was recently posted on another blog site, TCM Movie Morlocks:

"Sundance 2009

Posted by keelsetter on January 18, 2009

Today I’ll discuss my favorite film at Sundance… so far. But first:

As I mentioned last week, this year’s pilgrimage to the Sundance Film Festival was preceded by three days of round table discussions and seminars tailor-made for our nation’s Art House theaters. Upon landing in Salt Lake City I went straight to the Peery Hotel where everyone gathered, introductions were made, and then we sat down at tables for food and drink. The first special guest to take the podium was Sundance Director of Festival Programming and Creative Development, John Cooper. His speech to us was off-the-cuff, frank, humorous, and inspirational. Personally, my biggest inspiration came from knowing that he was taking time to be with us at the height of the craziness that is Sundance..." continued here.

Oscar Nominated Shorts, showing at IFS

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to a great new semester of films with IFS. This looks to be a great season with new and old, funny and tragic, horrifying and heartbreaking all coming together on the silver screen. I am especially looking forward to seeing some of my favorites in new 35mm prints. The outrageous BRAZIL, classic french BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, and my personal favorite BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID will all be great to see on the big screen. But of course, IFS is all about seeing movies you've never seen before. I can't wait to see HAPPY-GO-LUCKY, FEAR(S) OF THE DARK, and director Francoise Truffaut in WILD CHILD. So what are you looking forward to most? Is the Apocalypse theme right up your alley? Let us know what you think of our new season at IFS by posting a comment (just hit the comment button right below this post). Thanks for all your support and I hope you are just as excited about these films as we are!

Sundance to come to IFS

SUNDANCE INSTITUTE EXPANDS COLLABORATION WITH LOCAL ART HOUSE CINEMAS NATIONWIDE

Program Includes Film Tour and Sundance Film Festival Series of Short FilmsS

November 25, 2008
Park City, Utah – Sundance Institute today announced the expansion of Sundance Institute Art House Project, a partnership with art house cinemas nationwide to build audiences and develop a supportive community of theatre owners committed to independent film. This year's Art House Project includes aspecially-selected series of short films from the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, a film tour of an acclaimed documentary, and a convergence of art house theaters from across the nation to be held January.... Read the rest here.

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