Media Industry Event Highlights for June Unveiled!

At the 2013 CMA Music Festival hundreds of artists perform on multiple stages. The Chevrolet Riverfront Stage in Nashville will be a top location for daily concerts during the CMA’s, opening with a show from CMA Award-winning recording artist Sara Evans. Chevrolet, a partner and Official Ride of the CMA Music Festival, will again host a vehicle display at Riverfront Park throughout the event.

Admittance to the Chevrolet Riverfront Stage is free, but four-day ticket holders have an exclusive 45-minute, early-entrance window before the gates open to the general public. The concerts are within walking distance of all the Festival event sites, including the all-new AT&T U-verse Fan Fair X (FFX) with autograph signings, concerts, lifestyle exhibits, marketplace, live broadcasts, demonstrations, and more in the new Music City Center.

Proceeds from CMA Music Festival supports music education in Metro Nashville Public Schools and other programs through CMA’s Keep the Music Playing Program. CMA Music Festival will once again be filmed for a national television special to air on the ABC Television Network. This is the 10th consecutive year that the event has been filmed for a network television special. More than 11,000 music industry professionals and companies around the globe are members of the Country Music Association. Formed in 1958 as the first trade association for a single genre of music, the organization’s objectives are to serve as an educational and professional resource for the industry while advancing the growth of Country Music around the world. Visitors can join the BMI Tailgate Party every evening of the Festival until the June 9 close, at LP Field, South Lawn.

The Producers Guild of America and host partner 20th Century Fox come together to present Produced By Conference 2013 in Century City. The two day event opening June 8 brings together producers and collaborators from film, television and new media. A short list of 2013 speakers slated for participation include: Mark Burnett, Jerry Bruckheimer, Tracey Edmonds, Reginald Hudlin, Stephanie Drachkovitch, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Gale Anne Hurd, Tom Cruise, Jon Avnet, Darlene Hunt, J.J. Abrams and others. Produced By Conference also offers an opportunity to join a Mentoring Roundtable where small groups of up to ten attendees get to ask questions to, and seek advice from, the mentor of their choice. Established producers are scheduled throughout the weekend that will be conducting the Roundtables.

There is also the PGA Producers Showcase ProShow in which category winners are vying for a development deal, cash and prizes. The Producers Guild of America is the non-profit trade group that represents, protects and promotes the interests of all members of the producing team in film, television and new media.

The 68th Annual Tony Awards – named for Antoinette Perry, an actress, director, producer, and founder of the American Theatre Wing – will be held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, airing live on CBS on June 9. The Awards, presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, honors Broadway productions that open in designated Broadway theatres in Manhattan. Besides the live CBS network telecast there will be an outdoor Times Square simulcast. Neil Patrick Harris hosts this year’s ceremony.

Among the nominees for best play are: The Assembled Parties, Lucky Guy, The Testament of Mary, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Among the nominees for best musical are: Bring It On: The Musical, A Christmas Story, The Musical, Kinky Boots, Matilda The Musical. The Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre will be awarded to: Bernard Gersten, Paul Libin, Ming Cho Lee. Attire is by Black tie only.

The Banff World Media Festival in Alberta is a gathering of entertainment industry and digital media executives dedicated to media content production, broadcast and distribution within TV and digital media. From June 9-12 it conducts four streams of intensive, in-depth programming: BANFF TV, Kids and Animation, Non-Fiction and nextMEDIA. There will be an expanded return of the Co-Production, Co-Venture and Co-Financing Business Market, an international business hub for entertainment and digital media executives producing or commissioning co-productions and co-ventures. This year’s Co-Production, Co-Venture and Co-Financing Business Market will include: dedicated face-to-face meeting slots, insightful and impactful sessions, a detailed look at proven business models across all genres.

The ‘Face to Face with a Decision Maker’ series offers an opportunity for BANFF delegates to meet with international development executives from global networks, broadcasters, production companies, digital distribution platforms and advertisement and media buying agencies. Qualified participants get a chance to make an impression by pitching their new concepts and business models. One-on-one discussions are conducted over breakfasts, lunches and cocktails with key industry decision makers.

The Banff World Media Festival has announced that actor and comedian Will Arnett – currently starring in the NBC comedy ‘Up All Night’ opposite Christina Applegate and Maya Rudolph – will be presented the Canadian Award of Distinction at this year’s Festival. Will Arnett will accept the honor at the annual Rockie Awards Gala event that celebrates some of the top names in the film and television industry. The Award of Distinction is presented to a Canadian whose body of work exemplifies outstanding achievement in the entertainment industry. Past recipients include Paul Haggis, Howie Mandel, Eric McCormack and Martin Short. There is also the Rockies Program Competitions – an awards program. Celebrating international television and digital media content, drawing over 1,000 entries from over 40 countries.

North by Northeast is celebrating its tenth year as a Toronto based festival for new music, film, interactive media and comedy, but the Film Festival side for music-related films is in its 13th year specializing in music-related films: features, documentaries, shorts, experimental films and animation. NXNE Music offers music and music-related ideas – all within a few km of each other. NXNE 2012 presented over 800 international, national and local acts at 50 official festival stages in downtown Toronto’s famous club district.

North by Northeast Festivals is focused upon emerging artists and major-label headliners, for musical filmmakers, and for digital interactive innovators bridging the gap between technology and the arts. It is made up of genre areas: NXNE Music, NXNE Film, and NXNE Interactive, features popular acts at intimate club venues, explores and develops common ground between the creative industries and the interactive world, showcases international headline performers at free outdoor concerts. NXNE runs seven days and nights closing June 16, and typically draws over 330,000 attendees.

The IVRPA (International VR Photography Association), a voluntary run, non-profit, international association of several hundred professionals world-wide who create and produce interactive, immersive images, begins its annual conference, this year, in Selfoss on June 10. On a rotating basis, the IVRPA organizes annually an International Panoramic Photography Conference. Previous conferences where held in Berkeley 2007 (USA), Albuquerque 2009 (USA), Tucson 2010 (USA), Palmela 2011 (Portugal) and NYC 2012 (New York, USA). The IVRPA is also a regular presence at Photokina since 2006. The conference program includes a full week of VR Photography Talks, workshops and scenic walks in Selfoss district.

Iceland 2013 Talks will cover a wide range of subjects from 360 degree panoramas to 360 degree video, from hardware to software, and examples of successful uses in the 360 degree panorama imaging field. Iceland 2013 Workshops will include a hands on tutorial from the gurus behind some of the established panorama creation software used in the industry. Iceland 2013 Scenic Walks include visits to the landscapes of Selfoss. The IVRPA is an international association of professionals who create and produce 360 degree interactive, immersive images, also called 360 degree panoramas. The conference runs through June 16.

“Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau” will be the June 12 Opening Night Premiere of the five day Maui Film Festival at Wailea. “Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau” examines the legacy of the fearless big wave surfer and first-ever North Shore lifeguard. The film is directed by Sam George and produced by TAUBLIEB Films and Paul Taublieb. Two-time Oscar nominee, Jessica Chastain will be the 2013 Maui Film Festival Nova Award recipient. Kirsten Dunst will receive the 2013 Maui Film Festival’s Pathfinder Award, honoring an actor or actress whose career choices are admired for its humanistic quality. Brie Larson will receive the 2013 Maui Film Festival’s Rising Star Award, which honors a young film artist for daring to dream big dreams and then delivering brilliant performances. Sapphire Circle VIP Patron Passes – which include VIP seating, meet-and-greet opportunities, receptions and other perks – are available through the Maui Economic Development Board, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to the economic diversification of Maui County.

Created and produced by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment, the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival started out with a primary focus on jam bands and folk rock. It has since diversified but continues to pay tribute to its roots. The main attractions at the Manchester festival are the multiple stages of live music featuring a diverse array of musical styles including indie rock, world music, hip hop, jazz, americana, bluegrass, country music, folk, gospel, reggae, electronica, and other alternative music. The festival also features craftsmen and artisans selling various crafts, food and drink vendors, a comedy tent, silent disco, cinema tent, and ferris wheel. Available to the Bonnaroo public throughout the week are various activity tents. These tents become especially popular with night crowds, hosting activities set up as The Silent Disco tent and several other club or bar-themed venues.

From the festival start on June 13, and the many musicians scheduled, a partial listing of Bonnaroo’s lineup includes: Mumford and Sons, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Earl Sweatshirt, Kendrick Lamar, Fatoumata Diawara, Comedy Bang! Bang! With Scott Aukerman and Reggie Watts, Solange, Improvised Shakespeare Company, Japandroids, Billy Idol, Wu-Tang Clan, The Sheepdogs, ZZ Top, He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister, R. Kelly, ASAP Rocky, Empire of the Sun, Dwight Yokam, DJ Logic, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Paul McCartney.

In 2013 the Festival will be offering special accommodation feature – “Roll Like A Rockstar”. Watch music from the exclusive MainStage viewing area, or relaxation area backstage in the hospitality tent. Visitors can party all weekend long till festival close on June 16 in multiple VIP lounges located on-site and with Open Bar and hospitality tents in multiple locations throughout the festival grounds in the Manchester area. And deluxe accommodations let VIPers sleep and relax in privacy while onboard a luxury, air-conditioned and fully stocked Rock ‘n’ Roll Tour Bus serving three gourmet meals a day specially prepared.

LA Film Fest Presented by Film Independent features signature programs that include the Filmmaker Retreat, outdoor screenings, intimate Coffee Talks and free community screenings. The Festival also screens short films created by high school students and has a special section devoted to music videos. An Opening Gala screening features the North American premiere of ‘I’m So Excited!’, directed by Pedro Almodovar, in Spanish with English subtitles. Closing Night will be the Nat Faxon, Jim Rash directed comedy, ‘The Way, Way Back’. A special pre-Festival screening of Zack Snyder’s ‘Man of Steel’, takes place June 12.

Two-time Oscar winning film composer Gustavo Santaolalla leads a June 15 Master Class, “Music Scores That Move Us” where he will discuss the art of composing music for film. The Master Class is moderated by Elvis Mitchell, Curator, Film Independent at LACMA; Host, KCRW’s The Treatment and hosted by UCLA Latin American Institute and supported by BMI. For a scheduled June 16 seminar, Canon explores the technical aspects of making a film with their Cinema EOS technology. And this year’s Kodak Focus shines a spotlight on an acclaimed cinematographer who will discuss craft in an intimate conversation including screen clips from their body of work.

The Los Angeles Film Festival celebrates costume designers with a program that includes a panel discussion of iconic costume design, an exhibit of the work of artist Alex Prager and an outdoor screening of Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo (featuring costumes by acclaimed costume designer Edith Head), preceded by Alex Prager’s Hitchcock-inspired short film Despair. the program is sponsored by BBC.com and The Magnet Agency. The Los Angeles Film Festival is produced by Film Independent, a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization dedicated to promoting and supporting independent films and filmmakers. In addition to the Festival that runs June 13-23, Film Independent also produces the Spirit Awards.

The New York Television Festival at BAFTA will conduct a day of free panels, screenings and networking events focused on emerging trends, digital content and keys to breaking into the US marketplace, June 14 in London. There is a planned discussion examining recent trends and successes ranging from micro-episodes to full length episodic series. Attendees can gain first-hand insights from the platforms, producers and packagers that are driving the discussion and gain insight on how to find any story’s “perfect fit.”

U.K.-based network executives and independent producers will be on-hand to provide insight on overcoming transatlantic challenges, adapting projects to find success overseas and some of the current trends to apply when producing for USA markets. Overall, the afternoon of seminars and mixers focuses on emerging trends, digital content and keys to breaking into the US marketplace. A pioneer of the “independent television” movement, the NYTF continually strives to construct new routes of development and talent identification, while to complement the traditional television development model.

Founded in 2000, the East End Film Festival presents a program of international premieres, industry masterclasses, free pop-up screenings and immersive live events. The EEFF’s mission is to discover, support, and exhibit pioneering work by global and local independent filmmakers, and to introduce viewers to innovative and challenging cinematic experiences. EEFF opens June 25 with the World Premiere of Journalist and filmmaker Mark Donne’s second feature, ‘THE UK GOLD’, that follows the dramatic battle of a vicar from a small parish in the London Borough of Hackney as he goes head to head with a mighty heavyweight while revealing its primary positioning as a tax-haven enclave. The festival closes on July 10 with the UK Premiere of ‘LOVELACE’, the biopic of Linda Lovelace, the famous adult actress of the 1970s.

Included in the larger festival program, Cutting East Film Festival, from June 28-30, is a youth led program exploring current issues in East London such as stereotypes and identity. Programmed by the Cutting East steering group, a small team of young people who all live and study in East London, it encourages youth messages to be heard by everyone and invites people from different backgrounds to come together and celebrate youth achievement. Cutting East will bring together a program of features, shorts, documentaries, dramas, music, dance and poetry all in one weekend and one venue. Program Highlights including the London Premiere of NYC pop video feature GIRL WALK // ALL DAY (Jacob Krupnik, Director) and a special screening of the Tottenham-set high school teen comedy, IT’S A LOT (Femi Oyeniran, Darwood Grace, Directors).

EEFF 2013 comes to a close with a Closing Night event at Netil House, featuring an EEFF shorts celebration and a World Premiere live score to Kieran Evan’s The Outer Edges by Underworld’s Karl Hyde. A biopic of 1970s adult film star Linda Lovelace is the Closing Night Gala screening, that includes a special “Let’s Keep It Short” celebration of the best short films from the EEFF 2013 program. Filmmakers, the EEFF team and special guests celebrate the EEFF’s best shorts during a cocktail sip on the roof terrace and the announcement of the Best UK Short Film Award for 2013.

Continuing the festivities is Karl Hyde (Underworld) and Kieran Evan’s documentary exploring the Essex borderlands gets a very special live rendition. Accompanying this, the EEFF presents the World Premiere of the live soundtrack to the film from Hyde and collaborators Leo Abrahams and Peter Chilvers, who will be crafting a soundscape to match the film experience. The Closing Night Gala Party on the rooftop terrace with cinema, live music, immersive cinema, and cocktails and of all things East End carries on late into the night.

The above events are only a sample of what is fully listed. Complete details are on the “Media, Entertainment and Performing Arts Industry News and Events” page of The Actor’s Checklist blog. The events blog also shows links to pages that are translated into ten of the most widely used international languages read over the Internet other than English. This month’s picture placement highlights action stills from Universal Pictures block buster action franchise, Fast & Furious 6, starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson, directed by Justin Lin.

A full scale picture can be found on the blog. Looking ahead into the next month, be aware that: The Hidden Film Festivals Worldwide opens in London, Downtown Film Festival L.A. will be in Los Angeles, Ticket Summit will happen in Las Vegas, Fantasia Film Festival will happen in Montreal, Animation Block Party comes to Brooklyn, Melbourne International Film Festival opens in Melbourne.