International Student Film Organization

22nd Aug 2011

It’s LGBT Appreciation Week at the ISFO at the moment, and this tearjerker gets me every single time. Dustin Lance Black wrote the screenplay for the incredible biopic of gay rights activist Harvey Milk, Milk, in 2009, and won the Oscar for Best Screenplay in the same year that Sean Penn won Best Actor for his portrayal of the eponymous hero. His eloquent and heartfelt speech, from one gay man to the many thousands watching him triumph, is one of the most viewed acceptance speeches on YouTube, and if you give it a click, you’ll see why.

22nd Aug 2011 | 230 notes

ISFO’s contribution: AOIHOHNSOHKNSLDKGNSKDNGLKSNDLGKNSLDKGNLSAKDNVLSKDNBLJSNFLNHLSKDNGLAKDNGLSKNDGLSKNDSDGNSDLKGNLSDKNH

Ahem.

totalfilm:

D23: Exclusive Avengers footage revealed

“And with that, The Avengers were assembled,” said Kevin Feige, President of Production at Marvel Studios as he introduced exclusive footage of the new superhero movie at Disney’s D23 conference.

Before that, Marvel showed a cool backstory montage that brought together all of the Avengers elements from the Iron Man movies, The Incredible Hulk, Thor and Captain America - reminding everyone just what a huge undertaking it’s been to get to The Avengers movie.

Then it was time for Nick Fury to lay down the law to an imprisoned Loki in the way only Samuel L. Jackson can…

12th Aug 2011

Office Hero of the Day: Charlie Chaplin

I noticed when I moved here that the ISFO office is located in the area where a very famous person grew up. A very successful and inspirational figure in the film industry. No, I’m not talking about Michael Caine (he did grow up here but he’s not as important, sorry Mike). I am talking about Charlie Chaplin, one of the most recognizable figures in the world. Charlie just happens to be my idol and when I moved here I recognized one of the streets that he mentioned in his autobiography. Of course there may have been several signs that could have hinted towards the Chaplin-related history of the area. Such as a museum. Or a brilliant pub.

But yes, Charlie Chaplin grew up just down the road from the ISFO office. After coming down from the bizarre historical high I experienced after finding this out, I got to thinking. Thinking about some pretty cool stuff. So here we go. Dim the lights. Cue inspirational music. Curtain rises.

About 100 years ago, a young Charlie Chaplin lived here where we are now. Charlie had a very troubled childhood: his dad wasn’t around, his mother was in and out of mental institutions and as a result he and his brother Sydney were in and out of the workhouse. The Chaplin family was remarkably poor. I remember one particular story from Charlie’s autobiography: Sydney needed a new suit for his Saturday job as his normal clothes were so tattered he almost created an Aladdin fashion trend. Hannah Chaplin (Charlie and Sydney’s mum) saved all of her money to buy Sydney a new suit for his job. Sydney would then wear his suit on the weekends when he had to work, and during the week when he was at school he would wear his old clothes and Hannah Chaplin would pawn the suit for seven shillings to get them through the week. Then at the weekend she would buy the suit back and pawn it off again for another week. She did this for a year to help to get them through each week. I’ll never complain about student loans again.

But Charlie kept a very British stiff upper lip and endured all of the misery and hoped one day to be a successful actor. And after working in Vaudeville and touring with a few companies, he finally got a job at the Keystone Film Company and the rest is history.

Over 100 years later, the ISFO team is in the same place he was. We’re young, we’re talented and we have our own dreams. We’re all hoping to crack into an industry that we would love to have a successful career in. For example, I want to write and direct television series. I’m pretty much a nobody right now, but I’m working on it. I’m doing little jobs here and there trying to gain exposure and experience. I’m doing anything I can to crack into the biz, just like Charlie Chaplin did over a century ago in this very city; in this very neighbourhood.

I’m not sure how many people believe in signs. I don’t even know if I even do. But I know that it’s nice to be here repeating a little bit of history. I’m pretty sure Charlie’s backing us up on this. He’s smiling his cheeky tramp grin at our efforts and wishing the ISFO team and members the very best of luck.

Courtesy of our very own Tess (@tesscatiful) at the ISFO’s very own blog (http://futureinfilm.com/blog)

12th Aug 2011 | 56 notes

A lot like some of our PitchComp entries!

Also, how underappreciated is Patrick Wilson? No really, think about it.

zombiemergencyresponseoperations:

The Ledge (2011)

A police officer looks to talk down a young man lured by his lover’s husband to the ledge of a high rise, where he has one hour to contemplate a fateful decision.

Glorious! My kind of thinking flick! As advertised, atheists versus the holy. Justified.

Superb acting throughout the film, yes… even with Liv Tyler being the love interest of both male leads. She is a mere detail in this “think bigger” eye opener film.

Belief is something that varies from person to person, based on the choices and situations life presents them. I believe in the evil of man, an abuse of power and diluted/influenced biases make people irrational. Thus doing/displaying irrational behavior that forces them to react in a primal and violent way, when pushed into an instinct driven corner. I believe religion all around the world has proven that.

This film is no different from reality. Religion vs. Fact - an ongoing battle of which majority of the playing field is controlled/monitored by the holy side. This film takes the side of the rational. We may not have faith in a “God” but we truly believe in mans capability to destroy and defend what they think is right. This film proves that.

Charlie Hunnam does a superb job as the “cool dude” girls can’t deny. Side story twist Terrence Howard tears it up once again and displays his dramatic side. But i wanted to see this film because of Patrick Wilson! ever since Hard Candy (2005) i associate thriller/suspense genre every time i see him/his name. He’s got “that face”, a bit creepy.

The film is a talkie with some romance and well put scenes. The storytelling may not be different but the content is gold.

Great job Matthew Chapman!!! Y’ got me good with this one.

12th Aug 2011 | 37 notes

We’re embarrassingly excited for this right now - almost as excited as we were to see James McAvoy filming outside the office!

GOLLUM AND MALFOY IN THE SAME FILM. PLUS JAMES FRANCO. Excuse me while I mop my drool up off the floor.

zombiemergencyresponseoperations:

The Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

An origin story set in present day San Francisco, where man’s own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy.

The genesis of the iconic and legendary film Planet of the Apes (1968)!

James Franco… man the guy is so hot he can sell an inverted crucifix to the pope. Undeniably one of the “in demand” actors in modern cinema. The guy’s got the looks and he can act.

Now that that’s out of the way we can talk about the film and the spectacular effects. The Apes are the stars here, fuck all the humans. Not including the wonderful effects team that brought this film together and displayed their talent.

Caesar aka Andy Serkis (Gollum) stole the show! along with his CGI primal mates. I loved how the writers tied-up the “launch” and left the film open ended. Leaving room for a “possible” part 2.

The story also has a Monkey Shines (1988) element to it. Seeing John Lithgow made my heart pitter patter. That crazy old man!

And there were some surprises too Tom Felton gets what he deserves and Brian Cox = a strict douche again. They represented so many of us who take things for granted, being the proud race that we are. One day we too shall be humbled.

The chaos and theory was admirable. The demise of the world may come in any form size or number (rise of the zombies, rise of the robots, rise of the aliens, rise of the apes etc.). Splendid production quality that does not disappoint.

Funny thing: They ate cookies more than they did bananas! (was there even a banana?) SEE: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (2011) to find out why.

I do hope they make a (the rumored) sequel…

11th Aug 2011

Office Hero of the Day

It’s #WomenInFilmWeek here at the ISFO office, but we didn’t necessarily want to choose a contrived lady pin-up for today’s Office Hero, so I have chosen a director who has one of the great actresses of our time, Penelope Cruz, as his muse. While not necessarily the most strident example of the importance of women in film, the role of the muse has produced some of the greatest work of our time - women using what they had at their disposal to get patriarchal men to bend to their will - that’s pretty damned feminist, no?

9th Aug 2011 | 100 notes

#PitchComp deadline extended until Friday!

The ISFO and SFFLondon have received so many entries to the #PitchComp that we’re giving everyone a little bit longer to enter!

Prizes for the top 5 include:

- VIP entry to our Prohibition-themed underground launch party

- International exposure with your loglines appearing on the future merchandise of two international film organizations.

- The title, now and forever, of the ISFO/SFFLondon #PitchComp Winner/Runner-Up 2011

The only rule is that your pitch has to be 130 characters or less, and you enter on Twitter with the hashtag #PitchComp before 12th August 2011 (that’s this Friday!)

Happy pitching everyone!

If you need a little inspiration, have some David Tennant as Casanova (you’re welcome).

dtennantcasanova