The R-Squared Film Festival is coming to a close on Saturday with the premiere of 18 finalist films at Louisiana Delta Community College.

Students from the following schools will be competing in the middle school and high school competition: Good Hope Middle School, Woodlawn Middle School, Neville High School, West Ouachita High School, Simsboro High School and Choudrant High School.

Also, student filmmakers from Lousisiana Tech and the University of Louisiana at Monroe will compete in the open category. The open category includes movies created by college students and northeastern Louisiana adults.

All films will be judged based on content quality, cinematography, editing, sound quality and acting.

Pecanland Mall has donated $1,500 in gift cards to be presented to first place, second place and people's choice award winners. The NELA Film Commission will also donate an Apple iMac computer to the winning school in the middle school and high school division.

The middle and high school competition begins at noon and the ppen competition begins at 3:30 p.m. For more information on R-Squared Productions, visit www.r2films.net.

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An image from the Louisiana set of 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.'
An image from the Louisiana set of 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.'
Twentieth Century Fox's big-budget, Louisiana-shot adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith's horror-history mashup "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" has been fairly well locked down since shooting began earlier this spring. 

This week, however, it seems The New York Times was granted some of the first media access to the film.

After visiting one of the film's sets in April, at the 179-year-old Evergreen Plantation in Edgard - doubling for the White House, apparently -- the Times has published  an interesting piece that touches on the desire of director Timur Bekmambetov and producer Tim Burton to create a historically accurate movie. This despite the obvious irony  that Bekmambetov describes his film as described a cross between D. W. Griffith's "Abraham Lincoln" and F. W. Murnau's "Nosferatu."

"We are very committed," Bekmambetov said of the film's authenticity.

To achieve that, the filmmaker is using both computer effects and actual locations "to blend the real and the artificial in ways that could only be imagined when Woody Allen posed with Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover in 'Zelig' and Forrest Gump received a Medal of Honor from Lyndon B. Johnson," the Times writes. 

Perhaps most interesting was the photo that accompanied the piece (above), the first such look at the production.
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An image from the German zombie film 'Rammbock: Berlin Undead.'
With a new horror movie debuting every month and screening each Wednesday and Friday night for the length of its run, AMC Theaters' new Bloody Disgusting Selects program isn't your normal screening series.





That makes "Rammbock: Berlin Undead" a perfect inaugural offering -- because it isn't your normal zombie movie.

It's a German zombie story, one that has recently toured various horror-heavy film festivals -- including the Austin Fantastic Fest in September. But it's not just that, either: It's a German zombie love story. That, it is safe to say, makes it a genre of one.

Leading up to its AMC run -- which is the closest it's likely to get to a full U.S. release -- director Marvin Kren's film has been generating a good amount of buzz. What's more, it mostly lives up to it, as Kren spins a tense, absorbing yarn that knows just how to get the job done before wearing out its welcome. Admittedly, some of that is because Kren's film -- bowing Wednesday (May 4) at the AMC Elmwood -- clocks in at just a shade over an hour, a good 20 to 25 minutes shorter than even the shortest of features.

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RAMMBOCK: BERLIN UNDEAD
3 stars, out of 4

Snapshot: A horror movie about a lovelorn Berliner trapped in an apartment building after a virus suddenly turns nearly everyone else in town into flesh-eating zombies. In German with subtitles.

What works: It's a brief but well-crafted movie, filled with intense moments built on suspense rather than gore.

What doesn't: Most of the characters are woefully underdeveloped, and beneath its fresh veneer -- a German zombie love story -- it's built solidly on genre convention.

Starring: Michael Fuith, Theo Trebs, Anka Graczyk. Director: Marvin Kren. Rating: R for some horror violence. Running time: 1 hour 4 minutes. Where: AMC Elmwood, screening at 10 p.m. on Wednesdays and midnight on Fridays through the end of May.

Read more on Nola.com
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FREE outdoor screening of Franco Nero's Italian jazz
There are several organizations in and around New Orleans that are dedicated to bringing interesting and noteworthy films to the local public, and often free of charge. Nearly every week, one of these free film screenings is held at various locales around the city showcasing a diverse array of movies.

This week’s FREE film screening will be held outdoors and co-hosted by the American Italian Cultural Center and the New Orleans Film Society.


The FREE feature this month is Forever Blues, an Italian drama about the power of friendship and music.

On his way to a concert, Marco, a young jazz trumpet player, pays a visit to an old friend of his and tells his story in a flashback. When he was the young troubled kid of a brutal, alcoholic father, his life was saved by a meeting with Luca, an old jazz musician who gave him the gift of music.


Filmed and set in Italy, the film is about the value of music in children’s lives and music’s power to heal and transform the soul of the young.


Originally released in 2005-2006, Forever Blues was co-written and directed by legendary Italian film star Franco Nero (Django, Force 10 from Navarone, Die Hard 2), who also stars in this film as Luca, the old musician. Music for the film was done by Lino Patruno, a famed Italian jazz musician.


This Friday, May 6, a special FREE, one night-only, OUTDOOR screening of Forever Blues will be held at in the Piazza d’Italia (377 Poydras Street). 


This event is FREE and open to the general public.


As an added bonus, writer/director/star/screen legend Franco Nero will be in attendance for a special Q&A following the screening. And afterwards, there will also be a live music performance by Lino Patruno, renowned Italian jazz musician and the film’s composer.


To continue reading and to watch the trailer, continue to Examiner.com: This Week’s FREE NOLA Film Screening: ‘Forever Blues’ - New Orleans Indie Movie | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/indie-movie-in-new-orleans/this-week-s-free-nola-film-screening-forever-blues#ixzz1LIvnCZxv
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An image from the frontier drama 'Meek's Cutoff'
After tantalizing local film buffs the past few weeks with sneak peeks at the lineup for Film-O-Rama 2011 -- its springtime celebration of indie and foreign films that have mostly bypassed the city -- the New Orleans Film Society has released the full schedule for its May 13-19 event.


In addition to already announced titles like Werner Herzog's acclaimed documentary "Cave of Forgotten Dreams 3-D" and the offbeat French horror-comedy "Rubber," it includes such buzz-generating titles as the South by Southwest favorite "Hobo With a Shotgun"; the frontier drama "Meek's Cutoff," starring the Oscar-nominated Michelle Williams; and the documentary "Page One: Inside the New York Times."

Classic titles in the lineup include two films based on Tennessee Williams plays: 1958's "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," starring Elizabeth Taylor; and 1966's "This Property is Condemned," which stars Robert Redford and which was shot partly in New Orleans.


Click here for the full lineup
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