Norway's Oscar entry Kon-Tiki will open the 36th edition of the Göteborg International Film Festival. Kon-Tiki was made by the directors behind the previous film success Max Manus and is Norway's biggest and most expensive film production to date. For the first time the festival's opening film will be screened at several theaters simultaneously. Both the directors and actors will be visiting the festival. Kon-Tiki is about the young Norwegian researcher and adventurer Thor Heyerdahl who in 1947 sets out on a sensational expedition to prove that the small islands in Polynesia were populated by people from South America—not from Asia as the prevailing theory claims. Despite his fear of water and poor swimming skills he gathers a crew to sail 4 300 nautical miles on Kon-Tiki a raft built according to an ancient design of balsa wood reeds bamboo shoots and banana leaves. For three months the isolated crew sails the ocean while fighting sharks raging hurricanes and scorching sun. The journey is punctuated by dramatic twists where they risk losing all but in the end as we already know Heyerdahl proves that faith can move mountains.
“Kon-Tiki is a classic and inspiring adventure that will seize the public with its visual innovation its ingenuity and its delight in filmmaking ” the festival's artistic director Marit Kapla says.
Visiting the festival and attending the opening ceremony are the film's directors Espen Sandberg and Joachim Rønning producer Aage Aaberge executive producer Lone Korslund and actor Gustaf Skarsgård. A press conference with all guests from the film will be held at Stora Teatern on January 26.
By tradition the opening film will be shown at Cinema Draken the film festival's main theater and largest auditorium. However we have exciting news – the opening film will be shown at three other locations: Stora Teatern in Göteborg Röda Kvarn in Borås and Biograf Odeon in Skövde. The opening ceremony will take place at Draken before the film but each theater will broadcast the opening speech and awards live thanks to the festival's sponsor Telia.
“ Tickets to the opening film usually sell out in just a few minutes so we're happy to be able to offer three extra auditoriums this year and to use new technology to spread Draken's festival mood to other places. The audience in the greater Västra Götaland region is important to the festival and for that reason it's a lot fun to be present in Borås and Skövde for the first time ” Kapla says.
The festival will also screen the documentary Kon-Tiki från 1950 which was made by Thor Heyerdahl himself. The film won an Oscar for the best documentary in 1951. The festival in cooperation with the Kon-Tiki Museum will show an exhibit with pictures from the expedition.
The Göteborg International Film Festival is the largest film festival in the Nordic countries. Each year circa 450 films from about 70 countries are shown to around 34 000 visitors. The next festival runs from January 25 to February 4. ,3810
Panasonic Releases AG-AF100A Large Imager HD Cinema Camcorder,2013-01-16,Panasonic has released the AG-AF100A large imager HD cinema camcorder offering improvements and cost-efficiencies over its predecessor the company’s AG-AF100. Foremost the AF100A features 10-bit (enhanced 8 bit) 4:2:2 quality output for better gradation of tonal areas when recording onto external devices such as a P2 HD recorder. The HD-SDI signal also carries a sync signal for the Rec Start/Stop with the AF100A trigger. Additionally the AF100A is equipped with the popular expanded focus assist function which enlarges the center of the displayed image for greater ease in focusing; and a 2.39:1 (cinema scope size) safety zone marker. In addition to the PH recording mode (average approx. 21Mbps maximum 24Mbps) the AF100A complies with the AVCHD ver. 2.0 (AVCHD Progressive) standard with its new PS mode (average approx. 25Mbps maximum 28Mbps) for recording playing and outputting (via HDMI only) Full-HD progressive (1080/59.94p 1080/50p) images. The PS/PH modes support uncompressed 16-bit LPCM 2-channel audio recording. The AF100A also features two-channel XLR audio input terminals for full-uncompressed audio recording and many other functions to meet professional needs. The AF100A builds on the legacy of the AF100 which has been prized by the film and video production communities for its film-like shallow depth of field and the wider field of view of a large imager with the flexibility and cost advantages of an expansive line of professional quality industry-standard micro 4/3-inch lenses filters and adapters. The AF100 redefined large sensor professional acquisition with its superior video handling native 1080/24p recording variable frame rates and sophisticated audio capabilities. Like the AF100 the AF100A incorporates a large 4/3-inch 16:9 MOS imager (with an imaging area just slightly smaller than 35mm cinema film) that minimizes skew with fast imager scanning and an optical low pass filter for elimination of aliasing and moiré. Weighing only 3.5 pounds (without lens or battery) the AF100A has high-end features including Dynamic Range Stretch in all modes and frame rates; six built-in customizable scene files that are exchangeable for quick and easy matching between multiple cameras; seven built-in gamma curves with four selectable color matrices; a built-in optical ND filter; adjustable shutter speed and Synchro-scan function; and a high-resolution variable angle color LCD monitor and tiltable viewfinder. Additional standard professional interfaces include uncompressed HDMI out and USB 2.0. The AF100A records SMPTE timecode and is able to perform timecode synchronizing via the video output seeing timecode in and has an internal down-converter facilitating output of SD (480/576) signals The AG-AF100A is available at a suggested list price of $4595.The camcorder is packaged with a copy of the highly-regarded AF100 Book by Barry Green. Panasonic supports the AF100A with a three-year limited warranty (one year plus two extra years upon registration) upon registration of the camera with the PASS customer support program. ,3812
Sub Sea Research Announces Shipwreck Series,2013-01-16,Maine-based shipwreck recovery company Sub Sea Research has announced their latest venture a documentary series entitled The Port Nicholson Experience. The Port Nicholson a wreck off the coast of Massachusetts that is said to be carrying around $3 billion in platinum and gold is Sub Sea Research's current target. The series will focus on the crew's journey as they work to recover the cargo. The company plans to show this documentary in installments on their satellite site Shiprex.net. Shiprex.net currently serves as a blog for Sub Sea Research crew to archive their history and share their adventures with readers. Since last June writers Ashley Brooks and Cindy Hart have been recording their own stories and compiling those of others who work for the company. Brooks who is company founder Greg Brooks's daughter says It's compelling. There are countless stories we could tell about shipwrecks and what it's like to work in that field. We started the site so that people all over the world could share these experiences alongside the crew from their own homes. The company believes The Port Nicholson Experience will only enhance the vision of Shiprex.net. The series produced by Brooks and cinematographer Charlie Widdis will tell the unique story of Sub Sea Research's rise to the top of the shipwreck recovery industry and will detail the trials and tribulations of the crew members as they take on their most difficult and profitable wreck yet. While countless hours of footage have been logged by outside companies Sub Sea Research aims to tell their own story through the project which will be constructed entirely by their own employees. We have an advantage here in that we can tell the story exactly as it unfolds Brooks says. The video series will stay as true to our mission as possible. Our crew has worked tirelessly for years and we want to memorialize their journey. Many people have expressed doubt and skepticism about the project and many still have expressed interest in coming along with us on the salvage mission. This project will serve as a continued reminder of our goal and will help sate the curiosity of those people at home. The video series will launch next month alongside the continuing blogging project. For more information and to see a trailer of The Port Nicholson Experience visit http://www.shiprex.net. For more information about Sub Sea Research please visit http://subsearesearch.com. ,3813
SmartJog Signs Delivery Deal with VS2 Portugal,2013-01-16,SmartJog has signed with VS2 Portugal’s main independent local mastering lab. This agreement enables VS2 to use SmartJog’s delivery platform service to distribute digital cinema preshow content trailers and feature films directly to theaters connected in Portugal. Together with SmartJog VS2 will ensure a reliable and secure Digital Cinema Package circuit between Portuguese distributors and Portuguese SmartJog connected theaters (as of today Lusomundo exhibition NLC UCI). Digital cinema content is sent through the SmartJog community using its state-of-the-art file transfer network via satellite and ADSL/Fiber which includes web-based file management interface monitoring and support and cloud-storage solutions. The service gives clients the opportunity to electronically receive their DCPs without having to manage physical ones. This partnership will represent new business opportunities for VS2 and a major technical improvement in the contents reception and expedition in a secure way between their origins and final destinations in theaters all over the globe. It also represents the beginning of a new kind of service offer towards our clients on what management library content concerns ” says Bruno Figueiredo CEO of VS2. “The highlight of this partnership is that SmartJog enables VS2 to operate a full digital delivery workflow from lab to cinema. VS2 can receive content electronically from any of the more than 250 labs and content providers connected to SmartJog worldwide and then securely deliver advertising trailers feature films promotional and alternative content to all cinemas connected in Portugal” says Nicolas Dussert director of European Theatrical Sales for SmartJog.
Kon-Tiki to Open Göteborg International Film Festival
