About Christina Kotlar

Film festival maven Christina Kotlar, born in Passaic and living in Clifton, New Jersey always told stories and wrote log lines for them. She received her MA in Producing for Film and Video from American University, Washington, DC and spent the next ten years writing, editing and producing for corporate, non profits, indies, docs and short films. Upon her return to the New York metropolitan area, she was managing editor for Film Festival Reporter and took on the challenge of finding and updating the film festival circuit calendar. In 2006, she founded Film Festival reViews, podcast and blogging site with insights on and about films, filmmakers and the film industry along the film festival circuit worldwide. Flying under the radar screen, she lets others crowd the red carpet while she slips through the back door for casually chic conversations.

Cannes Stirs the Boiling Pot

Cannes 2012

By Christina Kotlar (DoddleNEWS) Cannes Film Festival caused quite a stir with their announcement of films in competition, and not one directed by a woman filmmaker. This is the second time in three years where such an outright omission has happened. While we all naively believe that films … [Read more...]

New York Women in Film Rock: Designing Women

Designing-Women

By Christina Kotlar (doddleNEWS) Celebrating achievements of women in the entertainment fields, New York Women in Film & Television (NYWiFT) annual event Designing Women, acknowledging and honoring the influence and impact of costume designers, make up artists and hair stylists in film and … [Read more...]

Columbia University’s Panel “What Glass Ceiling?” Misses the Point

CU-Directors-Panel-1

By Christina Kotlar (doddleNEWS) On Wednesday, May 9, Columbia University Film Festival presented a panel of accomplished women directors who were alum of Columbia Univeristy’s amazing film program. However, titling the panel “What Glass Ceiling? The Remarkable Success of Columbia’s Women … [Read more...]

War Games Still A Cautionary Tale At Tribeca

wargames-hacker

By Christina Kotlar (doddleNEWS) War Games looked great on th big screen. While some may see it as dated, the film holds up in many ways from the depiction of pop culture– music and video games –early computer and high end technology, high school students looked and dressed, well, like high … [Read more...]

Tribeca Film Festival Awards: A Look Into Other Peoples Lives

Une Noche

by Christina Kotlar (doddleNEWS) Okay, the Tribeca Film Festival jury came back with the award winners. There’s also the Tribeca (Online) Film Festival with an award for Best Feature and Best Short AND the winners of the Heineken Audience Award will be announced on Saturday, April 28. Top … [Read more...]

Tribeca Sleepwalking Through Narrative Choices

TFFBoxOffice

There are a lot of choices in this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, especially in the Shorts programming. I love Shorts. It can be a big story told in a very smart way or a small story unfolding into a bigger insight. A good Short is all about timing and knowing when it needs to end. This year at … [Read more...]

Susan Froemke’s Dream Come True in Wagner’s Dream

TFFSusanFroemke

I succumbed to the red carpet buzz for the World Premiere of Wagner’s Dream, a two hour behind the scenes documentary five years in the making of Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Richard Wagner’s four-part Ring Cycle. Images of Apocapalypse Now and Bugs Bunny’s Kill the Wabbit … [Read more...]

A Day At The Races, Ala Tribeca Flm Festival

Film Schedule

The last couple of years was always a challenge to see film screenings at Tribeca Film Festival with a pass that only allows you in to the P&I (Press and Industry) screenings. Depending on where the location was, I would spend a lot more time traveling across town– and trying to do that on any … [Read more...]

Tribeca Film Institute And Sloan: Perfect Together For Filmmaker Fund

tfi-sloan

Checking out info on their website: the Tribeca Film Institute and Sloan Filmmaker Fund provides grants and professional guidance in support of innovative and compelling narrative features that offer a new and improved look for scientific, mathematical and technological themes. Founded in 1934 … [Read more...]

Tribeca Parties From Bowery To Rooftop Receptions

Tribeca Cinemas

By Christina Kotlar and Yuri Turchyn (doddleNEWS) About 75% of films have receptions. Parties at film festivals allow the networking filmmakers are always told they need to do by their publicists. Tribeca Film Festival hosts a couple of filmmaker meet and greets receptions, as do film … [Read more...]

High Profile Tribeca Talks Universal Panel Big Bust

TFF Universal Panel

By Christina Kotlar (doddleNEWS) The start of TriBeCa should really come out of the gate with a blast. The PR was terrific for the 100 Years of Universal panel and I planned on going to it from the start. Not sure what happened, but my RSVP did not get to the right list and the person in charge … [Read more...]

Vanity Fair Cocktail Party Kickoff For Tribeca Film Festival

deniro-hightower

By Christina Kotlar (doddleNEWS) Traditionally, Tuesday evening before the official start of the Tribeca Film Festival (Wednesday, April 18), there’s a big bash event –the Vanity Fair kickoff cocktail party at the State Courthouse in Lower Manhattan, and traditionally, I was not invited … [Read more...]

Video On Demand For Tribeca Film Festival 2012

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The pace is picking up and I feel a bit behind with all the pre festival press release information coming out of Tribeca Film Festival. Just in– several 2012 Festival titles will be available on VOD before they premiere at the Festival. What does this all mean? It sounds ahead of its time, … [Read more...]

Tribeca Flm Festival Announces Juries

deniro-tribeca

Let’s face it. Film Festival juries are subjective and emotional and cannot be impartial when it comes to judging the best films in a competitive film festival especially when there are money prizes involved. The judging began a long time ago already with film submissions and it is a daunting task … [Read more...]

Tribeca Announces Programs Exploring Future Of Storytelling In The Digital Age

tribeca-film-institute-logo

By Christina Kotlar (doddleNEWS) Describes slated day, April 23 as exploring the digital media ecosystem. An ecosystem is a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment. Perhaps it is a reference to the people who will be there interacting with perceived or virtual … [Read more...]

Disrupting the Film Festival Experience

tribeca logo

By Christina Kotlar (doddleNEWS) Now what? The latest Press Release from Tribeca Enterprises (that will be part of the Tribeca Film Festival Awards weekend) is Tribeca Film Festival in association with Harvard Business School Professor Clay Christensen and the Disruptor Foundation, announcing … [Read more...]

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