Sean Lawrence

  Hello, Not many weekends offer an opportunity like this one and I want to make sure you know about it. I'd like to encourage you to make the most of these next few days by getting your work in front of a remarkable roster of  Hollywood's decision-makers. The Screenwriters World Conference-which begins today in Los Angeles-serves as your introduction to the people who can make things happen in your career. And there are plenty of built-in opportunities to network all weekend long, including the event's signature  Pitch Slam. Plus, when you register for the Pitch Slam, you're guaranteed inclusion in the Pitch Slam Logline Directory.  Your name, contact information, logline and details about your script will be sent to every agent and exec in attendance for review after the event. Not only is it your chance to preserve your pitch in the exact way you'd like it remembered, it's also a great reminder for those agents who heard something they liked, but perha...

Watch ATLFF Official Selections at home with Film Festival Collective With our new XFINITY On Demand channel, you can watch official selections from ATLFF and other festivals on your own television! Read on » Indiewire's 'Top Films of 2014 So Far' Includes Six ATLFF Selections Indiewire's survey of the best films released so far in 2014 includes six ATLFF films. That's 12% of the list that screened at this year's festival! Read on » Actor, activist, and ATLFF friend Ruby Dee passes away at 91 Cinema legend, Academy Award nominee, Grammy and Emmy winner Ruby Dee passed away at 91. She was known for her roles in RAISIN IN THE SUN, DO THE RIGHT THING and AMERICAN GANGSTER. In 2001, Atlanta Film Festival (known then as IMAGE Film & Video) inaugurated the Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis Awards. Dee helped to establish the awards in memory of her late husband and fellow actor, Ossie Davis, and the festival presented the awards for several years. R...

"Cyber-Seniors" returns to Atlanta for a full-week run at The Plaza As part of our Best of Fest, we are excited to bring ATLFF '14 hit documentary "Cyber-Seniors" back to Atlanta for a week long run at The Plaza Theatre, June 20th - 26th. Read on » ATLFF & XFINITY Partner To Create The Film Festival Collective VOD Program The Atlanta Film Festival and XFINITY announced today the creation of the Film Festival Collective, a program to showcase the best film festival programming in the Southeast and to foster the discovery of new filmmaking talent from around the world. The XFINITY On Demand program will feature short films and other quality content from a variety of film festivals across the Southeastern United States. Read on » Don't miss the Women with Knives - Handcrafted Film Tour this Friday! Experimental animators Kelly Gallagher, Lauren Cook and Charlotte Taylor are bringing their handcrafted films to MINT Gallery! Presented ...

April 07, 2014 LITTLE BALLERS In addition to our  Jury Award winners , announced on Saturday, the Atlanta Film Festival also awards one feature film and one short film with an Audience Award every year. Festival-goers received a ballot at each screening and rated each film according to personal preference. The Audience Award winning feature film is Crystal McCrary's  Little Ballers . The film screened Saturday, March 29 to a packed out audience in The Plaza Theatre's Chipotle Auditorium. Jonathan Rej's  Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse  is the Audience Award winning short film. The hugely popular local film screened in the Other Worlds shorts block on Sunday, March 30 and again during an encore presentation on Sunday, April 6. Congratulations to the winners and to every film selected to play at this year's festival.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/world/asia/nsa-breached-chinese-servers-seen-as-spy-peril.html?_r=0 WASHINGTON — American officials have long considered Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications giant, a security threat, blocking it from business deals in the United States for fear that the company would create "back doors" in its equipment that could allow the Chinese military or Beijing-backed hackers to steal corporate and government secrets. But even as the United States made a public case about the dangers of buying from Huawei, classified documents show that the National Security Agency was creating its own back doors — directly into Huawei’s networks. The agency pried its way into the servers in Huawei’s sealed headquarters in Shenzhen, China’s industrial heart, according to N.S.A. documents provided by the former contractor Edward J. Snowden. It obtained information about the workings of the giant routers and complex digital switches that Huawei boasts co...