SxSW Festival, Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Induction Dinner, ShoWest Convention, USITT Conference & Stage Expo, Urban Network Entertainment Marketing Summit, Brussels Festival of Fantastic Film

Now in its 26th year, Canadian Music Week, March 5-8, is a conference focusing on the business of music and spans four nights of performances, with over 500 showcasing bands at over 40 live music venues in downtown Toronto. International Festival of Films on Art encourages the film industry, both nationally and internationally, to increase its annual production of films on art. To this end, it strives to develop international markets by inviting both Canadian and foreign filmmakers, professionals and artists to participate in exchanges and networking forums at this year's festival in Montreal, from March 6-16. 'Earth Vision - The Tokyo Global Environmental Film Festival', from March 7-9, has been held annually in Tokyo as a visual forum to examine the environment through moving images. This year's South by Southwest (SxSW) Film Festival and SXSWClick Shorts Fest, runs March 7-16 in Austin. Among the many festival highlights, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Van Morrison will play SXSW on Mar 12 at La Zona Rosa, and the ScreenBurn Arcade, an open platform of exhibitors and game tournaments, is free to the public and connects consumers, independents, developers, and soon to be masters of the game world. The 23rd Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Dinner will be held in New York, March 10, and the 2008 Inductees are: Leonard Cohen, The Dave Clark Five, Madonna, John Mellencamp, and The Venturers, Little Walter, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff.

The annual ShoWest Convention, happening March 10-13 in Las Vegas, is focused on the needs of the cinema exhibition and distribution community who need to know about the latest products and services, the newest technologies, industry happenings and upcoming films. The Center for Asian America Media presents the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF) every March, and this year's festival, which usually fields 130 works for new Asian American and Asian films, opens March 13-23.  Hermes Creative Awards is an international competition for creative professionals involved in the concept, writing and design of traditional materials and programs, and emerging technologies. The awards ceremony is in Arlington, March 14. Meet with the people behind the documentary "Meeting Resistance" to discuss the role of a documentary maker in providing unheard narratives and under-reported information that catalyzes political and social action, in a workshop taking place March 15 in Seattle. The Nashville Songwriters Association will host a March 16 workshop in New York with songwriters Pat and Pete Luboff, as they conduct an audience participation workshop in which the Luboffs will lead the entire group in a collaboration on a new song. At the White Sands Film Festival running March 16-22, film professionals and the interested public have the opportunity to gain industry knowledge through workshops and seminars and interaction within a festival environment. The Festival also offers all attendees the opportunity to visit the beautiful country, facilities and pursuits that Alamogordo and Southern New Mexico has to offer.

The USITT Annual Conference & Stage Expo in Houston, March 19-22, is a focal point for performing arts and entertainment professionals, with over 175 sessions featuring design, technology, costume, sound, architecture, management, engineering, and production while showcasing businesses, products, services, and educational opportunities in the performing arts and entertainment industry. The Urban Network Entertainment Marketing Summit takes place in Newport Beach, March 26-29, with an agenda that will include panel discussions, a platform for artists and labels to showcase their music, a 20th anniversary gala celebration, a salute to select high profile dignitaries, entertainment-technology product exhibits, and much more. The three-day Arizona Black Film Showcase 2008 opening March 27 in Phoenix, is comprised of informative workshops, short and feature Film Screenings, and a Vendor and Resource Fair. This year, teens can explore their love for film and role in making Film a future career through the AZBFS Urban Youth Film Boot Camp. The 10th Annual Method Fest Independent Film Festival, which puts its focus on acting within the array of American and international feature films and short films offered on the festival program, is set to launch March 27 to April 3 in Woodland Hills. The Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Films, running March 27 to April 8, includes more than 150 films in the fields of Fantasy, Thriller, Science-fiction, Horror, Cult, and Underground, of which 80 are long features as a first screening, about 50 films in retrospectives, and rounding out with some 30 short films. The New York Underground Film Festival is set to run March 28 to April 3, with a mandate to "push boundaries and break new ground -- that challenge, entertain and provoke".

The above events are only a sampling of what is listed. Most of the reported events above have a submission process for indie and/or performing artists to take part in. Complete details are on the "Media, Entertainment and Performing Arts Industry News and Events" page. Video and podcast versions of this news summary are also available at most popular video sites around the Web like MySpace, YouTube, Bit Torrent, as well as on The Actor's Checklist video blog a great place to get your iPhone, ipod or Apple TV download from. This month on video you will see trailers and video clips of Carlton Films' "The Backup Man" (www.myspace.com/thebackupman / www.carltonfilms.com) a comedy about two bumbling small town cops who go up against a big-time Colombia hit-man. A new romantic comedy from director Stella Oliveros, "Pretty In Red" (www.myspace.com/babystar444 / www.prettyinredmovie.com). Electro-pop duo from Antarctica, Oslo Swan, formerly known as Mellow Pop (www.mellowpop.com / www.myspace.com/mellowpop) The Actor's Checklist now lets you check the latest musical artists song releases on Apple's iTunes, updated on an hourly basis, at: http://www.actorschecklist.com/resources/itunes.php