Today the Los Angeles Film Festival, in conjunction with Presenting Media Sponsor the Los Angeles Times and Host Partner L.A. LIVE, announced the North American Premiere of Woody Allen’s To Rome With Love as the opening night film for the 2012 Festival. The Festival is widely recognized as a world-class event, showcasing the best in new American and international cinema, and is produced by Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that also produces the Spirit Awards. The 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival will screen a diverse slate of over 200 feature films, shorts, and music videos, representing more than 30 countries, along with signature programs such as the Filmmaker Retreat, Ford Amphitheater Outdoor Screenings, Poolside Chats, Coffee Talks, Music Events and more.

Written and directed by Woody Allen, To Rome With Love is a story about a number of people in Italy — some American, some Italian, some residents, some visitors — and the romances and adventures and predicaments they get into. The film stars Allen, Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni, Penélope Cruz, Judy Davis, Jesse Eisenberg, Greta Gerwig and Ellen Page, and is produced by Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum. To Rome With Love is being released by Sony Pictures Classics on June 22, 2012.

“I can’t think of a better way to kick off this year’s festival than with the original independent filmmaker himself, Woody Allen. It’s a true honor for Los Angeles to host the North American premiere of To Rome With Love,” said Festival Director Stephanie Allain.

“We are thrilled to bring Woody Allen and the US premiere of his new film To Rome With Love at the LA Film Fest,” said SPC’s Co-President Tom Bernard. “The Festival is a premiere showcase for films and we couldn’t be more excited that Stephanie and her team have chosen us to open the Festival.”

“I’ve always wanted to make a film in Rome. It’s obviously one of the great cities of the world, and when you make a film in a foreign city you get a chance to spend several months there, so shooting in Rome gave me and my family an opportunity to really enjoy a city I love in a way that I don’t usually get to. I wrote the film especially for Rome because over the years and my many visits there little ideas occurred to me, and I was able to utilize those ideas to comic advantage, romantic advantage, combined with the visual beauty of Rome,” said Woody Allen.

Returning to downtown Los Angeles, with its central hub at L.A. LIVE, the Festival will run from Thursday, June 14 to Sunday, June 24. Now in its eighteenth year, the Festival provides the movie-loving public with access to critically acclaimed filmmakers, film industry professionals, and emerging talent from around the world.

Passes are currently on sale to past Festival attendees and Film Independent members will be available to the general public on April 22. In addition to screenings and events, Festival passes provide access to a series of networking receptions and entry to the Filmmaker Lounge, where Festival pass holders can interact with Festival filmmakers and professionals in the film community. General admission tickets to individual films go on sale beginning May 29. Contact the Ticket Office for passes, tickets and event information by calling 866.FILM.FEST (866-345-6337) or visit LAFilmFest.com. The Official Film Guide, the comprehensive source for all movie info, screenings, locations, and related events is produced by the Los Angeles Times. It will top The Los Angeles Times on Sunday, June 10 in Los Angeles and Orange County and be made available throughout downtown during the ten-day event.

For the past 16 years, the Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival (GPJFF) has celebrated Jewish culture through film, bringing an exciting lineup of films to Arizona honoring Jewish traditions and heritage. This year, the festival presents more great films that make our festival even bigger and better. From February 12^th to the 26^th the Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival will be showing11 films showcasing the best of Jewish traditions at three valley locations: Harkins Camelview 5, Scottsdale; Harkins Crossroads 12, Chandler; and Harkins Arrowhead 18, Peoria.  

In addition to the website: http://gpjff.org, you can also follow the Festival on  Facebook.com/greaterphxjewishfilmfest or @GPJFF on Twitter.

WHAT:    The 16th Annual Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival

WHEN:    Sunday, February 12^th through Sunday, February 26th

WHERE:  Harkins Camelview 5, 7001 E. Highland Ave., Scottsdale

                 Harkins Chandler Crossroads 12, 2980 E. Germann Road, Chandler

                 Harkins Arrowhead 18, 16046 N. Arrowhead Fountains Ctr. Dr., Peoria

Ticket Prices:   $10.00 for adults/$5 for students

For more information about tickets, ticket packages or group discounts, call Bob Segelbaum at 602.908.8007.

Orthodox Stance                                                                                          AREA PREMIERE

Documentary – 83 minutes, Hebrew/English/Russian, w/ English subtitles

Screenings:

       Harkins Camelview 5, Scottsdale – Sun. Feb. 12^th, 3 PM

       Harkins Arrowhead 18, Peoria – Tues. Feb.21^st,3 PM

       Preceded by Hava Nagila: What Is It? - Short

Dimitriy Salita, Russian, immigrant and Orthodox Jew follows a traditional route out of poverty:  Boxing.  It is truly that sport’s story of “body and soul.”

Guest Speakers:

Camelview 5: Director Jason Hutt

Arrowhead 18: Harvey Prezant, former boxer, now a boxing judge and trainer.

Naomi                                                                                                                      AREA PREMIERE

Drama – 90 minutes, Hebrew/Arabic, w/ English Subtitles

Screening: Harkins Camelview 5, Scottsdale- Sun. Feb. 12^th, 7 PM

All the elements of a psychological thriller are here.  A May-December marriage on the brink.  A mother prepared to do whatever to protect her “boy.”  Unease and uncertainty joined with suspicion.  A surprise conclusion awaits you.

David                                                                                                               ARIZONA PREMIERE 

Drama– 80 minutes, English

Preceded by David & Goliath/Short at all three showings 

Screenings: Harkins Crossroads 12, Chandler – Sun. Feb. 12^th, 3 PM

             Harkins Camelview 5, Scottsdale – Sun. Feb. 19^th, 3PM

             Harkins Arrowhead 18, Peoria – Wed, Feb. 22^th, 7PM 

Two children thrown together: Yoav, Jewish, and David, Muslim, meet in a city environment of religious tensions and suspicions, and ask themselves two enduring questions: “How can I fit in?” and “Can we be friends?” An important film for all ages. 

Guest Speaker at Camelview 5: Rabbi Darren Kleinberg   

The People v. Leo Frank                                                                             AREA PREMIERE

Docudrama – 85 minutes, English

Screening: Harkins Camelview 5, Scottsdale – Mon. Feb 13^th, 7 PM

                 Harkins Crossroads 12, Chandler – Tues. Feb 14^th, 7PM

                 Harkins Arrowhead 18, Peoria – Mon. Feb 20^th, 7PM

A troubling, boldly depiction of murder mere words cannot convey.  It takes this powerful docudrama to convey the shocking and tragic events as they unfolded in 1913 Atlanta.

Guest Speaker:

Camelview 5 and Chandler Crossroads 12 : Writer/Director/Exec Producer: Ben Loeterman

Hidden Children                                                                           ARIZONA PREMIERE           

History/Docudrama – 90 minutes, French w/ English subtitles

Screening: Harkins Camelview 5, Scottsdale – Tues. Feb. 14^th, 7 PM

                 Harkins Arrowhead 18, Peoria – Sun. Feb. 19^th, 3 PM

                 Harkins Crossroads 12, Chandler – Tues. Feb 21^st, 7 PM

Here is fact more poignant, filled with outrage, with pain, and with more twists and turns than fiction. It’s the true saga of two little French Jewish boys, the Finalys, sheltered by a devout Catholic woman when their parents were sent to their deaths in a concentration camp. The film will tug at your heart. 

Guest Speakers:

Camelview 5: Dr. Murray Henner

Arrowhead 18: Rabbi Arthur Abrams

Chandler Crossroads 12: Paul Wieser

Je Taime I Love You Terminal                                                            ARIZONA PREMIERE

Drama, Comedy, Romance – 80 minutes, English

Screenings: Harkins Camelview 5, Scottsdale – Wed. Feb. 15^th, 3 PM

“Love usually happens when God decides He needs a laugh.”  You will, too, in this romantic diversion.  Israeli Ben meets English Emma and the result is outrageous, flaky fun.  Have a good laugh; we all can use one.

The Matchmaker                                                                                        AREA PREMIERE

Drama – 112 minutes, Hebrew w/ English Subtitles

Camelview 5, Scottsdale and Arrowhead 18, Peoria: Preceded by Honeymoon Suite – Short

Chandler Crossroads 12: Preceded by Hava Nagila: What Is It? – Short

Screenings: Harkins Camelview 5, Scottsdale  – Wed. Feb 15^th, 7 PM

                    Harkins Arrowhead 18, Peoria – Sun. Feb. 19^th, 7 PM

                    Harkins Crossroads 12, Chandler – Thurs. Feb. 23^rd, 7 PM

The matchmaker is a mystery.  Is he a Holocaust survivor with a hidden past, a shady business man or more on a mission as a mentor to a teenager coming of age than in business?  Watch, enjoy, and perhaps find some answers.

Guest Speaker: Chandler Crossroads 12, Rabbi Dean Shapiro

The Human Resources Manager                                                                       ARIZONA PREMIERE

Drama – 103 minutes, Hebrew, English, Romanian, w/ English subtitles

Screenings: Harkins Camelview 5, Scottsdale – Thurs. Feb. 16^th, 3 PM

Life and death come together in this film.  An Israeli Manager is forced to return the remains of a woman to her native Rumanian village.  He and perhaps you, too, learn much about life from this journey of trials and tribulations.

Tony Curtis: Driven to Stardom                                                                   AREA PREMIERE 

Documentary – 96 minutes, English

Preceded by Hava Nagila: What Is It? – Short 

Screening: Harkins Camelview 5, Scottsdale – Thurs. Feb 16th, 7 PM 

Good, bad, never dull, Tony Curtis’ rags to riches, intolerance struggle, fame and infamy, is a story defining a truly original movie
My Best Enemy                                                                                               ARIZONA PREMIERE

Drama/Dark Comedy – 109 minutes, German w/ English subtitles

Camelview and Arrowhead: Preceded by David & Goliath – Short

Screening: Harkins Camelview 5, Scottsdale – Sun. Feb. 19^th, 7 PM

                 Harkins Crossroads 12 , Chandler – Sun. Feb 19^th, 7 PM

                 Harkins Arrowhead 18, Peoria – Thu. Feb 23^st, 7PM

Wonderful acting and directing make this “edge-of-seat” thriller work.

With all its escapades and questions raised you will want to see how it all plays out.

Guest Discussion Leader:

Chandler Crossroads 12 – Bill Goodykoontz, Chief Film Critic, Gannett and Film Critic,  Arizona Republic.

Guest Speaker

Arrowhead 18, Peoria – Paul Wieser, Holocaust Expert

Yoo-Hoo Mrs. Goldberg                                            

Documentary – 92 minutes, English

Preceded by Seltzer Works – Short

Screening: Harkins Crossroads 12, Chandler – Sun. Feb 26^th, 3 PM

First via radio, then by TV, the depressed American public took this warm, loving Jewish mother into their homes and hearts.  See how Gertrude Berg, as Mollie, brought to life an imagined cast of characters. 

Casting:  Non SAG Short film: Bershert (Meant to Be)

We’re looking to cast the following roles for an eight minute short to be shot in the metro Los Angeles area before the end of the year. Please send your headshot and resume to casting (at) launchflix dot com by November 15, 2011.

Henry Oertelt

A German immigrant is questioned during a cocktail party in Minnesota regarding his whereabouts during World War II…and discovers that the world can be a very small place.

Henry Oertelt:

Jewish, Mid-thirties, brown eyes, brown hair . German Immigrant. Thin, below average-height, eye-glasses.

Inge Oerelt:

Henry’s wife. Mid-thirties, Jewish, brown eyes, brown hair . German Immigrant. Thin, below average-height.

Steffi Oertelt:

Henry and Inge’s daughter. 5 years old, blonde brown eyes.

Mrs. Reece:

50’s, Local teacher, little overweight, pushy, but down-home at the same time. Minnesota Native.

Arnold Fink:

Mid to late 30’s. Guest at a cocktail party. Jewish, Minnesota native. Knew Henry in the past.

Mary:

Early twenties female babysitter, Minnesota native.

For more information visit http:6mfor6m.org or join our Facebook page.

Inge Oertelt

Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, announced the program for its 10th annual Directors Close-Up series, taking place February 2 – March 2, 2011 at The Landmark – West Los Angeles. Writer/Directors James Gray (Two Lovers) and Robin Swicord (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), and Los Angeles Film Festival Artistic Director David Ansen will be moderators. Series panelists include writer/directors Lisa Cholodenko (The Kids Are All Right) Jay Duplass (Cyrus), William Friedkin (The Exorcist, The French Connection), Nicole Holofcener (Please Give), director Matt Reeves (Let Me In, Cloverfield), composer Michael Giacchino (Up, Star Trek), Skywalker Sound’s Douglas Murray (Let Me In, Cloverfield), Sound Designer Will Files (Let Me In, Cloverfield), with additional names to be announced.

Over the course of five consecutive weeks, guests will hear first-hand from prolific film directors whose originality, ingenuity, and talent have set them apart as leaders in their craft. Film Independent’s 2011 Directors Close-Up sponsors include Skywalker Sound, The Landmark Theatres, the Directors Guild of America, SAGIndie/Screen Actors Guild, and Cinedigm Digital Cinema.
“We are incredibly proud to celebrate 10 years of the Directors Close-Up series and are looking forward to another great year. The range of accomplished independent directors, writers, actors and filmmaking talent that have shared their stories and career advice with our attendees is truly amazing,” said Maria Bozzi, Film Independent’s Director of Education.

This year’s panels will cover the following topics:
February 2nd – Music and Sound Design
February 9th – The Creative Team: Bringing the Vision to Life
February 16th – Casting and Directing Actors
February 23rd – The Spirit of Independence: A Roundtable Discussion
March 2nd – Writing and Directing
All panels will take place at The Landmark – West Los Angeles (10850 West Pico Boulevard at Westwood Boulevard) on Wednesday evenings from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Series passes are currently available for a discounted rate of $99 for Film Independent members and $130 for the general public. After January 14, series passes will be $150 for Film Independent members and $180 for the general public. For more information on panel descriptions and participants, and to buy passes, please visit FilmIndependent.org or call 310-432-1222.

ABOUT FILM INDEPENDENT
Film Independent is a non-profit arts organization that champions independent film and supports a community of artists who embody diversity, innovation, and uniqueness of vision. Film Independent helps filmmakers make their movies, builds an audience for their projects, and works to diversify the film industry. Film Independent’s Board of Directors, filmmakers, staff, and constituents, are comprised of an inclusive community of individuals across ability, age, ethnicity, gender, race, and sexual orientation. Anyone passionate about film can become a member, whether you are a filmmaker, industry leader, or a film lover.
With over 250 annual screenings and events, Film Independent provides access to a network of like-minded artists who are driving creativity in the film industry. Film Independent offers free Filmmaker Labs for selected writers, directors, and producers; provides cut-rate services for filmmakers; and presents year-round networking opportunities. Film Independent’s mentorship and job placement program, Project:Involve, pairs emerging culturally diverse filmmakers with film industry professionals.
Film Independent produces the Los Angeles Film Festival, celebrating the best of American and international cinema and the Spirit Awards, a celebration honoring films and filmmakers that embody independence and dare to challenge the status quo.
For more information or to become a member, visit FilmIndependent.org.

Ted Kroeber, Meg LeFauve, and Ron Yerxa Served as Lab Instructors -

Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and Los Angeles Film Festival just wrapped its 10^th annual Producers Lab earlier this week with 14 filmmakers and 9 projects participating. Sponsored by Technicolor and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the seven-week program took place in Los Angeles and was designed to help producers improve their craft, and move their current projects into production in a nurturing, yet challenging creative environment.

Film producers Ted Kroeber (American Gun, Splinter), Meg LeFauve (The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, The Baby Dance), and Ron Yerxa (The Switch, Little Children) were this year’s Lab Instructors and advised the selected filmmakers on the craft and business of producing.  Lab advisors this year included: Effie T. Brown (Rocket Science), Cotty Chubb (Unthinkable), Scott Hamilton Kennedy (The Garden), In-Ah Lee (Yi Ye Taibel), Alix Madigan-Yorkin (Winter’s Bone), Michael Roiff (Waitress), Paula Schmit (Film Finances), and Robin Schorr (Peaceful Warrior).

Filmmakers were chosen based on the strength of their submitted script, business plan, and creative vision.  The Producers Lab is provided free to accepted producers, and upon completion, they become Film Independent Fellows, receiving year-round support including access to Film Independent’s annual film educational offerings, on-staff Filmmaker Advisor, and the Los Angeles Film Festival.

Recent projects developed through the Lab include Suzi Yoonessi’s Dear Lemon Lima, which premiered at the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival; Morgan Stiff’s Mississippi Damned, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2009 Outfest Film Festival; Scott Prendergast’s Kabluey, which premiered at the 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival; Ted Kroeber’s American Gun, which was nominated for three Spirit Awards in 2007; So Yong Kim’s In Between Days, which was released by New Yorker Films in 2007; and Jessica Sanders’ After Innocence, which was short-listed for the 2006 Academy Awards.

The 2010 Producers Lab filmmakers and projects were:

1.   Before You Say Goodbye – A popular high school cheerleader learns how to love when her former childhood friend, an ostracized “promise-ring” kid, falls ill.

Kevin Fitzmaurice Comer graduated from the University of Cincinnati with honors in electrical engineering.  As a project manager for NASA, Comer designed, constructed and launched an experimental rocket.  Upon moving to New York City, he embarked on his post-graduate studies in film at Brooklyn College.  He founded Psychonaut Productions in 2002 in Los Angeles and produced the award-winning short film Parallel Passage, and was invited to participate in the inaugural Marché du Film Producer’s Network at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. A veteran of music video and commercial production, Comer has worked with some of the biggest commercial production houses such as RSA, @radical.media, The Directors Bureau, Streetgang, Paranoid US, Cente Service, Day-O, Filmbug, Duroo, B2 Studios, Firefly, Humble, MTV, and Washington Square Films, amongst others. He has produced and line produced high caliber commercials, promos, music videos, and viral videos for clients such as BMW, Lexus, Hyundai, Honda, GM/Daewoo, Soft Bank (with Brad Pitt and Cameron Diaz), Shiseido, L’Oreal (with Eva Longoria), McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Disney (with Hillary Duff), Samsung, Zoosk and Google; music videos for U2, Green Day, Red Jump Suit Apparatus, The National, as well as F/X promos for The Riches, The Shield, Nip/Tuck and Sons of Anarchy. Comer is also the Head of Production at Evolution LA and oversees viral campaigns produced for studio films, including Bruno, I Love You Beth Cooper, Marley & Me, etc. Comer recently produced Tesla Popped my Cherry, a comedic short film by the McAllen brothers, currently in post-production. In 2009, he line-produced Sparks, a short film directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and written by Elmore Leonard, which premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival. In addition to Before You Say Goodbye, Comer has three features in development, and is currently in pre-production on a film based on John Patrick Shanley’s celebrated play, Down and Out.

Lulu Brud moved to Los Angeles at the age of nineteen after realizing her degree in Theater from University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill was not going to make a career happen and she needed real life experience. At the age of twenty, Brud launched a theater company, Little Bird Theater Company, which developed and produced the very popular and highly attended one-act festival called MIXTAPE. Her aim was to align herself with new writers and directors, creating a strong talent pool. In January of 2009, Brud bought the rights to an award winning play she starred in called F*cking Art. For the following year and a half, Brud worked closely with the writer, Bekah Brustetter, to develop a feature length version of the play that has now come to be known as Before You Say Goodbye. Brud has also starred in the horror film Cold Blood Canyon and had a small role in Gravedancers, along with many other shorts, independents and web-series. She is currently optioning new properties to develop more projects as she hopes to continue to act, produce, write, and direct for her entire life. She has studied extensively with Lesly Kahn, Marjorie Ballentine, Allen Barton at the Beverly Hills Playhouse, Judith Weston, Warner Loughlin and Nancy Banks. In 2011, Brud will star in the title roll of Tennessee Williams’ play “Baby Doll” on the Main Stage at the Elephant Theater.

2.  Brute Force – The story of Apple Records’ notoriously irreverent recording artist, Stephen Friedland, aka Brute Force.

Andrew Fuller received a degree in Political Science from Colgate University in 2003, and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career the film business where he began working in feature development at Village Roadshow Pictures.  Fuller went on to serve as entertainment adviser for The Bahamas Film Studio, where he liaised on deals such as Disney’s Pirates Of The Caribbean 2 & 3, in addition to consulting on localized tax incentives, soft money financing, and alternative insurance products serving as credit enhancing mechanisms both for single pictures and film slates budgeted up to $150 Million.  In 2007, after heading up the creative division at a wireless start-up company, where he acquired numerous properties and produced short form, viral-driven animated and live action content, Fuller formed Razor Films (www.razorfilmsla.com).  Predicated upon the synthesis of classic Hollywood storytelling with the opportunities of a constantly changing industry and marketplace, the company focuses on making artistically appealing, yet commercially viable, independently financed feature films with breakout and award potential.  Razor’s current slate of films in various stages of development and production include Brute Force, a music documentary, The Last Highway, a concert film and several novel adaptations.

3.  Free Ride – Based on a true story, Free Ride is a captivating tale about a single mother and her two daughters trying to survive and make a life for themselves amidst the mother’s rise in the glamorous Florida drug trade in the late 1970’s.

Susan Dynner began her career at the age of fifteen as a band photographer when she started photographing bands such as The UK Subs, Minor Threat, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag as well as UB40, Psychedelic Furs, Squeeze and many more.  Her photos have been published on album covers, in books, on t-shirts, and in magazines.  After earning her degree at University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dynner moved to Los Angeles, where she held various positions at Touchstone, Richard Donner Productions, and Wolfgang Petersen’s Radiant Productions.  Later, she joined Charlie Sheen and Nick Cassavetes’ Ventura Films as VP of Creative Affairs, before leaving to join Steve Herzberg as a Producer and VP of Development/Production for Prairiefire Films, who had deals with Sony and AOL.  In 2000, Dynner teamed up with producer Mark Mathis, and together they formed Stillwater Films.  There, they produced the feature film Brick, which won the Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, and was released by Focus Features.  Most recently, Dynner formed Aberration Films, and released Punk’s Not Dead, a documentary feature that she directed, produced and shot.  The film, which premiered at the AFI SilverDocs Film Festival, has received much acclaim.  Celebrated by critics from Variety to The Hollywood Reporter to the LA Times, it went on to screen at many more prestigious festivals, including Melbourne, Copenhagen, Buenos Aires, San Francisco, and AFI Dallas, before its theatrical run (32 US cities and worldwide distribution).  Dynner just completed post-production on the feature documentary, Exxxit: Life After Porn (scheduled to be released in winter, 2010), and was recently hired to direct the narrative feature film, Blank Nation. Aberration Films currently has several other projects in various stages of development, including Free Ride, written and to be directed by Shana Sosin.

4.  Half Truth – Two unlikely friends from the rural South – Donell, a black, teenaged outcast, and Johnny, a white, enigmatic runaway – form a tenuous bond as they escape their troubled pasts on a wild cross-country adventure.

Wade Gasque was chosen for Film Independent’s 2009 Directors Lab and 2008 Screenwriters Lab with his feature screenplay, Half Truth. He’s a semifinalist for this year’s Nicholl Fellowship. In 2009, he was one of six finalists out of 2,000 entrants in the Netflix FIND Your Voice Competition. Film directing credits include the teaser trailer for Half Truth with SteakHaus Productions (Weather Girl, By Hook or By Crook) and the short film The Hardest Job in the Business with Marvin Acuna (The Great Buck Howard, Touched).  Other directing credits include the 2006-7 season of City at Peace-LA, a non-profit that uses the performing arts to empower a diverse group of teens from across Los Angeles. As resident director for the stage musical, The Ohmies, he won Best Musical Play of 2006 by the Beverly Hills Outlook. He has directed The Ohmies at the Geffen Playhouse, The Skirball Cultural Center, and the Falcon Theatre, as well as a national tour in 2006. He was also co-director of The Ohmies Live on DVD produced by Herzog Cowen (Anchorman, HBO:First Look Series) in 2005.  Gasque has directed numerous solo shows and short plays in Los Angeles and New York. He wrote/directed the full-length play, The Allegory of Golf, with a run at the Flatiron Playhouse in New York in 2002, and his short plays I Do Not Wish to See the Needle and The Sweater Issue won Buffalo’s Maxim Mazumdar New Play Competition and the Cleveland New Works Festival, respectively.  Before working as a stage and commercial actor for over 10 years, he received theatre scholarships to both Marymount Manhattan College and the College of Charleston and won the South Carolina Archibald Rutledge State Scholarship for Playwriting.

Dominic Ottersbach is a co-founder of Steakhaus Productions, an award-winning film production company dedicated to bringing bold, new visions to movie audiences everywhere.  Dominic and co-founder Steak House have more than 20 combined years of experience in production management, line-producing and producing, with a specialty in physical production, and taking projects from paper to festival.  Recent projects include Sunset Strip The Movie (in production), Secret Lives of Dorks for Steven J. Wolfe, and Chain Letter, The Hustle and Night Tales for Deon Taylor and Jamie Foxx (No Brainer Films). Previous production experience includes coordinating on The Matrix Reloaded/Revolutions and several Nickelodeon, Sony and WB cartoon series.  Steakhaus Productions produced the indie favorite By Hook or By Crook, a Sundance premiere and five-time best feature winner. Their films have long enjoyed success on the festival circuit, including Los Angeles Film Festival, Tribeca, Outfest and four films at Sundance. Their popular documentary about passionate Dolly Parton fans, For the Love of Dolly, broadcasts on MTV’s Logo. Most recently, their indie romantic comedy, Weather Girl, premiered at Slamdance 2009 and sold to Screen Media, Regent and Lifetime.  Their current film 6 Month Rule is in post-production and they are developing several other projects including: The Summer We Drowned, Half Truth, Dish and Skirt, which were invited to participate in the FIND labs, Fast Track and the Sundance Independent Producers Conference.

5.  Hey, Hey Johnny! – When Will Kennedy finds a dead body outside his bedroom window, the search for the anonymous boy’s identity forces him to become a new man.  As mystery unfurls, Will discovers what it means to be alive, what it means to be in love, and what it means to lose both.

Nicholas Citton is a writer/director/producer currently based in Los Angeles. He recently completed his studies at Columbia University’s Graduate Film Program. While in school, he co-created the comedy series, This Space for Rent, which was developed with the National Screen Institute of Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Company. The show aired on CBC Television, and was nominated for numerous awards. This past year, Citton’s feature, That Burning Feeling, was selected for The Canadian Film Centre’s Comedy Lab and developed alongside Just for Laughs Canada. The project is currently in pre-production with Resonance Films. Nicolas has several television and film projects presently in development, including Lust for Life, another comedy series with CBC Television.

Jason James is an award-winning producer/director based in Vancouver, BC.  He got his start as an associate producer on the TV drama Da Vinci’s Inquest, and went on to co-create his own comedy TV series for the CBC, This Space For Rent. Most recently, James produced Carl Bessai’s feature film Repeaters, which premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival.  Last year, he produced two critically acclaimed features with director Carl Bessai: Cole and Fathers & Sons .  He also produced Unnatural & Accidental, which premiered at the MoMA in New York, played the 2006 Toronto and Vancouver International Film Festivals, and was released theatrically by Odeon Films in January 2007. James has several television and film projects presently in development, including Lust for Life, another comedy series with CBC Television, and That Burning Feeling, a feature with frequent collaborator, Nicolas Citton.

6.  Poppies and Olives – Three women’s journeys collide in the Arab-Israeli port city of Jaffa.  Layla investigates her Palestinian roots; Tali finds meaning in her art; and Ronit contemplates deserting the army.

Keren Michael’s first feature film, Ha’Meshotet (The Wanderer), premiered at the Directors Fortnight at Cannes in May 2010 and was nominated for Cannes’ prestigious Caméra d’Or. Michael began her film career as an assistant director and has worked extensively with the Israeli production company Movie Plus as well as with directors Amos Gitai and Joseph Cedar. In 2008, Michael co-founded The Mouth Agape, an Israeli independent film production company. Michael graduated from The Camera Obscura Film School in Tel Aviv.

Deb Shoval has received grant funding from The Sparkplug Foundation, The Fund for Wild Nature, The Fund for New Technologies and The Leeway Foundation for her work as a playwright/theater director.  Shoval received a second Leeway grant to research and write her first feature screenplay, Poppies and Olives, which was chosen as an Emerging Narrative Script for the IFP Market. Shoval is currently completing her thesis work for an MFA in Film Directing at Columbia University, where she received a Columbia Women in Film (CWIF) Fellowship in 2009-2010. She was recently named one of the “Heeb Hundred,” Heeb Magazine’s “hundred people you need to know about.”

7.  Saigon/24 – Life in contemporary Saigon as seen through the eyes of a group of young people living in Saigon/24, a dilapidated eastern block style apartment building with an unpredictable charm.

Elizabeth Ai was born in Nashville, grew up in Chicago and currently resides in Los Angeles. She studied at the University of Southern California and went on to work for New Line Cinema, Merv Griffin Entertainment, and the William Morris Agency, then founded an art-based non-profit group for LAUSD inner-city youth called Reaching to Embrace Arts.  Since then, she has been writing and producing short films, music videos, reality web content, documentaries and narrative features. Dirty Hands: The Art & Crimes of David Choe, a documentary she produced, won the 2008 SDAFF Grand Jury and SFIAFF Special Jury Prize. In 2009 she worked with Stephane Gauger to produce a period feature film on French painter Paul Gauguin. A master thesis film she produced, Crown Prince of Heaven, premiered at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival and is a 2010 Weisman Award recipient.  Elizabeth is a 2010 Film Independent Project:Involve and Producer’s Lab fellow and just finished Producing a hip-hop dance narrative feature in Vietnam on local street teens called Saigon/24 with writer/director Stephane Gauger.

8. Stem – A brilliant stem cell researcher goes to visit her sick mother in Scotland and discovers that it is not just cells that sometimes need to go back in order to go forward.

Matthew Medlin hails from rural Northern California, and moved from San Francisco to New York City in 2002 where he worked his way up the production ranks in the commercial and independent film scene. He has produced a myriad of creative projects, ranging from commercials and music videos to new media campaigns, to feature and short narrative films. In 2005, Medlin was the cofounder of a Brooklyn-based filmmaking collective entitled Radius 5 Films, and produced his first feature in 2006. Working closely with artist Doug Aitken in 2007 and 2008, he helped produce Sleepwalkers, a massive public art piece that was projected onto the exterior of the MoMA in New York City, and Migration which debuted at the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh and showed at Sundance in 2009. After moving to Los Angeles in 2008, Medlin dived directly into independent films first with Obselidia, and more recently Losing Control (currently in post production).  Additionally, he had a hand in the film Night Catches Us, which was in competition at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, and has several projects slated to begin production in the coming year.

Chris Byrne has worked in the American film industry for fifteen years as an actor, stuntman, military tech advisor, camera assistant/operator, director and producer in both independent and studio features.  This followed a twelve-year stint in Special Forces in both British and US armies.   Byrne’s broad range of onset experience gives him an invaluable, practical understanding of what is needed to make a successful film.  He has worked closely with some of the greatest directors of our times – his credits (as an actor) include James Cameron’s Titanic, Costas Gavras’ Mad City, and John McTiernan’s Basic (for which he also provided military tech advice).  His credits as a camera assistant include Luke Wilson’s Wendell Baker Story and Jeb Stuart’s Blood Done Sign Thy Name.  Additionally, he has directed and produced his own award-winning WW2 short film The Table.

9.  Valley of Saints – In beautiful, war-ravaged Kashmir, a poor boatman and a young scientist team up to save a forgotten casualty: the environment.

Nicholas Bruckman is a New York-based film and media producer and graduate of the New Media department at SUNY Purchase  His thesis film on Kashmir earned him the Statewide University Chancellor’s Award. His directorial debut, La Americana, won 7 awards at over 30 international film festivals and was broadcast on various networks in the U.S., Europe and Asia.  As part of the film’s outreach campaign, Bruckman spoke at leading institutions and universities on immigrant rights and immigration reform.  Additional producer credits include Bronx Princess (POV 2009) and The New Recruits (PBS 2010).  In addition to independent film, Bruckman produces corporate media projects around the world for Fortune 500 and nonprofit clients, in countries including Bolivia, Venezuela, Israel, Kuwait, the UK and India.  He is an alumnus of the IFP Rough Cut Labs and Independent Film Week, and his work has been funded by numerous foundations including NYSCA, Cinereach, and The Fledgling Fund.  Bruckman was recently named a 2010 Film Fellow by the New York Foundation for the Arts.

ABOUT FILM INDEPENDENT

Film Independent is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization that champions independent film and supports a community of artists who embody diversity, innovation, and uniqueness of vision. Film Independent helps filmmakers make their movies, builds an audience for their projects, and works to diversify the film industry. Film Independent’s Board of Directors, filmmakers, staff, and constituents, is comprised of an inclusive community of individuals across ability, age, ethnicity, gender, race, and sexual orientation. Anyone passionate about film can become a member, whether you are a filmmaker, industry leader, or a film lover.

With over 250 annual screenings and events, Film Independent provides access to a network of like-minded artists who are driving creativity in the film industry. Film Independent offers free Filmmaker Labs for selected writers, directors, and producers; provides cut-rate services for filmmakers; and presents year-round networking opportunities. Film Independent’s mentorship and job placement program, Project:Involve, pairs emerging culturally diverse filmmakers with film industry professionals.

Film Independent produces the Los Angeles Film Festival, celebrating the best of American and international cinema and the Spirit Awards, a celebration honoring films and filmmakers that embody independence and dare to challenge the status quo.

For more information or to become a member, visit FilmIndependent.org.

#  #  #

In the last session of the Filmmaker Forum, Anne Thompson moderated this panel, who said that effect from piracy is more severe on independent filmmakers. The MPA said the studios have a infrastructure in place to protect their content.

The Cinetic Rights Management representative said that digital distribution piracy has become a scapegoat for films that underperform.

The Hurt Locker was sited.

Avatar was the most downloaded pirated movie and sold the most copies too.

Filmmakers and musicians who focus on ways to connect with fans overall experience are most successful.

Hulu.com was created to monetize pirated content. They gave the example of selling bottled water. People do buy fancy water even though they can get it free.

The MPA rep said what keeps him up at night is  that consumers are getting used to getting content from one place – and thinking I can get whatever I want – for free.

Unthinkable with Samuel Jackson went from #3200 to 863 to #3 on IMDB a few weeks before commercial release.

The Unthinkable producer said they expected 800,000 dvd sales but got around 450,000. Producer said “Maybe it didn’t hurt” that it was available on the Internet on pirated sites.

9 inch Nails music ex.  He connects w/ his fan base. Make people feel good about your work and content.

Give them a real reason to buy. 9 Inch Nails put 36 tracks on line for free with a creative commons license and said if you “Want” pay $5 for all 36 songs, then for $10 get a CD, for $75, get deluxe package and for $2500 limited quality available, get the ultra deluxe which they sold out of.

There’s a lot of evidence that VOD doesn’t impact theatrical.

Rainn Wilson has been tweeting about his last film in production, Super. Interesting to see how that affects its success when its finally released. Twitter users seem to want stuff NOW.

On June 30 the MPA seized 9 web sites.

I have to say, I was again struck by the fact that independent filmmakers really have their work cut out for them and yet, there’s something exciting about being able to break the mold and come up with your own model.

At the networking event, I talked to the president of the Association of Film Commissioners International, film commissioners from Lake Tahoe and Utah, (where they just shot 127 Hours,) and someone from the American Humane Society who said they would come when you film anything with animals.

Also met the CEO of the Creative Coalition in NY who brings together artists and entertainers to learn about pressing issues so they can better inform and influence the community and nation.

Finally, I met Thiago Bento, the CEO of Lumiart Brasil. He gave me their short called Piece of Paper. I enjoyed seeing their work, and there were no sub titles, which I appreciated. Check out more at their web site.

I missed Saturday but you can read the keynote address by Lionsgate co-COO and president of its Motion Picture Group, Joe Drake here. Thanks to Film Independent for putting on another great event for our community.

Stephanie & Filmmaker Ondi Timoner at the 2010 Filmmaker Forum

I really enjoyed lunch at the Filmmaker Forum. FIND sets it up so that different industry executives, producers, etc. are spread out at different tables that have signs with their names and then attendees get to sit with people they are interested in talking to and learning from.

I had lunch with filmmaker Ondi Timoner of the unforgettable documentary, We Live in Public. I first saw her and her film at the LA Film Festival in 2008. She’s working on Into the Unknown with Honda, and Library of Dust. I haven’t seen her film Dig yet, either but she and everyone at our lunch table insisted I see it.  (I also noticed a full page ad in the LA Times for Cool It listing her as a Director. Looks like an interesting flick.)

Also I was excited to meet Wendy Cohen from Participant Media at lunch. She worked on Waiting for Superman and spoke on the marketing panel that followed lunch. I’ve always been so impressed with Participant (Oceans, The Cove, An Inconvenient Truth, The Kite Runner, The Informant – it goes on and on.)

Marketing panel thoughts

Think about outreach

Made in LA case study, they tied in activism with film screenings.

Be where conversations are happening.

Add widgets for Facebook and Twitter.

Wendy discussed the FoodInc hashtag example from Participant. They used #foodinc whenever discussing food or foodie related tweets, and their tag was used by others, which also promoted their film.

She says, be a source of other related information, not just info on your film.

A strategic high-level publicist can be hugely important to a film.

You need an advocate, someone besides you who really loves your film.

Blue Lite Jazz example came up a few times during the day. They just earned a significant amount on Kickstarter.

Who is your audience?

Tomorrow I’ll post the final part of this 3 part report.

Robert Baruc at 2010 Filmmaker Forum

Yesterday I attended the Film Independent (FIND) 2010 Filmmaker Forum at the Directors Guild of America in LA.  I was interested in hearing what the experts were sharing with independent filmmakers about the new methods and strategies for prioritizing distribution platforms and the threat of piracy.  There was also a pretty good marketing session and the FIND conference produced an amazing book with the schedule, bios, industry resources and case studies that I’m still reading.

I had a chance to meet Robert Baruc, president of Screen Media Films, a domestic distribution company before his talk where he gave a thorough run down of the current landscape.  He reiterated that he is always surprised about what filmmakers don’t know about distribution before they do a deal. First he covered the difference between a distribution deal and royalties.

Robert says most of the time, theatrical is not the way to go for independent films, but most independent filmmakers really want theatrical.  If that’s the case, maybe start in LA and NY and expand out to the top ten or twenty markets after that.

City Island was mentioned as a successful film that did a slow roll out. The film’s budget was around 6.2 Million.

Then with the DVD market, there’s rentals and sell through. Netflix and Redbox were listed as examples of new, profitable companies.  Apparently RedBox is going to have around 27,000 kiosks by the end of the year.

HBO is more interested in original content then independent films now. Showtime and Stars Encore might be better targets.  Sundance Channel obviously, also shows the films associated w/ their festival and workshops.

His recommendation in discussing international distribution was to split up the rights. That way you have money coming in from two places to see some back end.

Distributors take fees and out of pocket expenses out first, but don’t let them include overhead.

You should always have the right to audit your distributor.

It’s not a bad idea to spend some money and get some buzz on your movie. He said to hire a social media company.

In the distribution case studies session,

Producers Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly discussed their case study for The Way We Get By. Their documentary is about 3 retired seniors who greeted or thanked over 1.2 million troops who passed through Bangor, Maine.  The DVD comes out tomorrow, Nov. 2.

Bangor Savings was a key sponsor, spending $100,000 for marketing around local screening and the opening, and in return they got new clients, good will, awards..

Their theatrical window crossed with their VOD offering. They used Wendy at International Film Circuit of NY, who luckily had another successful film at the same time so they piggybacked on Yoohoo Mrs. Goldberg.

The filmmakers said they don’t take no for an answer. No just means yes at some point in the future.

They used marketing students nationally, including Harvard Business School to create marketing plans and statistics. They basically called the professors and pitched the involvement as a worthy project.

They said making film is a small hurdle, getting people to see it is the hard part.

Ask yourself, where is this film going to go?

I was most impressed with this anecodote. Pullapilly actually went to the buyer at Barnes and Noble who essentially said, no, they would never do a deal with them, as they were too small. She then went to president of Barnes and Noble who eventually instructed a distributor to carry them so they could complete a deal. They will now have end caps, etc.

Celline Rattray, President of Mandalay Vision did a case study about The Kids are Alright. She had 13 investors come on as a result of having distribution early on and a studio. Then she lost the distributor and studio but managed to keep the investors. She had a $2M gross corridor in her deal.  Her original budget was 8-9M but she shaved it down to $4.5M.

Embrace self distribution and create your own model was the closing tip. I had a lot of notes, so I’m doing a 3 part report. Part 2 tomorrow.

Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and Los Angeles Film Festival, has announced the 12 screenwriters and film projects selected for its 11th annual Screenwriters Lab, sponsored by the Writers Guild of America, West.  Taking place in Los Angeles from August 12 until September 16, the Screenwriters Lab is an intensive six-week program designed to help writers improve their craft, and take their current scripts to the next level in a nurturing, yet challenging creative environment.  Screenwriter and producer Meg LeFauve resumes duties as this year’s Lab Instructor, and Lab Mentors and Guest Speakers include Nicole Holofcener (Please Give), Erin Cressida Wilson (Chloe), José Rivera (The Motorcycle Diaries), Josh Olson (A History of Violence), and Kay Schaber-Wolf (WGAw).

“Our Labs have always attracted a high level of talent from different backgrounds and disciplines, and this year is no exception,” said Director of Talent Development Josh Welsh.  “With expert guidance from Meg, Nicole, Erin, José, and Josh, our Lab Fellows will not only hone their screenwriting skills, but also move their current projects closer to production.”

In the Screenwriters Lab, Fellows are advised on the craft and business of screenwriting under the tutelage of the Lab Mentors, and are also introduced to established screenwriters, producers and film professionals who serve as one-on-one advisors.  The Screenwriters Lab is provided free to accepted screenwriters, and upon completion, they become Film Independent Fellows, receiving year-round support including access to Film Independent’s annual film educational offerings, on-staff Filmmaker Advisor, and the Los Angeles Film Festival.  In addition, Lab Fellows are eligible to join the Indie Writers Caucus of the Writers Guild of America, West.  Recent projects developed through the Lab include Philip Flores’ The Wheeler Boys, which premiered at the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival; Suzi Yoonessi’s Dear Lemon Lima, which premiered at the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival; Erin Cassidy and Bruce Pavalon’s We Are the Mods, which won the Best Screenplay award at the 2009 Outfest Film Festival; Beth Schacter’s Normal Adolescent Behavior, which premiered at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival; Scott Prendergast’s Kabluey, which premiered at the 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival; and Minh Nguyen-Vo’s Buffalo Boy, which was Vietnam’s entry to the 2006 Academy Awards.

The 2010 Screenwriters Lab participants and their projects are:

1.  County Line – A rural North Carolina sheriff attempts to dissolve his corrupt alliance with the top local drug dealer; however, when he suspects that his counterpart is the serial rapist and killer who has recently been terrorizing an entire county, the Sheriff has to figure out how to catch him without causing his own downfall.

Tina Mabry is a writer/director with a MFA in Film Production from USC’s School of Cinema-Television.  While participating in Film Independent’s Project: Involve, Mabry finished developing and writing her short film, Brooklyn’s Bridge to Jordan, which she went on to direct. The film has been screened in more than 50 film festivals worldwide and has won multiple Jury and Audience Awards as well as a Best Director award. Brooklyn’s Bridge to Jordan aired on Showtime, BET J, and was voted the #1 film on the season finale of LOGO’s The Click List 2: Best in Short Film. Shortly after graduating from USC, Mabry co-wrote a feature screenplay entitled Itty Bitty Titty Committee, directed by Jamie Babbit. The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival (2007) and won Best Feature Narrative at SXSW (2007). In 2008, Mabry participated in the FIND Directors Lab with her feature film, Mississippi Damned. While playing on the festival circuit, Mississippi Damned has garnered an impressive 11 awards from participation in 13 film festivals, including awards for Best Feature Film and Best Screenplay at the Chicago International Film Festival (2009). Mabry was named among the 25 New Faces of Independent Film in Filmmaker Magazine in July 2009 and was recognized by Out Magazine as one of the most inspirational and outstanding people of 2009.  Mabry was recently featured in Advocate as part of their Top Forty Under 40 issue, which features the top 40 individuals who are raising the bar in their respective fields.

Morgan R. Stiff is a writer/director with a MFA in Film Production from USC’s School of Cinema-Television, and received her BFA from NYU in Dramatic Writing in 2002. While attending USC, she was chosen as a participant of Film Independent’s Project: Involve. As a producer, Stiff has produced fiction and documentary films, as well as promotional videos. Projects include Porcelain (2004), which is currently being distributed by Iron Rod Motion Pictures, Inc.; Hip Hop Homos (LOGO Networks, 2004); and the award-winning Brooklyn’s Bridge to Jordan (Showtime, LOGO, BET J, 2005). As an editor, Stiff has worked on tributes, music videos, fiction films, and documentaries, with those projects including Hope’s Choice (Showtime, 2004) and the award-winning documentary, One Bad Cat: The Reverend Albert Wagner Story (Ovation TV, 2009), which she also produced. In 2007, Stiff participated in the FIND Producer’s Lab with Mississippi Damned and went on to produce and edit the award-winning and critically acclaimed film. She is also the Chief Production Officer of Morgan’s Mark, a production company dedicated to bringing marginalized stories to the mainstream.

2.  Dandekar Finds Home – After being forced into retirement, a kindly Indian man goes on a search to find the beloved car his well-meaning daughters have traded away.

Leena Pendharkar is an award-winning writer and director whose feature film debut, Raspberry Magic, is currently making its way around the festival circuit, and will be released in theaters and VOD (Amazon, Netflix) later this year.  Her short films, both docs and narrative fiction, have won numerous awards including 1^st Prize at EarthVision Film Festival, a Bronze award at WorldFest Houston and 1^st Prize at the Kansas City Filmmakers’ Jubilee.  Her short film, My Narmada Travels, was picked up for broadcast on Al Gore’s network, Current TV.  She has also worked extensively in interactive media, and was recognized for her work with the Wired Magazine Excellence in New Media award.  She teaches filmmaking at Loyola Marymount University and Otis College of Art and Design and holds a Masters in Documentary Film Production from UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.

3.  Hey, Hey Johnny – When Will Kennedy finds a dead body outside his bedroom window, the search for the anonymous boy’s identity forces him to discover what it means to be alive, what it means to be in love, and what it means to lose both.

Nicolas Citton is a writer/director who recently completed his studies at Columbia University’s Graduate Film Program. While in school, he co-created the comedy series, This Space for Rent, which was developed with the National Screen Institute of Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Company. The show aired on CBC Television, and was nominated for numerous awards. This past year, Citton’s feature, That Burning Feeling, was selected for The Canadian Film Centre’s Comedy Lab and developed alongside Just for Laughs Canada. The project is currently in pre-production with Resonance Films. Nicolas has several television and film projects presently in development, including Lust for Life, another comedy series with CBC Television.

4.  In From the Cold – A family races for the edge of communist Poland while being pursued by a Russian agent, 48 hours before martial law is announced and the borders close.

Dominika Waclawiak is a political refugee who escaped with her parents from Communist Poland in the early 1980′s. Since then, she has become a director, writer and visual effects artist, graduating from Cornell University with a Bachelor’s in Architecture and is a former National Science Foundation Young Scholar. Her Visual Effects credits include: the upcoming true stereoscopic feature, Yogi Bear, Night at the Museum: The Battle for the Smithsonian, Land of the Lost, The Incredible Hulk, Evan Almighty, Superman Returns, The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and the Oscar-winning films, Happy Feet and The Golden Compass. She has production designed and art directed various independent shorts, music videos and spots for Nickelodeon, MTV and Good Machine. Waclawiak’s directorial debut, a 35mm stop-motion animated short Piekni was completed in 2007 and went on to play at the Slamdance Film Festival, Anarchy Division, Beverly Hills Film Festival and dozens of other national and international film festivals.  The film is currently distributed by Ouat Media in Toronto, Canada. In 2008, she was one of 8 women selected for AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women, where she wrote and directed her third narrative short, the VFX fantasy, Gosia’s Witch. Her first feature script, In From the Cold, was a finalist in the 2010 Sundance Screenwriting Lab and is a current quarterfinalist for the Nicholl Fellowship. She is currently writing a feature screenplay, which she is also set to direct, tentatively titled The Sixth Victim, for producer Tracy Mercer (Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman). Waclawiak has studied art, photography and architectural design in Iceland; Norway, in conjunction with the University of Oslo; Sweden, Denmark, Poland and throughout Italy. Her paintings and photography have been exhibited in various galleries in Los Angeles, Rome and New York City.

5.  Look for the Light – A modern day Faustian legend, Look For The Light is a psychological thriller about a war photographer, his spiritual degradation and his search for redemption.

Topaz Adizes is a writer/director and studied philosophy at UC Berkeley and Oxford before turning to film. He has directed a number of award-winning short films including Laredo, Texas (Sundance 2010), Trece Años (Sundance 2009) and City (Winner of Aspen Shorts Film Festival 2007).  Americana, his first feature documentary, shot around the world from Hiroshima, Tirana, Belgrade, Ho Chi Minh City, Istanbul and Havana, explores American identity in a global context.  Adizes has also had valuable experience learning from Steven Spielberg on Munich, Ridley Scott on Kingdom of Heaven, and P.T. Anderson on There Will Be Blood.

6.  Skirt ­- When beautiful, brilliant, ambitious Allie goes to work for a fast-paced political campaign, she finds herself caught romantically between her older female boss and a rakish male colleague.

Chris Mason Johnson is a writer/director and studied filmmaking at Amherst College.  Beforehand, Johnson had a successful career as a dancer in major ballet and modern companies, including William Forsythe’s Frankfurt Ballet and White Oak Dance Project with Mikhail Baryshnikov. After college, Johnson worked as a Script Analyst and Editor for Miramax, Dimension, Fine Line, ABC Family and Disney, and rose to the position of Head of Development at Open City Films in New York (Three Seasons, Chuck and Buck). Johnson made several short films before he co-wrote, directed and produced his first feature film, The New Twenty (2009), which won Best Director/First Feature at Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival, Best Screenwriting at FilmOut San Diego, Best Lead Actress at Outfest, and was the Closing Night Presentation at Montreal’s prestigious image+nation Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. The New Twenty had a limited theatrical release in the U.S., was broadcast on MTV Logo, released on DVD by Wolfe Video, and is currently available on iTunes and Netflix. In addition to Skirt, a romantic comedy that won the Grand Prize in the Cynosure Screenwriting Competition (for stories with women and minority protagonists), Johnson is also developing Static, a psychological horror-sci-fi set in a small California town. He was a mentor in Film Independent’s Project:Involve and has taught screenwriting at Amherst College and Rutgers University.

Kate Stayman-London is a writer and a current candidate for an MFA in Writing for Film and Television at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. Her first solo screenplay, a baseball sex comedy called Slump Busters, was awarded the Frank R. Volpe Scholarship and the National Association of Theater Owners Scholarship.  She was also selected by Steven Bochco for his five-person pilot class based on her spec episode of Dexter. Before moving to Los Angeles, Stayman-London worked in Washington, DC (and on campaign trails across America) as a political operative for the labor movement, ending with a stint as Deputy Field Director for the AFL-CIO’s 3+ million retirees.  Stayman-London has strong roots in playwriting: at Amherst College, she studied with acclaimed playwright Connie Congdon, and she’s currently writing the book for the next musical from this year’s Ovation Award winner, Erin Kamler.

7.  The Stones – In modern-day Tehran, a progressive youth-culture exists underground, but when a gay Iranian/American boy visits his motherland for the first time, he quickly learns the high price of rebellion in the hard-line Islamic regime.

Ana Lily Amirpour, a writer/director/producer, made her first film at the age of twelve: a horror movie starring the guests of a slumber party.  She comes from a varied background in the arts, including painting, sculpting, and playing bass and singing in a rock band.  Her feature-length script, The Stones, was grand prize winner of the 2007 Bluecat Screenwriting Competition, participant in the 2009 Tribeca All-Access program, and winner of the 2009 Adrienne Shelly Fellowship.  She has directed award-winning short films and music videos, and will direct The Stones as her debut feature film in 2010.  Her 2008 short film Six and a Half, screened at festivals worldwide, including Slamdance, Nashville, Brooklyn, and Milan, and was a Golden Ace winner at the Las Vegas International Film Festival.  Her 2009 short film True Love, a comedy about sex and relationships, won the Audience Award at the 2010 Milan International Film Festival; and her most recent film, Ketab ‘The Book,’ which is an excerpt from The Stones, will screen in 2010 in New York in connection with the Tribeca All-Access program.  Amirpour was recipient of the Dini Ostrov Award in Comedy Writing in 2008 and is most recently a participant of the 2010 Talent Campus at Berlinale.  She finished her MFA in 2009 at the UCLA School of Film and Television.  She is co-founder of Los Angeles based production company, Say Ahh… Productions, creators of cutting-edge film, TV, music video, and web content.

8.  Things We’ve Made – Set in the near future, a human clone shattered by the recent diagnosis of a genetic disease, embarks on a journey to find his original donor and the cure that can save him.

Trevin Matcek is a writer/director and has made movies since he was 10 years old.  A graduate of USC’s Film Production program, his first 35 mm short Sylvia, won the Gold Award for Best Student Short at Houston Worldfest and played at over a dozen festivals around the world. After working several years in post-production, Matcek began directing and editing music videos for bands such as Spoon and Clearlake.  In 2003, he directed “The District Sleeps Tonight”video for The Postal Service, which was Fuse TV’s #3 Video of the Year and nominated by the Music Video Production Association for Best Video under $10,000.  Most recently, he has worked on campaigns for NFL Sports and Sony’s PS3 (Webby^® award-winning).  In 2008, IFP selected Matcek’s script Things We’ve Made as an Emerging Narrative Finalist and was recently accepted in Film Independent’s Directors Lab.  Matcek is also part of the Dublab Collective, helming Vision Version videos for artists The Excepter and Baby Dee.

9.  Working Man – After losing his factory job, an aging assembly line lifer returns to work at his closed plant only to become an unexpected and reluctant hero.

Robert Jury has written feature film screenplays for Twentieth Century Fox, Walt Disney Studios, and HBO Films.  Jury is a past winner of the Walt Disney Studios Writers’ Fellowship and a member of the Writers Guild of America, West.  He has worked in feature development for production companies with deals at Touchstone Pictures and Warner Brothers.  He was a freelance segment producer for ESPN and BET, a production coordinator for Universal Studios Florida and a stage manager for ABC Sports.  Jury has also served as managing editor for a magazine, coached high school football, taught art to kids and produced a video for the American Alligator Association.

10.   Xanadu – An inveterate tomboy doggedly tries to win over the new girl in town, despite the uproarious machinations of her flamboyant older brother.

Susan Austin is a writer and valedictorian graduate of UCLA film school, where she was recognized for her films Voodoo and Tighter, winning the Peter Stark Memorial Scholarship and the Gene Reynolds Award.  She worked as a script reader for Silver Lion Films and Penny Marshall’s Parkway Productions before returning to UCLA for an MFA in Screenwriting.  Austin is currently directing a documentary This American Death, which examines why a “good death” is difficult to achieve, and continuing work on two features including her latest screenplay Viveka, about a white American woman who gets hooked on the idea of an arranged marriage.

ABOUT FILM INDEPENDENT

Film Independent is a non-profit arts organization that champions independent film and supports a community of artists who embody diversity, innovation, and uniqueness of vision. Film Independent helps filmmakers make their movies, builds an audience for their projects, and works to diversify the film industry. Film Independent’s Board of Directors, filmmakers, staff, and constituents, are comprised of an inclusive community of individuals across ability, age, ethnicity, gender, race, and sexual orientation. Anyone passionate about film can become a member, whether you are a filmmaker, industry leader, or a film lover.

With over 250 annual screenings and events, Film Independent provides access to a network of like-minded artists who are driving creativity in the film industry. Film Independent offers free Filmmaker Labs for selected writers, directors, and producers; provides cut-rate services for filmmakers; and presents year-round networking opportunities. Film Independent’s mentorship and job placement program, Project:Involve, pairs emerging culturally diverse filmmakers with film industry professionals.

Film Independent produces the Los Angeles Film Festival, celebrating the best of American and international cinema and the Spirit Awards, a celebration honoring films and filmmakers that embody independence and dare to challenge the status quo.

For more information or to become a member, visit FilmIndependent.org.

#  #  #

I’ve been meaning to talk about The Dry Land screening, and here it is, one week later. America Ferrera stars and executive produces this gritty story about soldiers returning from war in Iraq (or was it Iran?).  I went to the web site but they negelected to offer press materials or a synapsis for me to steal from, so it’s a little tougher to bang this out.  Maya Entertainment might want to hire a PR rep to consult them on this stuff..

Anyway, the premise is the soldier comes back home to El Paso, Texas, to his wife, dog, family, and the dilemna of picking up where he left off. He takes an awful job at a slaughter house, where my vegan friends will be thrilled to hear they do such a good job at showing the reality that I considered for a few moments if I could ever put meat in my mouth again. (I could.)

Anyway it turns out our hero has Post Tramatic Stress Disorder (PTSD.)  In the discussion that followed our screening with Film Independent LA (FIND) we heard from the cast one of the stats that more soldiers have returned and committed suicide then have died in the war.  Something needs to be done, and hopefully this film will spark more discussions about helping our military re-adjust to civilian lives.

The story touched me, as my own father fought in Vietnam and ended up not only with PTSD but with sinus cancer from Agent Orange, which might have helped exacerbate the issue. He’s in remission now, but for a time I had to avoid going out in public with him altogether, because our family didn’t understand why my father would lose his shit for the tiniest reasons, like if a young hostess at a restaurant showed us to a table rather than a booth.  Overreacting was his MO all through our lives.  It was easier to just stay home.

Now that the VA has helped diagnose him, albeit late in life, I can try to keep a sense of humor and explain his crazy behavior to others in a way, that I hope, both justifies his behavior and perhaps earns him some respect as a solider who once served our country. I just tell them, don’t pay attention to him, he’s “Crazy Neil” and he has PTSD, and thanks to films like The Dry Land, more and more people understand, at least a little bit.