The Valley Film Festival

George Pappy, Part II: Marketing and Distributing “Few Options”

2012-01-21T12:06:00.000-08:00

I spokerecently with George Pappy about his feature film Few Options,which we screened in November. It’s now availableon DVD at Amazonand will appear on Showtime in April. Myprevious posting on George was about making the film. This one is about marketing anddistribution.

James Latham: So, congratulations on getting a distribution deal for your film. For a crime drama, Few Options has relatively less action and other conventionally entertainingelements than is typical for this genre. It’s more about character and mood. How much did you have marketability in mind while making the film, andwhat would you say are its key elements of appeal for audiences (beyond theknown talent in the cast)? Who are its mainaudiences?

George Pappy: It’s also about story: asympathetic hero pursuing a goal in the face of seemingly insurmountable oddsand opposition – and yet he somehow manages to win in the end. You don’t need car chases, explosions,running gun battles, or gratuitous sex to pull that off. And, on this low of a budget, those things canbe your enemies. I was not all thatconcerned about marketability, and I felt that putting those “elements” in justto make the film more marketable would be a cop out. It’s like a lot of the films I saw being soldat the American Film Market over the past two years that have these“marketable” elements – and the vast majority of them are really bad! I’d be ashamed to have made a movie likethat. I’m proud of Few Options.

Inparticular, someone during pre-production suggested that having shots of nudestrippers (since a lot of the story takes place behind a strip club) wouldreally increase the marketability. Ialso had a potential sales agent at American Film Market offering to take thefilm if I’d agree to shoot some second unit footage inside a strip club and cutit into my movie. The fact of the matteris that in Few Options, you never seethe inside of the club – the hero’s not allowed inside. And he hates the idea of even beingthere. He takes a moral stance againstwhat’s going on inside (and how it’s making the SOB who’s threatening to killhim rich). I’d throw out a lot of thefilm’s thematic credibility if I put nude stripper shots in just to increasethe marketability.

What arethe key elements of appeal? First ofall, Few Options features excellentactors across the board. (We haven’tmentioned Erin Daniels, David Marciano, Brad Dourif or Dayton Callie yet.) Also, the story makes you think, and it keepsyou engaged and guessing until the end (and it delivers a satisfying climax andresolution that make you glad you sat through the film). We also have an excellent score written by Victoria Kelly, who did half thescore for Peter Jackson’s The LovelyBones. The film also looks andsounds excellent. I had people at AFMtelling me it looks like a film made on a budget 5-10 times higher than itactually had.

Regrettingcertain fateful choices made in the past is a strong theme in this movie, and I’vefound that older audiences (mid-30s and up) really respond to it on this level,based on the few screenings we’ve had so far – there were a few previews beforethe Valley Film Festival, plus the festival screening. I guess if you’ve been alive long enough, youcan look back at certain regrets in your own life and relate to the maincharacter’s plight. This may not be themost sought-after age group in terms of movie marketing, but it’s a lot ofpeople! Some of them watch movies. Not every movie has to appeal primarily tomales in their teens.

Also,strangely enough, I’ve found that women in general tend to respond very well tothe movie. I think that has to do withKenny Johnson’s sensitive portrayal of a guy who’s been in prison so long thatit’s very hard for him to open up around women. It also has to do with Erin Daniels (from The L-Word), who does an amazing job portraying an aging stripperwho can’t find a way out of the only profession she’s ever known, even thoughit’s slowly destroying her soul.

JL: Yes, I can seethat about the female audience for the film. Your point about pressure to add strip club footage reminds of me of howMartin Scorsese’s debut feature, Who’sThat Knocking at My Door? had the same sort of thing happen. He could only get distribution via asoft-core porn distributor who wanted and got an added nude scene. So I guess you’re in good company. But what I want to ask about is the theme of“fateful choices made in the past.” Inthe previous posting for this interview, you talked about how becoming anengineer was something sort of foisted on you: “being a filmmaker was never an ‘acceptable’ option (it was expected thatI would become a white collar professional). So, I wound up in engineering.” I’m wondering if making this film was partly a kind of therapy foryou—working through your own issues about problematic major choices made earlyin life—as well as simply writing around a theme about which you had specialpersonal insight, though not exactly the same as what Kenny’s character faces.

GP: Sure, I thinkthat played into it. If I had it to doover again, I'd definitely go to film school at eighteen and put in my 10-20years of "pulling cables on other people's movies" (as I recallhearing Paul Thomas Anderson say on the director's commentary to Boogie Nights). Ironically, my dad (a union attorney) used torepresent the DGA when I was in high school, so I might have even been able toget involved in production more easily than the average person.

I'd sayone of the things that pushed me to pursue making films all these years laterwas my general dislike for engineering! I've felt like it was not a good personal fit for many years, eventhough I seem to be pretty good at it; kind of like I was doing something I wasnever meant to do.

Now,you're going to call me crazy, but in terms of "regretting the past,"I'd also say that second-guessing myself about turning my back on a high-payingcareer in engineering (and dumping the nice house I bought before the realestate bubble) was probably also banging around in the back of my head in thesummer of 2009 when I wrote Few Options. Although I had a lot of support from some ofmy engineering peers, others did a very poor job of hiding the fact that theythought I was insane for walking away from a job like that to pursue a"long-shot" like filmmaking. One guy used to see me and ask "Hey, are you a big Hollywood staryet?" Nice. But during the summer hiatus in my Screenwritinggraduate program, eight months after the start of the economic collapse,unemployed and living in a dumpy Van Nuys apartment, those voices came back tohaunt me. Fortunately, I was able to channelthem into a screenplay!

JL: Yeah, better thanpaying for therapy. Once you made thefilm, how did you promote it (press, festivals, etc.)? Did you have professional help?

GP: Well, I set up aFacebook fanpage for the film, and I also applied to some of the higher-profilefestivals. I hired a festival consultantwho pointed me to what he considered to be the right festivals (and steered meclear of the ones he thought would be of no help or might even make the movielook bad). We came VERY close to gettinginto the Florida Film Festival, which, while not on the level of something likeSundance, is an Academy-qualifying festival. Out of over 300 features submitted, we made the short list of 30finalists and ultimately wound up as the eleventh on a slate of ten – whichmeant if one of those ten decided not to screen, we’d be in. Unfortunately, all ten showed up!

We alsocame close to getting into SXSW (we made it past the first two judges, only toget nixed in the final round), and we had a similar experience with Seattle anda few others. However, over time, Ibecame less concerned about gaining publicity through the festival circuitsince we landed a reputable sales agent to handle all of that.

Oneunexpected avenue of publicity for us ended up being Matt Neal, a radio DJ inWichita, Kansas, who happens to be a huge Kenny Johnson fan. He’s had me (and Kenny) on his show forinterviews multiple times since late 2010, and he always provides me withrecordings of the interviews, which I’ve made available on the Facebook fan page. I also got an opportunity to give a long talkin a friend’s acting class, and he posted the video on YouTube. Naturally, I linked that to the FacebookPage, too.

I’ve alsoposted links to our Facebook page on many of our actors’ fan sites. That’s one advantage of having recognizablecast names, and some of them even have a number of different fan pages forspecific shows they’ve done. KennyJohnson, for instance, has general fans as well as tailored followingsspecifically for The Shield, Saving Grace, and Sons of Anarchy.

Anotherthing I did was reach out to Tommy Gelinas, who runs the San Fernando ValleyRelics Facebook page. This page, which is dedicated to the visualhistory of the Valley, has almost 22,000 fans today (up from slightly under10,000 at the end of 2010). It occurredto me that since Few Options takesplace and was shot in the Valley, the Valley Relics fans might be particularlyinterested in my movie. Tommy loved themovie and agreed to sell it through his page (he already sells other ValleyRelics merchandise, including T-Shirts). I’ve recently put our DVD distributor in touch with him, and I expectthat we’ll soon be seeing it sold through Tommy’s page, with some of theproceeds going towards supporting his ever-growing collection of San FernandoValley Relics historical memorabilia.

One of thereal challenges for me relative to generating all of this publicity has beenthe fact that it’s taken a year to get the movie released here in the U.S. I realized early on that I might need tothrottle back my efforts when a lot of people started asking when they couldsee the movie and I had no idea what to tell them. On the one hand, I didn’t want to let peopleforget about Few Options, but on theother hand, I didn’t want to get them over-excited about something that mightnot be available for God knows how long. Thank goodness that part’s finally over!

JL: You’ve made somegreat use of social media for grassroots marketing. How was your experience with The Valley FilmFestival, where Few Options had itsLA premiere?

GP: I had a verypositive experience at the Valley Film Festival, and our screening wound upselling out. This was not a big surprise,since I knew there were a few hundred people in LA who’d been eager to see thefilm for about a year prior to the screening. I just had to promote it sufficiently well,and the Valley Film Festival website and publicity people helped to make thatvery easy. Tracey Adlai, who runs thefestival, is obviously someone who loves film and filmmakers, and that reallyshowed in the event.

JL: When and how didyou bring professionals, such as a sales agent, aboard to help getdistribution?

GP: I was lucky inthat the 2010 American Film Market, held here in LA (actually, Santa Monica)happened just as I finished post. I bitthe bullet and bought a pass, spending the week prior to the market researchingthe companies attending. I must havesent out close to 200 emails to the companies that seemed to have movies like Few Options in their libraries.

Fortunately,based on the strength and name recognition of my cast, I was able to get about30 meetings over the course of the week. Out of that, I had five or six credible offers from sales agents torepresent the film. I wound up goingwith a local company that came highly recommended from someone who knew a fewfilmmakers who’d had good experiences with that company in the past.

JL: How did theprocess of getting distribution work? Whatwere the main hurdles?

GP: Well, this hasbeen the job of my sales agent, who’s been at it since February of 2011. We always seem to make a handful of foreignsales at each market (Berlin, Cannes, MIPCOM, AFM 2011), but it’s been a lotslower than I thought it would be. Apparently, the small indie film market has really been devastated bythe global economic crisis of the past several years. Buyers are much more reluctant to spend moneythese days, and they’re paying less than ever before when they do.

The U.S.situation took awhile to work itself out, but, ultimately, my sales agency wasable to make a deal for Few Options topremiere on Showtime this coming April, and they also made a DVD deal (the DVDstarts shipping on Jan. 24 – it can be purchased on Amazon). We’re also hoping that our Netflix deal comesthrough; they like the film, but the final deal has not yet been struck. Hopefully, we’ll also be making more cabledeals in the wake of the Showtime run.

JL: Where do you aimto go next with distribution? How much orwhat other kinds of distribution do you think you’ll ultimately need in orderto adequately recoup your investment?

GP: My strategy issimple: let my sales agency do theirjob. They will continue to showcase thefilm at the major markets throughout the year, and they also target individualbuyers in between the market events. Interms of recouping the investment: to beperfectly honest, it’s not clear yet if this film will ever entirely get there. Distribution requires a lot of money to getthe film “out there” for public consumption, and that eats into each sale. Perhaps someday I’ll make all the money back,but it’s a long way off. (Did I mentionhaving gone back to my old job?)

JL: Yes, keep thatday job as long as possible. What advicewould you have for other independent filmmakers on promoting their work andsecuring distribution?

GP: I don’t reallyknow that there’s a “one size fits all” set of advice here. It depends a lot on things like genre, cast,and timing (i.e., relative to the economic climate at any given moment). I think it really helps to have arecognizable cast, but on the other hand, if you have the right genre (think Paranormal Activity), that may notreally matter. This is a tough business,and often nobody really knows why one movie does exceptionally well while abunch of others don’t. This is even truefor well-financed studio pictures.

JL: Right, “nobodyknows anything,” as the old Hollywood saying goes. Finally, what projects are you working on now, or anticipating? How did this experience create newopportunities for you?

GP: Well, I’ve hadanother, more ambitious project waiting in the wings for several years. In the past, it was a hard sell to getsomeone to back it financially with me as a first-time director. That was actually the main point of making Few Options myself on a tight budget: prove I could do it and hopefully convincesomeone to back me on the next project. I’ve got a partner and we’re working on that now. Fortunately, I’ve already made some goodcontacts based on the strength of FewOptions. Once the movie premieres,especially on Showtime, I’m hoping that my next project will really start togain momentum.

JL: OK, thanks, andgood luck with that.

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You canreach George Pappy at FewOptionsMovie@gmail.com orthe FacebookFan Page for Few Options.

For moreon The Valley Film Festival, visit our website or Facebook page.

George Pappy, Part I: Making His Feature Film “Few Options”

2012-01-19T07:35:00.000-08:00

By JamesLatham

Wescreened George Pappy’s feature Few Optionsto a full house in November, and the film is now available on DVD at Amazonand will appear on Showtime in April. Iwanted to get back to George to talk about the film—which he directed, wrote,and co-produced. We covered a lot, sothis posting will just address production, and the next one will involvedistribution.

For thosewho haven’t yet seen Few Options,it’s a crime drama starring KennyJohnson as Frank Connor, a good man who made a big mistake and is finishedpaying his debts to society, or so he thinks. After more than twenty years in prison, Frank returns to Van Nuys torestart his life, but gets stuck. Hecan’t get a decent job or place to live. Desperate, he gets work as a security guard at a seedy strip club run byhis old crime partners, and they once again take advantage of him, knowing hehas few options.

James Latham: First, could you tell us what you do in your professional work?

George Pappy: I’m an electrical engineer in the satellite communicationsindustry. I build, design, test andtroubleshoot satellite flight systems and the ground systems that supportthem.

JL: That’s notexactly a typical profile for a filmmaker. What generally motivated you to enter filmmaking, and how did youdevelop or adapt your skills to do so?

GP: I have alwaysloved screen stories on both film and TV. Some movies that spoke to me as a child include Chinatown, Dr. Strangelove, American Graffiti, and Double Indemnity. But the way I was raised, being a filmmakerwas never an “acceptable” option. It wasexpected that I would become a white collar professional. So, I wound up in engineering. But I continued to be a film buff, and theindie film movement of the ‘90s (early Tarantino, Kevin Smith, et al.) inspiredme to try writing my own screenplays. The leveling of the technical playing field with DV and DYI home editingsoftware around the turn of the century led me to finally try shooting one ofmy own scripts in 2003. For thatundertaking (which I shot in Australia while on a work assignment, somehowmanaging to do the preproduction alone on top of my normal work week), Idefinitely relied a lot on the system engineering skills I’d learned on myjob. These were particularly helpful infiguring out my shooting schedule, finding a way to literally be a one-mancrew, and in the editing phase.

JL: I also trainedearly on as an engineer and worked in database software development; and understand thedesire to do something more creative and personally rewarding, and thechallenges of transitioning. In makingyour early short film and feature, what were some key lessonsyou learned that helped you with FewOptions?

GP: One of the keylessons I learned on those films was “Don’t try to do everythingyourself.” Inevitably, when you try todo that, something always gets missed during production—and often, onbudget-limited projects like that, there’s no going back to get it rightlater. Another lesson I learned was“Don’t rush into production until you honestly believe the script is great, notjust good or okay.” This wasparticularly true of the first feature I shot (Australia, 2003). I banged that script out in nine days and itjust wasn’t all that great, although it did have moments here and there. I kind of knew this going in and felt thatthis was more of a learning experience in DYI movie making; but, in hindsight,I still wish I’d taken a lot more time in writing and rewriting the script.

JL: That’s goodadvice, to really develop the script before touching a camera. The better the design the better thepotential product. So, on all theseprojects, how have you balanced your professional and film work?

GP: Honestly, it’snot so much of a balance as it is a sacrifice. I have taken long hiatuses from work (over a year at a time), workedhalf time, and made it known that I would quit if my employers were not willingto allow me this flexibility. As aresult, I have not had a raise in years, and my peers in the engineering fieldhave largely advanced beyond my level in terms of seniority. (Clearly, this was all before the economiccrisis! I’m talking more about2004-2010. Miraculously, I somehowmanaged to get back into my old line of work in 2011 for a new company, and, atthe moment, I’m willing to work as much as they want me to! Right now, that means full time.)

JL: I did a similarthing when I was transitioning out of engineering and into film school. It’s empowering and tough, and you need abackup system in case things fall apart. Anyway, with that crazy schedule, how long did it take you for pre-production,shooting, and post on Few Options?

GP: As far aspre-production, that was essentially March-May of 2010. We had a pretty experienced ultra-low budgetproduction crew, so it didn’t take that long to get everything lined up. Plus, showing up with financing at that pointin time kind of pushed us to the front of the line, I think, in terms of beingable to get the people and equipment, all of which was fairly available.

Principalphotography was eighteen days, from early May through the first week of June2010 (five-day weeks). We had a two-daypickup shoot to get transitional shots and a few new scenes the last weekend ofAugust 2010.

Postproduction roughly spanned early June to early November of 2010, when the filmwas completely finished, including final sound mix and color correction.

JL: How did financingwork, at a time of general economic turmoil?

GP: Same answer: sacrifice. The film was entirely financed by me – or, more specifically, the moneyI made selling my house in 2004. Call mecrazy, but I thought it was fairly obvious we were in a real estate bubble, andI figured I’d rather have the cash than have a house. Once I got rid of the house, I was a lot morewilling to threaten to quit my job (as I mentioned above) – it was kind of atradeoff: I figured with all that money,and with a willingness to live very modestly, I could spend a number of years improvingmy writing and trying to get a film made – all the while living off thatmoney. As it turned out, I managed towork just enough to pay my bills and get a film education at UCLA Extension andan MS in Screenwriting at Cal State Northridge as I continued writing. So by the time of Few Options, I still had a lot of the money from selling my house.

By theway, I didn’t intend to put up all the money for Few Options. Let’s just saythat promises were made and not kept, so I found myself in a situation where Ihad an unfinished movie – which is kind of useless. Luckily, the money was there to finish it, whichbasically finished off the money!

JL: But at least youwere lucky enough to sell the house in time, and you stretched those dollars,and will make back some of it from FewOptions. How did you get KennyJohnson and Rainn Wilson forthe film?

GP: Rainn Wilson is agood friend who I’ve known since before he was famous (pure coincidence). He heard that I was writing a script that Iplanned to shoot myself and he said I could have him for one day. So, I wrote a part for him and kept it all inone location so we could maximize his shooting time. We got 9-1/2 pages out of him (a very longday!).

JL: And a veryproductive day. His character reallycontributes to the film, and that one location contributes a lot to the film’ssense of isolation, and even adds a little humor.

GP: I didn’t knowKenny Johnson, but he struck me as the perfect actor to play the lead based onhis amazing work on The Shield. I found him on Facebook and tried friendinghim, and to my amazement, he accepted the request (apparently, he’ll prettymuch do that with anyone!). I waitedabout a week, wrote him an email, explaining my script and how I thought he’dbe the perfect guy to play the role (and I meant it). Again to my amazement, he said to send himthe script. He loved it and within fivedays, we were meeting for coffee to talk it over.

JL: OK, so here’ssome evidence that Facebook is good for more than just playing games. And what about Laura San Giacomo and Michael Sheen, who both havecameo roles?

GP: Laura camecourtesy of Kenny Johnson, who worked with her on Saving Grace. Her scene wasone we never quite got to in the initial eighteen days of shooting, so we shotit a few months later during the pickup weekend. Originally, the part was going to be playedby an unknown day player, but somewhere in those two months I think I got theidea of asking Kenny if he thought Laura would be willing to play therole. It turns out Laura really cares alot about Kenny and was more than happy to help him out. She was great.

MichaelSheen is another friend of mine. Ifigured if I could even get him to play a part in the movie, it would have tobe a very small one (even then, I wasn’t sure he’d say yes). Great guy that he is, he did agree to playthe part, and he did an amazing job. Peopleask me if he played it the way I wrote it. The answer is he played it word for word as I wrote it, and yet hecompletely made it his own – they didn’t even sound like my words anymore. For that matter, I can say the same thingabout Kenny Johnson’s performance!

JL: You sure got alot of good leverage from those relationships. Looking back on making the film, what important production advice wouldyou offer other independent filmmakers, or what would you have done differently?

GP: First, I’d say becareful. If you’re putting any of yourown money in, NEVER do so without having written agreements already in place clearlystating how you’ll get reimbursed and when. If someone tries to tell you there’s no time to draw up contracts, STOP! Do not proceed, even if it means postponingyour production.

Second,and on a related note, you may think you’re saving money by doing the cast and crewcontracts without using an entertainment attorney, but you’ll be sorry! And, you’ll need that attorney later to fixall kinds of problems, so you won’t really have saved any money at all – youmay even end up spending a lot more just to clean up the mess.

Third, aword about the working environment on the set: one or two key crew members with bad attitudescan really drag down the whole working environment—and, more importantly, the creativeenvironment. A few pieces of advice onthis front:

a) Try to thoroughly vet your crew members (i.e.,check into what others who’ve worked with them have to say).

b) If you can possibly do it, try to establishbackup contacts for key crew positions – in other words, firing a disruptivecrew member should be one of your options. The worst situation you can possibly be in is not being able to do that simplybecause you don’t have anyone to take their place.

c) Especially if you’re a first-time directorworking with a crew you don’t really know, it is a really good idea to bringsome production-savvy friends onto the set to “watch your back.” Seriously, they will be in a much betterposition to spot problems brewing long before you do, since you’ll be so distractedwith preparing for the next shot / scene.

JL: Yes, lots of goodadvice, and not just for low-budget indie projects. I know a producer who recently spent monthsoverseas doing that very kind of oversight for a studio feature directed by arelative novice. Anyway, thanks for allthose good ideas and lessons learned. Next time I want to talk about how you promoted your film and gotdistribution.

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You canreach George Pappy at FewOptionsMovie@gmail.com orthe FacebookFan Page for Few Options.

For moreon The Valley Film Festival, visit our website or Facebook page.

Our 2012 Call for Entries

2012-01-17T11:21:00.000-08:00

We are now accepting submissions for our twelfth annual season ofindependent films from around the Valley and the world. The final deadline is July 15, 2012.

We are seeking short andfeature-length submissions of quality narrative / fiction films, documentaries,animation, and music videos that were produced independently anywhere in theworld. The films or filmmakers may havesome connection to the San Fernando Valley area, but this is not required.

We are accepting entries from now through July15, with a total of five submission periods. For each period, the entry fee is the same for any film, whether short orfeature-length. Here is the schedule ofdates and fees (US dollars) per film:

January 15 - February 11, 2012 -- pay what you can

February 12 - March 31, 2012 -- $25

April 1 - May 15, 2012 -- $50

May 16 - June 30, 2012 -- $75

July 1 - July 15, 2012 -- $100

The initial submission period (January 15 to February 11)is “pay what you can.” During this time,entrants may pay whatever they like, including nothing. If they pay little or nothing, we request thatthey do something additional that is of their own choosing, inexpensive, andhelps promote the festival. This couldinclude, for example, “liking” the festival on Facebook, or perhapsdistributing some useful information or praise via Twitter. After this initial period, the per film entryfee then gradually increases until the final deadline in July.

The tentative festival dates are November 7-11, 2012 at aSan Fernando Valley venue to be announced later this year. For further details, see our website, or send an email to Info@ValleyFilmFest.com.

VFF11 Wrapup and Awards

2011-11-15T05:54:00.001-08:00

We've finished our eleventh annual season of independent film fromaround the Valley and the world. Attendanceby filmmakers and the general public was strong during three days of screenings,with some sold out in advance, at the Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks. The filmmaker reception at Decor ArtGalleries in Studio City and the launch party at J.E.T. Studios in the NoHoArts District also were well attended.

We screened a total of 34 films, including shorts andfeatures, documentaries and fiction. Abouthalf had some direct connection to the SanFernando Valley, such as being a location for filming. On closing night, we presented the following awards:

AUDIENCE AWARDS:

AlumniShort – MINE (Greg Thompson)
ComedyShort – FISH! (Mark Eccleston and Damian Samuels)
DramaticShort – GHOSTS OF SYLLABLES (Javier Grillo-Marxuach)
Girls onFilm – BEYOND ESSAYS (Jules Dameron)

JURIED “10 DEGREES HOTTER” AWARDS:

Documentary– ADVENTURES IN PLYMPTOONS (Alexia Anastasio)
Feature – BADACTRESS (Robert Lee King)
Short – THESECRET FRIEND (Flavio Alves)

As Tracey Adlai said, "Award or no award, every film in VFF11 was strong and stellar. Thank you to our fabulous filmmakers!"

We also want to thank our sponsors Kirin, Primax Mortgage, VideoSymphony, The Sign Language Company, Decor Art Galleries, Creative Handbook,and Community Partners. Special thanksto Councilmember Paul Krekorian and his staff, Vicki Nussbaum and the ShermanOaks Chamber of Commerce, and Bryan Rasmussen of the Whitefire Theatre. And to the volunteers, alumni judges,and everyone else who helped make VFF11 a success.

Looking ahead, we will begin accepting submissions for VFF12 in January.

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By James Latham

Formore on The Valley Film Festival, visit our website or Facebook page.

Press Coverage of VFF11

2011-11-11T11:11:00.001-08:00

The Sherman Oaks Patch did a preview and a report during the festival, as well as a review of Adventures in Plymptoons.

We also got coverage from:

NBC LA
The Canyon News
The San Fernando Valley Business Journal

Thanks to everyone.
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By JamesLatham

What They’re Saying about Some Films We'll Be Showing

2011-11-10T06:00:00.001-08:00

STALKED (Friday evening, 11/11): Brian Morton, of Rogue Cinema, writesthat “We've all seen the movies where some poor young, vulnerable woman isrelentlessly stalked by a masked stranger. Well, a new movie by Matthew Irving, Stalked, takes that premise in such anew direction that I don't know if I can tell you much about it without ruiningthe experience for you...but I'll try.”

Mortongives the film his highest rating, “simply for the ending...if nothing elsewere good about this movie, that would earn it a great review...but it's not,everything about this short is amazing, it looks great, the acting is top notchand it's just a great short film overall!”

KISS (Saturday afternoon, 11/12): This is the story of a naive young man whohires a lively prostitute to learn how to kiss. As their love for one another grows, thereality of their different lives threatens to come between them. "I wanted to do something that wouldchallenge me in every aspect of filmmaking," says Justin Zagri, the film’s writerand director. "I chose acontroversial subject with a story that is difficult to tell in a genre I neverthought I would be involved in."

Thecreator and director of the Action on Film Festival, Del Weston, says, "Ilove this film. The thought of new love mixed with jaded obsession and turnedon its head by Justin makes for a beautiful film that questions everything weknow about our first kiss."

HOLD THEMAYO (Saturdayevening, 11/12): In Jeffrey Williams’ short film, abeleaguered sandwich store clerk's bad day gets worse when a customer returnsto prove the adage, The Customer is Always Right. In this case, horribly, horribly, right. Mark L. Miller, of Ain’t It Cool News, writesthat this “is definitely one of those devious littlefilms that outshine a lot of the dull full length horrors out there… This littleshort deserves an audience!" AjaySingh, of the EagleRock Patch, writes that "lurking beneath the plain violence is a mocking—and tomany, shocking—humor of Hitchcockian proportions."

ButJeffrey’s personal favorite quote, sort of a badge of honor for this genre, isfrom a rejection letter from another film festival: "The graphic scenes of violence andcannibalism may be too gruesome for all but the staunchest of horror fans. The editing, however, was strong, as was thecamera work."

LEGACY (Sunday afternoon, 11/13): This is a short film about a young man beingreleased from prison after twenty years, and being forced to confront theperson who set him up...his own brother. Jessica Ordoñez, thefilm’s director, describes it as “a modern-day Cain and Abel story about twobrothers, betrayal and redemption.”

The filmis a manifestation of her personal philosophy about filmmaking: “I want to make films that will lift myaudience up and make them realize the miracle of life; films that show a viewof compassion, faith and understanding. Iam very persistent and passionate about which path I choose to follow. For me,film is one of the basic forms of storytelling; it merges the audience with avision, a world designed inside the head of the director.”

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Edited by James Latham

Formore on The Valley Film Festival, visit our website or Facebook page.

Three to See at VFF11

2011-11-08T06:10:00.000-08:00

Here arethree terrific feature-length films on our program. Check out our website formore on these and the rest of our independent films from around the Valley andthe world.

Few Options(Saturday night, 11/12/11):

KennethJohnson plays Frank Connor, a good man who made a big mistake and is finishedpaying his debt to society, or so he thought. After more than twenty years in prison, Frank returns to Van Nuys torestart his life, but gets stuck. Hecan’t get a decent job or place to live, even a driver’s license. Life has passed him by, though some thingsremain the same. He gets work as asecurity guard at a seedy strip club run by his old crime partners, and theytake advantage of him, knowing he has few options.

Athoughtful, simmering drama about a man struggling to start over and do theright thing, with a strong yet nicely understated performance by Kenneth Johnson. RainnWilson has a small but solid role as the cousin who reluctantly lets Franklive in his garage, so long as nobody can see him.

If you’retired of crime films with lots of action and little else, here’s a grownupcharacter-driven film with an engaging story. An L.A. premiere from director George Pappy. For more info, check out the film’s website and Facebook page.

Rats &Bullies (Sunday afternoon, 11/13/11):

Adistraught teen takes what she thinks is her only option, and, sadly, it’s herlast. This documentary traces the eventsleading up to fourteen-year old Dawn-Marie Wesley’s suicide in 2000 due tobullying. As The Huntington Beach Independent writes, the film “explores thesecret world of teenage behavior, addressing violence as well as intimidationthrough less explicit means, such as rumor spreading, shunning and gossip.” It also explores how bullying can affectwhole communities and what can be done about it, including legal action.

This isthe L.A. premiere of the film Cassidy R. McMillan and Ray Buffer made to help exposebullying and prevent it. For more info,check out the film’s website andFacebook page.

Bad Actress(Sunday night, 11/13/11):

This is a darkcomedy about has-been TV actress Alyssa Rampart-Pillage, played by Beth Broderick, and herdysfunctional family. Her husband Bernieis the appliance king of the Valley, and Alyssa’s career has been reduced fromthe glamorous “HMO Nurse” series to appearing in his TV commercials. Things go awry when their daughter, aptlynamed Topanga, leads a protest against the family business because theappliances aren’t environmentally friendly. After Topanga dies in a tragic golf ball incident, Bernie has aspiritual awakening and tries to give away the family fortune, but Alyssa intervenes. Events spiral as people die, or go to jail,and Alyssa’s career is revived.

Spoofing contemporarypop and celebrity culture, including the crazy actress and the family andfriends she harms, this film has some similarities to movies like Serial Mom and Mommie Dearest, but with aValley touch. Directed by Robert LeeKing, who also directed PsychoBeach Party. Cameo by Corbin Bernsen. For more info, check out the film’s website and Facebook page.

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By JamesLatham
For moreon The Valley Film Festival, visit our website or Facebook page.

One of the VFF11 Films: George Bradshaw on “Public Museum”

2011-11-06T07:40:00.000-08:00

ByJamesLatham

Among the severalshort films we’re screening this year is PublicMuseum, a comedyabout a smug and jaded museum curator who’s been downsized. Dropped from aprestigious big city museum of natural history due to an exhibit he did onlesbian lizards, he finds himself in a “transitional job” at an oddball naturalhistory museum somewhere in small-town middle America. Seeking to revive hiscareer, he must confront an embarrassingly bizarre museum collection, aneccentric staff, and his own pomposity and fear of failure.

George Bradshaw wrote and directed Public Museum, and I wanted to talk withhim about the film and some related issues, including his career in marketingand advertising. George has had over fifteen years of experience working as aCreative Director specializing in entertainment, fashion, and sports. Public Museum is his first film.

James Latham: You’ve screened Public Museum at some other festivals, including Cannes’ Short FilmCorner, and are now developinga feature-length version as well as a documentary on the contemporarydemocratization of art. But yourprofessional background is in marketing / advertising. What motivated you to gointo filmmaking, and how has your background helped or challenged you in thatprocess?

George Bradshaw: Initially, whatmotivated me to go into filmmaking was watching Star Wars at a drive-in from the hood of my parents’ car in 1977. The wish of someday working with / for GeorgeLucas is also why I went to graduate school at Pratt Institute for my MFA inComputer Graphics. I guess you could sayI owe a lot of inspiration to the other “George.” In the end, I chose a different path as aCreative Director on Park Avenue in the marketing world. It was a great way to cut my teeth as a “bigidea” generator, copywriter and business person, as well as the director of agroup of talented creative people…all transferrable skills to filmmaking.

JL: Is this a careerchange for you, or are you keeping the day job and adding filmmaking to your professionalrepertoire?

GB: I currently divide my time evenly between being a creativedirector, filmmaker and songwriter. Ihave so many creative ideas that I perpetually feel like I am running out oftime. At this moment, specifically, I amdoubly focused on the film side because I am very proud of Public Museum and hope to bring joy to people by showing it.

JL: It’s a littlesimple to say, but Public Museum sortof mixes aspects of Night at the Museumwith Fargo. What inspired you to dothis particular film? Have you or yourcolleagues on the film worked much in museums, or lived in small-town America?

GB: Firstly, I am humbled to be in the same sentence as thosetwo terrific films. Thank you. The initial inspiration for Public Museum came from an art installation in Grand Rapids, MIcalled Michigan: Land of Riches, thegreat film This is Spinal Tap (obviously)and my own life as a New Yorker who moves to the mid-west. My brief experience working in an actualmuseum was an internship at The Cape Ann Historical Association in Gloucester,MA, which is a terrific little museum. ButI did grow up in a family of artists and musicians in a small-town, and then spentmany years in the Big Apple, so I have always been surrounded by art andculture. I can’t tell you how many timesI had to sing and/or play my guitar in front my whole family at Christmas! Fortunately, I had my brother Robert Bradshaw to commiserate with, whohas since gone on to become one of the world’s most recognizable livingclassical composers. He was gracious enough to do the music for Public Museum. Isn’t nepotism great?!

JL: It can be. Did you get to film in an actual museum?

GB: We had the generous support of the Grand Rapids Public Museum, whogranted access to their former headquarters – a historic Art-Moderne, WPA-era building – for our location. The buildingis extraordinary and added to Public Museum’s authenticity. It also becameanother very interesting character in the piece.

JL: For the maincharacter in Public Museum, his newjob is a personal and professional hell. But there are in fact advantages to working insmall, obscure places. For instance, it can give you freedom to experiment and growyourself and the organization without all the pressures, bureaucracy, andpolitics of a big institution. What’s your experience been with the merits ofworking in small and obscure vs. big and famous?

GB: That’s a difficult question. There are merits andchallenges to both. The philosopher Confucius said, “Choose a job you love and you willnever have to work a day in your life.” Nicework if you can get it. Our maincharacter, Spencer Cheese, would probably say that he prefers “big and famous”companies over “small and obscure” ones for the remuneration, growth and networking opportunities – none ofwhich he has in his new job at PublicMuseum. I have been fortunate to havethe opportunity to work with huge, global clients during my days as anExecutive Creative Director in a Park Avenue ad agency. Ihave been equally fortunate to juxtapose this experience with my newerexperience working on short films and documentaries. Both provide fulfillmentand enrichment for different reasons.

JL: You screened thefilm at the ShortFilm Corner organized by the Festival de Cannes. How does yourexperience there compare to the other festivals you've done?

GB: It was truly an honor to be a part of Cannes in a smallway. The Short Film Corner is a professional area not in competition. Public Museum has also screened at theGrand Rapids Film Festival, and we are very excited to be a part of The ValleyFilm Festival, too. It is a privilege toscreen at every festival because there are so many talented filmmakers makingmovies. The good news is that there are alot of festivals to choose from and advantages to screening at both small andlarge. One might attract bigger names. The other might be friendlier and moreapproachable. I have only attended a fewfestivals, so I am by no means an expert, but every festival that I have takenpart in has been run by a supportive community championing the art offilmmaking. The trick is to make a good movie and get in.

Anothernotable festival in which I have participated is the Nantucket Film Festival,which was an amazing experience. Mywriting partner, Stephen Garvey, and I wrote a script called 9/11 Kevin that was honored with astaged reading in 2005. We are currentlyworking with Jace Alexander, Tom Cavanagh, Jim Gaffigan and their excellentteams to bring it to the big screen.

JL: Are you planningto expand Public Museum into afeature?

GB: I have a featureversion idea that I am very excited about. Hopefully, someone in the movie biz will seethe possibilities in Public Museum (thegreat Paul Feig, are you outthere?) and reach out. But as Rick Pagesays, “hope is not a strategy,” so I am going to work really, really, reallyhard, too.

JL: I worked forseveral years at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, first as an intern andthen a gallery lecturer, and can say that your film does capture some of theoddities of museum culture. But thereare a lot more character types, issues, and situations that you couldpotentially mine for laughs. Any ideas for doing that?

GB: I think that Spencerwould join a Klezmer band thatplays all Beatle covers called The Maccabeatles. Just kidding! We have created a funny and interesting sandboxwith Public Museum and I wouldwelcome the chance to play in it for 90 minutes. There are a million ways to gobecause the museum world is so unique and ripe for parody. That said, it isalso an incredibly relatable world because we have all had to negotiate thepolitical waters of a job we hate at some moment in our careers. This isSpencer’s moment.

JL: Tell us about thedocumentary you’re developing on the contemporary democratization of art. What issues are you addressing? What’s your POV?

GB: This is a passionproject of mine that will ask the question, “What is the public’s role in art?” I am sure that if Spencer was asked, he wouldturn up his nose and snap, “None at all!” Coming from the point-of-view of anartist who wants people to experience and enjoy his work as much as possible, however,I’d have to disagree with him…respectfully, of course.

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Public Museum will screen at the Valley FilmFestival on Friday, October 11th, at 9:30 p.m., accompanied by the feature We Gotta Get Buscemi. To learn more about Public Museum, see its Facebook page. For more on George Bradshaw,check him out on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook,and LinkedIn.

Formore on The Valley Film Festival, visit our website or Facebook page.

Party Like It’s the Valley: Social Events for VFF11

2011-11-03T05:57:00.000-07:00

Mark your calender. Here are the party events for next week:

MEET THE FILMMAKERS -Wednesday, 11/9 @ 7pm-9pm
(Filmmakers and Invited Guests only.)
@ DecorArt Gallery
12149 Ventura Boulevard
Studio City, CA 91604
(Laurel and Ventura. Free parking behind gallery in CVSparking lot)

LAUNCH PARTY- Thursday, 11/10 @ 8pm-11pm
(The More the Merrier!)

@ J.E.T. Studios
5126 Lankershim Blvd.
NoHo Arts District, CA 91602
(Lankershim, just south of Magnolia)

CLOSINGNIGHT PARTY / AWARDS - Sunday, 11/13 @ approx 9pm-Midnight

(7:00pm Ticket Holders and Invited Guests only.)

@ WhitefireTheatre
13500 Ventura Blvd.
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
(Ventura Blvd. @ Sunnyslope)

Formore on The Valley Film Festival, visit our website or Facebook page.

Countown to VFF11...T-Minus 13 Days

2011-10-30T01:17:00.000-07:00

It seems like only yesterday we started the "T-Minus 100 Days" countdown, yet here we are with our 11th annual showcase less than two weeks away. This weekend alone we have a to-do list of 61 action-required items. You may think we're joking, but we're not. Seriously. By Sunday night, we need every item on the list checked-off as completed or to be completed by November 1st.

Our main focus this weekend has been on the technical side of our upcoming screenings. We've reassigned the team lead and the wheels are in motion, with a contingency plan in place. We can exhale now.

Another big rock for us this week is our print deadline! Almost forgot about it. Our creative edits have been submitted for the artwork and we've asked all sub-committee coordinators to get us the names of their volunteers for the program.

What else can we can share? Oh, ticket sales! They're in full swing right now and we're very happy to report that our final screening, Bad Actress, is almost sold out. As of this morning, we had 20 tickets left. Get 'em while you can. And if you follow us on Twitter, you may see an opportunity come up for some free tix. Just sayin'...

The usual updates to the website and a list of social media outlets is also on the to-do, including MySpace. Really! Don't judge.

The longest section of the list is devoted to special events, including our filmmaker party, opening night event, after-hours parties, panels, food trucks, in-kind donations, booze, and more parties! We think we have our bases covered but if you have an idea, please chime in.

VFF11 runs November 11-13 at The Whitefire Theatre, 13500 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA 91423. Screenings run daily. Tickets are $10-$15.

Announcing The Valley Film Festival’s 2011 Program

2011-10-19T16:13:00.000-07:00

Weare now ready to announce our eleventh annual lineup of cinema so independentit can be found only in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley!

Withover 30 films on our program, includingeighteen premieres and five foreign films, the VFF continues to showcaseindependent cinema from around the Valley and the world. Our selections include a range of short andfeature-length films, both documentaries and fiction. VFF Founder and Director, Tracey Adlai, saysthat this was “by far the most competitive year, making our selections thatmuch harder. We wish we could screeneverything.”

TheVFF continues to promote local independent production, with over fifteen films madeby San Fernando Valley residents and/or in the Valley or about it. Filmed in Van Nuys, FEW OPTIONS, an L.A.premiere directed by George Pappy, is a gritty drama starring Kenny Johnson(“The Shield,” “Sons of Anarchy”) as an ex-con starting over with everythingagainst him. FEW OPTIONS also featuresErin Daniels (“The L Word”) and Rainn Wilson (“The Office”).

TheFestival’s documentary showcase includes the L.A. premiere of RATS & BULLIES, the powerful story of fourteen-year old Dawn-Marie Wesley, who, afterbeing repeatedly bullied and receiving death threats at school, hung herselfwith her dog’s leash. Filmed in Canada and the U.S., this film documents the horrifyingincident that outraged a nation and led to a groundbreaking court case in which,for the first time in North America, teens stood trial for bullying. Also featured is Alexia Anastasio’s ADVENTURES IN PLYMPTOONS!, a profile of animator Bill Plympton.

The “Girls on Film” program of shortfilms includes the U.S. premiere of THE SAFEST PLACE FOR FRUIT IS IN CARMEN MIRANDA’S HAT, a comedy about not fitting in with society’s expectations,directed by Kal Bonner.

Formerly known as (818), the VFF11 closing night feature,BAD ACTRESS, directed by Robert Lee King (“Psycho Beach Party”), is a dark comedystarring Beth Broderick (“Sabrina, the Teenage Witch,” “Lost”) as a has-been TVstar living in The Valley. Her career isrevived when she’s accused of killing her husband, played by Chris Mulkey(“Saving Grace,” “Twin Peaks”). The VFFhas paired this film with THE POTENTIAL WIVES OF NORMAN MAO, a comedy short directedby Derek Nguyen and narrated by George Takei (“Star Trek”).

In addition to screenings, we provideeducational panels, social mixers, and awards. The juried "Ten Degrees Hotter" award is for one short and onefeature from a competitive section. Additionally,there is an award for short films, in the non-competitive section, as chosen bythe audience.

Tracey Adlai says that she is “excitedto return to Sherman Oaks” for three days, beginning November 11^th,at the Whitefire Theatre, located at 13500 Ventura Blvd., in the Restaurant RowDistrict. Tickets are $10-$15.

The Valley Film Festival 2011 Program

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11th

7:00 pm – Alumni Shorts Program (Dessert &Suicide, The Further Adventures of Cupid & Eros, League of S.T.E.A.M: Zed’sClutter Calamity, Made in Japan, Mine, Stalked)

9:30 pm – Feature Program:We Gotta Get Buscemi with Public Museum

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12th

11:00 am – PanelTBA (topical to independent filmmaking)

1:00 pm – Dramatic Shorts Program (Ghost of Syllables,Kiss, Live for the Day!, Method Actor, Mirk Riders, Valley Relics)

3:30 pm – Documentary Program: Adventures inPlymptoons! with TBA

7:00 pm – Feature Program: Few Options with The SecretFriend

10:30 pm – Comedy ShortsProgram (Fish!, The Gran’ Scam of Things, Hold the Mayo, The Hunter, Mrs. Christmas,Two Broken Hearts)

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13th

11:00 am – PanelTBA (topical to independent filmmaking)

1:00 pm – “Girls on Film” Shorts Program (12 Hours, 52 Seconds,Beyond Essays, Legacy, Mind the Gap, The Safest Place for Fruit is in CarmenMiranda’s Hat)

3:30 pm – Documentary Program: Rats & Bullies with Red Princess Blues

7:00 pm – Closing Night Feature Program: Bad Actress with The Potential Wives of Norman Mao

For more information and tickets, visitwww.ValleyFilmFest.com.

Countdown to VFF11: T-Minus 40 Days...Short Films From A to Z

2011-10-03T01:29:00.000-07:00

We're updating our website to reflect the awesome programming we have lined up next month, and we're not quite ready to unveil it. In the meantime, we thought we'd get you excited for the 2011 Valley Film Festival by giving you a sneak preview of our short films...from A to Z.

12 HOURS (Director, Ester Brym)

Originally shot for Ridley Scott's "Life in a Day," the global experiment to create the world's largest user-generated feature film, Ester Brym (VFF10 Butterflies) returns to VFF with 12 HOURS, the story of one girl's day and what happens when you walk a small dog in a big city.

52 SECONDS (Director, Lauren Nadler)

Sometimes it takes less then a minute to know...52 SECONDS stars Zaki Rubenstein as a woman who imagines an entire relationship with a stranger, while on the train.

BEYOND ESSAYS (Director, Jules Dameron)

We first met filmmaker Jules Dameron on Twitter (@JulesDameron) promoting the VFF10 film Deaf Perception. Earlier this year, we had a chance to learn more about her organization, Deaf Women in Film, and are thrilled to screen her ASL short about a student and teacher, each with their own agenda.

DESSERT & SUICIDE (Producer, Ashley Cozine)

We love it when filmmakers meet at VFF and collaborate together. Producer, Ashley Cozine (VFF10 By the Numbers), and writer, Sahag Gureghian (VFF06 Madame Priscilla's /VFF08 The Birthday Gift), teamed up for this dark comedy about a blind date gone awry.

FISH! (Co-Director, Damian Samuels)

Making its West Coast Premiere at VFF, FISH! is a short comedy written and directed by Mark Eccleston and Damian Samuels about a chef with big dreams, a big fish, and an insatiable mermaid.

THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF CUPID & EROS (Director, Avi Glijansky)

Filmmaker Avi Glijanksy (VFF09 Raymond Carver Moments) returns to VFF with this modern mythological tale of Cupid and his colleague, Eros, practicing what they preach.

GHOST OF SYLLABLES (Producer, Sarah Baker)

Another alum returns to VFF! Sarah Baker (VFF07, 'Tis the Season) joins forces with Javier Grillo-Marxuach ("The Middleman") for a short film set to Admiral Radley's "Ghosts of Syllables."

THE GRAN' SCAM OF THINGS (Director, Leor Baum)

We've all received a Nigerian scam email congratulating us on winning the local lottery or soliciting us to facilitate the move of millions from one bank account to another. THE GRAN' SCAM OF THINGS explores what happens when an elderly woman opens an email that leads her into the welcoming arms of an international crime ring.

HOLD THE MAYO (Director, Jeffrey Williams)

A beleaguered sandwich store clerk's bad day gets worse when a customer returns to prove the adage, The Customer is Always Right. In this case, horribly, horribly, right. (Coincidentally, HOLD THE MAYO features Damian Samuels of FISH! See above.)

THE HUNTER (Director, Jason Korsner)

When a radio phone-in dating-doctor finds that he has no date for Valentine's Day, he sets out to change that, using all the tips and advice he dishes out on air. But when he tries to put his tricks-of-the-trade into action, he finds it's not so easy to practice what he preaches.

KISS (Director, Justin Zagri)

Shot in North Hollywood, KISS is the story of a naive young man who hires a lively prostitute to learn how to kiss.

THE LEAGUE OF S.T.E.A.M: ZED'S CLUTTER CALAMITY (Producer, Trip Hope)

Our favorite monster hunters from the Victorian era return to VFF! If you enjoyed VFF10's Fool's Gold, you'll love Zombie Zed and his misadventures cleaning up the house.

LEGACY (Director, Jessica Ordonez)

After 20 years in prison, a young man is released and forced to confront the person who set him up...his own brother. Made in the (818)!

LIVE FOR THE DAY (Producer, Ron Rogge)

Ron Rogge has had too many films in VFF for us to count! This year, he brings us a drama based on a true story. One of the last moments of life, given to inspire another to not just live for today, but also pursue those dreams without excuses, and Live for the Day!

MADE IN JAPAN (Director, Ciro Altabás)

Last year, he entertained us with A Practical Guide for Imaginary Friends, and this year, Ciro leads us on an unusual journey when his lead actor learns that his father is not his father.

METHOD ACTOR (Director, Justin Stokes)

A powerful short film presenting the monologue of a single actor (John Shrapnel). Through his reminiscences, the audience gets an insight into a dark, confused and embittered mind.

MIND THE GAP (Director, Kristal Williams)

This dramatic short film follows 16-year old Sara as she grapples with her father's inadvertent involvement in a classmate's suicide.

MINE (Director, Greg Thompson)

Three friends abandon the city for a little vacation and soon draw the attention of an unwelcome stranger; a man who will teach them that in order to survive in the desert, one must follow the rules – his rules. Greg Thompson last screened Down a Dark Road at VFF08!

MIRK RIDERS (Director, David Becker)

Seen through the eyes and memory of band leader, Eve, as she leads her band mates through the desert after their last show of their tour. A car problem sends the band into an unwinding downward spiral.

MRS. CHRISTMAS (Producer, Brad Bucklin)

In this dark comedy, Alice and Jennifer, the "unofficial" welcome committee of Holyfield, drop in on new neighbor, Mary, to explain the established rules of the community.

OMERO BELLO-DI-NONNA (Producer, Blue Suede Shoots)

All the way from Italy, Omero is a grown up child living with his beloved grandmother. His life takes place in a world of fantasies, heroes and magic creatures. When his grandma suffers a diabetic attack, he is forced to get out of the apartment and face the outside dangers in order to call for help and save her.

THE POTENTIAL WIVES OF NORMAN MAO (Director, Derek Nguyen)

A quirky and heartwarming short film narrated by the legendary George Takei (Star Trek), Norman Mao is an overweight, and socially-awkward man-child from Hong Kong, who at the age of 33 is still unwed. Desperate to get him married, his parents take him on an international junket across the globe to find him a worthy Chinese wife.

PUBLIC MUSEUM (Director, George Bradshaw)

In 2010, a film crew documented Public Museum’s grand reopening after 16 years, having closed its doors in 1994 to watch the O.J. Simpson trial.

RED PRINCESS BLUES (Director, Alex Ferrari)

In this twisted modern day fairy tale, Zoe, a young teenage girl, is lured into an after hours carnival tent by the sleazy rock n roll carnie, Rimo. It's up to the mysterious princess to pull young Zoe out of the wolf's den she has fallen into.

THE SAFEST PLACE FOR FRUIT IS IN CARMEN MIRANDA'S HAT (Director, Kal Bonner)

A quirky, narrated tale about the weak against the strong, the different against the 'norm' and the difficulties of not fitting in with society's expectations.

THE SECRET FRIEND (Director, Flavio Alves)

A reclusive, elderly widow, Anna Marshall (Viola Harris, Deconstructing Harry), lives in quiet desperation following her husband’s death, until she begins receiving daily phone calls from a silent stranger.

STALKED (Producer, Cindy Baer)

Cindy Baer was last seen at VFF08 in Morbid Curiosity and returns to the (818) with this thriller shot in the (212).

TWO BROKEN HEARTS (Director, Giannis Georgiou)

A black musical comedy about two lonely souls who meet in a train, have some drinks and decide to share a room. Then, everything goes wrong

VALLEY RELICS (Director, Tony Tomasino)

This narrative pays homage to relics of the San Fernando Valley.

Hey, don't forget to "like" us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and join us November 11-13, 2011 at the Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks for some truly amazing indie film.

Keeping it Personal at Shriekfest: Denise Gossett on Running a Successful Independent Film Festival

2011-09-28T08:16:00.000-07:00

By James Latham

Based here in L.A., the Shriekfest Film Festival specializes in horror, thrillers, Sci Fi, and fantasy films. In addition to showing shorts and features, Shriekfest also has award categories for screenplays and filmmakers under eighteen. I recently spoke with Denise Gossett, who founded Shriekfest eleven years ago and continues to run the festival, which takes place this year from September 29^th to October 2^nd. I wanted to learn more about one of our fellow local film festivals, and to indulge my inner geek.

James Latham: Your festival’s genres used to be sort of the Rodney Dangerfield ofmovies, often getting no respect. But that’schanged a lot. What are some lingeringmisconceptions about the genres you screen, or their audiences?

Denise Gossett: Horror is still considered the lowly genre, but that is changing....withbetter scripts, strong acting, and the amount of money these films can bringin. Horror is not so cheesy anymore, noris SciFi for that matter...with the help of computer graphics.

JL: As a woman runninga festival for films that traditionally have tended to be male-centric, what keychanges have you seen in the last ten years with women as producers andconsumers of these films?

DG: There are manymore women filmmakers, directors, writers, producers. It's wonderful. Men are digging the strong, talented womenwho are into the same genres they are. And, it's changing the formats of the typical horror film too; thecharacters are stronger, not so weak, the stories are smarter and not soexploitative.

JL: How easy ordifficult has it been to attract distributors to attend Shriekfest?

DG: It’s been veryeasy...that is part of the perks of submitting to our festival...we give outreferrals all year long. 95% of all films(shorts included) that have screened at Shriekfest have gotten distribution!

JL: That’s terrific. What is it about the festival that hasyielded such great results? And whatsort of distribution? Do these filmstend to generally do better than other genres, because their primary appealsare often visual and physical (less verbal), so they cross barriers of cultureand language better than, say, romantic comedies?

DG: Well, Shriekfestscreens quality films and the distributors have come to know that, so they cometo the fest and scoop up our films. Manyof the features that were submitted this year already have distribution via areferral from Shriekfest! These genres dotend to do better than most genres...there is a HUGE following in horror andscifi and these fans are loyal...they are willing to fork over money to buy anunknown's DVD. It's refreshing.

JL: What makes for agreat film festival? Which is yourfavorite one, besides Shriekfest and, of course, The Valley Film Festival?

DG: I think a greatfilm festival should be personal, hands on, treat the filmmakers andscreenwriters with respect, go out of their way to help further the careers ofthe submitters, and be organized and timely with their schedules.

JL: When you firststarted Shriekfest eleven years ago, there weren’t many horror film festivalsaround. Now they’re all over the world,and even several here in L.A. Some ofthem are pretty specialized. How doesShriekfest fit into that universe? Besides the screenplay awards, what else distinguishes your festivalfrom the others?

DG: Well, the under18 category and the fact that we truly champion indie filmmakers! We don't cater to studio films or star ladenprojects. That's not to say our filmsdon't have some stars in them, but there is a difference. The big boys don't need the recognition, theindie filmmakers do.

JL: A flip side tothat question is whether you have or would want to collaborate with any otherfestivals, whatever their film genres. Regardlessof that, what are some ways that festivals in general realistically can /should collaborate in a mutually beneficial way?

DG: Hmmm...that is agood question. Sure, we'd be open to itif it was to everyone's benefit. It'stough, we've had festivals approach us through the years, but if the festivalsaren't on an equal grounding, then it's not beneficial to both entities.

JL: Your interviewwith Altered Realities Radio (podcast link on the Shriekfest website) covers alot of ground. Shriekfest also hasactive Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace accounts. Tell me about how social media have worked(or not) for you. Any advice for otherfestivals on how to best leverage these media?

DG: It's amazing...Icannot believe how quickly word travels with social media! It has to be used, daily...not every now andagain. You have to be personal with yourfollowers and help them as well. Itcan't be all about you. Share, retweet,help out others.

JL: After elevenyears, what keeps you doing it year after year? What synergies does your career as an actress provide you in running a filmfestival?

DG: Well, it's tough;as an actor first and foremost I am very busy. I am also a Mom and it all becomes a juggling act. The people are the main reason I keep doingit...our following...I don't want to let them down.

JL: What were some ofthe bigger challenges you’ve overcome in creating and running Shriekfest?

DG: The balancing actof life and the full time job of a festival and all that goes into runningit....I don't think people realize how much time and effort go into it,especially if you do it personally. And,by that, I mean keeping all correspondence personal.

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The Shriekfest Film Festival takes place thisSeptember 29^th - October 2^nd.

For moreon The Valley Film Festival, visit our website or Facebook page.

Countdown to VFF11...T-Minus 54 Days: Curating a Festival Program

2011-09-18T15:38:00.000-07:00

Post-It notes are our BFF's

For the last 3 months, more than 25 volunteers have dedicated their time to view short films, in a group with their peers, or watch features at home. We started meeting once a week, then, as the submission deadline approached, we added a second day. By the final weeks, we were running marathon screenings from 10:00am to 10:00pm (or longer). And, just in case you were wondering, we watched every film from start to finish.

Over the months, films blend in with one another, which is why filling out the short synopsis on our application is so crucial. It allows us to quickly scan the paperwork, reacquaint ourselves with the film, and remind ourselves what stood out. We take extensive notes, too, so these help as well.

Now that everything has been viewed enough times, by enough people, the fun begins: Programming!

This last week we spread out every short and feature we were considering across the floor, labeled each with a Post-It that included the running time (rounded up), genre, and any special features. Then, we started pairing films together...new programs we discovered we could build: Alumni Shorts and Future Cult Classics -- y'know, the ones that break tradition, follow their own rules, and are ambitious in a bad-ass sort of way. Bravo!

As we tallied up total running times per program, and broke down our screening schedule for 2011, it became real clear, real fast, that we needed to eliminate even more films. Sigh. This really is the hardest part. And this is where screening time plays a huge role -- if we love 4 films, and one is 30 minutes long, and the others are 10 minutes or less, we're going to share the love and program the 3 shorter films.

This weekend, we've been watching feature films, some for the 3rd and 4th time. What makes us choose one feature over the other at this stage? There's no right or wrong answer here, in the end, we're not able to screen some awesome films because we simply don't have the time. We take our personal feelings off the table and try to be as objective as possible -- what would appeal to a general audience? Or, do we have enough of a fan base for a niche genre?

Our goal is to be fully programmed, alert the filmmakers, and have our website updated to unveil our program by October 1st. Will we make that deadline? Stay tuned.

The 2011 Valley Film Festival will take place November 11-13 at the Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks.

If You Like Sports of Any Kind, Here’s a Festival for You

2011-09-03T10:23:00.000-07:00

ByJamesLatham

PatBattistini runs the All Sports LosAngeles Film Festival here in the San Fernando Valley. The festival’s third annual screenings willbe at the El Portal Theater on November 11 – 13^th, the same time wewill be at the Whitefire Theatre. Altogether, it should be a great filmgoing weekend in the Valley.

The AllSports Los Angeles Film Festival promotes the art ofscreenwriting and filmmaking in the world of sports and competition. It is one of only three festivals in the U.S.solely dedicated to this genre, and the only one west of the Mississippi. I wanted to talk with Pat about the festivalto learn more about it.

James Latham: What led you to develop the All Sports Los Angeles Film Festival (ASLAFF)?

Pat Battistini: I’ve always enjoyed sports films and watching “Real Sports” on HBO, so Iwas surprised there wasn’t a festival solely dedicated to this genre. After toying around with the idea for a coupleyears, it finally came down to one of those things that, if no one else isgoing to do it, I need to.

JL: What backgroundprepared you for developing the ASLAFF?

PB: I played footballand wrestled in college; then coached college football for four years. After realizing that I really wanted to workin film and TV, I transitioned to the “biz.” This work has included writing, directing, producing, and editing eightshort films of my own. Also, fromsubmitting and going to festivals, I learned a lot about how they work. My friend Denise Gossett, who runs Shriekfest, also has been very helpfulwith the many challenges of developing a film festival.

JL: The VFF is prettywide-ranging in terms of genre, while your films focus on sportscompetition. But there’s a huge range ofpossibilities within that one category. What are some of the more innovative films you’ve screened?

PB: We’ve had somevery surprising and interesting films about events that I didn’t even knowexisted. The documentary that won ourfirst year was Bicycle Dreams. It’s about racing across America, coast tocoast, on bikes…in less than twelve days. The riders at the front of the racesleep as little as 90 minutes a day. It’s an incredible feat. Another documentary we screened wasabout solar powered cars racing across the continent of Australia. Others that were just as interesting wereabout Iraq’s Women’s Rugby Team (scarves and all), Beer Pong, andFreediving. These films are a lot morefun to watch than people expect.

JL: What are thelatest trends in the films you’ve screened, for example in their subject matter,styles, or production technologies?

PB: We have a lot ofboxing, martial arts, and mixed martial arts showing up this year. It has really exploded as a popular sport,thus more people are making stories about it. As far as styles go, a lot of it is driven by new technologies. Because decent cameras keep getting smallerand more economical, we have a lot of DPs and athletes strapping them on tothemselves and getting into places a lot of people could never go. For example, we’ve had POVs on surfboardsriding through amazing waves, or on bicycles and motorcycles ripping throughcity streets and the countryside.

JL: Your filmmakers focuson competition in its many mental and physical forms. What have you learned about competition fromthis festival?

PB: No matter whatthe subject matter is, the will to finish or win is incredible. We had a doc on junior high school kidscompeting to build a robot that could play soccer. They were happy with the fact that they builtthis incredible machine, but they wanted it to be able to score too. We also had another film about athletesrunning a 100-mile race through the mountains in less than a day. Getting first place wasn’t the most importantthing. It was the drive of just beingable to finish that made these people train so long and hard.

JL: Los Angeles is a largemedia and sports hub, which I assume provides a lot of local people for you,such as filmmakers, sports professionals, and audiences. What types of filmmakers tend to screen themost at your festival? Film students,sports professionals, fans?

PB: Like most films,the filmmaker is connected to the project through his / her passion. Thus, I think that about 75% of thefilmmakers are sports fans who have been dying to tell their story for a whileand the other 25% stumble on a story that they feel connected to and want toshare.

JL: What are thedemographics of your typical audiences?

PB: You would thinkit would be male dominant, but it’s been pretty even, partly because some storiesare about women’s sports, such as professional football and roller derby. As for the ages of our audience, it’s prettymuch as if you would look up into the stands of a high school footballgame. It’s so diverse because everyoneloves a good sports story.

JL: What luck haveyou had attracting distributors to screenings?

PB: I’ve actuallyfound it more difficult than I thought, but we do occasionally havedistributors approach our filmmakers. However, the deals haven’t been very beneficial to the producers of thefilms, thus they’ve passed.

JL: Do you or any ofyour associates attend many other film festivals? Which is your favorite one, besides your own,and, of course, The Valley Film Festival? What makes a great festival?

PB: We try to go tomore and more festivals each year. Thefolks at the Bare Bones Festival in Oklahoma are so warm and friendly. Palm Beach has a great fest, too. But I think my favorite so far has beenAustin, where the panelists, guest speakers, and honorees have been soapproachable. They aren’t shuffled in andout like in a lot of festivals in L.A. Iremember one time I was sitting on the curb outside a restaurant eating and Herschel Weingrod(writer of Trading Places, Kindergarten Cop, Brewster’s Millions) just came up and sat down next to me to chatand eat. That doesn’t happen aroundhere.

JL: There are only afew other film festivals that specialize in sports. Have you looked into possibly collaborating withany of them in some mutually beneficial way? Regardless of that, what do you think are some general areas (if any)where small independent film festivals might sensibly collaborate?

PB: We arecollaborating with the Federation Internationale Cinema Television Sportifs outof Milan and the Georgian Bay (Canada) Extreme Film Festival. I would like to work more with them inexchanging films to help the filmmakers get their work out there. Social networking is another area. I think the smaller fests (ourselvesincluded) should start cross promoting more through Facebook, Twitter, etc.

JL: What elements, ifany, would you like to change about your festival; for instance to expand upon?

PB: My biggest goalright now is to get more people in the theater. L.A. has so many fests that you can call in favors only so much withyour friends. Premieres are easy to getpeople to attend, but three days worth of films is a tough thing to do tocontinually get people out to watch films. My other endeavor is to give a Sports Achievement Award to actors / athleteswho have made contributions to the sports world through film / cinema.

JL: What partingwords of advice would you have for filmmakers who want to submit to yourfestival?

PB: Don’t be afraid to show us your work. We love any kind of film or documentary thattouches the element of physical and/or mental challenges. Your film on the haunted baseball stadiumwill be just as entertaining as the documentary on a junior high spelling bee. Also, we do our best to get as many films inthe fest as possible. If we have to addscreening times, we will!

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The regular submissionsdeadline for the All Sports Los Angeles Film Festival has passed, but latecomershave until September 21^st.

For more onThe Valley Film Festival, visit our website or Facebook page.

“’Their real influence is their own imaginations’: Dorothy Supri on the International Student Film Festival Hollywood”

2011-08-24T07:40:00.000-07:00

By James Latham

Young filmmakers today have more and better opportunities than ever to make movies and get them seen. At the VFF, we’ve screened some films made by teenagers, while other festivals are solely devoted to the work of young filmmakers. Recently I spoke with Dorothy Supri, who, along with Robin Saban (pictured, second from right, with student filmmakers), runs the International Student Film Festival Hollywood. For nine years, the ISFFH has screened a wide range of works by students from all over the world. I wanted to talk with Dorothy about her organization as both a youth-oriented program and a fellow LA-based independent film festival.

James Latham: The ISFFH shows works made solely by student filmmakers of all ages. Tell us more about it.

Dorothy Supri: Like we say on our website, art is and always has been our universal language and the ISFFH has been successfully reaching out to student filmmakers all over the world for more than eight years. We have screened films from all seven of the world’s continents.

The ISFFH reaches out to student filmmakers of all ages, from elementary to graduate school. It is this generation of story tellers that will be influencing the following generations. The ISFFH gives them a platform to be seen, offering students the unique opportunity to gain the recognition of film industry leaders and create career development opportunities.

The film industry is constantly searching for creative, new artistic talent and vision. We seek to serve as an international liaison bringing together promising creative talent from all corners of the earth.

The constant reach of human creativity for more refined and powerful methods of artistic expression has led to the creation and expansion of new media: music videos, abstract features, hybrid film, animation, etc. We seek to open a flow of international talent and to celebrate new artistic discoveries from all over the world. We seek that singular, challenging, and passionate student talent.

JL: You screen a wide range of films—features, shorts, dramas, comedies, animation, documentaries. What trends, if any, have you seen recently in the documentary films? What kinds of information / issues are especially interesting to young filmmakers these days?

DS: Personal stories have been a big part of documentaries, such as the life struggles of a filmmaker’s family. It may be a story of a life lost in a battle of one form or another; or of a previous generation and how it has built the character of that family today.

I’ve seen a number of films without dialogue. Personally, I really enjoy seeing a story told without words, you simply watch it unfold with image and sound. It can be very dramatic and very touching.

JL: Yes, sometimes the lack of technology can be a plus. What are some other films you’ve screened that were technically simple, but still very creative, emotionally powerful, entertaining, or informative?

DS: One film that comes to mind is Omer, a documentary about a quirky street performer that simply told his story on camera. It was the chosen character himself that made the story so incredibly touching and powerful.

Also, elementary age animation and claymation have got to be some of the simplest, yet most creative and entertaining films! Kids are able to tell their story in a fun, simple and direct approach without over thinking and fuss. Their real influence is their own imaginations.

JL: How has your location in Hollywood helped the ISFFH and its filmmakers? What challenges has location posed, if any?

DS: Our location has a tremendous advantage for student filmmakers as it allows them to visit the epicenter of filmmaking. Many students make plans prior to the festival to visit schools while here where they may have the opportunity to further their education. Others may visit working studios and most will take time to see Hollywood itself.

JL: What's the biggest misconception about your festival? OR, what do you feel is the biggest misconception about film festivals generally?

DS: I don’t know what misconceptions anyone may have of our festival, but I do know that our participants are given a tremendous opportunity to interact with each other and other guests including working people in the industry who attend to lend their support. The ISFFH allows the filmmakers to have their film screened in front of an audience and to build connections. We have a warm, welcoming atmosphere where even the most timid filmmakers end up engaging with others.

JL: Any parting words of advice for filmmakers who want to submit to the ISFFH?

DS: When applying to the ISFFH or any film festival, be sure to fill out the entry form completely, yet keep your answers concise. Also, be sure to give correct contact information; there is nothing worse than to win an award that will never make it to you.

Also, don’t miss an opportunity to have your film screened among your peers and receive friendly feedback. It is a rare occasion that you will have so many likeminded people in one place; from different cultures around the world to exchange ideas and techniques with—memories that will last a lifetime.

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The International Student Film Festival Hollywood takes place this November 5-6th. The deadline for entries is August 31st.

For more on The Valley Film Festival, visit our website or Facebook page.

Looking Ahead: Comic-Con 2012

2011-08-13T13:14:00.001-07:00

Photo Courtesy of Erik Engman

Yes. We know. We're a little late in recapping Comic-Con 2011. If you don't live under a rock, you already know that Cowboys & Aliens had its world premiere there, and that Steven Spielberg announced the return of the Jurassic Park franchise at this year's convention. Since you already know this, we're going to prep you for 2012.

Approaching its 43rd year, San Diego Comic-Con is produced by CCI (Comic-Con International), the non-profit organization also responsible for WonderCon and Alternative Press Expo (APE) both held in San Francisco.

Despite Hollywood's increasing presence, the biggest misnomer is that Comic-Con is only for the socially inept, awkward super fans of science fiction. Wrong! Sure, you'll find people from all over the globe wearing Stormtrooper costumes, or dressed up as Dr. Who, but you'll also find families, bucket list checklister's, collectors, thrill-seekers, and pop-culture hounds. Somewhere in this mix, you will fit in.

First, save the dates: July 12-15, 2012. Preview date, for badge holders only, July 11.

Next, decide now whether you want to attend for 1 day or the full 4, or somewhere in between. This is critical. Trust us. Trying to find a hotel in San Diego a month before the convention is near impossible. And, if you do find a room that late, it'll average $300+ a night. We once paid $400/night for a hotel, so listen to us when we tell you to book now for 2012. FYI, the hotel you want to be at is the Marriott Marquis Hotel and Marina.

"Like" Comic-Con on Facebook and follow them on Twitter, so you know when 2012 tickets go on sale. Pre-registration for 2012 took place during the 2011 convention, and festival badges and single tickets will go on sale around February 2012. Queue up at your computer the day they become available because they sell out in a matter of hours. Once the first batch of inventory is sold out, Comic-Con will not release more tickets until just days prior to the convention, which may thwart your plans. If you are applying for Professional Accreditation, we suggest you purchase a day pass anyway, as security. If you do get the professional badge, Comic-Con will allow you to return your ticket for a refund within a certain time frame.

OK. You've saved the dates, booked your hotel, and have purchased your ticket. Now what? You wait. You wait until the schedule of panels, screenings, autograph signings, etc. get published, which can be as late as 3-4 weeks prior to the convention. If you're a super fan, you know exactly what you want to do, see, touch, and create. But if you're just a regular Joe or Jane trying to get the most out of this experience, listen up:

Comic-Con is overwhelming even when planned out properly. There will be lines for everything. From the smallest of seminars to the largest of studio unveilings, to the coffee kiosk and bathroom, there will be long, long lines. Get used to it. You're going to have to choose between spending 1/4 of the day waiting for Frank Miller's autograph or waiting 45-minutes for the panel, Trends in Young Adult Fiction. If the autograph isn't a must have, explore the various panels and choose to attend one on a topic you know very little about. Take advantage of the MySched feature to help you plan, and just know that you will not be able to do everything, so don't even try.

If panels aren't your thing, Comic-Con also has a film festival component. From ANIME, to documentaries, to narrative shorts and features, we can guarantee you'll find peace, quiet, and plenty of seats at a screening. The Comic-Con International Film Festival is held at the Marriott Marquis Hotel and typically the filmmakers, cast and crew are in attendance. VFF09's Enigma screened at CCIFF in 2010. Additionally, previously released studio features and kid-friendly films can be found.

Photo Courtesy of Erik Engman

Looking for retail therapy? You need not look further than the convention floor where you'll find collectibles, clothing, original artwork, music, DVD's, and more from the likes of indie artists and large corporations like Hasbro and LEGO. Bring cash. Cash will allow you to keep track of what you're spending and may give you some price negotiating leverage. The best time to buy is Sunday at 5pm, an hour before the convention ends. Retailers don't want to pack up the merchandise they brought, they want to get rid of it and, in most cases, they slash their prices ridiculously low, and have been known to give stuff away for free.

Speaking of free, swag is plentiful...but you're going to have to go outside of the convention center to find it. Roam the historic Gaslamp Quarter and you'll be able to collect goodies galore. From t-shirts, to posters, to buttons and other promotional items, it's all out there if you look. One of the coveted pieces of swag this year was a Pan Am Airways replica tote to promote ABC's Pan Am. Sadly we were not able to get our hands on one.

If the crowds and convention become too much for you, don't forget that you're in San Diego! Steps away from the Pacific Ocean, world class dining, a world-renowned zoo, and Tijuana, Mexico! Explore and have fun.

Countdown to VFF11...T-Minus 100 Days!

2011-08-03T16:16:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again...the countdown to The Valley Film Festival's opening night: 11.11.11.

In addition to it being International Spinal Tap Day ("The numbers all go to eleven. Look, right across the board, eleven, eleven, eleven...") it's the 11th Annual Valley Film Festival. Kismet!

There's still time for you to submit a short or feature, in any genre. The VFF11 call-for-entries is open through August 15th. The VFF11 program will be announced around September 15th, with ticket sales starting October 1st.

Our countdown will celebrate our small victories and our 2011 sponsors & supporters, as well as share our day to day ramblings and submission musings until T-Minus 1 arrives. Join us!

For example, a trend that our screening group noticed was, practically every short film we reviewed this week included a shot of the iconic Hollywood sign. No joke. At one point we took bets. Cyrus won.

Now it's your turn! What trends have you seen in films recently? This could be anything from genre, to product placement, to audience participation in the theatre.

Contribute. It's fun.

The 2011 Valley Film Festival will take place November 11-13 at the Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks.

On the Road in Morocco: An Interview with Sébastien Rossi

2011-07-19T16:56:00.000-07:00

By James Latham

Last year we screened Sébastien Rossi’s short film, Big H Story, and now he’s finished shooting a feature, Road Nine, filmed on location in Morocco.

James Latham: So tell us about Road Nine. What’s it about?

Sébastien Rossi: It’s an independent film, a road movie mixing drama, action, and romance between the two main characters, Nadia, played by Beatrice Rosen, and Yanis, played by Assaad Bouab. Nadia is a French-Moroccan waitress and singer in Youri’s pub, who ends up running for her life on Road Nine, the road from Marrakech to Rabat.

JL: Where are you now in the production process?

SR: We’re finishing post-production. The main editing is finished; we’re just polishing it. The score by François Letiec has just been finished. His team had been recording in a studio in the south of France (La Farinière) and we were exchanging ideas by phone. Sometimes he played his recordings over the phone for my feedback; that was funny, but it worked!

The VFX team supervised by Bertrand Demare and Michael Bolufer is working on a bullet-time special effect that I created without any motion control, because of the low budget. We all had to be very inventive at times during the shoot to make it happen. We’re also working on several compositing and picture improvements, although I have made every effort to be as authentic as possible in the principal photography, so that visual effects are mainly just for correcting problems.

JL: Where are you with marketing and distribution?

SR: With my assistant editor Matt Causseque and our sell and marketing agent Nabil Bouhajra, we worked on a teaser for the Cannes Film Festival, and it has been a great success. We had a lot of great feedback from studios in France, Germany, the UK, and Spain. Now everybody is waiting for the finished movie. Hopefully in August we’ll screen in the US to find a deal there.

JL: How were you able to get funding?

SR: The movie was funded by an independent Moroccan producer, Cedric Bulard (One Shot Media), who I met last year at the Marrakech film festival. We both wanted to do a feature in the amazing landscapes of Marrakech, and one thing led to another….

JL: Any interesting behind-the-scenes anecdotes to share?

SR: As on every production, you have a lot of anecdotes, especially in a country like Morocco, which is full of surprises. One thing was during a very cold night in the desert—we usually think of deserts as just very hot, but at night they can be freezing cold. Anyway, on that night I had to warm a piece of rocky land with two little heaters for a sequence where Beatrice is laying on the floor in a t-shirt. The temperature was around 0°C, and the rocks where so cold that it would have been torture to make anyone do that. But with the two little heaters, and a courageous Beatrice, we got the job done.

JL: Temperatures aside, what were some other challenges or rewards that you got from shooting on location?

SR: Authenticity was a big advantage. So were the people, because, especially in Morocco, when you hire a location set, you always get some local people who know the area and how things work there. And local talent is much more affordable. But of course the downside is that local talent—even the serious film professionals—won’t always know how things work, whether it’s the technologies, or what it takes to keep a set quiet during filming, or….

Another problem was when we shot interiors; we couldn’t get the light exactly where we wanted. Usually interior lighting is easier to control than exteriors, but many of the rooms we worked in were very small, which complicated everything. The props team had some very long nights figuring out how to fix that! For exteriors, our lighting challenge was that we were shooting in winter, so only had about six hours a day of good light.

JL: How did making short films and music videos prepare you (or not) for making a feature?

SR: For me it was pretty much the same. A feature is just more stressful because you have like ten times the amount of time for shooting, which means 100 times the problems!

One thing I learned that may not be so obvious is the need to be physically healthy and keep that going as much as possible, especially good eating and sleeping. Shorts are like sprinting, and features are like marathons; you need to keep fit for the long haul and for various challenges that come along the way.

Making short movies and music videos was great preparation for knowing all kinds of aspects for making a feature. It gave me a respect for things like deadlines, budgeting, and negotiating with famous actors or first-class technicians to get them interested in working on your low-budget indie movie.

It gave me what I guess you’d call “indie reflexes,” or the ability to adapt well with limited resources; or the confidence to know what can and can’t work with all the limitations of things like time, money, manpower, and technologies. Like, if I want to put some complicated visual effects into a scene but we can’t do it because of the expense, then I can find a way to do it “homemade” and it works fine. In Road Nine, we did a crazy one-shot opening scene of three minutes starting outside near the roof of a luxury hotel and moving the camera to the ground to catch a car, next into the lobby, next in the elevator to finish by a rub into a suite. This could have been very time consuming and expensive to do, but with my previous experience, a Steadicam, and a lot of perseverance, we made it work!

We also did a bullet time effect only with one camera and one simple grip (traveling).

JL: How did that work?

SR: I designed a motion of what I wanted and then began making it. Basically, we combined the footage as layers, like a multilayer Photoshop composition, but with film clips instead of individual photos. Our biggest challenge was to be as precise as possible in the motion, which is normally electronically controlled, and so ultra precise. But we “only” had Rashid, our Gripman, who did the motion almost 30 times at the (almost) same cadence to make the “layering” actions possible. After that, in post, Bertrand did a composite of the four best footages in NUKE (soft). And Michael created some 3D objects to include into the final composition. It was all very complicated, but, in the end, it worked out very well.

JL: Looking ahead, do you prefer being based in France, or are you aiming to eventually “go Hollywood”?

SR: I dreamt of Hollywood when I was young, and think I’m gradually heading there, mainly because I’m closer to Hollywood’s way of doing movies than the French way. In France, it’s not an entertainment cinema, and it’s not an industry. It’s a problem because even an ordinary movie—not a big complicated blockbuster—can sometimes take several years just to get started. By that time, your actors have already gotten too old for their parts (laughing). So yes, going Hollywood and feeling ready for it.

In fact, I’m going to be working on a U.S. feature called Swapped, written by Peter Rodger. We’re aiming to start polishing the script and casting actors in L.A. in early 2012, maybe sooner. But I also got a good proposition just before Cannes to direct a thriller in France in the vein of Se7en, with a great French cast. Maybe it’ll be my last work in France. We’ll see.

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For more on The Valley Film Festival, visit our website or Facebook page

Cannes 2012...The Application Process

2011-07-01T23:08:00.000-07:00

If you consider yourself “in” the industry, then attending the Cannes FilmFestival, or Festival de Cannes, is a must. After, of course, attending The Valley Film Festival. Fortunately, the two are months apart.

Yes, we understand that your credit cards are maxed out fromyour last production, and that you’re between projects, and like most of theindustry, you haven’t worked in months. Trust us, VFF gets it. We’re allvolunteers with various stages of work and project commitments, or lackthereof. That being said, if your presence at work/home can be spared for one week, attending Festival de Cannes is a must to revitalize your artisticsoul and renew your industry contacts.

Worried about the logistics? Don’t. VFF will tell you how to doCannes on a budget that even an unemployed screenwriter can afford. Really!With almost a year to go until the next festival, you, too, can Cannes.

In this post, we’ll focus on the application process.

First, save the dates for the 65^th Festival deCannes: May 9-20^th, 2012.

Next, follow the Festival de Cannes on Facebook, Twitter, orvia the festival's RSS feed to know when the accreditation process opens. And, when itdoes, apply as early as possible. Oh, yeah, and it’s free. Yes, a full festival,professional badge to the most prestigious film festival in the world is FREE.You have nothing to lose by applying.

Navigating the badge system seems straight forward – thefestival website offers accreditation in four different categories: Festival (film professionals), Press (media professionals), Marche du Film(professionals who buy or sell films) and Cannes Cinephiles (lovers of film) –but it’s really complex, with different levels of access and priorities.

Additionally, there are 1, 2, and 3-day passes, and Short Film Corner badges.

Most likely, you'll apply for theFestival badge. This is the badge for film professionals and it grants youaccess to the Palais des Festival, Marche du Film, Village International,badge-only hotels such as the Majestic and Carlton, Short Film Corner, andOfficial Selection screenings.

Just a few years ago, one had to snail mail a CV andphysical collateral supporting professional claims. Now that festival accreditationis online, it’s pretty simple. You’ll be asked to supply a link to your creditsor attach a PDF. You should link to your IMDB page or an online CV that bestshowcases your artistic talents. If you’re a freelancer, you should have yourown website (not a Facebook page) or, at the very least, a LinkedIn profile.

MMV Cannes-Mandelieu Resort

You’ll also be asked to indicate where you’ll be staying while inCannes. This seems like a trick question, right? Who knows where they’re goingto stay four months down the road? Don’t leave this section blank. It’s our belief that if the Office of Accreditation sees that you have accommodation lined up, they’ll know that you’re already committed to the festival. VFF uses the physical address of the MMV Cannes-Mandelieu Resort, because it’s an affordable hotel we’ve stayed at before, and it's ourtrusted back-up plan if nothing better comes along. And by better, we meansomething closer to the Croisette or near the beach. The MMV Cannes-Mandelieu Resort is an all-suites hotel, about 4 miles from the Croisette, and it offersfree shuttle service to and from the Palais des Festival. It’s an awesome hotel and cancomfortably sleep 4 in a standard suite.

Finally, you’ll be asked to leave a comment.Again, don’t leave this section blank. If you don’t have a specificquestion to ask, say something nice about the festival (it’s not hard) ormention why you want to attend. By saying something, anything, you're letting the Office of Accreditation know that you respect their time and the festival.

It goes without saying, but if your primary email address issomething along the lines of “PartyGirl55” or “NFLKid007” @, you shouldprobably create a free Gmail account, use your work email (even if you’renot attending on your company’s behalf), or ask a really good industry friend,with their own domain, to create a temporary email account for you.

Now, if you’re a filmmaker with a spare $100 USD to submita recent short film to the Short Film Corner, do it! It’s so worth it.Submitting to the Short Film Corner is NOT the same thing as submitting a film to the Festival de Cannes. While organized by the festival, the Short FilmCorner is a mini-market for short films, and has a slew of fantastic opportunitiesfor filmmakers. Provided your film meets certain conditions, filmmakers are allbut guaranteed inclusion in the Short Film Corner...which comes with twoall-access festival badges. The Short Film Corner badge will get you intoeverything the professional “Festival” badge will get you into: Palais desFestival, Marche du Film, Village International, etc. By the way, it’s free to submit a short film to Festival de Cannes, so you should do that too. Competition is fierce, but you have nothingto lose.

Ok, let’s suppose you don’t have a short film to submit tothe Short Film Corner, and you just received a rejection letter for the professional “Festival” badge. Now what? Chancesare, the Office of Accreditation will soften the blow and offer you a CannesCinephiles badge instead. If your main goal is to soak up the sun and perhapscatch a film or two, go ahead and accept it. The Cannes Cinephiles badge wasoriginally designed as a “locals only” badge and will not allow you to accessthe Palais des Festival, Marche du Film, Village International, etc. It willonly allow you access to select Cannes Cinephile screenings, in select screeningrooms, somewhere in Cannes. We’ve never been able to track down this screeningroom, so it’s off the beaten path for sure.

If you want more out of the festival, thank the Office ofAccreditation for their consideration and clearly indicate that you donot wish to accept the Cannes Cinephiles badge. Be gracious andrespectful.

Why refuse the Cannes Cinephiles badge, you ask? Great question.If you’re in the Festival de Cannes computer system as a Cannes Cinephilesbadge holder, you will not be able to purchase a day pass. There is some weird technicality thatwill not allow you to buy a temporary badge if you’ve already been assigned one.

You can purchase a 1, 2, or 3-day pass for about 20 euros aday. The days are consecutive and you can only make the request once. A daypass will give you access to all of the areas covered by the professionalFestival badge. If you’re in town for a week, you should wait at least a day toacclimate yourself to the festival before buying your day pass. If you knowsomeone at the festival with a Festival, Short Film Corner, or Marche duFilm badge, ask them to accompany you to the day pass office. You don’t need to have a“sponsor” to purchase a day pass, but having someone vouching foryour professional reasons to be inside the Marche is a plus. This is not the time to flaunt yourcredits or pull rank. Instead, use this moment to say you’ve made anappointment with XYZ company or have been invited to a Short Film Cornerscreening.

Nowthat you’ve been granted a badge, or have decided to go without one, we’ll coverlogistics, festival must-dos (with our without a badge), non-festivalactivities, and more. We want you to enjoy Festival de Cannes as much as we do!

“There are way worse jobs than sitting in front of a computer”: An Interview with Ester Brym

2011-06-22T07:45:00.000-07:00

By James Latham

Recently, one of our alumni filmmakers, Ester Brym, posted something interesting on Facebook: “So the question is: Do I leave the TV business immediately or do I put up with it a little longer? Would washing dishes make more sense? Or what shall I do?”

Seeing this, and her film, I wanted to talk with Ester about this all-too-familiar situation as well as how her work is going, and her thoughts and experiences with social media.

James Latham: Your documentary film Butterflies, which won an award at last year’s VFF, profiles several online personalities as they become YouTube celebrities. How was your experience at the festival, and how has the film done since then?

Ester Brym: VFF was actually one of our favorite festivals. It was also the last festival we screened at since we started the festival circuit in early 2009. We have since gotten international distribution for the film via Journeyman Pictures and are working on our next project.

JL: Could you talk a little about how you got distribution, and some of the details about the deal itself—especially things that other filmmakers seeking distribution ought to be aware of?

EB: I think we were pretty lucky to get such great distribution by Journeyman Pictures, which has a great reputation in the documentary film field. I have not seen a bad film distributed by them and they were pretty fair and straightforward from the beginning. They told us exactly what to expect and what is not reasonable, so we decided to go with them over limited theatrical release, because this way we actually get to see some money. We had to deliver them both PAL and NTSC versions and cut the film down to 50 minutes so they could sell all over the world, and indeed they have so far sold Butterflies to Brazil, Poland, New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, and even Kenya and northern Europe.

JL: As your film shows, social media can be great in many ways, but what do you think are some of its biggest myths or problems—especially for people working in “old” media?

EB: I think sometimes social media is being given way too much credit in terms of bringing attention to art projects, movies, music, causes, etc. It is definitely a great platform to use for networking, but as it becomes more popular and therefore also more crowded, lots of important events / projects will just get lost in the mix. It can be a great tool for businesses / projects etc. if used correctly, but it can also be a big waste of time if one doesn’t get fully engaged, doesn’t use it for communication back and forth, or uses it mainly to “spam”.

JL: What are you doing now professionally, in both film and TV?

EB: We are currently working on our second documentary about Route 66, which we spent three weeks travelling on. I am also in pre-production for a film about the European band Chinaski.

In terms of TV work, it is, as you would call it, my “day job” even though I work mostly nights in order to get more time during the day for whatever work I want to accomplish on my own. I work in post-production.

JL: What do you like and dislike about your work in TV? Would washing dishes make more sense as a day job?

EB: I like that I don’t have to commit to one company or one project for too long. I freelance so I can always see the end in sight. I also like that I can very often meet creative people who later collaborate with us on our documentary films.

I really dislike the way TV is going in the past few years and the amount of reality shows taking over our lives. I don’t see any redeeming value in these shows. It is not really creative work; it is just a form of voyeurism. The shots are not beautiful, the dialogue is lame, peoples’ attitudes are not always right and the production work hours and ethics can be ridiculous. I am not sure if washing dishes would make more sense, but sometimes I think working in a museum or in a park would. I guess the key is to have a day job that can be in some way inspiring. I don’t see reality TV as an inspiration, and no matter how hard I try to respect it, I always fail.

JL: Post-production in Reality TV may not be your preferred type of day job, but have you looked into leveraging your experience in both film and TV to make some kind of move within TV, as a day job that still may not be ideal but is helping you grow? Is it post- in Reality TV or nothing in TV?

EB: I think it would be pretty hard to do something very career oriented in TV and still manage to work on my documentaries. These are two such different fields (as much as they sometimes seem very similar to people) that I believe I can only do one well.

JL: How would you describe the response you got from your Facebook posting? What was the most useful feedback? Any surprises?

EB: I think the most useful advice was from people who have their 9-5 jobs and dislike it. They believe that one has to do something for money, and if it is not absolutely terrible (which, let’s be honest, there are way worse jobs than sitting in front of a computer), one should be able to get through it. I also realize that other jobs might not cover all my bills, so the actual idea of changing careers is not very reasonable.

JL: You are originally from the Czech Republic, studied filmmaking in New York, and then moved to Los Angeles. How has living and working here turned out differently than you had imagined, for better or worse?

EB: I don’t think I ever imagined living here or in NY so it turned out pretty good for me. I just kind of took one day at a time and things happened according to what I was interested in at that time. I am definitely very lucky to be able to live in some of the most wonderful cities in the world and I don’t take it for granted.

JL: In your film work, have you done much with professional organizations, such as the International Documentary Association?

EB: We used IDA a lot for marketing our film. We attended their networking events, met people, other filmmakers, got to see lots of films, asked questions... so yes.

JL: So, in the end, where do you plan to go, professionally?

EB: Professionally, I would just like to be able to do what I am doing now, and if possible with as little of reality TV in my life as I can. That means that I would like to keep making films, meeting people who are passionate about them, creative and willing to help just to be part of something great. Ideally, I would love to be able to travel and film all around the world as there are so many stories out there and I would love to learn about them and then put them into a film for others to see.

Remembering a Valley Icon...Marilyn Monroe

2011-06-01T22:24:00.000-07:00

Photo: David Conover

On what would have been her 85th birthday, The Valley Film Festival would like to take a moment to remember Marilyn Monroe. Born June 1, 1926, Norma Jeane Baker is among The Valley's most famous residents, if not THE most famous, and VFF is thrilled that this cinematic legend called The Valley home sweet home

There are countless books and blogs dedicated to the minutiae that is Marilyn, so we thought we'd highlight just a few of her (818) stomping grounds.

Before graduating from Van Nuys High School, Marilyn attended Lankershim Elementary School...right around the corner from our old haunts, El Portal Theatre.

Home addresses included:

6707 Odessa Avenue, Van Nuys, 91406 (cross streets: Vanowen and Hayvenhurst)

4524 Vista Del Monte St., Sherman Oaks, 91403 (cross streets: Moorpark and Hortense)

131 South Avon St., Burbank, 91505 (cross streets: Riverside and Warner Blvd.)

And, while her first husband, Jimmy was in the South Pacific during WWII, Norma Jeane rolled up her sleeves and worked on the Radio Plane munitions assembly line in Burbank (adjacent to Bob Hope Airport). While there, she was photographed for Yank magazine and the rest is history.

If you want to remember Marilyn, we suggest you visit Netflix and stream Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, costarring valley goddess and Van Nuys High School grad, Jane Russell.

Remembering a Valley Icon...Bob Hope

2011-05-30T08:24:00.000-07:00

It's Memorial Day weekend! While you're sitting poolside, cocktail in hand, with the grill cooking, we wanted to remind you to take a moment to remember & thank the men and women of the U.S. Military.

This weekend we're also remembering Bob Hope, born May 29, 1903, and a Valley resident for than 60 years until his death in 2003. From WWI to the Persian Gulf War, and everything in between, Mr. Hope headlined 60 USO tours.

In 1999, U.S. Congress declared him the first and only honorary veteran of the U.S. armed forces for his humanitarian work with the USO, to which he replied, "I've been given many awards in my lifetime — but to be numbered among the men and women I admire most — is the greatest honor I have ever received."

If you don't have friends, family, or relatives in the military, take a moment to reflect on the day and then fire up Netflix and stream The Road to Bali or The Road to Hong Kong.

Jules Dameron on Deaf Women in Film

2011-05-21T17:55:00.000-07:00

Following up on our previous post about Alyssa Dole, we wanted to go into a bit more depth on the subject of deaf women working in film. So we contacted filmmaker Julia (Jules) Dameron, the founder of Deaf Women in Film. Here are some things she wanted us to know:

“How many deaf and hard of hearing people are actually out there? According to the National Association of the Deaf, about 17% of all people in the United States are deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened or deaf-blind--in a simple word to summarize it all: deaf. That’s a lot of people, roughly 36 million people just in the U.S. Over four times the population of New York City. And roughly half of them are women, a community that itself has been historically marginalized and disempowered.

“Deaf Women in Film is not an official organization, but a gathering of people who need to be recognized for their unique circumstances in our society. The deaf and hard of hearing communities are very naturally close knit, sharing a wonderfully unique way of life and communicating, whether it be in the form of sign language, visual gestures, or the written word.

“Are there any deaf women in film? ‘Oh, wait! I know about Marlee Matlin. She won that Oscar for Children of a Lesser God in the 80s.’ That’s pretty much all the general public knows about us. Marlee Matlin is truly a fine actress and a wonderful representative for deaf people today. However, there are many more talents out there, and I want everyone to know it.

“Now, there’s no telling how many people work in the film industry, but the truth is, it’s becoming a larger industry nowadays, due to new and better technologies, globalization, and so many people interested in being media producers, distributors, or at least consumers. Filmmaking is sexy and spreading, no doubt about it, and it’s a big tent where all kinds of people can contribute.

“Film festivals are also helping, whether it’s the VFF or even several festivals around the world specifically devoted to films by or about deaf people. In the U.S., for example, there are the Maine Deaf Film Festival and the Deaf Rochester Film Festival.

“Still, deaf people are underrepresented in film, and yet they are also motivated. Working in film presents a lot of extra challenges, but the deaf often work (or at least aspire to work) in film for many reasons. Here are a few:

Film is a form of visual communication. For minds that are intimately trained to think visually, it’s only natural for deaf people to be drawn to forms of visual expression such as filmmaking. Not just interested, but really good at it—sort of like what they say about blind people having strong senses of smell, hearing, and touch; deaf people have the potential to use film and other visual media in more powerful, expressive ways than the average Joe.

Art springs from suffering. Well, that’s not always the case, but it happens often. Deaf people are doubly challenged, first by their condition and then by a society that is often clueless about how to respect or understand them. Even hearing parents of deaf children, who should know better, can be very insensitive. Deaf people have plenty of hard life experiences and frustrations that can help them to be powerful communicators.

Being unable to find work. Getting and keeping a job so often requires things like talking on the phone that it’s easy for deaf people to be intimidated and not even try to find “regular” work. They often end up working as American Sign Language teachers, teachers for the deaf, or in related government jobs, even though they would prefer more options and can bring a lot to the table. Deaf people also are often self-employed, creating their own businesses, or freelancing. In film, which is full of freelancers, many deaf people are filmmakers, actors, etc.

“Many deaf people are really motivated to work in film, and society benefits from their contributions. It’s important for all of us that deaf people—like women, like ethnic minorities, like gays and lesbians, like everyone—be able to portray themselves more accurately and honestly than what we usually see in the mainstream media.

“We’ve got to get away from the marginalization and stereotyping that, even today, we find in mainstream depictions of deaf people. For instance, deaf people being portrayed as victims in need of help, or as perfect lipreaders or completely mute. In fact, these are often not the case for individual people. There’s so much more diversity among deaf people than you would think.

“Deaf people already have done some great work, and not just Marlee Matlin. In the acting world of deaf talents there are Phyllis Frelich, Linda Bove, Deanne Bray, Shoshannah Stern, and Amber Zion, to name a few women. Among the men are Bernard Bragg, Troy Kotsur, Tyrone Giordano, Russell Harvard, Anthony Natale, and CJ Jones. Deaf filmmakers, aside from myself, include Wayne Betts, Jr., Mark Wood, Jade Bryan, Kamau Buchanan, Adrean Mangiardi. Each has such a unique and amazing voice to express on film.

“We have so many wonderful deaf women in the film industry eager to move forward in their careers. There are truly many talented actresses, filmmakers, cinematographers, editors, screenwriters, choreographers, makeup artists, wardrobe stylists, and the list keeps getting longer. Deaf Women in Film is expanding, and the website has links to most of these deaf women who have joined up.

Photo by Erik Call
Edited by James Latham

Deafness in Film: An Interview with Alyssa Dole

2011-04-28T13:27:00.000-07:00

By James Latham

Getting any film made is usually a miracle, especially for filmmakers who face extra challenges, such as being very young or having physical disabilities. Alyssa Dole not only overcame both of those challenges, but made them into advantages, when she directed, wrote, and starred in Deaf Perception, a short film that we screened in 2010. Alyssa’s twin sister, Ashley, also wrote and starred in this story of two deaf teenage sisters sitting in a coffee shop and subjected to the reactions of the people around them. The film is a brief but impressive look at the challenges of being deaf today.

James Latham: What was your experience in film before making Deaf Perception?

Alyssa Dole: Ashley and I were extras in our father, Marc Dole’s, short films Tweet, The Bureau, and Mito-Kids. Deaf Perception is the first short film I ever wrote / directed. A lot of what I know about filmmaking is from the guidance of my co-director, Chase Bailey, and my father, who seems to always have a video camera in his hands.

JL: Can you tell us a little about Mito-Kids? What it’s about and how it might be interesting for people not directly affected by deafness?

AD: Mito-Kids is about me and my three sisters. How our different diseases are actually connected through mitochondrial cells. It also shows how even though we have health conditions we still live rather normal lives.

JL: How was Deaf Perception conceived? How does it draw from your personal experiences, and what are some things you want people to take away from it?

AD: One day my dad was teaching my cousin and me how to make a script. It didn’t take long for me to come up with the idea of twin sisters who are deaf and hard of hearing and face a lot of obstacles. I think it was about a week later when I got home from school that Dad told me that he handed my script over to his friend who, after reading it, said, “I want to direct this.”

The part where the cashier is being rude has actually happened to my sister and me a lot. It’s happened at restaurants, stores, airports, offices, etc. Another thing is people stare a lot. We don’t mind if someone is interested in sign language and wants to learn. We just don’t like it when people ogle us.

I want people to notice how, when we signed and / or verbally spoke, there were still captions for everyone to understand. That’s what every movie with deaf characters should be like.

JL: What challenges and rewards have you encountered so far as a young deaf filmmaker? How did the collaborative nature of filmmaking help or hinder your work on Deaf Perception?

AD: My mind is more open to artistic abilities. Because of this, I now take film as an elective at school. I love it.

I’m really proud to be a member of the Deaf Women in Film organization. I’ve never done anything like this before, and to have an organization like that for all deaf women is inspiring.

It was great working with my collaborators. One challenge was that it was exhausting to be a hearing impaired teen surrounded by regular hearing people for even just a few hours. There were interpreters, but they were more for Ashley, who is sign language dependent. Next time I’ll make sure to work more with interpreters.

JL: This might seem a little esoteric, but what thoughts do you have about film and sign language as forms of visual communication?

AD: To me, sign language is a beautiful way to speak. It’s so wondrous that you can see someone’s voice. It is complicated to put on film though. You can do very few close ups and wide shots. You also have to make sure that the scripted words can match the signs; and be aware of other things, like how your wardrobe will affect seeing the butterfly-like movement of hands.

JL: Where else have you screened Deaf Perception? How has the reception been?

AD: It’s been on the New Hampshire Chronicles that airs right after the local news. I remember a lot of people recognizing me at the mall because of that. We screened at the VFF and the New Hampshire Film Festival.

JL: What are your plans for the future?

AD: I’m currently working on making a sequel to Deaf Perception. I hope to continue making films in other areas as well as deafness.

JL: And go to film school?

AD: I might take a few classes here and there but film school, no. It’s actually much more fun to learn as you go.

Love Thy Sound Recordist/Mixer & Boom Operator

2011-04-16T22:39:00.000-07:00

If you didn't already know, The Valley Film Festival loves independent films. We love seeing images from nooks of the world we didn't know of, or bands we've never heard before, or feeling chemistry rock between characters on screen. In fact, there's very little we dislike about indie film. But there is one thing we really, really hate (besides a 10-minute vomit scene that serves no purpose) and that is...bad sound!

In the last 48 hours, we've watched 10 feature films ranging in length from 50 minutes to over 2 hours for our pals at Dances With Films, who are 6 weeks away from their 14th festival. (Check them out June 2-9 at the Laemmle Sunset 5 in West Hollywood.) And, in every single film there was some sound element that brought us out of the moment. This is by no means a reflection on the festival itself, because we're willing to put money on the fact that every film festival from Cannes, to Sundance, to Telluride and Berlin, receive submissions with sound issues. VFF does! OK, maybe if IATSE Local 695 had a festival, this would be the exception.

There is nothing more annoying then trying to focus on the content of a film and having to adjust the volume up and down for every scene. And, we do mean EVERY scene. Or, watching a documentary about a band and not being able to hear their music over the clinking of beer bottles and audience conversation. Or, having one character mic'd up (and super loud) and not being able to hear the other character(s) in the scene. Or....we could go on and on.

Production sound equipment available today has come a long way since the talkies -- it's better, easier to use, more affordable and accessible. And, if you don't have access to specific equipment, or didn't account for it in the budget, then perhaps that 2-hour musical isn't the feature film you should be mortgaging your house for.

There is no place for poorly recorded sound in 2011. Period.

The Valley Film Festival Can Cannes!

2011-04-05T21:00:00.000-07:00

Two months ago, when Professional Accreditation applications became available for the 2011 Festival de Cannes, I submitted mine with fingers crossed. This is the third year I've applied.

Three years ago, requests were only accepted by snail mail. One had to include a CV, a letter of intent, and professional collateral. It was an ordeal and it took about a month to get approval. In the end, I received an email stating I had received the Professional Accreditation, but when I went to pick up the credential, I was given the limited and less desirable Cinephiles badge. It was "less desirable" to me because my intent was to network with independent filmmakers in the Short Film Corner and meet the international film commissions. The fabulous Cannes volunteers could see that the paperwork I held and the information in their system differed, and they tried to help, but in the end couldn't make it happen. They did, however, grant me a 2-day temporary pass to access the areas the Cinephiles badge wouldn't.

2010 was the first year applications were accepted online & my full-fledged access was granted in just over two weeks. Sadly, the VFF crew that went the year before was unable to scrounge up the money to make the trek together again. And, in the end, I opted to forgo Cannes.

This year, I received my accreditation in under 24 hours! A record. Regardless of who else is going, I will be there. But, I have a suspicion that some familiar VFF faces will be roaming the Croisette too and I hope you'll join us for a toast at Caffe Roma.

Monday, May 16 @ 3pm

Caffe Roma (across from the Palais)

1 Square Merimee

Cannes, France

More info and RSVP via Facebook or Eventbrite.

Doctor Zhivago Brings His Bolshevik Revolution to The Valley

2011-03-31T21:30:00.000-07:00

In addition to independent cinema, The Valley Film Festival loves, loves, loves classic Hollywood films! Even those, actually made in Hollywood. We just can't get enough. And, when these classics return to the big screen for one-night engagements, being able to see them as they were intended, makes the experience that much richer.

Earlier this year The New York Times Film Club launched in both NYC and L.A., or, more accurately, The Valley! As their website states, "The NYT Film Club is membership-based club devoted to an audience that is passionate about movies." Memberships start at $100 and come with a load of benefits, including access to preview screenings and digitally restored classics fused with Intel technology.

VFF is excited to share that this members-only club has extended an invite to VFF filmmakers, friends & fans, to attend their upcoming screening of the 1965 classic, Doctor Zhivago, starring Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Geraldine Chaplin and a slew of other actual movie stars. Directed by David Lean, with a haunting soundtrack from Maurice Jarre, Doctor Zhivago won 5 of the 10 Academy Awards it was nominated for, and is a must see for movie lovers around the world.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

6:00-6:45pm Red Carpet Arrival/Reception

6:45-10:00pm Screening

Warner Bros. Studio

Burbank, CA

RSVP for you plus one guest at NYTFilmClub@nytimes.com. Please mention that you heard about the screening through The Valley Film Festival.

Happy Hour with The Valley Film Festival at Firenze Osteria

2011-03-28T01:17:00.000-07:00

The Valley Film Festival is celebrating the close of its "Early Bird" submission deadline by relaxing in our new, favorite neighborhood haunt... Firenze Osteria...owned by Top Chef, Fabio Viviani.

We'll be at the bar where they'll be serving up private label wine for $5/glass and $4 martini's du jour.

Swing by, say hi, and if you missed the post office the day before, you can always hand deliver your submission to us at the bar. Don't forget, our submissions are open through August 15th, 2011. For our deadlines, guidelines, and application, visit our website.

As always, there is no charge to attend the event, but food & beverages are at your own expense.

RSVP on Facebook or via Eventbrite.

Canoodling in The Valley ~ Remembering Dame Liz Taylor (1932-2011)

2011-03-23T22:34:00.000-07:00

We at The Valley Film Festival loved her in The Last Time I Saw Paris, A Place in the Sun, and BUtterfield 8, to name a few, and we really, really, wish we could brag to the world that Elizabeth Taylor attended school or lived in The Valley, but alas, we can not. Ms. Taylor was a West Side girl through and through.

Not one to give up, VFF dug deep into the Valley vaults and found the gem we were looking for: Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were regulars at El Chiquito Inn, across from Warner Bros. Wipe that smirk off of your face! El Chiquito was not a pay-by-the-hour inn, it was a Mexican restaurant that served up fresh chili rellenos to Toluca Lake locals and studio workers. And since El Chiquito Inn opened in the 1950's and closed in the mid-1990's, we'd like to believe that Taylor & Burton's fondest moments were spent canoodling in the corner.

Now the Warner Bros. parking lot, El Chiquito Inn was located at 4211 Olive Avenue, near where Ciao! Christina stands today, and a few short blocks from local legend The Smoke House. Next time you're in the neighborhood, raise your glass and toast to Dame Liz.

In the meantime, you can (re)discover her filmography on IMDB or Netflix and read all about her tireless efforts to educate & eradicate the world of AIDS via The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.

1915-2010 ~ 95 Years of Production in the San Fernando Valley

2011-03-20T12:03:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week, we asked our Twitter followers what they'd like us to blog about and they gave us some great suggestions. From iconic locations to industry hang outs, our fans are hungry for more about the fabulous San Fernando Valley and its contribution to "Hollywood". And since we are a film festival, we've naturally decided to start with motion pictures produced or featuring The Valley.

Once we had our project, we took to Facebook and asked our fans what their favorite "Valley" film was. Unfortunately, we started off the post by stating we were partial to Valley Girl and Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and our post was mistaken for a poll. With all due respect, there was a shout out to Earth Girls are Easy.

After listening to our fans, we consulted with both Wikipedia and IMDB. Wikipedia confirmed the list we already knew: 2 Days in The Valley, Boogie Nights, Crash, Down in The Valley, E.T., Earth Girls are Easy, Encino Man, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Foxes, The Karate Kid, Magnolia and, of course, Valley Girl.

We were surprised that Wikipedia left off some obvious classics like Birth of a Nation, Casablanca, Chinatown, It's a Wonderful Life, and Terminator 2. We'll be sure to contribute to the page in the coming days and encourage you to add missing films, too.

What was more surprising were some of the titles on IMDB that list San Fernando Valley as a filming location:

The 1939 Bette Davis tear jerker, Dark Victory, with Humphrey Bogart and Ronald Reagan.
John Ford's 1941 Academy Awarding winning The Grapes of Wrath.
Classic Clint Eastwood circa 1978, Every Which Way But Loose.
The Wim Wenders drama, Paris, Texas, starring Harry Dean Stanton from 1984.
Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush (1925) and The Great Dictator (1940) [We have our doubts about these, but who are we to say otherwise]

What we really liked seeing were some of the independent films that we've screened on this list too:

VFF08: Night Visit directed by Kenneth Hall
VFF08: So Long Jimmy directed by Brad Ragland
VFF10: Motel San Fernando directed by Sergio Rodriguez

Over the last 11 years, we've screened hundreds of films shot in "The Valley" so we know that there should be a lot more independent films included in this list...just take a look at the VFF archives. Filmmakers, listen up, update your IMDB listing to include the location.

VFF encourages you to take a look at both the Wikipedia and IMDB pages, contribute where you can, and chime in below to let us know which film(s) are your faves!

The Valley Film Festival Seeks Volunteers

2011-03-17T21:44:00.000-07:00

Hello Filmmakers, Friends & Fans:

VFF11 needs your help! We're about 7-8 months away from our 11th showcase and need to step it up. So, we're looking for an army of volunteers who want to help out in the following areas:

Communications Team: Contribute content to our blog, website & newsletter. Also, help out in the social media (Twitter/FB) areas.

Screening Committee: Watch movies! Write reviews! Yay! It's pretty simple, but the one rule of VFF -- you must watch the entire film from start to finish. It's a must.

Global Street Team: Identify film societies, websites, organizations, events, etc. that VFF should be at to promote our call-for-entries & alumni filmmakers, or that will allow us to leave postcards, posters, etc. (Wink. Wink. This can be anywhere in the world...we'll send you the materials.)

Focus On: This is our new, monthly series, and it needs some TLC. We're currently "focused on" screenings & networking events, but would love to do panel discussions. If you have a great idea or know someone w/ knowledge to share, help us out!

If there's anything we missed, or if there's something you've always wanted to do, let us know -- we'll try to make it happen.

Please email: volunteer@valleyfilmfest.com with the areas you'd like to volunteer in or suggestions.

It Happened in The Valley...Foiled by the Façade

2011-02-28T22:23:00.000-08:00

We joked about snow falling on our upcoming Picnic in Bedford Falls, but we didn't think the weather gods would unleash the white stuff on us as we journeyed to Casablanca.

Despite the epic weather in random parts of The Valley, a small group of us ventured to Van Nuys to view the remains of the airport hangar used in the final scene of Casablanca. Unfortunately for us, the hangar was under wraps...literally! Now officially part of the Airtel Plaza Hotel, the iconic movie set is being restored and renovated for use as a special events location. We plan to make this trek again, and next time we promise to call ahead to make sure we can tour it properly.

Even though, as our title suggests, we were foiled by the façade, all was not lost. We met in the Clipper Club Lounge, modeled after the world-famous Long Bar at Raffles Singapore (home to the Singapore Sling), which is reminiscent of Malayan plantations of the 1920's with oversized chairs, soft lighting, and a comfortable atmosphere. What made it better was that the Clipper Club Lounge has a DAILY Happy Hour from 4pm to 7pm, with $4 beers, wines, well-drinks, and $6 small plates. The food is far from exotic, but it was good. Our group shared an order of sliders, chicken fingers, and avocado egg rolls. Buyer be warned, the avocado egg rolls are mostly chicken with a hint of avocado. Still, all was devoured and nothing was bad.

While it may take a while for us to truly enjoy Cocktails in Casablanca, The Valley Film Festival will definitely use the Clipper Club Lounge as a base for networking mixers. What's not to love about a weekend Happy Hour and free street parking? As always, we hope you'll join us.

Jane Russell, Valley Goddess, Dead at 89

2011-02-28T20:50:00.000-08:00

Jane Russell, Van Nuys High

The world may remember her as the iconic sex symbol that she became, but The Valley Film Festival will always remember Jane Russell as the Valley Girl she was.

Miss Russell grew up in the heart of The Valley, graduated from Van Nuys High in 1939 (coincidentally, the same alma mater of fellow goddess, Marilyn Monroe, and legendary actor, Robert Redford) and went on to make the (818)...then known by its telephone exchange name, STate 78...very proud.

To read more about her life and death, please visit LA Observed- a great blog run by the masterminds behind The San Fernando Valley: America's Suburb - or LAist, another great blog we frequent often for all things local!

Filming in the (818)...Need a Ghost Town? We Found One!

2011-02-19T22:06:00.000-08:00

If you didn't already know, The Valley Film Festival is a huge fan of regional production. VFF encourages all filmmakers to look at their backyard a little differently and find something other than, well, a backyard.

Have an industrial setting and in need of factories complete with railroad tracks? Follow your nose down San Fernando Road. Perhaps your film calls for an orange grove? Head south on Oakdale, off Ventura Blvd., in Woodland Hills and there you'll find acres upon acres of citrus trees. Maybe you need something a bit more metropolitan? Check out Studio City's hustle and views. Looking for east coast fall foliage? A drive down Burbank Blvd. (west of Sepulveda) can double as the Vermont countryside with a little imagination.

While on an official VFF mission (more to come on that later), we found what could easily double as a ghost town, or even an atomic site, in North Hollywood...Valley Plaza.

Once home to over 120 storefronts, anchored by Sears, J.C. Penney, and Thrifty, this was the busiest open air mall west of the Mississippi River in the 1950's and 1960's. Today, this 23-acre parcel on Victory Blvd., between the 170 freeway and Laurel Canyon, is almost empty.

Sears is holding its ground in the plaza on the north side of Victory, but the south side of the plaza is boarded up and begging to be a location in your next film before it's totally demolished for the sake of redevelopment.

Quick! Put your thinking caps on, start writing, and grab your camera. For some inspiration, we found a great site that chronicles the rise, fall, and (potential) rebirth of Valley Plaza, and we took some photos too.

Let us know if you end up shooting at Valley Plaza or if you know of any unconventional locations nestled in the great (818) we should talk about.

“An Independent Woman: An Interview with Indie Producer Amy J. Moore”

2011-02-10T13:00:00.000-08:00

By Matthew Valentinas

Part of the VFF’s commitment to independent film is to promote and exhibit the work of talented women like Amy J. Moore. Amy is an innovative Emmy-nominated producer and cultural activist who has successfully created and implemented worldwide programs and independent productions to inspire social change. The first female president of the University of Michigan student body, Amy has gone on to win the George Foster Peabody Award, an NAACP Image Award, and the American Film Institute’s TV Program of the Year award.

Her most recent credit is The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, a series which aired on HBO and BBC. She is currently developing "Amani: The Shadow Warrior," a new African superhero universe targeted globally to young men to reinforce the necessity of taking responsibility towards justice and wellbeing. As a fledgling acquisitions assistant, I first met Amy in the mid ‘90s, when she was the Senior Vice President, Head of Production at Unapix Entertainment. Unapix specialized in the home entertainment market, with an occasional low budget theatrical release, during what I remember as the quixotic heydays of independent film. I have had the good fortune to call her a friend and mentor ever since, and want to share with you her fierce and fearless outlook on independent producing.

MV: How and when did you discover Ladies’?

AJM: The first book in the Alexander McCall-Smith series, The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, hadn't been published yet when I discovered it. I was the CEO of the first black empowerment film company in South Africa called New Africa Media Films and I was on the lookout for material that had a resonance with Africa, not particularly South Africa, because I didn't want to do apartheid movies, but rather wanted to get under the skin of the emotional content. What it felt to be a South African or an African at that particular time. I like movies that inform us about living, not about dying. Most Hollywood movies are about entertaining special effects and violence. Anyway, it was August 2000, a cold bright blue winter South African day, and I sat reading, trying to catch up with a never-ending pile of script and book submissions. I read No. 1 Ladies’ in one sitting. Towards the end--when I got to a description of the main character, Mma Ramotswe as mother, Africa, wisdom, understanding, good things to eat--I knew that I wanted to make this movie.

MV: Why did you fall in love with the story and when did you make the commitment to yourself that you would invest the time and personal capital in fighting for it?

AJM: The level of a commitment is always a crucial thing for me. I'm not the one-night-stand type of producer. I don't go to parties and try to attach my name to anything that's walking. I don't network nor look for things to jump on or put my name on. To me, that's not producing. It takes me an enormous amount of time but I like to grow projects myself. So when I look at material or germs of ideas, I always ask if I can spend ten years of my life on a particular project. Is my passion at that moment worthy of ten grueling and miserable years of my life? Most times the answer is no. I remember once looking at No. 1 Ladies’ and saying, "Well ... if it were a child I had given birth to, I'd be walking that child to first grade now." We still weren't in pre-production.

MV: When approaching producers to work on your project, what was your strategy to get them involved and keep them involved? How did you woo them?

AJM: I don't woo. I focus purely on the content and try to get that right. Then I present it saying, "You're stupid if you don't do this." No one believed Anthony Minghella would write and direct No. 1 Ladies’. I was always - like - well of course he will. He’s not an idiot. Naivety well placed is a virtue in our business.

MV: When you get producers involved who are more established and powerful, how do you prevent your voice from getting overwhelmed? How do you preserve your voice and vision for the project?

AJM: I could say pick your partners carefully - but no one ever does. I try to build in pockets of influence through increasing the quality of my contribution. My attitude is to contribute and to make that contribution worthy of persuasion and influence. I firmly believe this. And it's a bunch of baloney because the egos will always run you out of town. I have structured influence around raising the money too. At the end of the day, you become the one they reluctantly invited to the pick-up football game because you own the ball but nobody wants you on their team. It's really difficult and there are all sorts of bad behaviors out there.

MV: How much should a junior or first-time producer get compensated in relation to the more "name" producers who come aboard the project? What is an equitable amount in terms of work put in versus what their "name" might bring to a project?

AJM: I don't believe in the names. It's all rubbish. If a rose were not called a rose would it still smell as sweet? I think so. I think that one of the big problems in the industry is the attachment of 25 billion producers. It deflates the value of what we do. Where's the essence? Name-only producers are not even one-night stand producers. They should be ashamed.

MV: When did you see the light at the end of the tunnel?

AJM: I'm hoping it will be this year sometime.

MV: What were some down moments when the project had stalled or you thought it might never come to fruition and how did you overcome them?

AJM: Well, I drank a lot. I put on weight. I came back to New York (from South Africa) and looked out the windows and turned up the air conditioning while everyone outside was having fun and frolicking at the local café called Edwards. I watched Oprah and wondered what had happened to our society. I got her on that day she gave all those cars away. I did a theatrical show in New York called Drumstruck that was a huge success and I called Sydney Pollack every day and he phoned me back, leaving jolly messages on my answering machine. I sank my teeth in and I did not let go. I sank my teeth into every aspect of the project and tried to play everything off that center.

MV: Is there ever a time to call it quits on a project? When does perseverance cross over into the realm of unproductive obsession?

AJM: If you don't have the rights to something or can't get them but need them - then give up. If you're bankrupting yourself - something I've seen people do - don't do it. If absolutely everyone says the same thing about your material - - I always wanted to make a remake of Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana but change the scenario to having the main character, instead of being a Hoover salesman, be a film producer who is making an imaginary film in a third world country. I suppose that's because I have been that character, puttering away, making imaginary films in third world countries. Of course, the people I can't abide by are the ones who are passionate, passionate, passionate about their projects - I read and comment and spend time with ideas - and then one day, they turn and say, "Oh ... I'm not doing that now." Why did I waste my time?

MV: Are there moral victories in trying to get a project produced that ultimately never comes to fruition? What lessons or value can be salvaged from a project that fails to launch?

AJM: If you're really producing, not just putting your name on something - then a well-timed failure that doesn't destroy you, can really help you to learn. Think of Roger Corman and all the opportunities that he gave to our leading filmmakers of today. Those were "failures" but the guys got to practice, practice, practice. Film stock is so expensive that it's hard to practice anymore. One of my favorite movies is Zorba the Greek. He makes this contraption purely for the joy of making the contraption. I think of that movie a lot. There’s a lot of joy in that movie which is really about the joy of doing. Hollywood's got to get back to the doing not the talking.

MV: How did you convince the author to let you acquire the rights and adapt the story?

AJM: He called me. He had known of my work in Africa. He offered me the rights over the phone and I said no. I insisted on flying up to Edinburgh to see him, knowing that optioning somebody's work is on par with taking over their baby.

MV: What were the main obstacles in selling a script with an African female as the main protagonist to an American creative team for an American audience?

AJM: The creative team was so good that there were few obstacles in the selling of the material. The adaptation itself was difficult. The place depicted in the books was not the place of reality.

MV: Is having international appeal more of a requirement now than ever before?

AJM: The US market still drives the business, like it or not. Having a good idea is the biggest requirement now more than ever before.

Matthew Valentinas is an entertainment lawyer and literary manager who travels between Boston and Los Angeles.

It Happened in The Valley...Here's Looking at You, Bedford Falls

2011-02-06T14:16:00.000-08:00

When The Valley Film Festival was first founded, one of the main reasons was to correct cinema history. Sort of. For instance, when you think of the classic films Casablanca and It's a Wonderful Life, you think "Hollywood" when you should be thinking Burbank, Van Nuys and Encino...The Valley!

When Isla's plane takes off, leaving a broken-hearted Rick behind on the airstrip in Casablanca, it wasn't from the comforts of the Warner Bros. lot like the rest of the film...in Burbank...but what is now the Van Nuys Airport. The hangar featured in the film has been somewhat preserved and can be viewed from the parking lot of the Airtel Plaza Hotel.

More impressively vexing is that the entire town of Bedford Falls created for It's a Wonderful Life, lies underneath residential homes and Balboa Park in Encino. There, on the corner of Burbank and Balboa Blvd.'s is the former site of the RKO Studio Ranch. We always knew the iconic film was shot in Encino, but where exactly always remained a mystery. Thanks to Van Nuys Boomers for doing the research before us.

For our February and March historical outings, we propose the following:

February 2011: Cocktails at the Clipper Club Lounge where we can view the remains of Casablanca

March 2011: Picnic in Bedford Falls. Pack your lunch and/or bring something to share. VFF will stake out an area just for our friends and we'll toast to all we're grateful for.

Exact details TBA. Please feel free to suggest a specific date and time, or an April outing!

Sundance 2011 ~ Just Another Manic Monday (Day 5)

2011-02-06T11:24:00.000-08:00

My final musings from Park City sat in draft status for almost 10 days. Oops!

While my posts may seem a bit vapid, I promise others are working on less dull round-ups of their time in Park City. We'll give you some juicy bits with more film reviews shortly. Promise!

In the meantime, I spent my final day hopping from one event to the next, talking up The Human Race and Death of a Fluffer. Stops along the way included the Sundance Co-Op (where I ran into Cindy Baer, VFF06 Morbid Curiosity, working the Canon room) followed by lunch at what has become this festival's "Old Faithful" --- The Sundance Channel HQ.

Ashley Cozine and I had some time before the FIND party so we dug out the Flip HD and mapped out a two-minute short about a woman who lost something and is on the search. The idea was to rely heavily on Ashley's love & ability to rock the physical comedy world. Mid-way through our shoot, we stumbled upon the oddest site ever...a bank of trees with nothing but shoes hanging from them. We're not talking a handful of pairs, we're talking HUNDREDS! This opportunity was too good to pass up and we shot an improvised piece currently titled I Love Stephen.

The temperature was dropping fast at this point, so we dove into 501 Main for a bowl of chili...a minute after Demi Moore, Ashton Kutchner and brood had left. And that's ALL our bartender and waitress and the entire staff talked about while we were there. Sigh.

At the FIND party, I met Eddie Schmidt, Board President, IDA, and one of the producers behind Troubadours which screened at Sundance. Troubadours follows the rising music scene at L.A.'s Troubadour Club in the 60's and 70's and will be at the Laemmle Sunset 5 in February. Check it out! Eddie was also very kind to give me his ticket to Perfect Sense later that evening.

After FIND, Ashley and I caught the tail end of the UCLA party. We were there for literally 5 minutes, before they kicked us out, but in that short time, we ran into VFF friend (and Entertainment Attorney) William Vu who generously gave Ash his ticket to Perfect Sense.

We regrouped at Robert Redford's ZOOM for dinner and drinks. There, we met up with Hila Shani, Kate Logan, Tanya B., Tobuscus and Frank Moens from the Docville Film Festival in Belgium who rounded out our social donut. And, Robert Redford joined us too. OK, maybe from 5 tables away, but he was in the room and we have the picture to prove it.

Finally, another movie! David Mackenzie's Perfect Sense. From the synopsis, I was expecting a dark love story between a scientist (Eva Green) and a chef (Ewan McGregor) evolving during her research into his loss of smell. Not even close. It's the end of the world as we know it and first one loses their sense of smell, followed by taste, then hearing, and finally vision. It's a heavy, it's intense, it's raw, it's fantastic! I loved that Eva & Ewen's characters were such pricks (or, as Eva observed, Mr. & Mrs.. Asshole) in their everyday lives and relationships, but that they managed to find the good in themselves through each other. This is definitely worth a watch (cinematography and music are beautiful) but be warned, if you're like me do not have plans for after...it's an emotionally exhausting experience and you'll want to be alone...or with loved ones. And if you're familiar with David Mackenzie's other works, you'll pick up some familiar themes...I saw a bit of Mister Foe myself. Follow Sweet on Sigma for updates.

Sundance 2011 ~ Sundance Sunday Socials (Day 4)

2011-01-24T09:46:00.000-08:00

Ideally, we'd like to see more films while at Sundance, but the parties provide such a great opportunity to network with peers that they are our first priority. That being said, my crew & I weathered the storm of parties yesterday and came out unscathed (i.e., no hangover) but we're definitely feeling the altitude after a whirlwind of party hopping yesterday:

@Noon ~ WIF Panel & Breakfast

The Women In Film 2011 panel was titled Fearlessness: Trusting Your Instincts and Getting Them on Screen. Panelists included Sandra Valde-Hansen, Susan Saladoff, Joslyn Barnes, Karin Chien, Annie Roney, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and WIF President, Cathy Schulman.

@3pm - NBC Universal

This is always one of my favorite parties for many reasons. For one, it celebrates the indie filmmaker in the (818) much like we do, but more importantly the Production Serviced department puts their money where their mouth is and raffles off production grants. This year, NBC Universal raffled off $45K in $5K & $10K grants and VFF friend Kate Logan won! We're very excited for her and wish her luck as she finishes her documentary.

@4:30pm - IndieGoGo Panel & Party

We missed the panel (actually, we were in the next room because there were no seats available) but dig IndieGoGo for crowdfunding projects. Unlike other crowdfunding companies, IndieGoGo lets you keep the money you raised even if you don't meet your ultimate goal. VFF will definitely be using them this year!

@5pm - Seattle Independent Film Festival

Casual and comfortable with pizza, beer, and lots of conversation. Now, if only I can find the business cards collected...

@6pm - Sony

Sony celebrated its new, Super 35mm, F3 camera at Sundance. Over sumptuous hors d'oeuvres and strong cocktails, two F3 cameras made their rounds for all to touch and ooh and awe over.

@8:30pm - FotoKem (Indie Moguls Party)

Year after year, this is another favorite destination of ours...massage therapists, oxygen bars, and awesome guacamole. The Snow Park Lodge in Deer Valley provides a large and comfortable environment to network and discuss ideas.

Sundance 2011 ~ Finally! Movies! (Day 3)

2011-01-23T08:35:00.000-08:00

Day 3 was more networking inside the Sundance Channel HQ, connecting with college friends at the NYU Tisch at Sundance party, seeing Paul Reiser and Julia Fordham perform at the ASCAP Music Cafe, attending a panel on marketing, and finally seeing movies!

My favorite thing about Sundance 2011 has to be the Sundance Channel HQ and my least favorite thing is definitely the lack of organization for wait list tickets.

How the wait list has worked in the past is you're supposed to queue up at the venue two hours prior to the screening. Shortly thereafter, wait list numbers are distributed. Once you receive your number, you're free to roam about, but are told to return 30 minutes before the screening. What's happening at some venues is people are queuing up anywhere from 3-4 hours in advance and before the official "2 hour" rule, the numbers have already been distributed. And, at other venues, the volunteer staff don't know shit. Some have outright told goers there is no official wait list line, while volunteers in the same tent have directed others to a line. I've heard of fights breaking out because of this and I've witnessed first hand patrons who waited out in the freezing cold for an hour (because they were told there was no wait list line inside the tent) get shafted.

Now, let's talk about these movies. I saw Shorts Block IV and really loved Hong Khaou's Spring and The Majestic Plastic Bag directed by Jeremy Konner. There was only one questionable film in the block and audience members were vocal as to why it merited the Sundance stamp of approval. Not only was the question asked during the Q&A, but the discussion continued outside the theater, at the shuttle stop, and long into the night. As a programmer, I know it's hard to put together a showcase that everyone will like, but come on, this is Sundance. Surely there was another short more deserving.

And on a personal note, Festival Programmers should not host the Q&A unless they also happen to be engaging performers. I may be engaging, but I'm not an engaging performer and know better to hand off these duties to the talented Aaron Kaiser, Ben Boodman, Gil Baron, and Kim Estes, to name a few, who really know how to keep the questions moving along.

Sundance 2011 ~ The Calm Before The Storm (Day 2)

2011-01-22T08:30:00.000-08:00

It's the end of Day 2 and the weather could not be more perfect. While it's warm & sunny outside, it's freezing inside the condo.

Anyway, I haven't quite figured out which screenings my industry pass gets me into, or which screenings I actually want to attend, though I am planning on wait-listing for the Sigma Films feature, Perfect Sense, Directed by David Mackenzie (Mister Foe). If you have any recommendations, bring them on!

Before the insanity of the weekend hits, I'm enjoying the calm before the storm. Once Ashley Cozine (VFF10, By The Numbers) arrived, I took this Sundance newbie on a tour of Park City. While picking up her pass, we ran into the fabulous Kate Logan, who is currently in post on a feature doc, and on Main Street we added Bob Giovanelli (VFF07, Tis The Season) to our posse. Our quartet had a late lunch at Bangkok Thai (do not order the Petite Sirah) and then headed to the Sundance Channel HQ, which is where the evening fun began.

Sundance Channel HQ was all abuzz since Robert Redford was there, so we grabbed our drinks (Ashley & I went for the Bogle Chardonnay, while Kate & Bob opted for a Stella Artois) and watched the interview. Once Mr. Redford left the building and the crowd thinned out, we discovered the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas sponsored area which included a photo booth, hot-from-the-oven cookies, and insanely delicious five-spiced margaritas. The staff hired to promote the hotel did a fantastic job and won us all over. Great work guys!

We closed the party down. Really. We had to be asked to leave by security since they had closed up shop, and the four of us parted ways.

But wait, there's more.

The marketing team from Rockstar Energy Drink were in town, en route to the X Games in Denver, and contacted VFF to drop off product & schwag for our friends & fans. We have 5 cases of Rockstar, plus ski caps, hats, and shirts just waiting for you.

Sundance 2011 ~ Bring It On!

2011-01-21T10:35:00.000-08:00

It's VFF Tracey and this week I've joined tens of thousands of other industry types and cinephiles from around the globe in sunny Park City, Utah for Sundance 2011.

This is my 10th year attending (I skipped 2010) and my festival going experience has evolved from *must* seeing 4 films a day and attending every panel possible, to maybe seeing 1 film and networking. Besides the American Film Market, Sundance is the only other U.S. event (I can think of) where filmmakers from all over the world converge, and the international energy in this small mountain town is intoxicating.

Day 1 was jam packed with meeting new people: Floyd Byars (Producer, Pete Smalls is Dead), Michelle Latimer (Director, Choke), David Miller (Producer, A71 Productions) and connecting with friends: Sarah Baker, Hila Shani, and Javier Grillo-Marxuach. And while I was not the target, it was also the day of over-served men calling women "vagina's" at the opening night party at Legacy Lodge.

Anyway, normally, I'm pimping out The Valley Film Festival, but this year I'm wearing several industry caps: Festival Director (of course), Producer (The Human Race), and...Director! Yes, you heard me right. I've re-entered the world as a filmmaker again. I'm representing a fantastic action feature, The Human Race, directed by the uber talented Paul Hough, and am currently in pre-production on a documentary about fluffers. Yes, those fluffers.

If you're in the (435), let's meet up!

It Happened in The Valley...The Birthplace of California

2011-01-05T14:02:00.000-08:00

The Valley Film Festival has always celebrated The Valley for all of its contributions, so we've decided to blog about them too! Our "It Happened in The Valley..." posts will point out the overlooked treasures of the fabulous (818)! Like, did you know that The Valley is the birthplace of California as a state?

Directly across from Universal Studios, and hidden behind native plants, sits Campo De Cahuenga, where on January 13, 1847 General Andres Pico (Mexico) and Lt. Col. John C. Fremont (United States) signed the Treaty of Cahuenga which ended the fighting between both countries during the Mexican-American War. While it's not the actual treaty that ended the war and ceded California to the United States, it was where the idea was born and is celebrated each year.

Since 1950, a live re-enactment of the signing has taken place at Campo De Cahuenga and 2011 marks the 164th anniversary of this historical event.

Join VFF at Campo De Caheunga to celebrate The Valley and after we'll go to a nearby cafe to talk about film! Let us know that you're coming by posting a comment below or on Facebook.

Sunday, January 9, 2011
1:00pm-2:15pm
Campo de Cahuenga
3919 Lankershim Blvd.
North Hollywood, CA 91604

What's The Valley Film Festival Doing?

2010-12-18T16:40:00.000-08:00

The VFF10 screenings may have ended on Sunday, November 14, but we've been busy with VFF10 paperwork, attending trade shows, making appearances at alumni screenings, speaking on panels, making a game plan for our blog, coordinating our Sundance attendance and, most importantly, planning our volunteer appreciation brunch. Oh, yeah, did we forget to mention that we all have day jobs too?

In case you were wondering what we do between festivals, here's a brief recap of the last five weeks. We're really not this boring (on second thought...) and we'll be getting busier once we ring in 2011.

November 15-21, 2010

Returned rented equipment, borrowed supplies, and films.
Gracefully bowed out of our Monthly Hang with Dances With Films. (We'll resume in January 2011.)
Updated website, Facebook, IMDB and Fest21. (Doh! Still need to do MySpace.)
Mailed out Thank You notes to our filmmakers and sponsors. Sent emails to our volunteers.

November 22-28, 2010

Submitted VFF10 invoices to Community Partners.
Secured Sundance Film Festival housing.
Brainstormed our blog and social media plan-of-attack. (James will continue to interview filmmakers, Tracey will continue the day-to-day posts and add some Valley history to the blog. VFF Volunteers (Staff) will continue to contribute to the general musings, Matt Valentinas will be talking Entertainment Law, and we'll be adding more Guest Bloggers!)

November 29-December 5, 2010

VFF was a guest panelist at Video Symphony's Film Festival Forum. We were joined by other awesome festivals: Action on Film Festival, Burbank International Film Festival, Pan African Film Festival and Topanga Film Festival. We were really happy to see some of our filmmakers and friends in the audience -- thanks for the support!
Supported our community and attended the Toluca Lake Holiday Open House where we ran into more filmmakers, fans, supporters and our friends at Creative Handbook.
Attended the Showbiz Expo LA in Downtown. It's always great to connect with other film folks!

December 6-11, 2010

Started working on a Volunteer Appreciation brunch with our fabulous coordinator, Hilary.
Sifted through Sundance Industry Office emails to see what we missed while working on VFF.
Started our research on no-fee entry film festivals for a January article. (Know of one? Share the knowledge.)

December 12-19, 2010

Finalized Sundance Film Festival 2011 plans.
Submitted our Periodical Report to Community Partners.
Reached out to two guest bloggers. We're excited to be working with Deaf Women in Film and Valley Relics.
Cooking and baking up a storm for the VFF10 Volunteer Appreciation brunch. We'll post pictures and a recap tomorrow!

What's on the horizon for VFF? We need to update our submission information, call-for-entry terms, 2011 application and start getting the word out about VFF11. If you want to get involved, let us know!

The 2010 Valley Film Festival Closing Night Screenings and Awards

2010-11-20T17:20:00.000-08:00

Despite the technical problems that interrupted the final feature film, Pickin’ & Grinnin’, the shorts did go on and, at the audience's request, VFF10 had an encore screening of Goofyfoot; 52 Takes of the Same Thing, Then Boobs; and 500 Days of Zankou, followed by the 2010 Valley Film Festival award ceremony.

One highlight from the screenings was Sudden Death!, a very creative and campy short about a virus that hits L.A., killing everyone in its wake, but not before they all break out in song and dance.

And now, drum roll please...congratulations to all the VFF10 award winners:

AUDIENCE AWARDS:

Made in the (818) – Motel San Fernando (Sergio L'Rodriguez)

Documentary Short – The Making of The Nukes (Val Tasso & Joey Sylvester)

Dramatic Short – Goofyfoot (Chris Cashman)

Comedy Short – BBQ (Alex Berger)

Girls on Film – Now or Never (Angie Hill)

JURIED AWARDS:

10 Degrees Hotter (short) – E-Pigs (Petar Pasic)

10 Degrees Hotter (documentary) – Butterflies (Ester Brym)

10 Degrees Hotter (feature) – Boiler Maker (Paul T. Murray)

And thanks to everyone who screened, attended, and/or helped out with the festival. A great way to end one decade and begin another.

By James Latham

An Evening of Comedy Shorts at The 2010 Valley Film Festival

2010-11-17T11:53:00.000-08:00

It was standing room only at the Saturday screening, with a bunch of comedy shorts together showing a range of sensibilities. We saw a great parody of Quentin Tarantino and his characters in Pulp Fiction. We saw some kids getting even with a mean old lady who killed their soccer ball. We saw a very jaded Jesus playing poker. And a professor telling his students (in his mind) what he really thinks of them.

Another creative one was Manual Practico del Amigo Imaginario (A Practical Guide for Imaginary Friends). Ever wonder where your imaginary childhood friends went after you got too old for them? Turns out they’re still out there, looking for work and support from each other. One of them has actually retained his human friend into adulthood, and has become a motivational speaker for the other out-of-work imaginary friends. But then the young man develops a love interest, and the old relationship is in trouble.

And there was the film that turned out to be the festival’s Audience Award winner, Alex Berger’s BBQ. Guys, be careful when you’re hanging around, grillin’ and chillin’ with other guys. Somebody might confess to something they’ll later regret, or that inspires the other guys to go further over the top.

By James Latham