Sundance hit “The Persian Version” is going to Sony Pictures Classics. The distributor has landed North American rights to the film in a competitive situation, SPC announced on Friday, adding the winner of the Audience Award in the U.S. Dramatic category to its slate. The film also picked up the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award (U.S. Dramatic Competition) at the 2023 festival.
Written, directed and produced by Maryam Keshavarz, “The Persian Version” follows an Iranian-American girl named Leila who struggles to balance her opposing cultures while visiting New York City for her father’s heart transplant.
“After two plus years of watching everything at home and in our PJs, I am excited to bring ‘The Persian Version’ to theaters where we can experience the joy and humor of this big rowdy immigrant American family together in a communal setting,” Keshavarz said in a statement. “Having grown up watching and loving SPC films,...
Written, directed and produced by Maryam Keshavarz, “The Persian Version” follows an Iranian-American girl named Leila who struggles to balance her opposing cultures while visiting New York City for her father’s heart transplant.
“After two plus years of watching everything at home and in our PJs, I am excited to bring ‘The Persian Version’ to theaters where we can experience the joy and humor of this big rowdy immigrant American family together in a communal setting,” Keshavarz said in a statement. “Having grown up watching and loving SPC films,...
- 2/3/2023
- by Adam Chitwood
- The Wrap
Sundance has been over for a week, but the market for many of the films that premiered at the festival is still chugging along.
On Friday, Sony Pictures Classics announced that it landed North American rights to the Sundance award-winning film “The Persian Version.” The film was written, directed and produced by Maryam Keshavarz and went on to win the Audience Award and The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award after debuting in Sundance’s U.S. Dramatic Competition category.
It’s the second deal out of the festival for Sony Pictures Classics, which also bought the family drama “A Little Prayer.”
“The Persian Version” was produced by Keshavarz for Marakesh Films, Anne Carey for Archer Gray Productions, Ben Howe and Luca Borghese for Agx, and Peter Block and Cory Neal for A Bigger Boat. It stars Layla Mohammadi, Niousha Noor, Kamand Shafieisabet, Bijan Daneshmand, Bella Warda, Chiara Stella, Tom Byrne and Shervin Alenabi.
On Friday, Sony Pictures Classics announced that it landed North American rights to the Sundance award-winning film “The Persian Version.” The film was written, directed and produced by Maryam Keshavarz and went on to win the Audience Award and The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award after debuting in Sundance’s U.S. Dramatic Competition category.
It’s the second deal out of the festival for Sony Pictures Classics, which also bought the family drama “A Little Prayer.”
“The Persian Version” was produced by Keshavarz for Marakesh Films, Anne Carey for Archer Gray Productions, Ben Howe and Luca Borghese for Agx, and Peter Block and Cory Neal for A Bigger Boat. It stars Layla Mohammadi, Niousha Noor, Kamand Shafieisabet, Bijan Daneshmand, Bella Warda, Chiara Stella, Tom Byrne and Shervin Alenabi.
- 2/3/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Sony Pictures Classics has taken North American on Maryam Keshavarz’s The Persian Version which won the Audience Award (U.S. Dramatic Competition) and The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award (U.S. Dramatic Competition) at this year’s Sundance. Keshavarz is the first filmmaker to have two films win the Sundance Audience Award in the Dramatic Competition category.
Logline: Coming from two countries at odds with each other, Iranian-American Leila (Layla Mohammadi) strives to find balance and embrace her opposing cultures, while boldly challenging the labels society is so quick to project upon her. When her family reunites in New York City for her father’s heart transplant, Leila navigates her relationships from arm’s length in an effort to keep her “real” life separate from her family life. However, when her secret is unceremoniously revealed, so are the distinct parallels between her life and that of her mother, Shireen (Niousha Noor...
Logline: Coming from two countries at odds with each other, Iranian-American Leila (Layla Mohammadi) strives to find balance and embrace her opposing cultures, while boldly challenging the labels society is so quick to project upon her. When her family reunites in New York City for her father’s heart transplant, Leila navigates her relationships from arm’s length in an effort to keep her “real” life separate from her family life. However, when her secret is unceremoniously revealed, so are the distinct parallels between her life and that of her mother, Shireen (Niousha Noor...
- 2/3/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Two-time Academy Award nominee Liz Garbus is set to direct and executive produce the Untitled Orphan Project that’s in the works for Hulu.
The ABC Signature drama will star Ellen Pompeo and is inspired by the true story of a Midwestern couple who adopts who they believe is an 8-year-old girl with a rare form of dwarfism. But as they begin to raise her alongside their three biological children, they slowly start to believe she may not be who she says she is.
The real-life story has drawn parallels to the 2009 horror movie Orphan.
The plan is to produce an eight-episode limited series. Pompeo will executive produce through her production banner Calamity Jane with Laura Holstein. The project was created and written by Katie Robbins (The Affair). Erin Levy will serve as showrunner on the series and executive produce alongside Robbins. Other exec producers are Andrew Stearn, Niles Kirschner,...
The ABC Signature drama will star Ellen Pompeo and is inspired by the true story of a Midwestern couple who adopts who they believe is an 8-year-old girl with a rare form of dwarfism. But as they begin to raise her alongside their three biological children, they slowly start to believe she may not be who she says she is.
The real-life story has drawn parallels to the 2009 horror movie Orphan.
The plan is to produce an eight-episode limited series. Pompeo will executive produce through her production banner Calamity Jane with Laura Holstein. The project was created and written by Katie Robbins (The Affair). Erin Levy will serve as showrunner on the series and executive produce alongside Robbins. Other exec producers are Andrew Stearn, Niles Kirschner,...
- 1/27/2023
- by Lynette Rice
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Mubi has recently wrapped production on Zia Anger’s feature film debut, My First Film, starring Odessa Young and Devon Ross.
The film is an adaptation of Anger’s critically acclaimed live cinema performance piece of the same name.
Related Story Park Chan-wook On How A Language Barrier Became "Central Element" Of His Film – Contenders L.A. Related Story Mubi Founder Efe Çakarel Talks Strategy Behind 'Decision To Leave' Acquisition – Toronto Industry Talk Related Story Canadian Director Patricia Rozema's Early Films Enjoy Revival As Kino Lorber, Mubi Take Rights To 4K Restorations
The movie is a deeply personal examination of cinema, body, truth and storytelling, centering on a young filmmaker (Odessa Young) as she recounts the story of struggling to make her first feature. Fact bleeds into fiction, and the past, present, and future converge to create a modern myth that redefines and expands the very act of creation.
The film is an adaptation of Anger’s critically acclaimed live cinema performance piece of the same name.
Related Story Park Chan-wook On How A Language Barrier Became "Central Element" Of His Film – Contenders L.A. Related Story Mubi Founder Efe Çakarel Talks Strategy Behind 'Decision To Leave' Acquisition – Toronto Industry Talk Related Story Canadian Director Patricia Rozema's Early Films Enjoy Revival As Kino Lorber, Mubi Take Rights To 4K Restorations
The movie is a deeply personal examination of cinema, body, truth and storytelling, centering on a young filmmaker (Odessa Young) as she recounts the story of struggling to make her first feature. Fact bleeds into fiction, and the past, present, and future converge to create a modern myth that redefines and expands the very act of creation.
- 11/21/2022
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Veteran documentary director and producer Paula Eiselt has signed with CAA for representation.
Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee most recently directed Aftershock, a film about the crisis of Black maternal mortality in the U.S. due to childbirth complications. The film had a world premiere at Sundance in the U.S. Documentary competition and was awarded the Special Jury Award: Impact for Change.
The film also won the Full Frame Film Festival’s Kathleen Bryan Edwards Award for Human Rights and screened at SXSW. Aftershock was acquired out of Sundance by Disney’s Onyx Collective and ABC News Studios and had a release on Hulu in the U.S. and on Disney+ worldwide.
The Sundance Institute is helping finance her next project, an untitled documentary short film about abortion inspired by the lawsuits filed in Florida challenging the state’s abortion ban on the basis of religious freedom.
Veteran documentary director and producer Paula Eiselt has signed with CAA for representation.
Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee most recently directed Aftershock, a film about the crisis of Black maternal mortality in the U.S. due to childbirth complications. The film had a world premiere at Sundance in the U.S. Documentary competition and was awarded the Special Jury Award: Impact for Change.
The film also won the Full Frame Film Festival’s Kathleen Bryan Edwards Award for Human Rights and screened at SXSW. Aftershock was acquired out of Sundance by Disney’s Onyx Collective and ABC News Studios and had a release on Hulu in the U.S. and on Disney+ worldwide.
The Sundance Institute is helping finance her next project, an untitled documentary short film about abortion inspired by the lawsuits filed in Florida challenging the state’s abortion ban on the basis of religious freedom.
- 10/11/2022
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Award-winning filmmaker Lydia Dean Pilcher has signed with Echo Lake Entertainment for management—also announcing today that she has acquired the rights to Songs of the Gorilla Nation: My Journey Through Autism, a bestselling memoir from Dawn Prince-Hughes that she plans to adapt into a feature, as both director and producer.
In the true story, published by Random House in 2004, Dawn Prince is on the brink of survival as a homeless gay teenager from the wilderness of Montana, searching for connection on the streets of 1980s Seattle. When she escapes to the zoo for the oxygen of nature, she unexpectedly makes a primal connection with the Silverback gorilla, Congo.
Dawn gets a job at the zoo and begins a journey of self-discovery as she learns from Congo how to love, how to see herself in the gorillas, and ultimately in other human people.
In the true story, published by Random House in 2004, Dawn Prince is on the brink of survival as a homeless gay teenager from the wilderness of Montana, searching for connection on the streets of 1980s Seattle. When she escapes to the zoo for the oxygen of nature, she unexpectedly makes a primal connection with the Silverback gorilla, Congo.
Dawn gets a job at the zoo and begins a journey of self-discovery as she learns from Congo how to love, how to see herself in the gorillas, and ultimately in other human people.
- 3/3/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Rbg director Julie Cohen, eOne’s Chief Strategy Officer Peter Micelli, Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon and HBO’s former entertainment chief Sue Naegle, who is now Annapurna Pictures’ Head of TV, are among the latest tranche of A-list names speaking at Keshet’s Intv conference.
The event, which is hosted and curated by Keshet Media Group and co-produced by Deadline, takes place March 11-12 in Jerusalem.
The foursome will be joined by Channel 4’s Drama Commissioning Editor, Lee Mason, Lauren Anderson, Chief Content Officer Lauren Anderson of NBC/Snapchat joint venture Indigo Development and Entertainment Arts, who previously oversaw scripted hits including Parks and Recreation and The Office, lawyer Victoria S. Cook, partner at Frankfurt Kurnit and a member of the Entertainment Group, Gil Goldschein, Chairman and CEO of Keeping Up with the Kardashians and The Real World producer Bunim/Murray Productions, ITV Entertainment’s Commissioner Joe Mace, and Storied Media Group...
The event, which is hosted and curated by Keshet Media Group and co-produced by Deadline, takes place March 11-12 in Jerusalem.
The foursome will be joined by Channel 4’s Drama Commissioning Editor, Lee Mason, Lauren Anderson, Chief Content Officer Lauren Anderson of NBC/Snapchat joint venture Indigo Development and Entertainment Arts, who previously oversaw scripted hits including Parks and Recreation and The Office, lawyer Victoria S. Cook, partner at Frankfurt Kurnit and a member of the Entertainment Group, Gil Goldschein, Chairman and CEO of Keeping Up with the Kardashians and The Real World producer Bunim/Murray Productions, ITV Entertainment’s Commissioner Joe Mace, and Storied Media Group...
- 1/17/2019
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Broadway's 40 theatres aren't the only places to catch performances from your favorite stars Well after Broadway orchestras begin their overtures, ensemble members take their dance breaks, and performers belt out their eleven o'clock numbers, the party continues at various cabaret venues throughout New York City. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you some cabaret highlights for this week as picked by our theatre editors, including Show Biz After Hours With Frank Dilella with Andrew Rannells, James Lecesne, and Rachel Bay Jones Tom Wopat at The Metropolitan Room Kurt Weill on Broadway with Mary Testa and Friends Victoria Cook at 54 Below Women in the World of Sondheim Katie Welsh and Emily Whitaker.
- 6/5/2016
- by Louisa Brady
- BroadwayWorld.com
Read More: Gender Parity in Documentary Filmmaking is a Fiction Let's cut to the chase: Hollywood is sexist. It was one of the biggest entertainment stories of 2015. Called out by Patricia Arquette at the Oscars, reinforced year-round by Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence, and taken up as a serious issue by the federal government's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the lack of female film and TV directors and Hollywood's widespread discriminatory pay practices generated a lot of attention in the last year. But what about the more gender-friendly documentary film industry? Surely, the world of nonfiction, with its prominent female directors (Barbara Kopple, Chris Hegedus, Liz Garbus, Rory Kennedy, Lucy Walker, Jehane Noujaim, Laura Poitras) and powerful female producers (Sheila Nevins, Molly Thompson, Lisa Nishimura, Sally Jo Fifer, Justine Nagan) wouldn't be biased against women? But that was the question posed by entertainment attorney Victoria Cook in a lengthy...
- 1/7/2016
- by Anthony Kaufman
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Impact Partners Announces Emerging Documentary Producers Fellowship Recipients at Doc NYC
Read More: 10 Must-See Documentaries at Doc NYC 2015 Impact Partners has announced the recipients of the Emerging Documentary Producers Fellowship, which was created to nurture documentary producing. The fellows will be recognized at the Doc NYC panel "Supporting the Documentary Producer – Ask an Expert" on Monday, November 16. During the panel, the Impact Partners Emerging Producers Fellowship Mentors from the program will dispense their best advice on the dark arts of producing. Panel participants include Impact Partners' Dan Cogan and Jenny Raskin, as well as filmmakers Liz Garbus, Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady, Amy Hobby and attorney Victoria Cook. The 2015-2016 Impact Partners fellows will participate in 10 in-depth workshops beginning in December and continuing through Fall 2016. Each fellow will be awarded a $2,500 stipend. Impact Partners received over 130 nominations in its first annual call for submissions this year. The six recipients of the fellowships...
- 11/10/2015
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Sundance Institute has announced the participants for its weeklong Creative Film Producing Initiative at the Sundance Resort in Utah, July 27 – August 3, including nine feature film and documentary projects for the Creative Producing Labs and more than 50 industry leaders for the Creative Producing Summit.
The Institute’s Creative Producing Initiative encompasses a year-round series of Labs, Fellowships, granting and events focusing on nurturing the next generation of independent producers and renewing the community of veteran producers who sustain the vibrancy and vitality of independent film.
The Feature Film Creative Producing Lab (July 27 – July 31) identifies emerging producers and, under the guidance of Creative Advisors, allows them to develop their creative instincts and evolve their communicating and problem-solving skills at all stages of their feature film project. This year’s Creative Advisors include producers Lindsay Doran ("Sense and Sensibility"), Lynette Howell Taylor (The Place Beyond the Pines), Gina Kwon ("Me You and Everyone We Know"), Paul Mezey ("Beasts of the Southern Wild"), Jay Van Hoy (
"Beginners" ) and director Matthew Ross ("28 Hotel Rooms" ).
The Documentary Film Creative Producing Lab (July 27 – August 1) brings together documentarians with award-winning Advisors to focus on their current projects to explore the wide range of creative approaches to distribution, outreach and impact strategies. This year’s Creative Advisors include producers Julie Goldman ( "Best of Enemies"), Bonni Cohen ("3 1/2 Minutes," "10 Bullets"), Ryan Werner (Cinetic), Maxyne Franklin (Britdoc), and Wendy Cohen (Picture Motion).
The Creative Producing Summit takes place immediately following the Labs, July 31 – August 3. More than 50 industry leaders will participate in a series of curated panels, case studies, roundtables, and one-on-one meetings addressing critical issues producers face including financing, distribution, audience engagement, marketing and sustainability. Panelists this year include Len Amato (HBO Films),
Michael Barker (Sony Pictures Classics), Dori Begley (Magnolia Pictures), Josh Braun (Submarine), Dan Cogan (Impact Partners), Victoria S. Cook (Frankfurt Kurnit), Danielle Di Giacomo (The Orchard), Fred Dust (Ideo), Ted Hope (Amazon), Micah Green (CAA), John Hoffman (Discovery Channel), Marcus Hu (Strand Releasing), Charles King (MacRo), Jessica Lacy (ICM Partners), Stephanie Langhoff (Duplass Brothers), David Magdael (Tcdm Associates), Victor Moyers (Broad Green), Annie Roney (ro*co Films), John Sloss (Cinetic Media), Graham Taylor (William Morris Endeavor), and Jay Van Hoy (Parts & Labor).
The Fellows and projects selected for the 2015 Feature Film Creative Producing Lab are:
"50 Miles From Boomtown"
Producing Fellow: Alex Scharfman
After years of saving for her hard-earned dream, the only woman working on the fracking fields of North Dakota can finally quit but unexpectedly finds herself falling in love with the young man she's training to take her place. (writer/director Flo Linus Baumann).
Alex Scharfman is a New York-based producer whose past feature credits include "The Heart Machine" and "Lyle," as well as the short film "Superior," which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2015, and the WGA Award-nominated webseries "F to 7th." He is an executive at Parts & Labor Films where he worked on films including "Keep The Lights On" and "Loitering with Intent." He has also produced content for Vice, Google, the Ford Foundation, and At&T. Alex received his BA from Cornell University, is a former Mfa candidate from Nyu’s Tisch School of the Arts, and received his Mba from Nyu’s Stern School of Business.
"Bexar County"
Mark Silverman Honorees and Producing Fellows: Blake Pickens and Stephen Love Jr.
In sunny San Antonio, Texas, where nothing ever changes, a town is turned on its head when a delusional Texas housewife accidentally poisons her son’s fiancée, learning that killing people is an efficient way to solve her problems. (Co-writer/director Catherine Grieve, co-writer Dylan Slocum)
Blake Pickens is from the south side of Oklahoma City, from a neighborhood known as the Flats. Despite the community’s rampant drug use and gang wars, Blake found his way into storytelling with a writing position at National Lampoon. He later attended the Peter Stark Producing Program at USC where he and his producing partner, Stephen Love Jr., formed their company Bs Pictures. They are currently in pre-production on the Steven Caple Jr.’s film The Land and in development on "The Friendship Nine" with producer Nina Yang Bongiovi. Blake’s aspirations are to tell the stories that make people laugh, cry, and ultimately impact their lives.
Stephen Love Jr. grew up in the rural towns of Filbert and Bennettsville, South Carolina. During his time as a business major at Morehouse College, Love founded the Morehouse Filmmakers' Association, for which Spike Lee is the honorary advisor. He also received his Mfa from USC’s Peter Stark Producing Program and formed Bs Pictures with fellow graduate Blake Pickens. Love’s primary career goal is to produce film and television that gives "a voice to the voiceless" while challenging the confines of the business of filmmaking.
"Dolores"
Producing Fellow: Drew Houpt
A restless teenager becomes obsessed with a mysterious Colombian woman who exploits his desire and lures him into her plot for revenge. (Writer/director Mary Angélica Molina)
Drew Houpt is an independent producer based in Brooklyn. For over ten years he was the head of operations at Mike Zoss Productions, Joel and Ethan Coen’s Tribeca-based production company. During that time he worked on the Academy Award-winning "No Country For Old Men" and the Academy Award-nominated "A Serious Man" and "True Grit." He served as Associate Producer on the Coens’ Grand Prix-winning "Inside Llewyn Davis" and Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Academy Award-winning film "Birdman: or The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance." This past year he co-produced Maris Curran’s directorial-debut "Five Nights in Maine" and produced "Every Day,' a short documentary for Espn’s 30 for 30 Shorts series that had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2015. He has also produced music videos for the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang and an experimental documentary, "When A Priest Marries A Witch," by Suzanne Bocanegra.
"Rita Mahtoubian Is Not A Terrorist"
Producing Fellow: Deanna Barillari
When Iranian-born Rita Mahtoubian sets out to change her life from ordinary to extraordinary, she accidentally captures the attention of a homeland security agent in this satirical comedy about romance, terrorism and trying to be a better person. (Co-writers/directors Roja Gashtili & Julia Lerman)
Upon graduating Nyu Tisch, Deanna Barillari co-founded a non-profit theater company producing Off-Off-Broadway plays, including the NYC premiere of Leslye Headland's "Cinephilia" (2008), which funded in-school arts initiatives in the NYC Public School system. She then went on to work in TV on NBC's "Mercy" (2009), CBS’ "Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior" (2010), ABC’s "Pan Am," 86th Oscars (Ellen DeGeneres; 2014) and in Drama Development at Universal Television. Recently, she collaborated with AFI Dww Fellows Roja Gashtili and Julia Lerman, producing their web-series K(ID) starring Caterina Scorsone ("Grey's Anatomy") and their short "Rita Mahtoubian Is Not A Terrorist" starring Patrick Fugit ("Almost Famous") which made its World Premiere at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival. She also produces for the La based Ovation Award-winning Iama Theatre Company.
"The Space Between"
Producing Fellow: Angela C. Lee
A female body builder devotes her life to turning ‘pro’ when she unexpectedly falls in love, forcing her to confront her fractured past with her dying father. (Writer/director Philiane Phang)
Angela C. Lee is a Los Angeles based independent producer. She produced "Songs My Brothers Taught Me," which premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival and recently screened in the Directors’ Fortnight program at the Cannes Film Festival. Angela is also the Artist Development Manager at Film Independent, where she oversees the selection process and curriculum for the Filmmaker Labs program, including Screenwriting, Directing, Producing, and Documentary Labs, the Fast Track Finance Market and the Fox Writers Intensive, managed in conjunction with Fox Audience Strategy. Previously, Angela served as Director of Creative Affairs at New York based Vox3 Films. Prior to her career in film, Angela was an Associate at Goldman Sachs. A native Chicagoan, Angela graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in Economics and is on the Board of Directors for the University of Chicago National Arts Alumni Network.
The Fellows and projects selected for the 2015 Documentary Film Creative Producing Lab are:
"Brick"
Co-Directors/Producers: Jessica Dimmock & Christopher Lamarca
"Brick" reveals the raw emotional and physical experience of being a middle aged to senior transgender woman coming out for the first time in the Pacific Northwest. The film follows three intersecting stories of individuals who have lived their whole lives as men and decided this burdensome secret is one they can no longer keep.
Jessica Dimmock is the recipient of the 2013 World Press Photo Multimedia Contest as the director and cinematographer of the online feature, "Too Young to Wed." In 2010, Dimmock won Kodak's Best Cinematography Award at the Hamptons International Film Festival for "Without." The film premiered at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, received an Independent Spirit Award, and was nominated for a Gotham Independent Film Award. Dimmock contributed two short films to Doctors Without Borders' Emmy-nominated campaign, “Starved for Attention.” Her first photojournalism project, “The Ninth Floor” was published as a monograph. Most recently, she worked as photographer and videographer for Emmy-nominated HBO series, "The Weight of the Nation." She is represented by VII agency.
Christopher Lamarca is an award-winning photographer and filmmaker and based in Portland, Oregon. Lamarca has recently entered post-production on his first feature length film, "Boone." In 2012, it was chosen as one of eight films for Film Independent's Documentary Film lab. Lamarca's monograph, “Forest Defenders: The Confrontational American Landscape ” was published by PowerHouse Books in 2008. He was chosen to participate in the International Center of Photography’s triennial exhibition (2007), New York Photo festival (2009) and Lishui photo festival in China (2010). He reported on environmental and energy issues for magazines such as Rolling Stone, GQ, Fortune, and Newsweek.
"The Island and the Whales" (working title)
Directore/Producer: Mike Day
The pilot whale hunters of the Faroe Islands believe that hunting is vital to their way of life, but when a local professor makes a grim discovery about the effects of marine pollution, and the seabirds populations collapse, environmental changes threaten to change the community and their way of life forever.
Mike Day is a Scottish director and producer. Formerly a lawyer in London and the Middle East he founded Intrepid Cinema in 2009 before heading out into the North Atlantic to make his previous film. His debut documentary "The Guga Hunters of Ness" broadcast on the BBC in 2011 and screened at festivals internationally to critical acclaim. It was while at sea in the Atlantic that he met a group of Faroese sailors, leading to his next film. Mike was listed as one of '10 Filmmakers to Watch' by Filmmaker Magazine, he was one of Edn's ’12 for the Future 2012’, and is supported by the Scottish Documentary Institute's Docscene programme. Intrepid Cinema also has two other feature documentaries in development.
"The Road From Hainan"
Director/Producer: Nanfu Wang
State surveillance. Harassment. Imprisonment. Human rights activist Ye Haiyan, Aka Sparrow, knew she faced these risks when she went to Hainan Province to seek justice for six elementary school girls who were sexually abused by their principal. But the scale and intensity of the government's reaction surprised even the most seasoned activists across China.
"The Road From Hainan" follows Sparrow as she was chased from town to town by local governments, national secret police, and even her own neighbors. Nanfu Wang is a documentary filmmaker based in New York. Originally from a remote village in China, Wang overcame poverty and lack of access to formal secondary education and went on to earn graduate degrees in communications and documentary film from universities in China and the United States. Her work often features the stories of marginalized or mistreated people, from Chinese blood donors stricken with HIV after being issued used needles by the government to the left-behind children of migrant laborers. During the production of her first full-length documentary, Wang lived on the streets of Miami with a homeless former drug dealer who relied on the kindness of strangers for his survival. Wang’s short films have been distributed on many platforms and translated into several languages, and she continues to seek out and tell the stories of people who have been ignored by their societies.
"Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four"
Director/Producer: Deborah Esquenazi
"Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four" excavates the nightmarish persecution of Elizabeth Ramirez, Cassandra Rivera, Kristie Mayhugh, and Anna Vasquez — four Latina lesbians wrongfully convicted of allegedly gang-raping two little girls in San Antonio, Texas. The film also unravels the sinister interplay of mythology, homophobia and prosecutorial fervor which led to this modern day witch hunt during the 'Satanic Sexual Abuse Panic' of the late-80's and early-90's in the United States.
Deborah S. Esquenazi is an Austin, Texas-based documentary film and radio producer, instructor, and journalist. Her in-progress documentary feature, "Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four," has received international attention for its investigation into this controversial criminal case, and has been mentioned in Forbes Magazine, New York Times, Texas Observer, Vice Magazine, among others. Her film and radio documentaries have been funded by Chicken & Egg Pictures, Paul Robeson Fund for Independent Media, Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program | John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Initiative, Humanities Texas, Astraea Global Arts Fund, and many others.
The Institute’s Creative Producing Initiative encompasses a year-round series of Labs, Fellowships, granting and events focusing on nurturing the next generation of independent producers and renewing the community of veteran producers who sustain the vibrancy and vitality of independent film.
The Feature Film Creative Producing Lab (July 27 – July 31) identifies emerging producers and, under the guidance of Creative Advisors, allows them to develop their creative instincts and evolve their communicating and problem-solving skills at all stages of their feature film project. This year’s Creative Advisors include producers Lindsay Doran ("Sense and Sensibility"), Lynette Howell Taylor (The Place Beyond the Pines), Gina Kwon ("Me You and Everyone We Know"), Paul Mezey ("Beasts of the Southern Wild"), Jay Van Hoy (
"Beginners" ) and director Matthew Ross ("28 Hotel Rooms" ).
The Documentary Film Creative Producing Lab (July 27 – August 1) brings together documentarians with award-winning Advisors to focus on their current projects to explore the wide range of creative approaches to distribution, outreach and impact strategies. This year’s Creative Advisors include producers Julie Goldman ( "Best of Enemies"), Bonni Cohen ("3 1/2 Minutes," "10 Bullets"), Ryan Werner (Cinetic), Maxyne Franklin (Britdoc), and Wendy Cohen (Picture Motion).
The Creative Producing Summit takes place immediately following the Labs, July 31 – August 3. More than 50 industry leaders will participate in a series of curated panels, case studies, roundtables, and one-on-one meetings addressing critical issues producers face including financing, distribution, audience engagement, marketing and sustainability. Panelists this year include Len Amato (HBO Films),
Michael Barker (Sony Pictures Classics), Dori Begley (Magnolia Pictures), Josh Braun (Submarine), Dan Cogan (Impact Partners), Victoria S. Cook (Frankfurt Kurnit), Danielle Di Giacomo (The Orchard), Fred Dust (Ideo), Ted Hope (Amazon), Micah Green (CAA), John Hoffman (Discovery Channel), Marcus Hu (Strand Releasing), Charles King (MacRo), Jessica Lacy (ICM Partners), Stephanie Langhoff (Duplass Brothers), David Magdael (Tcdm Associates), Victor Moyers (Broad Green), Annie Roney (ro*co Films), John Sloss (Cinetic Media), Graham Taylor (William Morris Endeavor), and Jay Van Hoy (Parts & Labor).
The Fellows and projects selected for the 2015 Feature Film Creative Producing Lab are:
"50 Miles From Boomtown"
Producing Fellow: Alex Scharfman
After years of saving for her hard-earned dream, the only woman working on the fracking fields of North Dakota can finally quit but unexpectedly finds herself falling in love with the young man she's training to take her place. (writer/director Flo Linus Baumann).
Alex Scharfman is a New York-based producer whose past feature credits include "The Heart Machine" and "Lyle," as well as the short film "Superior," which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2015, and the WGA Award-nominated webseries "F to 7th." He is an executive at Parts & Labor Films where he worked on films including "Keep The Lights On" and "Loitering with Intent." He has also produced content for Vice, Google, the Ford Foundation, and At&T. Alex received his BA from Cornell University, is a former Mfa candidate from Nyu’s Tisch School of the Arts, and received his Mba from Nyu’s Stern School of Business.
"Bexar County"
Mark Silverman Honorees and Producing Fellows: Blake Pickens and Stephen Love Jr.
In sunny San Antonio, Texas, where nothing ever changes, a town is turned on its head when a delusional Texas housewife accidentally poisons her son’s fiancée, learning that killing people is an efficient way to solve her problems. (Co-writer/director Catherine Grieve, co-writer Dylan Slocum)
Blake Pickens is from the south side of Oklahoma City, from a neighborhood known as the Flats. Despite the community’s rampant drug use and gang wars, Blake found his way into storytelling with a writing position at National Lampoon. He later attended the Peter Stark Producing Program at USC where he and his producing partner, Stephen Love Jr., formed their company Bs Pictures. They are currently in pre-production on the Steven Caple Jr.’s film The Land and in development on "The Friendship Nine" with producer Nina Yang Bongiovi. Blake’s aspirations are to tell the stories that make people laugh, cry, and ultimately impact their lives.
Stephen Love Jr. grew up in the rural towns of Filbert and Bennettsville, South Carolina. During his time as a business major at Morehouse College, Love founded the Morehouse Filmmakers' Association, for which Spike Lee is the honorary advisor. He also received his Mfa from USC’s Peter Stark Producing Program and formed Bs Pictures with fellow graduate Blake Pickens. Love’s primary career goal is to produce film and television that gives "a voice to the voiceless" while challenging the confines of the business of filmmaking.
"Dolores"
Producing Fellow: Drew Houpt
A restless teenager becomes obsessed with a mysterious Colombian woman who exploits his desire and lures him into her plot for revenge. (Writer/director Mary Angélica Molina)
Drew Houpt is an independent producer based in Brooklyn. For over ten years he was the head of operations at Mike Zoss Productions, Joel and Ethan Coen’s Tribeca-based production company. During that time he worked on the Academy Award-winning "No Country For Old Men" and the Academy Award-nominated "A Serious Man" and "True Grit." He served as Associate Producer on the Coens’ Grand Prix-winning "Inside Llewyn Davis" and Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Academy Award-winning film "Birdman: or The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance." This past year he co-produced Maris Curran’s directorial-debut "Five Nights in Maine" and produced "Every Day,' a short documentary for Espn’s 30 for 30 Shorts series that had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2015. He has also produced music videos for the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang and an experimental documentary, "When A Priest Marries A Witch," by Suzanne Bocanegra.
"Rita Mahtoubian Is Not A Terrorist"
Producing Fellow: Deanna Barillari
When Iranian-born Rita Mahtoubian sets out to change her life from ordinary to extraordinary, she accidentally captures the attention of a homeland security agent in this satirical comedy about romance, terrorism and trying to be a better person. (Co-writers/directors Roja Gashtili & Julia Lerman)
Upon graduating Nyu Tisch, Deanna Barillari co-founded a non-profit theater company producing Off-Off-Broadway plays, including the NYC premiere of Leslye Headland's "Cinephilia" (2008), which funded in-school arts initiatives in the NYC Public School system. She then went on to work in TV on NBC's "Mercy" (2009), CBS’ "Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior" (2010), ABC’s "Pan Am," 86th Oscars (Ellen DeGeneres; 2014) and in Drama Development at Universal Television. Recently, she collaborated with AFI Dww Fellows Roja Gashtili and Julia Lerman, producing their web-series K(ID) starring Caterina Scorsone ("Grey's Anatomy") and their short "Rita Mahtoubian Is Not A Terrorist" starring Patrick Fugit ("Almost Famous") which made its World Premiere at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival. She also produces for the La based Ovation Award-winning Iama Theatre Company.
"The Space Between"
Producing Fellow: Angela C. Lee
A female body builder devotes her life to turning ‘pro’ when she unexpectedly falls in love, forcing her to confront her fractured past with her dying father. (Writer/director Philiane Phang)
Angela C. Lee is a Los Angeles based independent producer. She produced "Songs My Brothers Taught Me," which premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival and recently screened in the Directors’ Fortnight program at the Cannes Film Festival. Angela is also the Artist Development Manager at Film Independent, where she oversees the selection process and curriculum for the Filmmaker Labs program, including Screenwriting, Directing, Producing, and Documentary Labs, the Fast Track Finance Market and the Fox Writers Intensive, managed in conjunction with Fox Audience Strategy. Previously, Angela served as Director of Creative Affairs at New York based Vox3 Films. Prior to her career in film, Angela was an Associate at Goldman Sachs. A native Chicagoan, Angela graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in Economics and is on the Board of Directors for the University of Chicago National Arts Alumni Network.
The Fellows and projects selected for the 2015 Documentary Film Creative Producing Lab are:
"Brick"
Co-Directors/Producers: Jessica Dimmock & Christopher Lamarca
"Brick" reveals the raw emotional and physical experience of being a middle aged to senior transgender woman coming out for the first time in the Pacific Northwest. The film follows three intersecting stories of individuals who have lived their whole lives as men and decided this burdensome secret is one they can no longer keep.
Jessica Dimmock is the recipient of the 2013 World Press Photo Multimedia Contest as the director and cinematographer of the online feature, "Too Young to Wed." In 2010, Dimmock won Kodak's Best Cinematography Award at the Hamptons International Film Festival for "Without." The film premiered at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, received an Independent Spirit Award, and was nominated for a Gotham Independent Film Award. Dimmock contributed two short films to Doctors Without Borders' Emmy-nominated campaign, “Starved for Attention.” Her first photojournalism project, “The Ninth Floor” was published as a monograph. Most recently, she worked as photographer and videographer for Emmy-nominated HBO series, "The Weight of the Nation." She is represented by VII agency.
Christopher Lamarca is an award-winning photographer and filmmaker and based in Portland, Oregon. Lamarca has recently entered post-production on his first feature length film, "Boone." In 2012, it was chosen as one of eight films for Film Independent's Documentary Film lab. Lamarca's monograph, “Forest Defenders: The Confrontational American Landscape ” was published by PowerHouse Books in 2008. He was chosen to participate in the International Center of Photography’s triennial exhibition (2007), New York Photo festival (2009) and Lishui photo festival in China (2010). He reported on environmental and energy issues for magazines such as Rolling Stone, GQ, Fortune, and Newsweek.
"The Island and the Whales" (working title)
Directore/Producer: Mike Day
The pilot whale hunters of the Faroe Islands believe that hunting is vital to their way of life, but when a local professor makes a grim discovery about the effects of marine pollution, and the seabirds populations collapse, environmental changes threaten to change the community and their way of life forever.
Mike Day is a Scottish director and producer. Formerly a lawyer in London and the Middle East he founded Intrepid Cinema in 2009 before heading out into the North Atlantic to make his previous film. His debut documentary "The Guga Hunters of Ness" broadcast on the BBC in 2011 and screened at festivals internationally to critical acclaim. It was while at sea in the Atlantic that he met a group of Faroese sailors, leading to his next film. Mike was listed as one of '10 Filmmakers to Watch' by Filmmaker Magazine, he was one of Edn's ’12 for the Future 2012’, and is supported by the Scottish Documentary Institute's Docscene programme. Intrepid Cinema also has two other feature documentaries in development.
"The Road From Hainan"
Director/Producer: Nanfu Wang
State surveillance. Harassment. Imprisonment. Human rights activist Ye Haiyan, Aka Sparrow, knew she faced these risks when she went to Hainan Province to seek justice for six elementary school girls who were sexually abused by their principal. But the scale and intensity of the government's reaction surprised even the most seasoned activists across China.
"The Road From Hainan" follows Sparrow as she was chased from town to town by local governments, national secret police, and even her own neighbors. Nanfu Wang is a documentary filmmaker based in New York. Originally from a remote village in China, Wang overcame poverty and lack of access to formal secondary education and went on to earn graduate degrees in communications and documentary film from universities in China and the United States. Her work often features the stories of marginalized or mistreated people, from Chinese blood donors stricken with HIV after being issued used needles by the government to the left-behind children of migrant laborers. During the production of her first full-length documentary, Wang lived on the streets of Miami with a homeless former drug dealer who relied on the kindness of strangers for his survival. Wang’s short films have been distributed on many platforms and translated into several languages, and she continues to seek out and tell the stories of people who have been ignored by their societies.
"Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four"
Director/Producer: Deborah Esquenazi
"Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four" excavates the nightmarish persecution of Elizabeth Ramirez, Cassandra Rivera, Kristie Mayhugh, and Anna Vasquez — four Latina lesbians wrongfully convicted of allegedly gang-raping two little girls in San Antonio, Texas. The film also unravels the sinister interplay of mythology, homophobia and prosecutorial fervor which led to this modern day witch hunt during the 'Satanic Sexual Abuse Panic' of the late-80's and early-90's in the United States.
Deborah S. Esquenazi is an Austin, Texas-based documentary film and radio producer, instructor, and journalist. Her in-progress documentary feature, "Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four," has received international attention for its investigation into this controversial criminal case, and has been mentioned in Forbes Magazine, New York Times, Texas Observer, Vice Magazine, among others. Her film and radio documentaries have been funded by Chicken & Egg Pictures, Paul Robeson Fund for Independent Media, Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program | John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Initiative, Humanities Texas, Astraea Global Arts Fund, and many others.
- 7/20/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Impact Partners, the leading financier and executive producer of documentary film, will launch a new annual Emerging Documentary Producers Fellowship. The fellowship will be awarded to some of the industry’s most promising new producers at an inaugural ceremony at Doc NYC this fall. The goal of the new fellowship is to foster emerging producing talent by launching a program that consists of a yearlong series of workshops with some of the most prominent luminaries in the field of documentary film. Guest documentary experts confirmed to participate in the 2015-2016 fellowship workshops include: Victoria Cook ("Page One: Inside the New York Times,"), Geralyn Dreyfous ("The Square"), Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady ("Jesus Camp"), Liz Garbus ("What Happened, Miss Simone?"), Howard Gertler ("Do I Sound Gay?"), Julie Goldman ("Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry"), Amy Hobby ("What Happened, Miss Simone?"), Tabitha Jackson (...
- 7/2/2015
- by Paula Bernstein
- Indiewire
Las Vegas-based Lola Pictures has come on board the Preferred Content, Killer Films and Parts & Labor romantic thriller Frank & Lola.
Matthew Ross makes his feature directorial debut on the story of a chef who plots revenge after he falls in love and is betrayed.
The arrival of Las Vegas-based Lola means the project is being redeveloped from its original New York setting to a downtown Las Vegas backdrop.
Preferred Content produces alongside Lola Pictures’ Chris Ramirez and John Baker and will represent financing and distribution rights.
Killer’s Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler and Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy of Parts & Labor are the executive producers.
Kevin Iwashina of Preferred Content and Victoria Cook of Frankfurt, Kurnit, Klein & Selz represent Lola Pictures, the development, production and finance company founded by Ramirez with partners Tony Hsieh and Fred Mossler of Zappos.com.
Matthew Ross makes his feature directorial debut on the story of a chef who plots revenge after he falls in love and is betrayed.
The arrival of Las Vegas-based Lola means the project is being redeveloped from its original New York setting to a downtown Las Vegas backdrop.
Preferred Content produces alongside Lola Pictures’ Chris Ramirez and John Baker and will represent financing and distribution rights.
Killer’s Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler and Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy of Parts & Labor are the executive producers.
Kevin Iwashina of Preferred Content and Victoria Cook of Frankfurt, Kurnit, Klein & Selz represent Lola Pictures, the development, production and finance company founded by Ramirez with partners Tony Hsieh and Fred Mossler of Zappos.com.
- 2/5/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
HBO Documentary Films announced today that the network is currently in production on a film about the historic 2013 supreme court case -- over five years in the making -- that overturned Proposition 8, anticipating a 2014 debut. Yet to be titled, the forthcoming project chronicles the work of bipartisan legal team David Boies and Ted Olsen, who successfully defeated the ban on same-sex marriage earlier this year. Directors Ben Cotner and Ryan White had exclusive access to the case and the four plaintiffs at its center, and will compile their footage to tell the story of marriage equality in California and the Us. Cotner is currently senior vice president of acquisitions at Open Road Films. Ryan White’s films include the upcoming "Good Ol' Freda," which will be released in September. The deal was negotiated with HBO by Josh Braun of Submarine Entertainment and Victoria Cook of Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz. The...
- 7/9/2013
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
More wheeling and dealing has taken place at this year's Afm, resulting in a partnership for Us distribution between Drafthouse Films, the distribution arm of the Alamo Drafthouse, and Image Entertainment, Inc., a leading licensee and distributor of programming throughout North America, solidifying itself as a major player in the independent distribution arena. Good news indeed for horror fans!
The exclusive distribution deal will span home video, digital, television, and VOD platforms, helping to further expand the ever-growing Alamo Drafthouse entertainment lifestyle brand. Drafthouse Films will release both new product and repertory titles as part of the deal with Image Entertainment.
As part of their plans to ramp up their acquisitions and build the label, Drafthouse Films also made public today it appointed James Emanuel Shapiro, former Executive Director of Sales Planning and Acquisitions for Anchor Bay Entertainment, as the company's new Chief Operating Officer. Shapiro had been with the...
The exclusive distribution deal will span home video, digital, television, and VOD platforms, helping to further expand the ever-growing Alamo Drafthouse entertainment lifestyle brand. Drafthouse Films will release both new product and repertory titles as part of the deal with Image Entertainment.
As part of their plans to ramp up their acquisitions and build the label, Drafthouse Films also made public today it appointed James Emanuel Shapiro, former Executive Director of Sales Planning and Acquisitions for Anchor Bay Entertainment, as the company's new Chief Operating Officer. Shapiro had been with the...
- 11/5/2011
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
The 11th annual Coney Island Film Festival, which was held last weekend on Sept. 23-25, gave out a total of 10 awards to both feature films and shorts.
Every year, Ciff loves to honor the quirky little seaside resort the fest is held in, showing a selection of films that were screened in the ‘hood. This year, the Best “Made in Coney Island” Award went to Daniel Turkewitz’s A Day in the Life of Coney Island, a lyrical 20-minute documentary that captures life at the beach and on the boardwalk.
The Best Documentary Feature Award was also a Coney Island-themed film, Charles Denson’s The Last Immortal, a profile of reformed gang member Keith Suber, who founded an organization to keep kids out of trouble. Meanwhile, Darin Beckstead’s New York-based comedy Somebody’s Hero took home Best Feature.
On the short film front, Victoria Cook‘s Hell-based Devil Town won Best Animation,...
Every year, Ciff loves to honor the quirky little seaside resort the fest is held in, showing a selection of films that were screened in the ‘hood. This year, the Best “Made in Coney Island” Award went to Daniel Turkewitz’s A Day in the Life of Coney Island, a lyrical 20-minute documentary that captures life at the beach and on the boardwalk.
The Best Documentary Feature Award was also a Coney Island-themed film, Charles Denson’s The Last Immortal, a profile of reformed gang member Keith Suber, who founded an organization to keep kids out of trouble. Meanwhile, Darin Beckstead’s New York-based comedy Somebody’s Hero took home Best Feature.
On the short film front, Victoria Cook‘s Hell-based Devil Town won Best Animation,...
- 9/28/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The 11th annual Coney Island Film Festival, running Sept. 23-25, offers an exquisite blend of freak show, burlesque and cinematic oddities, featuring movies about reformed gang members, unwitting superheroes, rock ‘n’ roll heaven and tons and tons of short films.
The fest opens with the portrait of a real-life Coney Island badass, Keith Suber, a reformed gang member who now teaches kids that violence isn’t the solution to their problems in the documentary The Last Immortal, directed by Charles Denson.
However, the highlight of the festival — in Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film’s opinion — is the headbangin’ documentary Heavy Metal Picnic by Jeff Krulik and John Heyn, which beautifully relives the glory days of ’80s era rock ‘n’ roll Maryland in all its raucous glory. Featuring footage from an outrageous backwoods farm concert and a reunion among its (slightly) more mature participants. Read the official Bad Lit documentary review here.
The fest opens with the portrait of a real-life Coney Island badass, Keith Suber, a reformed gang member who now teaches kids that violence isn’t the solution to their problems in the documentary The Last Immortal, directed by Charles Denson.
However, the highlight of the festival — in Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film’s opinion — is the headbangin’ documentary Heavy Metal Picnic by Jeff Krulik and John Heyn, which beautifully relives the glory days of ’80s era rock ‘n’ roll Maryland in all its raucous glory. Featuring footage from an outrageous backwoods farm concert and a reunion among its (slightly) more mature participants. Read the official Bad Lit documentary review here.
- 9/14/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The Sundance Institute announced today the participants for its annual Creative Producing Labs and Creative Producing Summit, which will take place in Sundance, Utah starting July 18.
From the 18-22, ten projects will participate in the Labs (five narrative, four documentaries) and receive ongoing support throughout the year. Following the Labs, from the 22-24, leaders in the independent film community will partake in the Summit that will include case study sessions, panels, roundtable discussions, one-on-one meetings and pitching sessions.
Summit panelists include Josh Braun (Submarine Entertainment), Victoria Cook (Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz), Liesl Copland (William Morris Endeavor), Eric d’Arbeloff (Roadside Attractions), Marian Koltai-Levine (Pmk*Bnc), Alex Kruglov (Hulu.com), Tim League (Alamo Drafthouse), Susan Margolin (New Video), Celine Rattray (Maven Pictures), John Sloss (Cinetic Media), Dan Steinman (Creative Artists Agency), Ricky Strauss (Participant Media) and Nancy Utley (Fox Searchlight). Click here for a full list of panelists.
The Fellows and...
From the 18-22, ten projects will participate in the Labs (five narrative, four documentaries) and receive ongoing support throughout the year. Following the Labs, from the 22-24, leaders in the independent film community will partake in the Summit that will include case study sessions, panels, roundtable discussions, one-on-one meetings and pitching sessions.
Summit panelists include Josh Braun (Submarine Entertainment), Victoria Cook (Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz), Liesl Copland (William Morris Endeavor), Eric d’Arbeloff (Roadside Attractions), Marian Koltai-Levine (Pmk*Bnc), Alex Kruglov (Hulu.com), Tim League (Alamo Drafthouse), Susan Margolin (New Video), Celine Rattray (Maven Pictures), John Sloss (Cinetic Media), Dan Steinman (Creative Artists Agency), Ricky Strauss (Participant Media) and Nancy Utley (Fox Searchlight). Click here for a full list of panelists.
The Fellows and...
- 7/12/2011
- by Jason Guerrasio
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
On April 22-23, Asbury Park, NJ will once again be taken over by the most toxic film festival in the world! (That’s a good thing.) The 12th annual Tromadance is two days and nights filled with depraved cinematic abuses that will leave you a shattered, emotional wreck. (That’s a good thing, too.)
This year, the fest will screen three feature films, a buttload of shorts, plus two mini-retrospectives.
The features are: 1. Drew Bolduc and Dan Nelson‘s gonzo The Taint, a social satire filled with so much gore and sexual degeneracy you might want to wear a raincoat to the screening; 2. Joshua Grannell‘s horror spoof All About Evil, starring Natasha Lyonne and Cassandra Peterson about a psychotic film auteur who kills people on camera; 3. Miguel Angel Vivas’ brutal assault film Kidnapped.
Some of the short film highlights include Victoria Cook‘s triumphant return to Tromadance with Devil...
This year, the fest will screen three feature films, a buttload of shorts, plus two mini-retrospectives.
The features are: 1. Drew Bolduc and Dan Nelson‘s gonzo The Taint, a social satire filled with so much gore and sexual degeneracy you might want to wear a raincoat to the screening; 2. Joshua Grannell‘s horror spoof All About Evil, starring Natasha Lyonne and Cassandra Peterson about a psychotic film auteur who kills people on camera; 3. Miguel Angel Vivas’ brutal assault film Kidnapped.
Some of the short film highlights include Victoria Cook‘s triumphant return to Tromadance with Devil...
- 4/1/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
12th Annual Tromadance Film Festival Announces Short Film Selection
From the Press Release:
New York, NY- March 11, 2011- The 12th Annual TromaDance Film Festival have announced the first round of short films selected to screen over the course of the cult two day festival, 22-33 April @ The Showroom Theatre- Asbury Park, New Jersey.
With a record number of entrants and a lengthy screening process, TromaDance Program Director Jonathan Lees announced that the TromaDance Selection Committee have selected the following short films to screen at this year's festival;
The selected short films include:
Krawll by Matthew Wade,
Menstrual Cramps by Bunny Williams,
Pink Sock by Josh Schneider,
Toothless by Steven Dorrington,
Concrete Baby by Mattias Silva and Piotr Marciniak,
Dog Eat Dog by Curtis Jensen,
Alice Jacobs Is Dead by Gary Weeks,
Domestic Disturbing by Gary Weeks,
Waffle by Rafael DeLeon Jr.,
I Chopped Her Up by Divian Ladwa,
Return of Ghost Tank by John E.
- 3/14/2011
- by brians
- GeekTyrant
Exclusive: Focus Features has closed an acquisition deal for worldwide rights for Pariah, the Dee Rees-directed coming of age story of a 17-year old African American teen from Brooklyn trying to find her place in the world, and coming to terms with her identity as a lesbian. Besides the acquisition, Focus has also engaged Rees to write another script with an eye for her to direct. The deal was in the seven figure range. The film, which stars Adepero Oduye, Pernell Walker, Kim Wayans, Charles Parnell and Aasha Davis, created much buzz since its premiere last Thursday at the Eccles Theatre. It is a handle-with-care first film, but it showed enough promise that Rees has been courted by agents since the film's premiere and many feel she will be an emerging artistic voice. The picture was exec produced by indie icon Spike Lee, and produced by Nekisa Cooper. John Sloss...
- 1/28/2011
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Magnolia Pictures and Participant Media have jointly picked up U.S. rights to Andrew Rossi's "Page One A Year Inside The New York Times, which had its world premiere Sunday night at the Sundance Film Festival. Magnolia will release the film theatrically later this year. Magnolia Svp Tom Quinn negotiated the pact with Submarine's Josh Braun, and Diane Weyermann, Jeff Ivers and Ricky Strauss for Participant Media. Victoria Cook provided legal ...
- 1/24/2011
- Indiewire
This short animated Christmas film by Victoria Cook is just 46 seconds long, but the cheerfully addictive music is going to live with you for the rest of your life. It’s that impossible to get out of your head. Meet Poezenklaas! The chubby tabby who whisks all good children to the land of rainbows, ice cream and percussion instruments made out of baked goods. Poezenklaas is way more awesome than boring ol’ Santa Claus!
Just the other day I was thinking that no truly great Christmas song has been written in the last 30 years or so. They’re all so typically overly earnest and thus such a total drag. Actually, I find the same thing when modern singers cover old Christmas standards. The only Christmas songs that are truly catchy and what you want to hear blasting over a supermarket’s speaker system are the true classics. Frosty. Rudolf. The Charlie Brown score.
Just the other day I was thinking that no truly great Christmas song has been written in the last 30 years or so. They’re all so typically overly earnest and thus such a total drag. Actually, I find the same thing when modern singers cover old Christmas standards. The only Christmas songs that are truly catchy and what you want to hear blasting over a supermarket’s speaker system are the true classics. Frosty. Rudolf. The Charlie Brown score.
- 12/20/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The Atlanta Underground Film Festival wrapped up its 7th successful year back on Aug. 29 and has given out awards to 13 feature films and 14 shorts.
Several of the winners are films that have been featured here on Bad Lit, either with a review or having been embedded on the site for your viewing pleasure. First, repeat Auff winner Chris Hansen won the Best Director award for his second feature film Endings, a film that finds three disparate strangers spending their last day on Earth together.
Loretta Hintz‘s outrageous lesbian farm fantasy The Sheep and the Ranch Hand took home the 2010 Auff The Wall award. Also, the recently embedded The Shave by Sean Christensen, a haunting memoir, won the Best Experimental Short award. And, lastly, I was very happy to see that animator Victoria Cook, whom I’ve written about in the past, took home the Best Short Short award for her Devil Town.
Several of the winners are films that have been featured here on Bad Lit, either with a review or having been embedded on the site for your viewing pleasure. First, repeat Auff winner Chris Hansen won the Best Director award for his second feature film Endings, a film that finds three disparate strangers spending their last day on Earth together.
Loretta Hintz‘s outrageous lesbian farm fantasy The Sheep and the Ranch Hand took home the 2010 Auff The Wall award. Also, the recently embedded The Shave by Sean Christensen, a haunting memoir, won the Best Experimental Short award. And, lastly, I was very happy to see that animator Victoria Cook, whom I’ve written about in the past, took home the Best Short Short award for her Devil Town.
- 9/18/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The 7th annual Atlanta Underground Film Festival is like having four different fests crammed into an exhaustive three days on Aug. 27-29. It’s an outrageous underground fest, an animation festival, a documentary fest and a horror movie festival: The culmination of a month of fests run by Atlanta’s Festival League. There’s tons of short films, documentaries, features and more.
There’s lots of great stuff to recommend, too. On the last night of the fest, there will be a screening of Chris Hansen‘s second feature film, Endings, which tells the touching story of three people spending their last day on Earth together. The film was reviewed on Bad Lit a few months ago. On the short film front, there’s Loretta Hintz‘s wild lesbian bestiality (sort of) tale, The Sheep and the Ranch Hand and two films by the perpetually awesome Neil Ira Needleman, Meeskit...
There’s lots of great stuff to recommend, too. On the last night of the fest, there will be a screening of Chris Hansen‘s second feature film, Endings, which tells the touching story of three people spending their last day on Earth together. The film was reviewed on Bad Lit a few months ago. On the short film front, there’s Loretta Hintz‘s wild lesbian bestiality (sort of) tale, The Sheep and the Ranch Hand and two films by the perpetually awesome Neil Ira Needleman, Meeskit...
- 8/18/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The 6th annual Portland Underground Film Festival is ready to once again take over the historic Clinton St. Theater for four straight nights of demented and deranged movies on June 10-13.
The big highlight of the event — from Bad Lit’s perspective — is the closing night film: The touching and heartwarming story of a man who became a beloved alien, clown and, most importantly, a vampire. That’s right, it’s Every Other Day Is Halloween, the documentary portrait of Dick Dyzel, who transformed himself into Bozo, Captain 20 and Count Gore DeVol on local Washington, D.C. TV.
As for the rest of the fest, there’s the always popular “Bike Porn” short film program; the made-in-Oregon feature The Corners; the Jaws documentary The Shark Is Still Working and more. Plus, don’t miss the short film program that includes Spree All the Way to Mexico, made by one of...
The big highlight of the event — from Bad Lit’s perspective — is the closing night film: The touching and heartwarming story of a man who became a beloved alien, clown and, most importantly, a vampire. That’s right, it’s Every Other Day Is Halloween, the documentary portrait of Dick Dyzel, who transformed himself into Bozo, Captain 20 and Count Gore DeVol on local Washington, D.C. TV.
As for the rest of the fest, there’s the always popular “Bike Porn” short film program; the made-in-Oregon feature The Corners; the Jaws documentary The Shark Is Still Working and more. Plus, don’t miss the short film program that includes Spree All the Way to Mexico, made by one of...
- 6/8/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
New York -- The ninth annual Tribeca Film Festival, which concluded Sunday, attracted some 410,000 visitors, the second-highest attendance figure in its eight-year history.
The number includes an estimated 300,000 attendees at the free Tribeca Family Festival Street Fair and Tribeca/Espn Sports Day held May 1. Around 94,000 people attended the 496 in-theater screenings and events, dropping from a high of 203,000 in 2006 as screenings have slowly been pared back from more than 800 that year.
But one Tribeca figure that hasn't yet been revealed could have the biggest implications for audiences, sales and distribution at other festivals: the number of $45 Premium passes sold for the inaugural Tribeca Film Festival Virtual. The weeklong online program, overseen by fest executive director Nancy Schafer and recently appointed Tribeca Enterprises chief creative officer Geoff Gilmore, streamed eight world and North American premiere features from the fest's lineup, plus shorts, panels and other video content.
Only 5,000 passes were made available...
The number includes an estimated 300,000 attendees at the free Tribeca Family Festival Street Fair and Tribeca/Espn Sports Day held May 1. Around 94,000 people attended the 496 in-theater screenings and events, dropping from a high of 203,000 in 2006 as screenings have slowly been pared back from more than 800 that year.
But one Tribeca figure that hasn't yet been revealed could have the biggest implications for audiences, sales and distribution at other festivals: the number of $45 Premium passes sold for the inaugural Tribeca Film Festival Virtual. The weeklong online program, overseen by fest executive director Nancy Schafer and recently appointed Tribeca Enterprises chief creative officer Geoff Gilmore, streamed eight world and North American premiere features from the fest's lineup, plus shorts, panels and other video content.
Only 5,000 passes were made available...
- 5/4/2010
- by By Gregg Goldstein
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
First Independent Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to Kevin Asch's "Holly Rollers," starring Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Bartha, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival.
In the film, written by Antonio Macia and based on true events, Eisenberg plays a Hasidic Jew in late '90s New York who becomes involved in an international ecstacy ring.
The cast also includes Q-Tip, Ari Graynor and Danny A. Abeckaser, the latter of whom produced along with Jen Gatien, Per Melita, and Tory Tunnell.
First Independent is planning a summer release.
The deal was negotiated on the producers' behalf by Victoria Cook of Cinetic Media, with First Independent president Gary Rubin and attorney Shelley Surpin.
In the film, written by Antonio Macia and based on true events, Eisenberg plays a Hasidic Jew in late '90s New York who becomes involved in an international ecstacy ring.
The cast also includes Q-Tip, Ari Graynor and Danny A. Abeckaser, the latter of whom produced along with Jen Gatien, Per Melita, and Tory Tunnell.
First Independent is planning a summer release.
The deal was negotiated on the producers' behalf by Victoria Cook of Cinetic Media, with First Independent president Gary Rubin and attorney Shelley Surpin.
- 2/22/2010
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
As more indie filmmakers forgo traditional theatrical distribution in favor of VOD, the Sundance Institute is joining forces with Rainbow Media to present several films debuting at this month's Sundance festival as simultaneous cable on-demand offerings through the new Sundance Selects label.
Sundance Selects, a sister to Rainbow's IFC that is both a theatrical and VOD label, was introduced in the summer with the launch of Spike Lee's "Passing Strange."
Three films premiering at the Sundance fest, which kicks off Jan. 21 in Park City, have been chosen for the new Direct From the Sundance Film Festival initiative and will be available on VOD the same day each bows at the fest.
"Moving the storytelling of the Sundance Film Festival beyond 10 days in Utah remains a top priority for us," Sundance Institute founder Robert Redford said. "This collaboration with Sundance Selects is a new and important complement to this ongoing...
Sundance Selects, a sister to Rainbow's IFC that is both a theatrical and VOD label, was introduced in the summer with the launch of Spike Lee's "Passing Strange."
Three films premiering at the Sundance fest, which kicks off Jan. 21 in Park City, have been chosen for the new Direct From the Sundance Film Festival initiative and will be available on VOD the same day each bows at the fest.
"Moving the storytelling of the Sundance Film Festival beyond 10 days in Utah remains a top priority for us," Sundance Institute founder Robert Redford said. "This collaboration with Sundance Selects is a new and important complement to this ongoing...
- 1/7/2010
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Magnet Releasing, the genre arm of Magnolia Pictures, has acquired U.S. rights to "George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead" and will release it in the spring through its Ultra VOD program, debuting it on video-on-demand platforms nationwide a month before it opens theatrically.
Written and directed by Romero, the filmmaker's latest zombie film played this year at the Venice and Toronto film festivals.
The deal was negotiated by Magnolia senior vp Tom Quinn with Victoria Cook for Cinetic Media on behalf of Art Spigel and Ara Katz of Artfire Films and Peter Grunwald of Romero-Grunwald Prods.
Written and directed by Romero, the filmmaker's latest zombie film played this year at the Venice and Toronto film festivals.
The deal was negotiated by Magnolia senior vp Tom Quinn with Victoria Cook for Cinetic Media on behalf of Art Spigel and Ara Katz of Artfire Films and Peter Grunwald of Romero-Grunwald Prods.
- 12/20/2009
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
U.S. rights to George A. Romero’s zombie feature “George A. Romero’s Survival of the Dead” have been picked up by Magnolia Pictures’ genre label Magnet Releasing. bowed at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals earlier this year. Magnolia’s Svp Tom Quinn negotiated the pact with Victoria Cook for Cinetic Media, on behalf of Art Spigel and Ara Katz of Artfire Films and Peter Grunwald of Romero-Grunwald Productions. Magnet will release the …...
- 12/18/2009
- Indiewire
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