The BlakRoc Episodes

By far, one of the most addictive web series I've seen is Dame Dash's BlakRoc Project, a rock-rap collaboration album by Ohio-based blues rock band The Black Keys and several hip hop and R & B artists. The project has been overseen by Damon Dash, co-founder and former owner of Rocafella Records. Its contributors include Wu Tang's RZA, Raekwon, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard, Jim Jones, Mos Def, Ludacris, Billy Danze of MOP, Q -Tip of A Tribe Called Quest and several others.

After Damon Dash began listening to The Black Keys, who he says became his favorite band, he reached out to the musicians to meet in person. Dash suggested that they enter the studio with Jim Jones, with whom Dash has recently partnered to form Splash Records. While recording, Mos Def interrupted the session, and ended up recording with them as well. This is also special because it was the rare, and arguably only chance occurance possible where these two artists of vastly different musical tastes and personal characteristics, could come together on a record of any kind. With new artists being called in to work on the album, it was completed after only eleven days recording.

These webisodes are the only documentation of this rare project and the process itself. Enjoy the debut episode below:



Full Series HERE.

Leaving Las Vegas

Throwback Sundays this week reflects on the theme of suicide, which is the underlying subject of Ryan Andrew Balas' controversial 2nd feature Carter, which we are celebrating in wake of its approaching World Premiere at The Anthology Film Archives on this coming Tuesday, November 24 @8:45 pm, as part of the NewFilmmakers fall series festival.

Leaving Las Vegas

Director: Mike Figgis

Cast: Nicholas Cage, Elizabeth Shue

This drama is about the absolute love between two people that live on society's border who need each other to know that they exist. In this tale, much emphasis is placed on simplicity, spontaneity and directness, so we can focus on the true story without being distracted from the normal every day routines these characters have. A degree of realism is achieved in this movie, because the fact remains that Ben is an alcoholic, although he does drink in extremes where the normal human being would be unconscious, and Sera is a prostitute, so the intense situations and decisions in this movie are reasonably depicted.

For more about Carter, visit it's official website.

Tom's Corner

In this installment, Tom reviews a Hollywood movie he doesn't think is pure crap. That film is "The Goods." Happy reading!

The Goods 2009 Neal Brennan, Dir.



This is gonna be a short one, so hold on to your butts and lets get going...

“The Goods” (starring the incomparable Jeremy Piven as Don “The Goods” Ready) is a simple “formula comedy.” Let me give you my definition to start the ball rolling. What you have is a basic story of a lead character, usually selfish and living a life of happy unconcerned slackerdom or excess (Hollywood say 'you be unmarried and childless past thirty, you bad person') who, through one (or several) new person(s) becoming part of their life, change into a better person themselves. Wacky sidekicks are a must, as are bets or contests to drive the plot along. It eventually becomes about “doing the right thing” instead of winning the bet or contest. Wacky sidekicks are so loyal and change with them so fast I'm surprised they don't slobber and hump their legs. Oh yeah, there are also other wacky supporting cast members, usually actors who look vaguely familiar. Want some examples? Ok, how about “Employee of the Month,” “National Lampoon's Van Wilder, ” “Run Fatboy Run,” and “PCU” which stars...Jeremy Piven.

All you need to know is that each character fulfills their role adequately. Kathryn Hahn is the one of the guy's girl, David Koechner is the most trusted and loyal of sidekicks, and Ving Rhames is...yeah, he's the black guy. Thanks Hollywood. Some bright spots include Charles Napier as the angriest car salesman around, Dick Lewiston, Tony Hale and Ken Jeong as their usual social misfit characters, and Craig Robinson as DeeJay Request. Craig Robinson ALWAYS makes me laugh, no matter what he does.

So, in short, should you see “The Goods?” Yeah, it's a funny way to kill an hour and a half. Will you remember it in a few weeks? Probably not.

A Producer's Rant About Rude Film Festivals

Still from Cookies & Cream

Let me start off by saying how grateful I am to film festivals that have screened our films all over. I don't want to be unappreciative, its hard enough to play one fest. I especially appreciate those fests that do things the right way, you know, the courteous way. This rant is not for you.

Ok. I haven't decided how to handle a particular situation I've just discovered, so I figured I'd use our growing readership for the sake of interaction, and in this case, advice. I need your collective advice on this one.

I remember how strange it was when one of our family members literally stumbled on the discovery that 3 of our films (Carter, Uptown, and Cookies & Cream) had played in Scotland at the Deep Fried Film Festival. Which was enough to piss me off personally, because I've been trying to visit Scotland for a couple of years now. This would have been the perfect "excuse."

The problem was of course, that the festival neglected to inform us we were even selected! This became one of the hottest topics at a couple Q and A sessions at the great Idaho International Film Festival, where Paul Osborne's Official Rejection had just ruffled the feathers and opened up the can of bad, festival-story worms. Bruce Fletcher, IIFF's program director, was especially heated about our 3 films, and these Deep Fried Freaks. He brought this up all over my Facebook page, his Facebook page, then multiple times in Idaho. I remember laughing to Brian Ackley and Ryan Balas, the directors of the other 2 films, and feeling like we were just happy someone was playing our movie in the UK. So what they neglected to inform us? Nonsense.

I get Fletcher's frustration now. He was really offended for us, based on the fact that the fest probably charged something for the screenings. Then, they are screening your SCREENER for god's sakes. I mean, c'mon. Can't you give me a chance to ship over a projectable version to you, either on a different format or the same one? What about the opportunity for the filmmaker to reach out to some people in the UK who may have seen the film and liked it? Can a brother get a list of guests' emails, or have them join our Facebook fan page? Something?

Yeah at first you may think its cool to be selected, but when you are stripped of the opportunity to a) know about it, b) talk to someone about how your film will be screened and what technical settings may or may not work best, and c) to consider, and plan your trip, then you feel kinda jipped.

Well it happened again. This is why I decided to write this rant, because if we start enough of a stink, maybe other fests (regardless of where they are located) will learn some of the most simple lessons of submitting-filmmaker etiquette.

I recently discovered that Cookies & Cream played overseas at the Birmingham Black International Film Festival in Birmingham, UK @ 12pm (awful slot, I know, but not worst than Uptown's in Seattle) on Thursday, October 29th (here's the PROOF) I can't even remember what I was doing on the 29th. But it sure wasn't knowing my film was playing at that VERY MINUTE IN THE UK. No email. No call. No postcard. Not even a social networking site message. Weird.

I would have loved to know who saw it, what they thought, where I can let them know about the DVD release updates, where else it will play in the world, or even just say "hello." Forward them to our myspace page. Or Facebook. Or something.

Two ways I can handle this. We can get Bruce Fletcher on 'em, and he can blog on here with us and blast away at festivals that do this, afterwhich we would encourage the spreading of that potentially harsh and critical "warning" that would include a nice little review over at sqirrl.com, or, I can email the festival and see if they will get back to me. And see if they can provide me a reason, or a thank you, or list of names, or the number in attendance, or something. And see if they answer me.

Think the second option is the easy answer? Of course it is. Because you are LOGICAL (well most of you are). But you'd be surprised. Getting an answer from strange festivals like this is tougher than you think. Hell, Deep Fried still hasn't given us one.

- Princeton

Official Rejection is on DVD!

Our friend Paul Osborne's hit documentary Official Rejection is now available on DVD! Learn more about the film or purchase it HERE.

How Effective are Twitter and Facebook...Really?

Reid Rosefelt's calculations reveal Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking sites might be less effective than we have been led to believe. As a content provider, content producer, filmmaker, etc, I have seen first hand the near ineffectiveness of links, Facebook events invites, tweets, bulletins, etc., and besides our already close group of friends and collaborators (old college buddies and family members too), reaching out to brand new people, from my vantage point, has brought in very few brand new viewers, customers, attendees, or audience members. For example, I found that picking up the telephone and calling people in my address book was far more effective in getting butts into theatres, than anything I had tweeted, or posted. I have seen other filmmakers try to book screenings purely by the internet, or their blogs, or a facebook announcement, and come up nearly empty-handed. Sure your friends will come out and support you (sometimes), but how do you reach that "stranger"?

When I was in Idaho for the film festival, I did my own research and found that besides other filmmakers, the majority of the people in my 2nd, very crowded screening had simply read about it in the festival bulletin and thought it sounded interesting. No one had picked up my press cards, one sheets, or poster then went online to read about it. They read about it in the newspaper coverage of the festival and the festival line up publication itself. In fact, most of the marketing was our poster. In the film's Facebook Fan page, I even photo-documented the process of actual, potential audience members seeing our poster, then looking closer to read about the story, then making the decision to walk inside the theatre, pay the 8 bucks (or whatever it was) to see the movie. The two senior women (grandmothers, mind you) became my two favorite audience members and Q & A participators ever on the festival circuit. And according to them, they "dont really deal with computers a whole bunch."

Fact is, the internet may have "democratized" advertising for today's content creator, but traditional marketing still proves to be the tried and true method of reaching people and getting your message across (outside of the machine of a studio backed movie - ala' Paranormal Activity). This article really got me thinking. As Jay-Z says, "men lie, women lie, but numbers don't."

Here is some of this revealing article from Indiepix - after the jump:

Twittering Away At Life
Reid Rosefelt founded SPEED CINE to index on-line content. His site is speedcine.com.

"The first thing you learn when you go on Twitter is that nearly everyone on there is a Social Media Marketing Expert. I realize that being a Social Media Marketing Maven on Twitter is commensurate to writing that you savor long walks on the beach in your Match.com profile, but it got me thinking: if each one of these geniuses could generate a thousand dollars out of their social media skills, we are talking billions of dollars. And if there were ten thousand of them that were really savvy… that is trillions of dollars, my friends. That’s starting to look like some serious money. And it’s all from tweets.

Why are you reading this? My friends told me I would be insane to launch a business without taking advantage of this action. All I had to do was join Facebook and Twitter, learn about Digg and reddit and Delicious and StumbleUpon and I could sit back and people would link to my site in droves.

I probably spent over a thousand hours learning how to get the fullest use out of these things, and that doesn’t count the endless posting and tweeting. And these things were like heroin; they started to take over my life. I couldn’t look at a sunset without wanting to take a picture on my iPhone and post it to my FaceBook account. I would have serious anxiety about how many utter strangers I would allow to join my real friends on Facebook.

But I also used pre-social media skills, like writing a blog and sending out emails and press releases.

When I opened up SpeedCine a few weeks ago, I was very surprised when I looked at my analytics. There was no arguing with the facts. The links from my conventional marketing efforts were in the thousands; the links from Twitter were in the tens. For example, I wrote a blog post on John Hughes and posted a link on Twitter, and didn’t get a single retweet. But some people who got my email put a link to my post up on their blogs, which were seen by other bloggers until I got almost 4000 unique visitors in a single day."

Read the rest of this article HERE.

Date Number One To Do 8 Screenings @ Art Gallery in Brooklyn

Blogger Sujewa Ekanayake, who often blogs about DIY filmmaking, made a film not long ago called Date Number One - a feature length comedy about four first dates. The film is being screened 8 times in NYC, in an experimental, self made promotional art gallery run, in conjunction with the DVD release of the film.

Ekanayake was the first blogger to write about Barry Jenkins' Medicine for Melancholy - a DIY film that made one of the biggest splashes a film of its kind has ever had. Barry himself credited Sujewa in this interview we read recently (you can read it HERE). He was also the first to write about Cookies & Cream, my first feature film. When it came to DIY filmmaking, you could rarely google or research any relative topic, and not come up with Ekanayake's writing. I have discovered a few interesting DVDs of films made by local artists thru his blog as well.



Sujewa's Date Number One art gallery run is began its fund raising campaign at kickstarter. Here is what his explanation is concerning his plan for the project:

"My goal is to show a movie I made - Date Number One (story 1 of 4 from the movie is emdedded above) - at an emerging art gallery in Brooklyn - Aeon Logic - throughout December (8 screenings planned, every Wed & Fri in December, except 12/25 Fri). Each screening will also have a different opening act (local artists or activists, full list by 12/1). On top of that, I want to make 1000 DVDs & make them available for sale through mail order or at the screenings. Support from the Kickstarter community will help make this project a success - as it would provide time & money for publicity & proper management of the project (plus a lot more, see below). Also, this project, if successful, could serve as a useful example to other indie filmmakers - approaching indie film distribution more like an arts exhibition project - working with a gallery or another accessible alternative space as a painter would, for a series of screenings spread out over a relatively long period of time, and producing the simple, not-requiring-a-lot-of-workers project for a relatively low budget - such an approach might be very useful to some indie filmmakers & projects when it comes to distribution."

For backstory, to read what gifts and perks you will receive with your support, and to support this project with a donation, please visit kickstarter.

Here is the first story in Date Number One, below:

Start Over - Date Number One Story 1 from Sujewa Ekanayake on Vimeo.

www.diyfilmmaker.blogspot.com

Uncovered Films Reviews Cookies & Cream

Uncovered Films, a film with several interesting pieces on films of all kinds, wrote a really cool, honest, and comprehensive review of Cookies & Cream. Check out some of Matthew Watt's piece after the jump:



"From the outside, Cookies & Cream may seem similar to another film we've covered, named "One Hour Fantasy Girl". One Hour Fantasy Girl even follows a similar path - that of a girl on a struggle to find herself, while working an odd-job to pay the rent.

However, now I have a better frame of reference, having watched Cookies & Cream; and I can clearly see what is lacking in 1HFG that C&C has in abundance... heart."

Read the full review HERE.

For more about Cookies & Cream visit the official site HERE.

Acclaimed Anti-Gang Violence Play “One Hour 2 Live” Featuring “Brick City” Stars Begins Run at Essex County College on Friday, November 13 at 7 Pm

From the official press release of The Daily Newarker:



“ONE HOUR 2 LIVE” BEGINS ITS RUN AT ESSEX COUNTY COLLEGE

ON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13th AT 7:00 PM

Theater production features “Brick City” stars Jayda, Creep and Jiwe;
aims to curb gang-violence among Newark’s youth

November 11, 2009 – Acclaimed play “One Hour 2 Live” is coming to Newark’s Essex County College this Thursday, November 12th and Friday, November 13TH at 7 p.m.. A powerhouse production that seeks to educate young people about the perils of gang violence, it features performances by Jessica “Jayda” Jacques, Darel “Creep” Evans, and Dashaun “Jiwe” Morris, stars of the Sundance docu-series “Brick City.”

“One Hour 2 Live: The Cold-Blooded Reality of Gang Murders” centers on a young Death Row inmate in his last hour of life as he reflects on his violent past and the many victims he’s left behind. It has played in New York and cities across New Jersey including North Brunswick, Edison, Jersey City, Summit and East Orange, and provides audiences with an intense look into the gang violence that plagues urban communities throughout the nation.

“Far too often we think of things in hindsight – what could I have done differently; what if I hadn’t followed behind this one or that one,” said Writer-Director Reverend Princeton Holt. “I wrote this play because I believe that such a vital issue deserves a more proactive, aggressive approach that addresses the root of the problem, not just the problem itself.”

The production has been hailed by municipalities throughout the Tri-state area for its unflinching look at gang violence and the radical impact it has on our children and our neighborhoods. The North Brunswick Township Police Department praised the play for its usefulness in teaching young students the dangers of gangs, saying that they “highly recommend it for police departments, educators and schools because today gang violence has the serious potential to affect anyone.”

Following the play, the audience is treated to a multi-media presentation by Reverend Holt, “Why Kids Kill.” The presentation discusses the subject of gang violence in more depth, inviting members to share their own personal experiences or encounters with gangs. Many times the discussions involve parents and children of innocent victims, or testimonies from gang members themselves. This part, Rev. Holt believes, is a key component of communicating the play’s message.

“If we’re going to save our communities and our children from gangs, we must focus first on the circumstances that push them to gangs in the first place,” he says. “This means truly talking and listening to each other. That’s the only way we’re going to survive.”

WHAT: “One Hour 2 Live: The Cold-Blooded Reality of Gang Murders.”

WHO: Stars of Sundance docu-series “Brick City,” Jessica “Jayda” Jacques, Darel “Creep” Evans, and Dashaun “Jiwe” Morris; Shannone Holt; Turron Kofi Alleyne.

WHEN: Thursday, November 12th and Friday, November 13th at 7:00 PM

WHERE: Essex County College
Mary Burch Theater
303 University Avenue
Newark, NJ

PRESS CONTACT: Janet A. Dickerson – (201) 356-9219
Jaydi25@gmail.com

***MEDIA MUST RSVP VIA EMAIL OR AT THE ABOVE PHONE NUMBER***

4 Aspects of a Distributable Film

One of the aspects of this blog I get the most feedback from, are actually not the DIY tidbits, but information geared toward the larger majority of indie filmmakers, the "traditional kids" - those that are working on stories that need a larger canvas, and who are seeking a larger audience for it. They are often labeled as "indiewood", but the truth is, they are simply what has long been known throughout as "low budget indie filmmakers." In keeping up with our readers and those that offer us the most feedback, I never want to overlook those countless filmmakers who may have already had fun in the digitally dominated self-distribution, micro film field, have paid their dues to varying degrees of success, and are seeking larger stories as their 2nd or even 3rd feature. The following clip is for you guys. We haven't forgotten you.

In the below video, Stacey Parks, the woman behind the site www.filmspecific.com discusses the 4 key aspects to a distributable film. Very basic, but informative stuff:



- Princeton

Journey of an Actress - Part 2

Rogue Cinema has posted more of our good friend, Cookies & Cream star Naama Kates' splendid and personal writings. Below is part 2, after the jump:

"I'm in a dimly lit, crowded bar in my trendy neighborhood in LA. Tonight is the first time I've stepped foot into a bar here alone, and without a stack of resumes and an appointment I made from an ad on Craigslist. I didn't get jobs this way in New York, I never had to use that free-for-all, anonymous billboard. I knew people there. The few times I did try the site, the jobs weren't great, to say the least - the very least. The music here is good. … It's nice, being on this side of the bar, with a drink and a notebook. It's the first time I've had the will to leave my apartment without any concrete plans. The people are friendly, and funny, and I haven't spent a red cent, which is always good. It's all good.

A few days ago I returned from a weekend visit to New York City - forever simply "the city" to me - with light luggage and a heavy heart. Three nights and two days were not nearly enough for a proper visit after a year, weren't enough to see my friends, or to stop at my old bar, or pack up my keyboard and guitar, or Ben's paintings, or spend the evening at my favorite BYOB jazz club that fills the Village with the wailing of saxophones ‘til 8 in the morning. Not nearly enough time to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge in the mist, or watch the leaves in Central Park slowly turn aflame.

I took subways and directed cabbies, I didn't drive Blue, my beat-up old Chevy Cavalier, with his bumper dragging against the pavement and my hands white-knuckled on the steering wheel, confused by signs and gridlocked freeways. I know the city like the back of my hand. I had so many people I desperately wanted to see. I have so many friends there I desperately miss. I had no idea. It seemed like I'd only been gone a day, and when I returned to LAX, it seemed like I was arriving again for the first time, arriving empty-handed to this foreign city, with no plan, no foundation, no clue.

I had no idea. I had no idea that I'd really built a life there. But after five years, my entire adult existence, it was home. Home in a way that the snowy, rural town of 8,000 and only one lit street never was. I moved to New York in the wake of a personal tragedy, fueled by that "Carpe Diem" that sometimes follows a loss. I was fearless, maybe because I felt I had nothing to lose, maybe because I'd been hurting so much that I couldn't imagine any danger could hurt any more, and the fresh air and new possibilities held only life and promises. In one day I found a room in an old woman's small apartment, deep into Brooklyn, for $400 a month. I didn't know the neighborhood at all, hell, I didn't know Brooklyn. But it was pretty, and quiet, right near Greenwood Cemetery-- where Basquiat is buried. I never figured out how to get into Greenwood Cemetery; it was always locked, so I never actually saw his grave.

I found my first job before moving in with old Pat. I went for an interview at a place I found online for a hostessing job. I hated it, it was so boring, I would chat to the customers to pass the time. They told me they were looking for someone more "refined" - see what I was saying about CL jobs? When I walked out of the place and it was raining, I decided to get on the nearest bus I saw, wherever it may have been going. I got on and paid my fifty cents and I got off at the next stop, and I saw some restaurants there. I didn't even have my resume with me, but I went into the pub on the corner and asked if they needed any help. The owner, a funny charismatic man from the Rockaways, an Irish neighborhood in Queens, said, "Yeah, some waitressing, some bartending. ..." All eyes in the place were on me, male eyes, Union workers, Puerto Rican, Black, Italian, Irish and Polish eyes, looking, but smiling, laughing. These guys were cool. This place was cool. He gave his number and when I called, he said, "Come by on Thursday around 6. We'll see how it goes, and if it works out, great, and if not, we'll wish each other the best!"

On Thursday I was taught to pour beers, and mix drinks, as I'd never even been in a bar, and it worked out. I made $320 that night. And I lived at that bar for a few months, and when I started to live my own life, to explore, take an acting class, start a band, start playing around town, all the bar's regulars came to our band’s first show, at the Knitting Factory. It was my rock for three years. It is a rock, that bar. A regular used to remark often of the place, “I'm afraid it's not going anywhere,” and thank god it's gonna be there.

And right now, this bar I'm in, in my trendy neighborhood near Hollywood, right now this bar is here. And I like it. And maybe I came back with no clue, but with that still came the fresh air and the possibilities and the "Carpe Diem" that all make you fearless, and I don't mind feeling fearless. Or having a neighborhood bar."

If you missed part 1, simply read it HERE.

www.cookiesncreammovie.com

Uptown. A moral question.

Brian Ackley's 'Uptown' poses a few moral questions.



Let's explore some other film's that ask some of those same questions.

*Is it wrong to follow your heart...if someone could get hurt?



*Can men and women really just be "friends"?



*What's worse, an emotional affair or a physical/sexual affair?



*If you love something, should you let it go?



We'd love to hear your thought's on these issues. Please comment.

And if you are going to be in the Seattle area on November 14th, Uptown will have its West Coast Premiere at the Blue November MicroFilm Festival @ 10am.

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NYC Premiere of Drawing With Chalk

Our friends, the creators of Drawing With Chalk are having their NYC Premiere at Quad Cinema on November 14th! We highly recommend this heartwarming, and well-shot feature length debut, which we had the privilege to watch at the Idaho International Film Festival. More info after the jump:

DRAWING WITH CHALK
Directed by Todd Giglio.
US, 2009, 87 min. US Premiere.

Jay and Matt are lifelong friends. They once played in a rock band but after years chasing "the big prize" in New York, they find themselves back in their hometown working at the union factory and dreaming of what might have been. As they hit 40, they decide to give it one more shot but the pressures build as Jay begins struggling between his childhood dreams of success and his adult responsibilities to his wife Jasmin and five-year-old son Bryan.Also with Pooja Kumar, Brennan Giglio, Kapil Bawa, Susham Bedi. Todd Giglio,Christopher Springer and Pooja Kumar in person.

Preceded by: FREE PARKING. The search for the ultimate parking spot takes a surreal turn.Directed by Vikas Bandhu. US, 2009, 18 min. World Premiere.

Screening Venue:The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Saturday, November 14 at 9:00 PM Purchase tickets at Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com

www.drawingwithchalk.com

Help With WGTB Distribution!!

Help us out. Just watch the video below.

It's important that my friend, producer Andrea Ajemian and company gets thousands of hits to this video on YouTube. If they can create a viral video, the film will get the attention of the larger distributors! Check out the just released music video for the ballad "My Heart Hurts" from the boyband A New Condition in the upcoming teen comedy "We Got the Beat." They are in the final stages of post-production on the film, and will be screening for distributors in Los Angeles within the next few months.

From indie comedy film WE GOT THE BEAT Music video for "My Heart Hurts (From Holden Back)" a power pop teen ballad from the world's first ever boyband- A New Condition - featured in the upcoming comedy "We Got the Beat."

WE GOT THE BEAT is the story of Brad Roberts (Michael Copon) - a high school football star who quits the team to turn his heavy metal band, (SUCK IT) into the first ever boyband in 1982.
A New Condition is Brad (Michael Copon), Tommy (Ryan Hansen), Greg (Ryan Pinkston), Derf (E-Knock), and Joda (Lorenzo Hooker III). The band's manager/svengali is Garth (Robert Hoffman).

Written & Directed by Jon Artigo
Produced by Andrea Ajemian
Music by Kaz Gamble



www.wegotthebeatmovie.com
www.aafilms.com
Artigo Ajemian Films (c) 2010

Spread the Word, Seattle

Here is a personal note and call of support from the director of the Blue November MicroFilm Festival, where Brian Ackley's Uptown will be having its West Coast Premiere. Read it after the jump, and please spread the word!

"We have overcome tragedy this year, in a lesser degree and much easier than the true victims, but we have triumphed and found our projector. We have extended our venue at the Upper Crust. All of this shadowed by the loss of the Green Bean Coffeehouse and its neighbors.

This year's Festival will hopefully be one of the many beacons of hope and unity in the Greenwood Neighborhood. We will have two of my short films for purchase, and both were shot inside the Green Bean. All proceeds will go to the fire relief fund.

We have the (West Coast) Premiere of "Uptown", and the Director and Stars of the film will be flying in from New York to experience the Festival. We have three workshops for the beginning or experienced filmmaker. There is music coming in from all over the World! We have special performances, amazing art, vendors and so much more. We just need to get the word out there!

Here is the link to the Event on Facebook:

Simply by clicking on "Invite People to Come", you have added so many other people that the result will cascade all over Seattle. We could amass a crowd of legendary proportion! Please use your e-mail lists, MySpace or whatever method suits you...so long as you spread the word! We have been doing this with very little for seven years. We do it ourselves with only a few hands.

You can print all posters and flyers from HERE.

Your help is greatly appreciated, and I thank you!"

Sincerely,

"Captain Chambers"

LALO Gets Press

Cinema Without Borders reviews our friend Daniel Maldonado's Lalo. Read some of Gary Miraz's piece after the jump:

"Imagine the pressure of being an illegal alien with a crappy job and countless other hurdles to overcome. Welcome to the life of Lalo, a New York City Mexican delivery worker who must prove to himself that he can overcome any obstacle. Daniel Maldonado’ excellent short film is presented as a keystone cop-comedy and touches upon many moments of madness that occur to many people around the world.

The film begins when Lalo (Neftali Jurec) is given an ultimatum to get his deliveries done on time. He races out only to have his bicycle demolished. He spies a little girl, Lucy (Abigail Stucker), on her pink bike and takes it. Unfortunately, he picked on the wrong girl, who grabs a kick scooter and gives chase. A Chinese deliveryman (Doua Moua) and a bike messenger (Billy Magnussen) who fancies himself as an Indy 500 God force him on a race to the death—or maybe just plain humiliation. I mean, a big guy on a girl’s pink bike is asking for it."

Read the full review HERE.

Young American Bodies

Season Four of Joe Swanberg's web series "Young American Bodies" is coming November 9th!

Tom's Corner

For this installment of Tom's Corner, Tom reviews another film about the twisted underbelly of high school called "Assassination of a High School President." You can tell Tom had some less than glamorous high school experiences, can't you? Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to turn them into an award winning screenplay or stand-up routine as of yet. Enjoy!

Assassination of a High School President (2008)

Brett Simon, Dir.

“No one's misunderstood. That's just something people say when they don't like themselves.”

This was the best film noir I've seen in ages, all due to the acting, and those wonderful people who cast said actors. Yes, it is about high school. The entire movie takes place in a catholic high school called St. Donovan's, which is lorded over by ex-military man principal Kirkpatrick (a role brought to humorous and somewhat frightening life by Bruce Willis). Yes, the students are the main focus. But this film lives and breathes noir from the over-narration provided by lead character Bobby Funke (Reece Thompson, who also starred in 2007's “Rocket Science”) to the clever turns of phrase provided by each character.

Bobby Funke writes for the Donovan Daily, the school paper. Well, he likes to say he does, but he's never actually finished an article. This is an impediment to his getting into a Northwestern Summer writing program. Assigned to write a puff piece on the high school president, Paul Moore (Patrick Taylor, doing his best seemingly oblivious popular jock), Bobby finds very little depth. The next day, he's rounded up with the “usual suspects” (John Magaro, Joseph Perrino, Vincent Piazza, and Tanya Fischer, the four of whom steal the movie at times) and accused of stealing SAT tests out of the principal's office. After being asked by Paul's smoldering hot girlfriend Francesca (brilliantly played by Mischa Barton) to solve the case, Bobby seemingly finds evidence that president Paul is to blame. Bobby's the most popular kid in school...but evidence surfaces that he may have the wrong man.

From here, the movie takes a bunch of very memorable twists and turns as Bobby tries to find out who did take the tests and uncovers a conspiracy that will rock the school. But will Bobby survive to report it?

- Tom Trombley

Heres the trailer:

For more about the film check out the official site.

De Lutrede

This week, Throwback Sundays reflects on and recommends a fascinating 2002 documentary film called De Lutrede (The Purified).

In 1995, speaking at a conference held to celebrate the 100th birthday of the cinema, Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier gave a speech in which he decried the increased technical sophistication of filmmaking, which he believed had come at the expense of the art of storytelling. Von Trier declared that the cinema needed to be "purified," and in collaboration with fellow directors Thomas Vinterberg, Søren Kragh-Jacobsen, and Kristian Levring, announced the birth of the Dogme 95 movement, a stylistic "vow of chastity" in which filmmakers would refrain from using sets, special effects, music that does not originate onscreen, and special lighting beyond what is normally available, and shoot all films with handheld cameras, using the original 1.33:1 Academy ratio. While the Dogme 95 filmmakers and their works gained international attention, they also found themselves struggling with the ascetic stylistic approach they had embraced, and some found themselves violating the rules they helped to create, while others wondered how their fellow filmmakers were to enforce their regulations. Jesper Jargil takes a witty look at the Dogme 95 filmmakers and their credo in The Purified, which examines the excesses which helped inspire the movement, how the Dogme theorists hoped to challenge them, and how the world reacted to them (and they to the world). ~ (Mark Deming, All Movie Guide)

Director: Jesper Jargil
Genre: Film, TV & Radio
Movie Type: Media Studies, Film & Television History
Themes: Filmmaking
Main Cast: Lars von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg, Søren Kragh-Jacobsen, Kristian Levring, Mogens Rukov
Release Year: 2002
Country: DE
Run Time: 68 minutes

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