Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Winners, 13th NYC PictureStart Film Festival, June 14-5, 2009

Jury Awards

Best Short Film
Winner, Lost Paradise, Oded Binnun, Mihal Brezis
1st Runner Up, Kweisi, David Sauvage
2nd Runner Up, Refrigerator, Jim Revis

Best Actor
Winner, Kweisi, Kweisi
1st Runner Up, Sodom by the Sea, Mike Cianflone
2nd Runner Up, Lost Paradise, Moris Cohen

Best Actress
Winner, Emma’s 18th Birthday Party, Ching Shen Chang
1st Runner Up, Lost Paradise, Rotem Cohen-Zisman
2nd Runner Up, The Gynaecologist, Camila Bossa

Cinematography
Winner, Emma’s 18th Birthday Party
1st Runner Up, Lost Paradise
2nd Runner Up, Baby Boots, Aaron Munson

Special Jury Award
Baby Boots, Hans Olsen

Best Short Screenplay
Sonny, Julian Stephenson


Audience Awards

Best Short Film
Winner, Refrigerator, Jim Revis
1st Runner Up, Stay True Darling, James Morrison
2nd Runner Up, Trunk, Annie Feld

Best Actor
Winner, Refrigerator, Simon Sorrells
1st Runner Up, Trunk, Steve Smith
2nd Runner Up, Lost Paradise, Moris Cohen

Best Actress
Winner, Stay True Darling, Ellen Cunningham
1st Runner Up, Refrigerator, Alyson Weaver
2nd Runner Up, April Day And Night, Dana Hunter

Friday, June 12, 2009

Setting Up

Spent much of the day finalizing for the 13th NYC PictureStart Film Festival. Got everything in hand, did the limited tech checks. Seems like everything is all set. Been a bumpy one this time around, at least in getting it together, with films withdrawing after acceptance (two, one for no reason at all, the other for a good reason, they got into Toronto which required a premiere), and my assistant not being in NY for the festival. Oh and David having the swine flu and his availability for the festival being in doubt.

But Dave seems to be OK. Got my hosts locked up, judges committed, and the films set and QC'ed. So away we go.

Grumps.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Anyone remember these? Love em.



So i was speaking to one of my festival hosts, Sarah Mindlin. She's a NY based actress, and she does some voice-over work for a friend of mine, Ben. That is how we've met, and how she came to be hosting the first day of "Fest"-ivities.

She has this great voice - no wonder she does these voice-over gigs. That voice got me thinking back, however, to the old beer ads that used to run on the radio, in the eighties before I could drink (not long before). I couldnt recall the company that made the ads, but with some help from my sister and her friend Kelly (herself another blast from the 80's for me), I was informed that the company was Molson, and that the guy in the spots was Garrett Brown, who invented the Steadi-cam, which makes all those great moving shots that pepper every big studio movie made (and revolutionalized movie-making). Talk about a renaissance man. Anne Winn, with that sultry laugh and great comic timing, was the one I recalled when talking to Sarah.

Anyway, here is a link to their spots for Molson and others. (Click the hear link on the left side of the page).

Listen

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

I dont blog anymore.

Yet I am here. I've been thinking for quite some time about making some entries. There are so many things that draw my interest on the internet, active exploits, passive pursuits, and while I am online so much of the time while I am home (i.e., not shooting something, film, not deer, dear), I don't end up here. I think about ending up here, but I don't.

And then I think its been too long. Like a friend you haven't called for so long, it becomes a question mark. Maybe its been so long that they wouldn't even want to hear from you at this point. Maybe i haven't blogged in so long (months and months) that my audience (er, both of you) wouldn't even return to read what I'd newly written. Wouldn't even think to return to look to see if I had written anything.

And yet here I am writing, because...because because because, because I write more for me than for anyone else, and I felt like writing.

Whats going on...

I am once again in NY for the summer. I may not spend the whole summer in NY. There is some film work to be finished in LALA, on a film we shot over the winter. Pickups, mostly. Supposed to happen in July, but might be August. That would send me back to LA earlier than past years.

The film festival is this weekend. In many ways its been tougher than past years. My assistant bailed to LA during the festival, and Dave has the swine flu. Yeah, seriously. So he may be out of pocket. But the new venue is great and Sawyer is on board as always, so it will work out. We had less films submitted than expected, given the once per year nature of the festival now, which I attribute to the economic malaise. I only programmed 13 new films. Well, I programmed more, but one filmmaker withdrew and another got into the TIFF (Toronto) and had to hold for his premiere there, which I understand. I didnt find anything terrific to replace them so I stayed at the shorter schedule, and decided to show one of my own films for the first time, out of competition. Should be fun, anyway.

The film business is very difficult right now for independent producers. Banks are not loaning money and many of the companies that distributed indie movies have folded over the last few years. Budgets have been squeezed. It is what it is. Probably for the best on some level, as there were too many movies being made, I think.

I remain single, for the longest stretch of singledom of my adult life.

What else, what else. I don't really have to spill everything now, if my attention is to be back sooner rather than later. That is my intention.

And I am out of practice blogging, so forgive my lack of flow. I promise not to let it be so long next time, and I'll be in better form. I think.

Grumps