FilmFreeway Review

Interview with Festival Director Reham Alsamerai (Green Caravan Film Festival)

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The Green Caravan Film Festival (GCFF) is a traveling festival of environmental and socially conscious films that was founded by the environmental company Equilibrium in 2009. It has toured Kuwait and Dubai and London. In 2016 it returns to the Gulf for an expanded tour of several Gulf cities. The festival hopes to bring together a variety of audiences, filmmakers, NGOs and supporters that can discover, share and cooperate on the vital issues presented by the films in an atmosphere of inspired camaraderie and passion.

I recently sat down with the Co-Festival Director  Reham Alsamerai:

Matthew Toffolo: What is your Film Festival succeeding at doing for filmmakers?

Reham Alsamerai: As of 2015 Green Caravan, which up until that point was focused mainly on environmental films, launched a new section for Middle Eastern shorts. This is was during our London edition and we felt it was a good opportunity to give exposure to up and coming filmmakers from the Middle East, and to give the London audience access to these stories that might otherwise not get told to them. Filmmakers from the Middle East region suffer from a lack of support and weak infrastructure, not that this deters their creativity, but what it does is make everything much harder than it should be. Taking their films with us to multiple platforms where the reception is overwhelmingly positive means that we are helping in our own little way in ensuring that there is a future for filmmaking in the region.

Matthew: What would you expect to experience if you attend the festival this year (2016)?

Reham: This year we are taking a batch of films on a Gulf Tour, multiple cities and multiple venues. In each place we’re screening a programme of Middle Eastern shorts as well as a feature film or documentary. Later in the year we go back to London for another run- 3 to 4 days of social and environmental films including a selection of Middle Eastern shorts.

Matthew: What are the qualifications for the selected films?

Reham: When it comes to shorts, they have to be succinct, impactful, and stylistically impressive. With environmental features and documentaries, we look for films that don’t come across as sensationalist, that tell stories seldom heard before, and of course that are well crafted and can hold an audience’s gaze.

Matthew: What motivates you and your team to do this festival?

Reham: Happy faces, angry faces, shocked faces, teary-eyed faces.
When someone comes up to me after a screening and says something that starts with “I never knew…” or “thank you” or “what can I do about…”

When we know that we have changed someone’s perception of or perspective on something, that makes it all worthwhile.

Matthew: How has the festival changed since its inception?

Reham: The festival began as a local event meant to raise local levels of awareness about environmental topics. It is now a traveling festival showcasing films of environmental as well as social relevance, and includes a section dedicated to short films from the Middle East.

Matthew: In one sentence, what makes a great film?

Reham: Within the themes we cover: balance, honesty and creativity.

Matthew: How is the film scene in your city?

Reham: In Kuwait city where I’m from and where the festival is headquartered, there isn’t a film ‘scene’ per se. There is a handful of filmmakers all working tirelessly to get their work produced. Most of the time they have to self-fund. There is excellent work being made with extremely low budgets. In neighbouring countries there are multi-million funds available to filmmakers every year, but this is a concept still absent in Kuwait, although I am told there are plans in the pipeline for a local film fund, and I do hope it gets realised in the near future.

—-
Reham Alsamerai is co-founder and co-director of the Green Caravan Film Festival, a traveling festival for social and environmental films, established in 2009.She holds an MA in Arts Administration and Cultural Policy from Goldsmiths College, University of London, and has been managing cultural events and happenings since 2008. Responsible for multiple start-ups, mainly in the fields of social and cultural entrepreneurship, Reham also currently holds the title Entrepreneur in Residence at Goldsmiths College.

Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 10-20 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto on the last Thursday of every single month. Go to http://www.wildsound.ca for more information and to submit your work to the festival.

TIFF Cinematheque Presents – ON THE ROAD – The Films of Wim Wenders

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Deadlines to Submit your Screenplay, Novel, Story, or Poem to the festival:http://www.wildsound.ca

TIFF Cinematheque Presents – ON THE ROAD – The Films of Wim Wenders

by Gilbert Seah

The On the Road – the films of Wim Wenders” retrospective is devoted to German director Wim Wenders and features new digital restorations of his essential early works.

Born Ernst Wilhelm, Wim Wenders, alongside Fassbinder and Herzog, is a major German director of the ‘New’ German cinema.  Besides being a filmmaker, Wenders, still working at present in film is a playwright, author and photographer.  Wenders works with the medium of photography, emphasizing images of desolate landscapes which resulted in his second latest film THE SALT OF THE EARTH featuring Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado.

Wenders has gone on to win many awards including prizes at Cannes, Venice as well 3 Oscar nominations.  His most famous film is arguably WINGS OF DESIRE that won him Best Director at Cannes in 1987.  

Wenders’ favourite collaborators include author Peter Handke whose directorial debut THE LEFT-HANDED WOMAN will also be screened.

Wenders’ films have encompassed different genres that include detective film noire, documentary and personal drama.  This is the chance for the public to appreciate a whole range of films by Wenders,

Fo complete program, showtimes, venue and ticket ricing, please check the Cinematheque website at: 

tiff.net

The series runs from Jan 28th to March 6th.  Films are screened at The TIFF Bell Lightbox.  

TIFF Cinematheque also presents a sidebar to the retrospective, Wim’s Films: American Friends & Foreign Influences, running from January 30 to March 17.  Curated by James Quandt, Senior Programmer, TIFF Cinematheque, it spotlights fifteen of “Wim’s Films”—road movies and noirs, venerated classics and films maudits—gathered both from evidence (Wenders’ own list of favourites) and inference (of his obvious influences and affinities).  Again check the Cinematheque website above for the complete sidebar program.

Selected films are capsule reviewed below.  Films were provided courtesy of TIFF Cinematheque.  Dates of screenings of the selected films listed below the reviews.

CAPSULE REVIEWS:

ALICE IN THE CITIES (ALICE IN DEN STADEN) (West Germany 1974) ****

Directed by Wim Wenders

Considered one of the best but little seen Wenders film that almost never got made when the director found his film too similar to Peter Bogdanovic’s PAPER MOON.  ALICE  is the first part of Wenders’ “Road Movie Trilogy” which included The Wrong Move (1975) and Kings of the Road (1976).  The film is shot in black and white by Robby Müller with several long scenes without dialogue, also used by other directors like Wes Anderson and Jim Jarmusch.  The story concerns a writer Philip Winter (Rüdiger Vogler) who has missed his publisher’s deadline for writing an article about the United States.  He decides to return to Germany, and encounters a German woman, Lisa (Lisa Kreuzer), and her daughter, Alice (Yella Rottländer), who are both doing the same thing.   Lisa leaves Alice temporarily in Phil’s care with Phil stuck with Alice, (like father and daunter in PAPER MOON) searching various cities of Germany for her grandmother.  But it is more the story of Phil, who needs to find himself and some meaning in life.  Phil does not feel his own existence and Alice is his saviour.  A seemingly simple film with deeper undertones and a profound message.

(Screening: Jan 29)

THE AMERICAN FRIEND (W Germany 1977) ***

Directed by Wim Wenders

Wenders who has an obsession with Patricia Highsmith crime novels get his chance to film one of her stories.  Unfortunately, the film fails as a crime thriller and barely succeeds as film detective noir.  The plot concerns Tom Ripley (Dennis Hopper), who deals in forged art, suggesting a picture framer he knows who would make a good hit man for a mysterious Frenchman (Gerard Blain).  It is this farmer, Jonathan Zimmermann (Bruno Ganz) who is the film’s lead character.  Wenders treats him just as in his other films.  It is a character study of a lonely man, suffering from fear of his death from leukaemia, wanting to provide for his family.  So, he takes his job as a hit man.  Wenders does provide surprisingly suspenseful scenes, like the ones in the subway when Jonathan executes his first hit and the train sequence.  But there are too many loose ends in the story and the story lacks coherency.

(Screening: Feb 5)

BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB (USA/UK/France/Germany/Cuba 1999) ****
Directed by Wim Wenders

The film that shows Americans more about Cuba than any other, while celebrating Cuban music at its best!  The BUENA VIISTA SOCIAL CLUB is an old meeting of band musicians and singers in a building that does not exist any longer.  The musicians used to meet weekly to perform band music while people listened and danced.  In this delight tribute to these Cuban musicians, Ry Cooder assembled talents like Compay Segundo, Joachi Cooder, Omara Portoundo, Ruben Gonzale among others to perform together at NYC’s Carnegie Hall.  The result is a reunion of friends and music.  Just go with the flow, sit back and enjoy this free flowing tribute to times gone by and thankfully, not yet lost.  The documentary also won Wim Wenders (a  lover of music, as evident in all his film where music plays a large part) an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary.

(Screening: Feb 27)

THE GOALKEEPER’S ANXIETY AT THE PENALTY KICK (Die Angst des Tormanns beim Elfmeter (West Germany/Austria 1971) ****

Directed by Wim Wenders

Wender’s second feature is an assured piece that follows the lines of many of his similar films.  As in PARIS TEXAS, the opening line was “this river looks just like any other river.”  In GOALKEEPER’S ANXIETY, the lead character (Arthur Brauss) is again a brooding nobody that resembles the nobody in his other films.  This nobody is a hot tempered goalie who ends up killing a cinema ticket seller, Gloria (Erika Pluhar) he follows home.  There is no real reason for him to do so.  Based on the novel by Peter Handke, Wender’s often collaborator, the slow moving non-film is nevertheless a captivating one.  The acting is nothing short of absorbing and the audience is drawn into the boring yet absorbing world of the man who keeps having his way with women.  In his defence, he is quite a good looking fellow.  The atmosphere of the 70’s is certainly well presented, understandably as the film was made in 1971, but the music (mainly American rock and roll from the likes of Van Morrison, The Troggs, Roy Orbison) from jukeboxes and an eerie score helps.  Wenders was supposed to be unable to pay royalties for all the songs, so this restored version has had some of the songs replaced.  Still, this is a simple film, told by a Master who utilizes the medium to the maximum.

(Screening: Jan 28)

THE LEFT HANDED WOMAN (West Germany 1978) **

Directed by Peter Handke

Wenders’ writing collaborator Peter Handke gets to direct his own film from his novel and script in THE LEFT HANDED WOMAN.  Wenders’ influence is clearly apparent from the camera shots particular the wide pa moving shots that Handke also uses.   The film follows the lonely and sad life of the woman in the tile, Marianne (Edith Clever) who dishes her husband to live alone with her son, for no apparent reason except to rediscover herself.  The film then plods on and on and on.  It is a slow film not helped by the fact that the reason is left for the audience to surmise and that Marianne is quite an annoying creature.  It is not surprising that her husband Bruno (Bruno Ganz) ends up slapping her around.  (I am saying this despite being opposed to female abuse.)  Her life and her husband’s lives are in tatters.  But consolation arrives later in the film with the visit of her father and Bruno’s final acceptance of her absence.  The film is pensive, and pretty – the images being crisp and clear, but this is one slow film that is difficult to be absorbed into.  Maybe the film would have been different if directed by Wenders, who produced the film.

(Screening: Feb 5)

TOKYO-DA (USA/West Germany 1984) ****

Directed by Wim Wenders

A Master’s tribute to another Master.  The late Japanese director Yasujio Ozu’s work from the silent to present featured the city of Tokyo in all his films.  The film begins with the credits of Ozu’s TOKYO STORY.  Director Wenders travels to Tokyo in search of Ozu and to get a feel of the Master as well as his works.  The result is marvellous.  The audience, given a perspective of Ozu from Wender’s voiceover get to experience Tokyo as never before.  From golf, baseball, restaurants with artificial food (there is a section of how this is made) on display and arcade games, the film feels occasionally surreal.  The best parts of the film deal with his reminiscing of the Ozu films, especially in the one in which Ozu’s regular actor Chishu Ryu gets to have his say.   From the bird that flies across an image, to the shadow that a cloud casts to the gesture of a child, all those make up the wonder and power of an Ozu film – all of which are captured in this wonderfully inspiring Wenders  documentary.

(Screening: Feb 7)

PARIS, TEXAS (UK/West Germany/France 1984) ****

Directed by Wim Wenders

Touted as many’s favourite Wenders’ film, PARIS, TEXAS is a sprawling desert epic about a man discovering and re-discovering himself in a desert landscape.  This allows stunning cinematography by Robby Miller aided with music by Ry Cooder, the musician featured in Wenders’ BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB.  Written by L.M. Kit Carson and playwright Sam Shepard, the story follows an amnesiac, Travis (Harry Dean Stanton) wandering and lost in the desert.  His long-suffering brother Walt (Dean Stockwell) finds and brings him home where it takes a while before he re-connects with his 7-year old son, Hunter (Hunter Carson) after his 3-year disappearance.   The two bond and take off to find the wife/mother (Nastassja Kinski) leaving Walt and his wife Anne (Aurore Clement) puzzled.  The film is as pensive as the best of Wenders’ films and Wenders allows his audience to go deep into the thoughts of his main character.  A bit puzzling is the casting of French actresses Clement and Kinski as the two wives, who speak with a strong French accent.  The film unanimously won the Palme d’Or (Golden Palm) at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival from the official jury, as well as the FIPRESCI Prize and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury.

(Screening: Feb 6)

Also, Free logline submissions. The Writing Festival network averages over 95,000 unique visitors a day.
Great way to get your story out: http://www.wildsound.ca/logline.html

Deadlines to Submit your Screenplay, Novel, Story, or Poem to the festival:http://www.wildsound.ca

Watch recent Writing Festival Videos. At least 15 winning videos a month:http://www.wildsoundfestival.com

Interview with Festival Director Jeff Ross (SF IndieFest // SF DocFest // Another Hole in the Head)

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Jeff Ross was the Operations Manager at San Francisco International Film Festival in the mid 90s and realized American indies had no venue in San Francisco at the time. He started the SF Independent Film Festival in 1998, which expanded to include the SF Documentary Festival in 2001 and the Another Hole in the Head horror/sci fi festival in 2003.

sfindie.com

Get to know Jeff Ross:

Matthew Toffolo: What is your Film Festival succeeding at doing for filmmakers?

Jeff Ross: We provide great audiences, great press coverage and a fun time in San Francisco.

Matthew: What would you expect to experience if you attend the festival this year (2016)?

Jeff: A full show at the historic Roxie Theater (the old movie house west of the Mississippi). Insightful QA interactions. Fun parties.

Matthew: What are the qualifications for the selected films?

Jeff: We look for uniqueness and competent filmmaking.

Matthew: Do you think that some films really don’t get a fair shake from film festivals? And if so, why?

Jeff: No, I think each festival knows its audience and curates accordingly.

Matthew: What motivates you and your team to do this festival?

Jeff: I love getting people together for shared experiences and the opportunity to introduce people to films they would not have found on their own.

Matthew: How has the festival changed since its inception?

Jeff: We’ve grown from a 4 day event with 3000 attendees to three two-week festivals and a year round attendance of about 21,000.

Matthew: Where do you see the festival by 2020?

Jeff: Not much different than today, or 18 years ago. We are motivated to find good films and bring out good audiences to view them, that wont change.

Matthew: What film have you seen the most times in your life?

Jeff: Blade Runner, Casablanca, Fury Road.

Matthew: In one sentence, what makes a great film?

Jeff: Uniqueness either in story or execution.

Matthew: How is the film scene in your city?

Jeff: The audience for arts and culture in San Francisco is stronger than ever.

Interview with Founder/Director, Susan Johnston (New Media Film Festival)

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7th Annual New Media Film Festival. Honors Stories Worth Telling in all media that are innovative, imaginative & inspirational. Submit Now Attend June 7-9, 2016

They accept submissions through April 25th and notify by May 5th.  You can use promo code twitter10 good in any category at www.NewMediaFilmFestival.com

Susan Johnston founded the critically acclaimed New Media Film Festival ® in 2009 to honor stories worth telling in the ever changing landscape of media, New Media. Legendary judges cull over the content for the annual festival in Los Angeles that offers screening, competition ($45k in awards) and distribution opportunities. Currently there are over 600 titles in their library.

Interview with Susan Johnston:

Matthew Toffolo: What is your Film Festival succeeding at doing for filmmakers?

Susan Johnston: We are proud to say, we advance stories and the people that make them. We have category winners and a Grand Prize winner. For some of our category winners, here is what we have learned:

Snipler®-30 second pitch category, the filmmaker received full funding for his feature while his Snipler®-30 second pitch

3D category winner filmmaker told us Discovery made him an offer after he notified them of his win at our festival

Our recent Grand Prize Winner, What Lives Inside said: “Thanks so much for this prize. ‘What Lives Inside’ made its debut at New Media Film Festival and, after winning the Grand Prize(!!), it went on to win 6 Lions at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity the following week. We’re honored with all this recognition.”
– Molly Parsley – What Lives Inside

The Grand Prize Winner before that, Curio Shop, also a world premiere, had an amazing festival winner streak that included airing on a network!

In addition, we archive all of the submissions, so, if someone reaches out for something specific, we can search and connect. That has resulted in content being interviewed in Press, screening participation at expos and conventions when we speak (NATPE, AFM, NAB and more) and many other opportunities which are at no cost or obligation to the content creator.

Matthew: What would you expect to experience if you attend the festival this year (2016)?

Susan: In January, we do early selections to start press and newsletter and website for a select few submissions. We are excited to announce that we have Artificial Intelligence (yes, AI), Virtual Reality and Drone as new screenings this year, most of them premieres.

Matthew: What are the qualifications for the selected films?

Susan: Our Mandate is Honoring Stories Worth Telling, our categories cover the tech aspect (even a New Media category for when you create something that you do not know where it fits, it fits here)

Matthew: What motivates you and your team to do this festival?

Susan: Making a difference. Knowing that stories have the power to change our now and our future and remind us of our past so we can keep learning. For me, I often say, What would you like your future to be? Make, write, create, be that story now. You are part of the collective, share wisely.

Matthew: How has the festival changed since its inception?

Susan: Constant change, we are tech and media, always news, always challenging, always exciting.

Matthew: Where do you see the festival by 2020?

Susan: Beaming content to Humans in Space whether on a planet or the very least the International Space Station.

Matthew: What film have you seen the most times in your life?

Susan: Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory, Gene Wilder Version Only – So shine a good deed in a weary world (I have an everlasting gobstopper)

Matthew: In one sentence, what makes a great film?

Susan: Story, implementation.

Matthew: How is the film scene in your city?

Susan: Global
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Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 10-20 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto on the last Thursday of every single month. Go to http://www.wildsound.ca for more information and to submit your work to the festival.

Interview with J. Michael Seyfert (Cine Pobre)

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Cine Pobre is a self-funded filmmaking genre without a set of stylistic criteria nor format boundaries, involving many geographically separated creators with at least two things in common: a strong desire to tell our story and to do so with our own resources.

You can also find more info at
www.facebook.com/cinepobre/

I recently sat down with J. Michael Seyfert to talk more about the festival:

Matthew Toffolo: What is your festival succeeding at doing for filmmakers? 

JMS: So far Cine Pobre has co-produced 8 films, and we provide post production talent and technical skills through camera stabilization workshops, and help with branding and niche market exposure. Cine Pobre Film Festival is like filmmaking itself, a collaborative and not a competitive concept.

Matthew: What would you expect to experience if you attend the festival? 

JMS: Personally , unless you’re talking about Orson Welles or Werner Herzog for example I am not keen on listening to a lot of self-congratulating trivia and gossip staged by most film festivals who appear more like cocktail parties. I appreciate excellent programming that has attitude and teeth, to be intriguing,  that’s what Cine Pobre delivers: New Eyes.

Matthew: What are the qualifications for the selected films? 

JMS: Anything goes, but must be self-funded and under $25,000 usd crowd-funding is also accepted, but productions financed by grants and film fund supported budgets are not accepted.

Matthew: Do you think that some films really don’t get a fair shake from film festivals? And if so, why? 

JMS: The business model of conventional festivals, of which there are literally thousands, is strictly a numbers game no matter how idealistic they may cloak themselves. As soon as an event gains some prestige it becomes elitist and exclusionary, rich in overhead and filmmaker exploitative.

Matthew: What motivates you and your team to do this festival? 

JMS: Curating the best self funded films to the widest audience is gratifying, as only the works of story tellers unbeholden to sponsors are censorship-free.

Matthew: How has the festival changed since its inception? 

JMS: Started with small screenings in rural areas to become the largest resource of self-funded film with over 10,000 shorts, features, documentaries, animation, experimental and music videos.

Matthew: Where do you see the festival by 2020?

JMS: We receive entries from about 100 countries and would love to curate films from all 190 states and territories on the planet.

Matthew: What film have you seen the most times in your life?

JMS: Bye Bye Havana

Matthew: In one sentence, what makes a great film? 

JMS: A story so well told that it holds the attention of a 7 year old.

Matthew: How is the film scene in your city? 

JMS: Still emerging from provincialism…. However Cine Pobre is neither stagnant nor static. Over the past 13 years we have taken our screenings to rural areas in Mexico and different countries in Latin America. We hope to also develop events in Africa where many exciting self-funded filmmakers are emerging.

_____

Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 10-20 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto on the last Thursday of every single month. Go to http://www.wildsound.ca for more information and to submit your work to the festival.

Interview with Kristine Renee Farley (MayDay Film Festival)

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The MayDay Film Festival originated in May 2009 at the University of Southern Indiana. It was created by a group of student filmmakers.. Year one was about showing off student films at their event to the student body. Since then, it has evolved into a full fledged festival showcasing films from all over the world.

Website: www.maydayfilmfestival.com

Twitter @MayDayFilmFest

I recently sat down with the Festival Director of the Festival:

Matthew Toffolo: What is the MayDay Film Festival succeeding at doing for filmmakers?

Kristine Renee Farley: I consider MayDay Film Festival’s biggest achievement our audience members. Last year we had 500 people in attendance across our 2-day event. Sometimes it can be difficult for independent film to find an audience, but we don’t have that problem at MayDay. We’re also currently in negotiations with international distribution companies. We want to partner with one to get MayDay Film Festival official selections in front of their eyes, and hopefully the rest of the world.

Matthew: What would you expect to experience if you attend the festival this year (2016)?

Kristine: MayDay is alway a fun experience for attendees. We pride ourselves on not being a pretentious film festival. We have vendor booths similar to what you see at conventions. This gives filmmakers a chance to sell their movies as well as other merchandise like tshirts. But we also invite local businesses and artists to rent booth space as well. We want to be interactive with the whole community, and invite anyone who thinks indie film fans would like to buy their product a chance to get it out there. All the info to get a booth is on our website. We also always have a guest artist or two to do a Q&A panel. We’ve had cosplayer Collin Royster, Emmy-award winning writer of Friday the 13th Victor Miller, Jake Lloyd of Star Wars & Jingle all the Way, and the Star Wars 501st Legion in past years.

Matthew: What are the qualifications for the selected films?

Kristine: Our submission guidelines are pretty loose. We like to have a wide variety of films screen at MayDay. During the selection process, we try to keep a good balance of looking at the quality of everything from camera work, image, audio, acting, and story. A filmmaker may not have had the best camera when they made their film, but if the story is amazing, we’ll still take it. Likewise, if a film looks too beautiful to pass up, we sure won’t.

Matthew: Do you think that some films really don’t get a fair shake from film festivals? And if so, why?

Kristine: I agree to a certain extent, yes. I think the bigger film festivals only take “independent” films that are only so just because a studio wasn’t involved. Yes, TECHNICALLY they’re “independent,” but they have huge stars and the best equipment. It makes sense for a festival to accept such movies because it will help their festival be more successful, so I can’t really discredit them for that at all. But I do believe that a lot of really amazing films that didn’t have the budget and didn’t have the stars do get ignored sometimes. Just because they don’t have that selling power. Which kind of leads into your next question…

Matthew: What motivates you and your team to do this festival?

Kristine: We want to give people a chance to get their films seen. That’s the whole point of making a movie! For people to see it! In addition to our fantastic & growing attendance numbers, filmmakers have the opportunity to secure booth space to sell their DVDs to the right audience – people interested in watching indie film.

For me personally, I’m also an actress working in TV & indie film. It’s a wonderful opportunity to see who’s making amazing films & to check out other actors & actresses who are getting work. We have films that come to us from all over the country & the world. It’s a wonderful networking opportunity for anyone in the indie film scene.

Matthew: How has the festival changed since its inception?

Kristine: This festival has changed SO much! It first started as a few students at the University of Southern Indiana showing off short films that they had made that school year. Then the Filmmakers’ Club was created to give students a more organized foundation to create their films since the school doesn’t have a film program. Each year it’s gotten bigger & bigger, incorporating local filmmakers and businesses. Now we’re in an actual movie theatre (Shout out to Showplace Cinemas in Evansville, IN! They’re the best!), showing films on 3 screens, and have international selections each year. I started helping with the fest in year 3. We had 38 submissions total. This year we had 40 our first day. We’re up to 470 currently, and we don’t close submissions until May 1st! We’ve had to bring on more people to get through the first round of watching films.

Matthew: Where do you see the festival by 2020?

Kristine: I certainly hope we continue to grow as much as we have already. At this time, we’re a not for profit event in the sense that we make absolutely no profit, haha. All fees & admissions go straight back into the festival costs. A lot of the time myself and the other coordinators will spend money out of pocket to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. I’d certainly like to see it begin to turn a profit because we have some amazing ideas to expand the MayDay brand into other film related events. If I had my way, we’d have a different themed event each month!

Matthew: What film have you seen the most times in your life?

Kristine: The absolute most times is probably Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I may have been a teenager when it came out, but I geeked hard core over it. My sister and I were probably watching it 3 times a day that summer we were off from school. I started developing a bit of a British accent. It was pretty crazy, haha. As an adult, it’s probably either Kill Bill or Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Those films just never get old for me. I notice something new each time I watch them. If you’re talking indie film, you should totally check out Bounty Killer. God, I love that movie.

Matthew: In one sentence, what makes a great film?

Kristine: Oy. ONE sentence? And “great” is so subjective… I’d have to say, “A great film understands it’s audience.” Understanding your audience and how your film is perceived really helps tell a great story. That sentence also allows for films that may not be technically sound, but are still entertaining. &#X1f60a AND it transcends genres. Someone who loves horror may not like romantic comedy, but that doesn’t mean either genre isn’t great.

Matthew: How is the film scene in your city?

Kristine: Well, I’m living in New York City now, so pretty awesome, haha. Back in Evansville, things are pretty hopping, too. The work I got there and the experience I gained have been invaluable to me in pursuing my career. Last year at MayDay Film Fest in particular, the quality of local films skyrocketed. Evansville, IN is definitely holding their own against some of the best films from around the country. Some even won awards against them too! I continue to be impressed year after year at how much my friends & associates in indie film have grown.
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Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 10-20 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto on the last Thursday of every single month. Go to http://www.wildsound.ca for more information and to submit your work to the festival.

Interview with Festival Director Dave Merson Hess (Rush Process Festival of Handcrafted Animation)

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Rush Process celebrates handcrafted animation. The festival’s first edition – set for August 27-28, 2016 in Houston, Texas – will combine curated and competition screenings with filmmaker Q&As and a DIY animation jam. RP aims to screen visually and emotionally stunning, non-digital animation.

I recently sat down with Festival Director Dave Merson Hess to talk more about the festival:

What is Rush Process succeeding at doing for animated filmmakers? 

On the screening side, we’re bringing handcrafted animated films to an enthusiastic audience that appreciates the gesture of choosing to work with tangible, analog materials. And with our workshops, we’re encouraging absolutely everyone to embrace low-budget, DIY animation as both a rich area for visual exploration and an accessible entry point into personal filmmaking.

What would you expect to experience if you attend the festival?

Eye-opening screenings of handcrafted animated shorts from around the world, workshops offering the opportunity to collaborate with complete strangers who share a passion for time-based collage and scribbling, and snacks. We’ll definitely have snacks.

What are the qualifications for the selected films? 

I’m not involved with judging, but I can tell you that we only screen handcrafted animation. These are painstakingly produced films made by hand, with real ink and paint, and often by lone practicioners. To quote our site, handcrafted is “a materials-focused practice at the intersection of DIY, auteur-driven cinema and analog animation art.”

What makes a great independent film? 

A great independent film: 1) chooses the discomfort of honesty and doubt over audience-pandering via formula and cliche, 2) embraces the limitations of the particular context of its own making, and 3) demonstrates a passionate dedication to a unique and highly developed personal or collective vision.

What motivates you and your team to do this festival?

The opportunity to become DIY animation enablers for as large an audience as possible, and the genuine feeling that we’re filling a niche programming void.

>Where do you see the festival by 2020?

I see the workshop element expanding dramatically. Imagine a DIY animation-focused Hack Week, with independent animators, artists and film lovers of all ages meeting and collaborating on free-form, time-bound production challenges.

How has the festival changed since its inception?

Well, 2016 will be our first edition but I’ve been working on Rush Process for a year and a half. It began as an idea for a monthly screening series, then after some reshuffling and delays it morphed into a full-fledged animation festival. On the workshop side, we were inspired by Tom 7’s Crap Art Manifesto, and our friends at Beta Theater’s Make-A-Movie Night, which was this rad monthly happy hour event where filmmakers got together in teams and each made a short start-to-finish in about three hours.

What film have you personally seen the most in your life?

As a teen: Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, Wayne’s World, and Jan Svankmajer’s “Alice”.

While in film school: “Rehearsals for Extinct Anatomies”, by The Brothers Quay.

As an adult: I’m not really someone who re-watches films much anymore. Despite this tendency, the films I’ve spent the most time with in the last five years have been: Penny Lane’s “The Voyagers”, Terence Nance’s feature, “An Oversimplification of Her Beauty”, Karolina Glusiec’s “Velocity”, and my friend Dax Norman’s whole body of work.

How is the film scene in your city?

On the production side, it’s relatively small and a bit fractured, with grant-funded video artists at one end of the spectrum, indie genre filmmakers at the other, documentarians somewhere in the middle, and the vast majority of local film professionals focused on industrials and commercial work.

In terms of curating and screenings, Houston’s film scene is downright incredible. We’ve got Mary Magsamen at Aurora Picture Show bringing the likes of Jodie Mack and Roger Beebe, Houston Cinema Arts Fest, annual festivals hosted by the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, even more screenings at the CAMH, video art/installations/transmedia madness at Civic TV Collective, Peter Lucas’s “Jazz On Film”, the Menil projecting work in a museum context (William Kentridge, anyone?), plus Mystical Crystal Revelations Movie Club showing rad cult flicks, and newer nomadic programmers like Suplex starting to screen stuff around town.

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Bio:
Dave Merson Hess is an animator, media arts educator and film curator based in Houston, Texas.
Twitter: @lofiaction

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Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 10-20 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto on the last Thursday of every single month. Go to http://www.wildsound.ca for more information and to submit your work to the festival.

 

 

 

Interview with Festival Director Bobby Keller (Nepa Horror Film Festival)

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I recently sat down with the Festival Director of the new festival Nepa Horror Film Festival. Bobby Keller is a big champion of Horror and it shows in this interview. Enjoy:

Matthew Toffolo: What is the Nepa Horror Film Festival succeeding at doing for filmmakers?

Bobby Keller: Getting their films shown to an audience. The festival is still just starting out, but as a filmmaker, I am grateful for ANY screening of my movies, so I would hope that I am helping other horror filmmakers out.

Matthew: What would you expect to see if you attend the festival?

Bobby: Our first festival was in October. It was 13 short horror films, local, national, and international. Now I do monthly screenings at Ale Mary’s in Scranton, which have been consisting of ‘cult following’ shot-on-video horror movies from the 1990’s feature films along with a few short films prior to the features. Last month I did a tribute to Todd Sheets and screened his Zombie Bloodbath trilogy. And February 18th, we will be showing Boardinghouse, Death Metal Zombies, and Warlock Video’s remake of Evil Night.

Matthew: What are the qualifications for the selected films?

Bobby: For the short films, basically be under 20 minutes, be horror themed, and don’t suck.

Matthew: What are people’s fascination with horror films?

Bobby: “It’s a way of life, maaaaan!” Seriously though, horror fans are the greatest people in the world. I think that’s part of what makes the festival so much fun. If 100 people show up or 5 people show up, everyone is still going to have a great time and get along. It’s not a bunch of hipsters with Twin Peaks TEETH saying “Shutter Speed” loud enough for girls to hear them.

Matthew: What motivates you and your team to do this festival?

Bobby: I started it to ‘showcase’ local filmmakers in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. And maybe one guy in Nanticoke. I had shown my own films locally with a friend of mine, Stachio. He asked me if I wanted to do anything in October, and I figured since it would be around Halloween, a horror film festival would be a great idea. I set up a FilmFreeway page for submissions, and ended up getting dozens of films from all over the world. The theme was “13 Short Films”, so only being able to pick 13 was tough. I guess my love for horror, being a filmmaker, and wanting to provide something for people in my area to do besides GET THEIR GLUG ON.

Matthew: How has the festival changed since its inception?

Bobby: We’re slowly and surely getting to the point where we won’t screw something up at a screening. Haha. It’s usually just little things that I’m sure the audience doesn’t even notice, but I’ll be sitting in the back having an anxiety attack and choking on popcorn.

Matthew: Where do you see the festival by 2020?

Bobby: In space.

Matthew: What film have you personally seen in your life?

Bobby: I think I saw Creepshow 700 times.

Matthew: In one sentence, what makes a great film?

Bobby: Chainsaws and The Butter Cream Gang.

Matthew: How is the film scene in your city?

Bobby: Not bad.. Voyager Video, JVW, and Twenty Five Eight are doing some cool stuff. But then you have assholes who spend more time updating the trivia on their IMDB page that nobody is going to read. I’m more into the Frog scene in Scranton. Philadelphia isn’t too bad either, check out Johnny Dickie and NEPA native Sam Valenti’s stuff.

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Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 10-20 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto on the last Thursday of every single month. Go to http://www.wildsound.ca for more information and to submit your work to the festival.

Interview with Festival Director Mark Mos (Los Angeles Short Film Festival)

festreviews Festival Interview, film festival, film festival reviews, FilmFreeway Review, Interview, interviews, matthew toffolo wildsound, Q&A with the Artistic Director, Uncategorized , , , , , , ,
Don’t miss Los Angeles Short Film Festival
Sat-Sun, March 5-6
Promenade Playhouse, Santa Monica CA

smarturl.it/lsff

I recently sat down with the Festival Director Mark Mos to chat more about the festival.

Matthew Toffolo: What is the Los Angeles Short Film Festival succeeding at doing for filmmakers?

Mark Mos: We invite specialists from Industry. They see potential dreaming in hearts of filmmakers. For sure they have great audience and if we screen web episode for example, same audience go online and follow rest of the episodes.

Matthew: What would you expect to experience if you attend the festival this year (2016)?

Mark: We have short film with James Franco, called Walk in the Winter, but also 30+ films, directors, producers, actors at Q and A we organize after each block/program.

Matthew:  What are the qualifications for the selected films?

Mark: Quality of the story. You don’t have to rent or purchase great camera if you want to tell what is inside you. Just invite your friends, shoot something, practice. One of your films maybe good, another not, but let judges of the festival decide. Each judge is different, so you never know what they will pick up. But please…place credits at the end of the film. We do not want to see your sponsors, or whole bunch of names at the beginning. We want to see first scene of yours…not bunch of letters and who sponsored you. This may wait, when we select your film.

Matthew:  Do you think that some films really don’t get a fair shake from film festivals? And if so, why?

Mark: First 2 minutes of the film is very important. I guess festivals want to see some professional skills, even if film is submitted by student. If your actress reads script in her mind and her work is terrible, festival judges will not suffer for rest of the film. Directing might be good, cinematography brilliant, but if you actor is terrible then whole project you may considered trash. I know it’s heavy, but you do the same while watching TV…you skip channels to see something interesting. I guess judges go to another film if yours is not interesting or not well done.

Matthew:  What motivates you and your team to do this festival?

Mark: Helping each other. We like to see smiling faces when they get award or certificate. There is nothing more beautiful then happiness of another person.

Matthew:  How has the festival changed since its inception?

Mark: Oh it changes constantly. We have more films for screenings, Q and As are longer and venue is upgraded with bigger screen with new seats.

Matthew:  Where do you see the festival by 2020?

Mark: Bigger, better, nicer

Matthew:  What film have you seen the most times in your life?
Mark: I’m a fan of Die Hard, so when it’s on TV it’s not easy for me to switch channel for something else.

Matthew:  In one sentence, what makes a great film?
Mark: Having soul in it.

Matthew:  How is the film scene in your city?
Mark: Well… Santa Monica is a film city. Bay Watch was shooting here and many…I mean many, many more.

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Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 10-20 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto on the last Thursday of every single month. Go to www.wildsound.ca for more information and to submit your work to the festival.

Interview with Festival Director Juri Koll (Fine Arts Film Festival)

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The Fine Arts Film Festival (FAFF) is dedicated to showing the finest films in the world about art, photography, collectors and artists of all mediums in and out of their studios, galleries, museums, public art, and alternative art spaces. This includes video art, curated as a film medium.

For more information, go to http://www.thefineartsfilmfestival.com/

I recently met with the Festival Director Juri Koll to talk more about the festival.

Matthew Toffolo: What is your festival succeeding at doing for filmmakers?

Juri Koll: We provide a wonderful audience for films that focus on art or the art world in some way – which is a very niche place in the film world. Lots of films of this kind are lost in the mix of film festivals so we provide a place to showcase these kinds of films.

Matthew: What would you expect to experience if you attend the festival?

Juri: You will see films here that you may never see anywhere else in the world. Sometimes they screen with us before a quick run at theaters.

The location for the screenings is the historic Beyond Baroque Theater in Venice, California, long renowned as a hub of creative endeavor in Los Angeles, and Southern California in general.

You will meet exceptionally creative filmmakers, artists, musicians and literary artists of all kinds, along with your usual film crowd, as many of the filmmakers who work in the studios and independent productions houses live and also work in Venice. Plus it’s a block or two from the world famous Boardwalk and the beach, so there’s plenty to do after you’ve seen the films!

Matthew: What are the qualifications for the selected films?

Juri: Film subject matter must be related to the art world in some way, whether it be art and artists in or outside their studios, collectors, galleries, museums, public art, and alternative art spaces or other art related subject. It can also be a video art piece itself, which may be accept to be curated with others for a film debut.

Films must have been completed after January 2, 2014.

Other than that it can be any kind of film – narrative, doc, experimental, music video, art – anything that speaks to creativity.

Matthew: Do you think that some films really don’t get a fair shake from film festivals? And if so, why?

Juri: Yes, in our case that’s the reason we created the Festival – because these kinds of films are sort of lost in the mix of all the great films you can see when you go to festivals. I think films about artists – especially documentaries – are often overlooked because people feel they have probably seen one and seen them all – that could not be further from the truth. The films we show are dramatic, funny, witty, jarring, crazy, creative, emotional, awe-inspiring, heartfelt, and real.

Matthew: What motivates you and your team to do this festival?

Juri: A love of and belief in the creative spirit in everyone. We love artists because we are artists.

Matthew: How has the festival changed since its inception?

Juri: We’ve gone from a small regional festival with a few entries into a truly international event in the place we believe to be the center of creativity in the arts in the entire world right now – Los Angeles.

In Los Angeles, Venice is known as one of the top creative hubs of the city. It’s got a century long history of making art that has impacted the art and entertainment worlds globally.

Matthew: Where do you see the festival by 2020?

Juri: We hope to move to a larger venue next year, and perhaps by 2020 we’ll be in multiple venues across the city. We’re working with local museums to bring programming to them as well.

Matthew: What film have you seen the most times in your life?

Juri: That’s a tough one. Apocalypse Now, perhaps. Maybe Rocky. There’s lots of them.

Matthew: In one sentence, what makes a great film?

Juri: A film where each shot and each cut are done for a purpose, where the whole film becomes the story, where you remember the film long after you leave the theater.

Matthew: How is the film scene in your city?

Juri: We are the film capital of the U.S. and the world, so our standards are the highest anywhere. The scene is dynamic, vibrant. Constantly – 24/7 – projects are being talked about, bought, sold, started and completed…

and sometimes never completed. We live where dreams are made. People here will help you our on your project if you just ask – you just have to be honest, open, easy to work with, and have a great idea.

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Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 10-20 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto on the last Thursday of every single month. Go to www.wildsound.ca for more information and to submit your work to the festival.

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Juri Koll Bio:

Along with regularly curating and managing traveling exhibits, and exhibiting his paintings and photographs, Juri Koll produces and directs documentaries on artists and other art world figures. He has produced and managed feature films such as Texas Heart (Lin Shaye), Until The Music Ends (Slash, Chrystal Method), American Cowslip (Val Kilmer, Bruce Dern, Rip Torn), Hardcore Hearts, and The Truth About Kerry (Stana Katic). Juri has produced and/or directed over 90 short films, both fiction and documentaries. His films have screened all over the world, in over 70 festivals, including Cannes, the Cork International Film Festival, the Australian International Film Festival, and won many awards. He is a member of the Directors Guild of America and a regular signatory to SAG/AFTRA.

After graduating from California Institute of the Arts with majors in Fine Art and Filmmaking, Mr. Koll produced the first Art/World documentaries from 1990 – 1995. He worked with major curators in their museums and galleries, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The National Gallery in Washington, D.C., the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco. His subjects included world famous and infamous artists and curators from the Renaissance period to the present. Recently, Juri’s first documentary, In The Steel: A Portrait of Mark di Suvero, (1991), was accepted into the Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution. A Founder/Director of the Venice Institute of Contemporary Art, which produces FAFF, he recently curated the traveling show Water Works, which exhibited at the Museum of Art and History in Lancaster, CA in Fall, 2015, and presented films from FAFF at the LA Art Show at the LA Convention Center in January 2016. For more information: juri@veniceica.org