Submit your Family Film or Screenplay to the Festival: http://festivalforfamily.com
Watch the best of Family from January 2016:
 Written by Albert Lewis |
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Director/Producer: Matthew Toffolo
Casting Director: Sean Ballantyne
Editor: John Johnson
Uncategorized
January 2016 Drama Films/Screenplays/Stories
Submit your Drama Screenplay/Film to the Festival Today: http://festivalfordrama.com/
Watch the best of Drama Stories and Films from January 2016:
 MISSTEPWATCH Audience FEEDBACK 2min, UK, Drama |
 ARTIFICALWATCH Audience FEEDBACK 20min, Spain, Sci-Fi/Thriller |
 LIKE IN THE MOVIESWATCH Audience FEEDBACK 5min, Italy, Documentary |
Written by Albert Lewis |
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Director/Producer: Matthew Toffolo
Casting Director: Sean Ballantyne
Editor: John Johnson
January 2016 Crime/Mystery Films/Screenplays/Stories
Submit your Crime/Mystery Screenplay or Film to the Festival Today: http://crimemysteryfestival.com
Watch the best of Crime/Mystery for January 2016:
 THE MEGA PLUSHWATCH Audience FEEDBACK Video 4min, USA, Animation/Action |
 BURGLARWATCH Audience FEEDBACK 5min, South Korea, Crime/Action |
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Director/Producer: Matthew Toffolo
Casting Director: Sean Ballantyne
Editor: John Johnson
January 2016 Comedy Films/Screenplays/Stories
Submit your Comedy Screenplay or Film to the Festival Today: http://festivalforcomedy.com
See the January 2016 Comedy Stories. Click the link and watch the winning videos:
 THE FAUCETWATCH Audience FEEDBACK 4min, USA, Comedy |
 VAMPIRASWATCH Audience FEEDBACK 5min, USA, Fantasy/Comedy |
 LOVE AT FIRST LIGHTWATCH Audience FEEDBACK 1min, Ireland, Comedy |
 YO SOY PEDROWATCH Audience FEEDBACK 10min, France, Sci-Fi/Comedy |
 DISAPPEAREDWATCH Audience FEEDBACK Video 5min, Canada, Fantasy/Romance |
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2016 Documentary Short Films
Submit your Documentary Short Film to the Festival Today: http://documentaryshortfilmfestival.com
See the 2016 Documentary Short Movies (so far). Click the links and watch the FEEDBACK Videos:
 OH MY OH AGAMIWATCH Audience FEEDBACK 4min, Egypt, Documentary/Poetry |
 F**KING WORLDWATCH Audience FEEDBACK 1min, Italy, Experimental |
| LIKE IN THE MOVIES WATCH Audience FEEDBACK 5min, Italy, Documentary |
January 2016 Action/Adventure Films/Screenplays/Stories
Submit your Action/Adventure Story to the Festival Today: http://actionadventurefestival.com
Best of Action/Adventure from January 2016:
| THE MEGA PLUSH WATCH Audience FEEDBACK Video 4min, USA, Animation/Action |
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Written by Albert Lewis |
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| BURGLAR WATCH Audience FEEDBACK 5min, South Korea, Crime/Action |
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Director/Producer: Matthew Toffolo
Casting Director: Sean Ballantyne
Editor: John Johnson
Interview with Festival Director Reham Alsamerai (Green Caravan Film Festival)
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.
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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.
Watch February 2016 Feature Screenplay Winner: FOUR FOR THE BORDER by Toby Roberts
Four for the Border is the February 2016 Feature Screenplay Winner. It is considered the top spec screenplay in the world today!
Watch Four for the Border by Toby Roberts:
CAST LIST:
NARRATOR – Victoria Urquhart
SKYE – Amaka Umeh
TRAPPER – Hugh Ritchie
POLLY – Mohogany Brown
ARTURO – Isaac Alfie
RUDDOCK/GELARDI – Julian Ford
HODDER – Sean Ballantyne
Get to know writer Toby Roberts:
Matthew Toffolo: What is your feature film screenplay about?
Toby Roberts: The story is about three teenagers from completely different backgrounds on the run in rural New Mexico with a thoroughbred racehorse. But the underlying theme is the triumph of hope over experience and whether you should grow up doing exactly what your parents tell you or sometimes trust your spirit , abandon convention and go live your dream.
Matthew: Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
Toby: It’s a fun, life…
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Interview with Animator Matt Burniston (The Mega Plush – Winner Best Film January 2016 Film Festival)
The Mega Plush is a must watch animation action/thriller short film. It was the overwhelming winners of Best Film at the January 2016 WILDsound FEEDBACK Film Festival, an amazing achievement considering the quality of films that played at the festival.
Watch the Film Here: http://www.themegaplush.com/
I was fortunate enough to chat with Matt about his short award winning short film:
Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?
Matt Burniston: Well, the initial idea for the characters was from my friend John Noe, who came to me around 6 or so years ago with some sketches of these teddy bears who instead of looking all cute, were carrying guns and looked battle damaged. When he told me his concept I instantly fell in love with the idea and jumped at the chance to make them in 3D with the end goal of making a short film.
Fast forward about 2…
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January 2016 Novel Winner: The First Ones by Regina Walker
Submit your Novel to the Festival. Three ways to submit:http://novelwritingfestival.com/
Watch THE FIRST ONES Transcript Reading. Performed by Reetu Bambrah
1. What is your novel about?
A lonely, depressed and heartbroken ancient vampire comes across a young girl that is unlike anything he has ever seen. He is curious about her nature and what he eventually finds out about her could endanger the extinction of both humans and vampires.
2. Why should this novel be read by people?
If a person ever went through their life feeling alone, like no one cares for them or that they don’t fit in anywhere in society—this book is for them. The First Onescaters primarily to young ones who are at a time in their life when they are trying to figure out who they are, where they fit in and what they want out of life. It builds hope that we…
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