festival reviews

Interview with Kevin Clark (NYC Indie Film Awards, Festival Director)

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The NYC Indie Film Awards are a monthly online awards competition based in the center of the most exciting city on this planet, and is a platform for Independent Filmmakers from all over the world to show their talents! For filmmakers by filmmakers.

http://www.nycindiefilmawards.com/

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

Kevin Clark: Giving new and established filmmakers from all around the world the opportunity to show off their work, compete with others and celebrate their achievements. We also try to promote their accomplishments as much as we can,

MT: What would you expect to experience if you attend the festival this year (2017)?

KC: Getting your work seen and judged by industry professionals, for all kinds of categories.

MT: What are the qualifications for the selected films?

KC: We really care about quality more than anything else, weather it’s the writing, the cinematography, or the score. Our standard is very high but we get so many great submissions every time, that it’s just a pleasure to watch them all.

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

KC: Yes and no, there has never been a better and a worse time to be a filmmaker than right now, simply because everything is so affordable, from equipment to software, and because of that there are WAY more filmmakers than ever before. So filmmakers have a lot more competition, which makes it harder to stand out, but we believe that quality will always find it’s way.

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

KC: A lot of members of our team are filmmakers themselves, or at the very least hardcore film lovers, which makes this so much fun, we get the perspective of people who simply appreciate the art of film as well as a very technical view. Making a film takes up so much time, and it can also be very hard, so we want to give every filmmaker the opportunity to show off what they’ve worked so hard on.

MT: How has your FilmFreeway submission process been?

KC: FilmFreeway is by far the best platform to accept submissions, it is so intuitive, easy and constantly improves, we love it!

MT: Where do you see the festival by 2020? LK

KC: Since right now we’re “only” and online competition, we hope that very soon we’ll have annual or even bi monthly screening, to celebrate with everyone in person, and make them feel even more appreciated.

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

KC: We’ve asked the team, and the top three answers were:

1. Fight Club

2. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

3. Psycho

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

KC: The combination of creativity and emotion.

MT: How is the film scene in your city?

KC: It couldn’t be any better, it’s creative, refreshing, very alive and constantly changing.

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Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 20-50 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto, and Los Angeles at least 2 times a month. Go to www.wildsound.ca for more information and to submit your work to the festival.

Interview with William Greer (Cinema Touching Disability, Festival Director)

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 Now in its fourteenth year, the Cinema Touching Disability Film Festival helps dispel misperceptions about disability by screening films that portray people with disabilities living full lives. Film entries should avoid stereotypical representations. Instead, the festival seeks imaginative, multifaceted portrayals of people with disabilities.

http://www.ctdfilmfest.org/

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

William Greer: Cinema Touching Disability gives filmmakers a chance to show their films about and starring people who have disabilities. We focus on films that have a positive and accurate representation of disability. cinema Touching Disability puts a central focus on these films, and events surrounding them.

We featured, for instance, an interview with Dr Temple Grandin, the most famous person in the world with Autism the year we featured a dramatic biography about her. We had a guest appearance by Jessica Cox, the only licensed armless pilot in the world when we featured “Right Footed”, the documentary about her. We had a live demonstration of American Sign language (ASL) poetry when we featured “Deaf Jam”, a documentary about ASL poets who compete alongside spoken word poets in 2016.

MT: What would you expect to experience if you attend the festival this year (2017)?

WG: This year we are featuring films that focus on service animals and animals with disabilities. we will have live service dogs at the theater before the festival. People will have an opportunity to see the winners of our short film competition, the feature film and a chance to meet service dogs.

MT: What are the qualifications for the selected films?

WG: The films need to have an accurate, interesting and compelling story about disability. We feature films that dispel common misperceptions about disability, entertain the audience and are informative.

The films must not have stereotypical representations about disability and show honest and accurate portrayals of people who have disabilities.

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

WG: Some films definitely do not get a fair shake. There would not be film festivals that specialize in certain genres, such as science fiction, horror, asian and disability if all of these films had an equal chance at festivals. There are so many films being made that the sheer number of them makes it impossible for every film to have an equal opportunity.

In the case of disability there is simply a lack of interest in the subject. Many people do not think disability films will be either interesting or entertaining. This, combined with the history of bad representation of disability and people who have disabilities, makes it very hard for disability films to gain an equal opportunity.

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

WG: We are motivated by the desire to give people with disabilities equal opportunities and to raise awareness about disability. Our organization is a non-profit dedicated to promoting equal civil and social rights of people with disabilities, so the festival is a natural outgrowth of this.

MT: How has your FilmFreeway submission process been?

WG: Outstanding. Tracking and receiving the submissions has been incredibly easy. The submission process is also improving steadily.

MT: Where do you see the festival by 2020?

WG: I hope to see the festival expand to include an additional evening and the audience to grow enough to require a larger theater.

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

WG: That is a difficult question to answer because I have seen so many films. I might have seen “The Empire Strikes Back” the most times because I was so young when I first saw it. This is an excellent film that I have had an opportunity to see for 27 years. I have had many chances to see it, in other words.

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

WG: An interesting, thought provoking and engaging story.

MT: How is the film scene in your city?

WG: Incredible. Experimental, international and mainstream films are regularly featured at many theaters here.

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About the interviewee: I became legally blind at the age of 17 as the result of an open skull wound. Since then I graduated from college worked in a variety of political campaigns, gained a job at a non-profit organization and started running marathons.

I created a film festival as one of the fund raising projects for the disability advocacy organization I work for. The festival has grown to take place on multiple evenings, include an international short film competition and have stars of our feature films visit as speakers.

I also oversee various other fund raising events, ranging from hand cycle marathons to participation in annual fun runs.

For recreation I run in marathons. The 15 I have run so far include the 2013 Boston marathon and the Prickly Pear, a 30 mile ultra marathon.
Cinema Touching Disability (www.ctdfilmfest.org)

Cinema Touching Disability is designed to raise awareness of and dispel common misperceptions about disability. This festival, which started in 2004, features films, has guest speakers and often has special events.

The events range from a demonstration of martial arts by a team of people with disabilities. This demonstration included Jessica Cox, the only armless pilot in the world, since she also holds two black belts in Tae Kwan do. Another special event featured a demonstration of people in wheelchairs demonstrating mobility dancing, which happened before a film about wheelchair dancers.
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Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 20-50 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto, and Los Angeles at least 2 times a month. Go to www.wildsound.ca for more information and to submit your work to the festival.

Interview with Nathan Ludwig (GenreBlast Film Festival, Festival Director )

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 GenreBlast is an upstart film festival that had a very successful first year at the revitalized state-of-the-art State Theatre in wonderful downtown Culpeper, Virginia. Our second year will emanate from an exciting, soon-to-be announced venue! They celebrate the finest in true genre cinema and are looking for your best features, shorts, music videos and screenplays in the categories of horror, action/adventure, sci-fi, fantasy, martial arts, exploitation, documentaries, animation, grindhouse, suspense/thriller, international, experimental and more!

http://www.genreblast.com/

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

Nathan Ludwig: We pride ourselves on creating a completely welcoming experience for both filmmakers and movie lovers alike. It’s all about the movies and it’s all about the artists who make them. In our first year, we had about half of our official selections represented by either directors, writers, producers or actors. We had about 19 features and around 80 shorts as well as over a dozen screenplay finalists – so to say we were pleasantly surprised by the response would be an understatement. The bottom line is we take the time to get to know all of our filmmakers and their passions. We are also independent film makers and screenwriters in our other lives and we have been to many festivals as official selections, awards nominees and just as moviegoers and we know what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to putting on a fun weekend of movies, parties and networking.

MT: What would you expect to experience if you attend the festival this year (2017)?

NL: We are moving to a new venue this year – the Alamo Drafthouse Theater in Winchester, VA. Last year, our first year, we emanated from the historic State Theatre in Culpeper, VA. It was a newly restored classical movie theater originally constructed in 1938. We were literally the last event to play there before it closed its doors due to problems with fundraising. It’s currently in turnaround to new owners and the fate of the State Theatre is up in the air so we decided to change locations and get the word out as soon as possible. We were very lucky to secure the weekend of Sept. 8-10 of this year for GenreBlast 2. Andy Gyurisin is the Creative Manager at the Alamo Winchester and he was on board from the beginning for what we are offering to film nerds and film makers with out upstart fest. We really hope to make the Alamo the official home of GenreBlast for the foreseeable future. It’s such an amazing venue and extremely conducive to events like GenreBlast.

This year, there will be plenty of networking parties, discussion panels and Q&A sessions after each and every screening, for both shorts and features. The owners of the Alamo Drafthouse Winchester also own the neighboring Country Inn & Suites and will be providing room discounts for fest attendees. They also own the adjacent Green Turtle bar & restaurant which will also be at our disposal the entire weekend. The Alamo itself has a full bar and a huge food menu. You’ll be able to eat and drink to your heart’s content all weekend! It’s going to be one long, continuous party for artists and lovers of film and screenwriters to come together and celebrate what we all love the most. Movies!

MT: What are the qualifications for the selected films?

NL: I’m not quite sure what you mean by this question. Do you mean what do the selected films all have in common or what do you need in order to be a selected film? Or something else?

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

NL: I truly believe, at this level of film fests, the cream rises to the top. It just does. If your film is worth a screening, it will find an audience. Not everything gets into every fest, that’s just unrealistic. You just have to know what you have, know your audience and do your homework as to which fests to submit to. Don’t submit your shot-on-VHS zombie ninja movie to an indie film fest that focuses on straight-up dramas and comedies. You’ll end up frustrated and disappointed. Stay informed and keep up with the festival scene on a regular basis.

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

NL: We are obsessed with movies. It has been a dream of mine to hold an annual film fest curated by myself and my closest friends. For a handful of years, I kept making excuses as to why it wasn’t possible or feasible. One day, I just decided to get up off my butt and actually do it. Lo and behold, it happened and the whole thing went off without a hitch. We had an amazing turnout and many attendees commented it was the best run first year film fest they’ve ever been to. If you check out our reviews on FilmFreeway, you’ll see we’re not lying.

At the end of the day, all I care about is movies – whether it’s watching them, writing them (or about them) or making them. I wanted to channel my unconditional love and idiosyncratic passion for that into one yearly cinematic event. The fact that two of my closest friends agreed to come along on this weird, crazy ride is one of the biggest rewards so far.

MT: How has your FilmFreeway submission process been?

NL: The response on FilmFreeway has been positively insane. We are already outpacing last year’s submissions by a ridiculously wide margin. However, that shouldn’t deter anyone from submitting. We watch EVERYTHING from start to finish, even if you submit it at the very last second of the final deadline. If you care enough to submit, we care enough to watch/read and evaluate your work fairly and accurately. We have a very eclectic taste in movies and there’s nothing that really offends us or turns us off (except for poor filmmaking).

MT: Where do you see the festival by 2020?

NL: By that time, we will be in our fifth (!) year and by then, we want to be one of the premier genre film fests in the country. We want to be a destination fest for audiences and artists alike to converge and mingle amidst a killer lineup of genre films. We want to be like Fantastic Fest when we grow up.

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

NL: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. Or maybe Scarface. Or was it Casino? Maybe it was one of the Godfather movies. If it’s three hours long and features tough fellas being tough, I’ve probably seen it several dozen times.

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

NL: A great film is one you can’t go without recommending to anyone who will listen.

MT: How is the film scene in your city?

NL: Winchester has a fiercely intelligent as well as warm and inviting film community – from the Winchester Film Society to Andy Gyurisin’s Film Club 3.0, which screens eclectic selections at the Alamo Drafthouse itself on a regular basis. GenreBlast will be right at home in this picturesque Virginia town.

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Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 20-50 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto, and Los Angeles at least 2 times a month. Go to www.wildsound.ca for more information and to submit your work to the festival.

Interview with Patrice Francois, Festival Director IMAGINE THIS WOMEN’S INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

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Imagine This Women’s International Film Festival: Imagine This Productions is dedicated to providing aspiring women storytellers and filmmakers a space to encourage and develop creative projects by women. ITP’s goal is to support women by sharing their work to the public, promoting equal opportunities, encouraging professional development, and serving as a resource informative network. 

http://imaginethisprods.com/
 
Matthew Toffolo: What is your Film Festival succeeding at doing for filmmakers?

Patrice Francois: I believe our film festival is succeeding at proving a platform for underrepresent women filmmakers from all over the world. We’ve showcased films from Afghanistan and Palestine. Our 2016 Best Documentary short film, “Shireen of Al-Walaja” by director Daz Chandler, is about an intimate portrait of a dynamic and popular Palestinian resistance leader, who left her full-time job at the UN to return to her home village of al-Walaja and fight for her community. And one of the attendance thanked us for being risky and showing the film. He told us that many other platforms wouldn’t dare screen the film because of the sensitive subject. We feel that We’re not here to play politics, if you do good work and you have a great story to share, your story deserves to be seen no matter what.

MT: What would you expect to experience if you attend the festival this year (2017)?

PF: A very divers selection of films of unique and compelling stories. A number of films will touch on themes related to personal struggles within political and social conflicts across the world. Oh, a great after party with attendees and some of the filmmakers.

MT: What are the qualifications for the selected films?

PF: That’s easy. Must be made by a women filmmaker either directed, produced or written. And of course, a great story.

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

PF: Definitely. I’ve done the whole submit your film to film festivals and had endless discussions with other women filmmakers, so I know first hand how “un-fair” it can be sometimes. One of the main reason we started Imagine This. I think there’s just a lot of politics involved, I mean there’s politics involved in just about everything, but I’ve been to local film festivals that are supposed to be focused on indie, low budget films and some of the selected films have been made with well known actors and/or their budgets didn’t fit in “low” category.

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

PF: We understand the obstacles that exist for new and up-and-coming filmmakers. We decided it was important to help cultivate an appreciation for a wide range of unique and compelling stories, especially those from women who have been traditionally underrepresented in film.

MT: How has your FilmFreeway submission process been?

PF: We’ve seen a tremendous response, and are quite frankly blown away by the quality of submissions we’ve seen. We’re trending to doubling the amount submissions from last year.

MT: Where do you see the festival by 2020?

PF: It’s clear that there is tremendous female filmmaking talent out there, but there is still so much work to be done to create an inclusive environment that supports women storytellers, so I guess a bigger and better festival that’s more established in the NY film festival scene.

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

PF: Let see, I would say “Heat”. That scene between Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in the diner scene is one of my all time favorite scenes. Plus I love Val Kilmer, he’ll always have a special place in my heart as well as my mother’s, lol

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

PF: A film should have a great story and it should be compelling, it should be able to capture the mind of the audience, it should strike a chord, actors should run with the story and own it. the actors and the visuals should have a nice balance.

MT: How is the film scene in your city?

PF: Oh gosh, I live in the “country”, so there is no film scene in my town. I have to head down to the city to get my dose of art and culture, lol

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Interviewee Patrice Francois is an actor, screenwriter, filmmakers based in the Greater New York area. She is the co-founder of Imagine This Production and the festival director for Imagine This Women’s International Film Festival.

Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 20-50 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto, and Los Angeles at least 2 times a month. Go to www.wildsound.ca for more information and to submit your work to the festival.

Interview with Eric Simonson, Creative Director DOOR KINETIC ARTS FESTIVAL

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Oscar-winning “Lombardi” playwright Eric Simonson is bringing some major creative talent to Björklunden for the inaugural Door Kinetic Arts Festival in June. The week-long festival will provide Door County residents and visitors a peek at the creative process through two staged readings, a dance presentation and the premiere of a commissioned film by Campbell Scott, an award-winning filmmaker and actor, best known for “The Amazing Spiderman,” “Big Night” and “Longtime Companion.”

http://www.doorkinetic.com/

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

Eric Simonson: Like all film festivals, the most important thing we do is give a filmmaker a platform. We also invite artists to participate in the festival, which also includes art, dance and theatre. The point of DKAF is to encourage cross-polynization of artistic mediums. As the moving arts become more sophisticated, so does the way in which we express ourselves. DKAF offers 9 days in which which artists from all disciplines come together, see one another’s work, and exchange ideas — all in the inspirational environs of Door County, Wisconsin.

MT: What would you expect to experience if you attend the festival this year (2017)?

ES: Really innovative and rich storytelling experiences from filmmakers, playwrights, directors, actors, artists, choreographers and dancers. We also host several workshops and seminars — all open to the public — headed by internationally renowned artists.

MT: What are the qualifications for the selected films?

ES: Good story-telling, inventiveness in story-telling, economy, a willingness to branch out and express oneself in innovative ways.

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

ES: Yes. I believe that most festivals have challenging selection processes. There are so many good films out there, but screening committees are often too ad hoc and not fair. We strive for a thorough vetting of quality films at DKAF.

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

ES: We love a good story. We love creating and presenting things in Door County, which is an artist’s home for many working in different mediums. We want people to experience Door County first hand and to find inspiration to create more and better art.

MT: How has your FilmFreeway submission process been?

ES: Pretty Great. The folks FilmFreeway are always coming up with intriguing ways to make the submissions process easier, and allow the filmmakers to find the festivals that are right for them.

MT: Where do you see the festival by 2020?

ES: We’re new and very young. We don’t want to become an overly big festival, but we want the quality of our work to improve annually. We want to pack as much art and inspiration as we can in 9 days!

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

ES: 8 1/2 by Frederico Fellini. Hands down my favorite film of all time. Though CITIZEN KANE is up there too.

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

ES: GOOD STORY!

MT: How is the film scene in your city?

ES: I live in LA (if that’s what you mean). It’s hopping. In Bailey’s Harbor WI, there’s not much going on, though there is a growing local interest in filmmaking. Why not? The medium is becoming easier and easier every year.

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Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 20-50 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto, and Los Angeles at least 2 times a month. Go to www.wildsound.ca for more information and to submit your work to the festival.

Interview with Doug Whipple, Executive Director NEW HOPE FILM FESTIVAL

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The New Hope Film Festival is sponsored by Comcast Corporation, Times Publishing Newspapers, Inc., Greater Philadelphia Media, and the Greater New Hope Chamber of Commerce. The 8th annual festival will take place from July 21 – 30, 2017. Decisions will be emailed by May 1, 2017.

Touted as the “emerging ‘Sundance East'” in a Huffington Post article, this internationally respected indie fest was founded by D. F. Whipple, an author screenwriter and long-time resident of the New Hope, Bucks County area. Whipple formed New Hope Film Festival with a group of artists who shared his passion for discovering and nurturing independent artists, especially those who’ve been overlooked by established festivals. This includes international films, which the Festival is eager to attract.

http://www.newhopefilmfestival.com/

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

A number of our films have landed distribution deals, for example Freestyle Digital Media picked up The Syndrome, but we’re doing a lot more than moving films through distribution channels. We’re changing lives. Formerly obscure filmmakers are gaining mainstream recognition. Two of my favorite examples screened at NHFF in 2010: Andreas Arnstedt, whose film The Dispensables (Die Entbehrlichen) earned a Best Debut Film nomination from German Film Critics Association and Sisir Sahana in India, who is now a respected educated and filmmaker.

MT: What would you expect to experience if you attend the festival this year (2017)?

Network with other, like-minded film industry professionals, gain inspiration from watching amazing films, gain worldwide exposure and potentially get mainstream press.

MT: What are the qualifications for the selected films?

Artistic merit, period.

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

Yes, absolutely! Politics. Too often, festivals invite films into their festival through the back door due to personal connections or affinity with the subject matter without seriously considering films that we submitted through publicly-available channels. This is something we never do. Everyone gets a fair chance here. We never invite films into the festival. In fact, this is why Director of Submissions Thom Mulligan and I started the New Hope Film Festival. He had experienced some frustrating experiences on the festival circuit after submitting his own film, Callous.

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

Fairness was our initial motivation, but as time went on we found that personal words of appreciation from filmmakers, and the differences we’re making in lives, motivate us to keep doing all of this incredibly hard, year-round. We love doing this!

MT: How has your FilmFreeway submission process been?

The platform is becoming important to us. It’s an easy platform to use and we’re getting some awesome films this way.

MT: Where do you see the festival by 2020?

We’ll be a 10-year-old film festival in 2020, so we should see even more mainstream submissions. We’re already receiving submissions from production companies with serious Hollywood credentials.

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

A reporter asked me this question last year and I discovered that it’s Blade Runner. But I’ve only watched it 3 times. I watch many NHFF films, at least in part, over and over, in the course of my duties as Executive Director.

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

A deep, sincere and organic connection to the material and the project. If you have this, the budget isn’t so important. We do care about production values, but I’ve seen no budget films leave audiences speechless during the final credits.

MT: How is the film scene in your city?

It’s ok. We’re seeing more local production and we definitely have some passionate fans, but we’ve built a festival in an art town that doesn’t even have a movie theater. Filmmakers who come to New Hope fall in love with the town and have a blast, but this is not a zany atmosphere of red carpets and searchlights. New Hope is a charming, intimate place for a film festival.

 
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Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 20-50 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto, and Los Angeles at least 2 times a month. Go to www.wildsound.ca for more information and to submit your work to the festival.

Interview with Festival Director Kanithea Powell (Queer Hippo International LGBT Film Festival)

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Queer Hippo is a celebration of queer cinema that brings together authentic stories and audacious audiences for its annual program of original documentaries, dramatic films, original teleplays, music videos and shorts. With filmmaker forums and panels, live music performances, distributors, engaging community and student programs, Queer Hippo brings together today’s most original storytellers to a place where they can collaborate and connect.

http://www.queerhippo.com/

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

Kanithea Powell: Queer Hippo provides an amazing platform for queer independent filmmakers. We have had films premier at our festival and go on to win major festivals as a result of winning in Queer Hippo. That says a lot about our ability to choose quality films that tell compelling stories.

MT: What would you expect to experience if you attend the
festival this year (2017)?

KP: Another great year of queer films. Last year Queer Hippo represented over 19 different countries. That’s huge. Expect 2017 to give you nothing less than diverse authentic stories, amazing shorts, moving features and documentaries.

MT: What are the qualifications for the selected films?

KP: The subject matter must be queer.

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

KP: There are so many great films out there looking for a platform.

If you are a small indie film with a great story, you may not get the attention you deserve when you are up against a larger film with major cast. You can get lost in the shuffle, and that’s unfortunate.

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

KP: We love cinema. Being able to provide a safe space for our audience to come and enjoy our selection of films means everything. We are in an environment where it is important to tell those stories and continue to show people we are more alike than we are different.

MT: How has your FilmFreeway submission process been?

KP: FilmFreeway has made this process simple and affordable. The platform works flawlessly for the festival programmer and the filmmaker. The site was easy to navigate and gave me exactly what I needed. This allowed us to get about the business of finding great films for our audience.

MT: Where do you see the festival by 2020?

KP: Queer Hippo will be the best place to experience queer cinema.

We will be leaders in providing educational and distribution opportunities for filmmakers.

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

KP: Shine & The Color Purple

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

KP: Storytelling is the beginning and end to a great film.

MT: How is the film scene in your city?

KP: Houston has a small, intimate film scene. Austin gets a lot of the work but I think that will change over the next few years.

queerhippo2.jpg

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Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 20-50 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto, and Los Angeles at least 2 times a month. Go to www.wildsound.ca for more information and to submit your work to the festival.

Interview with Festival Director Jerzain Ortega (Author’s International Film Festival)

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The FIC AUTOR (Author’s International Film Festival) was  founded in 2016 by filmmaker Jerzain Ortega. The festival is interested in unique and artistic films that exceed the limits of traditional storytelling. Feature and Short Films that reflect the director’s personal creative vision, and a style that is distinct enough to shine through the collective process. The first edition of the FIC AUTOR will take place from November 10 to 17, 2017 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, México. FIC AUTOR will present the very best films from around the world, and honor our first guest, Cannes Caméra d’Or award winner Michael Rowe.

Go to the website at: http://www.ficautor.com/

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

Jerzain Ortega: FIC AUTOR makes a very fair selection; we don’t select films
because they have celebrities or a well-known director. Our selection is based on which films are THE BEST, but don’t get me wrong, if a film like “Whiplash” was submitted to the FIC AUTOR, I would accept it, no doubt, because that film is a piece of art, so we are not anti-celebrity, but we are very objective and we won’t be dazzled over a famous face. Also, the filmmaker can feel confident that the jury watched his/her film entirely, because we send the comments from the
jury for free. And we give beautiful rings and trophies made of silver, and we will try our best to sell the films to Mexican distributors.

MT: What would you expect to experience if you attend the festival this year (2017)?

JO: A fantastic selection of the best films from around the globe, highly artistic, yet entertaining; a close connection between and with the artists, because everything happens in the same venue; a nice award ceremony open to the public where we will award the best filmmakers of the moment and our first honored guest, Michael Rowe, who will also present his film “Early Winter” and will have a Q&A segment with the
audience.

MT: What are the qualifications for the selected films?

JO: Directors must have a style that stands out from the others and the stories must be close to original. The market is full of the same crap, thanks to Hollywood. The audience knows exactly how the guy is going to lose and win back his girlfriend in a comedic love story; they know who is going to die first in a horror movie, or when to expect a lazy jump
scare, etc. A good filmmaker, an author, chews all of those clichés and spits them in the sink, way far from his delicious gourmet dish.

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

JO: No, I don’t. Film Festivals are business, sounds bad, but they are. And they all earn money from fee submissions and tickets and sponsors and government grants, so most of them, many of them, choose films with a nice cast so they can connect with the audience, sell tickets, have sponsors, increase the tourism –or allow politicians to take their pictures with the stars-, and of course, fabricate the dream almost every filmmaker has, win something and be at the same level of these “great, well-known filmmakers.” But this is bullshit. Every honest filmmaker knows deep inside them, that their dream, our dream, is to have one more night with the audience, in the dark, listening to the laughter, the connection with the characters we create and at the end, hear the applause and feel like an undercover cop hearing the comments on the way out of the theatre. And if you don’t believe me, check the list of the winners of the past editions of the 50 best film festivals, yes you will find a few good ones, but most of them, are public relations, or advertising, or copy-paste selections from other festivals.

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

JO: I write a personal email to each filmmaker that submits to the festival. Sometimes this email turns into 10 emails of conversation, most of the filmmakers write me back telling me that it’s very rare to receive a personal letter from a festival director, or that this is the first time a festival treats them like a person. THIS MOTIVATES ME. We built a film festival that treats filmmakers like people and not like
numbers, a festival that is transparent and has its feet on the ground. This is a business, yes, but our business is to celebrate and encourage the emerging and real authors that are out there, to continue making great films. We want to build a festival that every filmmaker in the world can feel proud to participate in.

MT: How has your FilmFreeway submission process been?

JO: The response from the filmmakers has been amazing, we have more than 500 submissions and we expect to have many more. And most of these submissions are an amazing quality.

MT: Where do you see the festival by 2020?

JO: Here, in Guadalajara, Mexico, but with more sponsors and stronger relationships with distributors so we can help and give more to the FIC AUTOR submitters.

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

JO: This one is hard… ROCKY and THE BOURNE IDENTITY, but when I see either of these, I can’t stop; I have to watch the rest of the films from the franchise.

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

JO: The passion that flows through the hands of the artists of each of the film departments, who understand and share the unique vision of a talented writer-director.

MT: How is the film scene in your city?

JO: Guadalajara has a strong independent filmmaking community that is growing and producing more and more films each year of our own merits. We don’t have too much support; most of the local government budget for cinema goes to filmmakers from Mexico City, so it is unfair, but we are warriors and we don’t sit with our arms crossed. We figure it out and we
continue producing films.

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Jerzain Ortega began his film career as a makeup artist in Mel Gibson’s “Apocalypto.” Following this, he studied cinema at Centro de Estudios Cinematográficos INDIe, and worked on a second film as chief makeup artist in Alejandro Ramirez’ “Todos Hemos Pecado.” Later, he financed his first independent film by his own means, “Journal d’un inadapté;” a film made almost entirely by him (one man crew in almost every scene.) He is now producing his second feature film, “Telephone,” a film that will be shot with only one assistant as well. He is also the founder of FIC AUTOR (Author’s International Film Festival.)

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Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 20-50 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto, and Los Angeles at least 2 times a month. Go to www.wildsound.ca for more information and to submit your work to the festival.

Interview with Festival Director Gabbar Punjabi (Lake View International Film Festival)

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Lake View Film Festival aims to inspire, motivate and award the true innovative and artistic geniuses of our time. Every independent artist hopes to one day emerge from the underground scene and share their talents with the masses.

http://www.lviff.net/

Interview with the Festival Director:

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

Gabbar Punjabi: Lake View International Film Festival gives opportunity to independent filmmakers to show their work at a new platform.

MT: What would you expect to experience if you attend the festival this year (2017)?

GP: High-Quality Independent films across all genres, from around the world.

MT: What are the qualifications for the selected films?

GP: Our platform is designed for independent filmmakers. We accept films from independent filmmakers with strong storytelling, All genre with high-quality films are acceptable.

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

GP: Film Festivals receive thousands of entries and out of them only a few films are acceptable. Many of the films face rejection because I think, sometimes filmmakers do not read rules and regulations before submitting their films to
festivals. Also, it is difficult for festivals to show each and every film because of a limited number of screenings, limited time and so many other factors vary from festival to festival. ​

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

GP: Cinema of Punjab is still under a big change, recently one of the Punjabi films was officially selected at Cannes. Our team’s passion toward films motivates us to present a good platform for independent filmmakers to show their work.

MT: How has your FilmFreeway submission process been?

GP: FilmFreeway is really an awesome platform for both filmmakers as well as festivals. This is very easy to access, easy to manage your entries, and so many features which other platforms not yet provide.

MT: Where do you see the festival by 2020?

GP: It will become better and better, more numbers of screenings and there is soo many things which we want to do.

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

GP: Malena, Thelma and Louise, Water and Qissa

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

GP: A great way of storytelling makes a great film.

MT: How is the film scene in your city?

GP: The Punjabi film industry is stuck in film mafias. A very low number of theatres, very few independent venues. But I was told it is under a big change so we still have hopes every year new good independent productions.

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Gabbar Punjabi is a small town boy with loads of ambition. He completed his graduation in life science after which he joined film school and started learning filmmaking. During film course, he wrote and directed three short films. After successfully completing filmmaking course, he moved to Mumbai where he starts working as an assistant director in the television and film industries. In 2014, he started his banner script factory production and started working as an independent filmmaker. He also the Director of Independent film festival Lake View International film Festival.
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Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 20-50 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto, and Los Angeles at least 2 times a month. Go to www.wildsound.ca for more information and to submit your work to the festival.

Interview with Festival Director Loren W. Lepre (Freedom Shorts)

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Now entering it’s 5th year, the film industry of Philadelphia has come together to make this city an active spot for short films from around the world to be screened and celebrated. Average Superstar films has stepped up and lead the way for this massive event. This event truly gives both local and international filmmakers their due over a 3 day weekend! It is held at the world famous Trocadero Theatre in Philadelphia. With a $60,000 sound system, and a FULL screen, the theater seats up to 600 movie-goers.

Go to the website for more information.

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

Giving filmmakers from around the world a major stage to shine on. Philadelphia is one of the biggest cities in the U.S. and our main stage The Trocadero is an amazing place to have an event. PhilaMOCA is another great place to have a screening and is active weekly with screenings. This event really makes the filmmakers shine and our venues are a great place to showcase their films.

MT: What would you expect to experience if you attend the festival this year (2017)?

Expect the best short films from around the world! Our team selects the best of the best and the event keeps growing and growing. Freedom Shorts is FUN! The Audience always seems to walk out with a smile with the entertainment that comes along with our events!

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

I can only say that when a film is submitted to our event. It’s fully watched by our team no matter how good or bad if somebody took the time to submit to us we got the time to watch. We only run short films and charge low punk rock prices to submit. It’s only “a short film” I think it’s gross seeing the fees at some of these festivals. The price they’re charging to watch a short flick! I see some charging $40-$60 at some these things! IT’S A SHORT FILM! How can you ask a price like that? The higher the price to submit at a fest I wonder if everybody is getting a fair shake or not. I will say that The Trocadero Theatre can match or come pretty damn close to any of the heavyweight festivals in the world. I don’t think that gives me the right to charge the filmmakers out the ass.

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

I’m an actor and director myself and I can tell you that I LOVE watching all the films from around the world that are submitted. It makes me want to be better actor . It allows me to see as a director where I need to go. Where the bar is set. The watching process is the most enjoyable part. I did ALL of this myself for the first 2 years. Than help came strong help Brenden Hubbard (Curfew 2013) he is part of the Curfew Team. He has seen it all and was a great help with upgrading Freedom Shorts. Steven Carino (The Unsung Hero) of the event. This guy has endless thanks for what he brought to the table. The rest of my Average Superstar T.V. team helped take this event to the next level.

MT: How has your FilmFreeway submission process been?

I can tell you that FilmFreeway was the spark that opened the doors to the world for Freedom Shorts. They really have been great.

MT: Where do you see the festival by 2020?

We hope “A Must Stop” for a filmmaker and the torch of Philadelphia as far as Film Festivals go.

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

Red Dawn (1984) Lost Boys, Young Guns, Porkys 1,2,and 3.

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

Taking your time with pre production, filming and editing.

MT: How is the film scene in your city?

Philadelphia has a sea of problems that won’t be fixed anytime soon. I try to be a good help desk where I can. Philadelphia is well mislead on how to make a film as far as independent films go. Most films made here are by actors that have been in a few films and than decide it’s time to direct. The problem with that is most of the films that they’re in had NO LIGHTING, NO SOUND, NO SHOT LIST, NO STORYBOARD, NO funding for an editor, NO funding to shoot, NO funding for marketing. When these films finally surface and are screened in front of family and friends they get praise. This leads to the virus growing and growing. Philadelphia needs cleansing the ACTORS should be outing these people. The ACTORS should also hold DIRECTORS accountable on completing a GOOD project. Philadelphia has a awful sea of directors that start and don’t finish the film or shelf it and move onto the next one. This boils my blood. Whats about all that time that actors gave you? What does that do for him or her? You wasted the actors time! This person believed in you and got NOTHING out of it. These directors should be dragged out in the street and beaten with hammers. The city is filled with directors that cast and than roll the dice with Indie Go Go and this is NOT how you fund a film. Philadelphia is filled with false directors that are more about the praise on social media than putting out the work itself. I would like the see the actors show stronger backbone and put these directors in check or stomp them out. 90% of the independent actors CAN’T direct family and friends to anything to watch due to poor leadership. To put all that time and effort into something and yet you can show off your skills by showing it to anybody is NOT helping The Philly actors advance. 90% of the actors work full time jobs and act on the weekends for free hoping this can be the one that launches them to the next level. It’s a shame because Philly is filled with good actors that deserve a shot at the dance.
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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 at least twice a month in Toronto & Los Angeles. Go to http://www.wildsoundfestival.com for more information and to submit your work to the festival.