| CiAOiFilm.net • CiAO Alert #57 • Wednessday, October 8, 2014 |
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A Panoply of Indie Filmmaking and Related Areas of Interest
• 2014 Shortz! Film Fest Report Under the better-late-than-never category is a report on the 2014, 4th Annual, Shortz! Film Festival. The fest ran from Friday, September 12 through Sunday 14. Estimated attendance was around 200 to 300 people, possibly more. To describe it as "successful" is an understatement. This year over 100 indie films were submitted for consideration, and out of those about 50 were chosen for screening. They ran the gamut of genres and types, including documentaries, dramas, comedies, sci-fi, animation, and more. The screened films came from as far away as China and Switzerland. (the filmmakers from those two countries attended the fest) And they were all very well done and enjoyable to watch. There were so many films this year that there were no repeats and they all only showed once. Congratulations to the winners – see the website for the announcement. And congrats to the Shortz! Film Fest Team, who all worked hard, and made it look easy. (which it is not) This year's team included (in alphabetical order) Brent Boyd, Renee Boyd, Scott Brown, Jasmine Ingersoll, and Braidon Thorn. Thanks to them, and the volunteer helpers, for putting on a great festival. And thank you to the El Rey Theater and the many sponsors of the fest. Keep up the good work and we're looking forward to next year's event. Start working on your films now. But know that competition is fierce. LINK: shortzfilmfest.com
• Katydid – A Novelette In the self-promotion category (but only in the sense that I would do this for any of us, and I just happen to be the one that has to do it for myself), local filmmaker, screenwriter, director, and producer, Popeye Theophilus Barrnumb (a creative works pseudonym – some of you know him as Bill Donnelly) has published an extended adaptation of his short film screenplay, Katydid, as a medium-length novelette of the same name. It is available as an e- book (Kindle and others) and as a thin paperback, at Amazon.com and other locations around the InterWebs. The adaptation involved writing an initial ~7,000 word prequel and then the conversion of the ~3,000 word screenplay (which is included in the book), with additional editing to flush it out to the final ~13,000 words. Following is the book's description: Katydid is an inevitably uplifting story about a day in the life of a 10-year-old girl trying to survive on her own in a post-apocalyptic world. Staying alive and dealing with the daily perils in After is not easy. Trying to not become prey for the many predators that rise out of the ashes is often the least of your worries. It would not be easy for anyone, much less a lone, young girl. After losing everything she had, and everyone she knew, from Before, Katy is bound and determined to keep the one thing she has left – her life. Such as it is. And will be. LINK: www.iPopeye.net
• There's a New Film Fest in Town –
Ha! Fest is a one-day, international, comedy-driven film festival hosted in Chico CA, USA. They will showcase some of the funniest films in the world once a year in a no-holds-barred, high energy, laugh-out-loud celebration of the independent filmmaker spirit. The first annual event will be held Saturday, May 9, 2015 at the El Rey Theater. Ha! Fest is now accepting submissions. Earlybird Deadline is October 31, 2014. Final Deadline is February 15, 2015. LINK: www.hafilmfest.com
• The Chair – A Project Greenlight-like Show The Chair is a Starz premium channel RealiTV show created by Project Greenlight executive producer Chris Moore. The competition documentary series follows two directors through the process of bringing their first feature to the screen. The up-and-coming directors, Shane Dawson and Anna Martemucci, are provided with an identical screenplay, How Soon Is Now, which they must craft as their own film using the same budget and filming in the same city. The series documents the creation, marketing and theatrical release of both adaptations, which will also air on Starz. One director is creating a broad comedy and the other a drama. The show is interesting, informative, educational, and will most likely be attractive to indie filmmakers, even though the films being created are high-budget indie films. There is much to learn from watching the show about how "real filmmakers" make films, from beginning to end. The show is in-progress. If you have Starz On-Demand you can catch up. Hopefully the series will be broadcast on other cable channels at a later date. LINK: IMDB Entry for The Chair
• The Director's Chair – Robert Rodriguez The Director's Chair is an interview show on Robert Rodriguez' grind house-style cable channel El Rey Network. The show is self-described as "Candid, off-the-cuff conversations between filmmaking's most fascinating figures. Top directors tackle insightful questions only other directors would think to ask. Get a sneak peek into the moviemaking process from the people who make your favorite flicks." In the show, RR interviews directors about the art, science, and love of filmmaking. So far he has interviewed John Carpenter, Guillermo del Toro, and Quentin Tarantino (two episodes). This is filmmaking gold for indie filmmakers. At the very least the show is very entertaining to watch. You can also watch the episodes online at the website. LINK: www.elreynetwork.com
• Town of the Living Dead – Syfy RealiTV Town of the Living Dead is self-described as "an unscripted series which follows a small Alabama town trying to complete their own independent zombie movie, Thr33 Days Dead – which has been six years in the making. Based on a town urban legend, their film centers on a group of friends trying to survive a zombie apocalypse in rural Alabama. "The intrepid and motley crew of amateur filmmakers now has a deadline to hit – if they finish their film in time, Syfy will air it as an original movie. Given it's taken six years to make it, will getting it done in just a few weeks be achievable?" After only seeing one episode, this show is watchable, with some laughs, some or most of them unintentional. We can take a certain amount of pride that most of our sets and attempts at indie filmmaking aren't anything like, or anywhere near as "bad" as, this. LINK: www.syfy.com/townofthelivingdead
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| CiAOiFilm.net — The Consortium of indies, Artistes & Others |
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The Consortium is a varied group of people interested in independent film and other related areas. Including all areas of indie film production, film in general, other productions of various kinds, multimedia, watching and appreciation. There tends to be an emphasis on indie films and filmmaking, particularly nano-budget, micro-budget, and small-budget filmmaking. All are welcome to join us, whether you are a writer, director, producer, actor, crew person, cinephile, or any other interested party. (suggested age range: mature teen through adult) Learn more about us. Contact us if you have questions or comments.
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