Panelists Announced for Film Independent's 6th Annual Filmmaker Forum

Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, announced the panelists for the sixth annual Filmmaker Forum, which will be held October 29-31 at the Directors Guild of America, Los Angeles.

The opening night film, keynote speaker, and additional panelists will be announced shortly, as well as the recipient of the 2010 Sloan Producers Grant, to be awarded on opening night.

Film Independent’s Filmmaker Forum is a weekend conference that covers production, distribution, documentary, and emerging media. Filmmakers are given access to some of the most innovative names in independent filmmaking through thought provoking discussions, networking sessions, case studies and presentations on some of today’s most interesting new works.

This year, the forum will introduce more panels on new media and empower filmmakers with the tools and knowledge needed to share their stories in new and innovative ways.

Speakers for the 2010 Filmmaker Forum include:

• Jen Arnold, director, A Small Act
• Robert Bahar, writer/producer, Made in L.A.
• Robert Baruc, President, Screen Media Ventures
• Julie Parker Benello, producer, Chicken & Egg Pictures
• Silvia Echeverri Botero, Comisión Filmica Colombiana
• Peter Broderick, President, Paradigm Consulting
• Larry Brownell, Executive Director, AFCI
• Keith Calder, producer, Thunder Soul
• Dan Cogan, Executive Director, Impact Pictures
• Scott Cooper, writer/director/producer, Crazy Heart
• Michael Costigan, producer, Cyrus, Welcome to the Rileys
• Mike Farah, President of Production, Funny or Die
• Hans Fraikin, Quebec Film & Television Council
• Sue Hayes, Consultant, Film and TV Production
• Doug Jones, Associate Director of Programming, Los Angeles Film Festival
• Mark Landsman, director, Thunder Soul
• Patti Lee, producer, A Small Act
• Caroline Libresco, Senior Programmer, Sundance Film Festival
• Linda Lichter, Partner, Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler & Feldman, Inc.
• Oren Peli, director, Paranormal Activity
• Steve Peters, co-founder, No Mimes Media, founder, Alternate Reality Gaming Network
• Paula Schmit, Vice President, Film Finances
• Aaron Syrett, North Carolina Film Commission
• Josh Welsh, Director of Talent Development, Film Independent
• Ti West, writer/director, The House of the Devil

Oscilloscope to Release William Burroughs Documentary

Oscilloscope Laboratories, an independent distribution company, will release “William S. Burroughs: A Man Within,” Fall of 2010 followed by a DVD and digital release. The film will also have a broadcast premiere as part of the PBS Independent Lens series during the 2010/2011 season.

Directed by Yony Leyser, “William S. Burroughs: A Man Within,” features never-before-seen archival footage of Burroughs, as well as exclusive interviews with colleagues and confidants including John Waters, Patti Smith, Iggy Pop, Gus Van Sant, Sonic Youth and David Cronenberg.

The film is a probing, yet affectionate look at the man whose works at once savaged conservative ideals, spawned countercultural movements, and reconfigured 20^th century culture. The film is narrated by Peter Weller, with a soundtrack by Patti Smith and Sonic Youth.

“Yony has managed to make a film that captures so much of what Burroughs was about and what he means to so many people,” Oscilloscope partner, David Fenkel, said in a statement.

Burroughs was one of the first writers to break the boundaries of queer and drug culture in the 1950s. His novel, Naked Lunch, is one of the most recognized and respected literary works of the 20^th century and has influenced generations of artists. The intimate documentary breaks the surface of the troubled and brilliant world of one of the greatest authors of all time.

“Oscilloscope manages to balance releases that are not only artistic, but also socially conscious and culturally relevant, and PBS’s Independent Lens series is an inspiring venue for new voices in world cinema. I’m excited that this film is being released by them, and I think Burroughs would be too,” Yony Leyser said in a statement.

Netflix and Nu Image Films Agree To Long-Term Streaming Deal

Netflix, the world’s largest subscription service, and Nu Image/Millennium Films announced a long-term agreement through which first-run theatrical films distributed by the Nu Image/Millennium Group will be licensed to Netflix for streaming over the Internet to its subscribers during the “pay TV window.” Historically, these films have been licensed to premium TV channels.

The companies said they expect five to 10 theatrical films per year to flow to Netflix through the agreement, in general just a few months after their release on DVD. While the timeline is after the DVD release, the deal does underscore how Netflix is moving rapidly to expand both the variety and timeliness of movies and it’s an indication of future distribution models.

“We are delighted to be in business with Netflix,” said co-chairman of Nu Image/Millennium Avi Lerner in a statement. “This is a groundbreaking deal for our new releases and library titles. It will allow us to be more aggressive with theatrical releases and will clearly impact our distribution model. We will be producing more great films for Netflix.”

Danny Dimbort, Trevor Short and Avi Lerner, founded Nu Image/Millennium Films in 1992 as a full-service production company and distributor. The company currently develops, produces, finances and distributes 8-12 films a year, with locations shooting around the world.

“Avi Lerner and Nu Image have a remarkable track record of producing crowd pleasing and profitable films,” said chief content officer for Netflix Ted Sarandos in a statement. “Their ability to work across multiple studios and maintain a consistent output of diverse and successful films makes Avi and his company perfect Netflix partners for theatrical features in the pay TV window.”

Among the first films to be covered under the deal is Dito Monteil’s 2011 release “Son of No One,” a crime drama starring Channing Tatum, Al Pacino, Katie Holmes, Tracy Morgan, Ray Liotta and Juliette Bincoche about a young cop assigned to the working class Queens neighborhood in which he grew up and the discovery of a horrible family secret. Also slated for Netflix via the new agreement is 2011’s scheduled “Elephant White,” starring Academy Award nominee Djimon Hounsou and Golden Globe winner Kevin Bacon in a drama about a contract killer who gets swept up in the dangerous business of white slave traders in Thailand.

The deal was negotiated by David Sobieraj, president of domestic video and television for Nu Image/Millennium Films, and Robert Kyncl, vice president of content acquisition for Netflix.

2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards Call for Entries

Film Independent, a non-profit arts organization that hosts the Spirit Awards is now accepting submissions, with an early deadline of September 13 and the final deadline of October 5. The Spirit Awards will be held on Saturday, February 26, 2011.

Now in its 26^th year, Film Independent’s Spirit Awards is a celebration honoring films made by filmmakers who embody independence and originality.

Televised in millions of homes and covered internationally by the press, the Spirit Awards has become the vanguard event in independent film, recognizing the achievements of independent filmmakers and promoting independent film to a wider audience.

In addition to hosting the Spirit Awards, Film Independent also produces the Los Angeles Film Festival, and offers free filmmaker labs for writers, directors and producers.

The Spirit Awards are given in the following categories: Best Feature, Best First Feature, Best First Screenplay, Best Director, Best Screenplay, John Cassavetes Award (given to the best feature made for a budget under $500,000), Best Male Lead, Best Female Lead, Best Supporting Male, Best Supporting Female, Best Cinematography, Best Foreign Film, Best Documentary, and the Robert Altman Award. The Filmmaker Grants include Acura Someone to Watch Award, Truer Than Fiction Award, and Piaget Producers Award.

Submission guidelines, applications, and more information can be found at www.SpiritAwards.com

Toronto International Film Festival Announces Industry Programs

The 35^th Toronto International Film Festival is offering an impressive array of filmmakers and industry insiders at this year’s festival, which will take place September 9-19, 2010.

The programming explores the diverse worlds of 3D, gaming and non-fiction filmmaking and includes conversations about funding, distribution, marketing and representation. A few of the industry professionals attending the events includes filmmakers John Sayles (AMIGO), Dustin Lance Black(Milk), and producer Jon Landau (Titanic, Avatar).

Here’s a complete list of the programs and the industry insiders attending.

FILMMAKERS’ LOUNGE – New!
Filmmakers’ Lounge is a meeting space for Festival filmmakers and industry professionals. Formerly the Match Club, this year Filmmakers’ Lounge takes on a new name, a new location and an increased presence as a hub for film and industry guests. Filmmakers’ Lounge will host industry panels and sessions including Doc Roundtables and Meet With... Featuring free WIFI, a Computer and Gaming Corner and music from some of the city’s most eclectic DJs, not to mention a daily Happy Hour (September 10-17 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.), Filmmakers’ Lounge is a meeting and greeting spot open to all Festival delegates.  International industry consultants, specializing in sales, festivals and production will be available on-site to help set up meetings and offer advice. This year’s consultants include Hayet Benkara, Nancy Collet, Slava Rubin, Sonja Heinen and Harris E. Tulchin.
Filmmakers’ Lounge runs from Thursday, September 9 through Saturday, September 18, from 9 a.m. until late into the night, and is located at 134 Peter Street. Catering is provided by Lolita’s Lust.

MASTER CLASS WITH ROBERT LANTOS – New!
This Master Class is an exclusive opportunity for emerging filmmakers, film students and industry delegates to learn from renowned Canadian producer Robert Lantos (Sunshine, Being Julia, Barney’s Version). Lantos’ films appeal to audiences and critics alike and have met with commercial success. Toronto Star columnist Martin Knelman will interview Lantos live on stage. Master Class with Robert Lantos will take place Thursday, September 16, at 12 p.m. in TIFF Bell Lightbox.

MEET WITH…
Meet With... is a series of informal and intimate information sessions on the hottest topics in today’s film industry. The sessions provide attendees with a unique opportunity to gain insight into the fundamentals of the business and craft of filmmaking from seasoned industry professionals. Meet With... is open to all Sales & Industry and Guest Relations Pass holders and runs from Friday, September 10 through to Thursday, September 16, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Filmmakers’ Lounge.

Meet With... sessions include:

Buzz:  If You Build It, They Will Come
Filmmakers, production companies, distributors. Everybody’s trying to find alternative ways of building buzz around their films. But how do you get a cool trailer or film stunt made and then have it permeate the web and resonate? How do you market without a marketing budget?  Who is your target audience and how do you tap into it?

• Ingrid Hamilton – Publicist, GAT
• Rob Stefaniuk – Director of Suck and Phil the Alien
• Matt Toner – Founder, Zeros 2 Heroes
• Mark Woolen – Founder, Mark Woolen and Associates
• MODERATOR: Christian Gaines – Director of Film Festival Strategy, IMDB

Finding Film Funding
Representatives from some of Canada’s leading funding agencies gather to unlock mysteries and complexities involved in getting funding help for filmmakers. What do you need to do to make your application stand out?

• Stéphanie Azam – Head of English-Language Feature Film, Telefilm Canada
• Carole Vivier –  Chief Executive Officer, Manitoba Film and Sound
• MODERATOR: John Galway –  President, Astral The Harold Greenberg Fund

*Additional guest speakers to be announced

Do It With Others: Get Your Film Seen
The unlimited potential of the Internet and VOD has made websites the desired platform for film distribution. What are the pros and cons of the Do-It-Yourself Distribution model?

• Christopher Horton – Head of Acquisitions, Cinetic Media Rights Management
• Matthew Kurtin – Acquisitions Manager, Go Digitial
• Stéphanie Röckmann-Portier – Head of Sales, D360
• MODERATOR:  Slava Rubin – CEO and co-founder, IndieGoGo

Instant Producers
Online crowd-funding and crowd-sourcing brings filmmakers in direct contact with their audience, who become investors in their films and, by default, co-producers. The practicality of this new wave of fundraising is examined as well as the effect it has on the filmmaker/audience relationship.

• Charles-Marie Antonioz – Producer of Trash Humpers
• Eugene Hernandez – Editor-in-chief and co-founder, IndieWire
• Slava Rubin – CEO and co-founder, IndieGoGo
• Peter Wintonick – Filmmaker
• Rutger Wolfson – Artistic Director, International Film Festival Rotterdam
• MODERATOR: Mike Goodridge – Editor, Screen International

Talk to my Agent
This is an opportunity for filmmakers and artists to engage in a discussion with agents from some of the biggest agencies in the business, as well as a veteran casting agent, about representation, packaging film projects, gaining access to talent and more.

• Jason Knight – Casting Director, John Buchan Associates
• Ellia Infascelli – Head of International Division, WME
• Richard Klubeck – Co-head, Independent Film Group, UTA

Do you like to watch? (Indies)
How can you catch up with the latest independent and art house movies if you missed them at TIFF or other local film festivals? Experts discuss existing alternatives and future possibilities.

• Mathieu Boucher – Acquisitions Manager, MUBI
• Nikkole Denson-Randolph – VP Specialty and Alternative Content, AMC
• Robin Rhodes – Senior Manager, TIFF Film Circuit
• MODERATOR: Robin Smith – President, KinoSmith

TIFF Bell Lightbox 101 – September 14, 4 p.m. (Special session in TIFF Bell Lightbox)
It’s finally here. But what is it? What will it be? Who’s it for? Noah Cowan, Shane Smith and Jesse Wente talk about the exciting plans for TIFF Bell Lightbox. The public is also invited to this special Meet With… and has a chance to ask questions about all things TIFF Bell Lightbox. Special guest Guy Maddin will be on hand to talk about his commissioned new installation in the building.

• Noah Cowan – Artistic Director, TIFF Bell Lightbox
• Shane Smith – Director, Public Programmes, TIFF Bell Lightbox
• Jesse Wente – Head of Film Programmes, TIFF Bell Lightbox
• Guy Maddin – Filmmaker, Creator of Hauntings I and II

The Screenwriters
Some of the industry’s most talented screenwriters gather for a talk on the state of the industry, their approaches and influences, the challenges of keeping their vision while making their work marketable, directing their own script and other issues relating to their craft.

• John Sayles – Screenwriter and Filmmaker (AMIGO)
• Dustin Lance Black – Academy Award Winning Screenwriter (Milk, What's Wrong With Virginia)
• MODERATOR: Franklin Leonard – Development Director, Universal Pictures

MOGULS – New!
This new series of intimate, one-on-one sessions with some of the most powerful and influential movers and shakers of the film world offers a rare opportunity to get up close and personal. Gain insight into the inner workings of the creative and business minds that help shape the industry. This year’s line-up of moguls includes producers Christine Vachon and Bob Berney.
Moguls will take place in the Filmmakers’ Lounge.

Focus On… –  New!
New this year, Focus On… is a series of extended industry sessions designed to explore issues that are having an undeniable impact on filmmaking and the state of the film industry. Artists and experts gather to take a closer look at the effects of new trends and how they will shape the future of the business. Focus On… takes place in the Filmmakers’ Lounge.

This year’s line-up of sessions includes:

3D 4U
3D promises to be so many things to so many people, but how can it serve the independent producer and how accessible is it? This session will debunk the myths and address the controversies of the new world of 3D.

• Phil Fairclough – Executive Producer of Cave of Forgotten Dreams
• Munro Ferguson – Animator and Director, NFB
• Terry Horbatiuk – National Sales Manager, Professional Imaging and Display Solutions, Panasonic Canada Inc.
• Ken MacNeil – President, Creative Post, Member of 3D Flic
• James Stewart – Producer and Founder, Geneva Film Company
• MODERATOR: Brendan Christie – Playback Magazine

Get in the Game: The Worlds of Films and Gaming Collide
Video games continue their meteoric rise to the top of the entertainment universe. Along the way, the worlds of games and films have crossed paths, often colliding with both awesome and less than stellar effect. This panel session of game and film luminaries will explore this ongoing collision from various perspectives: business and market synergies; talent and tools overlap; content, design and cultural convergence (and divergence).

• Special Guest: Jon Landau – Producer of Titanic, Avatar
• Jade Raymond – Managing Director, Ubisoft Toronto
• Trevor Fencott – CEO, Bedlam Games
• Ian Kelso – President, Interactive Ontario
• Mare Sheppard – Metanet Independent Game Developer, Metanet
• MODERATOR: Jason Dela-Rocca – Senior Consultant, Perimeter Partners

Cinematic Bedfellows (Creative Co-producing for Consenting Independents)
Now more than ever, creative producers are looking outside their own territories to source and shoot quality material. Protectionism has been the watchword in national industries for too long but who is going to take the first step? Who is going to shape the future?

• Jon Kilik – Producer of Miral and Biutiful, United States
• Jan Chapman – Producer of Bright Star, Australia
• Alex Francis – Producer of Moon, United Kingdom
• MODERATOR: Lenny Crooks, Executive Producer

Case Study:  The Bang Bang Club
The filmmaking process is stripped apart and examined – from the genesis of the project through to its ultimate completion. This case study provides invaluable insight about the development and methods of movie making.

• Steven Silver – Director, The Bang Bang Club
• Daniel Iron – Producer, The Bang Bang Club

*Additional speakers to be announced

Doc Conference
Doc Conference is an in-depth series of panels and discussions about the current landscape of documentary production, financing and distribution. Taking place on Monday, September 13 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at TIFF Bell Lightbox, Doc Conference is open to all Guest Relations, Sales & Industry and Press delegates. Tom Perlmutter – Government Film Commissioner and Chairperson of the National Film Board (NFB) of Canada will introduce the conference.

Doc Conference panels and guest speakers include:

Filmmaker Dialogue: Werner Herzog & Errol Morris
Visionary directors Werner Herzog (Cave of Forgotten Dreams) and Errol Morris (Tabloid), each with their own sharply defined approach and philosophy towards filmmaking, enter into conversation in a very special Filmmaker Dialogue session. Herzog and Morris share a long history, and both have strong opinions on the craft of filmmaking. There’s no telling where this dialogue, moderated by TIFF documentaries programmer Thom Powers, will go.

Case Study: War Torn 1861-2010
HBO's forthcoming documentary War Torn 1861-2010, executive produced by James Gandolfini, is an ambitious production exploring combat stress in American soldiers from the Civil War to the present. This case study takes us behind the scenes of the complex project, presenting sneak preview clips, and a discussion with the film team Jon Alpert, Ellen Goosenberg, Matthew O'Neill, Sara Bernstein and Sheila Nevins.

Director Alex Gibney (Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer) will talk about the process of making non-fiction films, his prolific film output and his works in progress.

New Frontiers in Doc Distribution – Parts 1 and 2
Two panels of experts from the fields of Distribution and Marketing discuss new ways for documentary filmmakers to reach audiences including VOD, online, mobile devices and other emerging outlets.

• Damon Smith – Reverse Shot, Babelgum
• Debrah Drisdell – Director General, Accessibility and Digital Enterprises, National Film Board of Canada
• Matt Dentler – Head of Marketing and Programming, Cinetic Rights Management
• James Lawler – Constellation TV
• Stephanie Bruder – Senior Director, Marketing, New Video
• Nolan Gallagher – CEO, Gravitas Ventures

*Additional speakers to be announced

Doc Roundtables
Back by popular demand for its fifth year, Doc Roundtables offer a rare chance for documentary filmmakers to meet with industry leaders for an informal networking session. This year’s participants will include Josh Braun (Submarine Entertainment), Ira Deutchman (Emerging Pictures), Sky Sitney (Silverdocs), Clemence Taillandier (Zeitgeist Films Ltd), Molly Thompson (A&E Indie Films), and Debra Zimmerman (Women Make Movies). Doc Roundtables will take place at the Filmmakers’ Lounge Sunday, September 12, Tuesday, September 14 and Wednesday, September 15. Two daily sessions will be held at 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

David Lynch Announced as Guest Artistic Director of AFI FEST 2010

Acclaimed filmmaker, David Lynch, will serve as the first-ever Guest Artistic Director of the AFI FEST. The festival will take place November 4-11 in Hollywood, California at the historic Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the Mann Chinese 6 theatres, the Egyptian Theatre and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

“I said yes to being the Guest Artistic Director of AFI FEST 2010 because I love the AFI,” said Lynch in a statement. “AFI can do for others what it did for me. AFI gave me an opportunity and money to make a short film, ‘The Grandmother,’ and my first feature film, ‘Eraserhead.’ AFI put me on the map.”

Lynch was one of the first Fellows of AFI’s Center for Advanced Film Studies, now known as the AFI Conservatory.

“David Lynch is AFI,” said Bob Gazzale, President and CEO of the American Film Institute, in a statement. “He’s an artist who embodies the institute’s national mandate to both educate the next generation and to honor the masters. As a master himself, his leadership will catalyze a global conversation to bring attention to him and others who deserve a proper bow.”

Celebrating its 24^th year as a program of the American Film Institute, the AFI FEST offers a crucial avenue of exposure to the entertainment community, while providing appreciative audiences with a festive atmosphere and the very best of world film, right in the center of the film capital of the world.

More information about AFI FEST presented by Audi is available at www.AFI.com/AFIFEST.

IFP Filmmaker Conference | The Future of Film

The President of HBO Documentary Films, Sheila Nevins, and founder of Cinetic Media, John Sloss, will headline the Filmmaker Conference at the 32^nd Annual Independent Film Week, Sept. 19-23 in New York. The event is presented by IFP, the nation’s oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers.

To capture the “Future of Film” theme, IFP also brought on Liz Rosenthal, cross-media expert and founder of Power to the Pixel, to help headline the event. Rosenthal will discuss the expansion of film narratives into other media.

Each day of the conference will kick off with a “Conversations With” series sponsored by Kodak. The series will feature one-on-one, in-depth discussions with notable writers, directors, execs and new-media experts about their experiences in the industry and where filmmaking is heading next.

The conference will also feature daily case studies on the break-out indie films of the year, featuring the Duplass Brothers’ “Cyrus,” Sundance 2010 Grand Jury Prize winners Debra Granik’s “Winter’s Bone,” Tim Hetherington’s and Sebastian Junger’s “Restrepo” and Lena Dunham’s “Tiny Furniture.”

“IFP is taking the initiative to change the high-low speaker/audience dynamic of traditional conferences by providing audiences everywhere ample opportunity to add their voice to the future of film,” said IFP Deputy Director Amy Dotson in a statement. “Starting today of IFP’s website, a number of new online opportunities will be available to filmmakers and film lovers all around the world to help guide the discussion and participate, including: forums with select panelists in advance of the event, live streaming of select discussions, crowd-sourced questions to panelists, and online contests offering attendees the opportunity to pitch live at the conference to top producers, executives and financiers.”

The conference is open to the public. For more information or to take part in the pre-conference crowd-sourcing opportunities, visit www.ifp.org or www.filmmakerconference.com

2011 Dallas International Film Festival Call for Entries

The DALLAS Film Society announces that submissions for the 5th annual DALLAS International Film Festival are now open.  The DALLAS International Film Festival is scheduled for March 31-April 10, 2011.  Opening night will be held Thursday, March 31, at the AT&T Performing Arts Center Winspear Opera House.

“We are especially pleased to announce that Target again will present the Target Filmmaker Award for Best Narrative Feature and the Target Filmmaker Award for Best Documentary Feature, with cash awards of $25,000 each,” said James Faust, artistic director, DALLAS International Film Festival.  “Target’s support of filmmakers has been a major highlight in the history of our festival, and it is gratifying to be able to recognize the talented films that will compete for these prizes again in 2011.”

Early deadline is Friday, October 29, 2010.  Regular deadline is Friday, December 3, 2010.  Late deadline is Wednesday, December 17, 2010.  A link for film submissions and information on submissions is available at www.dallasfilm.org/call-for-entries.  Other questions may be sent to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Additionally, the MPS Studios Texas Filmmaker Award will be awarded to the winner of the Texas Competition, a juried competition that contains features and documentaries shot in or relating to the Lone Star state.  The winner of the Texas Competition will receive $20,000 in cash, goods and services from MPS Studios Dallas.

Other awards will include:  Grand Jury Prize – Animation Short Film, presented by REEL FX ENTERTAINMENT; Grand Jury Prize – Short Film; Grand Jury Prize – Student Short Film; Environmental Visions Award for the winner of the Environmental Visions Competition; and Audience Awards for Best Narrative Feature, Best Documentary Feature, and Best Short Film.

The 6th Annual HollyShorts Film Festival (www.hollyshorts.com) came to a close early this past Friday with Nicholas Carmen’s short film “Piano Fingers” taking home the top Grand Jury Prize for Best Short Film Presented by Company 3. Carmen took home a $10,000 post production services package from Company 3. Grzegorz Jonkajtys won the Best Director Award also presented by Company 3. Jonkajtys directed the acclaimed Sci Fi short film “The Third Letter” which drew a packed house when it screened on Saturday August 7 at Laemmle’s Sunset 5 and also won a $10,000 post production prize from Company 3. The awards were announced during a special ceremony hosted by Jessica King at MyStudio in Hollywood on Thursday evening.

Tribeca Film Festival Call for Submissions

The Tribeca Film Festival, founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, announced that the tenth annual Tribeca Film Festival will be held April 20 – May 1, 2011.

The Festival has also announced a Call for Submissions for narrative and documentary features as well as for short film entries.

Tribeca was founded in 2001 following the attacks on the World Trade Center, New York City to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of the lower Manhattan district. Their stated mission is to help filmmakers reach the broadest possible audience, enable the international film community and general public to experience the power of cinema and promote New York City as a major filmmaking center.

Since its first festival in 2002, the Tribeca Film Festival has screened over 1100 films from over 80 countries. It has also attracted an international audience of more than 3.25 million attendees and has generated an estimated $660 million in economic activity for New York City.

Starting September 13, 2010, submission forms and complete information regarding eligibility for the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival will be available at www.tribecafilm.com/festival. Questions regarding submissions may be directed to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by calling 212-941-2305.

HollyShorts Announces Winners

The 6^th Annual HollyShorts Film Festival (www.hollyshorts.com) came to a close early this past Friday with Nicholas Carmen's short film "Piano Fingers" taking home the top Grand Jury Prize for Best Short Film Presented by Company 3. Carmen took home a $10,000 post production services package from Company 3. Grzegorz Jonkajtys won the Best Director Award also presented by Company 3. Jonkajtys directed the acclaimed Sci Fi short film "The Third Letter" which drew a packed house when it screened on Saturday August 7 at Laemmle's Sunset 5 and also won a $10,000 post production prize from Company 3. The awards were announced during a special ceremony hosted by Jessica King at MyStudio in Hollywood on Thursday evening.

2010 HollyShorts Winners List

HollyShorts Grand Jury Prize, Best Short Film Presented by Company 3
PIANO FINGERS-Nicholas Carmen
$10,000 post production services package from Company 3.

Best Director Presented by Company 3
The Third Letter-Grzegorz Jonkajtys
$10,000 post production services package from Company 3.

Martini Crew Future Filmmaker Award
The Great Destroyer- Gino Gianoli
$5,000 Martini Crew Booking Camera Rental package

Best Student Short Film
Djinn- Eliane Lima Djinn

Best International
Ronan's Escape- A.J. Carter
HD Stock footage, 10 HD Stock Footage Collections, from StockFootageForFREE.com , worth $2,500

Best Narrative
Swerve- Brendan Murphy
h Magazine Profile

Honorable Mention-Henry John and the Little Bug-JT Mollner

Honorable Mention-Cookie- Francisco Ordonez

Best Music
A Little Mouth to Feed- Jack Daniel Stanley

Best Documentary
Nous Deux Encore- Heather Harlow

Best Cinematography
Goodbye Shanghai- Adam Christian Clark
$1000 Indie Rentals Prize Package

Best Drama
Alberta, Detroit- John Wilberding
3 Ton Grip and Tungsten/Kino Lighting Package Rental from John Kearns Jr.

Best Comedy
The Action Hero's Guide To Saving Lives-Justin Lusky
Showbiz Software Prize Package

Best Thriller
A Little Mouth To Feed-Jack Daniel-Stanley
Studio Space Prize package from Hollywood Film and Acting Academy to shoot next project

Best Webisode
Fish Out of Water-Joel Huggins
Cell Phone Distribution Deal with Fun Little Movies

Best Editing
Porn Guide-Dick Thompson

Best Screenplay

The Violinist - Cesar Gamino

InkTip Prize Package

Special Jury Prize

Charlie and The Rabbit - Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck, Robert Machoian

Best Music Video
Keep Me In My Plane-William Stahl
Agency Meeting Doomsday Entertainment

Best Actor
Michael Godere-Time Trouble
6-month subscription to PerformerTrack Online donated by fellow performers Kristina Hughes & Brian Vermeire, PerformerTrack is a web-based application that works on Macs & PCs, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Droid, etc. PerformerTrack is the easiest way for a performer on a daily basis to log, track and manage their careers so they can leverage their info and move their careers forward!

Best Actress
Paulie Rojas-Lucia Kisses No One
6-month subscription to PerformerTrack Online donated by fellow performers Kristina Hughes & Brian Vermeire, PerformerTrack is a web-based application that works on Macs & PCs, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Droid, etc. PerformerTrack is the easiest way for a performer on a daily basis to log, track and manage their careers so they can leverage their info and move their careers forward!

Best Animation
Azureus Rising-David Weinstein

Best Spanish Film
PORQUE HAY COSAS QUE NUNCA SE OLVIDAN- Lucas Figueroa

Audience Choice Winners

August 6, 2010

Lying Right Here - Chad Knutsen

Jimmy Jean-Louis's Haiti Documentary

Djinn-Eliana Lima

August 7, 2010

Michael Saints-Katie Mahalic

Verreckt!-Christian Bahlo

The Response-Andrew Speiler

Hit Me-Ryan Davis

August 8, 2010

Henry John and The Little Bug-JT Mollner

Canary Suicides-Natalia Provatas

Devolution-Gavin Heffernan

Never Winter-Moe Charif

August 9, 2010

Gumbo-Veleeta Dacosta

The Way We Are - John Kenney

August 10, 2010

Career Day-Ivette Garcia Davilla

Hours Before-Joel David Moore

New Project: They Are All Not Lost-Dawn Kirk Alexander

August 11, 2010

Jr. Posse-Michele Ervin

Abracadabra-Julie Pacino

August 12, 2010

Real Girl's Guide-Carmen Elena Mitchell

Lucia Kisses No One-Emanuel Gironi

25 New Faces of Independent Film

Filmmaker Magazine recently announced its twelfth annual list of “25 New Faces of Independent Film” in its Summer 2010 issue (also available online). This collection of writers, directors, actors, editors and producers are expected to represent the next wave of successful cinematic artists in independent film.

Filmmaker editor Scott Macaulay stated, “[The artists] stand out by virtue of their compelling, often boundary-breaking filmmaking…In a challenging environment, they are discovering new ways to get noticed and develop their craft while not relying on traditional funders or outlets.”

Previous artists recognized by the magazine include Craig Brewer (Hustle and Flow), Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden (Half Nelson), Ryan Gosling (The Believer), Ellen Page (Hard Candy), and Hilary Swank (Boys Don’t Cry).

Filmmaker’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film for 2010 are:

L.A.-based writer, director and actor Adam Bowers’ debut comedy, New Low, premiered at Sundance, 2010 in the festival’s new NEXT section.

CalArts graduate Jason Byrne’s experimental documentary Scrap Vessel has played numerous festivals this year, including the New York Film Festival’s Views from the Avant Garde program. He is currently working as an audio/visual archivist for the United Nations Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

Rebecca Richman Cohen’s documentary War Don Don won a Special Jury prize at this year’s SXSW and will be broadcast September 29 on HBO.

Sara Colangelo’s short film Little Accidents won the Grand Jury Prize for Narrative Short at the Seattle International Film Festival. She is currently in post-production on a documentary about the band BILL as well as a feature version of her short.

Photojournalist-turned-documentary film director Danfung Dennis is currently in post on his first feature, Hell and Back Again, which follows a Marines sergeant from the frontlines in Afghanistan home to North Carolina, where he tries to recover from his injuries and return to his unit.

Trieste Kelly Dunn stars in Aaron Katz’s upcoming Cold Weather, Zach Clark’s Vacation!, and Brett Haley’s The New Year, for which she received particular acclaim at this year’s Los Angeles Film Festival.

Producer and writer-director Sean Durkin is currently preparing his debut feature, Martha Marcy May Marlene, an outgrowth of his recent short, Mary Last Seen, which won a prize at this year’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.

Writer-director Marc Fratello won the Focus Features Best Film Award, the Student Choice Award and an Audience Award for his short film Babyland at this year’s Columbia University Film Festival.

Writer-director Rashaad Ernesto Green has made several acclaimed shorts, including Premature, and he is currently prepping his debut feature, Gun Hill Road.

Production designer Jade Healy designed half a dozen upcoming completed features, including happythankyoumoreplease and The Innkeeper in addition to other recent films including The Imperialists Are Still Alive! and Alexander the Last. She also directed with Kris Swanberg the SXSW feature, It Was Great, But I Was Ready to Come Home.

With their collaborative project, Sparrow Songs, director and editor Alex Jablonski and d.p. Michael Totten have been making one short documentary film a month and premiering them on their website. They are currently planning their first documentary feature.

Writer-director Arielle Javitch is in post-production on her debut feature, Look, Stranger, which was shot in Serbia and stars Anamaria Marinca (4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days).

The California-based directing team of Robert Machoian and Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck have made 14 shorts, including the Sundance 2010 premiering Charlie and the Rabbit, as well as two seasons of an idiosyncratic documentary web series, American Nobodies.

After working as an actress, New York-based Victoria Mahoney wrote and directed her debut feature, Yelling to the Sky. It stars Zoe Kravitz, Gabourey Sidibe and Tim Blake Nelson, and is currently in post.

Writer-director Julius Onah is currently in production on his debut feature, The Girl Is In Trouble, a noir set on New York’s Lower East Side that is executive produced by Spike Lee. His recent cell-phone short, Goodbye Chicken, Farewell Goat premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival.

Writer-director Holden Abigail Osborne’s short doc-fiction hybrid, Solitary/Release, premiered at SXSW this year. It consists of two parts: a doc that chronicles her brother’s return home from prison and then a fictionalized version of the same story starring James Franco.

Baltimore-based writer-director Matt Porterfield’s features include Hamilton and this year’s Putty Hill, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and is forthcoming in theaters from Cinema Guild.

The directing team of Radical Friend (Julia Grigorian and Kirby McClure) have created music videos for groups like Black Moth Super Rainbow and Yeasayer and are currently working on a giant multi-city media project, The Digital Flesh, commissioned by the Creators Project.

Detroit-based writer-director Sultan Sharrief traveled his debut feature, Bilal’s Stand, to Sundance, Berlin and New Directors/New Films. The film’s cast and crew was comprised of new actors and local youth from the Student EFEX Project, a partnership between Detroit artists, students from the University of Michigan, and metro Detroit high schools.

Nashville-based Brent Stewart premiered his debut feature, The Colonel’s Bride, at this year’s Sarasota Film Festival. He also produces films in the south through his company, Nomadic Independence Pictures.

Milwaukee-based writer-director Mike Stoklasa created Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Review, a unique, new kind of online film criticism that has been viewed over 2 million times.

Zac Stuart-Pontier’s editing credits include the recent Sundance documentary Catfish, the Berlin selection Candy Darling, and the SXSW documentary, NY Export: Opus Jazz. He also works as an assistant director, most recently on the Cannes title Two Gates of Sleep.

Born in Copenhagen and now based in New York, d.p. Kasper Tuxen has shot music videos for Martin de Thurah, art pieces for Jesper Just and, this year, several American independent features, including the Sundance competition entry 3 Backyards and, upcoming, Mike Mills’ Beginners.

Co-founder of the True/False Film Festival, Missouri-based David Wilson directed this year the well-received short documentary, Big Birding Day, and is currently collaborating with fellow documentarian A.J. Schnack on a Branson, Missouri-shot film.

Brooklyn-born, Amsterdam-based writer-director Susan Youssef recently attended the IFP Narrative Lab with her debut feature Habibi Rasak Kharban, the first film to be set in Gaza in the last 15 years. She is currently in post-production.

As the Woods Hole Film Festival gets set to open this weekend inCape Cod,Mass., writer/director Michael Matzdorff will get to screen his feature length directorial debut, “Feed the Fish,” for the first time in front of an East coast audience. The film has already played at a half-dozen or so festivals, garnered some positive reviews, and is enjoying a theatrical run inSturgeon Bay,Wisconsin.

After graduating film school, Josh Banville took the route that many aspiring filmmakers had taken before. TheMassachusettsnative moved out toCaliforniato jump-start his career, or as he says, to join “the so-called industry.”

2010 Los Angeles Film Festival

As Laker fans were spilling out of theStaplesCenterto riot in the streets, celebrities, cinephiles, and members of the press were lining up a few hundred feet away for the start of the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival.

For the first time, the annual showcase took place in its new downtown venue at L.A. Live’s enormous Regal Cinemas complex. It’s a gorgeous, brand new complex with plenty of room to hold the festival alongside a regular screening schedule. In addition to gala red carpet screenings for new mainstream films like “Cyrus” and “Twilight: Eclipse,” the festival also offered a nice sampler of international films, documentaries, discussions with filmmakers, independent films, shorts, and even programs that compiled unique music videos.

The Narrative Award, given to one of nine films in competition, went to the Danish film “A Family (En Familie).” Pernille Fischer Christensen directed this drama about a family dealing with their impending future upon hearing the news that their charismatic patriarch has fallen ill.

J. Clay Tweel won the Documentary Award for his film “Make Believe,” which follows six teenage magicians as they prepare for a competition at the World Magic Seminar. The new education documentary from “Inconvenient Truth” filmmaker Davis Guggenheim, entitled “Waiting for Superman,” premiered at the festival as well. It was met with a great deal of praise and buzz; however it was not in competition for any of the festival’s awards.

Many of the films being screened were eligible for the Audience Award. British writer, director, and comedian Christopher Morris received this prize for his film “Four Lions.” The film is sure to attract plenty of attention, both positive and negative, upon its official release. It uses humor and satire to depict the training of four bumbling wannabe jihad terrorists.

In addition to screening upcoming films, a few filmmakers turned out as well for exclusive discussions. Christopher Nolan talked about his soon to be released “Inception” and also screened Pink Floyd’s “The Wall,” citing it as a strong visual inspiration for his upcoming film.

Another film deemed as a “must see” was the Japanese crowd pleaser “Golden Slumber,” and it wound up becoming a festival favorite. Directed by Yoshihiro Nakamura, “Golden Slumber” falls into the “wrongfully accused fugitive on the run” subgenre, but is so off the wall and all over the place in the best way possible that leaving it at just that is a disservice.

Friendly, mild-mannered deliveryman Aoyagi meets an old friend for lunch one day, only to suddenly find that he is being framed for the assassination of the Japanese prime minister. A manhunt ensues, and Aoyagi has to rely on many clever tricks to survive, as well as the help from a few old college classmates, a crippled ex-gangster, and a spry, cheerful young serial killer amongst others.

Tonally, the film is a bit all over the place, but gets by on its many charms. There are numerous twists and payoffs throughout. It also takes its title from the Beatles song “Golden Slumbers,” which recurs several times over the course of the film and is actually integral to the story.

During the week, the festival also hosted a few select outdoor screenings at the John Ford Amphitheater. Neil Marhsall’s upcoming Roman soldier epic “Centurion,” starring Michael Fassbender, was screened on one of the nights and earned a pretty solid amount of buzz. Another outdoor screening featured the world premiere of Alexandre Phillipe’s Star Wars documentary “The People vs. George Lucas.”

Fans from all over the world were interviewed for the film, which chronicles the love/hate relationship that Star Wars die hards have developed with its creator over the past fifteen years or so. There are many entertaining moments that arise from the cavalcade of eccentric fans that Phillipe puts on display. The problem with this documentary, however, is that all it really does is outline all of the many complaints and praises that people have been talking about for years regarding Star Wars. There is really nothing new or insightful to be gained.

The festival also provided a venue to screen the premiere of the Netflix “Find Your Voice” Competition winner. Netflix, along with sponsors such as Kodak and Panavision, gave a filmmaking grant to competition winner Philip Flores for his script “The Wheeler Boys.”

Much like HBO’s failed Project Greenlight series, a film that came from a competition winner turns out to be amateur and very average at best. “The Wheeler Boys” is about two brothers, one a high school senior, the other a freshman. The freshman longs to follow in his brother’s footsteps and join his secret society “The Kings,” which is a group of seniors who assign points to freshman girls and then earn those points by sleeping with them.

It is one of those films that tries hard to be daring and provocative in its subject matter at every turn, but in the end is simply just boring and idiotic. While the screening was going on, the film was simultaneously available in homes via Netflix Instant Streaming.

Overall, the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival provided a massive buffet of upcoming things to be excited about in cinema. The strongest films coming out of the fest are “Cyrus” and “Golden Slumber.” Even if the swanky new downtown digs are sort of a pain to get to (but then again, so is everything inL.A.), they are a terrific venue and the city can benefit from having the festival there in years to come.

As Cannes 2010 heads into its second and final week, questions abound as to what films will be taking home juried prizes this Sunday night. After more than 50 years, Cannes has developed a reputation as a festival that can launch a film from obscurity as well as take a film soaked in hype and stop it dead in its tracks.

Many of the films showcased at the Boston International Film Festival this past week are the standard indie fare. Somber dramas, documentaries and quirky shorts dominate the schedule, which is no surprise. “Immigration Tango,” however, is a little bit different.

The 48th Ann Arbor Film Festival opened on Tuesday, March 23rd and runs through the 28th. Offering 170 films from 20 countries, this year’s festival will feature 40 unique programs, several premieres, and a chance to mingle with filmmakers from around the world.

The Oscars | The Hurt Locker Leads The Way

It’s hard to say that there were any surprises at this year’s Oscars, as it now seems that each nominee comes with a built in storyline in either victory or defeat. “The Hurt Locker” was this year’s most decorated winner, taking home Best Picture honors and best director for Kathryn Bigelow—the first time in the 82 year history of the Academy Awards that a woman has won the award.  

It was also honored for Best Original Screenplay (by Mark Boal), Film Editing, Sound Mixing, and Sound Editing.

“There's no other way to describe it. It's the moment of a lifetime,” Bigelow said. “It's so extraordinary to be in the company of my fellow nominees, such powerful filmmakers, who have inspired me and I have admired,  some of them for decades.” 

There were ten nominees for Best Picture this year, up from the usual five. While “The Hurt Locker” is a well made, taut war movie, it plays out more like a series of vignettes rather than a cohesive film. Everything about the movie is top-notch, but there just seems that something is lacking to make it Best Picture.

Out of all the films nominated, it feels like “District 9” will be most remembered as a great movie. It had a truly original premise; it might be that Academy members were wary about voting for a movie that featured aliens who looked like brine shrimp.

There was an inordinate amount of pre-Oscar hype built up for “Avatar,” James Cameron’s decade long labor of computer generated love. The revolutionary effects process he helped create for the movie, his own two year marriage to Bigelow, and the fact that “Avatar” became the highest grossing movie of all time all pointed to a movie that was incredibly hard to ignore. But “Avatar” is actually a very pedestrian movie, and not even Cameron’s best (“The Abyss,” perhaps?). It comes off as an average interplanetary war story with an uninspired script. It is visually stunning, however, and its Oscar wins for Art Direction, Cinematography and Visual Effects are extremely hard to argue against.

Jeff Bridges’ win for best actor was well deserved. While it can be seen as the lifetime achievement Oscar for somebody who had been nominated four times before and never won, Bridges’ role in “Crazy Heart” as an alcoholic, conflicted country singer on his way down is transcendent. His more than 40 year career should have produced an Oscar winner before, but he has his vindication now.

Before the Oscars, the best actress category seemed the most wide open out of the major awards. Sandra Bullock’s win, for her turn in “The Blind Side” seemed to rest largely in the “feel good” category. Bullock has been knocking around Hollywood for nearly two decades, in movies of glaringly varied quality. Her performance was strong, but it’s hard to say that it stood out that much among the other nominees. Bullock may never get another Oscar worthy role, however, so it might not be worst thing that she won.

Christoph Waltz’s win as best supporting actor was almost a foregone conclusion. His scenery chewing Nazi in “Inglourious Basterds” was almost too good to be true.  

Mo’Nique’s win as best supporting actress, for her role as the abusive mother in “Precious” rang true. She was up against some strong competition; Maggie Gyllenhaal gave a great performance in “Crazy Heart,” and both Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick were nominated from “Up in the Air” for good reason. Only Penelope Cruz, in “Nine” seemed to be an afterthought. 

It was only in her acceptance speech, when she said, “I would like to thank the academy for showing that it can be about the performance and not the politics,” that seemed off the mark. Ostensibly, every actor in every category is nominated for their performance, so if either Gyllenhall or Farmiga (the other best bets to win) took home the Oscar, would that have lessened its meaning? 

Best Adapted Screenplay went to Geoffrey Fletcher for “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.” And while “Precious” lost out in the major categories, it no doubt benefited from the Oscar buzz the movie generated. Director/Producer Lee Daniels, Mo’Nique, and newcomer (and best actress nominee) Gabourey Sidibe should all be able to find themselves working on high profile projects for years to come.

While the Oscars made some changes this year—most notably raising the number of Best Picture nominees—credit The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with trying to right what they see as perceived wrongs. If last year’s exclusion of “The Dark Knight” truly led them to try and include more films to honor, that can be seen as a positive. The Oscars, for better or for worse, represent filmmaking to the population at large, and if there’s one thing people are passionate about, it’s movies.

The 25th Film Independent Spirit Awards

For glamour watchers, the Academy Awards are and always will be the destination of choice. But for fans of filmmakers who see their profession as a labor of love, and not just a labor of commerce, the 25th Film Independent Spirit Awards, to be held March 5th, can be seen as a more true celebration of filmmaking.  

Initially called the Friends of Independent Film Awards, the awards were first given out in 1984, and renamed two years later as the Independent Spirit Awards. Finally, in 2007, they became the Film Independent Spirit Awards.

Presented by Film Independent, a non profit group which tries to foster the unique vision of the independent filmmaker, the ceremony generally takes place beach side in Santa Monica under a tent with the guests and honorees dressed far more casually than the Oscar crowd. Starting in 1999 the Spirit Awards were moved to the day before the Oscar telecast (although this year the show will be on a Friday), and has been shown on IFC since 1994.

The Spirit Awards Nomination Committee, comprised of industry professionals, select film critics and members of  the Film Independent Board of Directors, base their decisions on the film’s uniqueness of vision, original or provocative subject matter, economy of means (the film’s budget and actors’ compensation), and percentage of financing from independent sources.

As of 1994, after the lines between fully independent and studio independent became blurred, the group would no longer disqualify a movie solely on the grounds if it was funded by a major or an independent film studio. They recognized that the new movement of independent film was sometimes being championed by producers with connections to studios, but were genuinely interested in making movies that didn’t have fast food toy tie-ins.

This year’s nominees in the Best Feature (given to the producer of the film) category are: “Sin Nombre,” “Precious,” “The Last Station,” “(500) Days of Summer,” and “Amreeka.” Best Director Nominees, with films in parentheses, are:  James Gray (“Two Lovers”), Michael Hoffman (“The Last Station”), Lee Daniels (“Precious”), Joel and Ethan Coen (“A Serious Man”), and Cary Joji Fukunaga (“Sin Nombre”).

Two categories unique to the Spirit Awards are Best First Feature and the John Cassavetes Award, honoring the best feature made with a budget under $500,000. For a complete list of categories and nominees, go to:  http://spiritawards.com/nominees 

“Sin Nombre,” written and directed by Cary Fukunaga, tells the story of two groups of poor Latin Americans trying to make better lives for themselves. Fukunaga weaves parallel stories together and used mostly local, untrained actors in this expression of resolution in the face of heartbreak. 

“Precious,” which Lee Daniels directed as well as produced, is based on the gritty novel “Push” by Sapphire, and the movie’s depiction of a teenage girl overcoming abuse and obstacles at every turn is an unflinching look at the life of somebody born without a chance but the desire to escape her world.

“The Last Station,” which Michael Hoffman wrote and directed (adapted from Jay Parini’s novel), recounts Leo Tolstoy’s last days. Hoffman takes the famous Russian author, played by Christopher Plummer, and doesn’t strip him bare; instead he adds layers to Tolstoy, even though the man himself was trying himself to live a life devoid of material possessions. Helen Mirren gives a magnificent turn as Sofya Tolstoy.

“(500) Days of Summer,” directed by Marc Webb, is an unromantic romantic comedy, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel as two people who blur the line between love and friendship. Its storytelling device, the way the film bounces back and forth, recalls how it feels to remember a real relationship. 

“Amreeka,” written and directed by Cherien Dabis, is the story of a Palestinian single mother who takes her son and moves to Illinois. And while the premise may be simple, Dabis executes it extremely well. Nisreen Faour is excellent as Muna, the mother who can only get a job at White Castle to support her son, even though she worked at a bank in her native country. She handles the classic “stranger in a strange land” role with grace.

Nominees for the Spirit Awards over the past twenty-five years is like a roll call of who’s who in independent film, starting with its infancy in the mid 1980s to its ascension a decade later and continuing now.

The Coen brothers, with their moody film noir “Blood Simple” garnered several nominations, such as Best Feature and Best Screenplay and a win for Joel as Best Director from the first Spirit Awards in 1986. Names like Spike Lee, David Lynch, Oliver Stone and Steven Soderbergh dot the list of directors (and sometimes as writers) throughout two decades plus of honoring the films sometimes made in the shadows of mainstream Hollywood.

Twenty-five years after the first Independent Spirit Awards ceremony, independent film, which never really has been a cohesive movement but more of a collective evolution, has established itself in the industry mainly because many filmmakers didn’t realize how hard it actually was to get a feature produced.

And while studio blockbusters won’t necessarily go the way of the dodo, the same people that produce movies like “Avatar” also have recognized the need for smaller, thought provoking films. The same can be said for awards shows, which tend to be bloated, five hour affairs focused more intently on dress designers, tired musical numbers and box office draw than filmmaking skill. Occasionally, it can be nice to scale back in both areas.