2008 LA Film Festival Winners

Congratulations to the winners of the 2008 LA Film Festival!

- Target Filmmaker Award for Best Narrative Feature: The Prince of Broadway, directed by Sean Baker, written by Baker and Darren Dean (above)

- The Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature: The Wackness, written and directed by Jonathan Levine

- Jury Prize for Best Performance went to Jennifer Lawrence who starred in Lori Petty's autobiographical The Poker House

- Best Narrative Short Film: Magic Paris, written and directed by Alice Winocour

- Best Animated or Experimental Short Film: I Have Seen the Future, directed by Cam Christiansen, written by Kris Demeanor, animated by Christiansen and Scott Underhill

- The Audience Award for Best Short Film: Frankie, written and directed by Darren Thornton

* * *

- Target Documentary Award for Best Documentary Feature: Loot, written and directed by Darius Marder

- The Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature: Anvil! The Story of Anvil, directed by Sasha Gervasi

- A Special Documentary Jury Commendation was awarded to Pressure Cooker, directed by Jennifer Grausman and Mark Becker (below)

- The Audience Award for Best International Feature: Man on Wire, directed by James Marsh

- Best Documentary Short Film: City of Cranes, directed by Eva Weber

- The Audience Award for Best Music Video: "Run,” directed by Melanie Mandl, music by Air

Santa Barbara City College Film Students Enjoy the Festival

Santa Barbara City College offers a Festival Studies Program in conjunction with the LA Film Fest, thanks to Instructor and Film Studies Program Chair Nico Maestu. Classwork includes multiple daily screenings, blog postings, and instruction/"office hours" at the festival. Student blogs can be read at http://filmreviews.sbcc.edu 

"I like meeting everybody. Getting conversations going," says student Jackie Lopez. "As a film student, I feel like I’m getting more out of it than watching movies for sure." Lopez's favorite film of the fest, she says, is The Garden. "Not a dry eye in the house," she continues. "[Scott Hamilton Kennedy] made a beautiful movie. "By the end of the movie, whether you started off knowing anything [about the LA Community Garden] or not, you want to fight for their cause. Everyone should see this. " The Garden, just one of the amazing films--and learning experiences--at this year's festival, will be screening again on Friday, July 27. The best part of LAFF for Maestu? "Introducing the festival to all the students, most of whom have never been to a festival," he says. Santa Barbara City College Instructor Nico Maestu and student Stephanie Rieger in the Target Red Room at LA Film Festival.

Tech Talk - 15 Seconds of Fame

Everyone's Famous for 15 Seconds, on Saturday, June 21, at the Festival Gallery at the LA Film Festival.





Danae Ringelmann, CFA, Chief of Finance & Customer Development, IndieGoGo (left); moderated a panel of Linda Olszewski of Shorts International and Independent Filmmaker Phillip Von Alvensleben, Filmaka. The trio explained how the Internet and other digital media have ushered in new opportunities and challenges for the independent filmmaker, and ways in which independent filmmakers can use it to their advantage.

They discussed the ways in which independent filmmakers can use short films as a calling card, as well as marketing tools for self promotion.

"Opportunities are everywhere," Ringelmann said. "There's never been a better time to be an independent filmmaker."

"[Short films] are a fairly inexpensive way to show your talent and show your commitment to your dream," Von Alvensleben explained.

A live-action short film can range from 10 to 40 minutes, an animated one: 5 to 40 minutes. A webisode can run 2 to 5 minutes. Also, Olszewski recommended shooting the film (or at least mastering it) in high definition.

Genre films, niche, animation, anything with a hook can get a filmmaker noticed.

The best way to stand out online? The experts agree: "Make a good film."

LA Film Festival Press & Filmmaker Party - June 20, 2008

As the LA Film Festival got rolling, filmmakers enjoyed the Filmmaker and Press Cocktail Party on Friday, June 20, 2008.

Kathryn Aselton, Mark Duplass, Jen Tracy-Duplass & Jay Duplass (left to right) Writer-director-brothers Mark and Jay Duplass (The Puffy Chair) celebrated with their wives. Their latest film Baghead is having summer previews at LAFF, and will screen again on Friday at The Landmark at 4:45pm.

Pressure Cooker directors Mark Becker and Jennifer Grausman. The film, about Philadelphia's Frankford High School culinary arts teacher Wilma Stephenson, who helps inner city students prepare for a citywide cooking competition for scholarships to some of the country's top culinary arts institutions, is in the Festival's Documentary Competition. This inspirational journey of self-discovery and cooking will screen again on Tuesday, June 24, and Wednesday, June 25.




The Garden producer-director Scott Hamilton Kennedy stopped by the party before catching a screening of a documentary in competition. The Garden, about struggles facing the South Central LA Community Garden, had its World Premiere on Saturday, June 21, 2008.

Writer-director-producer Olaf De Fleur Johannesson's film The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela is in the LAFF International Showcase. The film, which screens on Thursday, June 26, and Sunday, June 29, originally started out as a documentary, yet Olaf decided to go the narrative route instead. A Filipina transsexual dreams of love and Paris in this so-surreal-it-must-be-true "visiomentary," a documentary/re-staged re-creation/fantasy that won the Teddy Award for Best Gay & Lesbian Feature at the recent Berlin Film Festival.

The Prince of Broadway co-writers Darren Dean (left) and Sean Baker. Their film is in narrative competition at the Festival.

Check www.LAFilmFest.com for more information, including times and locations, about these and other films screening at the festival.

Opening Night at the LA Film Festival

Opening night of the 2008 LA Film Festival in Westwood.

Film Fest Attendees await the opening night screening of "Wanted," starring James McAvoy, Morgan Freemen, and Angelina Jolie.

Paper or Plastic? Executive Producer Oren Jacob (left) and Director/Cinematographer Alex D. da Silva with Debra Eckerling (Final Draft, Script magazine) at the LAFF Opening Night party. Director/Producer Justine Jacob is waiting on her and husband's Oren's next production--their next child. (Update: Ellis Noemi Jacob joined siblings Toby, 4 1/2, and Sammy, 2 1/2. Mother and daughter are doing great!) Paper or Plastic? premieres on June 20th at The Regent, 1045 Broxton in Westwood, at 7:30 pm.

At 5 pm, witness firsthand the fastest grocery bagger contestants as featured in the Los Angeles Film Festival’s documentary competition film "Paper or Plastic?" State Champions from the National Grocers Association (NGA) will provide live demonstration of the NGA BEST BAGGER CONTEST. James Hunter - California Best Bagger Champion; Brian Bay - Utah Best Bagger Champion; and Jacob Richardson - Virginia Best Bagger Champion, will be competing in front of The Regent. You will never view grocery baggers the same way again!

Actress turned Writer/Director Lori Petty with producing partner Peter Quartaroli at the Festival Opening Night Party. Lori's autobiographical film, The Poker House, which she co-wrote with David Alan Grier, premieres Friday, June 20, at The Mann Festival Theatre, 10877 Lindbrook Drive in Westwood.

The film, starring Selma Blair as Petty’s struggling abused mother, Bookeem Woodbine, David Alan Grier, and newcomer Jennifer Lawrence, is based on Petty's teenage experiences and struggles in a poor, small town in Iowa, circa 1976.


For more info on these and other films at the festival, go to www.LAFilmFest.com

LA Film Festival Opens Tonight

The Los Angeles Film Festival, held annually for ten days in June, showcases the best of American and international independent cinema. With an expected attendance of over 100,000, the festival screens over 175 narrative features, documentaries, shorts, and music videos. Now in its fourteenth year, the festival has grown into a world-class event, uniting new filmmakers with critics, scholars, film masters, and the movie-loving public.

This year's festival runs from June 19 - June 29 in Westwood Village.

For more information, go to: www.LAFilmFest.com

AFI Top 10 List of 10 Film Genres

Here is the American Film Institute's top-10 lists of the best in 10 film genres:

ANIMATION

1. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937.

2. "Pinocchio," 1940.

3. "Bambi," 1942.

4. "The Lion King," 1994.

5. "Fantasia," 1940.

6. "Toy Story," 1995.

7. "Beauty and the Beast," 1991.

8. "Shrek," 2001.

9. "Cinderella," 1950.

10. "Finding Nemo," 2003.

FANTASY

1. "The Wizard of Oz," 1939.

2. "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," 2001.

3. "It's a Wonderful Life," 1946.

4. "King Kong," 1933.

5. "Miracle on 34th Street, 1947.

6. "Field of Dreams," 1989.

7. "Harvey," 1950.

8. "Groundhog Day," 1993.

9. "The Thief of Bagdad," 1924.

10. "Big," 1988.

GANGSTER

1. "The Godfather," 1972.

2. "Goodfellas," 1990.

3. "The Godfather Part II," 1974.

4. "White Heat," 1949.

5. "Bonnie and Clyde," 1967.

6. "Scarface: The Shame of a Nation," 1932.

7. "Pulp Fiction," 1994.

8. "The Public Enemy," 1931.

9. "Little Caesar," 1930.

10. "Scarface," 1983.

SCIENCE FICTION

1. "2001: A Space Odyssey," 1968.

2. "Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope," 1977.

3. "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," 1982.

4. "A Clockwork Orange," 1971.

5. "The Day The Earth Stood Still," 1951.

6. "Blade Runner," 1982.

7. "Alien," 1979.

8. "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," 1991.

9. "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," 1956.

10. "Back to the Future," 1985.

WESTERN

1. "The Searchers," 1956.

2. "High Noon," 1952.

3. "Shane," 1953.

4. "Unforgiven," 1992.

5. "Red River," 1948.

6. "The Wild Bunch," 1969.

7. "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," 1969.

8. "McCabe & Mrs. Miller," 1971.

9. "Stagecoach," 1939.

10. "Cat Ballou," 1965.

SPORTS

1. "Raging Bull," 1980.

2. "Rocky," 1976.

3. "The Pride of the Yankees," 1942.

4. "Hoosiers," 1986.

5. "Bull Durham," 1988.

6. "The Hustler," 1961.

7. "Caddyshack," 1980.

8. "Breaking Away," 1979.

9. "National Velvet," 1944.

10. "Jerry Maguire," 1996.

MYSTERY

1. "Vertigo," 1958.

2. "Chinatown," 1974.

3. "Rear Window," 1954.

4. "Laura," 1944.

5. "The Third Man," 1949.

6. "The Maltese Falcon," 1941.

7. "North By Northwest," 1959.

8. "Blue Velvet," 1986.

9. "Dial M for Murder," 1954.

10. "The Usual Suspects," 1995.

ROMANTIC COMEDY

1. "City Lights," 1931.

2. "Annie Hall," 1977.

3. "It Happened One Night," 1934.

4. "Roman Holiday," 1953.

5. "The Philadelphia Story," 1940.

6. "When Harry Met Sally ...," 1989.

7. "Adam's Rib," 1949.

8. "Moonstruck," 1987.

9. "Harold and Maude," 1971.

10. "Sleepless in Seattle," 1993.

COURTROOM DRAMA

1. "To Kill a Mockingbird," 1962.

2. "12 Angry Men," 1957.

3. "Kramer Vs. Kramer," 1979.

4. "The Verdict," 1982.

5. "A Few Good Men," 1992.

6. "Witness for the Prosecution," 1957.

7. "Anatomy of a Murder," 1959.

8. "In Cold Blood," 1967.

9. "A Cry in the Dark," 1988.

10. "Judgment at Nuremberg," 1961.

EPIC

1. "Lawrence of Arabia," 1962.

2. "Ben-Hur," 1959.

3. "Schindler's List," 1993.

4. "Gone With the Wind," 1939.

5. "Spartacus," 1960.

6. "Titanic," 1997.

7. "All Quiet on the Western Front," 1930.

8. "Saving Private Ryan," 1998.

9. "Reds," 1981.

10. "The Ten Commandments," 1956.