Last February, Filmmaker exclusively streamed for several days the latest feature from 25 New Face Ian Clark, MMXIII. For what is an experimental film, streaming here and, in the following weeks, on other sites was also an experiment in distribution. As he now reposts MMXIII online for viewing by all, Clark submitted the below comments when we asked him for a post mortem on his internet distribution endeavor. Watch the film above and visit Clark at his website here. I think its fair to say that this has been the most fulfilling project I’ve completed to date, both in terms […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 30, 2014A minor traffic stop is a life-changing experience in Paola Mendoza’s short film, Broken Tail Light which stars Jamie-Lynn Sigler and, as her daughter, Heaven King. After viewing, Mendoza, one of Filmmaker‘s 25 New Faces in 2009, points us towards Immigrant Heritage Month.
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 26, 2014Independent filmmakers Lodge Kerrigan and Amy Seimetz will write and direct a Starz cable series, The Girlfriend Experience, based on Steven Soderbergh’s 2009 film. The two also executive produce along with Soderbergh and Philip Fleishman. In Soderbergh’s feature, Sasha Grey starred as a high-priced escort providing a “GFE” — emotional intimacy along with sex. The new series will consist of 13 half-hour scripted episodes. Soderbergh and Kerrigan have worked together before, with the former producing the latter’s Keane. And Seimetz, director of Sun Don’t Shine, was one of four filmmakers cited by Soderbergh at his 2013 San Francisco Film Society […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 23, 2014“What is my America?” That was the question asked 50 playwrights by Centerstage, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. Their answers were filmed by Hal Hartley, who is exclusively debuting the resulting feature documentary, My America, on Fandor for its SVOD premiere beginning July 4. From Centerstage: Filmed by Possible Films, led by award-winning director Hal Hartley, these 50 monologues by writers including Anna Deavere Smith, Neil LaBute, Christopher Durang, and Lynn Nottage explore our particular American moment—the ideas and people that make the country what it is today. The responses, ranging from the political to the personal, form […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 19, 2014Filmmakers, how much attention do you pay to a single body part, to a gesture? This elegantly beautiful supercut on “the tactile world of Robert Bresson” by Kogonada for Criterion shows the great French director’s notoriously precise skill is applied even at the slightest hand gesture. There are no faces in this video yet the drama of these scenes is palpable.
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 19, 2014The Williamsburg-based Northside Film Festival is in swing this week with its typically eclectic mixture of pictures curated by various local film partners (including IFP, Filmmaker‘s publisher) as well as, for the DIY Competition, their in-house team. Below are seven picks for those on the L train this week. More details on these screenings can be found at the Northside site here. i hate myself :). Any cultural critic namechecking Lana, Lena and Leslie (Jamison) while untangling the limits of autobiography, masochistic self-portrayal and the representation of female sexuality in the pornified internet age should reserve a paragraph or two […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 17, 2014Director Rania Attieh was born in Tripoli, Lebanon, and her partner Daniel Garcia grew up in South Texas. Their first feature together, Okay, Enough, Goodbye crisscrossed Attieh’s hometown, canvassing 30 locations in 40 days to create a story, they say, that is a “love/hate relationship with the city itself.” So, after that feature won plaudits on the festival circuit — and landed the two on Filmmaker‘s 2011 25 New Faces list — it seems only appropriate that they head to Texas for their follow-up. Premiering tonight at the Los Angeles Film Festival, Recommended by Enrique is described as “a tale […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 13, 2014A cancelled flight, early morning rebooking and when a hotel is not a possibility — being stuck overnight in an airport brings on a particularly eerie kind of melancholy. To kill the time, I suspect some camera (or just smartphone)-toting Filmmaker readers might try to create a Twilight Zone-ish horror short, impromptu slasher flick, or perhaps a Winogrand-inspired visual tone poem. Marooned in the Las Vegas aiport, Richard Dunn reached for another inspiration: Celine Dion. His iPhone-shot video, above, resulted in a personal response from the singer, who offered him tickets to her show (and use of her bathroom) next […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 13, 2014Continuing to disprove the assertion that there are 24 hours in a day, prodigious multi-hyphenate James Franco, who has taught at USC, UCLA, CalArts and NYU, and his Rabbit Bandini producing partner Vince Jolivette are launching another new venture: an online course, “Introduction to Screenwriting for Short Films,” on the Skillshare site. Over 30 short video lessons beginning screenwriters will learn the craft by penning an eight-page adaptation of one of three texts: John Steinbeck’s Pastures of Heaven, a story from The Spoon River Anthology, or Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio: A Group of Tales of Ohio Small-Town Life. Right now […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 11, 2014“Kentucker Audley, the Richmond International Film Festival and A Checklist for Avoiding Bad Publicity,” by Lauren Wissot, an article based around contributing editor Wissot’s trip to the Richmond International Film Festival, drew the following response from Heather Waters, the festival’s founder and producer. Aside from editing out email signatures and footers, we are reprinting it in full. Dear Scott, When Lauren Wissot contacted us about covering the Richmond International Film Festival (RIFF) for your magazine, we were excited about the national press (“Kentucker Audley, the Richmond International Film Festival and A Checklist for Avoiding Bad Publicity,” published May 7). However, […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 5, 2014