So I’ve been a little out of touch, I know. It’s taken some time to absorb what’s been going on since we premiered at the G-Tech 500 seat theater in the Austin Convention Center on Monday afternoon. Everything has been happening so fast. Jeanette Maier, the subject of our film, seemed pretty calm as we all had our photos taken in front of the step-and-repeat (the yellow SXSW logo wall) and there was a huge lineup before anyone got in. I realized this just after I sent a message to two colleagues who I’d been emailing with (but had never […]
Here is Ride Rise Roar director David Hillman Curtis’s post-screening, post-Austin blog. Back in Brooklyn. Missing the warmth. The house we rented. The juice shack down the street I went to everyday, the festival and the films and the camaraderie we shared in that big house on Barton Blvd. It was an exciting trip for so many reasons. Like any big project, our film almost met an early fate several times. There were the cuts David rightly did not like and the commercial projects that sidelined the film for months at a time. A couple little flare ups looked as […]
It’ not everyday that I can stream in its entirety a new film by Jean-Luc Godard on the website. Okay, I don’t know for sure that the teaser trailer for Godard’s forthcoming Socialism is the whole film, albeit sped-up, but I imagine it is. From a blog called Radio Deleuze comes what seems to be a synopsis: A symphony in three movements. Things such as: The Mediterranean, a cruise ship. Numerous conversations, in numerous languages, between the passengers, almost all of whom are on holiday… An old man, a war criminal (German, French, American we don?t know) accompanied by his […]
Heather Menicucci from Howcast, the online site that develops filmmakers by having them create its instructional training videos, was down at SXSW meeting filmmakers and interviewing them for Howcast and YouTube’s Creator’s Corner. She’s just posted this video with tips from directors on how to attend SXSW. SXSW may be winding down on the film side (the awards are over but films are still screening), but, needless to say, these tips hold true for independent filmmakers and fests in general. Heather says the series will continue in coming days so check back to her site.
Garth Donovan’s Phillip the Fossil got good buzz at SXSW, with its lead actor, Brian Hasenfus, picking up a Special Jury Award for Best Individual Performance. I met Donovan on Tuesday and used my Flip camera to ask him a few questions about his movie.
Today is the day our film screens at the gorgeous Paramount cinema in Austin. We were there opening night for the raucous screening of KICK-ASS and so it feels like we have big shoes to fill! However a quick glimpse at the theatre at lunchtime with a queue already forming despite the rain, we had some hope of at least filling the 600 seat stalls before we had to worry about the balcony. It ended up being better than we could have expected (I know I keep saying this, but SXSW keeps amazing me!) and we had lines all around […]
The winners of the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas were announced tonight. Here is a complete list of the awards: DOCUMENTARY FEATURE – Marwencol (Director: Jeff Malmberg) Runner-up: War Don Don (Director: Rebecca Richman Cohen) NARRATIVE FEATURE – Tiny Furniture (Director: Lena Dunham) Special Jury Award – Best Ensemble: Myth of the American Sleepover (Director: David Robert Mitchell) SPECIAL JURY AWARD – Best Individual Performance: Brian Hasenfus in Phillip the Fossil (Director: Garth Donovan) Feature Film Audience Awards DOCUMENTARY FEATURE – For Once in My Life (Directors: Jim Bigham & Mark Moormann) NARRATIVE FEATURE – Brotherhood (Director: Will Canon) […]
THE PREMIERE. I’m not new to the film festival experience but because this is my directorial debut things have really ratcheted up emotionally this time. My sales rep, Josh Braun, and my publicist, Jessica Edwards, have both been working hard to make sure the world premiere of my film, The Weird World of Blowfly, goes as smoothly as possible and has all the right people in attendance. They’re also working hard to keep me from hyperventilating and passing out! It’s a very exciting moment, just before the premiere, filled with anxiety and catharsis. The film is premiering at the Alamo […]
Today’s has been one of those days when juggling the demands of a festival and work back at the office is the big challenge. Particularly tough when the office is on a different time zone and you wake to a jammed Monday morning inbox that needs clearing before the day starts here in Austin! But that’s the joy of working in teams if you keep communication and delegation going in clear and effective ways. My business partner Gavin and I caught on up a video Skype chat and went through everything we needed to cover, fellow producer Vanessa went with […]
The 2010 Tribeca Film Festival today announced its remaining out-of-competition feature film selections in the Encounters, Discovery, Cinemania and Spotlight sections. The Festival will run April 21 to May 2. The Encounters section, comprised of 14 films, include selections include new works by Academy Award-winning filmmakers Alex Gibney and Chuck Workman, Academy Award nominee Dana Adam Shapiro, and featuring actors like Ellen Barkin, Liev Schreiber, Melissa Leo, Rashida Jones, Tilda Swinton, and many more. The Discovery section include documentaries showcasing everything from the North Pole and Congressional redistricting to a comedy tour of the Middle East. Its narrative films feature […]