SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS

Hello all and thank you for visiting the Society blog.  After many years of being m.i.a., or actually living life as a mere mortal, I'm delighted to be back in touch with those good ol' Guerrilla boys... and now a whole slew of girls.  I recently came face to face with the old crew and they immediately mentioned that they had a blog page that needed some serious TLC and someone who could string a few sentences together to get some points across.  So, here I am... stopping by, along my many travels to share with you some thoughts, anecdotes, and who knows, maybe even some after-thoughts.  Those of you familiar with Guerrilla Filmmaker will know me from my SULLIVAN'S CORNER column I used to dedicate to new DVD releases.  For those of you who don't know me, allow me to introduce myself... I am Darko Sullivan and I'm currently working with Domani Vision's Feature Screenwriting Competition at Visionfest, in the capacity of Submissions Director, which basically means I read a lot... really a lot... A lot more than normal.  On these pages. however, I plan to write a little... a little more than these guys used to, but a lot less than how much I read... and that's for your sake as well...

On this first entry of TRAVELS, I've been asked - somewhat politely - to give you a heads-up on some upcoming Domani Vision Film Society events (and I've been told that they're using my same text in their December Newsletter -- uncredited!!! The nerve)... But here's the lowdown:

The Domani Vision Film Society is proud to officially announce that on February 1, 2013, in collaboration with actor/writer/producer, Annette Beatrice, it will be co-hosting a special, one-night-only exclusive screening at New York's The Players (16 Gramercy Park).  With doors opening at 6pm, the event will kick off with an hour of cocktails and mingling, followed by the unveiling of a select collection of short films (titles to be determined) derived from past editions of VISIONFEST: The Other Festival, as well as new works from up and coming Gotham-based filmmakers.  The screening will be followed by a Q&A and networking opportunities with the filmmakers whose works are being showcased.  The event may be attended only via special advance reservations, with priority seating designated for Players Club and Domani Vision Film Society members.  Updates regarding the line-up, info on making reservations, and other pertinent details will be available in the next issue of THE VISIONARY and on the Domani Vision Film Society Website at www.domanivision.org  Of course, I will also keep on eye on new developments and share those with you as I get them.

Well... that does it this time around.  I'll be doing some pre-Oscar handicapping along the way, so please join me on my TRAVELS and be merry on your way!               - Darko

VISIONFEST 13 ANNOUNCES DATES!

VISIONFEST 13: The Other Festival, has announced its event dates for the VF13 edition: The film festival will have its 13th annual run at Tribeca Cinemas, in New York City, June 26 thru June 30, 2013.  Taking advantage of its campaign design, which has some sinister and brooding echoes of darkness, VF13 plans to dedicate its Friday, June 28th screenings exclusively to fare that mirrors the tonality of its new campaign.  Dubbed "Fright Night" at VF13, the evening will offer projects that are sure to raise the hairs on your arms.

Kicking off this new campaign, VF13 and the Domani Vision Film Society also welcome on board Festival Coordinator, Kate Mistretta, and their newest team addition, Director of Development: Jennifer M. Snyder.

Also on the very near horizon:  Domani Vision Film Society is currently in talks with filmmaker/writer and producer, Annette Beatrice, to bring forth a new initiative of DVFS, which will consist of monthly or bi-monthly screenings of past VF films and will feature very cool networking opportunities, as well as one-on-one discussions with the filmmakers who have made the films that will be screened.

Stay tuned for more details coming your way...

VISIONFEST 12 WRAPS WITH A SONG...

VISIONFEST12 WRAPS ANNUAL EDITION WITH A BALANCED SHARE OF

HONORED WORKS AT ITS INDEPENDENT VISION AWARD (IVA) CEREMONY

SHEENA McCANN CROWNED WITH DOMANI VISION AWARD 2012!

New York, NY (June 25, 2012) – VF12: The Other Festival wrapped its 5-day run last night with the 2012 Independent Vision Awards (IVA) Ceremony and the World Premiere of its exclusive filmmaking initiative, the 5x5 New York State of Mind Digital Project.  VF12 co-director, Bruno Derlin, kicked things off with a musical twist, literally breaking into song with an ode to Billy Crystal’s “It’s a wonderful night for Oscar” and replacing the award name with IVAs.  He followed the zany introduction by handing out the first set of awards, which saw three writers from the Visionfest Feature Screenwriting Competition recognized, as follows: Third place recipient, Austen Brauker for HOMUNCULUS; in second place, Thomas Pace, for his screenplay, THE HIGH MESA COLONY; and the winner of the 2012 Feature Screenwriting Competition, Giles Daoust for FOUNDING FATHERS.  Second place winner, Thomas Pace, was on hand to accept his award, humorously threatening to walk off with one of the acrylic statuettes intended for the film honorees.

The evening was fueled by the generous energy of the the crowd, which was at capacity in Tribeca Cinemas Theater 2, and often broke into slightly rowdy but respectful applause and cheers as each IVA recipient was called to the stage.  Unlike recent years, there was not a single film sweep, with many of the nominated projects taking home a nicely balanced share of the honors. 

Filmmaker Sheena McCann was crowned with the festival’s top honor, the Domani Vision Award for Emerging Talent, for her short subject narrative, THE DARKNESS IS CLOSE BEHIND, which also took home a statuette as the year’s Best Short.  McCann’s Domani Vision Award win marked the first time since 2002 that a short subject filmmaker was honored with the Domani Vision Film Society special prize.

Directing honors were bestowed upon Richard Bosner, whose narrative feature, FALLING UPHILL, also won the Jack Nance Breakthrough Performance Award for its female lead, Jessiqa Pace.  Bosner took to the stage to accept both awards, graciously thanking everyone at the festival for his award and defining Ms. Pace as “a truly special and talented actress.”

Scott Schaeffer’s narrative short subject, THE CARRIER, was cited for Outstanding Achievement in Production, with Schaeffer going up to accept the award on behalf of the film’s team of producers, Anna Ramey, Chris Wilson, and Mark Hartzell.

VF12 Opening Night feature, BROADWAY’S FINEST, by Stephen Marro, landed wins in two categories: Writing (Stephen Marro) and the Abe Schrager Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography (Adrian Correia) – the latter award sponsored by the American Society of Cinematographers.  Mr. Marro joked about his poor spelling skills as he accepted his award, adding that “that’s exactly what makes this award extra special.”  Adrian Correia humbly embraced his statuette, stating: “I didn’t personally know Abe (Schrager), but I hope to be able to honor his memory with this award. Thank you.”

Ali Scher’s THE MAIDEN AND THE PRINCESS was singled out in Acting for its male lead, David Anders, and for Short Form Screenwriting (Ali Scher & Joe Swanson); the latter prize marking the only “tie” result in this year’s IVA winners’ list, with WEB OF LIES scribe, Kathryn Gould, taking home a Certificate of Award for her work.

Female Acting Lead honors were assigned to Nicki Micheaux for her work in NARCOCORRIDO, a Student Academy Award winner, directed by Ryan Prows.  The short was also cited for its Sound Design with a Certificate of Award for Brett Hinton.

A Special Jury Prize for Technical and Artistic Achievement was issued to Harvey Hubbell V for his documentary, DISLECKSIA: THE MOVIE, which enjoyed a standing room only screening at VF12 and was defined as “a genuine crowd pleaser” by countless attendees.

Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Filmmaking was bestowed upon Grant Hamilton for his epic feature doc, TIME ZERO: THE LAST YEAR OF POLAROID FILM.  Mr. Hamilton took to the stage to accept his award, giving a warm and loving ‘shout out’ to his executive producer and wife, Sara Hamilton.  He returned to his seat and celebrated his triumphant moment with Ms. Hamilton by ‘sealing it with a kiss’ in what was probably the evening’s warmest “Polaroid moment.”  

The Editing Award winner was the feature film, IN MONTAUK, by Kim Cummings.  Ms. Cummings accepted the award with an emotionally charged acceptance speech, assigning the larger part of the credit to Eleanor Burke, who, as stated by Ms. Cummings, ultimately took the film from rough to finished form.

Original Score & Music honors went to Rob Kleiner for Steve Bladerson’s CULTURE SHOCK. Kleiner, who was nominated this year for the third consecutive year, had previously won the award with his music score for  STUCK! at VF10 and was a runner-up last year with THE CASSEROLE CLUB.

Rounding out all of the award winners were: Visual Comforts (aka Michael Wiehart) for the Production Design on RE:LEASE and Alexander Yan with the Domani Visionary 2012 Award for his short, ELKO; and a Special Jury Prize for Artistic/Technical Achievement for Brendan Gabriel Murphy for his short, experimental film, PERCEPTIO.

The audience responded with sustained applause to the unveiling of the 2012 5x5 New York State of Mind Digital Project, and the Project’s producer, Nyle Cavazos Garcia, thanked all the writers and directors of the five digital shorts (Jon Carlos Evans, Roald Graves, Geoff Lerer, Bryan Norton, and Jef Taylor; working from scripts written by Nicholas Begnaud, Randy Brown, Alexander Jorgensen, and Jackson Wade), inviting the audience to meet and greet with them at the VF12 after-party, which was held in the Tribeca Cinemas’ Varick Room Lounge.

Following is the complete list of IVA winners:

Domani Vision Award for Emerging Talent  - Sheena McCann (The Darkness is Close Behind)

Outstanding Achievement in Production - The Carrier (Anna Ramey, Chris Wilson, Mark Hartzell)

Directing - Richard Bosner (Falling Uphill)

Writing - Stephen Marro (Broadway's Finest)

Short Subject Narrative - The Darkness is Close Behind

The Jack Nance Breakthrough Performance Award - Jessiqa Pace (Falling Uphill)

Acting (Male Lead) - David Anders (The Maiden and the Princess)

Acting (Female Lead) - Nicki Micheaux (Narcocorrido)

Special Jury Prize – Technical/Artistic Achievement Statuette - Harvey Hubbell V (Dislecksia: The Movie)

The Abe Schrager Award for Cinematography - Adrian Correia (Broadway's Finest)

Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Filmmaking - Time Zero: The Last Year of Polaroid Film

Editing - Eleanor Burke & Kim Cummings (In Montauk)

Original Score - Rob Kleiner (Culture Shock)

Production Design - Visual Comforts – Michael Wiehart (RE:LEASE)

The DVFS Visionary 2012 Award - Alexander Yan (Elko)

Short Form Screenwriting - TIE 

Ali Scher & Joe Swanson (The Maiden and the Princess) / Kathryn Gould (Web of Lies)

Sound Design - Brett Hinton (Narcocorrido)

Special Jury Prize – Technical/Artistic Achiement Certificate - Brendan Gabriel Murphy (Perceptio)

 

For press inquiries: click on the link or visit the website at: http://www.visionfest.com/press/accreditation/  

For more information and the full festival lineup for VF12, visit us online at: www.visionfest.com

LIKE us on Facebook at: Domani Vision Film Society

Blog with us at: The Society & You

Tweet us at: @visionfestNYC

For more information on Visionfest 12: The Other Festival,

please contact Kate at 413-626-0479 or via e-mail at kate@visionfest.com. 

VF12 IVA Nominations Announced!

VISIONFEST12 KICKS OFF WITH A SOLD OUT SHOW AND

 INDEPENDENT VISION AWARD (IVA) NOMINATIONS:

MAIDEN RACKS UP A ROYAL 9 NODS & LEADS THE PACK UPHILL, ALSO WITH 9

New York, NY (June 21, 2012) – VF12: The Other Festival kicked off its Opening Night with a SOLD OUT screening of Stephen Marro’s feature, BROADWAY’S FINEST, and the shorts, RE:LEASE, by Michael Wiehart, add FAITH, by Erik Pagan.  All three of the filmmakers were on hand to talk about their work in a brief Q&A, which immediately followed their screenings, and all three films were included in the list of nominees for the 2012 Independent Vision Awards, which were announced before the large crowd, in the Tribeca Cinemas’ Varick Room Lounge.  Marro’s feature was showered with 7 nominations, including Outstanding Achievement in Direction and the two shorts landed 1 nod each.

At the top of the leader board,  vying for 9 awards apiece, were Ali Scher’s short, THE MAIDEN AND THE PRINCESS, and Richard Bosner’s feature, FALLING UPHILL – both films are also going head to head for the festival’s top honor, the Domani Vision Award for Emerging Talent.  Sheena McCann’s THE DARKNESS IS CLOSE BEHIND, another narrative short which recently made the finalists’ list in the annual Student Academy Awards, nabbed 7 mentions, which, when paired with the 6 nominations collected by Scott Schaeffer’s THE CARRIER, managed to give the leading edge to narrative short subject films over any other category, a first in Visionfest history.

Kathryn Gould and Nelson Goforth, whose 10-minute black and white short, WEB OF LIES, garnered 5 nods, were smiling big following the official announcement, which saw their film also going for the top prize, as well as other major awards, including writing, cinematography, and original score.  Another entry from the Student Academy Awards A-list, the winning finalist, NARCOCORRIDO, by Ryan Prows, rounded out the multiple nominees list, tying with Alexander Yan’s ELKO, with 4 mentions.

Last year’s triumphant IVA recipient, Steve Balderson, returned to VF12 with his newest feature, CULTURE SHOCK, which got singled out for its original score by Rob Kleiner (himself a returning VF award winner), editing, and sound design, adding to the possibility of increasing Balderson’s already impressive  tally, which currently stands at 10 wins (a VF record), originating from three features in a span of seven years. 

The long awaited doc by Harvey Hubbell V, DISLECKSIA: THE MOVIE, was cited in the Documentary category, along with Grant Hamilton’s TIME ZERO: THE LAST YEAR OF POLAROID, which also nabbed an editing nod.  CARBON FOR WATER, CAMP CASSEROLE, and RUNNING THROUGH: THE JORDAN CULBREATH STORY rounded out the docs in competition.

The awards will be presented on Sunday, June 24, 2012, at 7:45 p.m., in Tribeca Cinemas’ Theater 2.  Following is the complete list of IVA nominees for this year’s edition of VF...

Domani Vision Award for Emerging Talent

Sheena McCann (The Darkness is Close Behind)

Richard Bosner (Falling Uphill)

Ali Scher (The Maiden and the Princess)

Ryan Prows (Narcocorrido)

Kathryn Gould & Nelson Goforth (Web of Lies)

Outstanding Achievement in Production

Broadway's Finest (Jack Adalist, Doug LeClaire)

The Carrier (Anna Ramey, Chris Wilson, Mark Hartzell)

Falling Uphill (Barrett Hacia)

The Maiden and the Princess (Becca Luisel & Ian Ward)

In Montauk (Kim Cummings, Jeremiah Kipp)

Directing

Stephen Marro (Broadway’s Finest)

Scott Schaeffer (The Carrier)

Sheena McCann (The Darkness is Close Behind)

Richard Bosner (Falling Uphill)

Ali Scher (The Maiden and the Princess)

Writing

Stephen Marro (Broadway's Finest)

Sheena McCann (The Darkness is Close Behind)

Richard Bosner  (Falling Uphill)

Ali Scher & Joe Swanson (The Maiden and the Princess)

Kathryn Gould (Web of Lies)

Short Subject Narrative

The Carrier

The Darkness is Close Behind

Elko

Narcocorrido

The Maiden and the Princess

The Jack Nance Breakthrough Performance Award

Adam Storke (Broadway's Finest)

Jessiqa Pace (Falling Uphill)

Sean McGee (Falling Uphill)

Annalee Scott (Elko)

Conor Casey (Mouthful)

Acting (Male Lead)

Caleb Hunt (The Darkness is Close Behind)

Michael Desjardin (Elko)

Ari Kanamori (Falling Uphill)

Alex Roesch (Human Geography)

David Anders (The Maiden and the Princess)

Acting (Female Lead)

Rita Wilson (The Carrier)

Jessiqa Pace (Falling Uphill)

Jena Hunt (Falling Uphill)

T. Sahara Meer (The Kook)

Nicki Micheaux (Narcocorrido)

The Abe Schrager Award for Cinematography

Adrian Correia (Broadway's Finest)

John Barr (The Carrier)

Michael David Lynch (Perceptio)

Doug Carr (The Stronger)

Nelson Goforth (Web of Lies)

Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Filmmaking

Camp Casserole

Carbon for Water

Dislecksia: The Movie

Running Through: The Jordan Culbreath Story

Time Zero: The Last Year of Polaroid

Editing

Mark Hartzell & Aaron Butler (The Carrier)

Steve Balderson (Culture Shock)

Joops Fragale (Date Night)

Eleanor Burke & Kim Cummings (In Montauk)

Per-Hampus Stalhandske (Time Zero: The Last Year of Polaroid)

Original Score

Ben Goldberg & Marshall Grantham (Broadway's Finest)

Rob Kleiner (Culture Shock)

Alex Fleshman (Falling Uphill)

Corey Wallace (The Maiden and the Princess)

Bryan Dennis (Web of Lies)

 

Production Design

Kevin Margo (Grounded)

Ian Strandberg (Last Seen on Dolores Street)

Tricia Roberts (The Maiden and the Princess)

Teo Guardino (Perceptio)

Visual Comforts (RE:LEASE)

The DVFS Visionary 2012 Award

Alexander Yan (Elko)

Dee Robertson (I Kill Flowers To Save The World)

Avital Epstein (Peace at Home)

Michael McKowan (1609)

Carlos Florez (Sekso, Kickit, Nasa)

Short Form Screenwriting

Sheena McCann (The Darkness is Close Behind)

Neil LaBute (Double or Nothing)

Erik Pagan (Faith)

Ali Scher & Joe Swanson (The Maiden and the Princess)

Kathryn Gould (Web of Lies)

Sound Design

Paul Goodrich (Broadway's Finest)

Sabi Tulok (Culture Shock)

Chris Johnston   (The Darkness is Close Behind)

Brett Hinton (Narcocorrido)

Brian Bender (The Hungry Boy)

For press inquiries: click on the link or visit the website at: http://www.visionfest.com/press/accreditation/ and complete the press accreditation form for a full-access badge to VF12 and tickets for the 5x5 New York State of Mind Project.

For more information and the full festival lineup for VF12, visit us online at: www.visionfest.com

LIKE us on Facebook at: Domani Vision Film Society

Blog with us at: The Society & You

Tweet us at: @visionfestNYC

For more information on Visionfest 12: The Other Festival, please contact Kate at 413-626-0479 or via e-mail at kate@visionfest.com.

VF12 Tickets on Sale!

VISIONFEST 12 FESTIVAL TICKETS NOW ON SALE!

The Domani Vision Film Society is Proud to Present

VISIONFEST 12: The Other Festival June 20 – 24, 2012

New York, NY  (May 30, 2012) – Domani Vision Film Society is proud to announce that festival tickets are now on sale for the twelfth annual edition of VISIONFEST: The Other Festival, which runs June 20 – 24, 2012 at New York City’s Tribeca Cinemas, at 54 Varick Street. 

 The ‘Official Opening Night Selection’ screening kicks off with the New York premiere of BROADWAY’S FINEST, a comedy about three struggling actors/writers who impersonate undercover New York City cops and find themselves in a swashbuckling mess of a comedy of errors in this film directed by Stephen Marro.  VF12 co-director, Frank Lewallen, calls the film “hilarious… and warm,” adding that “it’s going to be an awesome treat for our audiences, but for anyone who’s ever acted or even just dreamed of getting into acting in New York, it’s going to strike some very special chords.”

The visionary experimental film, RE:LEASE, by Michael Wiehart, and the short, award winning narrative, FAITH, by Erik Pagan, precede Wednesday night’s feature. Opening Night ticket holders are invited for cocktails at the after-party in the Tribeca Lounge, where nominees of the Independent Vision Award (IVA) will be announced.

Day Two of the festival includes the ‘world premiere’ of IN MONTAUK, by Kim Cummings, paired with 14 other, not-to-be-missed, eclectic film selections, including two documentaries; RUNNING THROUGH: THE JORDAN CULBREATH STORY and UMBERTO E, which is screening ‘out of competition.’ Several animated, narrative, and experimental shorts are screening in Thursday night’s line-up, which will include very raw and powerful dramas destined to stir enough controversy to fuel spirited post screening Q&A sessions.

On Friday, June 22, devoted followers of filmmaker, Steve Balderson, are in for a huge treat with the ‘world premiere’ of CULTURE SHOCK, an indie murder mystery romp shot in Europe. VF12 co-director, Bruno Derlin, expressed his admiration of Balderson’s prolific roster of ambitious projects by defining him as a “perfect filmmaking machine,” (in an obvious nod recalling a famous line from JAWS), adding that “all this man does is eat, sleep and make feature films.”

Friday night audiences can see Adam Brody go independent in Nathaniel Krause’s DOUBLE OR NOTHING, which co-stars Keith David and is written by award winning playwright/screenwriter, Neil LaBute.  On the same night, the festival presents a slew of shorts, both narrative and documentary, including the award winning AFI thesis film, THE DARKNESS IS CLOSE BEHIND, by Sheena McCann and DGA Jury Award winner, THE MAIDEN AND THE PRINCESS, by Ali Scher. 

Visionfest 12 will capture audiences with the Student Academy Award winning film, NARCOCORRIDO, by Ryan Prows. This intense dramatic short premieres Friday and stars Nicki Micheaux of Six Feet Under and Emilio Rivera from Traffic, and Showtime’s Weeds.

On Saturday, the highly anticipated documentary, DISLECKSIA: THE MOVIE, features appearances by none other than Academy Award winner, Billy Bob Thornton (Best Screenplay for SLING BLADE), and iconic cult favorite, Joe Pantoliano.  The doc short, CARBON FOR WATER, by Carmen Elsa Lopez Abramson and Evan Abramson, will precede the feature in this very special benefit screening, where a portion of the proceeds will be donated to charity (entity t.b.d.). Audiences will want to stick around post screening as there will be a special Q&A panel with surprise guests!

Saturday night’s ‘Late Night’ screening provides Balderson fans a second serving of ‘casserole’ with the documentary, CAMP CASSEROLE, by Anthony Pedone, the follow-up, behind the scenes ‘reveal all’ account of the making of the hit film, THE CASSEROLE CLUB.

Sunday, June 24, the ‘Official Closing Night Selection’ screening will begin with the New York City premiere of Scott Schaeffer’s short, THE CARRIER, starring Rita Wilson, Chad Michael Murray and Academy Award winner, Anna Paquin.  The evening’s feature presentation is the New York premiere of FALLING UPHILL, written and directed by Richard Bosner. Both filmmakers will be on hand for a Q&A following the screening.

Earlier in the day, making its NYC Premiere, is the documentary TIME ZERO: THE LAST YEAR OF POLAROID FILM, giving an inside look into the Polaroid Company and how it changed photography as we know it. Filmmakers Grant and Sara Hamilton will be attending the screening, alongside the founder of the Impossible Project, Florian “Doc” Kaps, whose visions saved the art of Polaroid photography.

The festival will conclude Sunday evening, unveiling the ‘world premiere’ of THE 5 BOROUGHS, VF’s signature initiative, the 5x5 NEW YORK STATE OF MIND DIGITAL PROJECT, produced this year by Nyle Cavazos Garcia of Small Town Pictures and the Domani Vision Film Society.  “I feel very honored to have been given this opportunity,” stated Garcia, “ I plan to reward the festival’s trust in me for this year’s 5x5 Project by making sure it’ll be one of the best the festival has ever seen.” The initiative will present 5 digital short films, each shot by a different director, in a different borough of NYC, based upon five winning screenplays selected from the VF12 Short Scripts Competition.

Visionfest 12 will honor its participating filmmakers with the Independent Vision Awards Ceremony, recognizing excellence in more than 14 categories as well as reveal the top three scripts from the VF12 Feature Screenwriting Competition.

The closing night wrap party takes place in the Tribeca Lounge and gives every ticket stub holder the opportunity to mingle, take pictures, eat, drink, and dance until the wee hours!

Buy your tickets now to ensure your spot at Visionfest 12!

About Domani Vision Film Society:  This non-profit, 501 (c) 3 organization supports domestic and community filmmaking and encourages innovative, economic development through independent film and media production. Each year, it forms alliances with various supporting organizations (including Harlem RBI, InkTip.com, The American Society of Cinematographers, just to name a few), to bring forth a new edition of its main event, VISIONFEST: The Other Festival, one of the very few film festivals in the U.S. dedicated solely to “promoting domestic filmmaking.”

For Tickets and complete line-up go to: http://domanivision.org/film_festival/films/2012/

Visit us on facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Domani-Vision-Film-Society/27633674903

Tweet us at: @visionfestNYC

Watch the 5X5 trailer: http://vimeo.com/35420768

For more information on Visionfest 12: The Other Festival, please contact Kate at 413-626-0479 or via e-mail at kate@visionfest.com.

Visit us on the web at www.visionfest.com

Blog at www.domanivisionfilm.blogspot.com

Giles Daoust, First VF Screenwriter to Place Two Scripts In The Finalists' Group!

Screenwriter Giles Daoust has set a new Visionfest record as the first film scribe to ever place two of his submitted screenplays in the Finalists' Round of the Visionfest Feature Screenwriting Competition.  The screenplays, ANDERSON FALLS and FOUNDING FATHERS, kicked off the alphabetical list of the five finalists announced.  Other authors on the list:  Thomas Pace with THE HIGH MESA COLONY; Austen Brauker with HOMUNCULUS; and Devi Snively with LOVE IN THE TIME OF ZOMBIES.  Snively is also an Independent Vision Competition participant with the short film, LAST SEEN ON DOLORES STREET.  All five writers have been invited to attend VF12, where they'll be vying for a place in the top three slots.

VISIONFEST 12 announces official line-up!

With 44 titles originating from 14 states, VF12 kicks off its 12th annual film festival at New York's renowned Tribeca Cinemas - June 20-24, 2012.

 

The New York premiere of Stephen Marro's BROADWAY'S FINEST, the year's Official Opening Night Selection, kicks things off on the evening of June 20 at 8:00pm, preceded by the short experimental, RE:LEASE, by Michael Wiehart, and the narrative short, FAITH, by Erik Pagan.

The "world premiere" of IN MONTAUK, by Kim Cummings, is the second narrative feature to unspool at this year's festival, and that is set to happen on the following evening, preceded by a set of shorts.

A third narrative feature, and also the festival's second "world premiere" screening, will debut on Friday evening as the festival's Centerpiece Screening: Steve Balderson's CULTURE SHOCK.

Balderson returns to VF for a fourth time in just 7 years, following a colossal sweep of 5 Independent Vision Awards, aka IVAs, for his VF11 entry, THE CASSEROLE CLUB.

 Titan documentary feature, DISLECKSIA: THE MOVIE, by Harvey Hubbell V (which features appearances by Academy Award winner, Billy Bob Thornton, and iconic cult fave, Joe Pantoliano)  will grace the Tribeca screens on Saturday evening, June 23, while TIME ZERO: THE LAST YEAR OF POLAROID FILM, by Grant Hamilton has been rescheduled for Sunday, June 24, at 4pm.  Both screenings will be followed by special Q&A discussions, with DISLECKSIA being presented with a full fledged panel discussion that will feature some very prominent, surprise guests.  The special screening will also devote a portion of the evening's proceeds to a charitable organization (tbd) whose mission and collective work addresses awareness for Dyslexia.  On a slightly raunchier note, the New York premiere of CAMP CASSEROLE, by Anthony Pedone, will be featured Saturday evening at 9:45pm.

A slew of shorts, both narrative and documentary, many award winners from other fests, including a Student Academy Award winning short, will populate the remainder of the five evening line-up, with Nathaniel Krause's DOUBLE OR NOTHING marking the second consecutive year that a short film written by award winning playwright/screenwriter, Neil LaBute, is included in the VF showcase.

 

The "Official Closing Night Selection" screening will kick off Sunday, June 24, at 5pm, with the encore presentation of Michael Wiehart's RE:LEASE; the New York City premiere of Scott Schaeffer's THE CARRIER, starring Rita Wilson, Chad Michael Murray, and Academy Award winner, Anna Paquin; and the evening's feature presentation: Richard Bosner's FALLING UPHILL, making its New York premiere. 

The IVAs, the festival's annual awards, recognizing excellence in 14+ categories, will be handed out during a special ceremony, following the Closing Night program, and will also unveil the world premiere of the festival's own initiative, THE 5X5 NEW YORK STATE OF MIND DIGITAL PROJECT, produced by Nyle Cavazos Garcia of Small Town Pictures and the Domani Vision Film Society.

For complete line-up, please visit: www.visionfest.com  

Advance tickets for VF12 will be on sale later next week. 

VISIONFEST announces Feature Screenwriting Competition Semi-Finalists!

For the first time in its 8-year run, the Visionfest Feature Screenwriting Competition (part of VISIONFEST, currently in its 12th annual outing) is announcing that two scripts included in the group of semi-finalists for its Winter Phase of the competition have been written by the same author.  Following below is the full list of semi-finalists:

ANDERSON FALLS by Giles Daoust

FOUNDING FATHERS by Giles Daoust

HOMUNCULUS by Austen Brauker

PAWNS OF SPOIL by Ray Sifdol

TEDDY BOY by Sean Jourdan