Last Updated: November 5, 2006 |
 +2nd Annual Valley Film Festival +Westwood Hosts It's First Film Festival +France Comes To Los Angeles +The 2nd Annual HollyShorts Film Festival Hits Hollywood +Artivist Film Festival Review |
2nd Annual San Fernando Valley Film Festival |
By: Angela O'Brien Staff Writer The 2nd Annual San Fernando Valley International Film Festival wrapped up its 10-day run April 17th, 2005 at Beverly Garland's Holiday Inn in North Hollywood, California. This year’s festival mission was “to promote and encourage the endeavors of the international creative community in all media, by providing exposure to their productions and writings." Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley is houses many large studios such as Universal, Disney and Warner Brothers, and has been the epicenter of major motion picture creation for the past 90 years, since Universal opened in 1915. Since then, many stars have not only called this area their place of work, but also their home. The VIFFI (Valley International Film Festival, in short) stands out from other festivals by handing out top honors to Best Music Video and Best Television Commercial in addition to the more familiar categories of Best Feature, Documentary, Short, and Screenplay. Randy Salter, a lifelong resident of ‘the Valley’ and president of the festival, has welcomed over 400 filmmakers to take part in this quickly growing event. “The inaugural year (2004) was such a success, it really confirms that the San Fernando Valley has needed a film festival of this caliber,” says VIFFI President Randy Salter. “Not only is VIFFI providing a high level of exposure for the creative entrants and the businesses that lend their support, but it is also an exciting and entertaining event for the families of the San Fernando Valley!” (quote courtesy of www.viff.org) Many celebrities were on hand for the Gala Awards Dinner to participate in honoring achievement in a total of 10 jury categories as well as several special categories that were also included. Eight is Enough star Dick Van Patten served as the Master of Ceremonies for the event, held in the Beverly Garland Grand Ballroom. Director Tobe Hooper, known for his classic horror film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was awarded the Achievement in Sci-Fi/Horror award, presented by none other than “Freddy Kreuger” himself, Robert Englund. Other special honorees were Shirley Jones (Achievement in Film), Jo Anne Worley (Achievement in Television) and legendary car designer George Barris, who was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award by Dukes of Hazzard star John Schneider. Other notable jury award presenters included Malcolm Jamaal-Warner (The Cosby Show), Eric Balfour (Six Feet Under, 24, The O.C.) and Fred Willard (A Mighty Wind, Everybody Loves Raymond). A third VIFFI Festival is in the works, to be held March 17-26, 2006 at Beverly Garland’s Holiday Inn. More information on the festival can be found at www.viffi.org. Back to Top |
By: Angela O'Brien
Staff Writer
The Westwood International Film Festival kicked off its inaugural run September 30th, 2005, at the Majestic Crest Theatre in Westwood Village. Westwood is known primarily for being the home to UCLA, as well as numerous movie premieres. But it has now made a name for itself for hosting one of the most promising up-and-coming events on today’s festival circuit.
This 14-day festival was the brainchild of Majestic Crest owner
Robert Bucksbaum. Bucksbaum, who took his life savings to renovate this historic theater, said he was having a difficult time finding product to run on his screen. “We are surrounded by two giants of exhibition (AMC and Mann Theatres) and they seem to be getting all the first-run films these days,” Bucksbaum said. So he decided to create this festival in an attempt to bring independent filmmakers to his theater and get some big names interested in what he and the Majestic Crest had to offer, bridging the gap between Independent Film and Independent Cinema.
Bucksbaum’s festival attracted over 400 submissions from filmmakers all over the world. Prizes ranged from $5000 for the Feature Film categories to $2500 for Best Student Film, Best Short, and Best Screenplay. Some of the winners of the 2005 Festival included M.J. Loheed’s poker film “Freeze Out”, which was awarded Best Feature and Brenda Brkusic’s student film “Freedom From Despair” which tells the courageous tale of her father's escape from communist-led Croatia to the United States.
ReviewFest frequented this 2-week festival and participated in
numerous events in the festival's line-up. A kick-off Opening Night Party was held poolside at Westwood's exclusive W Hotel and celebrities such as Mike Myers and Andy Dick attended. Performances were featured by Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles and singer-songwriter Matthew Sweet. Dick was there promoting his short film, Ad Corp Inc., which was named a Westwood Festival finalist.
Notable actors and filmmakers also participated in question-and-answer sessions in support of their films. Former child actor and Westwood native Danica McKellar (The Wonder Years) talked with interested audience members about her choice to put her acting on hold to pursue a mathematics major at UCLA. Now, after completing her degree, McKellar is discovering her passion for being behind the camera. Her film "Broken" was one of the finalists in the festival for Best Short Film.
Bucksbaum’s first festival was a success- the 2nd Annual Westwood International Film Festival kicks off October 6, 2006, and the Majestic Crest will also be one of the of the featured Westwood Village theaters participating in the 2006 Los Angeles Film Festival. For more information on the Westwood Festival, visit www.westwoodfilmfestival.com.
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By Angela O'Brien
Staff Writer
The COL•COA (City of Lights•City of Angels) Film Festival made its 9th appearance in Los Angeles April 11-17, 2005. The festival, which is sponsored by the Franco-American Cultural Fund, promotes the cultural exchange between the United States and France through French cinema.
Held at the Directors Guild of America, this year’s festival welcomed a number of exciting viewing experiences-light and dark comedies, thrillers, adventure, dramas, and shorts. All of the festival selections were Los Angeles premieres, and several were either U.S. or World premieres.
Eight filmmakers made the trip to the festival from France to attend the festivities and participate in Q&A screenings of their films, including Paris based writer-director Laurent Tirard, whose film “The Story of My Life” was awarded the Audience Choice Award.
“This award not only is a bonus for our growing festival audiences, but serves as a new platform for films to gain the attention of U.S. distributors, particularly since AFM is no longer held in February,” stated festival director Claudia Durgnat. “Festival sales were up by 37% from 2004, and the COL•COA partners plan to make an even larger impact in the market next year, the 10th anniversary of the festival,” she added. (courtesy of www.colcoa.com)
Audience members had the opportunity to vote for their favorite film of the festival after each screening. The winning film had an encore screening on Sunday, April 17th, before closing ceremonies.
“The Story of My Life” was one of this year’s most successful comedies in France. It depicts the tale of Raphael, a celebrity ghostwriter who is writing the autobiography of a soccer player. This was Tirard’s first feature-length film.
COL•COA will be celebrating their 10th Anniversary in 2006. For more information on this festival, please visit www.colcoa.com.
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By: Angela O'BrienStaff Writer
The 2nd Annual HollyShorts Film Festival, honoring some of the best short films from all over the world, took place August 11-13, 2006 in Hollywood . Held at the Cinespace Digital Supperclub HollyShorts aimed to promote the makers of short films through a combination of screenings, Q&A sessions, and networking opportunities.
To become eligible for the festival, filmmakers were required to submit short films which were 30 minutes or less in length. 53 films from around the world were screened at the 3-day festival. 51 of which were eligible for competition.
"We are thrilled and [have presented] the brightest work from up-and-coming directors and writers," said festival co-founder Daniel Sol. "Art is coming back to Hollywood and we are looking forward to [HollyShorts being] an annual gathering where filmmakers can have their masterpieces showcased in front of their industry peers." ( courtesy of eyespyla.com )
Best Short and Best Foreign Short awards went to Avie Luthras' film Lucky. Lucky is a South African orphan who is a victim of the AIDS epidemic. The movie focuses on Lucky's unlikely bond with an Indian neighbor.
The Women In Film Award went to Daniele Ferraro who wrote, directed, and starred in the film Dirty Mary . Ferraro was given an award package worth $2500 in studio time toward her next project from the Casablanca Studios in Palm Springs .
Other notable awards went to Jamin Winan's Spin and Bron Jones's Maxi Doodles , both receiving the Audience Award.
The award presentation was held on August 13th and was highly attended by filmmakers and shorts fans. The R&B group 2Deep closed the evening with a special musical performance.
For more information on the HollyShorts film festival or to find out how to submit for next year's competition, please visit www.hollyshorts.com.
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By:Audra Potz
Consultant for Reviewfest
Artivist is a dually-critical festival. Not only does it support the independent film community, but it also supports several worthwhile causes. The festival works with numerous philanthropies including Amnesty International, Greenpeace and the Humane Society of the United States.
Filmmakers are awarded in the following categories: environmental preservation, animal rights, human rights and children's advocacy.
Held at the historic Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles, the festival has honored active celebrities such as James Cromwell, Mira Sorvino, Ed Begley Jr., Tippi Hedren and Mike Farrell.
The Second Annual Artivist Film Festival and Awards Gala featured budding filmmakers like Brenda Brkusic and her documentary FREEDOM FROM DESPAIR, which has seen great success on the festival circuit. Holly Mosher's documentary HUMMINGBIRD, highlighted in ReviewFest, has gone on to screen internationally in Rome, Madrid and Toronto. We also chatted with James Cromwell, honored for his dedication in the area of animal rights.
With increased interest from politicians such as Senator Barbara Boxer, and notable awareness for its past film selections such as Oscar winner BORN INTO BROTHELS, Artivist now offers a chance for filmmakers to distribute their socially-conscious works to the world.
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