Category: Emerging Filmmakers Program

Meet The Filmmakers – February 2011

meet the filmmakers

february 2011

Get to know the 14 filmmakers honored this month
at our annual African American short film festival

presented by The American Cinematheque

ANACOSTIA
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ANTHONY ANDERSON
Washington DC

Creator, Director, Writer, Star of the ground-breaking, mega-award winning web-series soap ANACOSTIA.

Writer and Producer of 2006 feature film “The Ties That Bind” starring DeLon Howell, Lori Lewis, Nicole Pettis.

Writes and produces thru his Southeast Boy Productions, and is considered one of the leading forces in a burgeoning Metro DC indie filmmaking community.

CLOSE
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TAHIR JETTER
NYC

At age 16, discovered his passion for filmmaking; attended film school at Tisch.

His short film CLOSE just screened at Sundance ’11, and looks like it will have a big fest run. The film shows his exceptional ability to direct drama, and to craft compelling modern characters.

Tahir is developing more short films, and several feature screenplays.

GOOD INTENTIONS
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IHUOMA OFORDIRE
Los Angeles

Actress, Writer, Producer originally from DC., she created the intense drama “Good Intentions”to challenge herself as an actress.

She is currently starring in the short film “Kwame”, named Best Short at Pan African ’10, & Sci-Fi feature “Thrillseekers: The Indoscheen”.

She is also creator of web series “Life, Love & Hollywood”. She is scribing and developing several new projects via her Good Luck Productions.

I CHEAT
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KEVIN HEROD
Toronto

Veteran stand-up comic, popular on air host & actor. Also the voice of Canadian animated series “Ninjamaica”.

His hip-hop music video “I Cheat” showcases Kevin’s creativity, guerilla filmmaking acumen, and exceptional comic writing ability. His on-stage humor translates seamlessly to film/video.

KATRINA’S SON
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YA’KE SMITH
Ft. Worth

Shot his first film at 15 while in high school in his hometown San Antonio. Has quickly built an impressive body of work which has already had over 40 fest selections; major award wins, including Regional Student Academy Award, DGA Student Film Award, HBO Short Film Award. Current film “Katrina’s Son” continues to show Ya’Ke’s unflinching storytelling style and bold directing instinct. His next film is the feature “Wolf” through his Texas-based Exodus Filmworks.

KNOW YOUR ROLE
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DANEL K HUNTER
Los Angeles

Teaming up with his veteran actor/improv pro brother David Hunter, this DC native created their new film “Know Your Role” as part of his move into the directing ranks of the LA film community.

Daniel is a veteran sound editor, with extensive TV network credits. His extensive music/post background has given him a great foundation to transition to the director’s chair.

MEN OR MICE
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KIARA JONES
NYC

A native New Yorker, Kiara began her artistic journey as a poet and hip hop artist. She transformed her love for storytelling into an award-winning career in broadcast radio & TV. She has also worked in Vegas producing live shows and has now returned to New York to focus on her filmmaking.

“Men or Mice” explores themes central in Kiara’s films, reflecting the varied American experiences of minorities and women. Kiara has produced an impressive body of work under her Cultivated Films banner.

MOTH
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HILTON CARTER
Los Angeles

Classically trained as a fine artist, Hilton is an alum of the Fine Arts program at the Maryland Institute College of Art, holds an MFA in Film from the Art Center in Pasadena.

Hilton’s visual sensibility and evocative storytelling style has intertwined powerful images and compelling characters into exceptional commercials & music videos. He now brings these elements together into narrative live action with his debut drama “Moth”.

MR. OKRA
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ANDRÉ JONES
New Orleans

André is a 12 year entertainment industry veteran, with extensive Post Production experience. He began his career as an assistant to editor/director T.G. Herrington, and they now run the exclusive post house (literally) MAISON in New Orleans, and their in-house production group NOM DE GUERRE Productions.

Mr. Okra is a heartwarming post-Katrina doc that brings the spirit and magic of New Orleans to the screen through one man’s story.

Andre studied at Loyola in N.O, & did his grad work at Morehouse.

THE “F” WORD
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ISSA RAE
Los Angeles

One of those rare LA natives, Issa begin her filmmaking while at Stanford, launching “Dorm Diaries”, a soap type web series she streamed to her college mates via Facebook. She is now a one-woman wrecking machine on the web entertainment scene, and is changing the images and voices of African American writing and characters via the web.

She discovered the comic genius of the hip hop trio THE FLY GUYS while directing a music video for the group, and together they launched one of the funniest web series ever “The “F” Word”. The show is now into their 5th season.

February hails the launch of her much anticipated new episodic online series “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl”.

THE KISS
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CAREY WILLIAMS
Los Angeles

From Pensacola, FL, Carey moved to LA after attending film school at Florida St. University. He began as a PA, eventually landing a gig on the feature TRAINING DAY, working as Ethan Hawke’s assistant. He then jumped into directing music videos for local hip hop and rock acts, with two of his vids winning MTVu’s FRESHMEN 5 contest, and getting airplay on VH1 and MTV2.

Carey works extensively as an editor and is in prep to direct his next short film CHERRY WAVES.

THE NEXT DAY
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AL ROBBINS
Atlanta

Filmmaker/Writer Al “Skip” Robbins was born in Queens, and started as an actor after attending SUNY/Old Westbury. He became an extra on New York Undercover, then booked several commercials. He moved behind the camera in 1995 forming his production company Bottom of the Net Filmworks, where he directed his first short “One for the Money”. After several successful shorts he wrote and directed the feature film “Trust”, and has been writing, producing and directing feature films and web based entertainment.

He is currently in Morocco directing a feature film, and has three feature films projects in development.

THEM BONES (2010)
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LAMONT WAYNE
Lynchburg

Lamont Wayne is a freelance animator and artist. In early 2010, he discovered a new website GoAnimate.com and used it as an educational tool to teach his nephews about how animation is made. This process led to an animated series based on the boys called Jamari and Bralyn. The series received unexpected attention thru social media, and let to Lamont being named a Filmmaker To Watch 2010 by HOLLYWOOD SHORTS.

Lamont was a guest speaker and presenter on Animation at the International Children’s Film Festival at the Amazement Square Children’s Museum in 2009. He continues to develop JAMARI as well as a short about a bible based superhero kid, and an intergalactic war toon based on the Civil War’s Buffalo Soldiers.

TROUBLESOME (2010)
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HILLIARD GUESS
Los Angeles

A veteran actor, and alum of both the Bill Cosby TV Writers Fellowship and Nickelodeon’s Writer’s Lab. His feature script SECTION 8 was a Quarterfinalist in the Nicholl’s Fellowship. He co-wrote & c0-produced horror feature “Blackout” released in 2006.

“Troublesome” is his directing debut. and is already garnering significant festival attention. Hilliard has three TV pilots available, as well a slate of feature scripts in development through his Hilldog Productions.

Feb 23, 2011 | 0 comments | View Post

SEMINAR: In The Cut – Employing The Art of Editing

American Cinematheque Filmmaking Seminar Series
with Thomas Ethan Harris

IN THE CUT

EMPLOYING THE ART OF EDITING

Thursday, February 17, 2011

7:30pm – 10:30pm

Spielberg Screening Room
Egyptian Theatre – Hollywood, CA

Cost: $15.00 for HOLLYWOOD SHORTS filmmakers
at the Egyptian Theatre Box Office

The shower scene in PSYCHO.

Two glamorous bank robbers’s final end in BONNIE AND CLYDE.

A runaway baby carriage in BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN.

Lack of continuity in BREATHLESS.

Chances are you first remember these master works for their editing. But when do you employ the jump cut, avoid a reverse shot, or elliptically cut? What is their actual effect?

What is “dialectical montage”, “suturing” and how does “cutting to a character’s POV” enhance a film?

Film and Festival Consultant Thomas Ethan Harris leads a discussion where everything’s in the cut.

All HOLLYWOOD SHORTS filmmakers & community are invited to join the February installment of the Cinematheque’s monthly seminar series with a discount on the ticket price when purchased at the box office on the day of the seminar. Mention HOLLYWOOD SHORTS at the box office when purchasing your tickets to received our member discount. Tickets are available at the box office 90 minutes prior to the event.

Cheap Parking! The American Cinematheque’s Egyptian and Spielberg Theatres validate only for HOLLYWOOD AND HIGHLAND, $2 for 4 hours (each additional 20 minutes is $1.) LA Film School Lot, 6363 West Sunset Boulevard (enter on east side of Ivar, north of Sunset). $5 Lot closes at 1am.

Please visit the American Cinematheque website for more information www.americancinematheque.com

Follow The American Cinematheque on Twitter! @sidgrauman

Thomas Ethan Harris

Thomas Ethan Harris has served as the Director Of Programming for numerous organizations and non-profits including the Los Angeles Film Festival, the Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films and the Palm Springs Cultural Center. The experience of overseeing these selection committees has given Harris a unique insight into the contemporary world of independent filmmaking.

Harris holds a Masters Degree in World Film History/Film Theory and Criticism from the University of Southern California, School of Cinema-Television.

From 1996-2002 Thomas served as Director of Programming/Co-Creator of the highly regarded Los Angeles Film Festival (LAFF). Under his guidance, the Los Angeles Film Festival introduced such films as THE CRUISE (Artisan), THE CHATEAU (IFC), DEAD MAN (Miramax), GEORGE WASHINGTON (Cowboy), KAATERSKILL FALLS (IFC), BETTER LIVING THROUGH CIRCUITRY (Palm Pictures), THE LIFESTYLE (Sony Classics) and KISSING JESSICA STEIN (Fox Searchlight). He is credited with having introduced to the film world such acclaimed contemporary filmmakers as Academy Award nominee Bennett Miller (CAPOTE), New York Film Critics Circle Prize Winner, David Gordan Green (ALL THE REAL GIRLS), Charles Wurmfeld (KISSING JESSICA STEIN) and Thomas Bezucha (THE FAMILY STONE). Also in 1995, Mr. Harris founded (with Margot Gerber) and programmed the American Cinematheque’s critically acclaimed, on-going screening series, THE ALTERNATIVE SCREEN. The Alternative Screen, which celebrated its 10th Anniversary in 2005, focuses on cinema that is more expressive in its narrative dimensions and more formally challenging than most American film work today. Upon leaving LAFF in late 2002, Mr. Harris was selected as one of Variety’s “TOP 10 Industry Professionals to Watch” in the American Independent Film arena. Mr. Harris has served as a jury member to countless film festivals and as the Director Of Programming to both the Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films (2003-4) and the Palm Springs Native American and Indigenous Peoples Film Festival (2005-present). Most recently, Mr. Harris has offered his talents as a curator and a consultant/film festival creator to the International Emerging Talent Film Festival in Monte Carlo, Monaco, which had its film festival debut in May 2007. Most recently, Mr. Harris served as the co-creator and Artistic Director of the Palm Springs Cultural Center which focuses on emerging talent in all realms of the arts. Since 2003, Mr. Harris has owned and operated his own successful Los Angeles-based consulting business which works closely with a variety of film artists and producers from all over the United States and the international film community in all aspects of film financing, film production, screenwriting, film direction and visualization. Harris’ company was founded with the principle that we have yet to see the potential of cinema and we must secure a way for a new generation of film artists and for new filmic expressions. Among his many clients are filmmakers from Argentina, China, England, France, Norway, Uruguay, and the United States and such motion pictures as THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, BIG EDEN, KISSING JESSICA STEIN, ADIOS MOMO, Disney’s 2004 Oscar-nominated Salvador Dali/Walt Disney short DESTINO, TWO SOLDIERS, winner of the 2004 Academy Award for “Best Live Action Short Film” and RYAN, winner of the 2005 Academy Award for “Best Animated Short Film.“

American Cinematheque Filmmaking Seminar Series

The American Cinematheque debuted its Filmmaking Seminars for Filmmakers and other artists in September 2007 with the concept of offering concrete, practical information on a variety of filmmaking, marketing, creative and business practices at a very reasonable cost to the many independent filmmakers working in the Los Angeles area.

Film consultant and festival programmer Thomas Ethan Harris leads many of the seminars in tandem with guest speakers working in the spotlighted fields.

Feb 15, 2011 | 0 comments | View Post

Meet The Filmmakers – January 2011

meet the filmmakers

edition 13.3

learn more about the filmmakers you outta know

On Sunday, we hosted the cast and crew celebration of CERTIFIED by writer/director LUKE ASA GUIDICI, and the Los Angeles premiere of FINDING JACOB by writer/director BRETT STUMPP. Both filmmakers shared great insight on their inspiration, their process, and some of the valuable lessons they have learned along the way. If you missed the screening, here is a little more info about these exciting filmmakers.

Brett Stumpp

FINDING JACOB
www.findingjacob.com

A graduate of Vancouver Film School and New England College, Brett spent many years working in different facets of the film industry in order to know first hand what each person’s responsibilities were. This enabled him a well-earned insight into the process of filmmaking. Brett’s current short film FINDING JACOB is a deeply moving film inspired by his own personal medical crisis, which led him to explore issues of fatherhood and missed opportunities.

Having traveled extensively in his youth, Brett delights in exploring different cultures and customs, which help inform his creative process. Through the course of his studies in everything from martial arts to shamanism, his voracious appetite for the human experience has helped form an outlook unique to the world. This is the foundation Brett has build his career on. In the last few years, Brett has been able to hone his writing and directing abilities as a member of the highly esteemed Beverly Hills Playhouse, and has directed the 2010 feature film Walk By Faith 2: After The Honeymoon.

FINDING JACOB continues to garner warm reception on the festival circuit due to it’s original storytelling and exceptional visual style and composition. The short is enjoying nation-wide television broadcast as part of the African American Short Films television show.

Email BRETT STUMPP

Luke Asa Guidici

CERTIFIED
www.lukeasa.com

When Luke was 6 years old, he broke the family television. They never got another one.

Instead he played with Transformers, explored the woods, read encyclopeias, built things with LEGO’s and listened to NPR. He learned what was funny from Calvin & Hobbes.

After graduating Magna Cum Laude BA/Cinema from SFSU in 2003, he trekked to Los Angeles. He has worked as an extra, a grip, PA, camera operator, AD, producer, editor, falconer and director.

If Luke wasn’t making films, he would be doing something involving snowboarding, cooking or politics.

Luke is currently looking for one or two feature scripts, in the Sci-Fi/Comic-book/Horror genre. He loves to direct music videos, and is always open to working with new local bands. He is repped at Bucks Boys for music video & commercials.

Email LUKE ASA GUIDICI

Jan 24, 2011 | 0 comments | View Post

RASHAAD ERNESTO GREEN – a SHORT Road to Sundance

Rashaad Ernesto Green makes the move from shorts to feature

: Choices (2009)

Rashaad Ernesto Green is a very successful and prolific short filmmaker. Seven films to be exact – all between 2007 and 2009. His most recent short films Premature (2008), Choices (2009) and Cuts (2009) have each scored massive festival selections and awards, from Sundance premieres to the coveted HBO Short Film Award. On January 24th, Rashaad will premiere his debut feature film Gun Hill Road starring Esai Morales, Judy Reyes and Harmony Santana at Sundance.

In addition to a staggering list of accolades and international recognition, Rashaad has been an honored filmmaker at HOLLYWOOD SHORTS’ annual AFRICAN AMERICAN SHORTSFEST at the American Cinematheque twice, and he was named to our 2009 Filmmakers To Watch list. He was also selected to indieWire’s exclusive 2009 Top Ten list of New Voices In Black Cinema.

We each spend a great deal of our short film journey discussing, plotting, and planning for our own trek from short to feature. Watching Rashaad’s path to this goal has been inspirational, so we invited him to share a little insight.

Happy New Year Rashaad! You have officially crossed the bridge from short film to feature film. You have had several shorts in Sundance – how are things different with a feature premiere?

I have a lot more people behind me this time with a lot of support. And yet, I have so much more to do and accomplish before the festival surrounding the film. It’s been a full on sprint for about 3 months now.

: Premature (2008)

Where did the story of GUN HILL ROAD start for you? What inspired the screenplay?

Gun Hill Road was actually inspired by a family member who went through something similar as Enrique in the story. My entire family is from the Bronx, and I wanted to investigate another side of the borough than we are used to seeing.

How did your short film work prepare you for the feature film process? What was the most challenging part of making your feature that was different than how you approach your short film work?

Directing the feature was just like directing a short, but with more people, more time, and more toys. The most challenging difference was how little time I spent directing, and how much more I was responsible for lifting the morale of the cast and crew.

Sundance has played a major part of your short film experience over the years. What does it mean to you to now bring your first feature to the festival?

Sundance has been like a filmmaking family for me. They really look out for filmmakers who have come through their ranks, and I’m deeply appreciative of that. I am humbled and honored to premiere my first feature in a place where so many wonderful films have had their start.

How did the success of your short films play a role in getting your feature film funded and produced?

: Gun Hill Road (2011)
(pictured: Harmony Santana, Esai Morales)

The success of the shorts played a substantial role in getting noticed. I would have never have been trusted to direct a feature if I didn’t have the shorts under my belt.

Any advice for fellow directors who are in the process of the transition from short to feature?

Don’t rush. Get very comfortable in the medium before taking the leap. Shoot as many shorts as you can. Once you’re comfortable and get in the groove, it’s like riding a bike. You’ll be smooth sailing.

Rashaad E. Green on the set of GUN HILL ROAD

Rashaad Ernesto Green on set of Gun Hill Road

Gun Hill Road World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival

Monday, January 24
Library Center Theatre
5:30 pm

Full Screening Schedule

Jan 20, 2011 | 0 comments | View Post

SHORT FILM SEMINAR – December 15

BIG WORLD FOR LITTLE MOVIES

THE COMPLETE GUIDE FOR SHORT FILM CONTENT

The world of short film content has changed dramatically in recent years. Uncover a wealth of information on short filmmaking trends, current channels of distribution and the future of short film exposure from a panel of short film business and programming leaders.

Wednesday, December 15

7:30pm – 10:30pm

AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE

Egyptian Theatre
6712 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood, CA 90028

BUY TICKETS

Cinematheque Members: $12.00 HOLLYWOOD SHORTS members: $15.00

Moderator:

Thomas Ethan Harris
Producer/Instructor
American Cinematheque Film Seminars

Panelists:

Kimberley Browning
Filmmaker & Executive Director
HOLLYWOOD SHORTS

Andrew Crane
Short Film Programming
AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE

TICKET INFORMATION

All Seminars Ticket Prices: $12 Cinematheque Members, $15 Students/Seniors, $20 General. Order tickets online at www.fandango.com or buy them in person at the Egyptian Box Office. The Egyptian Box Office is open 1.5 hours before the first program of the day or evening. In addition to in person and www.fandango.com, CINEMATHEQUE MEMBERS may be purchased tickets in advance by phone: 323.692.3431

HOLLYWOOD SHORTS DISCOUNT TICKETS
25% Off General Ticket Price for HOLLYWOOD SHORTS participants.
HOLLYWOOD SHORTS Filmmakers will be offered a special $15 ticket price to our Complete Guide To The Short Film seminar on Wednesday, December 15th when purchasing SAME DAY (December 15th) tickets only. Mention HOLLYWOOD SHORTS when purchasing your tickets at the box office for the special $15 ticket price.

SEMINAR OVERVIEW

Whether the renewed vitality of the short film content is based on the rise of consumer “pod casts”, the content crazed appetite of the internet or the internet’s short content offspring – Webseries — there’s no denying it’s a BIG world out there for “little movies.” Uncover a wealth of information on short filmmaking trends, current channels of distribution and the future of short film exposure from a panel of short film business and programming leaders.

The world of short film content has changed dramatically in recent years.

In fact, not since the “.com era” of the 1990s, have we seen such rethinking of how the short film figures into overall landscape of the entertainment industry.

Today there are literally thousands of film festivals for you to consider as you move your short film out to festival audiences. With cable television exposure for short films part of the distant dream of the 1990s, short filmmakers now find themselves contending with the options of new virtual wild west — The Internet, Video-On-Demand (VOD) and pod casts — for greater content exposure than festival world could ever dream of or deliver.

But don’t stop there! With the 1000s of internet sites available to you to post your film on, which site is best for your film? Is it more advantageous for your extended career to “YouTube” or “Vimeo” your short or for you to post your short on your own website and use your favorite social networking site to drive attention to your film? What is a “torrent site” and how can it figure into the distribution of your short? How do short film distributors (like Quat Media, SND Films, Shorts International) figure into today’s short film landscape?

Now consider this: With the incredible expansion of the methods of distribution and exhibition open to your short film, there has EVEN been a revolution in the very definition of what artistically comprises a short film.

What is a “festival” short? What is the difference between a “Sundance short,” a “Cannes short,” an “internet short” and a “Short Film Festival short”? What does the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences look for in a short film? What is the definition of the most desirable form of content for a short film distributor?

Finally, and most provocatively, is it more advantageous for a short filmmaker today to make a single short (festival) film or to develop and produce a webseries?

For our November seminar, BIG WORLD FOR LITTLE MOVIES: THE COMPLETE GUIDE FOR SHORT FILM CONTENT, we turn our total attention to unraveling the whole, overwhelming and complex world that today’s short filmmaker must deal with to take good care of their work.

THE COMPLETE GUIDE FOR SHORT CONTENT begins with a focus on issues surrounding film festivals, film festival release strategies for short films, a list of the World’s Best Short Film Festivals (and some not very good ones!) and establishing some definitions for the various forms or identities the short film artistically embodies today.

The second part of our evening’s seminar will be dedicated to an in depth discussion of short film distribution and exhibition. Not only will we open the door to a greater understanding of overall design of the content favored by distributors, but we will examine rights and clearances issues AND help to sort out the vast offerings of the internet and the potential of having your very own web series.

Moderated By Thomas Ethan Harris, Producer/Instructor, American Cinematheque Film Seminars

SEMINAR EVENT LOCATION

The American Cinematheque’s Egyptian Theatre – Hollywood
6712 Hollywood Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90028

Please visit our website for more information www.americancinematheque.com

Join the American Cinematheque on Facebook www.facebook.com/EgyptianTheatre

Follow the American Cinematheque on Twitter @sidgrauman

Please direct inquiries on the American Cinematheque Film Seminar Series to Seminar Producer/Instructor: Thomas Ethan Harris Email Thomas

Nov 21, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Meet The Filmmakers – November 2010

meet the filmmakers

edition 13.2

learn more about the filmmakers you outta know

Meet these filmmakers and see their work at

HOLLYWOOD SHORTS on Sunday Nov 21

Cinespace at 5pm Free Click here to RSVP

Allison Craig

BARKO
www.allisoncraig.com

Allison is an alum of Columbus College of Art and Design in Ohio where she majored in traditional animation. She has an animator’s dream gig, working fulltime at Titmouse, Inc. in LA. She has extensive experience in every aspect of animation, from storyboarding to character design. Allison then moved to Boston, where ‘boarded and animated on children’s television shows.

After moving to LA, she joined the Prynoski’s indie ‘toon shop, where she has worked on Metalocalypse (AdultSwim), Guitar Hero and a ton of other A-list animated productions. She is now working more as a director, most recently directing the animation for the Scott Pilgrim vs. The Animation ‘toon (Adult Swim) produced by Titmouse, Inc.

BARKO was produced in house at Titmouse as part of their Short Film Initiative – providing extensive support and resources for their staffers to grow their directing chops. This is the 3rd short film from the division, and it is tearing up the festival circuit.

Andrew Wilding

PIANO MAN
www.andrewwilding.com

Andrew is a rare breed – he was born and raised in Los Angeles and spend a good part of his youth pursuing a career as a musician, both writing and recording. He was inspired to begin shooting photos by a local music photographer who was covering his band on stage, and he quickly moved into the visual arts.

“I want to make work that moves you at the very core, … through creating momenta of absolute truth and humanity”. Andrew’s photography lead him naturally to working with moving images and cinematography. Now he is makes the leap into narrative film directing. His short film PIANO MAN is a testament to his visual and storytelling objectives; it is simultaneously wicked funny and starkly beautiful. Adam is currently writing his first feature script and is just wrapping up a music video shoot in NYC.

Sean Gannet

DOTTIE’S THANKSGIVING PICKLE
www.seangannet.com

Sean Gannet was born to drive slow, dance fast, and make movies. He joins us on Sunday literally moments after wrapping production on a new feature film. He also just completed production on the short film “The Poets” written by Lori Fischer, starring Susan Louise O’Connor & Jeff Hiller. This year he also Line Produced the epic TED Prize MissionBlue Conference in the Galapagos Islands. Sean clearly loves the short format – he also has a pretty rockin’ musical THE ONE THAT I WANT – also produces as part of RIPFEST Collaborative Film Project.

Sean was the Associate Producer of Mike Myers’ THE LOVE GURU and worked on the Shrek franchise during his three years at Myer’s Nomoneyfun. He has also staffed Tribeca Film Festival, the IFP Market and other NYC film shindigs. In addition to his propensity for writing and directing, Sean is a road-trip enthusiast, celebrated turkey chili chef, and lauded amateur dancer for whom crowds of strangers have oft circled-up to watch him shake it. Sean is based in Brooklyn and is a Northwestern film school alum.

M. Keegan Uhl

WAIT FOR ME

www.mkeeganuhl.com

Keegan was born in Madison, Wisconsin but quickly moved to Boston where he spent most of his young life. He was introduced to film in high school via the local access TV station where he created his first critical success: a regional champion video in the National History Day competition. Yes, he is a nerd. He received his BFA from Middlebury College in Vermont in 2001. There he enjoyed a liberal arts education, was awarded the David I. Goldman Prize for Excellence in Film and developed a love for Hitchcock and surrealism in film.

He was a full time editor of award-winning educational programming for three years in Boston. In 2007 he moved to Los Angeles with his wife Martha and their cairn terrier Buzz Lightyear to pursue a directing career. He attended the Los Angeles Film School where he was nominated for the 2008 ASC student cinematographer awards and schooled in the ways of Hollywood.

Also an avid and award-winning photographer, Keegan is inspired by the inherent beauty of our world and driven by a quest for TRUTH in all its forms. He believes the greatest films push the medium to its full potential to tell compelling stories and create a unique experience that teaches, inspires and entertains.Keegan recharges with backpacking trips in the Eastern Sierra, and is an elite ultimate frisbee player and the captain of a top level team based in L.A.

George Hickenlooper (May 25, 1963 – October 29, 2010)

SOME FOLKS CALL IT A SLING BLADE 25 minutes – 1994

FESTIVALS: Sundance, New York, Locarno WINNER: Aspen Shortsfest, San Sebastian, Aspect Short, Vila Do Conde, USA, Chicago Int’l

George Hickenlooper (1963-2010) So much to say about George, and yet words seem so deficient. This short film was a collaboration between Billy Bob Thornton and George, born from a character study Billy Bob developed as part of his 1986 one-man play “Swine Before Pearls”. George and Billy Bob first worked together on George’s feature “Ghost Brigade”, then George came on to direct Billy Bob’s short script. The film was shot in three days in a Simi Valley hospital that was the location of “Terminator 2”. Billy Bob went on to win the Academy Award for Best Screenplay for the feature version of Karl’s story, which he also directed and starred in. Watching the short film navigate the process from short fest programs to Academy Award Winning Feature was a gamechanger for me personally. The power of this film changed the way I thought of shorts, and their place in my own life and filmmaking career. I started HOLLYWOOD SHORTS the next year.

George’s film career, cut so brutally mid-sentence, includes an incredible body of feature films, short films and documentaries. George was enjoying one of the those magical years we all dream off – his “Casino Jack” starring Kevin Spacey World Premiere at Toronto, with a distro deal secured, great reviews for Spacey growing from screening to screening. More great news about the film buzzing about as the film lands screenings at Doha, and Austin, locking an LA premiere at AFI and then… Denver.

I can think of no better way to say good bye to a storyteller I truly respected, and always considered a Really Nice Guy, than to remember the first time I saw his name on the screen and the 25 minutes that ensured I would never forget it.

See ya later, George. Thank you.

Nov 19, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

SUMMER SHOOT 2010 – September 18

CERTIFIED by Luke Asa Guidici

in association with …

2010 SUMMER SHOOT #2

September 18, 2010

Special Thanks to our SUMMER SHOOT Family of Vendors!!

… ……. ……..……..

We wrap up HOLLYWOOD SHORTS 12th year of monthly screenings and events with the short film production of CERTIFIED, written and directed by filmmaker LUKE ASA GUIDICI as the final shoot of our 2010 SUMMER SHOOT production calendar.

Rebecca Spicher as ALICE

Thomas Garner as FRANK

HOLLYWOOD SHORTS crew, vendor and sponsors came together once again to bring a great script to life, and help the selected filmmaker fulfill his vision. Our HOLLYWOOD SHORTS SUMMER SHOOT crew was led by Reggie Hunter in production, John Matysiak in Cinematography, and Tema Levine Staig in Production Design. They worked with Luke over the course of the summer to create a fantastic look and feel, and to tackle the challenge of shooting a complex period piece in a one day schedule. Luke’s innovative adaptation of the popular Saki short story OPEN WINDOW and his take on the comedy of the original text made it a perfect fit for our SUMMER SHOOT program. Luke updates the turn of the century British satirical story to 1958 West Virginia and gives it an darkly American twist.

Therese Lentz as MRS SAPPLETON

Timothy Brennen as ASHLEY SAPPLETON

Luke Guidici, writer/director - CERTIFIED Rebecca Spicher & Thomas Garner

Sep 19, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

HS/EFP launches Cinematographer’s Lab

CINEMATOGRAPHER’S LAB

with JAY HOLBEN

CINEMATOGRAPHERS LAB - The Flavors of HD HS/EFP 2010 –
Cinematography Lab

LAB #1: FLAVORS OF HD
SEPTEMBER date TBD…
1p – 4p

$35.00

REGISTER

With myriad high-definition video formats available in the marketplace, how do you know which is best for your project? How can you tell the difference? Which is better?

DV Magazine’s technical editor, Jay Holben, will explain the aspects of high definition video formats and demystify the lingo. Learn exactly what compression codecs are commonly used, how to understand bit rates and color dissemination. Ever wonder the difference between 4:2:0 and 4:1:1? Why is one HD camera $250,000 and another is only $20,000? Yet the cheaper one seems to be better!? Leave the session having a keen understanding of the elements that make up high definition formats to be able to make more informed decisions about which format and which camera is best for your project.

REGISTER

Jay Holben will be launching HOLLYWOOD SHORTS Cinematographers Lab 2010

Jay Holben - Head Educator HOLLYWOOD SHORTS Cinematographers Lab

Our Emerging Filmmakers Program (EFP) expands this year with a full line up of filmmaking seminars and labs. We will be launching this new initiative with a new seminar series for cinematographers & camera assistants. The monthly seminars will encompass a wide range of topics and issues, designed for all ranges of experience and formats.

The HS/EFP Cinematographers Lab will also take us into some of the workrooms of some of our favorite camera shops and camera related organizations that every camera department professional and up-n-comer should know…

Seminar Topics will include:

Fundamentals of Cinematography

Getting the Best Image From Your Camera

The Camera Crew

Flavors of HD

The Camera Showcase

Lighting from Home Depot

ABOUT JAY HOLBEN

Jay Holben is an independent producer & filmmaker who worked as a director of photography for nearly a decade. Previously serving as technical editor, Jay has been a contributing editor to American Cinematographer Magazine for 12 years. He is currently the technical editor for DV Magaizne, with a monthly column, ‘DV101,’ and is a frequent contributing editor for Videography magazine. Jay has contributed to several books on cinematography, including the American Cinematographer Manual, 9th Edition. Jay is currently writing a new book for Cengage Learning, due out in early 2011, on budget conscious lighting alternative for DIY productions for digital shooters. Jay has been a member of HOLLYWOOD SHORTS since 1999 with his short adaption of the Stephen King poem, “Paranoid.”

Our 2010 Cinematography Lab Hosts include:

Keslow Camera - Los Angeles

Aug 08, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

CASTING CALL: Auditions for SUPREMACY – May 8th

CASTING BREAKDOWN

Show: SUPREMACY

Format: SAG Short Film

Shoot Date: June 5 in Los Angeles

Director: Tanya Boyd

___________________________________________________________________________

Producers: Vincent Cirrincione & Kimberley Browning
Production Company: HOLLYWOOD SHORTS

Auditions: Saturday, May 8

Casting: Kimberley Browning, Hollywood Shorts

GARRET TULLY: (Early 30’s, Aryan Brotherhood skinhead)

Garret Tully is a hardened longtime prison inmate who has been in and out of institutions since the first time the judge sent him to juvenile detention. Always looking for a family he never had, he quickly found a place in the community of the local Northern California skinheads. Now, he is on a mission as he escapes from Pelican Bay Prison to do his part of the master plan. He has the body and the face of a career life of incarceration, but ultimately will know he has chosen the wrong master.

DOREEN LESSER: (Courtney Love type – early 30’s – Hard – Sexy – Trailer trash type)

A groupie of the Aryan Brotherhood. Doreen has a sexy body, but looks much older in the face than her 30 years. A survivor, who’s not at all dumb, but just can’t seem to get it together. She hooks up with Garret Tullly, and ex-convict, who just hours after his release from Pelican Bay Prison, murders a highway patrol officer. On the run from the police, Tully and Doreen take refuge in a house occupied by a defiant old Black man, and his family, and who are held hostage by the two criminals.

ODESSA KING-WALKER. (Queen Latifa type – early to middle 40’s)

Odessa, a reformed drunk, with two children, struggled on her own for many years until she married Mr. Frank Walker, a man twenty-five years her senior. In her younger days, she was a beautiful, well built woman, but time has taken its’ toll. Unhappy in her marriage to Mr. Walker, Odessa is contemplating leaving the marriage, but with a twenty-one year old, out of work diabetic son, and a twenty-three year old out of work daughter with a small child, who’s recently moved in the house too, she puts up with her verbally abusive, controlling husband.

ANTHONY KING (a younger Forest Whittier type, early twenty’s. Tall, and large in built).

May 06, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

HOLLYWOOD SHORTS – New Website!

WELCOME TO OUR NEW WEBSITE!

Welcome to the new HOLLYWOOD SHORTS website!

Thanks for your patience as we get lots of great new information and resources loaded up here, as well as our calendar of upcoming festival screenings, panels & labs, and production support.

Stay tuned, and come back soon as we launch our new home for all things short film!

HOLLYWOOD SHORTS - Season 12

Apr 13, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

SUMMER SHOOT 2010 – The Marrying Kind

SUMMER SHOOT 2010

THE MARRYING KIND

Director: Brian O’Hare
Writers: Brian O’Hare & David Garver
Cast: David Garver
Producers: Kimberley Browning & Reggie Hunter

We are pleased to announce THE MARRYING KIND has been selected as the screenplay that will be produced as the HOLLYWOOD SHORTS Summer Shoot 2010! The production will be directed by BRIAN O’HARE.

David Garver & Brian O'Hare - writers of THE MARRYING KIND

DAVID GARVER & BRIAN O'HARE's The Marrying Kind selected for HOLLYWOOD SHORTS 2010 Summer Shoot. O'Hare will direct and Garver will star in the short script they co-wrote.

THE MARRYING KIND is a short film script written by actor DAVID GARVER and director BRIAN O’HARA for this year’s SUMMER SHOOT! Each year, Hollywood Shorts cast and crew gather to revel in a weekend of filmmaking. Brian O’Hara will be directing, and David Garver will star in the dramatic script set in Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. The project will be the first in a series of short films about marriage in Los Angeles, produced by HOLLYWOOD SHORTS and MOVIEMAKER MAGAZINE.

THE MARRYING KIND joins a long list of annual summer productions created by our Emerging Filmmakers Program. Last year’s production INVENTORS will be premiering this summer and launching immediately into feature development.

Apr 07, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

OLD SCHOOL NEW SCHOOL panel with doc filmer Steven Fischer

June 2009

SCREENING & PANEL DISCUSSION

OLD SCHOOL NEW SCHOOL

Director: Steven Fischer, 30 min

Special Sneak Peek Screening of two-time Emmy nominated documentary filmmaker Steven Fischer’s
new documentary on the creative process, featuring intimate interviews of Master Storytellers in
film, art, dance, theatre, literature & music.

Live audience participation discussion with OSNS MASTER PANEL: William Fraken, Michael Polcino & John Bailey

Saturday, June 20
4:30pm – 6:30pm

FREE

HOTEL CAFE
1623½ N. Cahuenga Blvd, Hollywood

Jun 02, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post

INVENTORS – Summer Shoot 2009

Writers/Directors KIRK NELSON & JOEL WRONA and their short film project INVENTORS is selected as the HOLLYWOOD SHORTS SUMMER SHOOT 2009. Joined by members of the CAL TECH Robotics Team, and puppeteer NATHAN KHYBER, we delve into the world of ROBOTICS to hilarious and heartwarming effect.

Congrats to the entire cast and crew, and special thanks to actor JOHN LARROQUETTE for his amazing and gracious contribution to Kirk and Joel’s production.

Jun 01, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post

Category: Emerging Filmmakers Program

ANTHONY ANDERSON Washington DC

TAHIR JETTER NYC

IHUOMA OFORDIRE Los Angeles

KEVIN HEROD Toronto

YA’KE SMITH Ft. Worth

DANEL K HUNTER Los Angeles

KIARA JONES NYC

HILTON CARTER Los Angeles

ANDRÉ JONES New Orleans

ISSA RAE Los Angeles

CAREY WILLIAMS Los Angeles

AL ROBBINS Atlanta

LAMONT WAYNE Lynchburg

HILLIARD GUESS Los Angeles

meet the filmmakers

Brett Stumpp

Email BRETT STUMPP

Luke Asa Guidici

Email LUKE ASA GUIDICI

Rashaad Ernesto Green makes the move from shorts to feature

SEMINAR OVERVIEW

meet the filmmakers

Allison Craig

Andrew Wilding

Sean Gannet

M. Keegan Uhl

George Hickenlooper (May 25, 1963 – October 29, 2010)

CERTIFIED by Luke Asa Guidici

September 18, 2010

CINEMATOGRAPHER’S LAB

with JAY HOLBEN

Welcome to the new HOLLYWOOD SHORTS website!

SUMMER SHOOT 2010

Instagram

ANTHONY ANDERSON
Washington DC

TAHIR JETTER
NYC

IHUOMA OFORDIRE
Los Angeles

KEVIN HEROD
Toronto

YA’KE SMITH
Ft. Worth

DANEL K HUNTER
Los Angeles

KIARA JONES
NYC

HILTON CARTER
Los Angeles

ANDRÉ JONES
New Orleans

ISSA RAE
Los Angeles

CAREY WILLIAMS
Los Angeles

AL ROBBINS
Atlanta

LAMONT WAYNE
Lynchburg

HILLIARD GUESS
Los Angeles