Join NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA) in celebrating independent cinema and in spotlighting female filmmakers and stories on March 24th, offering a diverse set of voices and storytelling styles. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / PRURGENT
Join NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA) in celebrating independent cinema and in spotlighting female filmmakers and stories on March 24th, offering a diverse set of voices and storytelling styles.
The night’s first program will be InFocus: Female Cinema, a collection of short films from female directors and writers that include stories of mortality, motherhood, break-ups, career struggles and whether we fulfil our own childhood expectations for ourselves.
Second in the night will be the west coast premier of feature film Wonder Valley, a psychedelic psychological thriller with a horror tinge centered on four young women on a trip to the desert directed by Heidi Hartwig and written by Rhianon Jones.
The finale of the evening will be a narrative shorts program that spotlights the work of members of the women directors association Film Fatales across a variety of genres, including drama, dark comedy, experimental and surrealist.
Shorts Program #1 - InFocus: Female Cinema
The Strangeness You Feel - Directed by Jackie Katzman
Ella spends her days taking care of her mother and sitting in parks watching kids play. Desperate to have a child of her own, her clock ticking away, she takes matters into her own hands.
About the Director - Jackie Katzman was born and raised in Chicago and currently lives in Los Angeles. She is a graduate of Columbia College in Chicago. Her TV/Film credits include Family Tree, Strong Medicine, 100 girls and Totally Confused. She has been in over 20 national commercials and her most recent theater work includes Ludic Proxy with The Play Company at SoHo Rep and Victory Gardens at Northlight Theatre, National Jewish Theater, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, The Factory, Famous Door, and more. She has also written two TV pilots that are currently in development. She looks forward to directing her full length feature film, “Hummingbird” in 2018.
Still Here - Directed by Kholi Hicks
Weeks after her most recent break-up, Chelsea stops by her longterm on-and-off again ex-boyfriend Adam’s place to drop off a few remaining belongings. What feels comfortable at first soon deteriorates into the familiar territory of petty arguments and unresolved issues, eventually leading them to ask: why are we still here?
About the Director - Mentored by veteran DGA Members with extensive experience, Kholi began in the cinematography field, shooting low to medium budgeted short films and EPKs. She currently directs National branded content and narrative, while also working as a colorist in Santa Monica. Very active in the online community, Kholi is the current resident director for Yes Please Comedy and moderates two of the largest filmmaking forums online. He has written articles for many filmmaking printed publications, been featured on No Film School, and was named Movie Scope Magazine’s ONE TO WATCH.
To Be Fiona - Directed by Fiona Lu
West Coast Premiere
Little Fiona travels to the future and pays a surprise visit to herself at 16 years older. She hopes to live in the future so she could get rid of her "problems". The two Fionas had a dedicate, intimate conversation about their shared memories of their childhood, parents, friends…
About the Director - Fiona Lu is a New York bases animator and director. She went to School of Visual arts and majored in 2D animation. Her passion for storytelling began in high school, and observations of the little things that happen throughout life have always been the subjects of her stories. To Be Fiona is Fiona’s thesis film and is her first short animated film. It won "Outstanding Animated Film and "Outstanding Production Design" in the Dusty Festival 2017.
The Spring - Directed by Delaney Buffett
In August 2016, seven female filmmakers, all under the age of 25, traveled to Central Florida to film the women of Weeki Wachee Springs, for whom performing daily mermaid shows is more than a job – it's a craft.
About the Director - Delaney Buffett is a writer, director and producer living in New York City.
They created a web series, City of Angles, which has been an official selection at the 2017 New York Television Festival, the 2017 Hollyweb Festival, 2017 Portland Comedy Film Festival and 2017 Miami Web Festival.Having grown up in Florida, she naturally has an interest in the weird and the bizarre which has influenced her love for offbeat documentaries. The Spring is Delaney’s directorial debut; it premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival and won Best Documentary at the 2017 Toronto International Short Film Festival.
Local News! - Directed by Chris Keener
Los Angeles Premier
Driven young reporter Shannon Potter is good at the job and has great potential if she could only accept network news is not where she belongs. When she and her brash cameraman Mitchell Murphy go to investigate a story, they uncover an unexpected connection that reveals the heart of the city.
About the Director - Chris Keener is an actor, director, producer and host for outfits like National Geographic, Discovery Channel, PBS, Dow Jones, ESPN, and the Travel Channel. He has been founder and principal of two acclaimed production companies - Goldenbear and Goodfight Media. He most recently directed and EP'd the 5-part series 'We Speak Dance' for Netflix distribution, and recently produced an episode of the Webby-Award winning documentary series 'Conflict', programmed on Netflix and the Atlantic.
Dancer On the Snow - Directed by Esra Saydam
North American Premiere
After a teenage boy gets lost in a snowy village of Turkey, a man and a woman go on a ride to search for him. One is his brother and the other one is his mentor. Who is guiltier?
About the Director - Bridging the oceanic divide between her homeland Turkey and the United States, Esra is a filmmaker with a master’s degree in Columbia University Graduate Film Program. Her first feature film, Across the Sea (2014), co-directed with Nisan Dag, won multiple awards at Adana FF as well at other international festivals like Slamdance and Milano Int. The film also screened at festivals, Florida, Raindance, Istanbul and Warsaw. Esra’s next projects in development have been recognized and invited by the renown programs like EAVE’s Ties That Bind, !f Sundance Screenwriters’ Lab, Meetings on the Bridge, IFP Film Week, Global Media Makers/Film Independent and Cine Qua Non Lab. Esra is also a participant of Berlinale Talent Program 2018 and is the recipient of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Fellowship
Feature Film - Wonder Valley
Wonder Valley - Directed by Heidi Hartwig
West Coast Premiere
Part psychological thriller, part horror film, Wonder Valley is an arthouse-style film that tells the tale of four young women caught up in the aftermath of a psychotropic drug trip gone wrong. Karian, a loner with few friends, has an unhealthy obsession with the free-spirited Cloudy. Still mourning the death of her beloved aunt, she invites Cloudy out to her desert house, hoping to have time alone with her to deepen their friendship. When Cloudy shows up with two friends-- the social media loving, light-hearted Jessie, and the bitter, has-been TV star Sasha, Karian's disappointment is palpable. Instantly getting off on the wrong foot with the other girls, Sasha quickly becomes Karian's nemesis as their fight for Cloudy's attention turns into a fight to the death.
About the Director - After graduating from Emerson with a degree in film studies, Heidi Hartwig spent the first 15 years of her career working as a fashion, music and celebrity photographer. She has been working as a director internationally for the past 11 years, building an impressive and distinct portfolio of music, art and fashion videos. Taking a nuanced and cinematic approach, Heidi crates veiled narratives within the article, sensual, and inspired imagery. She consistently places woman as the focus of her lines, combining beauty, sensuality and emotion with the hand of darkness and psychological tension.
Shorts Program - Film Fatales
Commercial for the Queen of Meatloaf - Directed by Dina Fiasconaro
Marge is a bored housewife. Rex, her inattentive husband. In an attempt to spice up their relationship, Marge employs the Queen of Meatloaf, an ephemeral concoction that seduces Rex and Marge into a state of slumber, while permeating the homes of consumers with her enchanting aura and addicting gustatory appeal.
About the Director - Dina Fiasconaro is a Baltimore screenwriter and film director. Her feature documentary, Moms and Meds, is available on Amazon. Commercial for the Queen of Meatloaf was funded by the Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund in Film and Media at Johns Hopkins University. Dina recently completed a feature screenplay as a resident at Dorland Mountain Arts Colony in California and Stowe Story Labs fellow. Her short films have screened at a variety of festivals, including Portland Underground, BlackStar, Sidewalk and Cucalorus, and she is a recipient of the 'Generation Next' screenwriting grant for her feature script, Beyond the Pale. Dina has an MFA in film directing from Columbia University, and a BS in TV, Radio and Film from Syracuse University. She is an Associate Professor of Film and Moving Image at Stevenson University, and co-founded the Baltimore Chapter of Film Fatales (www.filmfatales.org), a national organization working towards gender parity in the film industry.
Control - Directed by Kimmy Gatewood
In this shockingly dark but utterly poignant comedy, a depressed woman suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder wants to end her life. But when she begins to write her suicide note, she realizes there are far too many loose ends she's leaving behind. She attempts to leave detailed instructions for taking care of every minute detail of her life until her suicide "note" soon turns into a massive binder of instructions and information.
About the Director - Kimmy is a writer, director, and producer who is currently directing for the Joel McHale Show starring Joel McHale on Netflix. She recently directed the new series Hyperlinked for Disney and YouTube Red and an episode of the new Just Add Magic Spinoff on Amazon. Her short Control (written by Alison Becker) is touring the festival circuit, having premiered at the Palm Springs Film Festival. Kimmy also directed the Clio Award Winning Comedy Central digital series Junketeers with celebrity guests stars Josh Duhamel & Chloe Moretz Grace and many more, among other credits.
Bambina - Directed by Alexis Ostrander
An isolated expatriate experiences psychosis and depression after giving birth.
About the Director - Alexis Ostrander is a graduate of Syracuse University and is one of five directors in the inaugural Warner Bros. Emerging Film Directors Workshop and is a participant in the first Fox Filmmakers Lab. She was one of ten directors selected for the AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women and was picked as one of twenty directors to participate in the Fox Global Directors Initiative and was a drama fellow for the apprenticeship program on Homeland. Alexis was chosen for the inaugural 2016 Ryan Murphy Television’s Half Foundation Mentorship Program and subsequently directed the penultimate episode of American Horror Story: Roanoke on FX. Alexis was selected for the 2017 Warner Bros. Television Directors' Workshop and recently directed Riverdale for CW, The Arrangement for E! and Shadowhunters for ABC Freeform. Alexis is represented by CAA.
End of the Line - Directed by Jessica Sanders
Los Angeles Premiere
Based on acclaimed writer Aimee Bender's surrealist short story about a lonely man who goes to the pet store and buys a tiny man in a cage. The film explores themes of power and abuse of power in a highly creative and unusual way. Starring Simon Helberg (Big Bang Theory) and Brett Gelman (Lemon). The film is Indiewire’s Top 10 Must See Short Films, was featured in LA Times, and premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2018.
About the Director - Jessica Sanders is an Academy Award-nominated, Sundance and Cannes winning filmmaker and commercial director. Steve Jobs hand picked Jessica to direct Apple's iPad launch spot. Her Sony “Make Believe” film won the prestigious Young Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Additional event information is available at www.nfmla.org
Founded in 2007, NewFilmmakers Los Angeles is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. NFMLA’s programs annually serve approximately 25,000 patrons in the Greater Los Angeles area. NFMLA has screened over 2,500 films from 75+ countries, highlighting local and international talent. |
