Film stills from 'Broken Bunny' (2018)
Filmmaker Meredith Hama-Brown's latest short 'Broken Bunny' (2018) screened earlier this summer at the Palm Springs International Shortfest. Inspired by a childhood experience of hers, it tells the story of a young girl who finds a dying rabbit in the middle of the road. Just as she's trying to figure out what to do with it, another young girl picks it up and takes it home as a kind of broken pet. Meredith wrote, directed and ex...
Edward Worthy
Filmmaker Edward Worthy's latest short 'Crescent III' (2017) screened in the market at the 2018 Palm Springs International Shortfest. The film tells the story of African American Adam Lucas (played by actor Aspen Kennedy Wilson) and the challenges he faces after transferring from a majoroty white school to an all black school.
Worthy's other works include his first film 'Witness Monitor' (2013) and TV series currently in pre-production '365 Day...
Writer/director Tommaso Frangini's latest opus 'The Plague' (2017) premiered at the 71st Cannes Film Festival in the Short Film Corner. The Frankenstein-esque tale takes place in the late 18th century and tells the story of alchemist Parsifal (played by Omar Maestroni) who creates half human half monster Homunculus (Riccardo Maria Manera). Having ignored his master's foreboding, Parsifal must learn the hard way about the dangers of mixing magic with science. Frangini also...
Writer/director Joel Villegas Saldaña's 'Subterra' (2017) tells the story of musician/singer Robbie (played by newcomer Dan Chavez-Wright) as he struggles to make it performing in a cover band. The film premiered at the 2018 Palm Springs International Shortfest. This is Villegas' directorial debut after working as a producer, editor and writer on multiple short films.
I interviewed Joel shortly after the festival. Here is what he has to say:
What inspired this ...
Filmmaker Matthew Berg's debut Short 'Aqua Rasa' (2017) screened at the Palm Springs International Shortfest film market. Harry (played by Vincent Palmieri) is an elderly man suffering from Alzheimer's when visited by Asher (Calvin Devereaux), pretending to be a psychic to help bring back his memories. The youngest director with a film at the film market, Berg wrote, directed, produced and edited the film. Producer Thomas Besançon attended the festival with Be...
Actors Miguel Di Lemme and Silvina Sabater with Franco Volpi
Argentine native filmmaker Franco Volpi, known for his previous film LOW COST (2014), premiered his latest work AUGUST SUN (2018) at the Palm Springs International Shortfest. Set in Buenos Aires, it's a heartfelt endearing story about an ailing mother reuniting with her estranged expatriate son. The film will screen next in Brazil at the Sao Paolo International Short Film Festival and has been selected as a semi-finalist at the ...
The Passage
Created by Philip Burgers
Directed by Kitao Sakurai
Writer/Actor Philip Burgers and Director Kitao Sakurai screened their short “The Passage” (2018) at the Palm Springs International Shortfest. The film is a comedic and creative tour de force about funny man Phil as he journeys through multiple continents, traveling the world in a single day without speaking a word or ever actually leaving Los Angeles, California. In Phil's and Kitao's words, &ldq...
Este año, además del tradicional y actualizado Global Film & TV Program en Los Angeles, el Latin American Training Center anuncia su nueva oficina de representación internacional en el American Film Market-AFM.
El LATC Representation Office ofrecerá gran visibilidad internacional para películas, documentales, series de TV y proyectos en desarrollo que están buscando vendas, concesión de licencias, distribución y coproducci...
This year, in addition to its traditional and updated Global Film & TV Program in Los Angeles, the Latin American Training Center announces a new International Representation Office at the American Film Market-AFM, the world’s most prestigious audiovisual market. The LATC Representation Office will offer huge international visibility for films, documentaries, TV series and projects in development seeking sales, licensing, distribution and coproduction at the AFM, which runs O...
Kayvan Mashayekh (Co-Chair, International Committee PGA), Ms. Regina Di Santo (Private Financial Sponsor), Calvin Walker (Film France) Photo Credit @FilmFrance.
On May 12, 2018, during the 71st Cannes Film Festival, Kayvan Mashayekh (PGA International Committee, Co-Chair) held a panel on “Navigating your way through an International Co-Production” at the Jordan Pavilion as a part of his annual “Producers Without Borders” series. The PGA ev...
Director Christopher Knoblock's breakthrough first feature is an honest heartrending tale about survival in the midst of life's many physical and psychological battles. Charlotte Winston (played by Dana White) loses her husband and child in a tragic car accident. She is left to take care of the many acres of their California orchard alone. The loss is so great it seems she will not survive; until she meets Marine veteran Nick (Jonas Ball) hiding out in her shed. Nick has PTSD and she h...
Director/writer Ben Zolno's breakthrough film 'Status Pending' (2018) is a roller coaster love story between American, Ryan, and Kiwi, Lizzie, living in New Zealand. They met on Tinder and exist posting their personal lives on social media, as most millenials do. At first, their hook up is a lot of fun, until it's time to either move forward or move on.
Starring Ben Zolno and actress Ivana Palezevic, the film is currently traveling international film festivals, includin...
Producer | Writer | Director Steve Lee Jones' latest film “Bigger” (2018) held market screenings at the 71st Cannes Film Festival. “Bigger” tells the story of brothers Joe and Ben Weider, founders of the modern fitness and work out gym phenomena. In this rags to riches story, with just a few dollars in their pocket and a fight against anti-Semitism and racism, the Weider brothers set out to revolutionize the world of physical fitness and build an empire.
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Filmmaker Mark Cousins
Prolific filmmaker Mark Cousins' latest oeuvre “The Eyes of Orson Welles” (2018) is a documentary about the eponymous genius canon auteur director, his influence on cinema and shaping the collective psyche of our modern culture. Starring Northern Irish-born, Scottish resident director Mark Cousins himself and Orson's daughter Beatrice Welles, they set out to show us who Orson really was, giving us an intimate view of the man behind the mast...
Winners Include “My Name is Myeisha,” “Tower. A Bright Day” and “White Tide”
The 4th Annual Mammoth Lakes Film Festival (MLFF) announced this year’s juried and audience award winners at the Closing Night Award Ceremony at the Sierra Event Center in Mammoth Lakes on Sunday, May 27, 2018. The festival, held from May 23-27, screened over 70 films, including 63 in MLFF’s competition categories. Each of the festival winners received an Orson the Bear...
Leo receives the “Sierra Spirit Award for Acting”during a special tribute on May 26
At the Mammoth Lakes Film Festival (MLFF) actress and Academy Award winner Melissa Leo received the Sierra Spirit Award for Acting during a special tribute which took place on Saturday, May 26. The tribute consisted of a screening of Leo’s film, Frozen River, followed by a moderated conversation and award presentation.
Leo is best known for her Academy Award winning perf...
Writer, director, and producer Maria Pulera's mystery thriller Between Worlds debuted at the film market of the 71st Cannes Film Festival. Between Worlds, stars Nicolas Cage, Franka Potente, and Penelope Mitchell. The story follows Joe, (Cage), a down-on-his-luck truck driver haunted by the memory of his deceased wife and child. He meets Julie (Potente), a spiritually gifted woman who enlists Joe in a desperate effort to find the lost soul of her comatose daughter, Billie (Mit...
Driector David Eng
Director/Writer David Eng's documentary feature “Grand Cru” (2017) has been sending ripples through the international film festival world for wine lover cinephiles. It tells the story of renown Montreal native poet/wine-maker Pascal Marchand who immigrated to Burgundy, France at the age of 21 and has lived there for three decades. There, he found a magical place where he could synergize making wine a poetry and writing poetry of wine. Afte...
Rosalee Glass
Director Lillian Glass
Director/writer/producer Lillian Glass's debut feature documentary "Reinventing Rosalee" (2018) screened at the Cannes market during the 71st Cannes Film Festival. The film tells the inspiring story of Lillian's mother Rosalee Glass who survived life in concentration camps during WWII and is today one of the war's oldest survivors. Not only has she recently reached 101 years of age but every day she...
Filmmaker Brian Metcalf wrote, directed, produced and DP'd his third film to date, a found footage vampire tale 'Living Among Us' (2018). In one of the late actor John Heard's last performances, this horror/sci-fi flick follows some documentarians as they make an ethnological study on vampires living among mortals. Produced by Brian's Red Compass Media production company, Vision Films is handling international sales and US distribution in association with Sony Pictures Home...
Kayvan Mashayekh Co-Chair, International Committee Producers Guild of America
Returning to the Croisette for his 15th year, Kayvan Mashayekh, the newly elected Co-Chair of the International Committee of the Producers Guild of America, is excited over the prospects of expanding the PGA brand globally. As the World’s largest trade organization of film, television and multi-media producers, the membership now exceeds 8500. With multiple committees dedicated to perfecting th...
Jeff Witzeman
Filmmaker Jeff Witzeman's “Cancer Can Be Killed” is a groundbreaking labor of love documentary sending ripples of controversy and debate through the oncology world. The film tells the story of Jeff's wife Kerry Witzeman who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Instead of undergoing surgery and chemo therapy, as her traditional American doctors had suggested, she opted for an alternative medicine treatment in Germany. Kerry and Jeff traveled to Ge...
Composer/Director Carla Patullo's recent film “Lotte That Silhouette Girl” (2018) is an homage to who many deem the mother of animation, Lotte Reiniger. Using music and voice-over by Lotte herself, the film is a visual symphony. Carla's background is music. Her past work includes Sundance film "Spa Night" (2016). Her song "The Ocean" and score to "Cinderella, A Shadow Ballet" (2015) were nominated for a Hollywood Music in Media Award. Further, ...
Writer/Director Michael Gallagher's recent feature “Funny Story” (2018) is a road trip dramedy about “good people who do bad things,” set in the lush forest backdrop of Big Sur, Californa. In this “Sideways” reminiscent tale that demands its viewers to laugh and cry simultaneously, womanizer father Walter (Matthew Glave) travels to a weekend retreat to visit his estranged daughter Nic (Jana Winternitz) in hopes of mending his relationship with ...
Director Andrew Peat
American director Andrew Peat's debut documentary 'SCOTCH – A Golden Dream' (2017)' follows some of the most important personalities in the world of Scottish whiskey (aka “Uisge beatha,” Gaelic for “water of life”) as they tell the story of the world of Scotch, past present and future; some of the scotch industry legends featured are Richard Paterson, Jim McEwan and Glasstorm, whose bottles hold rare whiskeys which sell...
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