Slamdance has awarded its grand prize for screenwriting to writer Joyce Sherrí for her first feature screenplay for coming-of-age drama “Sweet Sixteen.”
The festival announced 13 prizes Thursday during a live-stream ceremony co-presented by Writers Guild of America West and hosted by Slamdance alum Todd Berger across feature film, horror/thriller, TV pilot and short film categories. Slamdance awarded more than $16,000 to winners across all categories.
“Sweet Sixteen” centers on Sweet, a 15-year-old girl who tries to convince her parents to throw her a big sweet 16 birthday party, but money and family problems lead her down a destructive path.
“Black people are not a monolith then neither are our experiences,” said Sherrí. “There is more to us than racial trauma. Sometimes we just want something as simple as a first kiss or a sweet sixteenth birthday party. I wrote ‘Sweet Sixteen’ because I want to share a story that explores a...
The festival announced 13 prizes Thursday during a live-stream ceremony co-presented by Writers Guild of America West and hosted by Slamdance alum Todd Berger across feature film, horror/thriller, TV pilot and short film categories. Slamdance awarded more than $16,000 to winners across all categories.
“Sweet Sixteen” centers on Sweet, a 15-year-old girl who tries to convince her parents to throw her a big sweet 16 birthday party, but money and family problems lead her down a destructive path.
“Black people are not a monolith then neither are our experiences,” said Sherrí. “There is more to us than racial trauma. Sometimes we just want something as simple as a first kiss or a sweet sixteenth birthday party. I wrote ‘Sweet Sixteen’ because I want to share a story that explores a...
- 10/8/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
J. Cole is lending his voice to the Black Lives Matter movement. On Tuesday night, the rapper surprised fans with the release of his new single "Snow on Tha Bluff," which shares the same title as Damon Russell's 2011 film and is the first track J. Cole has dropped this year. Over the course of the nearly four minute song, he addresses the Black Lives Matter movement, police brutality, discrimination and more. The Grammy winner begins by referencing the recent surge in activism on social media by referring to a "young lady" scrolling through her timeline in an effort to educate herself on recent events. "There's a young lady out there, she way smarter than...
- 6/17/2020
- E! Online
HBOAccess has announced the top 20 semi-finalists for their 2018 Directing Fellowship. The program supports directors who are interested in a career in television by giving them the opportunity to shoot a pilot presentation which will air on HBO, HBO Go, and HBO Now.
HBO received over 1,000 submissions when it opened its application portal in February. “There are so many talented new directors doing great work. Getting this list down to only three fellows will be difficult,” remarked President of HBO Films Len Amato, “but we gladly accept that challenge and are excited to support and give a platform to new voices and artists with vision.”
The 2018 HBOAccess semi-finalists are:
Alicia J. Rose
Carey Williams
Damon Russell
Dinh Thai
Dubois Ashong
Erika Bagnarello
Huay-Bing Law
Jacqueline Dow
Kaitlin Fontana
Mary Gulino
Maureen Bharoocha
Michael Olmos
Mylissa Fitzsimmons
Olivia Clare Newman
Ryan Richmond
Ryan Zaragoza
Tanuj Chopra
Tarik Jackson
Thembi Banks
Zao Wang...
HBO received over 1,000 submissions when it opened its application portal in February. “There are so many talented new directors doing great work. Getting this list down to only three fellows will be difficult,” remarked President of HBO Films Len Amato, “but we gladly accept that challenge and are excited to support and give a platform to new voices and artists with vision.”
The 2018 HBOAccess semi-finalists are:
Alicia J. Rose
Carey Williams
Damon Russell
Dinh Thai
Dubois Ashong
Erika Bagnarello
Huay-Bing Law
Jacqueline Dow
Kaitlin Fontana
Mary Gulino
Maureen Bharoocha
Michael Olmos
Mylissa Fitzsimmons
Olivia Clare Newman
Ryan Richmond
Ryan Zaragoza
Tanuj Chopra
Tarik Jackson
Thembi Banks
Zao Wang...
- 4/11/2018
- by Sean McAloon
- Age of the Nerd
In today’s roundup, Lifetime released the trailer for new thriller series “You,” and the CW announced the return dates for several summer shows.
Frist Looks
Lifetime released the first official trailer of thriller series “You” based on the best-selling book of the same name by Caroline Kepnes. From executive producers Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble, the show follows a twisted, obsessive love story about a man who uses the hyper-connectivity of today’s world to make a woman fall for him. “You” stars Penn Badgley, Elizabeth Lail, Shay Mitchell, Luca Padovan, and Zach Cherry, with a special guest appearance by John Stamos. It premieres September 9 at 10 p.m. Et/Pt. Watch the trailer below.
Casting
Undefeated boxing champion Andre “Son of God” Ward will host Mark Burnett’s boxing competition series “The Contender.” Freddie Roach and Naazim Richardson have also joined the series as trainers. The 12-episode season will...
Frist Looks
Lifetime released the first official trailer of thriller series “You” based on the best-selling book of the same name by Caroline Kepnes. From executive producers Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble, the show follows a twisted, obsessive love story about a man who uses the hyper-connectivity of today’s world to make a woman fall for him. “You” stars Penn Badgley, Elizabeth Lail, Shay Mitchell, Luca Padovan, and Zach Cherry, with a special guest appearance by John Stamos. It premieres September 9 at 10 p.m. Et/Pt. Watch the trailer below.
Casting
Undefeated boxing champion Andre “Son of God” Ward will host Mark Burnett’s boxing competition series “The Contender.” Freddie Roach and Naazim Richardson have also joined the series as trainers. The 12-episode season will...
- 4/10/2018
- by Ariana Brockington
- Variety Film + TV
The third cascade of world premieres in 15 days flowed from the headquarters of the Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday as programmers revealed their Midnight Madness, Tiff Docs, Vanguard, Tiff Cinematheque and Short Cuts selections.
This week’s offering includes Ben Wheatley’s all-star gangster thriller Free Fire, which opens Midnight Madness one year after the premiere of the British auteur’s High-Rise; fast-rising Chadwick Boseman in revenge thriller Message From The King in Vanguard and a Tiff Docs strand that features climate change documentary The Turning Point, featuring and produced by Oscar-winner Leonardo DiCaprio.
The 41st Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 8 to 18.
Wp = world premiere, IP = international premiere, Nap = North American premiere, Cp = Canadian premiere, Tp = Toronto premiere.
Midnight Madness
Ben Wheatley’s all-star gunfight Free Fire starring Brie Larson, Armie Hammer and Cillian Murphy will open the section, which includes Morgan Spurlock’s documentary Rats, Adam Wingard’s Blair Witch, André Øvredal’s [link...
This week’s offering includes Ben Wheatley’s all-star gangster thriller Free Fire, which opens Midnight Madness one year after the premiere of the British auteur’s High-Rise; fast-rising Chadwick Boseman in revenge thriller Message From The King in Vanguard and a Tiff Docs strand that features climate change documentary The Turning Point, featuring and produced by Oscar-winner Leonardo DiCaprio.
The 41st Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 8 to 18.
Wp = world premiere, IP = international premiere, Nap = North American premiere, Cp = Canadian premiere, Tp = Toronto premiere.
Midnight Madness
Ben Wheatley’s all-star gunfight Free Fire starring Brie Larson, Armie Hammer and Cillian Murphy will open the section, which includes Morgan Spurlock’s documentary Rats, Adam Wingard’s Blair Witch, André Øvredal’s [link...
- 8/9/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The writer and director of the film “Snow on tha Bluff” says he’s getting the cold shoulder from Snoop Dogg, and he’s suing-mad about it. “Bluff” director Damon Russell is suing Calvin Broadus a.k.a. Snoop Dogg, Jt the Bigga Figga and the Snoop-affiliated urban streaming app Trap Flix, claiming that they made an unauthorized sequel to the film, according to court papers obtained by TheWrap. In the lawsuit, filed in federal court in California on Friday, Russell says that he and Curtis Snow, a resident of the Atlanta neighborhood The Bluff, agreed to work together on “Snow on tha Bluff,...
- 8/19/2015
- by Tim Kenneally
- The Wrap
Thomas McCarthy's The Cobbler hits theaters this weekend, though you wouldn't likely know it considering I haven't even received an email about it and that's no big surprise after the savaging it received at the Toronto Film Festival last year. However, something good has come out of its release, which is a sit down with Adam Sandler's co-star in the film, Method Man. Speaking with Rotten Tomatoes (via FilmDrunk), Method Man revealed his top five (six) favorite films and it's not necessarily the list that's so great (though trust me, you aren't likely to guess them), but more his explanations. First, the list: Frailty (dir. Bill Paxton) The Station Agent (dir. Thomas McCarthy) Napoleon Dynamite (dir. Jared Hess) Snow On Tha Bluff (dir. Damon Russell) The Raid / Dredd (dir. Gareth Evans / Pete Travis) Now the best explanation for why he liked any of these movies comes with his explanation for Napoleon Dynamite,...
- 3/12/2015
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
IFC Films has picked up North American rights to Shawn Christensen’s drama ahead of its international premiere in Venice. Separately, The Orchard has picked up Marshall Curry’s Tribeca-winning doc Point And Shoot.
Christensen wrote Before I Disappear and stars alongside Fatima Ptacek, Emmy Rossum, Paul Wesley, Richard Schiff and Ron Perlman.
Damon Russell, Lucan Toh, Christensen, Wesley and Terry Leonard produced and the executive producers are Christopher Eoyang, Nick Harbinson, Oliver Roskill and Emily Leo.
IFC plans a November roll-out for the story of a down-at-heel man whose sister asks him to babysit his 11-year-old niece for the night. The film won the SXSW narrative feature audience award.
“Curfew [Christensen’s short film on which the feature is based] was only a glimpse at Shawn’s incredible talent, and we cannot wait to bring his fully realised vision to audiences nationwide,” said Sundance Selects/IFC Films president Jonathan Sehring. “Before I Disappear marks an amazing feature directorial debut.”
“Working with Shawn...
Christensen wrote Before I Disappear and stars alongside Fatima Ptacek, Emmy Rossum, Paul Wesley, Richard Schiff and Ron Perlman.
Damon Russell, Lucan Toh, Christensen, Wesley and Terry Leonard produced and the executive producers are Christopher Eoyang, Nick Harbinson, Oliver Roskill and Emily Leo.
IFC plans a November roll-out for the story of a down-at-heel man whose sister asks him to babysit his 11-year-old niece for the night. The film won the SXSW narrative feature audience award.
“Curfew [Christensen’s short film on which the feature is based] was only a glimpse at Shawn’s incredible talent, and we cannot wait to bring his fully realised vision to audiences nationwide,” said Sundance Selects/IFC Films president Jonathan Sehring. “Before I Disappear marks an amazing feature directorial debut.”
“Working with Shawn...
- 8/5/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Dean Devlin’s Electric Entertainment has picked up all international rights to SXSW audience award winner Before I Disappear and will commence sales in Cannes.
The announcement comes as sales agents scramble to assemble fresh line-ups for the Croisette at a time when new product is thin on the ground.
Before I Disappear director Shawn Christensen based the film on his 2013 Academy Award-winning live action short Curfew and stars alongside Fatima Ptacek, Emmy Rossum, Paul Wesley, Ron Perlman and Richard Schiff.
ICM Partners and Verve represent North American rights to the story of a man who must look after his niece on a night when he becomes embroiled in a fight between his two employers.
“We are absolutely thrilled to be representing Before I Disappear,” said Electric’s head of international distribution Sonia Mehandjiyska. “It’s a crowd-pleasing film with a great cast and wonderful performances and we at Electric look forward to bringing this award-winning...
The announcement comes as sales agents scramble to assemble fresh line-ups for the Croisette at a time when new product is thin on the ground.
Before I Disappear director Shawn Christensen based the film on his 2013 Academy Award-winning live action short Curfew and stars alongside Fatima Ptacek, Emmy Rossum, Paul Wesley, Ron Perlman and Richard Schiff.
ICM Partners and Verve represent North American rights to the story of a man who must look after his niece on a night when he becomes embroiled in a fight between his two employers.
“We are absolutely thrilled to be representing Before I Disappear,” said Electric’s head of international distribution Sonia Mehandjiyska. “It’s a crowd-pleasing film with a great cast and wonderful performances and we at Electric look forward to bringing this award-winning...
- 4/17/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Netflix has been good to me this year. It's shown me how to steal diamonds through diplomacy in Africa, the secret behind great sushi, and perhaps the best found footage film I've ever seen. For those who haven't seen it, Snow On Tha Bluff is a found footage film following the life of Curtis Snow, a drug dealer living in The Bluff in Atlanta. Here's the beginning to bring you up to speed.
From that point we are taken on the wild ride that is based on the real life of Snow himself - I tell you this now so that you won't spend five minutes searching on your phone whilst watching this fantastic look into a harder side of life. Shot on location and featuring real relatives and friends of Snow, I still have trouble believing it's not real. The dialogue, events, and drama involved seem 100% real. The fact...
- 12/28/2012
- by Mick Joest
- GeekTyrant
One of the most controversial and discussed films on S & A has defintely been the raw mockumenatry (or is it a documentary? - there's still a difference of opinion) movie Snow On Tha Bluff. You can search S & A to find the various items we've posted about it, and numerous comments it has received. The film is, no doubt, an indie sucess; and now the producer of Bluff, Chris Knittel, and the director, Damon Russell, have a new documentary film project which they are currently casting for. The premise for their new film project clearly deals with American soliders who have served in either Iraq or Afghanistan, their experiences there and the lasting effects...
- 10/17/2012
- by Sergio
- ShadowAndAct
After debuting at the Slamdance Film Festival in 2011, Damon Russell’s Snow on Tha Bluff had a small theatrical release earlier this year. Writing about it then, Filmmaker’s own Brandon Harris described the film as “An incredible combination of found footage, no-budget narrative ingenuity and pulled-from-the-streets doc immediacy, [which] discovers in its incredibly charismatic and troubled protagonist, Curtis Snow, an American life many of us would probably rather forget about.”
Since becoming available through such platforms as iTunes and Netflix Watch Instantly, Snow on Tha Bluff has found a new and highly engaged audience which has discovered and been electrified by the film. Filmmaker asked one of those viewers, 2012 “25 New Faces” alum Hannah Fidell, to interview both Snow on Tha Bluff‘s co-writer/director Russell (himself a “25 New Face” from 2011) and co-writer/star Curtis Snow about the film, its making, and the reason it has received such a strong response from viewers.
Since becoming available through such platforms as iTunes and Netflix Watch Instantly, Snow on Tha Bluff has found a new and highly engaged audience which has discovered and been electrified by the film. Filmmaker asked one of those viewers, 2012 “25 New Faces” alum Hannah Fidell, to interview both Snow on Tha Bluff‘s co-writer/director Russell (himself a “25 New Face” from 2011) and co-writer/star Curtis Snow about the film, its making, and the reason it has received such a strong response from viewers.
- 9/6/2012
- by Hannah Fidell
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Anyone who regularly follows S & A, knows that we chronicled Damon Russell's docu(or mocku)drama, Snow on Tha Bluff, more times than we can count. It's the little movie that could; or if you prefer, the little ratchet movie that could. By now, you know the premise is about an "Atlanta robbery boy and crack dealer, Curtis Snow, who steals a camera from some college kids in a dope deal and made a documentary about his life." Of course the hook is whether it's all real or a fake mockumenatry (I'm convinced the latter); it has its defenders, usually those who like to "keep it real," and suburban wanna-be-hip nerdy white guys who...
- 8/30/2012
- by Sergio
- ShadowAndAct
Michael K. Williams, the actor best known for playing Omar Little on HBO's "The Wire," dons a new hat as executive producer for the first time with the microbudget indie "Snow on tha Bluff," which world premiered at the 2011 Slamdance Film Festival and hits DVD and VOD tomorrow. Dubbed a "'Blair Witch Project' in the hood" by Williams, "Snow on tha Bluff" documents a few days in the life of real-life robbery boy and crack dealer Curtis Snow via a camera that Snow steals from some college kids. The handheld footage bears witness to robberies of rival dealers, brutal gunfights and brawls, all involving real-life figures from the West Atlanta neighborhood known as "tha Bluff," leaving viewers to wonder: what's real and what's not? Indiewire caught up with Williams to find out how and why he came onto the project (directed by Damon Russell), and what Wu-Tang Clan fans can...
- 6/18/2012
- by Nigel M Smith
- Indiewire
The line separating documentary and narrative film aesthetics has never been more porous than it is now, but Damon Russell’s revelatory Snow on tha Bluff lives comfortably on that line. An incredible combination of found footage, no-budget narrative ingenuity and pulled-from-the-streets doc immediacy, it discovers in its incredibly charismatic and troubled protagonist, Curtis Snow, an American life many of us would probably rather forget about. Easy to dismiss as “Cops from the perp’s perspective,” perhaps, this startlingly authentic document of the life of a young, black, crack-dealing single parent — and of the dangers that lurk in poor and working-class black communities — isn’t easy to digest. Indeed, it’s characters frequently speak a Southern Negro dialect that few but the initiated may be able to understand.
Light on narrative and heavy on incident, Snow on Tha Bluff, which had its world premiere at last year’s Slamdance Film...
Light on narrative and heavy on incident, Snow on Tha Bluff, which had its world premiere at last year’s Slamdance Film...
- 4/19/2012
- by Brandon Harris
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Gaze Film Series
Our first listing is an ongoing monthly film series, not a festival. So, there are no deadlines, no limit to how much you can submit and no submission fees. But, there is one catch: You have to be a female filmmaker to submit.
The Gaze Film Series is dedicated to any and all film and video made by women artists. They are currently accepting media in all formats, all lengths and any subject matter. Submissions can also be new work or previously screened material.
Screenings will take place monthly at the Artists Television Access center in San Francisco, California and films will be selected by a “committee of women cineastes.” No date has been set yet for the debut screening.
For more guidelines and to submit, please visit the Gaze Film Series website.
Arizona Underground Film Festival
The Arizona Underground Film Festival will celebrate its fifth anniversary...
Our first listing is an ongoing monthly film series, not a festival. So, there are no deadlines, no limit to how much you can submit and no submission fees. But, there is one catch: You have to be a female filmmaker to submit.
The Gaze Film Series is dedicated to any and all film and video made by women artists. They are currently accepting media in all formats, all lengths and any subject matter. Submissions can also be new work or previously screened material.
Screenings will take place monthly at the Artists Television Access center in San Francisco, California and films will be selected by a “committee of women cineastes.” No date has been set yet for the debut screening.
For more guidelines and to submit, please visit the Gaze Film Series website.
Arizona Underground Film Festival
The Arizona Underground Film Festival will celebrate its fifth anniversary...
- 3/10/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Damon Russell’s controversial debut feature Snow on tha Bluff, which has won several awards on the underground film festival circuit, has been acquired by Screen Media Films, as part of a larger strategy by the distribution company to “focus on quality niche films including festival darlings, documentaries, foreign, urban and Latino.”
The film will be released on DVD and via online outlets like iTunes, but it will also receive a limited theatrical release, something that’s almost unheard of for underground films these days.
In Snow on the Bluff, a small-time drug dealer and thief, Curtis Snow, steals a video camera from a bunch of college kids during a dope deal and proceeds to make a documentary about his life. Questions swirl around the film about how much of its graphic footage is staged or authentic.
After debuting at the 2011 Slamdance Film Festival, Snow on the Bluff went on...
The film will be released on DVD and via online outlets like iTunes, but it will also receive a limited theatrical release, something that’s almost unheard of for underground films these days.
In Snow on the Bluff, a small-time drug dealer and thief, Curtis Snow, steals a video camera from a bunch of college kids during a dope deal and proceeds to make a documentary about his life. Questions swirl around the film about how much of its graphic footage is staged or authentic.
After debuting at the 2011 Slamdance Film Festival, Snow on the Bluff went on...
- 1/31/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Marthe Keller in Black Sunday (1977)
Catherine Grant's post-holiday return to blogging and tweeting has reminded me that some of her invaluable pointers to online resources over the past couple of weeks slipped right on past me during the year-end crunch. High time to catch up:
The new World Picture, #6, bears the ominous title "Wrong."
"The Disgust Issue" of Film-Philosophy. In her introduction, guest editor Tina Kendall notes an increasing interdisciplinary "concern with thinking through the relations between bodily sensation, emotion, and cognition (especially as these are mediated by films and other cultural forms), and with probing the political, moral, and ethical implications that arise from those particular conditions of embodiment."
The second issue of Cinema: Journal of Philosophy and the Moving Image.
Stoffel Debuysere has collected and posted hours of video from Goodbye Cinema, Hello Cinephilia, an event that took place in October in Brussels. The talks and discussions are led by Adrian Martin,...
Catherine Grant's post-holiday return to blogging and tweeting has reminded me that some of her invaluable pointers to online resources over the past couple of weeks slipped right on past me during the year-end crunch. High time to catch up:
The new World Picture, #6, bears the ominous title "Wrong."
"The Disgust Issue" of Film-Philosophy. In her introduction, guest editor Tina Kendall notes an increasing interdisciplinary "concern with thinking through the relations between bodily sensation, emotion, and cognition (especially as these are mediated by films and other cultural forms), and with probing the political, moral, and ethical implications that arise from those particular conditions of embodiment."
The second issue of Cinema: Journal of Philosophy and the Moving Image.
Stoffel Debuysere has collected and posted hours of video from Goodbye Cinema, Hello Cinephilia, an event that took place in October in Brussels. The talks and discussions are led by Adrian Martin,...
- 1/3/2012
- MUBI
Here’s the just issued press release announcing the nominees for the 2011 Heterodox Award, given by Cinema Eye Honors and sponsored by Filmmaker.
New York – The Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking today announced the five nominees for its second annual Cinema Eye Heterodox Award, sponsored by Filmmaker Magazine. The 2012 Heterodox Award will be presented at the Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking on January 11 at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens, New York.
The Cinema Eye Heterodox Award honors a narrative film that imaginatively incorporates nonfiction strategies, content and/or modes of production. These films illuminate the formal possibilities of nonfiction filmmaking while raising provocative questions about on-going documentary orthodoxy and the perceived boundaries between narrative and nonfiction filmmaking. Last year’s inaugural Heterodox Award went to Matt Porterfield’s Putty Hill.
“As more and more nonfiction films integrate artistic fictional devices and narrative structures, and...
New York – The Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking today announced the five nominees for its second annual Cinema Eye Heterodox Award, sponsored by Filmmaker Magazine. The 2012 Heterodox Award will be presented at the Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking on January 11 at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens, New York.
The Cinema Eye Heterodox Award honors a narrative film that imaginatively incorporates nonfiction strategies, content and/or modes of production. These films illuminate the formal possibilities of nonfiction filmmaking while raising provocative questions about on-going documentary orthodoxy and the perceived boundaries between narrative and nonfiction filmmaking. Last year’s inaugural Heterodox Award went to Matt Porterfield’s Putty Hill.
“As more and more nonfiction films integrate artistic fictional devices and narrative structures, and...
- 1/3/2012
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The 8th annual Atlanta Underground Film Festival was held way back on Sep. 22-25 and the list of award winners is being published here in full below for archival reasons, not that this is certainly breaking news or anything.
The big winner of the fest went to Damon Russell’s Snow on tha Bluff, which won for Best Feature. The film has played at numerous underground fests throughout the year and also previously was tied for Best Narrative at the 18th annual Chicago Underground Film Festival.
Best Short Film went to Flavio Alves’s The Secret Friend.
Here’s the full list of award winners:
2011 Features:
Best Feature
Snow on tha Bluff, dir. Damon Russell
Best Drama Feature
Moment of Truth: The Andy Meyers Story, dir. Steven Crowley
Best Comedy Feature
Planet World, dir. Doug Manley
Best Documentary Feature
Cultures of Resistance, dir. Iara Lee
Best Foreign Feature
Film, dir.
The big winner of the fest went to Damon Russell’s Snow on tha Bluff, which won for Best Feature. The film has played at numerous underground fests throughout the year and also previously was tied for Best Narrative at the 18th annual Chicago Underground Film Festival.
Best Short Film went to Flavio Alves’s The Secret Friend.
Here’s the full list of award winners:
2011 Features:
Best Feature
Snow on tha Bluff, dir. Damon Russell
Best Drama Feature
Moment of Truth: The Andy Meyers Story, dir. Steven Crowley
Best Comedy Feature
Planet World, dir. Doug Manley
Best Documentary Feature
Cultures of Resistance, dir. Iara Lee
Best Foreign Feature
Film, dir.
- 11/19/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
For their 4th annual edition, the Minneapolis Underground Film Festival is pulling out all the stops, spotlighting great local and international filmmaking talent over the course of three days, Dec. 2-4, on two screens at the Minneapolis College of Art & Design (McAd).
The fest opens with an ambitious Minneapolis-based move: Tyler Jensen’s 30 Films 30 Days. Working with hundreds of local participants, Jensen and his team completed a short film a day over the course of one month and this feature compiles all of them into one package. Plus, also screening on the same night is the groovy grindhouse horror flick The Disco Exorcist by Richard Griffin.
Over the course of the next two full days and nights, two of the best highlights of this year’s Muff include Usama Alshaibi‘s masterful mix of sex and religion Profane, Stuart Simpson‘s retro-sleazetastic monster flick El Monstro Del Mar!, neither of which are to be missed!
The fest opens with an ambitious Minneapolis-based move: Tyler Jensen’s 30 Films 30 Days. Working with hundreds of local participants, Jensen and his team completed a short film a day over the course of one month and this feature compiles all of them into one package. Plus, also screening on the same night is the groovy grindhouse horror flick The Disco Exorcist by Richard Griffin.
Over the course of the next two full days and nights, two of the best highlights of this year’s Muff include Usama Alshaibi‘s masterful mix of sex and religion Profane, Stuart Simpson‘s retro-sleazetastic monster flick El Monstro Del Mar!, neither of which are to be missed!
- 11/4/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Warning: Nsfw! Embedded above is the official — and officially “dirty” — bumper trailer for the Atlanta Underground Film Festival. Men, take heed. This could happen to you. And it’s worse than having your girlfriend/wife walk in on you during a very private moment between you and the Internet.
The trailer was directed by Greg Hanson, who also has a film in the festival proper: The nunsploitation must-see Thy Kill Be Done, which Hanson co-directed with Casey Regan. Thy Kill Be Done was also reviewed last year on Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film.
The Atlanta Underground Film Festival takes place later this month on Sep. 22-25 at the Goat Farm Arts Center. In addition to Thy Kill Be Done, the fest is screening films such as Drew Bolduc and Dan Nelson’s outrageous The Taint, Damon Russell’s Snow on tha Bluff, Jack Truman’s 7 Stories From an...
The trailer was directed by Greg Hanson, who also has a film in the festival proper: The nunsploitation must-see Thy Kill Be Done, which Hanson co-directed with Casey Regan. Thy Kill Be Done was also reviewed last year on Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film.
The Atlanta Underground Film Festival takes place later this month on Sep. 22-25 at the Goat Farm Arts Center. In addition to Thy Kill Be Done, the fest is screening films such as Drew Bolduc and Dan Nelson’s outrageous The Taint, Damon Russell’s Snow on tha Bluff, Jack Truman’s 7 Stories From an...
- 9/5/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The Arizona Underground Film Festival keeps picking and screening the best in world extreme cinema and their fourth annual edition, which will run Sep. 16-24 in Tucson is no exception, compiling outrageous cult epics from countries such as Japan, Switzerland and Cuba; as well as some local nastiness produced in the fest’s own backyard.
The fest opens with Jack Perez’s Some Guy Who Kills People, a comedy thriller executive produced by John Landis and starring Kevin Corrigan as a loser who gets sadistic revenge on those he feels have wronged him.
While the opening night film is a big name affair, Auff is also celebrating local freaky film fare with films such as the film noir Sweet Love and Deadly, directed by Paul Clinco; and the horror comedy Dick Night, directed by Andy Viner.
From elsewhere around the U.S., there’s the fest’s annual celebration of extreme cinema,...
The fest opens with Jack Perez’s Some Guy Who Kills People, a comedy thriller executive produced by John Landis and starring Kevin Corrigan as a loser who gets sadistic revenge on those he feels have wronged him.
While the opening night film is a big name affair, Auff is also celebrating local freaky film fare with films such as the film noir Sweet Love and Deadly, directed by Paul Clinco; and the horror comedy Dick Night, directed by Andy Viner.
From elsewhere around the U.S., there’s the fest’s annual celebration of extreme cinema,...
- 8/30/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The 18th Annual Chicago Underground Film Festival has handed out their annual awards. The big winner this year is filmmaker Jerzy Rose for his movie Some Girls Never Learn.
Rose’s debut comedy feature film won both the Made in Chicago Award and was voted the number one film amongst audience members.
Other feature films winning prizes are Best Documentary And Again, Adele Horne’s portrait of the unusual town of Playas, New Mexico; while the Best Narrative (feature) award was split between two films: Alex Ross Perry’s The Color Wheel, about feuding siblings; and Damon Russell’s Snow on tha Bluff, a fictional autobiography about an Atlanta crack dealer.
Short film winners include Ryan Garrett, John Price and Ben Rivers; while Nellie Kluz, Mike Gibisser, Spencer Parsons and Laura Kraning all received honorable mentions.
The jury selecting this year’s winners were Donald Harrison of the Ann Arbor Film Festival,...
Rose’s debut comedy feature film won both the Made in Chicago Award and was voted the number one film amongst audience members.
Other feature films winning prizes are Best Documentary And Again, Adele Horne’s portrait of the unusual town of Playas, New Mexico; while the Best Narrative (feature) award was split between two films: Alex Ross Perry’s The Color Wheel, about feuding siblings; and Damon Russell’s Snow on tha Bluff, a fictional autobiography about an Atlanta crack dealer.
Short film winners include Ryan Garrett, John Price and Ben Rivers; while Nellie Kluz, Mike Gibisser, Spencer Parsons and Laura Kraning all received honorable mentions.
The jury selecting this year’s winners were Donald Harrison of the Ann Arbor Film Festival,...
- 6/7/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The 18th annual Chicago Underground Film Festival is ready to have another monumental year at the Gene Siskel Film Center on June 2-9, featuring a killer lineup with new films from some true underground legends.
First, Usama Alshaibi will screen his latest, most visually stunning and conceptually innovative feature Profane, about a spiritually confused Muslim sex worker trying to recapture her lost jinn — a demon of smokeless fire — on streets of the Windy City.
Then, documentary filmmakers Jeff Krulik and John Heyn return to their hard rockin’ roots with Heavy Metal Picnic, which relives one of the most notorious ’80s weekend parties in the history of Maryland and the world — the Full Moon Jamboree, which if you can remember it means you weren’t there. Plus, Hmp will be screened with Heyn and Krulik’s underground classic Heavy Metal Parking Lot.
Also in the documentary vein, are Marie Losier‘s...
First, Usama Alshaibi will screen his latest, most visually stunning and conceptually innovative feature Profane, about a spiritually confused Muslim sex worker trying to recapture her lost jinn — a demon of smokeless fire — on streets of the Windy City.
Then, documentary filmmakers Jeff Krulik and John Heyn return to their hard rockin’ roots with Heavy Metal Picnic, which relives one of the most notorious ’80s weekend parties in the history of Maryland and the world — the Full Moon Jamboree, which if you can remember it means you weren’t there. Plus, Hmp will be screened with Heyn and Krulik’s underground classic Heavy Metal Parking Lot.
Also in the documentary vein, are Marie Losier‘s...
- 5/13/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Well, it’s that time of year where an onslaught of nationwide film festivals take place. The Atlanta Film Festival will kick things off April 28-May 7 with a strong and diverse selection of films.
Here are a few films screening at the festival that we’ve highlighted on this site:
An African Nation
African United
Bouncing Cats
The First Grader
Say Grace Before Drowning (by S&A Filmmaker Challenge winner Nikyatu Jusu)
Rejoice And Shout
The Start Of Dreams
Things Fall Apart
A fair number of panels and workshops will take place covering various aspects of the business including The Impact and Importance of Film Tax Incentives, The Importance of Pre-production Planning, What Every Filmmaker Needs to Know About Film Critics, Making Your Home or Office A Shooting Location, How To Pitch Your Project, Distribution and Deliverables in the Digital Age and How To Get An Agent.
We’ll continue...
Here are a few films screening at the festival that we’ve highlighted on this site:
An African Nation
African United
Bouncing Cats
The First Grader
Say Grace Before Drowning (by S&A Filmmaker Challenge winner Nikyatu Jusu)
Rejoice And Shout
The Start Of Dreams
Things Fall Apart
A fair number of panels and workshops will take place covering various aspects of the business including The Impact and Importance of Film Tax Incentives, The Importance of Pre-production Planning, What Every Filmmaker Needs to Know About Film Critics, Making Your Home or Office A Shooting Location, How To Pitch Your Project, Distribution and Deliverables in the Digital Age and How To Get An Agent.
We’ll continue...
- 4/12/2011
- by Cynthia
- ShadowAndAct
As a final tribute to the 2011 Slamdance Film Festival and its nurturing of first-time, independent filmmakers, here’s one last interview. We’ve gone back and talked with the filmmakers of Beneath Contempt, whose initial January 21st interview with Sound on Sight can be found here.
In this unique interview, Director Ben Brewer and Executive Producer Anna Rau, reflect on their time at Slamdance, which was, for both of them, the first festival they’ve attended as filmmakers. Both Brewer and Rau are recent graduates from Emerson College and the excitement, inspiration and confidence gleaned from their experience at Slamdance is palpable. Read on to find out what these young filmmakers learned and who Brewer emailed to express that he would “be willing to hold his coffee on whatever movie he makes next.”
Ben Brewer, Director of Beneath Contempt
What other film festivals have you been to and how does Slamdance compare?...
In this unique interview, Director Ben Brewer and Executive Producer Anna Rau, reflect on their time at Slamdance, which was, for both of them, the first festival they’ve attended as filmmakers. Both Brewer and Rau are recent graduates from Emerson College and the excitement, inspiration and confidence gleaned from their experience at Slamdance is palpable. Read on to find out what these young filmmakers learned and who Brewer emailed to express that he would “be willing to hold his coffee on whatever movie he makes next.”
Ben Brewer, Director of Beneath Contempt
What other film festivals have you been to and how does Slamdance compare?...
- 2/5/2011
- by Alice gray
- SoundOnSight
The 17th annual Slamdance Film Festival is all set to run for eight days and nights Jan. 21-27. The festival is featuring a bold theme this year of “All Is Not Lost” where — due to the current devastating economic climate — Slamdance will donate 10% of ticket proceeds back to the filmmakers.
The fest is screening 14 feature films — 10 of which are in competition — and 8 feature documentaries, all of which are in competition. In addition, there will be 56 short films screening.
Plus, there are a couple of special screenings, including the Straight 8 event where anybody can register to receive a single roll of Super-8 film that they can use to direct their own in-camera edited mini-masterpiece. Also, on the 26th, there will be a special retrospective of the works of renegade ’60s filmmaker J.X. Williams.
The full film lineup is below, but for more information on the site please visit the official Slamdance website.
The fest is screening 14 feature films — 10 of which are in competition — and 8 feature documentaries, all of which are in competition. In addition, there will be 56 short films screening.
Plus, there are a couple of special screenings, including the Straight 8 event where anybody can register to receive a single roll of Super-8 film that they can use to direct their own in-camera edited mini-masterpiece. Also, on the 26th, there will be a special retrospective of the works of renegade ’60s filmmaker J.X. Williams.
The full film lineup is below, but for more information on the site please visit the official Slamdance website.
- 12/23/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
[1] Slamdance has officially announced the 2011 Feature Competition slate for the 17th Annual Slamdance Film Festival taking place January 21-27, 2011 in Park City, Utah. For those of you who don't know, the festival was founded in 1995 by filmmakers whose movies didn't get into Sundance, and has since become a yearly film festival spotlighting "emerging filmmaking talent and their new work." Slamdance touts that their festival is "programmed by filmmakers for filmmakers." While Sundance is still the big show in Park City, big filmmakers like Christopher Nolan (Memento), Marc Forster (Monster's Ball) and Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite) are often mentioned as Slamdance discoveries. Hit the jump to read the full press release which includes the full line-up for the 2011 Festival. For Immediate Release Slamdance Film Festival Announces 2011 Feature Film Competition “All Is Not Lost” for Filmmakers in Park City and Commercially Year-Round Los Angeles - December 7, 2010 – Slamdance today announced the 2011 Feature Competition...
- 12/8/2010
- by Peter Sciretta
- Slash Film
The Slamdance Film Festival wasn't that far behind The Sundance Film Festival in releasing their film line-up, and it's a compelling mix of titles. For those of you who don't know, Slamdance is another film festival that is going on at the exact same time, and in the exact same place as Sundance, and that's in Park City Ut, from January 21-28th. Slamdance focuses more on genre type indie films.
Check out the list below and tell us what you think! Do any of you plan on attending? I always try to catch a few of these films while up up in Park City.
Slamdance Film Festival Announces 2011 Feature Film Competition
"All Is Not Lost" for Filmmakers in Park City and Commercially Year-Round
Los Angeles - December 7, 2010 - Slamdance today announced the 2011 Feature Competition slate for the 17th Annual Slamdance Film Festival taking place January 21-27, 2011 in Park City,...
Check out the list below and tell us what you think! Do any of you plan on attending? I always try to catch a few of these films while up up in Park City.
Slamdance Film Festival Announces 2011 Feature Film Competition
"All Is Not Lost" for Filmmakers in Park City and Commercially Year-Round
Los Angeles - December 7, 2010 - Slamdance today announced the 2011 Feature Competition slate for the 17th Annual Slamdance Film Festival taking place January 21-27, 2011 in Park City,...
- 12/7/2010
- by Venkman
- GeekTyrant
With the complete Sundance lineup now out in public you had to know that Slamdance couldn't be far behind. And it wasn't. The complete list of competition selections for Slamdance 2011 was announced today and it's a compelling mix of titles.
On the genre front Fernando Barreda Luna's found footage shocker Atrocious is the festival's one true horror entry while Simon Arthur's Silver Tongues also sounds like it could delve into dark thriller territory. Experimental effort The Beast Pageant is probably worth a look as well and I've been hearing growing buzz about inner city crime moc doc Snow On The Bluff as well.
On the real documentary side of things there are a couple music themed pieces - Road Dogs and Last Fast Ride - cranked up to 11. Stephan Wassman's Scrapper - the story of a group of men who collect scrap from a Us military bombing...
On the genre front Fernando Barreda Luna's found footage shocker Atrocious is the festival's one true horror entry while Simon Arthur's Silver Tongues also sounds like it could delve into dark thriller territory. Experimental effort The Beast Pageant is probably worth a look as well and I've been hearing growing buzz about inner city crime moc doc Snow On The Bluff as well.
On the real documentary side of things there are a couple music themed pieces - Road Dogs and Last Fast Ride - cranked up to 11. Stephan Wassman's Scrapper - the story of a group of men who collect scrap from a Us military bombing...
- 12/7/2010
- Screen Anarchy
The Slamdance Film Festival which takes place each year in Utah at the same time as the Sundance Film Festival has just announced its program for the 2011 edition. The festival was founded in 1995 by Dan Mirvish, Jon Fitzgerald, Shane Kuhn and Peter Baxter and has since become a year-round organization championing emerging filmmaking talent and their new work. The aim is to provide what its supporters consider a truer representation of independent filmmaking).
The fest has earned a solid reputation for premiering films by first-time writers and directors working within the creative confines of limited budgets. Festival discoveries have included directors such as Christopher Nolan (Memento), Marc Forster (Monster’s Ball) and Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite).
The 17th annual fest will screen 10 narrative films and eight documentary features in competition from Jan. 21-27. Fourteen of the movies are world premieres. As part of this year’s festival theme — “All Is...
The fest has earned a solid reputation for premiering films by first-time writers and directors working within the creative confines of limited budgets. Festival discoveries have included directors such as Christopher Nolan (Memento), Marc Forster (Monster’s Ball) and Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite).
The 17th annual fest will screen 10 narrative films and eight documentary features in competition from Jan. 21-27. Fourteen of the movies are world premieres. As part of this year’s festival theme — “All Is...
- 12/7/2010
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
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