And the Finalists Are....

Congratulations to all you DIY Filmmakers out there!  

The DIY Film Festival is proud to present the finalists for this year's festival.  We congratulate all of you for finishing your film, and its inclusion here is based on a variety of factors including a passion for story telling, utilization of do it yourself filmmaking, casting, editing and the tools that anyone can use to tell a story.  

And here they are: 

2016 DIY FILM FESTIVAL presents

THE FINALISTS

DRAMATIC CATEGORY

TWO FOR THE SHOW

Directed by Michael McCallum TRAILER

"A one-night stand gone wrong at a high school reunion, when a man comes into town to see his dying Father for the last time and encounters an abused woman." 

Two For the Show-Official Trailer from Michael McCallum on Vimeo.

BLINK OF AN EYE

Director Matthew Luppino.  Trailer: 

"Inspired by true events; follows 18 year old high school senior, Grace Connolly, who discovers that she has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and has been given one month left to live. As Grace struggles to accept that she is dying, she finds strength in those around her and comes to a simple realization, everything will be okay."

STILL MOON

Directed by Kevin Huang. Trailer:

Still Moon is a 16mm short film, shot in central Oregon and Colorado. www.stillmoonthefilm.com   "In the mid-1800s, a small crew of surveyors arrive in central Oregon.  They stumble upon an indigenous tribe, where all villagers have been recently massacred, only to find a young girl as its sole survivor.  Devastated by what he has seen as a result of the westward expansion, Spender, the cartographer of the team, decides to sabotage the expedition...

 - the old will always fight the new." 

Still Moon trailer from Kevin Huang on Vimeo.

SURPRISE

Directed by Sarah Kakusho.  Bio IMDB 

"A young woman trying to overcome sleepless nights in reconciling with her memories."

BEAUTIFUL

Directed by Nicholas Rhule  Bio IMDB

'Beautiful' Is about young beautiful woman who, has a hard time facing her self much less other people. 

LAST WILL

Directed by Aditya Patwardhan  Trailer:

"Two older brothers discover, after their fathers death, that they have a younger brother who they have never met. They then must decide who is going to take care of him otherwise he is going to be sent into foster care." 

DOCUMENTARY FILM

DREAMS CAN COME TRUE

Directed by Jemma Jacques  Bio Website

"When a Buddhist Monk prophecies to a young woman that she will come back and help his orphanage, she is amazed at what happens next and the sign that he subsequently sends her. This story is a true first hand account of her journey across the world to make 600 children's dreams come true."
 

A HAND IN THE DARKNESS 

Directed by Matthew Baker  Trailer:

"A Canadian woman openly shares about her dark days as a young prostitute and gang criminal before she connected with the Elizabeth Fry Society in Edmonton on her inspirational journey to becoming an aid worker and advocate for marginalized women."

A Hand In The Darkness - Trailer from Squirrels of Doom on Vimeo.

LUCKY #7

Directed by Antonia Bernard Youtube Page

"An intimate look at a man's first moments of freedom after 14 years of incarceration."

PEDALING THE DIVIDE

Directed by Michelle Matus  IMDB entry

3 Women | 1 Race - grueling bike racing in Reno, Nevada.

WHAT MAKES DAVE RUN 

Directed by Peter Zander. Film:


"Dave James started running ten years ago and hasn't stopped. He is one of the top ultra-marathoners in the world . He says he likes the endorphin high, the process of turning his body into a machine; it takes his mind off things he'd rather not think about. Through his story, Peter Zander explores grief and the ways we run from it." 

 

"What Makes Dave Run"

COMEDY FILM

ANY DAY NOW

Directed by Albert Uria.  Trailer:

 "A short, sweet comedy about how short (and sweet) life can be..." 


Any Day Now Trailer by Albert Uria from GARAGE FILMS on Vimeo.

DANNY DYNAMITE

Directed by Henry Drayton  IMDB entry

"A high school dweeb wants to take the hottest girl in school to prom. The only problem is, she only dates badass guys. He realizes the only way to get her to notice him is to get in touch with his bad side. With guidance from his animated wrestling action figure 'Danny Dynamite' he devises a devious plan to steal the prom dress she's always wanted."

THE HOMELESS DETECTIVE

Directed by Alan Shearman IMDB entry

"A Comedy: A homeless window washer attempts 'The Detective's Hat-Trick': capturing The Gang, The Goods, and Mr. Big."

WORLD CINEMA  

I'LL BE HOME SOON

Directed by James Everett. Trailer:

"A young man is suddenly held captive by his own family but it is unclear from whom he is trying to escape."

EASY REAPPEARANCE (Resurgence Commode)

Directed by Guillaume Levil  Trailer:

"Anne, a fity-years-old woman with a bourgeois mentality, listens to a message secretly intended for her husband: a man makes an appointment with him in a gay club where you must give the password, « Easy Reappearance »..." 

"Résurgence Commode (Easy Reappearance)" by G. Levil - Trailer from Guillaume Levil on Vimeo.

LISTEN DRAUPADI

 Directed by Sashikanth Ananthachari Trailer:

"Every year in over 300 villages in Tamilnadu, India. The Mahabharata is performed as a village festival. For 20 days, and 20 hours per day, the epic is narrated as story, performed as village rituals, and enacted right through the night as theater." 

Kelai Draupadai [Listen Draupadi] Trailer Documentary from Sashikanth Ananthachari on Vimeo.
 

STUDENT FILM

AN EXERCISE IN STYLE
 Directed by Anthony Arnone IMDB entry


"A guy goes for a girl and gets thwarted by her boyfriend, shot in five different film styles." 

ROMANIAN
Directed by Artur Boruzs Trailer:

"A project born out of a psychologist's search for a solution to contemporary existential dystopia among his students, is brought to life through the metaphor of Plato's "Cave." Filmmakers follow an orchestra into a giant cave in the Romanian forest, where they give an epic outdoor concert which becomes therapy through art."

ANIMATION

THE RIGHT FIT

Directed by Zachary Craw Film


"A young boy, born from the roots of the earth, searches for his one true love. Someone that is the right fit."  

The Right Fit from Ball State University Animation on Vimeo.

THE ADYTUM

Directed by Lexi Bass  Film:

"Dissecting themes of power and idealism at the intersection of spirituality, sexuality and language, The Adytum is a modern secular space for spiritual self reflection."
 

The Adytum | Official Trailer from Lexi Bass on Vimeo.



Again, congratulations to all of you for completing your films.  We sincerely wish you the best of luck in getting them out there to find your audience. The winners in each category will be notified and announced soon.  Stay tuned!!! And keep your DIY Flag Flying High!!!

"When the cost of a filmmaking is as much as a pencil and a piece of paper, then we'll have true art."  Jean Cocteau

Congratulations to all the DIY Filmmakers out there!

 Just a note from the DIY Film Fest that all the films have been entered, all aboard that's coming aboard, and now we're going through the usual process of arm wrestling, shouting matches and other forms of debate over the films that have been entered. Stay tuned to this space for the Finalists in the various categories, which will be announced as soon as possible.

  But more importantly, congratulations to all of you filmmakers who have taken your vision, your passion, your sense of humor and translated it to film. Whether it be in the form of a documentary, in the form of animation, with actors being serious or being funny - then editing the film, putting on titles, and finding its way out to film festivals... now is the time to say congratulations!  

In the infamous meme words of Shia LaB "Just Do It." 

Shia LaBeouf "Just Do It" Motivational Speech

 

Well... congratulations. You've done it!

We're proud of our sponsor KinoNation, who offers a bonafide digital distribution deal to all of the winning films - you can visit their website at KinoNation.com, an excellent resource to help the filmmakers navigate the waters of the various distribution place that are online; they insure your film is formatted properly as per the various specifications, and their payment schedules and percentages are really good - the best we've come across in the industry.

KinoNation's Roger Jackson, sponsor of the DIY Film Fest

Some of the platforms that KinoNation has agreements with; Hulu, Amazon Instant Video, Vimeo on Demand, MGo, Infinity, Streampix, Viewster Reel, Feed, Hulu Plus, Indiereign, Snagfilms, Fandor, Roku, Cineclick, Docurama, Cinecliq, Neovod.

We have entries in this year's batch from across the globe, from Iran, Romania, India, France, Great Britain, Australia, Canada as well as students across the United States, filmmakers across the US of all backgrounds and stripes.  It's nearly impossible to say why a film does well at one festival over another (else studios would always be successful - and at best they're 50% - the equivalent of flipping a coin) - but suffice to say what we've learned here at the DIY Film Fest is that it's always more about content than delivery.

It's always more about heart than the package it comes in.

And also in terms of PACKAGES - we have to thank Pinnacle Editing Systems - which has been so generous to offer our winning filmmakers editing packages for their future films.  

These editing systems are used worldwide, they've got codecs from their time with Avid, before moving on to Corel - they make great editing software for the Prosumer or the Amateur filmmaker who wants to take a step up in their editing system.

We thank them for providing these prizes for the festival for a number of years. So many we can't agree on how long it's been. Perhaps five years.  Thank you Pinnacle!!!

You can't judge a book by its cover - which in terms of film means seeing the heart and passion behind telling a story, versus the slickness of the telling, the visuals or the overall production quality - however, when a film shows up that combines all those qualities - great story telling, heart, and an eye for seeing humanity in a new way - then those are the films that resonate.

The DIY Film Fest is proud to feature those films that might be overlooked by other festivals - they might not have name actors - but they have heart and grit and feature great actors that are on their way up, or that haven't ventured away from home.  

That being said, sometimes great actors do show up in these films, doing a part they haven't been asked to do in the past, or doing something that might be a bit outside their wheelhouse.

During our 15 year history, the DIY Film Fest has taken over AFI for a weekend and shown films, we've screened them at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, in outdoor venues, in indoor nightclubs, we've shown them online as well as in front of crowds. We've shown them at the famous Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, site of the first Oscars, and we've shown them in a funky nightclub in Silverlake.  Every year is different, but the essence remains the same - films that are about people, about humanity, made with individuality.

2015 Venue in Silverlake

Just a small note of gratitude for those filmmakers who have put so much time and effort into their creative endeavors.  We at the DIY Film Fest are fond of the quote that came from French avant garde filmmaker Jean Cocteau - "When the cost of filmmaking is as much as a pencil and a piece of paper, then you'll find true art."

That rings true in the DIY Filmmaker's experience.

2015 Festival Awards

 

A wee bit o' fun.

Stay tuned.