Ah, it's that time of year ago, for the annual fest on the beach in Cannes. It's never too late to get on a plane and go to the festival even if you don't have a nickel! There are all kinds of stories of filmmakers who wind up sleeping on the beach at night.
"Cannes Man"
(If you want a laugh, there's the film "Cannes Man" at itunes - which is the fable of one such story). Also Henry Jaglom, a past DIY Filmmaker recipient made "Festival In Cannes" which also explores all the of the ins and outs of the fabled festival.
CANNES 2012
But the festival allows us to talk about the concept of film festivals in general. Do your research when you are thinking about heading off to enjoy one - there's nothing quite like mingling with fellow filmmakers and sharing ideas and notes about how to make the next step. Sundance is certainly a place where that happens, and Cannes is one where international filmmakers come to figure out how to get their next film going. It is a process,there are protocols to follow, but I can speak from experience; there isn't a film festival on the planet that is quite like Cannes.
So if you Cannes, then go to Cannes. That's all. (just wanted to get that pun in there). If I see any news of DIY Filmmakers getting their films seen, or a novel idea comes across the net,I'll repeat it here. Bon Voyage!
It's about time that Hollywood got on the DIY bandwagon! Google has announced a "Your Film Festival" contest for short narrative films under 15 minutes in length. Winners get to go to the Venice film festival, and the grand prize winner gets 500K to make a feature. Here's the details:
Sounds like a fun project - film has to have been made since 2010 - 15 minutes or less, and I assume they're looking for fiction - but not positive. Check it out. Michael Fassbender and Ridley Scott are helping them promote it. What's the worst that can happen?
It was SRO at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on Saturday night March 3rd for the annual DIY Film Fest Gala. The combined Gala included winners from the LA and DIY Book Festival (Winners included Tim Burton's "The Art of Tim Burton" edited by "Ballad of Sandeep's" Derek Frey). The festival attracted winning entries from across the globe, including Brazil, Italy, Romania, and Israel.
Clips, trailers and shorts were shown
Fulbright Scholar Artemis Preeshl
In attendance were also filmmakers who'd make pictures in different countries. Fullbright ScholarArtemis Preeshl won an Honorable Mention for her Indian film she shot in Chenai - "Pancha Ratna - Five Gems." A film that combined the spirit of DIY as well as filming in the rural countryside of India in Bollywood dance fashion.
Actor Deep Roy
Deep Roy was on hand to accept the Honorable Mention for Derek Frey's "The Ballad of Sandeep" and spoke of the four films that he's made with Tim Burton at the helm including "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Deep Roy spoke on behalf of Derek Frey who directed him in
"The Ballad of Sandeep."
Cara Feinberg
Deep Roy accepting the DIY award from DIY's Rich Martini
Cara Feinberg spoke movingly about the DIY experience when making her film "Working Blind" about three people who became blind, but found themselves becoming wood craftsmen, working with buzz saws and creating their artwork. Her film also won and Honorable Mention in the short documentary category.
Film director Puppett
Filmmaker "Puppett" spoke of her journey from film school in Philadelphia to Los Angeles, and her film "Time Spent." An unusual look at a relationship between two friends, the film was awarded an Honorable Mention in the dramatic short category.
Nicholas Plagman
Nick Plagman accepted the Comedy Short Film award for his "The Ham Sandwich That Changed the World" which detailed how a comic satire he wrote became part of the Fox News cycle - Nick, a contributor to "Funny or Die" plays all the parts in his film, his film becoming a satire on a satire of how news becomes news.
Ike Ahloe spoke about the genesis of his winning animated film "Clocked In," and how in true DIY fashion, he was actually communicating with the developer of the software to help him (and help the developer) with the software he used to make his film. The film is a hilarious punk rock infused look into a mind numbing office workplace - (reminiscent of Mike White's HBO show "Enlightenment") and in the midst of trying not to fall asleep, the character envisions a number of scenarios to allow him to break free from his office doldrums.
Also on hand was the winning documentary filmmaker Jennifer Hitchcock, who along with her husband Vernon Hall created the powerful "Dreams Deferred: The Struggle for Peace and Justice In Israel and Palestine" a searing portrait of the Palestinian settlements in Israel as told by Israeli activists who are trying to stop their country from stealing more Palestinian lands. It's an eye opening look at a controversial topic that demonstrates how the new "settlements" are actually these modern, high tech, mini-malls and apartment complexes that are quickly gobbling up Palestinian land, and how both the Palestinians and Israeli activists against these massive projects are getting little or no help to stop them. Jennifer spoke of her journey to the work, this being her first documentary, and how the film shot on location and in the midst of rubber bullet attacks cost under $10K to produce. She also spoke eloquently on behalf of those people she interviewed who wanted to get the message out into the world. A link to the full length feature is above.
Flavio Parenti
Director Flavio Parenti couldn't be on hand to deliver his speech thanking the DIY Film festival for acknowledging his amazing "Quantum Butterfly Dream" but sent a video from Rome where he's working on a film. (He's acting in the next Woody Allen film tentatively title "Nero Fiddled.") Flavio speaks about the two and half years it took him to make the film, how he'd shot it with a small digital camera, and how moved he was that the film was acknowledged for its masterful story telling technique - not all the festivals it went to understood, or appreciated its use of multiple digital images to tell the story, but at the DIY Film Festival, we appreciate those who turn the every day into art. As avante garde artist and filmmaker Jean Cocteau once said "when the cost of making film is as much as a pencil and a piece of paper, then we'll see true artists." Flavio Parenti's "Sogno Farfalle Quantiche" is an advancement of digital filmmaking into that category, Winner DIY Best Film.
WINNER BEST DIRECTOR - Rodolfo Novaes for “JUST IN TIME”Rodolfo Novaes is a writer director from Brazil studying film at the University of Westminster in the UK. This stunning debut film, shot with the Red camera, is a clever journey of a husband who returns home to London to find his wife has been cheating on him while he was away. He follows his wife's lover to find the man is a hired gigolo - and the gigolo doesn't realize the husband is following him. Their ensuing encounter is both surprising and brilliant, and shows a promising career for this amazing film student. This is his first film. Rodolfo is making a feature film at the moment, so he sends his regards:
ANIMATED SHORTFILM
WINNER BEST ANIMATED FILM
Ike Ahloe’s “CLOCKED IN”
An amusing look at the adventures of a clock puncher in a computer office.
HONORABLE MENTION
Gerald Grunow’s “999.999.999”
Set in the future, brilliant animation from a German filmmaker about the power of a rose. STUDENT FILM WINNER BEST STUDENT FILM
Winner of a number of film festivals, this Tisch school short is amazing and hilarious. HONORABLE MENTION
Ryan Klaver’s short documentary “AMEND”
From Taylor University, a straight forward story about a one of our nation's "Greatest Generation."
COMEDY SHORT FILM
WINNER BEST SHORT COMEDY FILM
Nicholas Plagman’s “THE HAM SANDWICH THAT CHANGED THE WORLD”
Provocateur and comedian Nicholas Plagman's true story of how satire made it into Fox News. HONORABLE MENTION
Derek Frey’s “BALLAD OF SANDEEP”
The comedic journey of an outsourced Indian, who turns the tables on his bosses.
DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
WINNER BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Jessica Vecchione’s “ROBERT - PORTRAIT OF AN ART-ER”
Amazing look into an artist who creates monuments out of stone, and lives in an alternate universe of time. HONORABLE MENTION
Touching and moving look into the lives of three newly blind woodworkers learning to use power tools and buzz saws by sound and feel alone.
DRAMA SHORT FILM WINNER BEST SHORT DRAMA FILM Daniel Watson, Rafael Cortina’s“DOUBLE TRUTH”
Powerful dramatic tale about two wayward thieves and crossing paths with a young boy on a cold day in NYC. HONORABLE MENTION
Puppett’s “TIME SPENT” Two friends deal with an emotionally dangerous past. HONORABLE MENTION
Misha Sundukovskiy’s “THE SUNSET”
Insightful tale about an unlikely friendship between two different cultures in San Francisco.
Leo Grillo’s “THE RESCUER”
Over 20 years in the making, this tale is about a man who found his life's calling in rescuing abandoned pets. HONORABLE MENTION
Gary Null’s “DEATH BY MEDICINE”
A clarion call to understand the money and collusion behind Big Pharma, and the medicines that are killing those they're supposed to save. HONORABLE MENTION
A woman comes to terms with her car accident that left her in a wheelchair - its ultimately the faith and love of her friends and Church that get her to see the blessings in her life.
WORLD CINEMA
BEST WORLD CINEMA FEATURE
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - Mirel Bran’s “ONE-WAY ROUND TRIP” (Romania)
An amazing journey with a family of Roma (Gypsies) who are expelled from France, then return to try to find a way to stay. Everyone does their best to turn them out of the country, until they find their way to Cannes. HONORABLE MENTION
DOCUMENTARY SHORT - Mia Mullarkey’s “HALLS WITHOUT WALLS” (Ireland)
A young Irish painter and poet struggles with his Asperger's with the help of his loved ones. HONORABLE MENTION
An impoverished woman is about to evicted from her home by two Israeli soldiers, while she waits for herson who is also in the military to come home and rescue her.
HONORABLE MENTION
DRAMA SHORT- Artemis Preeshl’s “PANCHA RATNA - FIVE GEMS” (India)
A DIY Bollywood film, shot in the countryside of India by a group of young Indian filmmakers who show how it only requires a passion for story telling to tell a compelling story - no matter where it is set.
A fun night was had by all, and special thanks to Avid for supplying the winners with their latest editing software, including the Avid Studio and Pinnacle's Studio HD Ultimate as prizes - bot of which allow filmmakers to "make professional moves and multimedia projects with technology trusted by Hollywood."
Special thanks to all the filmmakers who contributed, finished, struggled to finish, or set out to make their own DIY film projects. We at the DIY Fest encourage everyone to pick up a camera and either document your world, and give people a journey they won't forget. As Jean Cocteau, French poet, novelist, actor, filmmaker said, and our motto for the DIY Film Festival remains:
The 10th annual DIY Film Festival is proud to announce the winners of the "Best Film" and "Best Director" categories. The Festival has become truly and international festival, and this year's winners prove that. Actor/Writer/Director Flavio Parenti's "Quantum Butterfly" is the winner of BEST FILM. Rodolfo Novaes has been named BEST DIRECTOR for his film "Just In Time."
Flavio Parenti is an award winning actor and filmmaker. His film Quantum Butterfly (Sogno Farfalle Quantiche) is a brilliant blending of live action footage with animation and text. The film follows a group of young Italians during the best summer of our hero's life. He falls in love, he breaks the heart of his girlfriend, and is devastated when she leaves him. His friends try to console him - and the visions and images in his head are like a journey through James Joyce's "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" using modern technology. Parenti's clever technique, score, dialog and stunning visuals make this a truly unique DIY experience. No one who watches his film can come away without feeling completely immersed in the topic, and amazed by the technique involved. At the moment, Parenti is filming in Rome, appearing in Woody Allen's latest film (currently titled "Nero Fiddled" with Alec Baldwin, Ellen Page and Woody Allen) We at the DIY Film Fest hope Flavio continues his passion of writing, directing and producing as well, as this film is a testament to his ability to tell a compelling story with the tools anyone can use. A tour de force of DIY filmmaking.
WINNER BEST DIRECTOR - Rodolfo Novaes for “JUST IN TIME”
Rodolfo Novaes is a writer director from Brazil studying film at the University of Westminster in the UK. This stunning debut film, shot with the Red camera, is a clever journey of a husband who returns home to London to find his wife has been cheating on him while he was away. He follows his wife's lover to find the man is a hired gigolo - and the gigolo doesn't realize the husband is following him. Their ensuing encounter is both surprising and brilliant, and shows a promising career for this amazing film student. This is his first film.
ANIMATED SHORTFILM
WINNER BEST ANIMATED FILM
Ike Ahloe’s “CLOCKED IN”
An amusing look at the adventures of a clock puncher in a computer office.
HONORABLE MENTION
Gerald Grunow’s “999.999.999”
Set in the future, brilliant animation from a German filmmaker about the power of a rose.
Derek Frey’s “BALLAD OF SANDEEP”
The comedic journey of an outsourced Indian, who turns the tables on his bosses.
DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
WINNER BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Jessica Vecchione’s “ROBERT - PORTRAIT OF AN ART-ER”
Amazing look into an artist who creates monuments out of stone, and lives in an alternate universe of time.
Touching and moving look into
the lives of three newly blind woodworkers learning to use power tools and buzz saws by sound and feel alone.
DRAMA SHORT FILM WINNER BEST SHORT DRAMA FILM Daniel Watson, Rafael Cortina’s“DOUBLE TRUTH”
Powerful dramatic tale about two wayward thieves and crossing paths with a young boy on a cold day in NYC.
HONORABLE MENTION
Puppett’s “TIME SPENT” Two friends deal with an emotionally dangerous past.
HONORABLE MENTION
Misha Sundukovskiy’s “THE SUNSET”
Insightful tale about an unlikely friendship between two different cultures in San Francisco.
Leo Grillo’s “THE RESCUER”
Over 20 years in the making, this tale is about a man who found his life's calling in rescuing abandoned pets.
HONORABLE MENTION
Gary Null’s “DEATH BY MEDICINE”
A clarion call to understand the money and collusion behind Big Pharma, and the medicines that are killing those they're supposed to save.
A woman comes to terms with her car accident that left her in a wheelchair - its ultimately the faith and love of her friends and Church that get her to see the blessings in her life.
WORLD CINEMA
BEST WORLD CINEMA FEATURE
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - Mirel Bran’s “ONE-WAY ROUND TRIP” (Romania)
An amazing journey with a family of Roma (Gypsies) who are expelled from France, then return to try to find a way to stay. Everyone does their best to turn them out of the country, until they find their way to Cannes.
HONORABLE MENTION
DOCUMENTARY SHORT - Mia Mullarkey’s “HALLS WITHOUT WALLS” (Ireland)
A young Irish painter and poet struggles with his Asperger's with the help of his loved ones.
An impoverished woman is about to evicted from her home by two Israeli soldiers, while she waits for herson who is also in the military to come home and rescue her.
HONORABLE MENTION
DRAMA SHORT- Artemis Preeshl’s “PANCHA RATNA - FIVE GEMS” (India)
A DIY Bollywood film, shot in the countryside of India by a group of young Indian filmmakers who show how it only requires a passion for story telling to tell a compelling story - no matter where it is set.
Congratulations to all the finalists and winners. The Gala is scheduled for March 3rd at the HOLLYWOOD ROOSEVELT HOTEL in beautiful downtown Hollywood.
The Gala is a combined evening with the Los Angeles Book Festival and the DIY Book Festival. It's a cocktail party attended by a number of movers and shakers in the film and book industry. We're going to screen about an hour worth of trailers and short films from this year's festival. Admittance is with a ticket only, ticket information can be obtained by sending an email to diyconvention@aol.com. Its an intimate event where filmmakers and writers get the chance to mingle and meet people in the film and publishing industries.
Congratulations to the filmmakers for their talent and hard work!!!
The DIY Film Fest is proud to announce this year's finalist's for the 10th annual DIY Film Festival. Thank you all for your submissions, we had films from across the planet this year, and we're glad to be able to include links to almost all of them below, so people can see this amazing crop of films for themselves.
The Gala is scheduled for March 3rd here in LA, the results (Best Film in each category) will be announced then, but meanwhile, here's the full list of Finalists for this year's festival. Everyone will be getting either an Honorable Mention or a Best Film award. We will be showing clips, trailers and some shorts during the Gala, and we'll be in touch to make sure we have the most up to date trailers.
Along with our sister events, the DIY Book Festival and the Los Angeles Book Festival, we're announcing our gala of celebrating the best in DIY Filmmaking will be held in Los Angeles on March 3rd.
Last Year's DIY Fest winners Cody Blue Snider and Jesse Griffith at the Gala
We're sending out individual notifications to filmmakers to let them know that they're finalists for the best picture in their category, and we look forward to seeing all of you at the event if you can make it.
And congrats to all you filmmakers for finishing your film - it's not easy to finish a movie, and there's many film festivals out there - so we appreciate your thinking of us.
Details about the Gala to follow! (Time, place, etc).
Here are links to the DIY Book Festival and the Los Angeles Book Festival.
The Los Angeles Book Festival celebrates the best of world publishing in the world entertainment capital. When: March 3, 2012 Where: Los Angeles, CA. United States. Visit Website
The 10th annual DIY Book Festival honors the best of independent and self-published books. Part of the 11th annual DIY Convention: Do it Yourself in Film, Music & Books. When: March 3, 2012 Where: Los Angeles, CA. United States. Visit Website
"This is Your Film Festival. You have until March 31st to submit a short, story-driven video. There's no entry fee. It can be any format - short film, web-series episode, TV pilot - and any genre. In June, audiences around the world will vote, sending 10 deserving storytellers to open the 2012 Venice Film Festival where a Grand Prize Winner will be be rewarded with a $500,000 grant to create a new work, produced by Ridley Scott and his world class team."
Ike Ahloe spoke about the genesis of his winning animated film "Clocked In," and how in true DIY fashion, he was actually communicating with the developer of the software to help him (and help the developer) with the software he used to make his film. The film is a hilarious punk rock infused look into a mind numbing office workplace - (reminiscent of Mike White's HBO show "Enlightenment") and in the midst of trying not to fall asleep, the character envisions a number of scenarios to allow him to break free from his office doldrums. 
The Los Angeles Book Festival celebrates the best of world publishing in the world entertainment capital.
The 10th annual DIY Book Festival honors the best of independent and self-published books. Part of the 11th annual DIY Convention: Do it Yourself in Film, Music & Books.
