I AM THALENTE Launch Event in Los Angeles

myNewYorkeye and James Cheeks joined the local skateboarding community in Los Angeles for the I AM THALENTE launch event at The Berrics. Check out the red-carpet coverage of the premiere featuring interviews with cast member Thalente Biyela and producer Sal Masekela.

SYNOPSIS: Featuring thrilling skateboarding footage around the world, I AM THALENTE is the story of Thalente Biyela, a teenage homeless black skater from a broken home in South Africa who struggles to overcome his circumstances and pursue a professional skateboarding career while being mentored and supported by top figures in the skateboard world, including Tony Hawk and Kenny Anderson. Indiewire called the film "A unique tale that shows just how far positivity and confidence can take someone." This doc marks the inaugural film release of innovative, socially conscious crowdfunding and streaming company Seed&Spark.

Playing at theatrical event screenings in select cities across the U.S. Available on VOD since May 13th.

Red-carpet coverage of the I AM THALENTE movie premiere at The Berrics. Video by James Cheeks III. Music Courtesy of Erin O'Neill. Photos by Kevin Michael Campbell. www.iamthalentefilm.com

Photos by Kevin Michael Campbell
Video by James Cheeks III

James Cheeks is a guest contributor with myNewYorkeye, from Los Angeles. He received his MFA degree in Film and Television Production at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles. Cheeks is also a skateboarding enthusiast and his documentary "On The Grind" aired nationwide on the Documentary Channel and most recently on PIVOT (AT&T U-verse, Verizon FIOS, DIRECTV, Dish Network). Cheeks was recently nominated by The Sheckler Foundation as a finalist in their Be The Change initiative for making a positive impact in the lives of at-risk youth.

Impact Partners Announces Emerging Documentary Producers Fellowship at DOC NYC 2015

Liz Garbus, Morgan Spurlock, Thom Powers, Stanley Nelson, Dan Cogan, Amy Ziering, Julie Goldman, Caroline Libresco and other industry luminaries to encounter documentary’s most promising film producers in yearlong workshop series

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Impact Partners announced today the launch of the new annual Emerging Documentary Producers Fellowship, which will be awarded to some of the industry’s most promising new producers at an inaugural ceremony at DOC NYC this fall. With the Emerging Documentary Producers Fellowship, Impact Partners will celebrate the independent documentary producer and foster emerging producing talent by launching a fellows program consisting of a yearlong series of workshops with some of the most prominent luminaries in the field of documentary film.

Guest luminaries who are confirmed to participate in the 2015-2016 fellowship workshops include:

  • Victoria Cook (Page One: Inside the New York Times, The Reluctant Fundamentalist),
  • Geralyn Dreyfous (Born into Brothels, The Square),
  • Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady(Jesus Camp, Detropia),
  • Liz Garbus (The Farm: Angola, USA, What Happened, Miss Simone?),
  • Howard Gertler (How to Survive a Plague, Do I Sound Gay?),
  • Julie Goldman (Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, Buck),
  • Amy Hobby (What Happened, Miss Simone?, Love, Marilyn), Director of the Documentary Film Program at Sundance Institute
  • Tabitha Jackson, Sundance Film Festival Documentary Programmer
  • Caroline Libresco (American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs),
  • Stanley Nelson (Freedom Riders, The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution), DOC NYC Artistic Director and Toronto Film Festival Programmer
  • Thom Powers, Morgan Spurlock (Supersize Me,  CNN's Morgan Spurlock Inside Man),
  • Amy Ziering, (The Invisible War, The Hunting Ground), plus others to be announced in the fall.

The workshops will be moderated by Impact Partners Executive Director Dan Cogan (How to Survive a Plague, Hell and Back Again, The Queen of Versailles). 

Cogan states, “People often say we are in a golden age of documentary filmmaking, and that’s true. The quality of documentary films, and their popularity among audiences, have never been higher. And yet this rising tide has not quite lifted all boats. Amidst growing institutional and popular support for great documentary directors, producers of documentary film are still underappreciated and underserved. At Impact Partners, we believe that just as documentary directors need to be encouraged and supported, so do documentary producers. Through our new year-long fellowship, we aim to support and cultivate a new generation of great documentary producers.”

Thom Powers, Artistic Director of DOC NYC, says, “Documentary producing isn’t something you learn from books. It’s like an occult knowledge acquired through mentors and practice. The most important secrets of massaging finances, personalities, legalities and unexpected situations are only shared in closed rooms. DOC NYC is proud to give a platform to this vital initiative.”

Impact Partners is a leading financier and executive producer of documentary film with credits including The Cove, How to Survive a Plague, Hell and Back Again, The Hunting Ground, The Garden, The Queen of Versailles and many others. DOC NYC is the largest U.S. documentary film festival.
 
The Impact Partners Documentary Producers Fellows will participate in ten development workshops to be held in New York City, guided by eminent producers and industry experts with distinct areas of knowledge. Each session will explore a different aspect of film production facing young producers today. The workshops will cover film finance, festival strategy, marketing and distribution deal making, legal workshops and other critical topics. During each session, luminaries will work closely with each fellow to choose topics and issues with immediate relevancy to their current work, offering hands-on advice, strategies and best practices.
 
Each fellow will also be awarded $2,500.  
 
For the inaugural 2015 program, five emerging producers will be selected. Nominations will be accepted from directors, producers, editors and other key crew members who have worked directly with the person on a previous or current film. Candidates must be nominated by current or former colleagues and cannot nominate themselves.
 
The program is now accepting nominations through October 6th, 2015. Winners of the fellowship will be announced at a special awards event at DOC NYC 2015. For more information on the application and selection process, please refer to details below, or visit:impactpartnersfilm.com/fellowship
 
How to Apply
 
Nominations are now being accepted from documentary filmmakers and other key crew members who have worked with an emerging producer. A short nomination form is currently available on our website here: impactpartnersfilm.com/fellowship. If you know someone you would like to nominate, please fill out the form and send it to fellowship@impactpartnersfilm.com.
 
The deadline for nominations is October 6th, 2015. 
 
If you are a producer who is interested in applying, we encourage you to get in touch with filmmakers you have worked with in the past and ask them to nominate you. As nominations come in, candidates will be contacted with a brief application form.
 
Who is Eligible?
 
This fellowship is created to support emerging documentary producers.

We want to hear from the documentary community — who are the young producers who are creative, resilient and eager to grow? Who would benefit from mentorship and becoming a member of a new network of documentary producers?

Applicants MUST have worked on at least one documentary film in a key crew position such as Producer, Line Producer, Co-Producer or Associate Producer. They may NOT have worked as “Producer” on more than 3 feature-length documentary films. Applicants must be based in New York City, or be willing to travel for all of the workshops. 

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About Impact Partners: Impact Partners is a film fund and advisory service committed to financing independent cinema that addresses pressing social issues. We bring together financiers and filmmakers so that, together, they can create great films that entertain audiences, enrich lives and ignite social change. Since its inception in 2007, Impact Partners has been involved in the financing of over 60 films, including: The Cove, which won the Academy Award® for Documentary Feature; How to Survive A Plague, which was nominated for the Academy Award® for Documentary Feature; The Hunting Ground; The Queen of Versailles, which won the U.S. Directing Award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival; Detropia, which won the Editing Award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival; Freeheld, which won the Academy Award® for Documentary Short Film;The Garden, which was nominated for the Academy Award® for Documentary Feature and Hell and Back Again, which won the Documentary Grand Jury Prize and Cinematography Awards at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy Award® for Documentary Feature. Impact Partners was founded by Dan Cogan and Geralyn Dreyfous.
 
About DOC NY: Documentary storytelling is flourishing like never before — encompassing reportage, memoir, history, humor and more. DOC NYC celebrates this cultural phenomenon and encourages its new directions.

Among its missions, DOC NYC aims to: 

  1. Curate: guide audiences toward inspiring work.
  2. Cross Fertilize: gather practitioners of many fields — filmmakers, writers, photographers and other storytellers to inspire each other.
  3. Cross Generations: use the festival’s partnership with School of Visual Arts as a means for younger and older voices to communicate.
  4. Cultivate New Audiences: attract newcomers with the excitement of a festival atmosphere.
  5. Expand Distribution: help documentary storytellers make the most of emerging technologies such as video downloads, podcasts and electronic readers.
  6. Create Social Space: bring people together in theaters, lounges, and discussion spaces in Greenwich Village and Chelsea. Make the Most of NYC: foster fresh connections between residents and expose visitors to the opportunities that happen only in New York.

RUNOFF (3/4)

Written and directed by Kimberly Levin

Starring: Joanne Kelly, Neal Huff, Alex Shaffer, Kivlighan de Montebello, Tom Bower & Darlene Hunt

Runoff, an Independent Feature was screened for New Yorkers to view at the chic Crosby Street hotel in SoHo on June 21st. While reading the description of the film beforehand, I was eager to see a film about farm life, which is polar opposite from a life we are used to in New York.  The film exceeded my expectations with a depiction of a life utterly opposite from city life.  Relationship wise. Lifestyle wise. Economic wise.  Now, we live in a society where—for the most part—there are infinite possibilities. Infinite ways to go about a goal or issue.  This family did not have such widespread choices.  The family in Runoff is threatened to leave their land, in financial struggle, a health issue, and much anxiety that surfaces and flows like that of a river. The problem at hand can leave for a bit, but it will just come right around as the stream cycles.

The debutant director Kimberly Levin, who's also the writer of the film, has created a complex story with even more complex characters. In this world nothing is black and white, and no one is good and evil. The story and the characters are all in that gray zone, just doing their best to survive. It does get overly complicated and close to confusing at points, but the story does bind together to deliver a powerful punch with a thoughtful story.

With beautiful cinematography, color, nature, and plenty of wide shots showing farm life, this film created an awe. A  sympathy for the family, even though I as the viewer do not live on a farm.  Betty, is the mother who holds everything together like glue, for as long as she can.  I think her character can be a metaphor for all of us and our actions in day-to-day life.  Some things require a sense of urgency.  Sometimes the issue at hand completely has to do with money, and sometimes, we as humans don’t realize how our actions can affect more than just our family. Those are some of the beautiful and insightful feelings I was left with as the film was coming to a close.  When I make a decision, is it only best for me? For my best friends?  Am I being selfless or selfish? How can I help the community? I think this colorful film highlights family troubles, decision making, with nuclear family dynamics still highlighted, and a farm lifestyle that may soon become extinct, this film is an eye opener to remember that we are all being affected by the same stream.

The film is filled with beautiful performances by entire cast including lead actors Joanne Kelly and Neal Huff. Joanne's performance has lots of shades and she play in beautifully. Neal Huff shows the charisma of a charming and loving husband and father, girth and pain of a hard working farmer and man struggling hard to support his family. The supporting cast is amazing and beautiful performances by children make it even more flavorful.

Runoff will open Theatrically on June 26th, by Monterey Media.  It will also be available on On Demand, iTunes, Amazon Prime, Xbox, and more.

(with addition inputs from Art Shrian)

Note: These ratings and review are personal opinion of the author(s).

18th Annual Brooklyn Film Festival Wraps, Announces Winners

Wildlike, Sweaty Betty, Funny Bunny, Frame By Frame and But Not For Me Nab Multiple Awards

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The 18th annual Brooklyn Film Festival wrapped up on Sunday with a gala evening at new BFF venue, the Wythe Hotel, handing out a total of $50,000 in products and film services. A grand time was had for all, with filmmakers, guests and staff celebrating into the night. 

Joseph Frank and Zachary Reed picked up the Best Feature Film award, as well as the Grand Chameleon Award for Sweaty Betty, while Alison Bagnall’s Funny Bunny also nabbed two awards, best actor for Olly Alexander (shared with Ágúst Örn B. Wigum for Whale Valley) and Best Editing, for Kentucker Audley, David Barker, and Caleb Johnson.

Wildlike nabbed three awards, including Best Actor (female) for Ella Purnell, Best Screenplay for director Frank Hall Green and Best Producer for Julie Christeas, Green, Joseph Stephans, and Schuyler Weiss while world premiere New York City film But Not For Me nabbed the Audience Award for Best Feature Narrative, as well as the Best Original Score award for Rafael Leloup with Ryan Carmichael, Marcus Carl Franklin, Quazzy Faffle and Elena Urioste.

Alexandria Bombach and Mo Scarpelli’s Frame by Frame nabbed the festival’s Spirit Award for documentary and shared the Audience Award with Neal Broffman’s film Help Us Find Sunil Tripathi.

“We’re so pleased with this year’s festival,” said Director of Programming Bryce J. Renninger. “The films, filmmakers, audiences and sponsors all truly exemplify the diversity and spirit of Brooklyn and we look forward to the BFF continuing to be a vibrant part of Brooklyn’s cultural landscape.”

“This year we brought more filmmakers with their first or second film to New York audiences than ever before. We staged the festival in all new venues and neighborhoods, and it proved to be a great success,” said Marco Ursino, BFF’s Executive Director. “After 18 years, the festival feels as fresh as ever.”

This year’s event screened 108 features and shorts from 26 countries and over 70 filmmakers attended, performing Q&A sessions after their screenings, supporting the work of other artists, and attending the festival’s various panels and parties. 

This year’s prizes were generously sponsored by Panavision, Abelcine, Xeno Lights, Media Services, Film Friends, Digital Bolex, Mik Cribben Steady-Cam, Cinecall Soundtracks, Windmill Studios, New York Film Academy, Noble Jewelry.

Complete list of Winners:

GRAND CHAMELEON AWARD

Best Feature Film: Joseph Frank and Zachary Reed for Sweaty Betty

BEST IN CATEGORY

Best Animation: Sol Friedman for Day 40

Best Experimental film: Clayton Allis & Alfie Lee for In The Future Love Will Also 

Best Short Subject: Bartek Konopka for From Bed Thou Arose

Best Short Documentary: Danya Abt for Eric, Winter To Spring

Best Documentary: Florian Schewe and Katharina Von Schroeder for We Were Rebels

Best Feature Film: Joseph Frank and Zachary Reed for Sweaty Betty

AUDIENCE AWARDS

Audience Award in the Animation Category: Bob Blevins & Bradly Werley for T.P.

Audience Award in the Experimental Film Category: Clayton Allis & Alfie Lee for In the Future Love Will Also

Audience Award in the Narrative Short Category: Daisy Zhou for How to Be a Black Panther

Audience Award in the Short Documentary Category: Sean Ryon and Lea Scruggs for Born Into This

Audience Award in the Documentary Category (tie): Neal Broffman for Help Us Find Sunil Tripathi and Alexandria Bombach and Mo Scarpelli forFrame by Frame

Audience Award in the Feature Length Narrative Category: Ryan Carmichael for But Not for Me

SPIRIT AWARDS | Festival’s Favorite

Spirit Award in the Narrative Short Category: Graham Chychele Waterston for And It Was Good

Spirit Award in the Exp. Film Category: Janna Kyllästinen & Anne-Katrine Hansen for Division Avenue

Spirit Award in the Short Doc Category: Dir: Elizabeth Lo & Melissa Langer for Treasure Island

Spirit Award in the Documentary Category: Alexandria Bombach and Mo Scarpelli for Frame by Frame

Spirit Award in the Animation Category: Melissa Johnson and Robertino Zambrano for Love in the Time of March Madness

Spirit Award in the Feature Category: Vinko Moderndorfer for Inferno

Best Brooklyn Project: Harvey Mitkas for Devil Town

CERTIFICATES OF ACHIEVEMENT

Best Actor (male): Ágúst Örn B. Wigum for Whale Valley and Olly Alexander for Funny Bunny

Best Actor (female): Ella Purnell for Wildlike

Original Score: Rafael Leloup with Ryan Carmichael, Marcus Carl Franklin Quazzy Faffle and Elena Urioste for But Not for Me

Best Editing Award: Kentucker Audley, David Barker, and Caleb Johnson for Funny Bunny

Best Cinematography Award: Robert Machoian for God Bless the Child

Best Screenplay Award: Frank Hall Green for Wildlike

Best Producer Award: Julie Christeas, Frank Hall Green, Joseph Stephans, and Schuyler Weiss for Wildlike

Best New Director Award: Robert Gregson for The Refrigerator