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IndieWorks: Best of Fest Year 5 Recap

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INDIEWORKS: BEST OF FEST

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Last Tuesday was a special night at IndieWorks! We celebrated the conclusion of our 5th year! Between watching the 10 fantastic films, mingling with the talented filmmakers, and engaging with the wonderful audience, we had a ton of fun! In total, we had nearly 80 people in attendance and it was clear the crowd enjoyed the lineup and the evening as a whole. We hope new connections were made!

THANK YOU. 

To all of the incredible people involved in this community who submit their work, attend our monthly series, follow our content, and spread the word of anything IndieWorks... we truly thank you. It's been another great year of innovative, local films and filmmakers.

Five years ago, Christina decided she wanted to create a monthly film series for local independent filmmakers to showcase and discuss their work with an audience and connect with their (our) peers in a friendly, supportive, engaging and still encouragingly competitive environment. Sure enough, we made it happen and it has grown into something so wonderful, more so than we could have imagined over the past five years. It's been a real passion project from our team, and we hope it has stayed true to the ideals of helping independent filmmakers find an audience and build a network & community of likeminded, productive & talented individuals. Thank you all for being part of it! We're honored to screen & support your work! 

The full lineup & nominations can be found in our previous post.  

THE AWARDS GO TO...

AUDIENCE CHOICE: "Sibs" (Samantha Slater & Cynthia Silver) - Wins $50 towards a Seed&Spark campaign and script coverage from the CongestedCat team of one future short screenplay.

BEST EDITING: "Runaway" (Harrison Heller) - Wins $50 towards a Seed&Spark campaign and script coverage from the CongestedCat team of one future short screenplay.

BEST ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE: "Chocolates" (Patricia Selznick & Ford) - Wins $50 towards a Seed&Spark campaign and script coverage from the CongestedCat team of one future short screenplay.

BEST WRITER/DIRECTOR: "Cake" (Anne Hu) - Wins $50 towards a Seed&Spark campaign and script coverage from the CongestedCat team of one future short screenplay.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY (DJ Carroll) & GOLDEN WHISKERS (BEST OF FEST): "Madness" (TJ Choi) - Wins $250 towards a Seed&Spark campaign, a 1TB G-drive, 50% Off any a la carte Post-Production Service 4milecircus offers, script coverage from the CongestedCat team of two future short screenplays, and a day of social media promotion from the CongestedCat team.

Our team with all the talented filmmakers of the night!

Photos by Chris Carroll. Video coverage by Kimberly Drew Whiten. Big thanks for their time & talent throughout night! See all the fun we had below! 

THAT'S A WRAP!

Check out the recaps from ALL 10 SCREENINGS of Year 5 of IndieWorks. 

As we take next month as an opportunity to go out and make things, we hope you will too. Our 6th Year of IndieWorks kicks off in June on the 5th, with our Pride-themed screening -- so keep in touch & stay up to date through our social media accounts. We want to see YOU at the next screening!

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Be sure to submit your films on our IndieWork page, and watch episodes of our Insider Series with the monthly Winners from all 5 years to get more insight into their screened films & upcoming work. 

IndieWorks: Halloween Special Recap

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Happy Halloween! Last Tuesday was the October edition of IndieWorks, and our annual Halloween Special! As big horror film fans and makers ourselves, Halloween is always a treat for us. We screened 6 spooky shorts and had 45 people in house. A nice sized crowd considering the rainy evening! The films ranged in style, gore, sub-genre and tone. It was a really fun and eclectic lineup than conveyed the different ways horror can be interpreted and portrayed. Some interesting conversations were had!

We'd just like to say thank you to everyone who came out to support the filmmakers and spend the evening with us & them. We do hope you enjoyed all the films and the opportunity to network with other filmmakers and film enthusiasts. We know some connections were made! AND we hope you'll join us again for our November screening on the 14th!

See photos from the evening:

The Films of the night:

The Run-In (Directed by Pete Talamo, Written & Produced by Heidi Kikel)
On her way home from a late night party, Hannah experiences an unnerving encounter with a stranger who leaves her mentally paralyzed.

Mare (Directed by Nicole Solomon, Written & Produced by Nicole Solomon & Sean Mannion)
Sean, an anxious and isolated man, goes about his mundane daily routine with a pleasant twist: an unexpected trip to sunny Brighton Beach. His desire to enjoy the gentle breeze, lapping waves, and sunny skies is put to the test as the beach itself seems to turn against him, culminating in an unexpected and deadly confrontation with a mysterious, demonic creature.

I Baked Him a Cake (Directed by Vanessa Ionta Wright, Written & Produced by Samantha Kolesnik)
Lenora can't wait for Dad to come home to celebrate his birthday. The cake is ready, the balloons are out, and the gifts are piled. Only, where is Dad? 

Through the Wide Gate (Written & Directed by Patrick Clement, Produced by Catherine Kosiba)
A sensitive young woman stalks a romantic rival in this 1970's-revival psychological drama.

Holiday Fear (Written & Directed by Nicholas Santos, Produced by Matthew John Lawrence, Nicholas Santos, Kyle I. Kelley)
In the final act of a slasher film, Bruce attempts to reclaim his manliness and impress the final girl by finishing off the killer.

Smile (Directed by Bill Kirstein, Written & Produced by Bill Kirstein & Ginny Leise)
A man tells a woman on the street to Smile. He lives to regret it.

Watch our Q&A Recap (shot & edited by Kimberly Drew Whiten). *Please know there are some film spoilers - feel free to look for an opportunity to catch the films at a festival or computer screen near you & then come back to watch!

The awards go to...

At the end of the evening, we announced our winning filmmakers for both Audience Choice Award & Silver Whiskers Award. The Audience Choice Award is voted upon by all those in attendance, and the Silver Whiskers Award is judged by the CongestedCat Team based on a system rating 8 categories of Story, Dialogue/Writing, Direction, Acting, Cinematography, Sound, Editing, and Production Value, along with a nuanced discussion focused on inclusion and originality. The Silver Whiskers winner goes on to screen again at our end of year Best of Fest screening next April. 

The Silver Whiskers winner also receives $50 towards a crowdfunding campaign on SeedandSpark.com should they use the platform and a free Social Media audit ($200 value) from 4MileCircus. 

For the October 2017 lineup, our winning films were:
    Audience Choice Award:  "The Run-In"
    Silver Whiskers Award:  "Smile"

Join us next month for our November edition on the 14th!

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IndieWorks: November Recap

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Last Wednesday was the November edition of IndieWorks, and it was a great night! We're so glad we closed out 2015 with such a lovely evening. We screened 6 fantastic films, all exploring very different characters in different facets of life, from the painful to the confusing to the heartwarming. The lineup was really exemplary of the boundless stories to tell and the variety of ways those stories can be told in short film form. The vibe in the room was engaged and encouraging. The audience seemed to really enjoy the diverse lineup and the night as a whole! 

We'd just like to say thank you to everyone who came out to support the filmmakers and spend the evening with us & them. We hope you enjoyed all the films and the opportunity to network with other filmmakers and film enthusiasts, and we hope some connections were made! (Also, a thank you to intern Flavio Barreiro for filling in for our resident photographer for the evening.)

See photos from the evening:

The Films of the night:

Ahora Veo (Directed by Marco Antonio Martinez)
Tells the story of an estranged immigrant laborer who returns to his home country after years of living illegally in the United States. His story unfolds as a letter written to his once young wife in the hope she receives it before he arrives.

Leaving Home (Directed by Natalie Fullaondo)
A young girl must come to a decision about her future after dealing with her father's alcoholism and expectations.

Najmia (Directed by Cristhian Andrews)
As labor nears, a pregnant 12-year old Yemeni child bride must endure the challenges of her everyday life. Inspired by the true story of Fawziya Abdullah Youssef. 

Pillows (Directed by Ann Carr/Written & Produced by Ginny Leise)
When Haley lands on her old friend Amanda's doorstep, she uses every distraction she can get her hands on to keep from talking about including Amanda's brother. 

Men Without Women (Directed by John S Fisher)
A New York City story that follows two friends as they balance the fragile line between friends and lovers.

Across the Pond (Directed by Jessica M Thompson)
Grace discovers a treasure map from the 1920s, which sends her on an adventure through the streets of timeless New York City. 

 

The awards go to...

At the end of the evening, we announced our winning filmmakers for both Audience Choice Award & Silver Whiskers Award. The Audience Choice Award is voted upon by all those in attendance, and the Silver Whiskers Award is judged by the CongestedCat Team based on a system rating 8 categories of Story, Dialogue/Writing, Direction, Acting, Cinematography, Sound, Editing, and Production Value. The Silver Whiskers winner goes on to screen again at our end of year Best of Fest event in April! 

The Silver Whiskers winner also receives $50 towards a crowdfunding campaign on SeedandSpark.com should they use the platform, and both winners received a free 2015 subscription to Bright Ideas Magazine and have the opportunity to be interviewed for our Insider Series. 

For the November 2015 lineup, our winning films were:
    Audience Choice Award:  "Najmia"
    Silver Whiskers Award:  "Pillows"

Usually, at this point we'd plug our next screening, which was meant to be on January 13th. However, we were just notified and are deeply saddened by the news that the People Lounge, the home of IndieWorks for the past 2.5 years, will be shutting down in January. 

So, we've decided to instead have a farewell party for them on January 6th, and then pick back up with our monthly screenings at our new TBD venue in February. If you'd like to help us find a new space, you can read more about our venue needs in this post. In any case, we hope you'll join us to bid farewell to the wonderful & supportive People Lounge.