IndieWorks: September (Web Series) Screening Recap

Last Tuesday was the September edition of IndieWorks, and our annual Web Series special! We screened 6 episodes of locally made web series and had over 50 people in house! Web Series Month is always extra special because we find the creators and actors tend to already know each other, so there are even more supportive & collaborative vibes in the crowd throughout the night. Some wonderful conversations came out of the lineup, and we can't wait to see more episodes of everything we screened!

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, and we hope some connections were made! AND we hope you'll join us again for our Halloween Special on October 25th. 

The Series of the night:

Six Windows (Ep. 1 - Lucy) (Directed by Brandon Taylor)
"Six Windows" peeks into the lives of people, as they face the unique ambience and drama of living in New York City. Each episode focuses on a moment in time for a single soul, a snapshot of their life. 

Pair of Normals (Pilot - WWYD?) (Created by Jason Hood)
Betty is an overworked college student plagued by high expectations, cramming in the library for finals. After a horrifying revelation, she asks herself the age-old question, What Would Yeezus Do?.

Blank My Life (Ep. 10 - Ending) (Created by Alex Spieth)
Susan and Ryan go on a date, just in time for the holidays.

Redheads Anonymous (Ep. 4) (Created by Elisabeth Ness/Directed by Daniel Seth)
To win a Redhead Scholarship, Molly and her three ginger pals must find out: what does it mean to be a redhead?

Working On It (Created by Marzy Hart)
"Working on It", follows four couples as they wait in the therapist's office to begin their session.

Growing Down (Created by Jessica Henderson/Directed by Jeff Davis)
Three NYC women try to navigate their 20s and all the problems presented by attempting to make something happen.

Watch our Q&A Recap. *Please know that all series are available online - feel free to watch them on a computer screen near you & then come back to see what the creators have to say!

The awards go to...

At the end of the evening, we announced our winning filmmakers for bothAudience 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. (In the case of Web Series Month, we watch & score the full season of each series.) 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) from4MileCircus. And both winners received a free 2016 subscription to Bright Ideas Magazine.

For the September 2016 lineup, our winning films were:
    Audience Choice Award:  "Six Windows"
    Silver Whiskers Award:  "Blank My Life"

Watch both winners below:

Join us next month for our Halloween Special on October 25th!

IndieWorks: August Screening Recap

Last Tuesday was the August edition of IndieWorks. We screened 5 films and had over 60 people in house! Our first two films were intimate dramas. The second set of films were comedic pieces. Some wonderful conversations came out of the lineup. Overall, the evening was full of fun and supportive vibes!

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, and we hope some connections were made! AND we hope you'll join us again for Web Series month on September 13th. 

The Films of the night:

Break (Directed by Nicholas Santos)
A young couple's relationship changes forever after an encounter with a local contractor.

The Blood in Our Veins (Directed by Mateo Marquez)
When Daniel Royas decides to take his ill mother, Alejandra, to be seen at a local clinic on his birthday, little do they know the terrible news that lies ahead.

Plus-Plus (Directed by Tom Rizzuto)
An ace salesman tries to sell a car to a reluctant customer with a secret.

Marcela's Tale (Directed by Tanmaya Shekhar)
In the middle of the worst day of her life, Marcela is struck by an abandoned package.

Ginger With a Snap (Directed by Aubrey Smyth)
Centers around the city life of Ginger, a woman in her 20’s with a mane of red hair. Her alias is Gingersnap, a shock jock with an eponymous call-in sex and love advice radio show along with her sidekick and producer Rhymin' Simon.

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. 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 onSeedandSpark.com should they use the platform and a free Social Media audit ($200 value) from4MileCircus. And both winners received a free 2016 subscription to Bright Ideas Magazine.

For the August 2016 lineup, our winning films were:
    Audience Choice Award:  "Ginger With a Snap"
    Silver Whiskers Award:  "The Blood in Our Veins"

Watch the Trailer for our Silver Whiskers winner below:

Join us next month for our Web Series edition on September 13th!

IndieWorks: July Screening Recap

Last Tuesday was the July edition of IndieWorks. We screened 5 films and had over 70 people in house! Our first two films were moving documentaries. The second set of films were in the horror-comedy realm - a couple of which used genre to explore important or thought-provoking issues. Overall, the night was full of thoughtful conversations and wonderfully supportive vibes!

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, and we hope some connections were made! AND we hope you'll join us again on August 2nd. 

See photos from the evening (by Grayson Davis):

The Films of the night:

My Identity (Directed by Yasmin Mistry)
Ashley, a young Native-American girl, converts to Islam in hopes of finding structure in a life where it never existed.

The Firmest Friend (Directed by Andrew Fixell)
In August 2014, filmmaker Andrew Fixell ventured into New York City's Tompkins Square Park to interview four homeless youth about their transient lifestyles and their relationships with the pit bulls who travel with them.

White Privilege Frankenstein (Directed by Chris Carfizzi)
When an angry mob comes for Frankenstein's Monster, Victor Frankenstein must find a way to get him off the hook.

Catslaughter (Directed by Humberto Guzman, Written & Produced by Stephanie Iscovitz & Sarah DuRivage-Jacobs)
In the case of catslaughter, everyone is a suspect.

What's Eating Dad? (Directed by Michael Goldburg)
When Chloe meets her boyfriend's parents for the first time, what's really for dinner is something she never imagined.

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. 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. And both winners received a free 2016 subscription to Bright Ideas Magazine.

For the July 2016 lineup, our winning films were:
    Audience Choice Award:  "The Firmest Friend"
    Silver Whiskers Award:  "What's Eating Dad?"

Watch the Trailers for both winners:

Join us next month for our August edition on the 2nd!

IndieWorks: June Screening (Year 4 Kick Off) Recap

Last Tuesday was the June edition of IndieWorks, and our first of Year 4! We screened 5 films and had over 50 people in house. Our first two films were dramatic pieces that similarly explored relationships, but in different ways. They were beautiful, heartbreaking and thought provoking. The second set of films were more light-hearted and also relationship relevant, but more offbeat and sometimes wonderfully weird. Overall, the night was a success!

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, and we hope some connections were made! AND we hope you'll join us again on July 12th. 

See photos from the evening (by Grayson Davis):

The Films of the night:

Muscle (Directed by Heidi Marshall)
A woman must make the agonizing decision to live for her terminally ill husband or live for herself.

The Cat's Cradle (Directed by David Spaltro/Written by Tawny Sorensen)
Jim and Amy are a young couple attempting to conceive. As these attempts become all-consuming in their lives, stress and tension build between them. A romantic evening turns into a night of confessions and betrayal that will forever change their relationship

Happenstance (Directed by Jeanette Sears)
After a terrible date set up from her roommate, June is focused on enjoying her commutes around the city and beating the NYC summer heat. Although she's determined, one day June finds herself needing a helping hand from a familiar face in a city of millions.

Clippings (Directed by Jessica Kingdon)
A young woman and her dog receive an unexpected guest — a stranger with a familiar face.

Blank My Life (Created by Alex Spieth)
Susan feels existentially attacked by the kid she baby-sits.

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. 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. And both winners received a free 2016 subscription to Bright Ideas Magazine.

For the June 2016 lineup, our winning films were:
    Audience Choice Award:  "Happenstance"
    Silver Whiskers Award:  "The Cat's Cradle"

Watch the Trailer for The Cat's Cradle:

Join us next month for our July edition on the 12th!

IndieWorks Testimonials

We used our 3rd annual Best of Fest screening as an opportunity to ask some filmmakers/community members their feelings about IndieWorks. Thanks to our friend & IndieWorks alum Shelby Zoe Coley for video coverage, we got some wonderful comments to share. We'd like to thank all the participating filmmakers and audience members for their words. We aim to keep doing what we're doing and strive to support the community in even bigger ways.