IndieWorks: August Recap

Last Wednesday was the August edition of IndieWorks, and it was such a great night! We trimmed our typical 6 film lineup to 5 because three of the films were over 15 minutes (we try not to let the evening run too late) and we wanted to see if last month's overflow of 120 people in house was a fluke or the norm moving forward. As it turns out, we really have grown that much because even with 1 less film, we had over 75 people in house and had to open both floors! The vibe and energy in the room were positive and supportive. The audience seemed to really enjoy the 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!

See photos from the evening:

The films of the night:

Tom in America (Directed by Flavio Alves)
Michael and Betty have been united by one guiding principle: no secrets. But when a provocative Tom of Finland doll triggers Michael's long-buried desires, Betty discovers that secrets have been part of their life all along. 

Before We Lose (Directed by Cristhian Andrews)
The love story of a mother and her 3 year old son and the turn their lives take with her deteriorating health condition in the Black Sea Region of Turkey.

Love & Badminton (Directed by Kenneth Maharaj)
Meldrick Whitaker is at a major cross-road in his life. Stay committed to his beleaguered marriage to Wilamina or succumb to his infatuation to Lisa who happens to be the only person that shares an interest in his favorite avocation, Badminton.

Into The Woods ( Directed by Anne Hu)
An idealistic couple journeys through the treacherous woods of their relationship in hopes of finding love. 

Unwritten ( Directed by Anita Carroll)
A young woman returns to New York City and grapples with heartbreak, loss, and things unsaid.

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 August 2015 lineup, our winning films were:
    Audience Choice Award:  "Unwritten"
    Silver Whiskers Award:  "Before We Lose"

See posters for the winning films below: 

 

The other 3 on our Facebook Page

We Had Plans Screening Invites!

A curator from NewFilmmakers NY reached out to us requesting to include "We Had Plans" in a screening highlighting films by women and about women! We gratefully agreed to be part of it. The event will be on September 30th, starting at 6pm. Additional details can be found by clicking through their schedule on their homepage

Then we were invited to be part of another female filmmaker oriented screening for Directed by Women month. We'll be screening at 6:30pm on September 10th (the night after IndieWorks) at this event. We believe entry is free. 

'Kelsey' Invited to be Screen in Palm Springs!

There wasn't room for our series to be included in the In With The New Out Panel we've been touring with at the upcoming Cinema Diverse: The Palm Springs LGBTQ Film Festival.  But the New Media programmer enjoyed our series so much that they invited 'Kelsey' to screen in their New Media Spotlight. That'll be on September 19th. We can't afford to fly out for that, but hopefully the audience enjoys our series! Details on the screening can be found HERE.