We have great news! About a Donkey will be premiering as one of 5 feature films at the Georgia Film Festival on Saturday, May 19th, at 2:30pm! We're super excited to be screening the film in the South, particularly because our mission with the film is to create conversation and build some bridges towards acceptance. We could use help spreading the word to locals, so if anyone knows people in the Oakwood/Atlanta area, please let us know!
Blackbird Film Festival Recap
Last weekend was the Blackbird Film Festival, where "Enough" screened and was nominated for the Foreboding Film Award. I had never been part of this fest before but decided to submit because I had heard good things from filmmaker friends last year. It was about a 3.5 hour drive from the city, which presented an opportunity to spend some time with my mom (since she drives and I just like taking her to fests with me)!
The festival was really enjoyable. I love that tickets were free (a perk of being sponsored by a university) and in a beautiful venue with super-prepared interns from the college who were genuinely helpful and enthusiastic about the films & filmmakers. It's rare that I feel a festivals programming is completely solid, both in terms of production quality and story -- but I felt that here. I saw 65 out of 117 screened shorts. I did think some of the blocks (and films within those blocks) were too long, a couple hitting 2.5 hours; but overall the films were well selected and curated into thoughtful blocks with insightful Q&A's. And another benefit of being sponsored by and held at a university is that screenings were never really empty. Students and families of students came out, even if they didn't know anyone with a film in the festival. Opening night had about 80 people in attendance, and I think 45 was the average throughout most other blocks. Mine was the R-rated Foreboding block at 9pm Saturday night (really started at 9:30). The blocks began at 9am Saturday, so it was a long day for anyone who stuck around. Thankfully, many did. I did a headcount and we had just under 50 people in attendance. By the time the block ended, it was 11:30pm and people were clearly tired. So we, unfortunately, didn't get the nuanced and personalized Q&A I had seen other filmmakers get throughout the day, which was my only real disappointment of the festival. But we did get a moment on stage to each speak once about what inspired our film. And I found the audience, the next day, had some lovely things to say about how it resonated and what they thought of the ending (I won't spoil anything here). During the screening, I heard a gasp at the end and "woo" during the credits (I don't believe from someone I know). And a couple people told me "Enough" was their favorite from the block of 10, which was really nice and surprising to hear because all the films were intriguing and well done.
We stuck around for 2 more blocks Sunday morning before hitting the road in the afternoon. I couldn't stay for the awards ceremony but glad I got to stay for the bulk of the fest. I didn't end up winning anyway, but it would've been nice to meet more of the filmmakers and congratulate the winners. (I was actually rooting for another that I was disappointed didn't take home our category. It's titled "Childer;" definitely check it out at a horror fest near you, if you can!)
Other than the films themselves, it was also just a nice time in Cortland meeting and chatting with people. I not only got to spend time with my mom but also got to see a couple IndieWorks alumni who also made the trip from the City, including friend and frequent collaborator Jeanette Sears ("Night In" DP), whose sweet film "Happenstance" played. And I even got to have lunch with my cousin Shivanna, who goes to Ithaca just 20 minutes from Courtland. All in all, I had a great weekend and will definitely be submitting new work for next year. It's rare for me to find a festival in or near NY that I feel has integrity, is well run, and doesn't just program anything & everything to get butts in seats. Other than Queens World, this may be my other local(ish) go-to each year.
The film's next screening will be at the Bluestocking Film Series in Maine in August! I will be attending! Check out the recaps of previous screenings at Queens World FF and Ax Wound FF.
IndieWorks: Best of Fest Year 5 Recap
in IndieWorks
INDIEWORKS: BEST OF FEST
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!
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.
Enough at Bluestocking Film Series
Our short "Enough" is an early official selection of Bluestocking Film Series, screening in August in Maine. Christina will be attending. More details to come!
Christina Discusses her Career with The Creative Outsiders
in Press
Christina got to sit down with The Creative Outsiders, a podcast highlighting Women in Film.
How she stays creative and inspired as a filmmaker?
Why writing groups are important for screenwriters?
Where filmmakers go wrong with crowdfunding?
How can horror films have a message?
Identifying who you are as a filmmaker?
Skip the bio intro & listen at 1:55.