Join NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA) in celebrating independent cinema and Black History Month on February 24th, 2018. The night will feature two short film programs, one of which will be InFocus: Black Cinema, and feature film Good After Bad by director Anne-Marie Hess. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / PRURGENT
Los Angeles, CA -- Join NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA) in celebrating independent cinema and Black History Month on February 24th. The night’s first program will be an assortment of short films that include tales of dealing with loss, a superhero with one unique power, a biopic of a late German filmmaker, and the premiere of Kyle Bornheimer's short comedy, The Talk, which grapples with the question of when to give up on one's dreams.
Second in the night will be a presentation of feature film Good After Bad by director Anne-Marie Hess, the story of a troubled young girl who crosses paths with an eccentric bachelor, starring Maddie Hasson and Billy Burke.
The finale of the evening will be InFocus: Black Cinema, a program which will spotlight five short films that include a vignette of Nina Simone, the story of a young woman in Senegal finding her voice through rapping, a community coming together to protect itself from police brutality, and the story of an overly confident understudy starring comedian and SNL writer Gary Richardson.
Shorts Program #1
A Fine Mystery - Directed by Nicola Martini
Claudio, a 40-year-old lawyer who lost his wife in a car accident, comes across a mysterious woman who seems to know a lot about his wife’s past.
About the Director - Nicola Martini has a profound interest in moving images, sounds and narrative arguments. He studied semiotics, cinema and media before starting to work as a film director for TV adverts, web commercials, branded content, fiction and different kind of storytelling both nationally and internationally for brands such as Cadillac, Chevrolet, Mediolanum, BPM, Autogrill, Parmalat and BTicino, to name but a few. He is a member of AIR3 - Italian Directors Guild. He is now working on my first feature film, named The Beautiful People, for Cinema Industry.
RWF - Directed by Julien Sauvalle
A very short biopic of the late German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder. World Premiere.
About the Director - Julien Sauvalle is a writer and filmmaker from Paris, France. He studied journalism and global politics in London, and worked as a magazine editor in New York before enrolling into film school. His first student short Le Saucisson (2016) was featured in The New York Times.
Longing - Directed by Christian Mushenko
A difficult week finds a disconnected, wealthy, businessman searching for meaning in his life, only to find it revealed in a letter from his dead father.
About the Director - Building on a career as a photographer, Christian is enjoying expanding his storytelling via motion. His move into film at this time incorporates his love of capturing the feeling of the moment, and aligns with his desire to explore our humanity as seen through how we
connect with something outside ourselves. Over a long career he has shot for many of the largest brands, working in Australia, Asia, Europe, and the USA and has been recognized by international awards in advertising as well as photography.
Seahorse Man - Directed by Diana Carter
A campy animation about a hero whose only power is that most notable about a male seahorse, the ability to projectile birth. World Premiere.
About the Director - Diana Carter has been intrigued by animation and how it allows the audience to entertain the ridiculous. Her love for animation has flourished into a passion for working in the medium. She draws upon her childhood experiences living on the Connecticut coastline. Her goals are to entertain her audience and make them laugh, even if they might be surprised and a little grossed out in the process.
The Talk - Directed by Kyle Bornheimer
A writer faces self doubt as a series of gatekeepers try to convince him he should question his career choices.
About the Director - “The Talk” is Kyle Bornheimer’s first film. As an actor, Kyle has worked in film and television for 17 years, in over 60 shows and motion pictures, working with over 100 directors, including the Coen Brothers, Gillian Robespierre, Warren Beatty, The Russo Brothers, Betty Thomas, Leslye Headland, Jonathan Nolan, Jason Reitman, Vince Gilligan, and James Burrows to name a few. Kyle has been fortunate that many of the directors with whom he’s worked have also served as mentors to him. In the summer of 2016, Kyle was invited – as an actor – to take part in the prestigious Sundance Director’s Lab. While spending two life-changing weeks at Mr. Redford’s movie mecca, Kyle was not only able to work as an actor but was able to attend many of the labs and functions designed for the directors. This was a formative experience and one that inspired Kyle to make his first short film.
Pantyboy - Directed by Alex Szabo
When a man finds himself in bed with his dream girl, his perversions force him to make the ultimate decision and confront a messy past. World Premiere.
About the Director - Alex Szabo began filmmaking at an early age, editing together fun creative shorts. He attended Columbia College Chicago, wrote ads for The Tribune Media Company and dabbled in radio before relocating to Los Angeles. Working primarily as an editor, Szabo has worked for Lifetime, Youtube Red, and on independent films, including resuscitating the previously-shelved David O. Russell feature, “Accidental Love”. When he’s not writing and editing, you can see him performing improv comedy around the city.
The Holy Pole - Directed by Elie Chahine
Three 12-year-old students escape from a boarding school to experience Beirut’s nightlife.
About the Director - Elie Adel Chahine was born in Zahle Lebanon on the 20th of August 1994, holds an Audio Visual Bachelor’s degree and is currently a freelance cinematographer/DIT and Lighting Camera Operator on feature films, documentaries, short films and promos.
Feature Film - Good After Bad
Good After Bad - Directed by Anne-Marie Hess
When Shelly (Maddie Hasson), a creative and tenacious teen who faces bullying and a disintegrating home life, crosses paths with wealthy eccentric Wes (Billy Burke), her life is changed forever. Wes, who keeps to himself and has issues forming relationships with women, has a lot to learn from having Shelly in his life, and the two form a relationship that the outside world doesn’t understand.
About the Director - "Good After Bad" the feature debut of first time director, Anne-Marie Hess. An alumnus of the New York University Film Program, Hess is an accomplished film and television professional with over eight years of experience in the business, and has a background in directing, editing, and writing. Her first short film, "Beautiful Day" was a semi-finalist for a Student Academy Award. Her second short film, "The Speed of Light", won awards at both the South By Southwest Film Festival, and Hamptons International festival; and screened at Edinburgh International Film Festival, Viennalle International Film Festival, and numerous others. For several years, Hess edited prime time television. She recently left editing to concentrate her efforts back into writing and directing and recently wrote "Perfect High", a feature film about the teen heroin epidemic, starring Bella Thorne ("Famous in Love"), which aired on the Lifetime Network.
Shorts Program - InFocus: Black Cinema
Thiaroye by the Sea - Directed by Devin Thomas
A young Senegalese woman living in the sprawl of Dakar finds her voice in rap music as she contends with the pressures of misogyny, tradition and poverty.
About the Director - Hailing from Santa Barbara, California and currently based in Brooklyn, Devin Thomas is a documentary filmmaker and PhD candidate in Comparative Literature and Cinema Studies. When not out on a shoot or locked in the library, Devin spends her time engaged in political activism or out on the crag rock climbing. Her passion for social justice and experimental aesthetics find their home in her first film and short documentary, Thiaroye by the Sea.
To Be Free - Directed by Adepero Oduye
In a tiny after-hours club, Nina Simone finds a way, for one moment, to be free.
About the Director - Adepero Oduye, who gave a breakout performance as the star of Dee Rees’ PARIAH, hails from Brooklyn, New York by way of Nigeria. Her film credits include THE BIG SHORT and TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE. She made her Broadway debut opposite Miss Cicely Tyson in the acclaimed revival of Horton Foote’s “The Trip to Bountiful”. She co-starred with Queen Latifah, Phylicia Rashad, Alfre Woodard, Jill Scott and Condola Rashad in Lifetime’s “Steel Magnolias” for director Kenny Leon and starred alongside alongside Woodard and Gabrielle Union in Ava DuVernay’s Miu Miu Women’s Tale “The Door.”
Craning - Directed by Sarah Downing
An uncomfortable first date between two people evolves in an unexpected direction after an honest confession about the past leaves them wondering whether a true and meaningful connection is even possible.
About the Director - Sarah is a writer and director based in Los Angeles with an interest in telling stories that explore the absurd, the whimsical and the pathetic. A graduate of Vassar College, with a Master's degree in literature from Duke University, Sarah left a doctoral program in lit to pursue a career as a filmmaker. Sarah has two upcoming projects due to be released in 2018; "Cleansed", a darkly comedic web series which Sarah co-created, wrote and directed, and "Dark Hours", a a feminist thriller she co-directed.
Places, Thank You Places - Directed by JJ Adler
Thinking he’s just gotten his big break, good natured understudy/waiter Miles turns into a monster and ruins his own life. World Premiere. Co-written by and starring comedian and SNL writer Gary Richardson.
About the Director - J.J. Adler is a NYC/LA based director who’s helped create comedy spots for companies like P&G, Coke, Verizon, McDonalds, SC Johnson, etc., and with agencies including The Martin Agency, CP&B, R/GA, Mother, Droga5, Ogilvy & Mather, Grey, DDB, Y&R, PKT, JWT, and BBDO. In 2017 she was ranked the 7th Most Creative Woman in Advertising by Business Insider. In 2017 and 2016 two of her spots won Cannes Lions and one was awarded a Clio. Adler began her career as a founding creative and Head Director at The Onion’s Peabody award-winning web series “The Onion News Network.” Her graduate thesis film, “New Media” made its festival premiere at the 2010 Sundance film festival and her short documentary “Unattached” won a student Academy Award®.
Have No Fear - Directed by Beata Calinska and Sarah Jacobson in collaboration with Adia Whitaker
To teach her children how to avoid becoming another police brutality victim, activist and choreographer Adia Whitaker leads her ensemble in the creation of a stirring new performance.
About the Directors - Beata Calinska has been awarded the European Union grant to set up her own non-profit to produce media and research projects. Her documentary short debut “The Conductor” was awarded first prize at the Goethe-Institute’s international competition. She was selected as a resident fellow for the 2015-16 edition of UnionDocs’ Collaborative Program in New York where she co-directed short ‘Have no Fear’. Beata completed her studies with an M.A. in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Lodz, in addition to the Film and TV Production program at the Lodz Film School, and the Scholarship in Visual Anthropology at the University of Cyprus. She is currently based in Los Angeles.
Sarah Jacobson is a researcher and filmmaker based in New York City. She has worked on a number of projects in non-fiction media, ranging from Vimeo Staff Pick shorts to the Emmy Award-winning feature documentary, We Could Be King. She was a 2016 fellow at the UnionDocs Collaborative Studio in Brooklyn, NY, where she directed and edited two short films. Sarah received her B.A. in Psychology from Boston University before spending several years teaching in rural Spain.
Additional event information is available at www.nfmla.org
Founded in 2007, NewFilmmakers Los Angeles is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. NFMLA’s programs annually serve approximately 25,000 patrons in the Greater Los Angeles area. NFMLA has screened over 2,500 films from 75+ countries, highlighting local and international talent. |
