NewFilmmakers Los Angeles Spotlights LGBT films in Film Festival
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) June 25, 2016 -- NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA) celebrates cinema from around world on June 25th. This month's event will include an InFocus shorts program which showcases LGBT cinema, an InFocus shorts program spotlighting Caribbean filmmakers and their stories, and an InFocus Caribbean feature film program. In between films, audiences can check out filmmaker Q&As, meet and mingle with one another in the premium South Park Center lounge, and enjoy cocktails on the balcony in Downtown LA. Details on the featured films playing at the film fest can be found below.
Shorts Program - InFocus: LGBT Stories
'Je Crie ton Nom' I Scream Your Name - Directed by Oskar Rosetti
Nicolas lives in a retirement home and gets bored more and more every day. At night, he calls sexual services for homosexuals by phone to cheat his loneliness. The coming of a new lodger, Daniel will shake up his life.
Written, directed, and edited by Oskar Rosetti, this is the director’s third short film shot in Switzerland. Rosetti said he was inspired by meeting actor Jean Winiger and came to the idea of homosexuality in a retirement home: “Something Jean said always remained: ‘I’d rather die than being put in one of these homes.’ I didn’t need more to imagine Nicolas’ character, who is a rebel in this institution, and his love story with Daniel based on a misunderstandings and a new friendship.”
French Kiss - Directed by Michael Berge
An American traveler tries to earn a kiss from a French woman despite a language barrier.
Writer, director, producer, and editor, Berge has worked on over 15 short films as well as in television. He is best known for his work as lead editor for Disney Game On (2012-2014) and FansTang’s Entertainment Star World (2013-2014).
In the Clouds - Directed by Camille Calvin
A retired ballerina learns a few things about life from an unexpected guest.
Most known for her acting work, writer/director Camille Calvin makes her directorial debut with this short. Her team is includes producer Joshua Smith (Life of Pi, Saving Mr. Banks, The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader).
Trigger - Directed by Christopher Folkens
Kevin is a shy young man who, after being disowned by his family, battles with the warring thoughts in his head while coming dangerously close to ending his own life. But when an unsuspecting friends shows up at his doorstep, he must face his past in order to change his life forever.
Writer/director/producer/editor Christopher Folkens has directed over 7 short independent films. His team includes cinematographer Maz Makhani (Stomp the Yard 2: Homecoming, Lady Gaga: Judas), composer David Buckley (The Good Wife, From Paris With Love, The Town), and actor Travis Van Winkle (Transformers, Friday the 13th, Accepted).
Moving In - Directed by Matt Kane
Two best friends move in with each other instead of their significant others, leading to a tense moment at their housewarming dinner and an awkward bedroom encounter later that evening.
Most often known as an actor, writer/director Matt Kane (Once Upon A Time, Switched At Birth) makes his directorial debut with this short. He is accompanied by the talents of cinematographer Natasha Mullan (The Revenant, Mortdecai) and actor John Weselcouch (The Purge, Like Crazy, Heroes).
Brix and the Bitch - Directed by Nico Raineau
Trapped in a seedy illegal fight club, one woman's only chance for escape is a gruesome brawl against one person she refuses to harm
Nico Raineau, writer/director/producer, has worked on over 10 short films, most often as a writer/director. He was a finalist in Season 4 of HBO’s rebooted Project Greenlight prior to starting work on this short. The film features actresses Dre Swain (Relapse), who plays The Bitch and Alex Marshall (The Hateful Eight) who plays Brix.
Vessels - Directed by Arkasha Stevenson
A young transgender woman considers a dangerous black market operation that may be her only option in gaining a more feminine body.
An AFI produced film, Arkasha Stevenson is writer/director and a fellow at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles, where she will complete a MFA in Directing in 2015. She previously worked as a photojournalist and video journalist at the Los Angeles Times. Stevenson reported extensively on the transgender population in Los Angeles. In 2013, she documented the life of a young transgender girl and her struggles with hormone blockers.
Shorts Program - InFocus: Caribbean Stories
Derakht (The Tree) - Directed by Roya Eshraghi
An Iranian documentary filmmaker through the image of a tree conveys the feeling of a search and ends culminating with a poem of his father about desarriago and exile.
Director Roya Eshraghi says the film refers to uprooting and migration. It has been screened in Yamagata Film Festival and in the Official selection of Punto de Vista Film Festival. Meanwhile her thesis at EICTV, called “Nothing and No One” became an essay about memory which was awarded a Special Mention in Malaga Film.
Preach - Directed by Juliana Maité
Ilia, a passionate feminist, awaits her date at a friends bar. As her date progresses she is stricken by how this guy takes gender equality to a whole new level.
Director, Juliana Maité completed her studies in Drama and Film between the University of Puerto Rico, Hunter College (NYC) and L´Univerttá Cattólica (Milán). In 2012 she graduated from the EICTV (Escuela Internacional de Cine y Televisión de San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba) after three years of formation as a fiction director. She has produced for Puerto Rico TV the variety show ¨Operativo Cultura,¨ directed the tourism show ¨Puertorriqueñísimo,” and taught in the Film Department of the Liceo de Arte y Tecnología.
El Fondillo Maravilloso - Directed by Cesar Rodriguez
Chique Bonbón, with a peculiar mixture of street talk and sweet talk, uses his pimped up candy truck to seduce women. In true OCD fashion, he adheres to a strict set of rules and a technique that seems infallible, until the day he catches a glimpse of a woman he thought did not exist.
The short was directed by César Rodríguez, who has written and directed various award winning films in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, including the feature film Ruido, which won the Prix de l’innovation at the 2006 Montreal Film Festival, and his most recent feature, “La Extraña”, which was an official selection of the 2015 Canadian Film Institute and the 31st Chicago Latino Film Festival. Director of photography, Miguel Zayas has filmed music videos and interviews for Latino and international artists, including Pedro Capó, Yandel, Yanni, Lady Gaga and Natalia Rivera, plus music specials for HBO, for which he won an Emmy in 2015.
ALFA - Directed by Javier Ferreiro
Alfa Méndez Cuban gay porn actor, has to face returning to a film set without Yerry, his sentimental and artistic partner years ago. On his first day of shooting without him, Alfa tries to act as in the past but things are not the same.
Writer, director, and producer Javier Ferreiro graduated from the International School of Film and Television of San Antonio de los Baños (Cuba) with a speciality in directing. He also received his Masters in Screenwriting for Film and Television by the Carlos III University and a BA in Communication Studies from the University Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona.
Feature Program - InFocus: Caribbean Stories
La Gunguna - Directed by Ernesto Alemany
A small .22 caliber pistol with a long history, La Gunguna travels through the darkness of the Caribbean underworld as its own character, leaving in its wake series of misfortune and disgraceful acts. With an array of bizarre characters, some are motivated by vengeance while others by deception, are mixed around in moments of tension, violence and even reflection.
Based on the short story “El De Montás” by Miguel Yarull, the film connects many different people through the use of La Gunguna, a .22 caliber pistol. This is Dominican director Ernesto Alemany’s first feature length film, which has also been nominated for best Latin American film at the Goya awards.
Located in Downtown LA, South Park Center is the Presenting Venue Sponsor of NewFilmmakers LA film festival. Founded in 2007, NFMLA has screened over 1350+ films from over 67 countries. The organization provides a forum where filmmakers can be recognized with title supporters Sony Pictures Entertainment, DreamWorks, TheWrap, SAG-AFTRA, and FilmLA.
For information or to reserve tickets to the NewFilmmakers LA June 25th screening, please visit http://www.NFMLA.org and follow online on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram: @NFMLA.
Alexandra Diantgikis, NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA), http://newfilmmakersla.com/, +1 323-521-7385, [email protected]
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