Next Gen Film Fest

NEXT GEN EVENT PICS AND VIDEO!

Hatzune — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 23:19:34 +0000

Courtesy of Napkin Nights.

Check out the new Highlight Reel on YOUTUBE or MYSPACE

NEXT GEN 1st YEAR a BIG SUCCESS!!

Hatzune — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:28:36 +0000

Thanks to everyone for coming :)

Please check out the official press release… more pics coming soon!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 4, 2008

1^st Annual California Next Gen Film Festival a Big Success

The future of cinematic arts in Sacramento is bright

Sacramento, CA— The California Next Gen Film Festival could only be described as a big success, with a nearly sold out opening night and over 600 walking down the red carpet the following three days. The 1^st annual Sacramento festival kicked off this past Labor Day weekend at Memorial Auditorium and hosted several Hollywood insiders who were on hand to join in the festival’s mission: to showcase the “next gen” crop of filmmakers using the latest HD technology to advance the art and process of film.

Jaime Gonzalez, NGFF founder and president, couldn’t be more thrilled with the outcome of the festival. “Sacramento needed a platform on which independent filmmakers could display their work. I feel our festival accomplished that goal and laid the foundation for future Next Gen festivals.”

The highlight of the opening night ceremonies proved to be the Innovative Artists Panel. The panel was moderated by academy-award winning cinematographer Don McAlpine and included Hollywood producer/director Demian Lichtenstein, photojournalist Lauren Greenfield, and fast-rising film stars Rudy Youngblood and Adam Del Rio.

McAlpine, whose many big-budget film credits include Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet, flew in from Australia to be a part of this groundbreaking festival and was actively involved in discussion panels throughout the entire 4-day event, including serving on one panel alongside television show “On The Lot” winner Will Bigham. Other festival guests included California Film Commissioner Stan Brooks, Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo, and mayoral candidate Kevin Johnson.

The event was also able to bring business to the neighboring midtown establishments including, The Dream Lounge, Badlands Nightclub, Momo Lounge, and the Park Ultra Lounge. Midtown restaurants, hotels, and boutiques also reaped the benefits from the out of town festival-goers.

Of course the real stars of NGFF were the films and filmmakers themselves. The films spanned many formats including narrative, documentary, and digital animation shorts. Many filmmakers even participated in Q&A sessions after their films were screened.

The Audience Award winning films, Sebastians Voodoo, Burning Man: Voyage in Utopia, Ancestor Eyes, and Aquarium will all be on COMCAST ON-DEMAND later this month along with many of the red carpet interviews.

Sponsors of the film festival included: Christie Digital, VMI, Comcast, Advantage Presentations, The Men’s Wearhouse, JG and Associates, AEGIS Medical Systems, Silverado, The Howard Agency, AVID, Current TV, Production Hub, Metro Hub Network, Core Care Macintosh Support Specialties.

Visit our website to view a full schedule of our event www.nextgenfilmfest.org.

(The NGFF is a non-profit organization)

Contact:

Natalie Minas

Festival Public Relations

(916) 802-3456

nminasnextgenfilm@gmail.com

Sebastian’s Voodoo

admin — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 04:26:00 +0000

Directed by Joaquin Baldwin
A voodoo doll must find the courage to save his friends from being pinned to death.

Biography

Joaquin Baldwin is an animator and website designer from Paraguay, with a BFA in animation and working on an MFA in animation at UCLA. He has been granted several awards including the Jack Kent Cooke full Graduate Scholarship in 2006.

Rabia

admin — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 04:24:06 +0000

Directed by Muhammad Ali Hasan

Rabia is a woman who must blow herself up in order to exist. From the moment she straps explosives to her bare body, we are exposed to flashbacks of Rabia’s past, filled with abuse, rejection, and struggle. By the time she steps onto a popular Israeli beach, awaiting to kill hundreds of innocent civilians in a massive explosion, we find ourselves asking whether Rabia’s act is one of evil or one of heroism?

Biography

3Muhammad Ali Hasan received his MFA in Film Directing from Chapman University in 2007. He currently serves as a political commentator for Fox News, MSNBC, and BBC Radio, and is a former regular guest of Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, as well as the Dennis Miller Show of CNBC. In 2005, Muhammad co-founded the Muslims For America Think Tank, a political organization that provides policy recommendations to American politicians on issues dealing with the War On Terror.

Undocumented

admin — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 04:19:06 +0000

Directed by Joel Rodriguez
An Illegal immigrant and his family are getting ready to celebrate their daughter fifteens party, but will their plans be ruined?

NGFF

admin — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 09:19:24 +0000

NEXT GEN 2010

SEPTEMBER 23rd-25th

SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN!!!

Ancestor Eyes

admin — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 02:35:13 +0000

Directed by Kalani Queypo
After getting sick, a young Native American woman, Willa, returns to her mother’s home where they both must come to terms with her illness. Willa’s mother, who had been a long time ’shut in’, begins venturing outside with her camcorder, taping the sunrise and mountains, bringing the outside world in to the bed ridden Willa.
Pain turns into a source of inspiration, igniting her mother’s gift for storytelling and ultimately paving a path of magical transformations.
Gripping performances by Tantoo Cardinal (Dances With Wolves, Legends of the Fall) and Rulan Tangen (The New World) are beautifully complimented with rich visual images and an impressive original soundtrack.

Biography

Kalani Queypo had humble beginnings as a noted theater actor in New York City which allowed him to originate roles in over a dozen world premiere productions, strengthening his ability to make strong character choices based on his imagination and intuition. He has worked in some of the country’s top Tony Award winning theaters like the Goodspeed Opera House and Trinity Repertory Company. Since his move to Los Angeles four years ago, he has been very active with Native Voices Theatre, in partnership with the Autry National Center in Griffith Park.

Hollywood has embraced Kalani with prestigious projects such as the Oscar Nominated Terrence Malick film, THE NEW WORLD, in which he won the coveted role of Parahunt (the brother of Pocahontas), as well as Steven Spielberg’s Emmy Award winning mini series, INTO THE WEST. You may have recognized him in guest starring roles on hit TV shows like BONES or THE MINOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF JACKIE WOODMAN.

This past fall, Kalani’s short script was awarded with a $10,000 production grant from SCIC’s Intertribal Entertainment. His directorial debut produced an eloquent short film , ANCESTOR EYES, showcasing gripping performances, rich visual imagery and a noteworthy original soundtrack.

Kalani feels a great responsibility to the youth, both Native and non- Native, who are sparingly exposed to Native culture mostly through film, television and theater projects. This past January, after being awarded a grant from the National Geographic Society, he began production on his first feature length film, OUR VOICES, OUR STORIES. OVOS is documentary film revolving around a mentoring program for Native youth in the urban Los Angeles community. Kalani has plans to premiere it in 2009.

Kalani continues to write and develop compelling projects, observing the ever so fascinating human condition.

NGFF PARTIES

admin — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 23:02:20 +0000

We are thrilled to have Dream Ultra Lounge, Momo Lounge, Badlands, and The Park Ultra Lounge hosting the official Next Gen parties August 28th and 29th!

>>more details

Lullaby

Hatzune — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 03:12:32 +0000

Directed by Travis Suhr, 19min
Jack (Jason Wiechert) & Sarah (Cassandra Clark) are not only lovers, they’re best friends. They spend every waking moment with each other, kissing, laughing, and loving. Jack decides that he wants to come off his medication for schizophrenia, and live in a world that might not be real, but at least it’s not controlled. With Sarah by his side, he has to face all the bottled up emotions and secrets that come back after he stops taking his medication. The obstacles they overcome prove true love knows no boundaries, even if the love of your life is imaginary.

Biography
Travis David Suhr was born and raised in a small town of Wyoming called Gillette. He spent most of his life loving movies and telling stories, and it wasn’t until his second year of pursuing a playwriting degree at the University of Wyoming that he realized filmmaking is his passion. He moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 2002 and has spent the last five years before attending the Zaki Gordon Institute writing screenplays and starting a production company “What Am I? Productions”. Travis graduates from ZGI in May, and plans to pursue a career in Producing. He currently lives in Sedona and is married to assistant producer of “Lullbye”, Elizabeth Suhr.

kids + money

admin — Wed, 21 May 2008 08:24:06 +0000

Directed by Lauren Greenfield, 32min
Money talks. Teens in Los Angeles discuss money: getting it, spending it and learning to live without it.

An original short film by award-winning filmmaker and photographer Lauren Greenfield, kids + money is a conversation with young people from diverse Los Angeles communities about the role of money in their lives. From rich to poor, Pacific Palisades to East L.A., kids address how they are shaped by a culture of consumerism.

Biography
Acclaimed photographer Lauren Greenfield is considered a preeminent chronicler of youth culture as a result of her groundbreaking projects Girl Culture and Fast Forward. Her photographs have been widely exhibited and are in many museum collections including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the International Center of Photography. She was named by American Photo as one of the 25 most influential photographers working today.

Greenfield’s first feature-length documentary film, THIN, aired on HBO, and is accompanied by a photography book of the same name (Chronicle Books, 2006). In this unflinching and incisive study, Greenfield embarks on an emotional journey through the Renfrew Center in Coconut Creek, Florida, a residential facility dedicated to the treatment of eating disorders. The feature-length documentary premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006 and was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Direction in 2007. It won the Grierson Award for best documentary at the London Film Festival, and Grand Jury Prizes at the Independent Film Festival of Boston, the Newport International Film Festival, and the Jackson Hole Film Festival. The project was featured on The Today Show, Good Morning America, Nightline, and CNN and was excerpted in People Magazine. The Thin Book was honored by the 2007 International Photography Awards as well as the Photo District News Annual.

Thin is also a traveling museum exhibition curated by Trudy Wilner Stack that debuted at The Women’s Museum in Dallas, Texas in February, 2007 and will travel through 2010. Girl Culture, Greenfield’s last traveling exhibition, has been seen by over half a million people in more than twenty-five venues around the world. Fast Forward and Girl Culture were both optioned for development as feature films at Columbia Pictures and Universal Pictures.

Her latest project, an original short film entitled kids + money, premiered at the AFI Film Festival and won the Shorts Audience Award. kids + money has also screened at the Sundance Film Festival and the Santa Barbara Film Festival, with more to come throughout 2008. The film is a conversation with young people from diverse Los Angeles communities about the role of money in their lives. From rich to poor, Pacific Palisades to East L.A., kids address how they are shaped by a culture of consumerism.

Greenfield graduated from Harvard in 1987 and started her career as an intern for National Geographic. Since then, her photographs have been regularly published in the New York Times Magazine, Time, ELLE, and American Photo and have won many awards, including the International Center for Photography Infinity Award, the Hasselblad Grant, the Community Awareness Award from the National Press Photographers, and the Moscow Biennial People’s Choice Award. She is a member of the VII Photo Agency, an international photographic cooperative, and is represented by the Pace/MacGill Gallery in New York and the Fahey/Klein Gallery in Los Angeles.

She lives in Venice, California with her husband, Frank Evers, and their two sons.

For more information, visit www.laurengreenfield.com.