Latest Posts
Video: Ricky Strauss, President of Participant Media
Video: Steve Golin, chairman of Anonymous Content
Video: Adrienne Biddle, Senior VP Production at Rogue Pictures
UCLA Producers Marketplace judge Adrienne Biddle, senior vice president of production at Rogue Pictures, talks about what makes a strong movie pitch, the value of going to film school and how to break in to the entertainment business. Producers Marketplace is the annual competition showcasing students in the prestigious UCLA Producers Program.
Video: Dan Attias, Filmmaker of the Year
Accepting the UCLA Filmmaker Award of the Year award was director Dan Attias MFA ‘82 (”The Sopranos,” “The Wire,” “Big Love”).
Video: Brad Schmidt, director of “Welgunzer”
Part of a series of video interviews by students in the UCLA Department of Film, Television and Digital Media.
Interview: Rachel Olson
Camera: Layla Bozek
Day 8 in Pictures
UCLA Filmmaker of the Year Daniel Attias with Spotlight award-winning filmmaker David Lamps (”The 11th Plague”) and Robert Rosen, dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.
Day 7 in Pictures
Producers Marketplace finalists (L to R) Giacun Caduff, May Lugemwa, Sebastian Mathews and Andrea Johnson.
Day 3 in Video: Design Showcase West
Veteran Costume Designer Deborah Landis shares her enthusiasm about the work of future designers, tips on how to be successful and her passion for exploring the untold stories behind her craft and the history of costume on stage and screen.
Inspired by young talent displayed at the Design Showcase West, Roy Christopher, reveals the Zen of getting the gig, memories of Oscar telecasts with Gil Cates, how to find meaning in the words of the script and the key idea or metaphor of a show.
Design Showcase West keynote speaker, acclaimed sound designer and UCLA Professor Jonathan Deans talks about breaking the unknown rules, how students inspire him, mutual understanding in the world of theater design and knowing no limits in his work with Cirque du Soleil.
Day 5 in Pictures
(L to R) Distinguished Achievement in Screenwriting Award winner Eric Roth with fellow screenwriters Sacha Gervasi and Mike Werb, Showcase Host, with Robert Rosen, dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. See our video interviews with Roth, Gervasi, and Werb.
Tuesday Screenings - Last chance to see 2008 Festival Films at Bridges!!!
Hello one and all. Just in case there are any readers out there who are on the fence about coming to our Tuesday Screenings tonight, please allow me to gently bump you onto the “yes” side of that fence. For one thing, we have another strong program of excellent films - more on that later - and furthermore, the opportunity to see a series of short films at Bridges is not an opportunity we should take for granted.
The hectic schedule of Festival has not allowed me to blog as often as I would have liked. I regret that I was not able to preview our Sunday Screenings, which were well-attended and highly entertaining. When this Festival is over, I will take some time to revisit all the events, such as the famous Animation Prom, which featured some mind-blowing work (and on top of that, the animators really know how to throw a party!). Last night’s Screenwriters’ Showcase was also very entertaining. The variety of quality scripts coming out of the Screenwriting program is impressive, as was the direction of the staged readings. I’m sure I am not the only one who had the experience of watching one these excerpts and thinking, “I want to see that movie!” Just one example is Jennie Malika Evenson’s The Waking, which succeeds as a horror/thriller genre script as well as a bold exploration of relationships and the sacrifices we make in the name of maintaining them.
As nice as the WGA is, let’s get back to the Bridges. Seeing a series of short screened material at any other venue makes me appreciate what an unparalleled viewing experience the Bridges provides. For one thing, the Bridges projectionists are the best in the business. Showing a lineup of short films in an increasingly complex variety of formats is no easy task, and the fact that we are able to “sit back and enjoy the show” at any one of these screenings is a testament to the great skill of the folks in the booth upstairs. The technology is also some of the best around. Since none of our Festival films were shot on nitrate (next year, anyone?), I won’t dwell on the Bridges nitrate capabilities - I’ll just say, if you ever have the chance to see an original nitrate print of Casablanca, do it! - but one thing that has shined through for me this week has been the astounding capabilities for digital screening at the Bridges. At Animation Prom, seeing excellent high-def animation projected from the 4K Sony projector was the closest thing I can imagine to having an image projected directly into my brain. Clearer than clear, I’m telling you.
A couple of quick highlights of tonight’s show, and I’m afraid I’ll have to be brief. Watch Yara Khakbaz’s film Delicates for a stunningly complex and nuanced portrayal of a father and daughter experiencing grief. One thing that impressed me about this film was that it allows us to see the two main characters grieving alone and together. When they are forced to reconcile their two individual experiences of pain, the results are moving and profound. Yara and her actors have created some true and powerful moments; watch the film and see how the father’s mini-”breakdown” is handled and you will see what I mean.
Sharon Hill’s film Help Needed got a lot of votes for Best Script in our Student Awards process, and with good reason. I always enjoy when a film takes an unexpected, satisfying turn, providing one of those rare “Ah-hah!” moments. Well, in the span of six minutes Sharon’s film had me “ah-ha”ing at a rate of about four times per minute. This film is thought-provoking in a most enjoyable way, and I applaud Sharon’s boldness and creativity.
That’s all I have time for right now; come to the screening and see the rest for yourself!
Best,
Raymond Olson
Festival Coordinator
