The Berkshires are buzzing with film and media. WIFVNE recently travelled to Holyoke, MA to attend the 2nd annual Media Exchange sponsored by the Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative (BFMC) on October 23. In addition to the beautiful autumn scenery, WIFVNE  encountered a vibrant and diverse community of media makers working on the cutting edge of media. Featuring a diverse series of panels and workshops of interest to the film and video community as well as the business community, The Media Exchange had something for everyone interested in making media in Massachusetts and beyond.

The highlight of the day long event was the presentation by keynote speaker Cynthia Wade, http://www.cynthiawade.com/ the Academy Award-winning Berkshires-based filmmaker. Wade won the Oscar for her short documentary “Freeheld”, the story of a New Jersey police officer who was diagnosed with cancer and wanted to give her benefits to her same-sex partner. The documentary has been turned into a motion picture of the same name, starring Julianne Moore and Ellen Page, which opened nationally on October 16th. Wade is producer of that venture.

Wade, a dynamic presenter, spoke about her beginnings as a filmmaker at Smith College and her dedicated approach to filmmaking, working on a variety of projects such as “Freeheld” which she said she would “take a bullet in the heart for” and also projects for hire, with equal determination and passion.

Other panels featured entertainment lawyer, Fred Fierst who, with a group of attorneys and filmmakers, discussed every legal aspect of getting a project done – from concept to script, to raising the funding, to attaching cast and crew and dealing with the unions, to negotiating and closing the distribution deal, tax credits, and gap financing. Another panel for filmmakers, “Funding Your Film” included leaders in crowdfunding and grants.

A “Local Success Stories” panel focused on industry professionals living and working in the Berkshire region. Participants included Diego Ungaro, Director of “Bob and the Trees” which was featured at Sundance this year as well as won the Grand Prize at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Craig Crawford of Cadence Visual Effects whose work can be seen on “Game of Thrones” and Steve Porter of Porterhouse Media, whose mash-ups have promoted everything from breakfast cereal to Good Morning America.

“We also want our businesses to look to our local talent for their projects instead of going out-of-state to New York City or Los Angeles,” said BFMC Executive Director, Diane Pearlman.

The BFMC a nonprofit organization, is “a creative economic engine that supports production and workforce development in Western Massachusetts. BFMC develops educational and workforce enrichment courses, offers networking events for industry professionals, acts as a resource for visiting productions, creates jobs within our communities in the film industry and provides an on- line production guide and locations database as a resource for filmmakers,” according to press materials.

WIFVNE hopes to partner with the BFMC in events for media makers, bringing the eastern and western Massachusetts media communities closer together.

For more information about  the BFMC visit the website : www.berkshirefilm.org or call their office 413.528.4223.

Still from: Atlit

Atlit (2014) Directed by Shirel Alitay

1995. Three French sisters reunite in the house where they spent childhood summers, in Atlit, Israel. As the sisters struggle with the decision to sell their deceased parents’ home, childhood dynamics return —  along with apparitions of their parents. With the tragic assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, the siblings’ relationship and conversations shift entirely. Trailer for Atlit.

Screens 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 7 at the Coolidge Corner Theatre and 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14 at the MFA. At the MFA on Nov. 14, please use the State Street Corporation Fenway Entrance.

 

Still from: Nan Goldin: I Remember Your Face

Nan Goldin: I Remember Your Face (2013) Directed by Sabine Lidl

        Like Goldin’s photographs, Nan Goldin: I Remember Your Face is at once gritty, intimate, and exceptionally cool. When Massachusetts native Nan Goldin made her debut in the 1970s she was one of the first photographers to turn her camera on herself and the people closest to her. In Goldin’s case this was a “family” of bohemians — artists, club kids, drug users, and transvestites. Now, forty years later, the film follows her as she meets old friends and lovers, revealing personal stories about her life as an artist.  Trailer for Nan Goldin: I Remember Your Face.

Screens 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14, Institute of Contemporary Art

 

Still from: On the Banks of the Tigris

On the Banks of the Tigris: The Hidden Story of Iraqi Music (2015) Directed by Marsha Emerman

      After Majid Shokor left Iraq for Australia, he began to research the classic Iraqi songs from his childhood, and was surprised to learn that most of the songs were composed by Jews who had left Baghdad for Israel in the early 1950s. Shokor sets off to meet the Jews who shaped Iraq’s musical history and embarks on a journey to bring together musicians of different faiths – Jewish, Muslim, and Christian – who share his nostalgia for these well-known tunes.  Trailer for On the Banks of the Tigris: The Hidden Story of Iraqi Music.

Screens 8:45 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14, MFA

Tickets to all films can be purchased through the Boston Jewish Film Festival website:

Buy Tickets!

An engaging presentation of short films directed by three women filmmakers drew a packed  crowd of women and men to The Arts at the Armory Cafe on September 30th. Co-sponsored by Women in Film and Video New England (WIFVNE) and Harvard  Square Script Writers (HSSW), the event featured films by Marie Emmanuelle Hartness, Sara X Robin, and Sari Gagnon, founder of the Women Only project.  

Marie Emmanuelle Hartness

Hartness’s film After Ella used stark black and white imagery to examine how an artist might struggle to reconstruct her life after the death of her beloved sister and artistic partner.  It was the New England finalist in the International Women in Film competition for 2015 and was selected for the Short Film Corner at Cannes.  A surrealistic look at grief and denial, the film was designed to create “a near autistic world” according to Hartness. The heroine grows increasingly isolated from her environment as she simultaneously works to heal herself through the tools of both photography and sculpture.  

Robin’s Am I Not Your Girl? examines what can go horribly wrong on your wedding day, even when you might expect it.  Urged on by a friend after they failed to tell the “the same story in a 99 second film competition,” Robin cast her friend as the bride-to-be and the rest became history.  Working on a micro budget, they shot entirely in her tiny apartment with a mix of professional and non-professional actors.  The film, originally recorded in Wiesbaden Germany,  has been shown in festivals all over the world and its surprise ending drew loud applause from the audience.

 

Sara X. Robin, and Sari Gagnon

Gagnon’s film Skin and Bones, directed, shot, and cast through the Women Only project, explores the question of body image in a society where even young girls are taught that one “can never be too thin,” a quote originally attributed to the Duchess of Windsor.  Gagnon explained how this collaborative of women filmmakers, founded in January of 2015 by Counterfeit Cow Productions in western MA, chose five shorts to make from a pool of 64 submissions.  Skin and Bones stars young actress, Rebecca Klein as she starves herself toward success, aided and abetted by a cast of weight obsessed professionals.      

“These three filmmakers were a true inspiration. They showed how determination and creativity can result in a fantastic product,” observed Harvard Square Script Writer moderator, Genine Tillotson.  “With very little money but true vision they each created a powerful story that spoke to issues near to women’s hearts.”

The excitement in the audience was palpable, with women and men equally appreciative of the opportunity to view and discuss stories with a female focus made by female directors.  “I think we take for granted that, at their core, so many stories are about men or are told from a man’s perspective,” remarked Tillotson, “For me, personally, I found this change in focus completely refreshing.”

Upcoming events include an informational evening with entertainment lawyers discussing key legal aspects of filmmaking; a Crowdfunding presentation;  and a completely unique film contest called “Flicks4Chicks” which will launch on Valentine’s Day, 2016.

Still from Villa Touma

Women in Film and Video New England (WIFVNE) is co-sponsoring the screening of three films made by emerging women filmmakers at the upcoming 9th annual Boston Palestine Film Festival (BPFF) which runs from October 16-25, 2015 at five different venues in and around Boston.  For ticket and other information visit the BPFF website: http://www.bostonpalestinefilmfest.org/about/

The WIFVNE co-sponsored films are:

Trip Along Exodus (2014), Documentary Feature, by Hind Shoufani screens Saturday, October 17 at 2:30 pm at the MFA.

Synopsis: This film explores the last 70 years of Palestinian politics seen through the prism of the life of the filmmaker’s father, Dr. Elias Shoufani, a leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization and an academic and leftist intellectual who was one of the leaders of the opposition to Arafat within Fatah for 20 years. {Born in Ma’liya in the Galilee and educated at the Hebrew University and Princeton, the multilingual and erudite Dr. Shoufani was also the Arab world’s leading analyst of Israeli affairs for more than a generation. His opposition to policies meant to lead toward a two-state solution was grounded in his political clarity and prescience about the direction in which Israel was headed and his understanding that this would never, in fact, be allowed to be realized.} To try and understand his choice to give up a tenured position at a US university and join the underground PLO in Beirut, the filmmaker made a documentary that traced her family’s evolution through Palestine’s 20th century history, starting in 1948. The film recreates Palestinian history using archive, family photos/8mm films, old photos, cartoons, animation, macro-photography footage, worldwide interviews, and multimedia formats in a video-art style documentary—a personal and political memoir. The trip for information to solve the mystery of what her father did in his life took the filmmaker five years hunting down archives and filming in seven different cities. But it finally enabled her to come to an understanding of where she came from and helped shape her life choices thereafter. This documentary won the Best Non-European documentary, European Independent Film Festival, Paris 2015 Here is the film trailer.  Filmmaker Hind Shoufani, will be in attendance and will talk with audience post-screening.

 

This is My Land (2014) Documentary Feature, by Tamara Erde screens Tuesday, October 20th at 7 pm at The Paramount Center, as part of the Emerson Bright Lights Screening Series.

Synopsis: How do the Palestinian and Israeli (Arab and Jewish) education systems teach the history of their nations? This Is My Land follows several Israeli and Palestinian teachers over one academic year in schools set in Jerusalem, Northern Israel, Nablus, Ramallah, and a settlement. The film interweaves the stories of the teachers and their classes in parallel, revealing the different and sometimes opposing universes of the teachers and their schools. Through observing their exchanges and confrontations with students, debates with the ministry’s curriculum, and its restrictions, viewers gain an intimate glimpse into the profound and long-lasting effect that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict transmits to the next generation.  Here is the film trailer.  Skype discussion with Director Tamara Erde to follow.

 

Villa Touma (2014), Narrative Feature, by Suha Arraf screens on Friday, October 23 at the MFA at 7 pm.

Synopsis: Three unmarried aristocratic Palestinian Christian sisters from Ramallah have been unable to come to terms with the new reality of occupation and the mass migration of Palestine’s aristocracy. In order to survive, they lock themselves away in their villa, shutting out the real world and clinging desperately to the nostalgia of their former glory. One day, their orphaned teenaged niece, Badia, walks into their lives. Her arrival unleashes a torrent of family secrets and long-held grudges, turning their fossilized world upside down. Oppressive social, religious, and political tensions converge in this absorbing family drama.

The debut drama feature film from the award-winning filmmaker Suha Arraf (Scriptwriter, The Syrian Bride, The Lemon Tree; director, Women of Hamas, Hardball, Good Morning Jerusalem)

Here is the film trailer. This is one of the Featured Films this year, and In addition to the female director, the film has an all-female cast.

 

 

Mark your calendars for another WIFVNE & HSSW co-sponsored workshop:

PITCHING IT! with producer/talent agent Marilyn Atlas
Workshop and Pitch Session

Saturday, October 10th 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Lutheran University Church
66 Winthrop St.
Cambridge, MA – in the heart of Harvard Square.

You’ve written a great screenplay.  It’s won awards or placed well in highly competitive contests.  You believe it is ready for “prime time.”  But how do you pitch it? In this 2 1/2 hour workshop, you’ll learn the do’s and don’ts from entertainment veteran, Marilyn Atlas.  Enrollment is limited to 20.  Deadline for sign-ups is Tuesday, October 6th at 5pm.

$45.00 for non-members: SIGN UP HERE
$40.00 for members of HSSW or WIFVNE: SIGN UP HERE

What students will learn: 

1)  What to include and not include in your pitch 

2)  Adapting your pitch to the audience you’re pitching to 

3)  Mistakes that writers make when pitching 

4)  Understanding the market and projects worthy of pitching 

5)  Importance of the hook 

6)  Refining your pitch.   How to distill the essence of your story into short, sharp, easily digestible bite-size parts.  
Know the difference between a log-line, an elevator pitch, and a 10-15 minute pitch. Learn the importance of tailoring your pitch depending on who you’re pitching to. Discover effective  buzzwords to use in a pitch.

Marilyn will work with brave volunteers to tighten and reveal the idiosyncratic narrative thrust of your story… assuming there is one!

About Marilyn:

An award-winning producer and personal manager of actors and writers, Marilyn R. Atlas is equally at home in the worlds of film, television, and live theater. Among her credits as film producer are Real Women Have Curves for HBO,A Certain Desire, starring Sam Waterston, and Echoes, which won the Gold Award at the Texas International Film Festival. In addition to producing a variety of programming for the cable/ pay TV market, Marilyn served as a production consultant on the film Call Me.

Marilyn is a member of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers. She has spoken at their Writers’ and Producers’ retreats, and the DGA-sponsored LA Asian Film Festival, as well as various other symposia for the Sherman Oaks Experimental College. Additionally, she was a guest lecturer in the Writing Program at USC for several years, where she taught a class on creating three-dimensional, non-stereotypical characters.

Her clients have appeared in shows such as Star Trek, Fringe, Pretty Little Liars, 90210, Revenge, Hart of Dixie,NCIS:LA, True Blood, Dexter, Chuck, Castle, and Criminal Minds. In addition, her clients have worked on feature films such as Holes, Transformers, and Ted 2.

Recently, Marilyn has been developing a miniseries and TV pilot based on the Gary Phillips series of novels featuring Martha Chainey. Her Lifetime movie The Choking Game, based on the YA book by Diana Lopez, aired in summer 2014 and she also spoke at the 2014 International Women’s Writer Festival in Italy.

Marilyn is the co-author of a screenwriting guide called Dating Your Character, an organic approach to character creation, slated for Stairway Press’s early 2016 catalog. She is also featured in the book Write Now! from Penguin/Tarcher.

The seventh annual “Points North Documentary Forum”, a unique feature  of the Camden International Film Festival (CIFF) delivered high quality master classes, workshops and panel presentations for filmmakers and film enthusiasts  from across New England and the U.S.

The three day forum took place from September 17^th to 20^th  in the scenic midcoast Maine towns of Camden, Rockport and Rockland. The forum featured masterclasses with noted documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney,whose intriguing documentary about Scientology “Going Clear” screened at the CIFF and David Teague, editor of “Cutie and the Boxer,” a documentary about two long married Japanese artists and their personal and artistic dilemmas.

One of the highlights of the forum was the sixth annual “Documentary Pitch” session featuring the work of six documentary teams from across the U.S., presented to a panel of 12 documentary experts. “Greywater”
a documentary about the challenges facing a middle aged mixed martial arts fighter, now in production and directed and produced  by Jeff Unay, took top honors

Seminars and workshops also included crowdfunding expert and CEO  of the crowdfunding and distribution platform “Seed and Spark, Emily Best; Vimeo Audience Development Expert Sam Morill and Christopher Allen of Union Docs, who discussed “Living Los Sures,” a multimedia project produced by 72 artists over the course of five years.

New this year was a special presentation of journalistic style documentary shorts from across the globe, “The New News: Documentary Journalism Showcase.” The screenings were followed by a panel discussion about the role of documentaries in news organizations with representatives of The New York Times Op Ed Docs; The Guardian and Frontline, moderated by Lauren Pabst of the Mac Arthur Foundation.

– Marilyn Pennell

Arts at the Armory Cafe, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville, MA
Wednesday, September 30th 7:00 – 9:30 p.m.
Free parking behind building, food and beverages for sale
Donation $20.00 for non-members $15.00 for WIFV members and members of co-sponsor Harvard Square Script Writers
Introductory All-Student Rate $10.00
RSVP to our Meetup Group Event

Can short format films be the start of something bigger and better?  Or are they an often under-appreciated art form in their own right? Three women filmmakers will present their award-winning, innovative shorts and discuss what inspired them and how this format can lead to other projects of varying lengths and topics.

Featured:

At The Line directed by Sari Gagnon — A lesbian couple struggle over whether to stay in the closet or come out and jeopardize their careers in college basketball. This short is part of a feature length play of the same title, written by Lynne S. Brandon, produced by Rita Pirozkhov and created in collaboration with the Women Only Project. http://gagnonsari.wix.com/sarigagnon

After Ella written and directed by Marie Emmanuelle Hartness —  selected for the Short Film Corner at the Cannes International Film Festival & finalist from New England in the 2015 Women in Film and Television International (WIFTI) Short Film Showcase contest. Hope, a photographer, begins receiving texts messages from her sister Ella.  There is only one issue — she is recently deceased.http://www.maiema.com/

Am I Not Your Girl? written and directed by Sara X Robin premiered at the 2014 Berlin Independent Film Festival, and has been shown in Film Festivals in over a dozen countries.  On the morning of her wedding, Lena wonders if it can possibly be worth it, given all of the difficulties.  http://saraxrobin.com/

co-sponsored by:

 

 

Sari Gagnon

Marie Emannuelle Hartness

Sara X. Robin

We are thrilled to share our 35th Anniversary Article in the September issue of IMAGINE Magazine.  The article can be viewed below in this post (click to zoom), or at this link: http://emag.imaginenews.com/index.aspx?issue=issue74&page=17

WIFVNE Celebrates 35th Anniversary

WIFVNE is grateful to Carol Patton, Publisher of IMAGINE Magazine, for her unwavering support of our organization and our members throughout the years.  “IMAGINE is in its 14th year of publication for another exhilarating year watching, nourishing, and growing the industry and celebrating the work in the Northeast. IMAGINE supports itself and its work through advertising and subscriptions.” SUBSCRIBE HERE:  http://imaginenews.com/subscribe/

We are thrilled to share our WIFVNE 2015 and Chapter History Article in the August issue of IMAGINE Magazine.  The article can be viewed below in this post (click to zoom), or at this link: http://emag.imaginenews.com/index.aspx?issue=issue73&page=11

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WIFVNE is grateful to Carol Patton, Publisher of IMAGINE Magazine, for her unwavering support of our organization and our members throughout the years.  “IMAGINE is in its 14th year of publication for another exhilarating year watching, nourishing, and growing the industry and celebrating the work in the Northeast. IMAGINE supports itself and its work through advertising and subscriptions.” SUBSCRIBE HERE:  http://imaginenews.com/subscribe/

The Call for Entries to the 2016 WIFTI Short Film Showcase is open!

Women In Film & Television Short Film Showcase (“WIFTI Short-Case”) is a powerful demonstration of our members’ creativity, vision, and artistry. Founded in 2004, the Showcase presents selected films from WIFTI Chapters around the world; some of the recent Showcase short films have been nominated for Academy Awards received distribution deals and garnered other recognition globally.  WIFTI encourages unique points of view and storytelling that focus on subjects/issues that
concern women.

Women In Film and Television International (WIFTI) is a global network comprised of over forty Women In Film Chapters worldwide with over 10,000 members, dedicated to advancing professional development and achievement for women working in all areas of film, video
and digital media.

CASH prizes of $750 for each award: Best of Narration, Best of Documentary, Best of Animation. These prizes will be awarded to the director. WIFTI Producers & WIFTI Selection Committee will determine Final Selection and select a film from WIFTI Chapters.

2016 Deadlines:
September 1, 2015:  Early Submission
October 15 2015:      Deadline for Entries
January 8 2016:        Final Short-Case Announced
February 8 2016:      Jury Selection of Award Winners
March 8 2016:           WIFTI Short-Case Screenings

SUBMISSION PROCESS AND REQUIREMENTS:
1) Upload your video to VIMEO, with a secured, protected password for use of WIFTI Short-Case Producers, Jury and Chapter representatives ONLY.

2) Click here and complete the Submission Form

3) Email 2 photos (jpeg only): 1 color photo of the director and 1 color photo of production such as poster or filmgrab.

– Entrants must be a current member of WIFVNE or another WIFTI Chapter
– Entry Project running time up to 15 minutes
– Entry Project must be less than two years old
– Must have a woman director, plus women in two other key positions
– Early Submission/Preliminary Review: September 1 (This rough cut does not need subtitles. If requested, the filmmaker will receive written feedback from WIFTI Producers and can resubmit by Final Deadline.)
–  Submit by Final Deadline October 15 (subtitled in English)
–  Contact wiftishowcase@gmail.com, if you have questions or require further information.

FAQ’s About WIFTI Short-Case:

How long has WIFTI presented the Showcase?
This is the 11th Anniversary of the Showcase and celebrated on International Women’s Day, March 8 by WIFTI Chapters all over the world.

Will there be a Jury?
Finalists of WIFTI Short-Case will be judged by an international Jury of professionals in the industry, including the WIFTI Producers. The selection process will involve an evaluation of all films in their entirety.

When will the Final Short-Case be shown?
The Final Selection and the award-winning films will be presented by each chapter on March 8th and subsequent screenings throughout the year.

 

STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFO ON A WIFVNE HOSTED, FALL 2015 SCREENING OF LAST YEAR’S SHOWCASE WINNERS!
2015WIFTIShortcaseFinalists