greg segal, john gallagher and american
idol's mario vasquez.photo by dj nadgar
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Winners, 13th NYC PictureStart Film Festival, June 14-5, 2009
Jury Awards
Best Short Film
Winner, Lost Paradise, Oded Binnun, Mihal Brezis
1st Runner Up, Kweisi, David Sauvage
2nd Runner Up, Refrigerator, Jim Revis
Best Actor
Winner, Kweisi, Kweisi
1st Runner Up, Sodom by the Sea, Mike Cianflone
2nd Runner Up, Lost Paradise, Moris Cohen
Best Actress
Winner, Emma’s 18th Birthday Party, Ching Shen Chang
1st Runner Up, Lost Paradise, Rotem Cohen-Zisman
2nd Runner Up, The Gynaecologist, Camila Bossa
Cinematography
Winner, Emma’s 18th Birthday Party
1st Runner Up, Lost Paradise
2nd Runner Up, Baby Boots, Aaron Munson
Special Jury Award
Baby Boots, Hans Olsen
Best Short Screenplay
Sonny, Julian Stephenson
Audience Awards
Best Short Film
Winner, Refrigerator, Jim Revis
1st Runner Up, Stay True Darling, James Morrison
2nd Runner Up, Trunk, Annie Feld
Best Actor
Winner, Refrigerator, Simon Sorrells
1st Runner Up, Trunk, Steve Smith
2nd Runner Up, Lost Paradise, Moris Cohen
Best Actress
Winner, Stay True Darling, Erin Cunningham
1st Runner Up, Refrigerator, Alyson Weaver
2nd Runner Up, April Day And Night, Dana Hunter
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Isen Robbins Rounds Out PictureStart Jury
To our good fortune, Isen Robbins has agreed to join the jury for the 2009 NYC PictureStart Film Festival. A fixture on the NY indie scene for over ten years, here is Isen's bio...
Isen Robbins founded INTRINSIC VALUE FILMS in 1997, and has produced twenty three feature films, six of them premiering at the Sundance film festival including the 2004 special grand jury prize winner, Brother to Brother. His films have won many awards and have secured numerous nominations, including four Independent Spirit awards nods. Some past films as producers include, XX/XY, Missing in America, The Sticky Fingers of Time, The Skeptic, The Hebrew Hammer, and The Alphabet Killer.
In 2008, Isen Robbins started his second company, Red Giant Media, created to option, develop, finance and produce comic book and science fiction properties for wide theatrical distribution. The Company is based in New York City and Los Angeles. Some of Red Giant properties include: a series of books by Deepak Chopra, titled The Angel is Near and The Lords of Light. The first film based on the series called The 36 is fully financed and is in pre-production. The Company has acquired the Soothsayer Trilogy by best selling sci-fi author Mike Resnick and a book by sci-fi giant Ben Bova. They are also working with acclaimed director Ernest Dickerson on a film called One Verse, along with developing several other original, book, graphic novel based properties as well as other independents.
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Scott Dacko Joins NYC PictureStart Jury as Jury Chair
Scott Dacko, director and producer, will chair the 13th NYC PictureStart Film Festival Jury.
Here is his bio:
Scott Dacko is a screenwriter and filmmaker. His first movie, “The Insurgents,” starred Mary Stuart Masterson, John Shea, Henry Simmons, Michael Mosley and Juliette Marquis. NYC PictureStart Film Festival founder Gregory Segal was a producer on the film.
The Insurgents played festivals world-wide. Variety called it “a brain-teaser that tosses ideologies in a narrative blender alternately set to certainty and ambiguity.” The film won the German Independence Audience Award at the Internationales Filmfest Oldenburg, Best Screenplay at the Palm Beach International Film Festival, and Best Feature at the Long Island International Film Expo.
The Insurgents was jointly released in 2007 by Slamdance Media Group and Allumination FilmWorks and is currently in rotation on Showtime and The Movie Channel.
Scott's next feature, also with Segal, was recently acquired by Richard Saperstein's, The Genre Co. Saperstein is the former head of New Line Cinema and Dimension Films, and producer of “Se7en,” ”Hancock,” and “The Mist,” among many other movies.
Scott has an extensive background in new media, creating web projects, digital video, animation, and online-gaming for clients such as ABC Television, Walt Disney, GQ, Vanity Fair, and the NBA. Scott was well recognized for his work, winning numerous awards for interactive design.
Scott teaches screenwriting and directing at the School of Visual Arts. He has a degree in English from Duke University.
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Screenplay Competition Finalists Announced
The finalists for the short screenplay competition for NYC PIctureStart Film Festival are as follows:
He Knows, Stuart Creque
Investment, William Colella
Sonny, Julian Stephenson
Sunday Drive, Gilbert Stark
Want, Steven Karageanes
The winner will be announced on Day 2 of the Festival.
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PictureStart Locks Venue for 2009 Edition
The 13th NYC PictureStart Film Festival has announced its location for 2009, Slainte (pronounced Slant-cha), a terrific NY venue at 304 Bowery at 1st Street.
Slainte is offering food and drink specials to patrons of the Festival, and street parking is available after 7PM.
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Annie Flocco Joins NYC PictureStart Jury 2009
Annie Flocco, producer (Super Troopers) and professor at New York's School of Visual Arts, has joined the jury for the 2009 NYC PictureStart Film Festival.
Here is Annie's bio.
Annie Flocco has been an integral part of the independent film community in New York City for nearly two decades. She brings hands-on experience in multiple facets of the industry, particularly as a producer and filmmaker.
Annie is currently producing a leading event of New York student film: the School of Visual Arts’ 20th Annual “Dusty” Film Festival and Awards (www.sva.edu/dusty). The Dusty’s, which will be presented in May 2009, showcase emerging filmmakers and animators, launching many in their professional film careers.
Annie has produced, co-produced and/or line produced nine independent films, including the highly successful comedy, Super Troopers (Fox Searchlight) and the award-winning Acts of Worship (Independent Spirit Award Nominee, Sundance Selection). Most recently, she produced the short, My Time with Betty, which won the 2007 IFP/Seattle Spotlight Award (www.bettythemovie.com), and is in development on the forthcoming feature film, Lunchin’.
She also produced and directed the feature documentary, Anne and Tony: Lives Truly Lived, the story of Anne and Tony Fisher, New York philanthropists, who tragically died in 2003.
In addition to her project work, Annie periodically serves as a consultant to producers and filmmakers, initially through her long-term association with Offhollywood, a production and post-production company specializing in digital cinema.
As vice president of film development & acquisitions at CameraPlanet Pictures, Annie headed the development and acquisitions division for feature and documentary films. In this capacity, she helped conceive and launch the documentary film series that teamed the Discovery Network with the award-winning documentarians Barbara Kopple, Peter Gilbert and Michael Apted.
Early in her career, Annie founded Sapphire Blue Productions, a company dedicated to developing independent film projects featuring new writers and directors. The company also sponsored a “First Look” development deal for award-winning students at the School of Visual Arts.
Annie began her film career within the studio system, as a member of Columbia Pictures Entertainment’s Management Associates Program. Dividing her time between New York and London, she managed a range of advertising, publicity, distribution and production assignments at Columbia Tri-Star Films, RCA/Columbia Home Video, Columbia International Television and the company’s Corporate Communications/Investor Relations department.
In addition to her film experience, Annie has a background in advertising, publicity and event planning, and has worked for several high-profile agencies including Young & Rubicam, DDB Needham and Ted, Inc.
Today, Annie also serves as an adjunct professor at New York’s School of Visual Arts. She teaches “Creative Producing”, a well-received course she developed for student filmmakers. A graduate of Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Arts in performing and fine arts, Annie is a member of the Independent Feature Project, New York Women in Film and Television, Film Society of Lincoln Center and Georgetown Entertainment & Media Alliance.
03/09
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NYC PictureStart Open for Entries
NYC PictureStart is now accepting entries for its 13th running, June 14th and 15th, in the short film and short film screenplay categories. Please submit here or through our partner, withoutabox.com.
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Winners are in... 12th PictureStart Film Festival
12th NYC PictureStart Winners and Entries
WINNERS ARE IN:
Jury:
Best Film: Carissa, dir. David Sauvage
2nd Place – Cupcake, Dir. Sean McPhillips (Special Jury Prize)
3rd Place: La Combinaison, Dir. Serge Adam
Best Actor: Benoît Thévenoz, La Combinaison
2nd Place: Ezra Miller, Busted Walk
3rd Place: Mike Consolmagno, Cupcake
Best Actress: Sara Jaye, Leave You in Me
2nd Place: Kinna McInroe, Cupcake
3rd Place: Agnieszka Pekala, Alicja Wonderland
Best Cinematography: La Combinaison
Audience:
Best Film: Busted Walk, dir. Steven Tanenbaum
2nd Place: Carissa, dir. Sean McPhillips
3rd Place: The Maple Leaf, dir. Real Sprague
Best Actor: Ezra Miller, Busted Walk
2nd Place: Markie C., The Maple Leaf
3rd Place: Joe Lisi, Joe Mover
Best Actress: Christina Broccolini, And The Winner Is…
2nd Place: Kinna McInroe, Cupcake
3rd Place: Melissa Wolfklain, Saturday Night At Norms
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Guy Jacobson to Chair PictureStart Jury June 2 and 3rd
Guy Jacobson, a former New York attorney and investment banker, serves as President of Priority Films. Over the past twenty years, he has produced television programs, written and published 15 books, and written numerous newspaper and magazine articles. Holly, the highly acclaimed feature film currently in theaters, is his seventh screenplay. Three of Mr. Jacobson's screenplays were co-written with two-time Academy Award Nominee Julian Chagrin.
HOLLY stars Ron Livingston (Sex and the City, Office Space), Chris Penn (Reservoir Dogs; in his last screen performance), Virginie Ledoyen (The Beach, 8 Women); and Udo Kier (Dogville, Dancer in the Dark).
Patrick (Ron Livingston), an American card shark and dealer of stolen artifacts, has been 'comfortably numb' in Cambodia for years, when he encounters Holly (Thuy Nguyen), a 12-year-old Vietnamese girl, in the K11 red light village. The girl has been sold by her impoverished family and smuggled across the border to work as a prostitute. Holly's virginity makes her a lucrative prize, and when she is sold to a child trafficker, Patrick embarks on a frantic search through both the beautiful and sordid faces of the country, in an attempt to bring her to safety.
Producers Guy Jacobson and Adi Ezroni took their lives in their own hands when they moved ahead with production on this highly acclaimed film. They were threatened many times by the government, were held at gunpoint on more than one occasion and Ms. Ezroni was held hostage for two weeks. As a result of the film, they have established a global human rights campaign titled Redlight Children that aims to reduce the number of children sold and trafficked to prostitution each year.
Priority Films is a cutting edge 'micro studio' with a focus on low budget, high quality, commercial films. The company has distribution and marketing arms to support our strong grassroots approach to its films.
It is currently in the midst of production and development of a slate of 30 new projects under its Film Fund. Session, directed by 5 time Israeli Academy Award winning Director, Haim Bouzaglo, is a psychological thriller starring Steven Bouer, Tom Bower, Bar Rafaeli, and Liron Livo. The film is in final post production stages. Currently in development, Rachel was written by Academy Award nominated Screenwriter, Anna Thomas (“Frida,” “El Norte”), and is a tragic love story based on the life of revolutionary pioneer and inluential poet, Rachel Bluwstein.
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Jayce Bartok joins PictureStart Jury
After appearing in numerous films and television shows as an actor, most notably Richard Linklater's "Suburbia", John Frankenheimer's "Andersonville" , Tom McCarthy's "The Station Agent" and Georgia Lee’s “Red Doors”, Jayce Bartok was inspired to write and direct, "Stricken", a short film starring Hayley Mills which made its world premiere at the 2005 Vail Film Festival. Eager to embark on a larger project, he produced and directed with his wife Tiffany, "Altered By Elvis", a feature length documentary about lives permanently changed, for better or worse, by the King of Rock 'n Roll. "Altered By Elvis" premiered at the 2006 Memphis Film Festival and won Best Documentary at the 2006 California Independent Film Festival.
"The Cake Eaters", Jayce's deeply personal feature screenplay debut (in which he plays the part of Guy), was directed by Mary Stuart Masterson and premiered at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. The film stars Bruce Dern, Kristen Stewart, and Aaron Stanford, and will be released in early 2009. He has written three more screenplays currently in development including, “Livingston Avenue”, “Tiny Dancer” (directed by Melissa Joan Hart) and “Dream Country” (directed by Will Geiger), adapted from the acclaimed novel by Luanne Rice. In addition, Jayce is proud to be the voice of Robert Redford’s, “The Sundance Channel”, and to have just completed the soon-to-be-released horror film, “Trapped Ashes”, and “Trainwreck: My Life As An Idiot” starring Sean Williams Scott.
With one produced feature script and an acclaimed documentary under his belt, Jayce steps into the realm of feature directing with his screenplay, “Red River”, a dark thriller set in Wisconsin about a seemingly normal family involved in a series of strange drownings.
Jayce currently resides in Brooklyn, New York with his wife Tiffany, and is repped by David Lewis at Don Buchwald & Associates and Jackie Eckhouse at Sloss Law.
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Terry Leonard Joins PictureStart Jury
TERRY LEONARD has produced a number of indie films. His career started with the short "Climbing Miss Sophie" which played at Sundance and Tribeca Film Festivals and winning awards from the DGA and many film festivals. His feature film success started with "Virgin" starring Robin Wright-Penn, which was nominated for two Independent Spirit Award and had a small theatrical release and ³Particles of Truth² which won numerous awards and had a nice theatrical run ... In October 2006 Leonard wrapped principal photography on a feature film adaptation of the award-winning novel Dream Boy², shot on location in Louisiana and premiered at the 2008 Berlin International Film Festival. Leonard has premiered numerous films at the Sundance Film Festival, including in 2007 “Hounddog” starring Dakota Fanning premiered and was the most talked about film at the festival. “Hounddog” is coming to 500 screens on July 18th, 2008 via the distribution company the Empire Film Group. Leonard also had "Stephanie Daley" premier at Sundance in 2006 starring Amber Tamblyn, Tilda Swinton and Timothy Hutton hit theaters in July of 2007 and was critically acclaimed also winning Best Screenplay at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006 and Amber Tamblyn was nominated for best actress at the 2007 Independent Spirit Awards for her remarkable performance ... Leonard is currently in postproduction on his feature, ³Sordid Things² and his feature ³Frost² starring Jason Behr & Monet Mazur premiered at the 2008 Slamdance Film Festival and then played at the GenArt Film Festival in 2008. In March of 2008 a film Leonard produced called “Backseat” will be premier in 5 cities in the US via Landmark Theaters and Truly Indie. Leonard currently has 3 new features that will start principal photography in second have of 2008. When Leonard is not working on features he also produces commercials and music videos independently. He is currently splits his time between New York City, Denver and Los Angeles developing a new slate of films for a new production company he will be opening in the winter of 2008.
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LINEUP SET FOR 12th NYC PictureStart Film Festival
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS: (Screening times randomized for fairness in audience voting)
Day One
Night #1
Joe Mover, (16m), Drama, dir. Lev Gorn, Gabe Fazio
Murdering Mama's Boy (17m) Drama, dir. Katherine Cunningham-Eves
Whirleybird (12m) Experimental, dir. Danielle Corches
October 19, 2007 - October 22, 2007 (17m), Drama, dir. Sebastian Pardo
Cupcake (7m), Comedy, dir. Sean McPhillips
Leave You In Me (19m), Drama, dir. Dutch Doscher
27,000 Days (10m), Experimental, dir. Naveen Singh
Busted Walk (13m), Drama, dir. Steven Tanenbaum
Getting Out (5m), Animation/Horror, dir. Ian Topple
Night #2
And the Wnner Is... (5m), Comedy, dir. John Andrew Gallagher
La Combinaison (12m), Thriller, dir. Serge Adam
Saturday Night At Norms (25m), Musical, Dir. Kellen Blair
The Maple Leaf (17m), Drama/Thriller, Dir. Real Sprague
Carissa (22m), Documentary, Dir. David Sauvage
Alicja Wonderland (20m), Thriller, Dir. Martin Gauvreau
And an encore showing of the Grand Jury Prize Winner, Best Short Film, from the 11th NYC PictureStart Film Festival
Son (17:30) drama, dir. Daniel Mulloy, drama
SCRIPT FINALISTS (Announcement of Winner Only):
The Invisible Detective in Pain Au Chocolat , Adam Wright
The Masked Man, Dan Smith
Knocksville, Josef Lemoine
Procession, Beth Spitalny
Stranger, Jennifer Razon
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Winners get STARTED at PictureStart Film Festival
Jury:
Best Film: Son, dir. Daniel Mulloy
Best Actor: Peter Pasco, Tres
Best Actress: Viktoriya Tolstoganova, Pismo (English title: The Letter)
Best Cinematography: United We Stand, Giorgio Scall, Cinematographer
Special Jury Prize for Outstanding Vision: Everything Will Be OK
dir. Don Hertzfeldt
Audience:
Best Film: Modern Times, dir. Frank Dauro
audience award runnerups:
best film #2: everything will be ok
best film #3: dick & jane
Best Actor: James Gilmartin, Modern Times
Best Actress: Meissa Hampton, Modern Times
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PictureStart heads to new venue
After two years at Link, NYC PictureStart has relocated festivities to Retreat, 37 W. 17th St. between 5th and 6th Avenues. Special thanks to Emily Turner as our special festival "realtor."
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Picturestart Adds Script Competition
Enterting its 11th Season, the NYC PictureStart Film Festival has created the PictureStart short film script competition. Details to follow.
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Credits
NYC PictureStart Film Festival
Founder/Director: Gregory Segal
Event Planner: Emily Turner and Nick Chakwin
Technical Director: John Sawyer
Hosted by: Adi Ortner
Very Special Thanks
Revel Film/Scott Dacko
B Side Entertainment
Rene Kamstra
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