PRESS RELEASES

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VISIONFEST 11 line-up unveils 2 red carpet ‘world premieres’, numerous New York exclusives, and a new ‘nominations’ format for the festival’s awards

Fest’s own shorts initiative, 5x5 NY State of Mind Digital Project, wraps!

VISIONFEST announces the partial line-up for its 11th annual run featuring several New York Premieres and an experimental feature about ‘everything’

Fest’s own shorts initiative, 5x5 NY State of Mind Digital Project, ready to roll!

New York City, (April 26, 2011) – VISIONFEST 11: The Other Festival (VF11), June 22-26, 2011, at Tribeca Cinemas (corner of Varick and Laight streets), has announced its partial line-up for the 2011 Independent Vision Showcase.  A full list of ‘official selections’ will be made public on May 10th, but fest organizers have decided to reveal some titles already garnering buzz to be featured at this year’s event.

Following in the footsteps of what has become a festival tradition, the Opening Night Selection will be the New York premiere of a New York-based narrative feature:  FIGHTING FISH by Annette Apitz, which stars Val Emmich (Ugly Betty; 30 Rock), Anna Moore (Criminal Minds; Law & Order: CI), and Halley Feiffer (Mildred Pierce; The Squid and the Whale).  Festival producer, Jana Frindtova, defined the coming of age family drama as a “small indie film, set in a small town, but with a story that has a huge heart.”

For the festival’s Centerpiece Screening, the VF committee has selected THE CASSEROLE CLUB, by award-winning director, Steve Balderson, who returns to VF for the third time in six years.   CASSEROLE CLUB boasts a cast of familiar faces and iconic names, including former Backstreet Boys crooner, Kevin Scott Richardson, and frequent Balderson star, Susan Traylor (Greenberg).  Ms. Traylor’s performance was described as “a perfect gem in an ensemble of diamonds,” by VF co-director, Bruno Derlin, who added that “CASSEROLE CLUB is the director’s best work to date.  We’ve bestowed awards on two of his previous films, but Mr. Balderson never ceases to impress and amaze us with his prolific work.” 

Official Closing Night Selection is Conrad Jackson’s FALLING OVERNIGHT, starring Parker Croft (who also co-wrote the film) and Emilia Zoryan (My Trip To The Dark Side).  The film, which is quickly earning formidable buzz as a film festival circuit favorite, will make its New York Premiere at VF.  Festival co-director, Frank Lewallen, described the bittersweet drama as a “beautiful love story,” adding that “programming the film as a closing night entry will ensure that the festival ends on a high note, leaving audiences with something they’re certainly not going to forget.”

Another narrative feature already slated in a specific time slot is STAGS, by Jamie Greenberg, a comedy about four seasoned New York bachelors facing tragedy, sex, and 'The Thing Before The Thing.'  STAGS will unveil for the first time in New York on June 24th.  In a bold and unprecedented move, VF organizers have reserved a Saturday night slot (June 25th) for a feature length experimental film called ONTOLOGICA! or A Brief Explanation of Absolutely Everything that is Known about Absolutely Everything, by Skylar Gordon, a film that is completely unlike anything that has ever been created before, and whose title is actually its synopsis.

The 2011 5x5 NEW YORK STATE OF MIND DIGITAL PROJECT, which consists of an exclusive VF initiative featuring 5 ‘world premiere’ digital shorts to be unspooled on the final evening of the festival, is ready to start rolling on May 14, 2011, when the first short will commence principal photography.  This year’s edition has the distinction of being a game changer as, for the first time since its inception in 2003, the selected filmmakers (who are all VF alumni), will be working from original scripts pulled from the “winners” of the festival’s first Short Script Competition, sponsored by InkTip.com.  The maiden experiment is designed to showcase the finished, collaborative work of two individuals (writer & director) who don’t know one another and have never even met, but are coming together to realize an artistic vision that will immortalize their collective ‘New York State of Mind.’  Here is this year’s winning line-up:

EASY PREY by Tara Parian, will be directed by Jeremiah Kipp.
IT'S NOT SATURDAY by Annette Beatrice, will be directed by Martha Pinson.
IT WAS A GIRL by Max King, will be directed by Mickey Pacula.
SANTA'S LITTLE HELPER by Sara Bovolenta, will be directed by Maggie Low.
SO AWKWARD by Matthew Stevens, will be directed by Jef Taylor.

Standing room only at Tribeca Cinemas as VISIONFEST 10 unveiled its 5x5 NY State of Mind Digital Project and Ron Farrar Brown’s CONSENT led award winners’ pack with 3 statuettes at VISIONFEST 10 Awards

Tim VandeSteeg’s MY RUN was the year’s top doc; Stephen Bell’s FSU Thesis film THE QUARTERING ACT, year’s Outstanding Short Subject; MISS OHIO and CHRISTINA ‘belles of the ball’ crowned with 2 statuettes apiece

Acting honors bestowed upon Stephen Lang (AVATAR) for his performance in CHRISTINA;
Troian Bellisario & Peter Vack (Jack Nance Award) singled out for their work in CONSENT
Matt Wheeler’s HOW TO LEAVE YOUR LOVER, winner of the Feature Screenwriting Competition

New York City, (June 28, 2010) – VISIONFEST 10:The Other Festival, subtitled ‘VFX’ this year in honor of its tenth anniversary run, ended its 2010 edition last night with a ‘standing room only’ crowd at Tribeca Cinemas, in NYC.  The event held its Independent Vision Awards ceremony and presented the “world premiere” screening of its 5x5 NY STATE OF MIND DIGITAL PROJECT, a collection of 5 digital shorts, created by 5 NY-based filmmakers over the course of 5 days.  The very ambitious Project this year consisted of the following shorts (in screening order):

Alexandra Roxo’s BEMVINDO, Ari Taub’s FAIRIES FATALE, Elizabeth Van Meter’s DAVID, Justin Sullivan’s ONE LAST QUESTION, and Nyle Cavazos Garcia’s MARY’S JOURNAL.  All five filmmakers, along with members of their respective cast and crew, were present to enjoy the sustained applause and standing ovation, which also wrapped the evening’s proceedings, just before the final 2010 ‘farewell’ party held in the adjacent Tribeca Lounge.

The awards ceremony, hosted by VF10 co-director, Bruno Derlin, was integrated with the 5x5 program, handing out certificates and statuettes at various intervals between the digital shorts.  Ron Farrar Brown’s CONSENT was the big winner with 3 awards, including the festival’s top “Filmmaker of the Year” Domani Vision Award, the Jack Nance Award for Breakthrough Performance (which went to Peter Vack), and the female lead acting award, presented to very promising newcomer, Troian Bellisario.  The WWII drama CHRISTINA picked up awards for its writer-director, Larry Brand, and lead actor, Stephen Lang (recently seen in the Oscar winning epic, AVATAR).  Another narrative feature crowned with two awards was MISS OHIO, which won honors for its director, Gregory Fitzsimmons (also producer), and co-producer, James Flynn.

DESERT SON’s James Mann, who won the Abe Schrager Award for Cinematography and STUCK! composer, Rob Kleiner, a winner for his original score, rounded out the list, marking the first time in VF history that all eligible narrative features in the line-up received awards.

On the documentary front, Tim VandeSteeg’s MY RUN, a darling of the film festival circuit, with a slew of awards already on its mantle, took home top honors for ‘long form’ doc, while David Binder’s CALLING MY CHILDREN was singled out as the ‘short form’ winner.  Todd Drezner’s LOVING LAMPPOSTS, which was presented as a benefit screening with proceeds going to the Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation, a National Autism Organization, won the annual Social Consciousness award.

Florida State University was represented at VF by the winner of Outstanding Achievement in Short Subject Filmmaking, which saw the triumph of Stephen Bell’s WWII short, THE QUARTERING ACT.  While another student thesis project, CONTRITION, landed a “Most Promising Filmmaker” certificate for its writer-director, Jason Begue, from New York’s School of Visual Arts.  The 35mm short, BANANA BREAD by Barton Landsman, received the award for Outstanding Achievement in Editing, which was inscribed for Clayton Hemmert.  The festival also gave kudos to THE BEEKEEPER by Sean J.S. Jourdan, who was handed a Certificate of Merit for his “short form screenplay” of the film he plans to extend into a feature length project.

This year’s Feature Screenwriting Competition, presented by InkTip.com, was won by Matt Wheeler’s HOW TO LEAVE YOUR LOVER, but with the author unable to attend the event, VF organizers accepted on his behalf.   Rounding out 2nd and 3rd place respectively were: John Bengel’s THE VOYEUR and Simon Nagel’s BOTHERED MINDS.

VISIONFEST to kick off 10^th anniversary edition with the
East Coast premiere of Ron Brown’s CONSENT;
Larry Brand’s CHRISTINA and 5x5 NY Digital Project will close fest.

A provocative little indie with a huge heart, five ‘world premiere’ digital shorts executive produced by festival organizers, and an intimate period drama, set during the latter part of WWII, bookend five evenings of exclusive, premiere screenings at NYC’s Tribeca Cinemas.

New York City, (May 21, 2010) – VISIONFEST 10: The Other Festival (VFX), which runs June 23-27, 2010, at Tribeca Cinemas (corner of Varick and Laight streets in New York City), is proud to announce the complete line-up for its 2010 Independent Vision Showcase.  The list of ‘official selections’, is made up of 45 titles from all over the United States, will include 5 narrative features making their NYC debut  “in competition” for this year’s Independent Vision Awards, 1 narrative feature screening as a “world premiere,” out of competition, 4 doc features (one of these will be presented as part of a benefit screening shedding some diverse insight on Autism), several short docs, and a whole slew of short subjects, including some experimental and animated works.

This year, VISIONFEST celebrates its 10^th anniversary with an opening night “disco themed” party to be held at the Tribeca Lounge (adjacent to the Tribeca Cinemas) featuring 70’s specialty group, Disco Unlimited, and a “closing night” celebration that will mark the return of VF’s own filmmaking initiative, the 5x5 NEW YORK STATE OF MIND DIGITAL PROJECT, a special ‘world premiere’ event unveiling 5 digital shorts (each running approx. 5 minutes) created by VF alumni: Nyle Cavazos Garcia, Alexandra Roxo, Justin Sullivan, Ari Taub, and Elizabeth Van Meter.  This quintet of filmmakers will be honored in a pre-festival celebration, which will take place at Kaijou, a renowned Japanese eatery in Battery Park City, Wednesday, May 26, starting at 7:00 p.m.  Highlights for this event will include screenings of past 5x5 Projects from the 2003-2005 collection, and drink and food specials for all.

This year’s opening night selection will kick off with two short subject films, STRETCH by Arturo Cubacub and SEAHORSE by Molly Allis, which will pave the way for the evening’s narrative feature presentation of CONSENT, by Ron Farrar Brown, making its East Coast debut at VF10.

The film, which examines a “wealthy Manhattan family's inability to cope with the suicide of their eldest daughter,” is a powerful drama, which pinches many tense nerves as it intimately portrays its central characters becoming entangled in a “downward spiral of drugs, alcohol, and sexual taboos that threatens to destroy them.”  VF co-director and executive programmer, Bruno Derlin, described the film as a “riveting tale that explores the dynamics of this particular family with uncompromising honesty and courage,” adding that: “it must have been a very challenging project for its writer-director, Ron Brown, who cast his own son, Peter Vack, and his daughter, Betsey Brown, in a tale that juggles many delicate subjects, such as homosexuality, adultery, and incest.”  Completing the family circle in the realization of this film, are producer Jane Brown,  who is also the director’s spouse, and many relatives and friends who contributed their own time and resources to the production of CONSENT, which also features a star-making performance by Troian Bellissario.

Closing Night proves to be another ‘family affair’ as VFX unveils the five digital shorts that will be added to the ongoing roster of the festival’s own filmmaking initiative, the 5x5 NEW YORK STATE OF MIND DIGITAL PROJECT.   This initiative, started in 2003 by the film festival’s organizing entity, the Domani Vision Film Society, provides five specially selected filmmakers (and this year the quintet is made up exclusively of VF alumni) with the opportunity to create five digital shorts, each running approximately five minutes and made over the course of five days, from development to completion.  The initiative is supported by several sponsoring entities, including Mad Dog Films, Hit & Run Productions, and OffHollywood NY, which provide the tools and services to ensure that these original shorts will be available for their “world premiere” screenings on June 27, during the festival’s Closing Night Awards Ceremony. 

Preceding this special screening is the festival’s Official Closing Night Selection, which will be Larry Brand’s award winning drama, CHRISTINA, making its NYC debut.  Larry Brand is a prolific writer-director whose many screenplays, including HALLOWEEN RESURRECTION, have been turned into major Hollywood studio productions.  Brand, who loves to work within the realm of indie filmmaking, also boasts the distinction of being the first filmmaker to be featured in VF’s maiden 5x5 journey, back in 2003, when his digital short, THE JESTER’S BELL, kicked off what would become one of the film festival’s most prestigious initiatives.  His new film, CHRISTINA, has already won awards at numerous film festivals and features three powerhouse performances by Nicki Aycox (DARK BLUE), Jordan Belfi (ENTOURAGE), and Stephen Lang (AVATAR and the upcoming CONAN).  VF co-founder, Mark Doyle, described the film as “one of the best looking projects I’ve seen this year utilizing the popular RED ONE camera for image acquisition and possibly director Larry Brand’s most intimate work to date.”  Screening with CHRISTINA, is a short subject film originating from Florida State University, Stephen Bell’s THE QUARTERING ACT, an FSU Thesis project, also shot with the RED ONE camera and set during the same time period, which marks the first time a student film has ever been featured in a special “closing night” program at VF.

As it has been over the past ten years, VF’s documentary line-up is as strong as it is eclectic, with New York City’s own Todd Drezner’s LOVING LAMPPOSTS, a documentary exploring the many labels at the center of the debate surrounding Autism, leading the pack as it unveils on the festival’s second night, during a special benefit screening, whose proceeds will go to an Autism Foundation (tbd).  Jeremy Taylor’s BURMA: AN INDICTMENT is the second doc from a New York-based filmmaker to be included in this year’s line-up.  Originating from the West Coast, are Michael Webber’s award winning feature doc, THE ELEPHANT IN THE LIVING ROOM, about Americans who keep exotic, and often dangerous animals as pets, and Tim VandeSteeg’s MY RUN, a multiple award winning doc about a man who runs 75 marathons in 75 consecutive days in an effort to bring attention to the struggle of single parent families.     

In celebration of last year’s Feature Screenwriting Competition’s award winner, Nyle Cavazos Garcia, (who is also one of this year’s 5x5 filmmakers), a staged reading of his 1st place winning script, TAG, will be held on June 26, 2010, with exact time and venue to be announced later this month on the film festival’s Web site.  Nyle will also be directing the reading, which is currently in the early process of casting.  Ari Taub, another 5x5 filmmaker from this year’s quintet, will also be unveiling his newest narrative feature, LAST LETTERS FROM MONTE ROSA, which will have a special world premiere screening “out of competition” on June 24.  Other narrative features in this year’s line-up include:  MISS OHIO by Gregory Fitzsimmons, a Best Feature winner from Dances With Films, STUCK! by Steve Balderson, and DESERT SON by James Mann & Brandon Nicholas.

Mira Sorvino and Barry Pepper lead DANDELION's big win
at VISIONFEST 09's Awards Ceremony;
Paul Osborne crowned with Domani Vision Film Society
'Filmmaker of the Year' Award for his OFFICIAL REJECTION

Adam Mason's BLOOD RIVER landed wins for Andrew Howard's performance
and Stuart Brereton's cinematography - two of the film festival's "special awards."

New York City, (June 22, 2009) - VISIONFEST 09:The Other Festival, wound down its five-day run last night, at Tribeca Cinemas, with its Official Closing Night Selection, LIKE DANDELION DUST, directed by Jon Gunn, honored with 4 statuettes. The film took home awards for Outstanding Achievement in Production (Bobby Downes, Kevin Downes, and Kerry David), Writing (Michael Lachance & Stephen J. Rivele, for their adaptation of Karen Kingsbury's best selling novel), and for both its lead actors (Mira Sorvino and Barry Pepper). The ceremony, which ran just minutes shy of a half hour, was hosted by VF09 co-director, Bruno Derlin, who kicked off the proceedings by informing the audience that: "None of the awards have the word 'best' anywhere on them. We're just going to single out outstanding achievement in various categories, but the word 'best' applies to all 31 films that were shown here this year."

The festival honored Paul Osborne with its prestigious Domani Vision 'Filmmaker of the Year' prize for his hilarious and controversial film festival circuit expose` documentary, OFFICIAL REJECTION. The film, which had been one of the film festival's most highly anticipated, played to a crowd comprised mostly of filmmakers. "This is like a crash course for filmmakers," said VF09 consultant, Mark Doyle, adding: "It really informs filmmakers on the kind of treatment they can expect to receive from certain film festivals when they enter into that circuit."

Both of the film festival's "special memorial awards" (The Jack Nance Award for Breakthrough Performance and the Abe Schrager Award for Cinematography) went to Adam Mason's chilling, BLOOD RIVER, honoring actor Andrew Howard and cinematographer Stuart Brereton, respectively. VF09 producer, Jana Frindtova, said this when asked about what she thought of the film: "This film continues to haunt me. And it does seem kind of strange that the two awards it won are both 'memorial' awards… That alone is going to give me more nightmares. This movie has a life of its own."

The festival also honored films in two specific categories, the documentary feature and the short subject, giving award statuettes to New Yorker, Eddie Rosenstein, for his epic doc, SANDHOGS: THE GREATEST TUNNEL EVER BUILT, and to Drew Mylrea for his quirky comedy short, ARNOLD AND THE ALPS. An award for Outstanding Achievement in Directing was handed to Jef Taylor for his intense short, COVERAGE. Rounding out the statuette awards, were some of the technical categories, which saw a Production Design win for Melanie Paizis Jones' work in the short subject, UNITED WE STAND, by Rick Floyd, and a Sound Design triumph for Tim Jones, Natasha Kermani, and Japhy Riddle, the team of audio artists responsible for the surround soundscapes of Brandan Bellomo's BOHEMIBOT, itself a student Academy Award™ winner.

This year's Feature Screenwriting Competition, presented by InkTip.com, was won by Nyle Cavazos Garcia's TAG. The author, surprised by his win, went up to accept his award and with a somewhat stunned tone exclaimed: "Wow… I thought I had lost… but, this is great!" Doug Miles' BLAME THE THUNDERBOLT came in second place, followed by Diana Eiranova-Kyle's THE LAST CONFESSION rounding off the trio of honored screenplays. All three scripts will be submitted to the 7th Floor production company for development consideration and the first place winner will be staged at next year's edition of VISIONFEST, which is scheduled for June 2010.

The following is a full list of the 2009 Visionfest Independent Vision Awards winners:

Film Competition Statuettes

Domani Vision Award for Emerging Talent: Paul Osborne (Official Rejection)

Production: Bobby Downes, Kevin Downes, Kerry David (Like Dandelion Dust)

Directing: Jef Taylor (Coverage)

Writing: Michael Lachance & Stephen J. Rivele (Like Dandelion Dust)

Documentary Feature: Sandhogs: The Greatest Tunnel Ever Built - by Eddie Rosenstein

Short Subject Narrative: Arnold And The Alps - by Drew Mylrea

The Jack Nance Breakthrough Performance Award: Andrew Howard (Blood River)

Acting (Male Lead): Barry Pepper (Like Dandelion Dust)

Acting (Female Lead): Mira Sorvino (Like Dandelion Dust)

The Abe Schrager Award for Cinematography: Stuart Brereton (Blood River)

Sound Design: Tim Jones, Natasha Kermani, Japhy Riddle (Bohemibot)

Production Design: Melanie Paizis Jones (United We Stand)

Certificates of Merit

Social Consciousness: Adam Durand (Fowl Play)

Most Promising Filmmaker: Dominic Perez (Evil Things)

Artistic and Technical Achievement: Marc Kess (Mildred Richards)

Feature Screenwriting Competition

1st Place: Nyle Cavazos Garcia (Tag)

2nd Place: Doug Miles (Blame The Thunderbolt)

3rd Place: Diana Eiranova-Kyle (The Last Confession)

VF09 opening night sales for EVIL THINGS scare up an added screening;
Interest flares for staged reading of epic WWII script, PREEMPTIVE STRIKE
and Academy Award winner, Mira Sorvino, shines in 'closing night' film.

New York City, (June 16, 2009) - VISIONFEST 09: The Other Festival (VF09), which runs June 17-21, 2009, at Tribeca Cinemas (corner of Varick and Laight streets in New York City), has added a screening to its opening night program, which is scheduled for this coming Wednesday, June 17, at 8:00 p.m. in the Tribeca Cinema 2 venue. The decision to open up Tribeca Cinema 1 with a simultaneous HD screening of the Dominic Perez thriller, EVIL THINGS, was confirmed when all available tickets for the show were declared "sold out" with more than a week to go before the start of the event. The film, which has just been completed to meet the deadline of its "red carpet" World Premiere at VF09, follows five college students as they head up to a country house for a weekend birthday celebration. However, the celebration quickly turns to fear, when the group of friends realize that something 'evil' is lurking too close to them and watching their every move in a most unsettling way. VF09 co-director, Bruno Derlin, described the film as an "old-fashioned horror movie with some very clever modern touches" adding that: "It's also a statement of how voyeuristic personalities can attract danger to themselves without even realizing that it's happening." Joshua Martin's short subject, A WAGON FULL OF MISCHIEF, also a World Premiere, will precede the feature presentation. Cast and crew members from both films will be on hand for a follow-up Q&A, which will be held in the Main Lounge, just prior to handing the event over to MISTER GIO, for a "live" performance of tunes from the band's upcoming CD.

Screenwriting aficionados, WWII history buffs, and anyone looking for something completely different to do in New York City over the weekend will be delighted by the "exclusive" staged reading of Alan Armstrong's PREEMPTIVE STRIKE, last year's winner of the Visionfest Feature Screenwriting Competition, which will be held at the Cherry Pit Theatre, (50 Bank Street), at 3:45 p.m., on Saturday, June 20, 2009. Based on the life experiences of General Claire Lee Chennault and his involvement in organizing "a guerilla air corps" known today as the American Volunteer Group or Flying Tigers, PREEMPTIVE STRIKE, unveils "the plan that would have prevented the attack on Pearl Harbor." The reading, which is directed by Ari Taub, produced by Jill Yablon, and presented by InkTip.com and the Domani Vision Film Society, is free and open to the public, but due to limited seating, requires that a reservation be made via e-mail, at: 2009@visionfest.com

Style, elegance, and impeccable storytelling are just three of the countless attributes of this year's Closing Night Selection (Sun, June 21, 7:00 p.m.), New York Premiere of the visually poetic page-to-screen adaptation of Karen Kingsbury's best selling novel, LIKE DANDELION DUST. Directed by Jon Gunn and produced by Bobby Downes, Kevin Downes, and Kerry David, the film, one of the year's most acclaimed on the film festival circuit, stars Academy Award™ winner, Mira Sorvino, who "shines in what is possibly her best dramatic role to date," as stated by VF co-founder, Mark Doyle. The cast also includes Barry Pepper, Kate Levering, Cole Hauser, and Maxwell Perry Cotton. Exploring "the different meanings of being a parent through the grittily realistic lives of a struggling, blue-collar family, and a privileged family, as they intersect, intertwine, and ultimately collide, all for the love of a little boy," LIKE DANDELION DUST makes for a perfect Father's Day treat and is one's ticket to getting a sneak peek at what is fast becoming one of the most talked about films of the year. Producers, Bobby Downes and Kevin Downes, will be attending and will be on hand for a Q&A following the screening, along with Danielle Jacobs, director of the heart-warming short subject, boy I man, which will precede the feature presentation. The VF09 Awards Ceremony will follow the Closing Night Selection screening, in the adjacent Tribeca Cinemas Main Lounge.

EVIL THINGS to kick off VF09 opening night;

Big screen version of Karen Kingsbury’s best selling novel,

LIKE DANDELION DUST, featured as ‘Official Closing Night Selection’

A little indie chiller packed with nail-biting suspense and a beautifully crafted adaptation of a best selling novel, starring Academy Award™ winner, Mira Sorvino, and Barry Pepper, bookend five evenings of exclusive, premiere screenings at NYC’s Tribeca Cinemas.

New York City, (May 26, 2009) – VISIONFEST 09: The Other Festival (VF09), which runs June 17-21, 2009, at Tribeca Cinemas (corner of Varick and Laight streets in New York City), has announced the complete line-up for its 2009 Independent Vision Showcase.  This year’s rigidly selective collection of films features 31 titles, which include 3 narrative features making their New York debuts, 5 feature docs (4 from NY-based filmmakers), including the New York premiere of Eddie Rosenstein’s theatrical version of Sandhogs: The Greatest Tunnel Ever Built, which boasts a guest appearance by New York City’s own, Mayor Michael Bloomberg,  and the New York Premiere of Gary Null’s Autism: Made in the U.S.A., currently touted as “the documentary the pharmaceutical companies don’t want you to see.”  Paul Marcus’ Sounds Good to Me and Justin Sullivan’s Excuse Me Mr. Speaker round out the New York helmers’ offerings.

This year’s opening night selection will kick off with Joshua Martin’s short subject, A Wagon Full of Mischief, paving the way for the evening’s narrative feature presentation of Evil Things, by Dominic Perez.  Laurel Casillo leads the cast of fresh new faces as five college students head up to a country house for a weekend birthday celebration.  But something ‘evil’ is lurking too close to them and the terrifying twists that follow are enough to keep the audience gripping the base of their seats. “This is pure, old-fashioned horror, with some very clever modern touches,” stated VF09 co-director, Bruno Derlin, adding:  “This film is proof that you don’t need to spill buckets of gore or depict gratuitous explicit violence to scare the living wits out of someone.”  Perez, the film’s creator, and cast members will be on hand for a follow-up Q&A. 

And in keeping with its nine year tradition of unveiling its bearer of style, elegance, and impeccable storytelling in its Official Closing Night Selection, this year’s VISIONFEST shines a spotlight on the visually poetic page-to-screen adaptation of Karen Kingsbury’s best selling novel, Like Dandelion Dust, directed by Jon Gunn, and produced by Bobby Downes, Kevin Downes, and Kerry David.  Sweeping countless awards and accolades at festivals nationwide, Like Dandelion Dust, tells a very intimate story exploring “the different meanings of being a parent through the grittily realistic lives of a struggling, blue-collar family, and a privileged family, as their lives intersect, intertwine, and ultimately collide, all for the love of a little boy.”  With compelling, powerful performances by Academy Award™ winner, Mira Sorvino, Barry Pepper, Kate Levering, Cole Hauser, and Maxwell Perry Cotton, this emotionally charged tale makes its New York premiere at VF09, and very appropriately, on Father’s Day.  The heart-warming short subject, boy I man, by Danielle Jacobs, will precede the feature presentation.

Among the many other cinematic treats being served at VF09, are Adam Mason’s award winning narrative feature, Blood River, and the offbeat, Official Rejection, by Paul Osborne, a funny, honest, and ultimately very helpful documentary – especially for filmmakers who are planning to get their films out into the film festivals circuit.  Low-budget indie mogul, Lloyd Kaufman (of Troma fame) and film festival scene guru and author, Chris Gore, lend some first-hand wisdom to the proceedings as one filmmaker’s film festival circuit journeys are explored. 

In celebration of last year’s Feature Screenwriting Competition’s award winner, Alan Armstrong, a staged reading of his 1st place winning script, Preemptive Strike, will be held on June 20, 2009, with exact time and venue to be announced later this week on the festival’s Website.

Michael Worth's GOD'S EARS wins
Domani Vision & Jack Nance Awards at VISIONFEST 08

James Kerwin's YESTERDAY WAS A LIE nabs 3 statuettes with
THE MARCONI BROS., by Marco Ricci & Michael Canzoniero, close behind with 2 wins

New York City, (September 22, 2008) - VISIONFEST 08: The Other Festival, ended its five-day run last night, at the Tribeca Grand Hotel Screening Room, with its "closing night" Official Selection, God's Ears, directed by Michael Worth, and its 2008 Awards Ceremony, which saw the aforementioned film walk off with two of the film festival's most coveted awards: the Domani Vision Award for Emerging Talent, and the Jack Nance "Breakthrough Performance" Award. Both awards were presented to Michael Worth; the first honoring him as a filmmaker, and the second, recognizing his powerful acting turn. Worth first took to the podium with his mother, who stated that while she's not a writer, an actor, or a director, she affectionately added: "But I'm a real good producer," obviously referring to her son as he raised his award in the air. Michael Worth then added: "This is the first time I've ever won anything like this. I'm just really honored."

Loud gasps of excitement preceded each of the three times that actor/producer Chase Masterson approached the awards podium to claim statuettes on behalf of Yesterday Was A Lie director and writer, James Kerwin, who was recognized for both of those crafts, and for Jason Cochard, who was singled out for his stylish, black and white cinematography. Masterson appeared genuinely moved and perhaps even a little overwhelmed, as her labor of love multiplied its wins: "I'm blown away," she told the audience, as she shook her head in disbelief, "James (Kerwin) is going to be so incredibly grateful for this."

A third narrative feature to win multiple awards was The Marconi Bros., by Marco Ricci and Michael Canzoniero, which landed a very well-deserved honor for Overall Production and for its Production Designer, Cassandra Boyd. Each of the awards was accepted by the directors of the film, who went up separately, one for each instance, but both commented on what a fine event VISIONFEST had been and both expressed their appreciation for having been included in VF08.

Two awards went to Eli Akira Kaufman's California King, which was also the sole short subject film to win multiple awards. One award honored the film itself for Outstanding Achievement in Short Subject Filmmaking, while the second statuette went to lead actor, Don Hany, for his subtle, but memorable performance in the film. Kelly Nixon was voted for Outstanding Achievement in Acting (in a female lead role) for her acting debut in Chris King's haunting short subject, Rachel. All three awards were accepted by VF08 co-director, Bruno Derlin, who later revealed that: "This is the first time in our film festival's eight-year history that both male and female acting awards originated from short subject films. I think it's a really cool thing that's happening here."

Others rounding out the complete list of award recipients: Owen Lowery's An Alternative To Slitting Your Wrist, which was voted Best Documentary Feature; and editors, Katy Finch, Kim Kowalski, and Peter Bolte, for their work on Begging Naked. Award Certificates were presented to the docs Vaccine Nation and Blinders; the shorts, Woman In Burka and Some Of An Equation; and the short form doc, Just One Year. Feature Screenwriting Competition award recipients were announced as follows: 1st Place: Alan Armstrong's Preemptive Strike; 2nd Place: Gregory Orr's The Terror Tapes, and 3rd Place: Nyle Cavazos Garcia's The Absence of Light. VF08 closed with a small farewell get together at Walker's, and the promise that VISIONFEST would soon announce its festival dates for 2009, and that those would probably be for some time in June.

 Eusonia Recording Artist, Maiysha, will take the stage at
opening night after party

New York City, (September 4, 2008) - VISIONFEST 08: The Other Festival (VF08), Sept. 17-21, 2008, at Tribeca Cinemas (corner of Varick and Laight streets in New York City), with a special closing night screening and awards ceremony at the Tribeca Grand Hotel, recently announced its complete line-up for its 2008 Independent Vision Showcase.  43 films, originating from 12 states, and kicking off with the East Coast Premiere of The Marconi Bros. by Marco Ricci and Michael Canzoniero, will unspool over five consecutive evenings, culminating with the New York Premiere of Michael Worth's God's Ears.  The Opening Night after-party, which will be held in the Tribeca Cinemas Main Lounge, will feature live performances by Maiysha, whose recent video for her hit single "Wanna Be" (from her Eusonia album "This Much is True") just debuted on VH1, and will also be featured as a bonus clip during the opening night program.  FM Recording Artist, GIO, will warm up the crowd with selections from his new, self-titled CD.

Following a very successful "world premiere" screening at the 2008 SXSW Film Festival, this past March, The Marconi Bros. makes its New York debut at VISIONFEST on September 17, 2008 at 8:00 p.m. as the official "opening night selection."  The comedy feature, which stars Brandan Sexton III (Welcome to the Dollhouse; and the upcoming The Girl in the Park),Tony Award winner Dan Fogler (Balls of Fury), and Jon Polito (American Gangster; The Big Lebowski), tells the tale of two brothers "dutifully serving out life sentences in their family carpet business", until a twist of fate thrusts them into a new career in production, as they cross paths with playboy, Louis "Lou" Burns, the king of the Long Island wedding video business.  The feature presentation of The Marconi Bros. will follow the World Premiere of the animated music video, Me, by Thomas Klieber, and the New York Premiere of the short comedy, Pic Six, by David Breckman.  A Q&A with the filmmakers and cast members will follow the screening, which has already sold out all general admission tickets, prompting VF08 organizers to add an encore screening at 10:30 p.m.
"We're incredibly delighted to kick off our film festival with such a wonderful blend of films," stated festival co-director, Bruno Derlin, "It's going to be a magical evening for all of us. Having to add additional screenings on opening night to satisfy audience demand makes any film festival organizer bounce up to cloud nine.  It's the cherry on top of our programming cake."

This year, VISIONFEST also offers its most eclectic collection of documentary films to date, with the first public, Manhattan screening of Donny Moss' Blinders leading the pack of very timely and provocative entries.  The 52 minute doc about the controversy surrounding NYC's legendary horse-drawn carriage, has stirred lots of media awareness, particularly following a private industry screening that actor-activist, Alec Baldwin, together with PETA and Gotham Magazine, hosted at Lincoln Center and covered in the pages of the NY Times and Daily News, as well as TV programs, such as Entertainment Tonight and Extra.  VisionFest co-founder, Mark Doyle, described Blinders as "one of the most powerful docs of this or any year," adding that "This is a very important film and we really hope that it opens some eyes as it makes its way around the city and beyond."   

Ed Hamell will be on hand to introduce the World Premiere of Ed Hamell: Rant & Roll, by Kate Valentine, which chronicles the musician's on the road experiences during a recent world tour.  The film, which is produced by indie rocker, Ani Difranco, is scheduled to continue on to a lengthy film festival circuit run prior to being released to DVD via Righteous Babe.

Tonya Dreher takes you into the heart of Afghanistan with her eye-opening account of filmmaker, Chris Turner, in the East Coast premiere of A Life in Hashistan, which VF08 co-director, Frank Lewallen, described as "a film you just can't stop watching." New York-based alternative medicine & natural healing advocate/talk radio host and filmmaker, Gary Null, returns to VisionFest to unveil his controversial documentary, Vaccine Nation.  And Karen Gehres' Begging Naked, which is a fascinating, often too crude account of Elise Hill, suburbanite-turned prostitute-turned artist and ultimately homeless in New York, will be supported by an affiliated art show, showcasing Ms. Hill's unique paintings.

The "Official Closing Night" program, which will be held at the world renowned Tribeca Grand Hotel Screening Room on Sunday, September 21, 2008, at 7:00 pm, will feature the New York Premiere of the award-winning dramatic feature, God's Ears, by Michael Worth, who also produced and stars in the film, as Noah Connelly, a boxer with a tireless opponent: Autism.  The film also stars Margot Farley as the exotic dancer who captures Noah's heart, and legendary actor, John Saxon (Enter The Dragon; A Nightmare On Elm Street).   VF08 producer, Jana Frindtova admitted:  "Since I started working with VisionFest, back in 2005, I've never broken down in tears of joy and admiration, as I did when I first saw God's Ears. This is the kind of film that stays with you, and it's because its characters are people you want to get to know personally."  The feature will be preceded by the riveting narrative short subject, Some Of An Equation, by Burke Roberts, and an encore presentation of Thomas Klieber's ME.

An Awards Ceremony, honoring VF08 participants for outstanding achievement in more than 15 categories, will follow after a brief intermission, wrapping up the annual event with a casual and laid back, farewell after-party at Walker's, in Tribeca, which is the official local bar and eatery of VF08 .  Other VF08 after-parties and affiliated events will be announced in the coming weeks.

New York City, (September 24, 2007) – VISIONFEST 07: The Other Festival (VF07) wrapped its five-day run last night, at the Tribeca Grand Hotel Screening Room, with its “closing night” Official Selection, pretty in the face, directed by Nate Meyer, and its 2007 Awards Ceremony, which saw the aforementioned film walk off with three major awards: Outstanding Achievement in Acting (female lead) for Meagan Moses; directing (Nate Meyer); and the festival’s top filmmaker recognition, the Domani Vision Award for Emerging Talent, also bestowed upon the film’s director, who walked to the podium and embraced his multiple award win “As validation for making a film without really worrying about what’s going to happen at the end of it.”  pretty in the face, which celebrated its New York Premiere at VF07, has been garnering rave reviews around the U.S. film festival circuit since its March 2007 World Premiere at South By Southwest, picking up several awards along the way. Visionfest co-founder, Mark Doyle stated that: “The movie had been an early favorite for the Domani Vision Award since we first screened it for our selection committee.  Everyone was blown away by its raw energy.”    VF07 co-director, Bruno Derlin added: “I haven’t seen anything this intense since Todd Solondz’ Happiness.”  The screening of the film, which ended in a round of sustained applause, prompted several other filmmakers to state how delighted they were to have come for the entire screening and not just for the Awards Ceremony.

VF07’s Jack Nance ‘Breakthrough Performance’ Award, a special nod recognizing that one performance that can easily be defined as the driving force behind a certain film, was assigned to Heather Graham for her riveting work in Alan White’s Broken, which also took home an award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography (for Neil Shapiro).  The film, which screened at VF07 as this year’s “opening night” selection, will be released theatrically in New York on October 5, 2007.  The film’s producer, Jerry Wayne, thanked VF07 personnel via telephone for recognizing Broken in these two categories and for embracing the film with such enthusiasm.

Other multiple award winners included Douglas Horn’s Entry Level, which picked up honors for Overall Production and for its sharp and witty ‘writing.’  Mr. Horn accepted his writing award first, saying very few words at the acceptance podium and savoring the moment, which had genuinely taken him by surprise.  A few minutes later, Mr. Horn was summoned once again to pick up the Overall Production award.  And this time he seemed gleefully elated and much more vocal.

Rob Muraskin’s “epic” short subject film, Olyver Brody, was named as the year’s Best Short, with a second award going to production designer, Tiffany Moore, for the visually stunning ‘fairytale’ world she created, using some very limited resources and lots of imagination.

Other award recipients rounding out the complete list include:  Adrian Belic’s Beyond the Call,

which was voted as the year’s Best Feature Documentary; Rock Kohli as Best Actor for his portrayal of an unlucky NY cabbie in the feature drama, Off Duty; and editor, William Daniels, for his work on Days of Darkness.   Award Certificates were presented to the short films Jesus Cooks Me Breakfast, Deleted Scenes, Other People’s Children, and Syzygy.  Feature Screenwriting Competition award recipients were announced as follows:  1^st Place:  Mark Winzer’s The Interview;  2^nd Place: Chuck Rose’s Steps, and 3^rd Place: John Daschbach’s That Day On The Road.  VF07 closed with a final after-party at Walker’s, announcing its 2008 film festival dates: September 17-21

Red carpet to be rolled out for Heather Graham at

Visionfest 07 opener, Broken

VF07’s entire line-up of features is generating some very exciting advance buzz, with the completely ‘sold out’ New York Premiere screening of The Doorman; the World Premiere of zombie epic, Days of Darkness; and New York Premieres of Entry Level, Her Best Move, and pretty in the face

New York City, (September 18, 2007) – VISIONFEST 07: The Other Festival (VF07), which runs September 19-23, 2007, at Tribeca Cinemas (corner of Varick and Laight streets in New York City), has announced that Heather Graham (Boogie Nights; Bobby), who stars in the film festival’s opening night feature, Broken, is scheduled to attend the exclusive New York film festival premiere on Wednesday, September 19, 2007, at 8:30 p.m.  Ms. Graham is expected to arrive just before 8 in a Classic Car Club vehicle, and will be on hand to officially kick off VF07.  

The movie follows Hope (Heather Graham) as she makes a life-altering move away from her Midwestern town to pursue a singing career in Los Angeles.  Her newfound love interest, Will, (played by Jeremy Sisto), however, soon drags her down into his own dark world, where slacking off on life and experimenting with hard drugs seems to be the order of the day.  “In this film,” stated VF07 producer, Jana Frindtova, “Heather Graham takes on a truly challenging role.  Her ‘Hope’ is a character I think many women will identify with on so many levels. She is smart and talented, and ultimately a free spirit. And yet, she falls prey to her own emotions, allowing them to often get in the way of her own happiness.  But we root for her no matter what.”  Broken, which is directed by Alan White, will open theatrically in New York on October 5^th, and will unveil later in the month in Austin ,Chicago, Minneapollis, and Los Angeles.  Linda Hamilton (The Terminator), Tess Harper (Crimes of the Heart), and Jake Busey (Christmas With The Kranks) are among some of the other great performances featured in the film.

The very eclectic line-up of feature films in VF07 also boasts the New York Premiere of Wayne Price’s The Doorman, a docu-comedy that has already sold out its Thursday evening (Sept. 20) screening; the World Premiere of Jake Kennedy’s zombie-fest, Days of Darkness, creeping into Tribeca Cinemas on Friday evening (Sept. 21) as part of the festival’s annual “Fright Night Fridays” showcase; and the New York Premiere of Douglas Horn’s Entry Level, a slick, very funny, L.A. comedy featuring D.B. Sweeney (Gardens of Stone), scheduled for Saturday, the 22^nd, at 8:00 p.m.  Two feature-length documentaries are also included in the 2007 Independent Vision line-up.  Gary Null’s AIDS Inc., and Adrian Belic’s Beyond the Call, which marks Mr. Belic’s second documentary feature since his Oscar®-nominated, Genghis Blues, a 1999 Sundance Audience Award winner.  The two docs are screening on Thursday, September 20, at Tribeca Cinemas.

 And finally, rounding out the “narrative features” line-up, are the New York premiere of Her Best Move, by Norm Hunter, starring Leah Pipes (Life Is Wild; Pixel Perfect) – Sunday at 3:00 p.m., and the award-winning dramatic feature, pretty in the face, by Nate Meyer, which will officially close the Independent Vision Competition on Sunday evening, starting at 7:00 p.m., at the Tribeca Grand Screening Room.  An Awards Ceremony will follow after a brief intermission, culminating in an after-party at the Tribeca eatery, Walker’s (which will also be featured as the venue that is hosting the opening night after-party).  Other VF07 after-party venues include Dirty Disco (Sept. 21) and Novo (Sept. 20 and 22).