Showing posts with label Documentaries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Documentaries. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 2, 2024

Dances With Films LA Filmmaker Award Winners 2024

Dances With Films LA Filmmaker Award Winners 2024
By José Alberto Hermosillo

Dances With Films Los Angels is one of the best and most prominent independent film festivals in the country. The impressive lineup of 232 films showcased in two screening rooms included 117 world, international, North American, or U.S. premieres. Three films announced distribution deals during the festival. 

The effervescent festival wrapped up its 27th edition with an exciting awards night at the TLC Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

The 2024 Dances With Films LA Filmmaker Award Winners:

GRAND JURY PRIZES

GRAND JURY - NARRATIVE FEATURES
BETWEEN THE LIGHTS
Director/Writer: Michael Groom
Producers: David Groom, Michael Groom

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
DREAMING OF YOU
Director/Writer: Jack McCafferty
Producers: Bridgett Greenberg, Jack McCafferty

Tallywalcker Q&A. Photo: José Alberto Hermosillo ©2024 FestivalinLA


TALLYWACKER
Director/Writer: Brendan Boogie
Producers: Jeremy Dubs, Chris Goodwin, Brendan Boogie

GRAND JURY – DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
A LITTLE HOPE FOR CHICAGO
Director: Leon Lozano
Writers: Kevin Nichols, Leon Lozano
Producers: Garrett E.B. Thompson, Kevin Nichols, Leon Lozano

HONORABLE MENTION:
SPYRAL
Director/Writer: Bill Guttentag
Producer: Jennifer Hutchins

GRAND JURY PRIZE - NARRATIVE SHORTS
BLACK SILK
Director/Writer: Patrick Michael
Producers: Patrick Michael, Josh Akin, Tiffany Gist, Samuel Skeen

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
KOI
Director/Writer: Taige Shi
Producer: Tianyu Yang

THE RUNT
Director/Writer: Christy Stratton
Story by: Christy Stratton, Mark Norberg
Producers: Katrina Rotondo, Daniela Inés Calvo and Christy Stratton

INDUSTRY CHOICE AWARDS

INDUSTRY CHOICE AWARDS (UNDER 40’)
IS IT BECAUSE I’M A GIRL
Director: Peter Decherney
Producer: Peter Gitau

 "Fight Like a Girl."  Photo: José Alberto Hermosillo ©2024 FestivalinLA


INDUSTRY CHOICE AWARDS (OVER 40’)
FIGHT LIKE A GIRL
Director/Writer: Matthew Leutwyler
Producers: Anton Laines, Innocent Munyeshuri, Yvette Gayle, Serge Ibaka

The Art of the Pitch - Photo: José Alberto Hermosillo ©2024 FestivalinLA

FEVER PITCH SHORT SCRIPT CHALLENGE

WINNER: JUDAS KISS by Sean Cage

RUNNER UP (TIE)
IN THE POCKET by Antjuan Ward
MERRY CHRISTMAS, COLONEL SHOUP by Ed Lawrence Robinson

AUDIENCE AWARDS

Photo: José Alberto Hermosillo ©2024 FestivalinLA


COMPETITION (NARRATIVE) FEATURE AUDIENCE AWARD
THE MAN WHO SAVED THE INTERNET WITH A SUNFLOWER
Directors: Ori Yardeni, Emil Ben Shimon
Writers: Oren Safdie, Izhar Har-Lev, Ori Yardeni
Producers: Kobi Hoffmann, Zehava Shekel

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE AUDIENCE AWARD
SAVING JONES
Director/Writer: Rebecca Corry
Producer: Stand Up For Pits Foundation with Angel Forever

FUSION FEATURE AUDIENCE AWARD
THE DISINVITED
Director: Devin Lawrence
Writers: Devin Lawrence, Matthew Mourgides
Producer: Matthew Mourgides

DOWNBEAT AUDIENCE AWARD
BED BY 9
Director: Christian Klein
Writer: Max Castillo
Producer: Olivia Isabel Comas

DANCES WITH KIDZ PRO AUDIENCE AWARD
SURVIVED BY
Director/Writer: KD. Chalk
Producers: Nicole Crespo, Pinar Binay

PILOTS AUDIENCE AWARD
EXPOSED
Directors: Reece Melber, Rachel Othon
Writer: Hannah Merritt
Producer: Sina Crenshaw

COMPETITION (NARRATIVE) SHORTS AUDIENCE AWARD
I APPROVE OF THIS MESSAGE
Director: Craig Newman
Writer: Michael Barringer
Producers: Craig Newman, Michael Barringer

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS AUDIENCE AWARD
EL REGRESO
Director: Samantha Ramirez-Hererra
Producer: Sam Bathrick

FUSION SHORTS AUDIENCE AWARD
PUPPY LOVE
Director: Daniel Rashid
Writers: Daniel Rashid, Elizabeth Valenti
Producers: Reilly Anspaugh, Daniel Rashid, Elizabeth Valenti

Dances With Films will return for its third New York City edition in December. For more information, please go to https://danceswithfilms.com/.

The Art of The Pitch - DWF

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IF YOU ARE READING FROM A MOBILE DEVICE, CLICK: view web version FOR OTHER COOL FEATURES SUCH AS TRANSLATE POWERED BY GOOGLE, AN INTERACTIVE FILM FESTIVAL CALENDAR, AND MORE AWESOME ARTICLES.
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Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Gunda: An Emotional Journey of Pigs, Chickens, and Cows

By José Alberto Hermosillo

Gunda: An Emotional Journey of Pigs, Chickens, and Cows

“Gunda” is a fascinating, minimalist portrait of tranquil farm life, where pigs, chickens, and cows take center stage. “Gunda” is one of the best documentaries of the year!

Gunda director Victor Kasakovsiy. Photo: José Alberto Hermosillo, Festival in LA ©2020
Gunda director Victor Kosakovskiy. Photo: José Alberto Hermosillo, Festival in LA ©2020

Victor Kosakovskiy (“Aquarela,” ¡Vivan las Antipodas!) is an accomplished Russian documentarian.


In “Gunda,” he takes us on an observational journey with stunning cinematography, a nonintrusive camera, and crystal-clear sound. The film captivates audiences and has won awards at the Berlin and Stockholm film festivals, as well as nominations for Best Documentary at the European Film Awards and an IDA Award. Many may find the pace gridlocked yet compelling and thought-provoking.

Gunda, executive producer Joaquin Phoenix. Photo: José Alberto Hermosillo, Festival in LA ©2020
Gunda, executive producer, Joaquin Phoenix. Photo: José Alberto Hermosillo, Festival in LA ©2020

Joaquin Phoenix, an animal rights activist, serves as the film’s executive producer. As he did in his acceptance speech at the 2020 Oscars, when he won Best Actor for “Joker,” he advocates for love and compassion toward other species and for intelligent, humane ways to balance the food chain.


The documentary raises awareness of how domestic animals express emotions through their behavior. We see a mama pig caring for her piglets, caged chickens experiencing freedom for the first time, and cows running freely in the fields. 

Gunda: The Pig, The Chickens, and The Cows' Emotional Journey
“Gunda.” Photo courtesy of NEON.

The film opens with a steady shot of a barn’s exterior. Inside, a mother pig is giving birth to about a dozen piglets. It is a miracle of life. As each little pig is born, we fall in love with them. They are adorable! – It is also what the protective mother pig thinks. The day passes, and the entire pack goes out for a stroll to discover the delights of the dirt in their vast universe.


When a flock of caged chickens slowly and cautiously moves out, the physical damage sustained over an entire life in captivity is evident. One chicken is missing a leg, and others are missing many feathers, all disoriented.

The fascinating trend continues with a gorgeous display of big, healthy cows interacting and running freely in the open. Those images make us think about all sorts of things, such as how valuable life is to everyone in the field, even to those domestic creatures we cage, kill, and consume in our daily diet.

When Kosakovskiy decided to make a silent film in white, he wanted the audience to experience, in the first person, a glimpse of farm life. He knew he needed to spend months with the best equipment possible—the best camera and sound, no music sugar-coating, and plenty of inspiring images of nature.

For years, Kosakovskiy needed help raising the budget to make this film, and pitching a black-and-white trilogy movie with pigs, chickens, and cows as the main stars was hard. To convince producers to invest in his project, he cited other similar successful films such as “Ida,” “Cold War,” and “Roma.” Now, he is glad the producers could see his vision and the intention to shoot a naturalistic film.

Gunda: The Pig, The Chickens, and The Cows' Emotional Journey
“Gunda.” Photo courtesy of NEON.

The small camera crew worked tirelessly from noon until sunset to capture the animals’ actions and reactions. Those long hours were nothing compared with the precious moments they captured, which dramatically enhanced the story.


Kosakovskiy’s experience in the cinema led him to make the right decisions, using long lenses to avoid distracting the animals. To do so, he needed the best steadicam operator to maintain the proper distance between the camera and the subject, avoid being invasive with the animals, and avoid altering the natural outcome. Photographing living beings from far away was not an aesthetic choice but a moral one. 

In a movie set, the director is always in control of every situation. In this documentary, the director had to be patient and not dictate what he couldn’t control, such as animal behavior, weather, and human challenges. To make “Gunda,” the filmmakers traveled to animal sanctuaries in Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom. 

Hollywood Legion Theater Photo: José Alberto Hermosillo, Festival in LA ©2020
Hollywood Legion Theater Photo: José Alberto Hermosillo, Festival in LA ©2020

Kosakovskiy said after a drive-in screening at the Hollywood Legion Theater, “Making this movie changed the way I see life.” The intention was to show farm life without saying anything and to understand what a mother pig feels: seriousness, sadness, and hopelessness. 

Gunda: The Pig, The Chickens, and The Cows' Emotional Journey
“Gunda.” Photo courtesy of NEON.

He continued the conversation. “All those creatures have a soul, and discovering those emotions is moving. The pig compellingly talked to us. In the very last scene, the pig’s behavior looks scripted. It was a miracle; the team cried.”

The film helps us determine the similarities between animal and human behavior.  

After admiring such a marvelous work of art, I decided to eliminate “Lechón Asado” from my Cuban diet. I am not Cuban; I am just a lover of the world’s cuisine. I am also becoming more appreciative of my Mesoamerican culture, which is based on vegetables and insects.

As an agent of change, I will continue to love eating my greens as much as this documentary made me care about the voiceless creatures on farms around the world, because sustainable farming is possible. 

 
 
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IF YOU ARE READING FROM A MOBILE DEVICE, CLICK: view web version FOR OTHER COOL FEATURES SUCH AS TRANSLATE POWERED BY GOOGLE, AN INTERACTIVE FILM FESTIVAL CALENDAR, AND MORE.

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