Silvia Del Carmen Castaños and Estefanía “Beba” Contreras, the directors and subjects of the playful and poetic Hummingbirds, like to sing and dance, take selfies and goof around. It would be easy, at quick glance, to dismiss their mischief as youthful self-absorption. It’s youthful self-absorption, to be sure, but something serious, vibrant and compelling courses through the levity. Silvia and Beba are, respectively, a powerful writer and a gifted musician. They were 18 and 21 when they began making the film, and it catches them in that singular in-between state on the edge of full-fledged adulthood. They’re also intimately acquainted with another in-between, one that’s not as ephemeral: As Mexican immigrants in Laredo, a city on the Texas side of the Rio Grande, they live in an actual borderland.
Shot mostly in the summer of 2019, Hummingbirds, which received a jury award upon its Berlin premiere and took its North American bow at True/False,...
Shot mostly in the summer of 2019, Hummingbirds, which received a jury award upon its Berlin premiere and took its North American bow at True/False,...
- 4/5/2023
- by Sheri Linden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Intl. Documentary Association (IDA) has announced three 25,000 grants for upcoming films through its Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund.
The three documentaries are: Adamu Chan’s “What These Walls Won’t Hold”; Jalena Keane-Lee’s “Standing Above the Clouds”; and Silvia Del Carmen Castaños and Estefanía “Beba” Contreras’s “Hummingbirds,” which will have its world premiere at the 2023 Berlin Intl. Film Festival.
Organizers of the fund, created in 2011 with support from the New York Community Trust, received more than 19 applications in 2021. Named in honor of American documentary filmmaker Pare Lorentz, who was known for films including “The Plow That Broke The Plains” (1936), “The River” (1938) and “The Fight for Life” (1940), the fund provides production and post-production grants to be used in the creation of original, independent documentary films that illuminate issues in the United States.
“This year, we tried to consider broadly what Pare Lorentz’s legacy is for the 21st century,...
The three documentaries are: Adamu Chan’s “What These Walls Won’t Hold”; Jalena Keane-Lee’s “Standing Above the Clouds”; and Silvia Del Carmen Castaños and Estefanía “Beba” Contreras’s “Hummingbirds,” which will have its world premiere at the 2023 Berlin Intl. Film Festival.
Organizers of the fund, created in 2011 with support from the New York Community Trust, received more than 19 applications in 2021. Named in honor of American documentary filmmaker Pare Lorentz, who was known for films including “The Plow That Broke The Plains” (1936), “The River” (1938) and “The Fight for Life” (1940), the fund provides production and post-production grants to be used in the creation of original, independent documentary films that illuminate issues in the United States.
“This year, we tried to consider broadly what Pare Lorentz’s legacy is for the 21st century,...
- 2/1/2023
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
35 international documentary projects include 11 first-time feature directors.
New works from Mark Cousins and Cow producer Kat Mansoor are among 35 documentary projects selected for Sheffield DocFest’s MeetMarket pitching forum, which returns as an in-person event for 2022 from June 27-28.
The event will run in-person for the first time since 2019; and will continue online in the days following the festival. The selected titles are a mixture of theatrical features, and projects being made for television.
Scroll down for the full list of projects
Cousins is presenting UK title A Sudden Glimpse To Deeper Things, produced by Adam Dawtrey and Mary Bell.
New works from Mark Cousins and Cow producer Kat Mansoor are among 35 documentary projects selected for Sheffield DocFest’s MeetMarket pitching forum, which returns as an in-person event for 2022 from June 27-28.
The event will run in-person for the first time since 2019; and will continue online in the days following the festival. The selected titles are a mixture of theatrical features, and projects being made for television.
Scroll down for the full list of projects
Cousins is presenting UK title A Sudden Glimpse To Deeper Things, produced by Adam Dawtrey and Mary Bell.
- 4/28/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
35 international documentary projects include 11 first-time feature directors.
New works from Mark Cousins and Cow producer Kat Mansoor are among 35 documentary projects selected for Sheffield DocFest’s MeetMarket pitching forum, which returns as an in-person event for 2022 from June 27-28.
The event will run in-person for the first time since 2019; and will continue online in the days following the festival. The selected titles are a mixture of theatrical features, and projects being made for television.
Scroll down for the full list of projects
Northern Irish filmmaker Cousins is presenting UK title A Sudden Glimpse To Deeper Things, produced by Adam Dawtrey and Mary Bell.
New works from Mark Cousins and Cow producer Kat Mansoor are among 35 documentary projects selected for Sheffield DocFest’s MeetMarket pitching forum, which returns as an in-person event for 2022 from June 27-28.
The event will run in-person for the first time since 2019; and will continue online in the days following the festival. The selected titles are a mixture of theatrical features, and projects being made for television.
Scroll down for the full list of projects
Northern Irish filmmaker Cousins is presenting UK title A Sudden Glimpse To Deeper Things, produced by Adam Dawtrey and Mary Bell.
- 4/28/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: NBCU Academy and NBC News’ documentary division, NBC News Studios, have set Damon Davis (Chain of Rocks), Stephanie Wang-Breal (Florence from Ohio), Eric Juhola (The Queer Beat), Set Hernandez Rongkilyo (unseen), Brett Story and Stephen Maing (Untitled Labor Union Documentary), and Rebecca Landsberry-Baker and Joe Peeler (Untitled Muscogee Nation Documentary) as the participants for their second annual Original Voices fellowship.
The program looks to support documentarians with projects in all stages of development, who identify as or—showcase stories highlighting social issues affecting—women, LGBTQ+, people with color, or people with disabilities. Each of the six filmmakers selected will receive a 60,000 grant, as well as the one-year artist development fellowship, designed to help them with the completion of their films. Fellows will also have access to archival research and production resources, as well as executives and journalists across NBC News Studios and the NBCUniversal News Group. NBCU News Group...
The program looks to support documentarians with projects in all stages of development, who identify as or—showcase stories highlighting social issues affecting—women, LGBTQ+, people with color, or people with disabilities. Each of the six filmmakers selected will receive a 60,000 grant, as well as the one-year artist development fellowship, designed to help them with the completion of their films. Fellows will also have access to archival research and production resources, as well as executives and journalists across NBC News Studios and the NBCUniversal News Group. NBCU News Group...
- 4/11/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
The Sffilm Documentary Film Fund (Dff) officially has deemed the 2021 winners.
Now in its 10th year, Dff awarded a total of $60,000 in grant funding to four documentary projects, in $15,000 increments each. The funding will support feature-length documentaries in post-production.
Per the official Sffilm announcement, the Dff supports “non-fiction films that are distinguished by compelling stories, intriguing characters, and an innovative visual approach.” The 2021 winners include “Against the Tide,” “Driver,” “Hummingbirds,” and “Weed Dreams.”
“In an incredibly competitive slate of submissions, we are thrilled with the winning selections,” Masashi Niwano, Sffilm Director of Artist Development, said. “All of these films explore the human experience in new and powerful ways that truly moved our jury to tears.”
Since its founding in 2011, the Sffilm Documentary Film Fund has distributed nearly $1 million to filmmakers across the nation. The 2021 Dff is made possible by support from Jennifer Hymes Battat and the Jenerosity Foundation.
The 2021 panelists...
Now in its 10th year, Dff awarded a total of $60,000 in grant funding to four documentary projects, in $15,000 increments each. The funding will support feature-length documentaries in post-production.
Per the official Sffilm announcement, the Dff supports “non-fiction films that are distinguished by compelling stories, intriguing characters, and an innovative visual approach.” The 2021 winners include “Against the Tide,” “Driver,” “Hummingbirds,” and “Weed Dreams.”
“In an incredibly competitive slate of submissions, we are thrilled with the winning selections,” Masashi Niwano, Sffilm Director of Artist Development, said. “All of these films explore the human experience in new and powerful ways that truly moved our jury to tears.”
Since its founding in 2011, the Sffilm Documentary Film Fund has distributed nearly $1 million to filmmakers across the nation. The 2021 Dff is made possible by support from Jennifer Hymes Battat and the Jenerosity Foundation.
The 2021 panelists...
- 1/27/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
One of the first major in-person gatherings for the documentary industry is gearing up in Maine, where next month’s Camden International Film Festival’s Points North Institute has unveiled the doc makers and projects selected for its artist programs.
The programs include the Points North Fellowship, North Star Fellowship, 4th World Media Lab and Lef/Ciff Fellowship. Through private workshops, screenings and industry meetings taking place both in-person on the coast of Maine and online, the four programs will support 25 documentary projects in development.
Eighty percent of this year’s new Points North-supported projects are directed or co-directed by filmmakers from backgrounds historically marginalized or excluded from the film industry, according to the org.
The artist programs are designed to connect filmmakers with mentors, funders and potential collaborators. More than 80 fellows, mentors and industry professionals are expected to attend the festival — which runs Sept. 16-26 — alongside 20 directors in the Ciff program.
The programs include the Points North Fellowship, North Star Fellowship, 4th World Media Lab and Lef/Ciff Fellowship. Through private workshops, screenings and industry meetings taking place both in-person on the coast of Maine and online, the four programs will support 25 documentary projects in development.
Eighty percent of this year’s new Points North-supported projects are directed or co-directed by filmmakers from backgrounds historically marginalized or excluded from the film industry, according to the org.
The artist programs are designed to connect filmmakers with mentors, funders and potential collaborators. More than 80 fellows, mentors and industry professionals are expected to attend the festival — which runs Sept. 16-26 — alongside 20 directors in the Ciff program.
- 8/18/2021
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
Seven filmmakers’ projects will each receive $45,000 as part of the inaugural Original Voices Fellowships launched by NBCU Academy and NBC News Studios.
The recipients also will receive a one-year fellowship to support their feature-length nonfiction film projects. That includes access to archive research, mentorships, story and edit consultations and distribution strategy expertise. They also will get marketing and publicity guidance and production resources.
NBCU Academy was launched as part of NBCUniversal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde’s Fifty Percent Challenge Initiative, with the goal of an employee base of 50% women and 50% people of color.
The recipients include:
Bloodthicker, directed by Zac Manuel and produced by Chris Haney: The documentary, filmed over four years, is about three childhood friends, all young musicians, navigating adulthood while living in the shadows of their famous fathers.
Hummingbirds, directed by Silvia Castaños, Estefania Contreras, Miguel Drake McLaughlin, Diane Ng, Ana Rodriguez-Falco, Jillian Schlesinger, and produced by Leslie Benavides,...
The recipients also will receive a one-year fellowship to support their feature-length nonfiction film projects. That includes access to archive research, mentorships, story and edit consultations and distribution strategy expertise. They also will get marketing and publicity guidance and production resources.
NBCU Academy was launched as part of NBCUniversal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde’s Fifty Percent Challenge Initiative, with the goal of an employee base of 50% women and 50% people of color.
The recipients include:
Bloodthicker, directed by Zac Manuel and produced by Chris Haney: The documentary, filmed over four years, is about three childhood friends, all young musicians, navigating adulthood while living in the shadows of their famous fathers.
Hummingbirds, directed by Silvia Castaños, Estefania Contreras, Miguel Drake McLaughlin, Diane Ng, Ana Rodriguez-Falco, Jillian Schlesinger, and produced by Leslie Benavides,...
- 6/16/2021
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
Maidentrip is a documentary about 14-year-old Laura Dekkerm, who set out, camera in hand, on a two-year voyage in pursuit of her dream to be the youngest person ever to sail around the world alone. It will be screening this weekend at Webster University’s Winifred Moore Auditorium (470 E. Lockwood, Webster Groves, Mo 63119). Showtimes are 7:30 this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings (March 14-16). Admission is:$6 for the general public, $5 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other schools, and $4 for Webster University staff and faculty. The Webster University Film Series site can be found Here http://www.webster.edu/film-series/
Here’s Kathleen Kaiser’s review of Maidentrip that was originally posted here at We Are Movie Geeks on January 16th:
Many of us may remember hearing in 2010 via nearly every media outlet nationwide, that a 14 year old Dutch girl by the name of Laura Dekker, was trying to...
Here’s Kathleen Kaiser’s review of Maidentrip that was originally posted here at We Are Movie Geeks on January 16th:
Many of us may remember hearing in 2010 via nearly every media outlet nationwide, that a 14 year old Dutch girl by the name of Laura Dekker, was trying to...
- 3/13/2014
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
A remarkable documentary about a remarkable kid, and an incredibly optimistic look one young person making her dreams come true. I’m “biast” (pro): hooray! a film about a teenage girl having an adventure… and it actually happened
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
Laura Dekker dreamed about sailing around the world solo. And between mid 2010 and early 2012, she did just that, and broke records as the youngest person ever to achieve such a feat. She was just 14 when she started, 16 when she finished. And she did it without a support team following her. On the longest leg of her voyage, she spent 47 days at sea nonstop, with not a single other human being for company. (There were always dolphins and seagulls, though.) It took a court battle in her home country of Holland for her and her parents to...
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
Laura Dekker dreamed about sailing around the world solo. And between mid 2010 and early 2012, she did just that, and broke records as the youngest person ever to achieve such a feat. She was just 14 when she started, 16 when she finished. And she did it without a support team following her. On the longest leg of her voyage, she spent 47 days at sea nonstop, with not a single other human being for company. (There were always dolphins and seagulls, though.) It took a court battle in her home country of Holland for her and her parents to...
- 1/20/2014
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
In 2009, a then 13-year-old Laura Dekker announced her intention to sail around the world alone, incurring the wrath of the Dutch court system, whose objections delayed her trip by a year. While this was going on, Jillian Schlesinger, an aspiring filmmaker in New York, heard about Dekker and wanted in on her journey, sending her a personal letter and designs, asking to help Laura tell her story on film. Thus, two parallel journeys were launched, as these two young women embarked on projects they had never undertaken before. The result is the inspiring “Maidentrip,” a collaboration between Schlesinger and Dekker that chronicles Dekker’s journey, and captures her indomitable spirit of adventure. The film is a true creative collaboration: Dekker shot all of the footage at sea herself, with a handheld or mounted camera, while Schlesinger met her during several of her stops at port to film Laura on dry land.
- 1/17/2014
- by Katie Walsh
- The Playlist
Jillian Schlesinger's "Maidentrip," which debuted at SXSW and screened at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, chronicles Dutch teen Laura Dekker's sail around the globe at age 14, a feat which would win her the title in 2012 of youngest person in history to make the voyage alone. Observant and unassuming, the documentary looks at the significance of Laura's trip not in terms of records, but as a rite of passage, and as a way for the teen to negotiate her past. The film gets the ugly stuff out of the way first. Following Dekker's announcement to sail in 2009, she and her father were embroiled in a ten-month legal battle. Dutch authorities claimed that Laura needed a custody transfer, while the internet tossed words at her including "arrogant," "spoiled" and the particularly nasty sentiment: "I hope she sinks." After a year of warring with the courts and shouldering waves of media opinion,...
- 1/16/2014
- by Beth Hanna
- Thompson on Hollywood
'Maidentrip' Director Jillian Schlesinger On How She Made Her First Film (With A Mostly Female Crew)
"Maidentrip," which will be released in New York tomorrow, provides a fresh perspective on the men lost at sea sagas we saw onscreen last year in "All is Lost" and "Captain Phillips." Unlike those films, "Maidentrip" is nonfiction and its focus is an intrepid young female sailor, who, is decidedly not lost. Directed by first-timer Jillian Schlesinger, "Maidentrip" tells the story of 14-year-old Laura Dekker, a Dutch teenager who endured a highly publicized custody battle with the Child Welfare Office in order to pursue of her dream of becoming the youngest person to ever successfully sail around the world. Though Schlesinger initially learned of the story through the press surrounding the custody battle, she was much more interested in Dekker's story. Not surprisingly, the resulting film spends little time dwelling on the courtroom battle and, instead, focuses on Dekker's and her amazing voyage. "I I first read about the story...
- 1/16/2014
- by Paula Bernstein
- Indiewire
Review by Kathleen Kaiser
Many of us may remember hearing in 2010 via nearly every media outlet nationwide, that a 14 year old Dutch girl by the name of Laura Dekker, was trying to become the youngest individual to sail solo around the world.
I am sure that I was not the only mother, or father, or sensible human being for that matter, that was thinking this young lady, much less her parents, must have lost their minds. Even the Dutch authorities thought this to be true, as they fought to keep her from embarking on her unthinkable voyage and tried to have her removed from the custody of her own parents.
When the authority’s quest on both accounts failed, and with the blessing of her father and the sponsors she secured to fund her trip, Laura set out to make her dream come true, and to prove that she knew exactly what she was doing.
Many of us may remember hearing in 2010 via nearly every media outlet nationwide, that a 14 year old Dutch girl by the name of Laura Dekker, was trying to become the youngest individual to sail solo around the world.
I am sure that I was not the only mother, or father, or sensible human being for that matter, that was thinking this young lady, much less her parents, must have lost their minds. Even the Dutch authorities thought this to be true, as they fought to keep her from embarking on her unthinkable voyage and tried to have her removed from the custody of her own parents.
When the authority’s quest on both accounts failed, and with the blessing of her father and the sponsors she secured to fund her trip, Laura set out to make her dream come true, and to prove that she knew exactly what she was doing.
- 1/16/2014
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
You may have already heard this story: A fifteen-year-old girl wins a legal battle versus the Dutch government to stay in the custody of her parents and is therefore able to set out on her 40-foot sailboat in an attempt to become the youngest person to ever sail around the Earth, solo. If it sounds fantastic, it is. Inspirational? Yep. Daunting? Check. A bit terrifying? That too. But could this really make an interesting documentary considering she is on the boat by herself? In her fascinating and beautifully moving film Maidentrip, young director Jillian Schlesinger answers that question with a resounding, "Yes!" Part of the secret to Schlesinger's success is in Laura Dekker's decision to not simply sail around the world at a breakneck...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 1/15/2014
- Screen Anarchy
Jillian Schlesinger's Maidentrip condenses 14-year-old Laura Dekker's quest to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world down to a breezy 80 minutes, which isn't to say it's all killer, no filler.
Though certainly inspirational, the film could hardly be called probing: The range of emotions exhibited by Dekker (who shot most of the footage herself) ranges from mildly introspective to utterly euphoric, the one exception being her annoyance with a nosy reporter.
Were there no moments of nagging self-doubt or close calls worth recounting in any significant detail? Schlesinger seems in such a rush to guide us to the end unscathed that she sometimes loses sight of the small details that make this journey unique.
Only near the end, while the int...
Though certainly inspirational, the film could hardly be called probing: The range of emotions exhibited by Dekker (who shot most of the footage herself) ranges from mildly introspective to utterly euphoric, the one exception being her annoyance with a nosy reporter.
Were there no moments of nagging self-doubt or close calls worth recounting in any significant detail? Schlesinger seems in such a rush to guide us to the end unscathed that she sometimes loses sight of the small details that make this journey unique.
Only near the end, while the int...
- 1/15/2014
- Village Voice
Following the journey of Laura Dekker, the youngest person to sail alone around the world, Jillian Schlesinger’s debut documentary feature, “Maidentrip,” won the Visions Audience Award at SXSW this year, and makes its theatrical debut this January at the IFC Center. The film was a creative collaboration with Dekker, as she shot all of the footage on the boat by herself, while Schlesinger followed her on several of her stops around the world. We recently spoke with Schlesinger about the filmmaking process of “Maidentrip,” and also have an exclusive clip of the film to share. “Maidentrip” is nominated for a Cinema Eye Honor for its truly stunning watercolor-like animation by Moth Collective, mapping the visual of Laura’s two-year trip around the world. Schlesinger first caught wind of Laura’s story in 2009 after reading an op-ed in the New York Times about the Dutch court case attempting to bar...
- 1/8/2014
- by Katie Walsh
- The Playlist
Belle
The 2014 Athena Film Festival has unveiled its lineup of narrative, documentary and short films.
The New York Premiere of Belle, starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw and directed by Amma Asante, is the Athena Film Festival’s Opening Film, screening on Thursday evening. Decoding Annie Parker, starring Helen Hunt and Samantha Morton and directed by Steven Bernstein, is the festival’s Centerpiece Film, and will be screened on Friday evening. Geraldine Ferraro: Paving The Way, directed by her daughter, Donna Zaccaro, is the festival’s Closing Film, screening on Sunday evening.
The festival honors extraordinary women in the film industry and showcases films that address women’s leadership in real life and the fictional world. Now in its fourth year, the festival runs from Thursday, February 6 through Sunday, February 9 on the Barnard College campus in Morningside Heights. Artemis Rising Foundation is the Founding Sponsor of the Festival.
The Book Thief
Among...
The 2014 Athena Film Festival has unveiled its lineup of narrative, documentary and short films.
The New York Premiere of Belle, starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw and directed by Amma Asante, is the Athena Film Festival’s Opening Film, screening on Thursday evening. Decoding Annie Parker, starring Helen Hunt and Samantha Morton and directed by Steven Bernstein, is the festival’s Centerpiece Film, and will be screened on Friday evening. Geraldine Ferraro: Paving The Way, directed by her daughter, Donna Zaccaro, is the festival’s Closing Film, screening on Sunday evening.
The festival honors extraordinary women in the film industry and showcases films that address women’s leadership in real life and the fictional world. Now in its fourth year, the festival runs from Thursday, February 6 through Sunday, February 9 on the Barnard College campus in Morningside Heights. Artemis Rising Foundation is the Founding Sponsor of the Festival.
The Book Thief
Among...
- 1/7/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Sometimes it just warms your heart to see a film finally getting the attention it deserves. It has just been announced that the wonderful SXSW Audience Award-winning documentary Maidentrip will be setting sail from First Run Features in New York on January 17th. This has been a labor of love by director Jillian Schlesinger and producer Emily McAllister and the release news is a huge step towards helping this film find its surely adoring audience. We've got the trailer for you below and you can read my review of the film here. Directed, produced and shot by a team of young female filmmakers, the new highly acclaimed documentary film Maidentrip celebrates the accomplishments of the intrepid young woman Laura Dekker and brings her complex and...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 10/31/2013
- Screen Anarchy
Jillian Schlesinger's documentary "Maidentrip," which follows Dutch 14-year-old Laura Dekker's seabound excursion to become the youngest person to sail around the globe solo, has been snapped up for Us distribution by First Run Features. Check out the film's first trailer below, exclusively on Toh! Dekker's voyage announcement was met with a highly publicized custody battle in 2010. But in the film, Schlesinger instead chooses to focus on a portrait of Dekker as a sailor -- alone, unconventional and fiercely independent for her years. The young captain of the Guppy is an engaging subject, with a mix of ballsy determination and honest vulnerability. While Schlesigner checks in with Laura at her various port stops, all footage at sea is shot exclusively by Dekker.The film had its world premiere at SXSW earlier this year, where it scored the Audience Award in the Visions program.Our Toh! review of the film is here.
- 10/28/2013
- by Beth Hanna
- Thompson on Hollywood
You may have already heard this story: A fifteen-year-old girl wins a legal battle versus the Dutch government to stay in the custody of her parents and is therefore able to set out on her 40-foot sailboat in an attempt to become the youngest person to ever sail around the Earth, solo. If it sounds fantastic, it is. Inspirational? Yep. Daunting? Check. A bit terrifying? That too. But could this really make an interesting documentary considering she is on the boat by herself? In her fascinating and beautifully moving film Maidentrip, young director Jillian Schlesinger answers that question with a resounding, "Yes!" Part of the secret to Schlesinger's success is in Laura Dekker's decision to not simply sail around the world at a breakneck...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 3/17/2013
- Screen Anarchy
The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival announced Audience Award-winners today from the Narrative Feature Competition, Documentary Feature Competition, Narrative Spotlight, Documentary Spotlight, Emerging Visions, Midnighters, 24 Beats Per Second, SXGlobal, Festival Favorites and Design Award categories. Audience Award results for all categories were certified by the accounting firm of Maxwell Locke & Ritter. The Audience Awards follow the previously announced 2013 Jury Awards, which included Grand Jury Winners Destin Daniel Cretton’s Short Term 12 for Narrative Feature, and Ben Nabors’ William And The Windmill for Documentary Feature. For the complete list of 2013 Award Winners, visit sxsw.com/film. The 2013 SXSW Film Festival hosted a total of 133 features, consisting of 78 World Premieres, 13 North American Premieres and 9 U.S. Premieres, with 76 first-time directors. 110 shorts will screen as part of 10 overall shorts programs. The nearly 250 films were selected from a record number of overall submissions, over 5,700, comprised of approximately 2,100 features and 3,600 shorts,...
- 3/17/2013
- by Josh Abraham
- Hollywoodnews.com
While the SXSW Film Festival isn't the only thing happening in town this week, it's almost the only thing happening.
Heading to the festival? You know the drill: Avoid driving and parking downtown if you can (MetroRail has become a popular alternative), get in line much earlier than you think you need to, and consult Slackerwood's über-handy SXSW Film Fest Omnibus Survival Guide for everything you need to know about navigating the madness of Austin's largest film festival. Godspeed, indie film fans -- and I hope you catch a glimpse of Matthew McConaughey or your favorite film celebrity or at least one of Austin's bicycle thong guys.
The SXSW Community Screenings offer free films that anyone can see, first-come, first-served, at the Boyd Vance theater in the Carver Museum. The Afs Shortcase, which our contributor Debbie Cerda helps program, is one of the highlights. The Carver Museum is not quite downtown,...
Heading to the festival? You know the drill: Avoid driving and parking downtown if you can (MetroRail has become a popular alternative), get in line much earlier than you think you need to, and consult Slackerwood's über-handy SXSW Film Fest Omnibus Survival Guide for everything you need to know about navigating the madness of Austin's largest film festival. Godspeed, indie film fans -- and I hope you catch a glimpse of Matthew McConaughey or your favorite film celebrity or at least one of Austin's bicycle thong guys.
The SXSW Community Screenings offer free films that anyone can see, first-come, first-served, at the Boyd Vance theater in the Carver Museum. The Afs Shortcase, which our contributor Debbie Cerda helps program, is one of the highlights. The Carver Museum is not quite downtown,...
- 3/8/2013
- by Don Clinchy
- Slackerwood
Jillian Schlesinger picked an extremely ambitious project to start her career: a mix of found footage and new material documenting the trails of 14 year old Laura Decker as she sets out on a two-year voyage in pursuit of her dream to be the youngest person ever to sail around the world alone. What it's about: The unusual life and adventures of Laura Dekker, the youngest person ever to sail around the world alone. About the filmmaker: "Maidentrip" is my first film as a director, but I have been addicted to storytelling in various forms since I was old enough to speak and write (and sing, I used to make up a lot of songs.) I always dreamed that my obsession with creating and sharing stories would eventually translate to the screen. Seafaring stories were a part of the ethos of my childhood. When my dad was in his late teens,...
- 3/6/2013
- by Indiewire
- Indiewire
Check out this exclusive clip from Jillian Schlesinger's SXSW documentary "Maidentrip," following Dutch 14-year-old Laura Dekker's seabound excursion to become the youngest person to sail around the globe solo. The voyage announcement was met with a highly publicized custody battle in 2010, but here Schlesinger focuses on a portrait of Dekker as a sailor -- alone, unconventional and fiercely independent for her years. The film has its world premiere at the Austin fest on March 10. The young captain of the Guppy is an engaging subject, with a mix of ballsy determination and honest vulnerability. While Schlesigner checks in with Laura at her various port stops, all footage at sea is shot exclusively by Dekker. Here's the SXSW program notes: 14-year-old Laura Dekker sets out—camera in hand—on a two-year voyage in pursuit of her dream to be the youngest person ever to sail around the world alone. In...
- 2/27/2013
- by Beth Hanna
- Thompson on Hollywood
Some of the best films of the 2012/2013 calender year from Richard Linklater, Harmony Korine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Andrew Bujalski, Jeff Nichols, David Gordon Green, Shane Carruth and Joshua Oppenheimer are among the headliner names for the 2013 edition of the South by Southwest Film Festival. With a little over 100 plus film line-up (a whopping 2000+ titles were submitted), almost 70 are world premieres: there is the highly anticipated sophomore film (that has been on our radar since it first went into production) with M. Blash’s (The Wait), Joe Swanberg who makes SXSW his second home will premiere Drinking Buddies, veteran indie filmmaker John Sayles saddles in with Go For Sisters, and rounding out the Narrative Spotlight section we’ve got The Bounceback from Bryan Poyser, Loves Her Gun from Geoff Marslett along with titles we thought might break into Park City, but found an Austin home instead with Jacob Vaughan’s Milo and...
- 2/1/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
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