Tallahassee Film Festival

Winners voice will be featured in a 10-30 second animated film

TALLAHASSEE, FL – The Tallahassee Film Festival is collaborating with award-winning artist and animator, Dustin Grella, to present the Say Something Wild contest where the voice of one lucky person will be featured in an animation that will premiere, April 7th at the opening night of the Tallahassee Film Festival.

“This contest is a unique opportunity for the local community to truly be a part of the Tallahassee Film Festival,” said Chris Faupel, TFF Programming Director. “We’re excited to partner with Dustin and can’t wait to see the final product.”

Dustin Grella’s Animation Hotline project allows anyone to call the hotline and leave a voicemail featuring a word, idea, quote or anything they find interesting. Grella then selects his favorite voicemail and creates a 10-30 second animation based on the message.

To be considered for the animation, community members are encouraged to call the hotline at (212) 683-2490 and leave a message. Callers must use the word “Tallahassee” somewhere in their message and leave their contact information at the end of the voicemail.

The contest starts Thursday, March 24, 2011 and the deadline is April 1, 2011 at 11:59pm. Grella will choose the contest winner and their voice message will be featured in a 10-30 second animation. The winner will also receive two tickets to the Opening Night of the Tallahassee Film Festival, two tickets to the After Party and a DVD copy of the animation signed by Dustin Grella.

“Grella’s style of animation is unusual, primarily consisting of charcoal drawings. It will be wonderful to see this inspired type of animation coupled with the voice of a local community member,” added Faupel.

Grella will also have his short film, Prayers for Peace, featured at the Tallahassee Film Festival. The film is about the 2004 death of his younger brother in Iraq.

For more information about Dustin Grella and the Animation Hotline, visit www.animationhotline.org.

For more information about the Tallahassee Film Festival, visit www.tallahasseefilmfestival.com.

The Tallahassee Film Festival will be held April 6-10 and will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the film Something Wild with two screenings on April 6 at FSU’s Student Life Center at 7pm and 10:30pm with a Q&A in between. Over the next 4 days, in addition to more than 70 films, TFF will be hosting a number of special events including educational panels and workshops, opening and closing night presentations, after parties and an awards ceremony. During the ceremony, Asiel Norton will be recognized as the recipient of the 2011 Emerging Filmmaker award. The events will be held at several venues in Tallahassee.  Information on all events, including film synopses and trailers are available at http://www.tallahasseefilmfestival.com/films_2011/.

Opening Night Presentation – Small Town Murder Songs

A modern gothic tale of crime and redemption starring Peter Stormare (Fargo, The Big Lebowski, Armageddon) as Walter, an aging police officer from a small Ontario Mennonite town who comes up hard against the mistrust of his community. When a young, unidentified woman is found dead by the lake – the victim of a brutal and violent crime – Walter and his partner Jim (Aaron Poole, The Safety of Objects) are called to the scene of the town’s first murder investigation in decades. Slowly the town discovers the violent history of Walter’s past, and coupled with the suspicions around the investigation, Walter’s newly reformed life threatens to be upset. The film also stars Jill Hennessy (TV’s Crossing Jordan and Lymelife) and Martha Plimpton (TV’s Raising Hope and HBO’s How to Make It in America).

TFF 2011 Education: Panels & Workshops

These panels and workshops will be conducted by talented and practicing professionals, including Tim McNeal, the Vice President of Talent Development & Diversity for ABC Disney Television Group, addressing traditional and new topics related to filmmaking and the film industry. Topics include screenwriting, documentaries, film budgeting, editing, Trends in Hispanic films, and a look at Trends in New Media and Filmmaking.

The Panels and workshops will run from April 7-9 and will be held at the Aloft Hotel downtown. For a full list of scheduled events and times visit: http://www.tallahasseefilmfestival.com/education/panels.php

Closing Night Presentation – Redland

As a family struggles to survive in rural America during the Great Depression, their daughter’s secret affair begins a journey into the unknown. From writer/director, Asiel Norton, comes this story about the eternal laws of survival and existence, and how one act can begin the dissolution as well as the rebirth of a family. Redland will make its southeastern debut at our festival as the Closing Night Feature Film, to be preceded by another rarely seen, but amazing short by filmmaking brothers Michael and Justin Younesi, Look Not at the Mountains!

Tickets

Priority seating is given to All-Access Pass holders. All-Access passes cost $25.00 per person and can be purchased online at TallahasseeFilmFestival.com and at each venue before film screenings. An All-Access pass will get you admission to an unlimited number of screenings throughout the festival, priority admission at all venues, all after parties, the awards ceremony and Opening and Closing Night.

Individual General Admission tickets will be available at the theatres. Opening Night and Best of Fest tickets are available for $10 per person. Closing Night and all other screenings will cost $5 per person at the venue. General admission opens 15 minutes prior to show time and will be sold on a first come, first served basis. The educational workshops and panels are free to the public.

For more information please visit, www.tallahasseefilmfestival.com

The Tallahassee Film Festival is introducing a special offer for local college students during its 2011 festivities. Students from FSU, FAMU and TCC will be able to see any film that is featured at the FSU Student Life Center for free with valid school ID.

“One of our festival goals this year is to increase student involvement during TFF,” said Carolyn Smith, Festival Director. “We hope this free opportunity will attract more students and get them interested in further participating in the film festival.”

The Student Life Center will be screening films on Friday and Saturday of the festival. Students will be admitted along with general admission, after All Access Pass holders are seated. The free student offer is only available at the FSU Student Life Center.  If students wish to attend screenings at other venues, they will need to buy an All Access Pass or general admission tickets.

Films at the speed of your story!

The Tallahassee Film Festival and Tallahassee.com are proud to sponsor the 4th annual 48 Hour Film Contest Friday, March 18th through Sunday March 20th.

Show your talent on this neck breaking process of storytelling. If you have what it takes to script, shoot and edit a five-minute film in just 48 hours, and have fun in the process, then sign up and rally your team!

At the start of the contest, teams will receive a theme, prop and a line of dialogue that must be prevalent and congruent with each film’s storyline.

Interested filmmakers are encouraged to attend a short seminar Wednesday, March 16 at the TCC Capital Center downtown from 6:00– 8:00PM.

On Friday, March 18, the theme, prop and line of dialogue will be revealed. These three elements must be included in your film. All finished work must be submitted by 7:00PM on Sunday, March 20. All of the films will be posted on our sponsor’s site, Tallahassee.com.

From March 31 to April 8, Family, friends and the community at large vote will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite films on Tallahassee.com. The winners of each category will receive a trophy and cash award during the Tallahassee Film Festival award ceremony and the Audience Choice award will be given to the film with the most online votes. So, be ready to vote!

This year the contest takes a new and refreshing turn, there has been a revamping of the competition categories:

Independent Filmmakers Category (IFC) This category welcomes those enthusiasts with semi-professional, amateur and novice knowledge of filmmaking.

Students Category (SC) This category is open for students at the high school and college level who are keen in making their artistic presence be noticed.

Clean those lenses, charge your camera batteries and un-dust your trusty script writing software. You’ve got 48 hours to turn in your best!

Happy moviemaking!

Sincerely,

Carlos Miranda
48-Hour Film Contest Committee Director

SCHEDULE

Wednesday, March 16th – A short seminar on filmmaking will be held at the TCC Capital Center 6:00PM – 8:00PM. Room to be determined.

Friday, March 18th – The theme, specific prop, and a line of dialogue, which must be included in your film, will be emailed to all the teams.

Sunday, March 20th – All finished work must be submitted by 7:00PM.

All the movies will then be posted on our sponsor’s website, Tallahassee.com, so encourage your family, friends and the community vote for their favorites!

The winners of each category will receive a trophy and cash award during the Tallahassee Film Festival award ceremony. The Audience choice award will be given to the story with the most online votes.  So, be ready to vote!

Last chance to register for the Digi-Explorers Workshop!

The deadline to register for the Digi-Explorers “Script to Screen” workshop has been extended to Friday, March 4th! The one-day workshop is designed specifically for middle school students, teaching them the basics of production. Students will learn about story structure, writing, direction, camera operation, sound and editing. They will also collaborate on one-minute digital video projects, and selected winners will receive awards and will be recognized on the TFF website.

The workshop will take place Saturday, March 19, from 9 am to 4 pm at TCC. It costs $25 per participant, including materials and lunch. There are also five scholarship opportunities available.

Eligible students must be in middle school in Leon County or its surrounding areas. Advanced registration is required and participation is limited. Please register online by visiting www.tallahasseefilmfestival.com.

The Tallahassee Film Festival is right around the corner and as final preparations are underway, TFF has announced its 2011 judges. The group consists of 11 judges whose talents span different aspects of the film industry. They each have “Something Wild” to offer.

Judges are an integral part of a film festival. They hold a filmmaker’s future in their hands and can give an unknown filmmaker a voice and a rising star added credibility. A judge’s expertise in selecting film festival award recipients can help catapult a filmmaker to the next level, a critical step in identifying the next Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg or Christopher Nolan.

“Selecting experienced judges is important to the success of the film festival and its continued growth,” said Carolyn Smith, TFF Executive Director. “This year’s judges are qualified professionals with a variety of industry and film experience who bring something fresh to the judging table.”

The festival award winners will be announced at the “Best of Fest” Awards Ceremony on April 9, 2011 at Mission San Luis.

The 2011 Tallahassee Film Festival Judges include:

• Dr. Malcolm Armstrong – An Associate Professor of Speech and Film at Tallahassee Community College, Dr. Armstrong received his B.A. and M.A. from California State University, Chico and his Ph.D. in Mass Communication from Florida State University.
• Dr. Valliere Richard Auzenne – A documentary filmmaker and associate professor, she teaches screenwriting, film history, professional development and documentary filmmaking. In 2007, she co-directed and co-produced two documentaries, Breaking the Silence: Torture Victims Speak Out and The Trees Have a Mother.
• Chip Chambers – Do you remember Melrose Place and the original Beverley Hills: 90210 ? Well I’m sure Chip Chalmers does. He directed the series. Chalmers is a director of film, television, and theatre with more than 100 credits. He is currently the Head of Production and a Filmmaker in Residence at the Florida State University Film School.
• Mark Hinson – A film buff and community advocate, Mark Hinson is the Senior Writer, Movie Reviewer and Columnist at the Tallahassee Democrat.
• Tim McNeal – Mr. McNeal is the Vice President of Talent Development and Diversity for Disney ABC Television Group (DATG). McNeal oversees DATG’s Talent Development programs. He expands the scope of these programs across DATG to include Disney Channel and ABC Family. Earlier in his career, McNeal was the Vice President of Drama Development for The WB where he was responsible for shepherding the development of the hit series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dawson’s Creek and Felicity.
• Valerie Peacock – Valarie Peacock serves as the Capital Region Film Commissioner for the Florida Film and Television Office in Tallahassee.
• Jeff Peters, Esq. – Producer, editor and novelist.
• Valarie Scoon – For seven years, Valerie Scoon, was the Director of Development for Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films. The American History and Literature Harvard graduate is currently a producer, creative director, professor and filmmaker in Residence at Florida State University Film School.
• Dr. Andrew Syder – Currently works as a filmmaker and assistant professor at the Florida State University Film School. Prior to joining FSU, Dr. Syder assisted in the development of USC’s Institute for Multimedia Literacy. He studied film at the University of Southern California (Ph.D.) and the University of Warwick (B.A. and M.A.).
• Tyler Turkle – He is an artist, sculptor and filmmaker and director of the Venom Research Institute. From 1975 to 1987, he taught art, photography and filmmaking at Florida State University as a Visiting Lecturer, Assistant Professor and Artist-in-Residence. Turkle’s films and videos have been shown with his paintings and sculptures in museums and galleries throughout the United States and Europe.