FortælleBiffen#1
November 27th 2008
Baunehøj Lokalet
Copenhagen, Denmark

The event will be a combination of film screenings and storytelling and we have invited a professional storyteller who will tell stories in between the film screenings.

SOLD OUT

Wednesday October 22 2008
6:30-8:00pm
Industry Connect: Casting For Indies
DCTV
87 Lafayette st.
New York, NY

The talk is a casual master class with top casting associates and directors discussing the art of casting for indies at all budget ranges.

Speaker Bios:

Leah Meyerhoff – Filmmaker
Leah Meyerhoff is a Slamdance Grand Jury prize winner and Student Academy Award finalist currently pursuing an MFA at New York University. Her short film TWITCH has screened in over 200 film festivals, won a dozen international awards and was picked up for distribution by IFC, Reelport and Skandinavia TV. Leah has since completed several music videos, including TEAM QUEEN, a Planet Out finalist airing on LOGO, and ETERNAL FLAME, on MTV Europe. Leah has received press coverage from The New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Film Threat, and numerous other publications. She is also profiled in the docudrama series “Film School” which continues to air on IFC. Leah teaches film courses at New York University and the New York Film Academy and has been a featured panelist at a number of film festivals. She often works as a festival consultant and recently served on the Slamdance narrative jury. Leah holds a BA in Art-Semiotics from Brown University and is currently in pre-production on her first feature film. A Sundance Lab finalist, UNICORNS tells the story of an awkward teenage girl who escapes to a fantasy world when her first romantic relationship turns increasingly abusive. Writer/Director Leah Meyerhoff is an award winning MFA candidate at NYU. UNICORNS is executive produced by Allison Anders (Things Behind the Sun, Gas Food Lodging) and produced by Alexis Fish (Shortbus) and Heather Rae (2008 Sundance winner Frozen River). Leah recently participated in the IFP Emerging Narratives program where UNICORNS won a Panasonic grant. Leah is currently working with casting directors Judy Henderson (L.I.E., Before Sunrise), Meg Morman and Sunny Boling (Me and You and Everyone You Know) and UNICORNS is scheduled to go into production next spring.

Jessica Kelly – Casting Director/ Associate
Jessica Kelly is a Casting Director/ Associate at Chrystie Street Casting with Billy Hopkins and Suzanne Smith Crowley. Recent Film Credits include: BROOKLYN’S FINEST dir. Antoine Fuqua starring Richard Gere, Ethan Hawke, Don Cheadle; THE WRESTLER dir Darren Aronofsky starring Mickey Rourke; THE BOX dir. Richard Kelly starring Cameron Diaz; NAILED dir David O Russell starring Jake Gyllenhaal. Previously worked at Hopkins Smith and Barden Casting. Selected Casting Associate credits include: THE VISITOR, FUNNY GAMES, EVENING, BRIEF INTERVIEWS WITH HIDEOUS MEN, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, ASSASSINATION OF A HIGH SCHOOL PRESIDENT, CHOKE, THE BRONX IS BURNING. She has also cast for the Cherry Lane Theater and other off broadway venues as well as Nickelodeon, commercials, soap operas and regional musical theater.

Zoe Rotter – Casting Director/ Associate
Zoe E. Rotter has worked on films including PINK PANTHER, NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM, MUSIC & LYRICS, SCHOOL OF ROCK, TWO WEEKS NOTICE and the upcoming PINK PANTHER 2, COLD SOULS, NOTORIOUS and KICKASS.

*This discussion is for IFP members and filmmaker alumni only.

The RCWA chose Leah Meyerhoff’s film Twitch as the winner of the Best Woman Director at the 2006 West Chester Film Festival.

Check out the profile of Twitch on their website.

Saturday & Sunday, November 21 & 22 - 8 pm
The Crucible
1816 Half Street SW
Washington, DC

Screening Includes:
In Yer Room
Lemon Squeezy
Neurotica
Coming Out Spanko
Anonymity
Namaha Man
Who’s The Top?
Married with Children
Pleasure Me
Pac Mouse
The Party
Wash Me Clean
High Infidelity
Salt
Something About Nadia
Wildest Dreams

December 12-21 2008
Roze Film Dagen
Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Amsterdam Pink Film Days is an international film festival focusing on gay, lesbian, bi and transgendered films and filmmakers.

Our goal is to present a wide variety of domestic and international films; features, short films and documentaries, all delving into the different aspects of our community.

More screening info coming soon…

A Sundance Lab finalist, UNICORNS tells the story of an awkward teenage girl who escapes to a fantasy world when her first romantic relationship turns increasingly abusive. Writer/Director Leah Meyerhoff is a Student Academy Award finalist and Slamdance Grand Jury Prize winning NYU grad. Her short films have screened in over 200 film festivals, won a dozen international awards, and are currently airing on IFC, LOGO and MTV. Executive produced by Allison Anders (Things Behind the Sun, Gas Food Lodging) and produced by Alexis Fish (Shortbus) and Heather Rae (2008 Sundance winner Frozen River) UNICORNS was recently accepted into IFP’s Emerging Narratives program.

Full list of Independent Film Week honors:

Independent Filmmaker Lab Finishing Grant: “A Thing as Big as the Ocean,” directed by Joseph Cashiola

Adrienne Shelly Director’s Grant: “Sorry, Thanks,” directed by Dia Sokol

Kodak Grand Jury Screenwriting Prize: “Walrus Eating Baloney,” written by Benjamin Bates

Fledgling Fund Award for Socially Conscious Documentaries: “The Promise of Freedom,” directed by Beth Murphy

Panasonic Digital Filmmaking Grants: Damian Lahey and Ian Ogden for “Child in the Dark; J.P. Chan for “Chinos y Negros”; Pascal Leister and Nissar Modi for “Gringo Bay”; Leah Meyerhoff for “Unicorns“; and Shiva Ramanathan for “The Unseen”

Grand Prize Winners of the Panasonic Digital Filmmaking Grants: Annie Howell for “The Black Kid,” Susan Youssef for “Habibi Rasak Kharban,” Matthew Porterfield for “Metal Gods.”

Scriptwriting/Writing for Visual Media
instructor: Claudia Myers
American University
Washington D.C.

In part of an effort to integrate more real-world scripts from outside the University into the course’s curriculum, they are using the script as a basis of comparison to the completed film, and also as an instructional aid as to “what a very-well-done graduate student script could look like”.

Needless to say, I was quite flattered by the request.

Emerging Narratives
Independent Film Week
September 14-19 2008
New York, NY

Independent Film Week is produced by IFP and encompasses all those events presented annually each September in New York City that are part of (or are held concurrently with) what was formerly called the IFP Market. It is typically the week following the Toronto Film Festival and will take place in 2008 from September 14-19. Independent Film Week includes the Independent Filmmaker Conference, the Project Forum, various showcases, special screenings and events – some of which are open to the public and others by accreditation or selection only.

The Project Forum is that part of Independent Film Week comprised of the selected projects in the three presentation sections: Emerging Narrative, No Borders Co-Production Market, and Spotlight on Documentaries. It also refers to all of the activities related to these sections, primarily one-on-one “buyer request” meetings, screenings of documentary work, and roundtables, info sessions, and networking events designed specifically for the filmmakers of the selected projects.

Criteria & Selection Process
U.S. projects only. 40 projects accepted. Priority given to projects where the writer is also the director or there is a director attached.

Awards Eligibility
The Kodak Grand Jury Screenwriting Award, given to the script that shows the most artistic promise, includes a $5,000 cash grant provided by Artists Public Domain, along with a filmmaker mentor and product grant. The five nominees for the Grand Jury Award will also participate in IFP’s Screenplay Reading series held during Independent Film Week.

Additionally, eight Panasonic Digital Filmmaker Grants will be presented to projects budgeted under $500,000, providing recipients with camera, product and post service package. All awards are juried and based solely on artistic merit and originality of vision.

What to Expect Prior
- In-person or phone consultation over the summer with your professional script consultant ensures the possibility of completing any revisions prior.
- As most agencies and production companies don’t accept unsolicited material, inclusion in the Emerging Narrative Script Dossier ensures that information about you and your project goes directly into the right hands. IFP targets approximately 250 such companies – irrespective of their attendance.
What to Expect During
- Pre-scheduled one-on-one meetings with producers and development executives provide filmmakers the opportunity to present their scripts at an early stage of development. All meetings scheduled at producer’s request based on information provided in the Emerging Narrative Script Dossier.
- Roundtable discussions with festival programmers, agents and development executives expose filmmakers to marketplace trends and expand business relationships.
- Access to all Independent Filmmaker Conference programming, including “Making Your First Feature” workshops and panel discussions.

Recent Projects Include:
Courtney Hunt’s Frozen River, Rodney Evans’ Brother to Brother, Nicole Kassell’s The Woodsman, James Ponsoldt’s Off The Black, Alice Wu’s Saving Face, and director Seith Mann (“Grey’s Anatomy,” “The Wire”).

A Slamdance Grand Jury prize winner and Student Academy Award finalist, TWITCH portrays a young girl torn between two worlds: caring for her disabled mother and escaping into the world of adolescence with her new boyfriend. TWITCH has screened in over 200 film festivals worldwide, won a dozen international awards, and is currently airing on IFC, Channel Thirteen and Skandinavia TV. Directed by Leah Meyerhoff

Watch a clip from TWITCH here

IndieFlix is a non-exclusive independent film marketplace whose goal is to empower filmmakers and promote independent film. Films sold through IndieFlix are benefiting from our growing visibility in the industry.

Unlike other distribution companies, IndieFlix really is about distribution, not ownership. We want the best for everyone! So come and be a part of something that is new, exciting and necessary for our artistic future.