Episode 137: 4Qs with Kristen Gerweck

Kristen Gerweck comes over to DIF central to record some podcasts.

What are the 4Q’s?

  • Name your favorite film of all time (limit 3)
  • Name a film you think is underrated
  • Name a film you think is overrated
  • Name a lesser-known film that you think people should seek out

Kristen Gerweck’s short film The Wind Phone won six awards at Film Invasion Los Angeles in 2019 and there’s a chance, I’m hoping a good one, that it will be on the shortlist for the best Live Action Short Oscar.  Whenever someone makes a work of art like The Wind Phone I’m always very interested to hear their favorites and explore the films that I’m missing from my vocabulary.

Here are Kristen’s answers:

  • Favorites: Never Look Away (Germany),  2001: A Space Odyssey, Some Like It Hot, Tree of Life
  • Underrated: Love & Mercy
  • Overrated: Bohemian Rhapsody
  • Seek Out: Like Father, Like Son (Dir. Hirokazu Koreeda)

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You can listen to the podcast using the media player below or on iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, or Stitcher.

Podcast

Source: Discover Film

Ep. 136: Kristen Gerweck “The Wind Phone”

The first time that I saw The Wind Phone, I was simply blown away.  It is a masterful work of art in every way.  Set in Japan and subtitled in English, I assumed that this incredible film had been submitted to Film Invasion Los Angeles from a brilliant filmmaking team based in Tokyo that would not be able attend the festival and whom I would never meet.

The film was submitted by an agency based in Berlin, so you can imagine my surprise when I found out that the film was made by a Los Angeles based team!  Not only that, but when we screened the film in June 2019 the entire Japanese American cast joined writer/director Kristen Gerweck onstage for a wonderful Q&A.  The Wind Phone, by the way, went on to receive SIX AWARDS from FILA 2019.  Not too shabby.

I had Kristen over for a podcast interview in August and we put it in the vault.  Kristen had high hopes for the film’s chances to compete for an Oscar and my hopes were nearly equal to hers.  Every year I go watch the Live Action Short category of Oscar Nominees and every year I think of films that screened at Film Invasion L.A. and the Sherman Oaks Film Festival that deserved that honor.  The Wind Phone is on that list in my head.  And you know what?  It might happen!  Cross your fingers and your toes, because Kristen and her producer Linda Christina Riedmann (whose interview will get posted in week or so) let me know that The Wind Phone cleared the first hurdle and is eligible to make the Oscar’s short list of ten live action short films that compete for the Best Live Action Short Oscar!

So look… SPREAD THE WORD!  Got friends in the Academy?  Got friends who have friends in the Academy?  Tell them to watch The Wind Phone.  They will know how.  It is really about the right people actually seeing the film, because if they see it then I have no doubt they will support it.  But they have to take the time to see it.  They have to now that this one is special.

Ok.  That was a lot of rambling.

Maybe you should just listen to my interview with Kristen which is about how she became a filmmaker via law school, the film that she made before The Wind Phone, and more.

Source: Discover Film

Episode 136: Kristen Gerweck “The Wind Phone”

The first time that I saw The Wind Phone, I was simply blown away.  It is a masterful work of art in every way.  Set in Japan and subtitled in English, I assumed that this incredible film had been submitted to Film Invasion Los Angeles from a brilliant filmmaking team based in Tokyo that would not be able attend the festival and whom I would never meet.

The film was submitted by an agency based in Berlin, so you can imagine my surprise when I found out that the film was made by a Los Angeles based team!  Not only that, but when we screened the film in June 2019 the entire Japanese American cast joined writer/director Kristen Gerweck onstage for a wonderful Q&A.  The Wind Phone, by the way, went on to receive SIX AWARDS from FILA 2019.  Not too shabby.

I had Kristen over for a podcast interview in August and we put it in the vault.  Kristen had high hopes for the film’s chances to compete for an Oscar and my hopes were nearly equal to hers.  Every year I go watch the Live Action Short category of Oscar Nominees and every year I think of films that screened at Film Invasion L.A. and the Sherman Oaks Film Festival that deserved that honor.  The Wind Phone is on that list in my head.  And you know what?  It might happen!  Cross your fingers and your toes, because Kristen and her producer Linda Christina Riedmann (whose interview will get posted in week or so) let me know that The Wind Phone cleared the first hurdle and is eligible to make the Oscar’s short list of ten live action short films that compete for the Best Live Action Short Oscar!

So look… SPREAD THE WORD!  Got friends in the Academy?  Got friends who have friends in the Academy?  Tell them to watch The Wind Phone.  They will know how.  It is really about the right people actually seeing the film, because if they see it then I have no doubt they will support it.  But they have to take the time to see it.  They have to now that this one is special.

Ok.  That was a lot of rambling.

Maybe you should just listen to my interview with Kristen which is about how she became a filmmaker via law school, the film that she made before The Wind Phone, and more.

Source: Discover Film

123. 4Qs with Ed McCarthy

Ed & Jeff about to discuss Ed’s favorite films

What are the 4Q’s?

  • Name your favorite films of all time (limit 3)
  • Name a film you think is underrated
  • Name a film you think is overrated
  • Name a lesser-known film that you think people should seek out

Ed McCarthy wrote and directed the award winning short film They Fall Fast.  When I see a film as wonderfully written and thoughtfully directed as They Fall Fast, I get a little greedy and start thinking about interviewing them on this podcast and at that point I start wondering what their answers to the Four Questions will be.  Now we get to know!

You can watch They Fall Fast right now on Amazon Prime Video.  It starts off Season 2, Episode three and is paired with the equally wonderful Shark Week.  Click here to be taken to the Amazon page. or you can go to Prime Video on your TV and search for “Discover Indie Film.”

Here are Ed’s answers:

  • Favorites: The Dark Knight, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Steel Magnolias
  • Underrated: Romy & Michelle’s High School Reunion
  • Overrated: La La Land
  • Seek Out: Spellbound

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You can listen to the podcast using the media player below or on iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, or Stitcher.

Podcast

Source: Discover Film

2019 Grand Jury Prize Winners

We are proud to announce the Grand Jury Prize winners for the 2019 festival!

Grand Jury Prize Winners

Best Feature Film – First Person: A Film About Love
Best Short Film – Drama – Nancy
Best Short Film – Comedy – IV-Effing
Best Short Film – Horror – The Orchestra
Best Short Film – Sc-Fi – Progeny
Best Short Film – Experimental – Blow Out
Best Animated Film – Exceptional Minds Animation Block
Best Documentary Film – Dennis and Lois
Best Music Video – Emergence
Best Director, Feature Film – Ashley Cahill, First Person: A Film About Love
Best Director, Short Film – Jeremy Weiss, The Teacher

Best Actress in a Lead Role – Valene Kane, First Person: A Film About Love
Best Actor in a Lead Role – Carlin James, Turner Risk
Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Anjali Bhimani, IV-effing
Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Eddie Cahill, Sextpert Advice
Best Performance by a Full Cast, Feature – Turner Risk
Best Performance by a Full Cast, Short – Girl Stuff
Best Screenplay – Michael Dailey & Morgan Lintz, Turner Risk
Best Screenplay (Unproduced Script Competition) – One More Day by Wendy Wilkins
Best Cinematography – Amir Mokri, The Teacher
Best Production Design – Sophie Tabet, First Person: A Film About Love
Best Sound Design – Dungeons and Dairy (Exceptional Minds Animation Block)

Source: SOFF