Slamdance News and Events

SLAMDANCE SCREENPLAY COMPETITION 2008

2008-04-14T16:58:02Z

http://www.slamdance.com/writing/feature.html

Broken Egg: Help Fix a Filmmaker

2008-03-13T23:33:30Z

Independent film is all about community, and one of our own is having a rough time of it!

Slamdance two time alum Benh Zeitlin (EGG & THE ORGINS OF ELECTRICITY) was in a bone-cracking car accident before the SXSW screening of his new short. Like many filmmakers who get by on charm and favors, Benh doesn’t have health insurance and is currently holed up in the hospital.

Mark Rosenberg from Rooftop Films, which co-funded Benh's SXSW short GLORY AT SEA, posted a blog about Benh’s story, his successes with GLORY and eventually, what people out there can do to show support. Please check it out, and see how you can lead a hand to a super talented filmmaker.

The good news is that GLORY also won an award, which you can read about here!

Photo of cast on boat, courtesy rooftopfilms.com

View & Vote: New Anarchy Videos!

2008-02-25T19:16:40Z

Our March Anarchy videos are up to stimulate your eyeballs. And your heart. If you didn't get to take part in the primaries, this is also your chance to vote! Anarchy is a really simple idea, we must say. Each month, three videos are selected to play online where you, the viewing public, get to watch and then choose your favorite. The winners from each month get to screen at the festival and have an overall winner chosen.

It's democracy AND it's indie filmmaking. Slamdance 4-prez!

Now, I'm admittedly biased, but we have three really fun films this month so I encourage you to check them out. They're short, they're well-made, they could be you next month (submit your own on the Anarchy page). Check them all out here at Slamdance Presents, or hit them up individually:

Harrold Was At the Bus Stop, directed by Brandon Mugar

This is the story of Harrold, and how he fell in love, but did not get his love.

An Artist, directed by Danny O'Malley

An artist who confesses all while remaining pretentiously unclear.

My Hands Are Bananas, directed by Nick Andrews

This dark German techno tells the tale of a young man und his appealing attributes.

Writing Submissions & New Video

2008-02-25T19:16:40Z

After some technical hiccups, we're thrilled to announce that our Writing Competition is now accepting submissions online. You hear me, writers? Get on that! Grand prize is $7,000 and all the acclaim you can eat. You'll need to register as a user to submit, but that's easy. (Incidentally, that's the good kind of user, not the kind your mom worried about you turning into when you got into all this Hollywood nonsense)

Secondly, if you were wondering when you could get a visual on the actual award winners from this year's festival - have I got an answer for you! Slamdance TV. I could not make this up if I wanted... but thankfully, Heidi Van Lier is still churning out video from festival footage, bless her, and the most recent posting is of the first half of the awards presentation. Oscars, schmoscars, right? Enjoy!

I Was Caught In The Middle Of A Railroad Track

2008-01-24T16:52:03Z

Thanks to one of our great documentaries, I now have a new reference point when I hear the word "Thunder".

This lovely lady is part of the Lightning and Thunder duo and was wonderful enough to grace us with her magical voice at last night's happy hour.

She brought the house down not only with her renditions of Patsy Cline, but do you know anyone else who can rock gold lame like that? She puts American Apparel models to shame. Speaking of great outfits, as part of their promotional materials, the Song Sung Blue team provided us with two magnificent costume pieces, as worn by L&T, to wear on the day of screening. I was wondering who would possibly step up to the plate to rock out these pieces when the answer appeared before me:

I don't know if the phrase "A Vision in Sequins" fully sums up my emotions when I see this image of our President and Co-Founder (on the left) Peter Baxter, and our Production Supervisor (on the right - with some random chick in the middle) Scott Pourroy, but it's pretty close.