Slamdance News and Events

Duke City Shoot Out Short Competition

2008-05-05T17:59:45Z

SCREENPLAY COMPETITION 2008

2008-04-14T16:54:12Z

SUBMIT YOUR SCREENPLAY TO THIS YEARS SLAMDANCE SCREENPLAY COMPETITION.

DEADLINE JUNE 2 2008 POSTMARKED.

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

April 1st: LA Screening!

2008-03-10T18:09:59Z

To all Zombie Supporters!

Cinema Libre Studio and Slamdance Film Festival invite you to come see 2007 Narrative Competition selection AMERICAN ZOMBIE on Tuesday, April 1st at Laemmle's Sunset 5 in West Hollywood for only $6! If you support equal rights for Zombies, then print out the coupon here and come check out this film, then stick around for a Q&A with Slamdance's Drea Clark and American Zombie director Grace Lee, along with cast members!

Laemmle's Sunset 5
8000 Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90046

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Showtime: 7:30pm
Buy Tickets!

Tell your friends!

Don't forget to join the Myspace and Facebook pages!

"Sharply funny and a winner all the way, Lee not only pokes fun of L.A., subcultures and the documentary form, but also herself."
- G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle

"But the mere fact that Lee can make both a media satire and, in the end, a creepy horror flick, while at least alluding to bigger social issues, suggests the breadth of her wit and intelligence."
- Andrew O'Hehir, salon.com

"American Zombie is the must-see zombie movie of the year."
- ZombieReportingCenter.com

"Very clever, inventive and creepy"
- angryasianman.com

"American Zombie is most definitely an original work of documentary/fiction/comedy/horror."
- Toby Roberts, CinemActivist.com

Filmmakers Grace Lee ("The Grace Lee Project") and John Solomon ("Nonsense Man") team up to shoot a documentary about high-functioning zombies living in Los Angeles and their struggles to gain acceptance in human society.

Despite their wildly different working styles, Grace and John manage to chronicle the hopes and dreams of four fascinating subjects: IVAN, a convenience-store clerk who longs for a career in publishing; LISA, a florist trying to recover her lost memories; JUDY, a hopeless romantic who learns to accept her true nature; and JOEL (pronounced "Ho-El"), a committed political activist striving for zombie rights. As Grace strives to get to know the zombies "on their own terms," John is eager to uncover their darker side and rallies to get the crew permission to shoot at a three-day, zombies-only retreat called Live Dead where the documentary takes an unexpected and dangerous turn. What transpires there is beyond anything the filmmakers could imagine, as they are forced to re-evaluate their ideas about tolerance, identity politics and the future of the human race.

To watch the trailer and get more information visit:
http://www.americanzombiemovie.com

indieWIRE: Slamdance as "Refreshing Alternative"

2008-01-22T18:38:31Z

Big ups to our longtime supporters at indieWIRE for a great piece by Eric Kohn on some of our festival offerings.

"Compact in terms of programming and scale, the Slamdance Film Festival offers a refreshing grassroots alternative to the Sundance Film Festival's glamour. This year's program includes several markedly similar attempts to tell fictional stories within a documentary framework. These aren't lighthearted mockumentaries of the Christopher Guest variety: YouTube generation filmmakers have adapted the style as a non-ironic storytelling device--and when the tactic works, it's stunning."

You can check out the full article here.

Being relatively biased towards the often easy-way-out feel of the indie mockumentary, I couldn't agree more that the films in that genre that we've selected give a swift kick to the tuckus of the standard "what, is that a camera? are you guys filming?" falseness that often pervades the style. High-five, filmmakers!

Horror Films

2007-12-17T19:12:01Z

One of my favorite new blogs is Dead Harvey, not just because of the name (conjuring both rabbits and Weinsteins) but because of their intent to serve as "a resource for both independent horror filmmakers and fans. We hope to keep people informed of new developments in the industry, as well as bringing attention to new and worthy independent horror films and film festivals."

That's our kind of people! And here comes the bias... they recently had this to say about the festival:

"I could write pages upon pages about the Slamdance Film Festival... and probably should in my film festivals section, but... uh, well... you know.

Slamdance is a true representation of what independent filmmaking is all about and it has the balls to take place in Utah at the same time as Sundance. It's a festival "by filmmakers for filmmakers" and showcases undistributed films by emerging filmmakers. Of course, with being a "true" independent film festivals, you're going to get a slew of horror. So, there's always going to be a bunch of artsy crap, then there's these films that look awesome - I've also linked to their own sites:

"Paranormal Activity", written and directed by Oren Peli. On the Slamdance site, it just says, "A supernatural thriller featuring shocking footage of a demonic haunting", but there's a bit more to it than that. It's about a young couple that suspects that their house is haunted, so they set up video surveillance... their surveillance and home videos have been edited into this 99 minute feature film. Brilliant! Keeps the budget low, the low-budget feel is justified and it all makes sense. I can't wait to see it... the buzz is really big.

"Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer", written and directed by Jon Knautz is "about an angry young plumber who witnessed his family's brutal murder when he was a child. Unknowingly, he awakens an ancient evil which forces him to confront his past and deal with the monstrous reality of the present." Once again, that blurb does NOT do the film justice. First off, you've got a great Robert Englund cameo AND it looks like it's filled with beasts, ghoulies and monsters. Think "Reanimator" meets "Evil Dead" meets "Slither". The better blurb is: Jack Brooks is a plumber who fights hellspawns, cameo by Robert Englund. I can't get enough of movies like this, they remind my of early Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson.

Finally, the last one that interests me is "Trailer Park of Terror", directed by Steven Goldmann. "Six troubled teens become stranded in a ramshackle trailer park where they meet Norma, an undead, trailer-trash babe with a killer body and cursed brood of Redneck Zombies." "Trailer Park of Terror" is based on the popular Imperium Comic series and, yeah... that blurb kinda sums it up.

Check 'em out, if you get the chance...

Thanks, Dead Harvey! Couldn't have said it better myself (although we seem to have differing opinions in regards to "artsy crap"), but please do check us out, people!