Tuesday evening was our second screening in our 7th year of IndieWorks and, coming off the heels of a decision to test venues for the new annual season, it was our first time trying out Nuyorican Poets Cafe. The space is great with a beautiful screen and solid sound system. We had the whole venue to ourselves and it created a wonderfully immersive environment. The team and mission behind the space are also topnotch. The drawbacks, though, are that we had to enforce a stricter drink minimum than we typically like to and, more importantly, had a hard out of 9:30, which meant capping our lineup at 4 films again and really watching the clock during our usually casual & curious Q&A. But as a whole, the night was a real success. We had a solid 40 people in house for our fantastic films of the evening, and the Q&A was as thorough & thought-provoking as we love for it to be. The first half of the lineup featured complex & impactful pieces about moments & encounters that shape us, and the second half was weird, whimsical and equally wonderful! We'd like to say thank you to filmmakers and the audience for coming out to spend the evening with us. We hope all enjoyed the films, as well as the opportunity to network with other filmmakers and film enthusiasts. We know some connections were made!
We hope to see YOU at our August screening on the 20th, this time at Sanger Hall in Sunnyside, for a moving mix of narrative and documentary shorts about identity and overcoming loss.
See photos from the evening:
The Films of the night:
Chemistry (Directed by Cynthia Silver, Written by Charlotte Martin)
As the audition tape continues to roll, a casting director and producer are caught candidly discussing the repercussions of casting a mixed-race actress.
Eudaemonia (Written & Directed by Julia Ngeow)
A talkative Australian traveller and a reclusive artist form an unlikely bond after an accidental 'break and enter' in Brooklyn.
The Only Thing I Love More Than You Is Ranch Dressing (Written & Directed by Sydney Clara Brafman)
Ranch. Dipped. Chicken. Fingers.
Loveseat (Written & Directed by Grace Kim)
A lonely, middle-aged man sets out in search of his soulmate after what he believes to be a fateful encounter with a banana.
Watch our Q&A Recap. *Please know there are some film spoilers - feel free to look for an opportunity to catch the films at a festival or computer screen near you & then come back to watch!
The awards go to...
At the end of the evening, we announced our winning filmmakers for both Audience Choice Award & Silver Whiskers Award. The Audience Choice Award is voted upon by all those in attendance, and the Silver Whiskers Award is judged by the CongestedCat Team based on a rating system of 8 categories: Story, Dialogue/Writing, Direction, Acting, Cinematography, Sound, Editing, and Production Value, along with a nuanced discussion focused on inclusion and originality. The Silver Whiskers winner goes on to screen again at our end of year Best of Fest screening next April.
The Silver Whiskers winner also receives $50 towards a crowdfunding campaign on SeedandSpark.com should they use the platform and 50% off 4MileCircus' post-production audio cleaning service for a future project.
