IndieWorks Recap

IndieWorks - March Recap

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Last Tuesday evening was our March screening of IndieWorks, and it was a great night! We had just under 30 people in house, which was kind of the perfect number for having a solid audience for the 4 films of the evening, while still being able to maintain comfortable space in the venue as social distancing was just starting to become a necessary topic of discussion. The films were all different in style and genre but all featured surfacing secrets and explored disconnection and miscommunication, either with oneself or others. They were moving, thought-provoking, unnerving, and even downright hilarious. We had excellent Q&A sessions with a lot of questions focused on craft, particularly thanks to a couple aspiring filmmakers in the neighborhood who just happened to come across our event that evening! We believe some valuable connections were made for future collaboration!

We'd like to say thank you to the 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 we sure did! It felt like the perfect way to close out our monthly screenings of Year 7, and have one last in-person celebration together before, those of us who can, make it a priority to stay home more in order to make it safer out in the world for those of us who still have to go out to work on the daily over the next few weeks.

See photos from the evening:

The Films of the night:

Devotion (written & directed by TJ Choi)
A young boy's devotion to his family is tested when he decides to tell his mother about his father's affair.

While Fay’s Away (written & directed by Evalena Marie)
A homeless, pregnant, and desperate young woman navigates a delicate chance at friendship.

Jones (directed by Stacey Maltin, written by Margarita Zhitnikova)
Aware that her drinking has become destructive, Jones takes a go at living the sober life. Not wanting to be someone else’s problem, she pushes away help and comes face to face with herself and her lack of control.

The Gaffer (directed by Paul Robinson, written by Sashia Dumont)
When Daniel Foster crosses a dangerous crime leader, he resorts to humor in a desperate attempt to save his life.

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 in 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. 

The March 2020 winning films were:
    Audience Choice:  While Fay’s Away
    Silver Whiskers Award:  The Gaffer





It’s at this point that we’d normally plug our annual Best of Fest screening, featuring the 10 Silver Whiskers Award winning films of the last year. Our 7th annual edition was scheduled for April 21st, but with the importance of social distancing right now in order to flatten the curve during the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, we’re reevaluating what the safest course of action is for honoring the winners of Year 7. Please follow our social channels for updates as we make announcements. And for our freelancer friends out there, hopefully this community-sourced and ever-evolving list will be helpful in the tough times ahead.

IndieWorks - February Recap

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Tuesday evening was our February screening of IndieWorks, and it was a great night! We were so happy to see that some of our local promotion for our new venue has started to pay off. We had over 40 people in house for our 5 films of the night. There was a nice batch of artists from Astoria who were not affiliated with any of the screening films who came out to enjoy the event. We hope to see them again and more from the Sunnyside, Woodside, Astoria and LIC area at future months!

As a lead up to Valentine’s Day, the full lineup featured films that explored the vulnerabilities of dating and pursuing love. The first two films tackled important social issues, while the second half spanned self-discovery and acceptance. We had great Q&A sessions and noticed a lot of exchanging of info at the end of the night. We believe some valuable connections were made!

We'd like to say thank you to the 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 also hope to see YOU at our March screening on the 10th! It’ll feature films filled with surfacing secrets.

See photos from the evening:

The Films of the night:

White Flags (directed by Luke Harlan, written by Sean Patrick Higgins & Shaunette Renee Wilson)
A new romance begins to spark after a friend sets Him and Her up on a first date, leading to a second, a third, a fourth. Over the course of a few weeks, the spark grows, their connection deepens, and momentum builds leading to an encounter that leaves Her in a state of confusion and shock. "White Flags" is a study on the complexities of consent, and an unflinching look at modern dating culture.

Proof (written & directed by Nora Jaenicke)
Iman, a Pakistani woman, met Evan, a New York native, while the two were film students in New York City. Iman is on a student visa and just returned from a trip to see her family. After being together for 4 years, the two get engaged and are planning to get married. However, during an interview with an immigration officer, Iman's world is about to collapse. The immigration officer is suspecting her of immigration fraud.

Day One (written & directed by Ellie Gravitte)
A young woman struggling with self-identity imagines a not-so-unlikely interaction with a stranger on the subway.

Bath (written & directed by Meredith Dobbs)
Discussions about sexuality and politics during a weekend away in Bath prove to Nick and Ella that despite their six years together, they don’t have it all figured out. Bath was filmed in London and was done entirely using improvised dialogue.

Stuck (directed by Alyssa May Gold, written by Nathalie Frederick)
When two young women get stuck in the bathroom at a party they are forced to reconcile their feelings for one another, showing us that being brave enough to speak your truth can lead to a happy ending.

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 in 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. 

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The February 2020 winning films were:
    Audience Choice:  White Flags
    Silver Whiskers Award:  Bath



Be sure to join us for our March edition on the 10th!

IndieWorks - January Recap

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Tuesday evening was our January screening of IndieWorks, and what a night it was! Despite a slight delay at the top of the evening because of our venue’s projector breaking down (shout-out to Justin, Christina’s husband, for showing up with our backup projector), the evening went very well and was a great way to start off 2020. We had over 25 people in house for our 5 films of the evening. The whole lineup had a through-line of family as a theme, with the first set of films featuring unnerving pieces that also explored isolation and uncertain futures, and the second set featuring sweeter and sometimes somber pieces about memory and reconnection. We had a wonderfully engaged audience in house, filled with some alumni who didn’t have work of their own screening; so the Q&As were especially thoughtful, and there was an extra amount of mingling at the end of the evening — which we love to see!

We'd like to say thank you to the 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 hope some valuable connections were made!

We also hope to see YOU at our February screening on the 11th! It’ll feature films that explore the vulnerabilities of dating and pursuing love.

See photos from the evening:

The Films of the night:

Empty (directed by Cameron Morton, written by Anna Bierhaus, represented by cinematographer Eurica Yu)
Chantal and her partner, Maria, arrive at their daughter’s school for their everyday pick-up and are alarmed when the school is empty. "EMPTY" follows a mother’s harrowing journey as she tries to find her missing daughter in a Kafka-esque world.

Eugene (directed by Rachael Meyers, written by Elisabeth Tsubota & Ian Ostroot)
Set in a Dystopian future, A couple is forced to masquerade as perfect in order to get a child.

Stari Grad (Old Town) (written & directed by Jack Beck)
A fable set in Old Town, Dubrovnik, Croatia. A boy, hiding from artillery fire, makes a wish for peace, with unexpected results.

Abuelo (written & directed by Daniel C Rodriguez)
Hernan Sanchez is a lonely widower, living by himself, often losing himself in photos of his past, trying to grasp the moments that brought him joy. His Grandson, Jonathan Sanchez, frequently visits him to check up on his Grandfather but the two have grown distant and don't communicate as much. On a routine visit Jonathan attempts to reach out and the two share a conversation regarding photos in Hernan's favorite photo book.

A Poem in Bamboo (directed & animated by Chun(Luke)-Yao Chang & XuFei Wu)
When bad things happen, some people are lucky enough to move on, but not the old lady A-Yuan. Either because of the deepest love to her lover or social constriction, that women should belong to their husbands, A-Yuan was trapped in the past after the death of her lover.

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 in 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. 

The January 2020 winning films were:
    Audience Choice:  Abuelo
    Silver Whiskers Award:  A Poem in Bamboo


Be sure to join us for our February edition on the 11th!

IndieWorks - December Recap

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Tuesday evening was our December screening in our 7th season of IndieWorks! The first set of the lineup featured thoughtful & surreal narratives that provoked deep introspection, while the second half were seasonally appropriate horror comedies. It was a visceral, powerful and ultimately fun mix of films. And for a rainy night in a week with many holiday events to compete with, our smaller than usual turnout of 20 people still felt like a full house for the 4 films of the lineup. This is largely because quite a few of the attendees were filmmakers attending for the first time for the event itself, not as part of any particular film; so the Q&A conversations really delved into the craft of the films and clearly created connections in the room. We were really happy to hear the featured filmmakers of the evening tell us that they definitely found some new collaborators in the room for future projects!

We'd like to say thank you to the 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 also hope to see YOU at our January screening on the 14th! It’s a moving lineup of films about family and potential outcomes of the future.

See photos from the evening:

The Films of the night:

Power Out (Written & Directed by Ben Myers, Produced by Rachel Pearl)
A group of Millennials' night takes a turn when the lights suddenly go out.... "Cloverfield" meets "High Maintenance" in this 'experimental political-art- dramedy.'

Tina (Written & Directed by Gayatri Bahl)
A surreal thriller about a woman who goes through self-transformation therapy only to be haunted by an Indian classical dancer, forcing her to confront herself in a way she never expected.

Krampusnacht (Directed & Co-Written by Pete Talamo, Co-Written & Produced by Heidi Kikel. Represented by AD/AP Julia Parrott)
After misbehaving all night at a Christmas celebration, young Hans hears the story of Krampus, the legendary demon known to punish children when they've been naughty. Little does he know what awaits him when the lights go out.

Zoul (Written & Directed by Tom Cassese)
In search of a good soul to consume, a sharp-dressed demon decides to kill his assistant's niece. 

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 in 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. 

The December 2019 winning films were:
    Audience Choice:  Tina
    Silver Whiskers Award:  Power Out


Happy Holidays! Be sure to join us for our January edition on the 14th!