Tuesday evening was our November screening in our 7th season of IndieWorks! After the decision a few months back to stick with Sanger Hall as our monthly home moving forward, we were excited to see that we finally attracted a few artists in the audience who live in the neighborhood and had never heard of us before. We had 30 people in house for our 5 fantastic films of the night, and it was a really engaging and inspiring evening overall. The first half of the lineup featured an eclectic mix of films that played with form and explored the anxieties and aspirations of an artistic life. The second half featured a pair of comedic dramas that tackled different stages of growing up and responsibility. The films were incredibly thoughtful and relatable. 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 some collaborative connections were made! (And shout-out to our guest co-host of the evening Jen Bendick, who covered for Ricardo while he had a film shoot. Hope to have her back soon!)
We also hope to see YOU at our December screening on the 10th! It’s a fun lineup of psychological thrillers and comedic scifi pieces.
See photos from the evening:
The Films of the night:
Deep Sleep (Directed & Animated by Sai DiOrio)
A short animation about depression and the inability to sleep when depressed.
I'm Scared But I've Been Here Before (Directed by Benjamin Stillerman, Written by Melissa Lozada-Oliva)
A visualized poem, literally interprets a surreal and playful sequence of four dreams, each revealing different fears. Poet Melissa Lozada-Oliva and director Benjamin Stillerman assembled selections from Melissa's public dream journal to explore daily anxieties (both conscious and not) endemic to living and struggling as an artist, public figure, and role model for young Latinas.
State of Independence (Directed by Erica Mann)
An intimate documentary short following DJ Ghanaian-American Gabrielle Kwarteng. With the backdrop of Paris, London, and New York City, the film is a personal look into her beginnings as a music curator and how she is breaking the mold and defining her own life path through her art.
The Shallow End (Directed by Cynthia Silver, Written by Wendy MacLeod)
A group of teenaged girls jockey for power in the savage summer society of a community swimming pool during the summer of 1984.
Cheer Up Charlie (Directed by Carmen LoBue, Written by Kara Grace Miller & Anthony Holiday)
A bright-eyed 20-year-old puts her dream on hold to pay her family's medical bills in the fastest way she knows how; dealing drugs.
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 November 2019 winning films were:
Audience Choice: Cheer Up Charlie
Silver Whiskers Award: The Shallow End
