IndieWorks - November Recap

Last Tuesday was the November edition of IndieWorks! Due to the weather, it being 2 days before Thanksgiving and only 2 weeks after the terrifying and devastating election results, we expected a smaller crowd. Thankfully, we still had 40 people in house for our screening of 5 shorts. And even more thankfully, we were able to enjoy an evening of celebrating expression and local filmmaking/filmmakers even amongst such uncertainty. The first half of the lineup was a series of animated films (the third mixed with live-action in documentary form), and all addressed trauma or anxiety but with resolutions of hope. The second half was more lighthearted with fun genre twists and turns. Some lovely conversations came out of the lineup. We hope connections were made, as well!

We'd just like to say thank you to everyone who came out to support the filmmakers and spend the evening with us & them. (We hope you'll join us again on December 13th, where we'll take a break from our usual screenings to have a filmmaker focused forum on how artists can use our reach and creative content to organize against the normalization of hate.) 

The Films of the night:

Trauma (Directed & Written by Brett Moody)
Matt, an ageless male in a spacesuit, wakens on the floor of a massive, pitch-black cavern. He is lost, and a meter on his suit warns him that he is running out of oxygen.

Bloop (Directed & Written by Joshua Planz)
A visual poem depicting the last three years of internal thoughts.

Suffering is the Easy Part (Directed by Jaime Ekkens)
A short, partially animated documentary about trauma, trauma's aftermath, depression and the healing process.

The Suitor (Directed & Written by Alvaro Congosto)
October 30th, 1938. During Orson Welles' infamous radio broadcast of War of the Worlds, a lonely man tries to bond with a panicked young woman as they fearfully wait for the end of the world together.

Mantis (Directed by Christian LaMorte, Written by Dylan Gantz)
A young man and a young woman watch TV together.

Watch our Q&A Recap (shot & edited by Kimberly Drew Whiten). *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 system rating 8 categories of Story, Dialogue/Writing, Direction, Acting, Cinematography, Sound, Editing, and Production Value. 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 onSeedandSpark.com should they use the platform and a free Social Media audit ($200 value) from4MileCircus. And both winners received a free 2016 subscription to Bright Ideas Magazine.

For the November 2016 lineup, our winning films were:
    Audience Choice Award:  "Mantis"
    Silver Whiskers Award:  "The Suitor"

Watch the audience winner and trailer for the Silver Whiskers winner below:

Join us for our open forum on December 13th!

IndieWorks - October (Halloween Special) Recap

Happy Halloween! Last Tuesday was the October edition of IndieWorks, and our annual Halloween special! We screened 6 genre shorts, and had almost 50 people in house despite the jarring chill in the air! The films ranged in sub-genre throughout the night, but all had a macabre spin and really put us in the Halloween spirit. Some wonderful conversations came out of the lineup; we hope connections were made, as well!

We'd just like to say thank you to everyone who came out to support the filmmakers and spend the evening with us & them. We hope you'll join us again for our November screening on the 22nd. After two months in a row of speciality screenings, we'll be back to our usual diverse lineups through the rest of Year 4. 

The Films of the night:

Arts & Crafts (Directed & Written by Nina Gielen)
When Misha was small, he and his mother would spend hours creating their own toys and animals out of sticks and leaves. It’s been over a year since Misha’s mother died, and he now lives alone with his dad. Still hoping she might come home eventually, Misha leaves the door unlocked for her every night, much to his father’s consternation.

Burnt Popcorn (Directed & Written by Rafael De Leon)
When a naive young woman is reluctant to break away from an unfulfilling dating situation, her father convinces her to handle it in an extreme way and complete her transition to adulthood.

The Price of Bones (Directed by Brandon Taylor, Written by Samantha Kolesnik)
Caprice and Heather go to extreme lengths to be thin.

Stitched (Directed & Written by Heather Taylor)
A sheltered woman, reeling from the death of her mother, shows her sister how far she will go to be heard.

The Grind (Directed & Written by Christian LaMorte & Alejandro Veciana)
A mini web series satirizing modern movie cliches with absurd, surreal humor.

Sticks (Directed & Written by Mark J Parker)
Four college students reunite on a summer night at a house in the woods. As they tell scary stories around the campfire, the line between imagination and reality blurs, and they get the feeling they may not be alone on the property.

Watch our Q&A Recap (shot & edited by Kimberly Drew Whiten). *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 system rating 8 categories of Story, Dialogue/Writing, Direction, Acting, Cinematography, Sound, Editing, and Production Value. 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 onSeedandSpark.com should they use the platform and a free Social Media audit ($200 value) from4MileCircus. And both winners received a free 2016 subscription to Bright Ideas Magazine.

For the October 2016 lineup, our winning films were:
    Audience Choice Award:  "The Price of Bones"
    Silver Whiskers Award:  "Arts & Crafts"

Watch the Trailer for both winners below:

IndieWorks: September (Web Series) Screening Recap

Last Tuesday was the September edition of IndieWorks, and our annual Web Series special! We screened 6 episodes of locally made web series and had over 50 people in house! Web Series Month is always extra special because we find the creators and actors tend to already know each other, so there are even more supportive & collaborative vibes in the crowd throughout the night. Some wonderful conversations came out of the lineup, and we can't wait to see more episodes of everything we screened!

We'd just like to say thank you to everyone who came out to support the filmmakers and spend the evening with us & them. We do hope you enjoyed all the films and the opportunity to network with other filmmakers and film enthusiasts, and we hope some connections were made! AND we hope you'll join us again for our Halloween Special on October 25th. 

The Series of the night:

Six Windows (Ep. 1 - Lucy) (Directed by Brandon Taylor)
"Six Windows" peeks into the lives of people, as they face the unique ambience and drama of living in New York City. Each episode focuses on a moment in time for a single soul, a snapshot of their life. 

Pair of Normals (Pilot - WWYD?) (Created by Jason Hood)
Betty is an overworked college student plagued by high expectations, cramming in the library for finals. After a horrifying revelation, she asks herself the age-old question, What Would Yeezus Do?.

Blank My Life (Ep. 10 - Ending) (Created by Alex Spieth)
Susan and Ryan go on a date, just in time for the holidays.

Redheads Anonymous (Ep. 4) (Created by Elisabeth Ness/Directed by Daniel Seth)
To win a Redhead Scholarship, Molly and her three ginger pals must find out: what does it mean to be a redhead?

Working On It (Created by Marzy Hart)
"Working on It", follows four couples as they wait in the therapist's office to begin their session.

Growing Down (Created by Jessica Henderson/Directed by Jeff Davis)
Three NYC women try to navigate their 20s and all the problems presented by attempting to make something happen.

Watch our Q&A Recap. *Please know that all series are available online - feel free to watch them on a computer screen near you & then come back to see what the creators have to say!

The awards go to...

At the end of the evening, we announced our winning filmmakers for bothAudience 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 system rating 8 categories of Story, Dialogue/Writing, Direction, Acting, Cinematography,  Sound, Editing, and Production Value. (In the case of Web Series Month, we watch & score the full season of each series.) 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 a free Social Media audit ($200 value) from4MileCircus. And both winners received a free 2016 subscription to Bright Ideas Magazine.

For the September 2016 lineup, our winning films were:
    Audience Choice Award:  "Six Windows"
    Silver Whiskers Award:  "Blank My Life"

Watch both winners below:

Join us next month for our Halloween Special on October 25th!

IndieWorks: August Screening Recap

Last Tuesday was the August edition of IndieWorks. We screened 5 films and had over 60 people in house! Our first two films were intimate dramas. The second set of films were comedic pieces. Some wonderful conversations came out of the lineup. Overall, the evening was full of fun and supportive vibes!

We'd just like to say thank you to everyone who came out to support the filmmakers and spend the evening with us & them. We do hope you enjoyed all the films and the opportunity to network with other filmmakers and film enthusiasts, and we hope some connections were made! AND we hope you'll join us again for Web Series month on September 13th. 

The Films of the night:

Break (Directed by Nicholas Santos)
A young couple's relationship changes forever after an encounter with a local contractor.

The Blood in Our Veins (Directed by Mateo Marquez)
When Daniel Royas decides to take his ill mother, Alejandra, to be seen at a local clinic on his birthday, little do they know the terrible news that lies ahead.

Plus-Plus (Directed by Tom Rizzuto)
An ace salesman tries to sell a car to a reluctant customer with a secret.

Marcela's Tale (Directed by Tanmaya Shekhar)
In the middle of the worst day of her life, Marcela is struck by an abandoned package.

Ginger With a Snap (Directed by Aubrey Smyth)
Centers around the city life of Ginger, a woman in her 20’s with a mane of red hair. Her alias is Gingersnap, a shock jock with an eponymous call-in sex and love advice radio show along with her sidekick and producer Rhymin' Simon.

Watch our Q&A Recap (shot & edited by Kimberly Drew Whiten). *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 system rating 8 categories of Story, Dialogue/Writing, Direction, Acting, Cinematography, Sound, Editing, and Production Value. 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 onSeedandSpark.com should they use the platform and a free Social Media audit ($200 value) from4MileCircus. And both winners received a free 2016 subscription to Bright Ideas Magazine.

For the August 2016 lineup, our winning films were:
    Audience Choice Award:  "Ginger With a Snap"
    Silver Whiskers Award:  "The Blood in Our Veins"

Watch the Trailer for our Silver Whiskers winner below:

Join us next month for our Web Series edition on September 13th!

IndieWorks: July Screening Recap

Last Tuesday was the July edition of IndieWorks. We screened 5 films and had over 70 people in house! Our first two films were moving documentaries. The second set of films were in the horror-comedy realm - a couple of which used genre to explore important or thought-provoking issues. Overall, the night was full of thoughtful conversations and wonderfully supportive vibes!

We'd just like to say thank you to everyone who came out to support the filmmakers and spend the evening with us & them. We do hope you enjoyed all the films and the opportunity to network with other filmmakers and film enthusiasts, and we hope some connections were made! AND we hope you'll join us again on August 2nd. 

See photos from the evening (by Grayson Davis):

The Films of the night:

My Identity (Directed by Yasmin Mistry)
Ashley, a young Native-American girl, converts to Islam in hopes of finding structure in a life where it never existed.

The Firmest Friend (Directed by Andrew Fixell)
In August 2014, filmmaker Andrew Fixell ventured into New York City's Tompkins Square Park to interview four homeless youth about their transient lifestyles and their relationships with the pit bulls who travel with them.

White Privilege Frankenstein (Directed by Chris Carfizzi)
When an angry mob comes for Frankenstein's Monster, Victor Frankenstein must find a way to get him off the hook.

Catslaughter (Directed by Humberto Guzman, Written & Produced by Stephanie Iscovitz & Sarah DuRivage-Jacobs)
In the case of catslaughter, everyone is a suspect.

What's Eating Dad? (Directed by Michael Goldburg)
When Chloe meets her boyfriend's parents for the first time, what's really for dinner is something she never imagined.

Watch our Q&A Recap (shot & edited by Kimberly Drew Whiten). *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 system rating 8 categories of Story, Dialogue/Writing, Direction, Acting,Cinematography, Sound, Editing, and Production Value. 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 a free Social Media audit ($200 value) from 4MileCircus. And both winners received a free 2016 subscription to Bright Ideas Magazine.

For the July 2016 lineup, our winning films were:
    Audience Choice Award:  "The Firmest Friend"
    Silver Whiskers Award:  "What's Eating Dad?"

Watch the Trailers for both winners:

Join us next month for our August edition on the 2nd!