IndieWorks: December Recap

Last Tuesday was the December edition of IndieWorks! It was a lovely lineup and a wonderful way to celebrate the end of 2017. With 5 films, we had just over 50 people in attendance, made up of a super engaged audience.  All the films of the evening focused on women and revolved around similar themes, notably family and choice. Thoughtful conversations were had!

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. We know some connections were made!

Have a happy new year! And we hope you'll join us again for our January screening on the 16th -  featuring films focusing on sex & love, or the lack thereof!

See photos from the evening:

The Films of the night:

Family Rewritten (Directed by Yasmin Mistry)
Despite battling Cystic Fibrosis, Camilla, age 16, identifies as a typical middle-class American teenager until the thread that holds her family together suddenly snaps. Just months before her 18th birthday Camilla finds herself in foster care, but instead of being ashamed, she makes a conscious decision to not let her situation define her.  

Choices (Written & Directed by Rick Hamilton)
Deborah relies on chance to avoid making any choices in her life, but then faces a decision that can’t be left up to fate.

There For You (Directed by Viktoria King)
Based on a true story, a young woman finds herself torn apart after having to give away her baby to her mother-in-law.

Sundogs (Written & Directed by Elizabeth Chatelain)
A single mother and her 4-year-old daughter struggle to survive a homeless night in the oilfields of North Dakota.

Sibs (Directed by Cyntia Silver, Written by Samantha Slater)
Sophie, a struggling musician in New York, goes home for her father’s funeral and is met with the sudden reality of becoming her 13 year old, now orphaned, half-brother's guardian. A family drama about figuring out how to grow up.

Watch our Q&A Recap (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, 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 a free Social Media audit ($200 value) from 4MileCircus. 

For the December 2017 lineup, our winning films were:
    Audience Choice Award:  "Sibs"
    Silver Whiskers Award:  "Sundogs"

Join us next month for our January edition on the 16th!

IndieWorks: November Recap

Last Tuesday was the November edition of IndieWorks! It was a surprising night in that we had our smallest turnout ever, in the nearly 5 years we've been doing this! We had exactly 27 people in house (not including our team). Not a bad turnout for a super cold night and a lineup of only 4 shorts; but it was still a surprise. Despite that though, we had a really engaged group for our eclectic and innovative lineup of shorts that included animation, scifi, and documentary; all playing into themes of changing societies and past vs present. Some very interesting conversations were had!

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. We know some connections were made! AND we hope you'll join us again for our December screening on the 12th - for a grouping of films that tackle stories related to family!

See photos from the evening:

The Films of the night:

Rudy's Hobby Shop (Directed by Jason Guzman)
Marvin Cochran, owner of Rudy’s Hobby & Art in Astoria Queens, let's us have a glimpse at the day-to-day in this once ice cream parlor, turned hobby shop. We get a chance to see what a day at Rudy's looks like, sample some the inventory and hear from customers. 

Runaway (Written & Co-Directed by Harrison Heller, Co-Directed by Tommy Kraft)
Maria is an android on the run--falsely accused of murdering her master. Pursued through the woods by ruthless bounty hunters, Maria struggles to reach the Free States and maybe discover her humanity along the way.

Meeting MacGuffin (Written & Directed by Catya Plate)
In a post-apocalyptic future where humanity has fallen apart, a group of scientists and an animated sign complete the construction of a new human race and meet a groundhog climatologist who prepares them for their mission to restore balance to the decimated Earth.

Block (Written & Directed by Brandon Buikema)
Traditional animation is combined with stop motion to create a unique, handcrafted style. This style is used to tell the story of a young writer who needs some life experience.

Watch our Q&A Recap (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, 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 a free Social Media audit ($200 value) from 4MileCircus. 

For the November 2017 lineup, our winning films were:
    Audience Choice Award:  "Meeting MacGuffin"
    Silver Whiskers Award:  "Runaway"

Join us next month for our December edition on the 12th!

IndieWorks: Halloween Special Recap

Happy Halloween! Last Tuesday was the October edition of IndieWorks, and our annual Halloween Special! As big horror film fans and makers ourselves, Halloween is always a treat for us. We screened 6 spooky shorts and had 45 people in house. A nice sized crowd considering the rainy evening! The films ranged in style, gore, sub-genre and tone. It was a really fun and eclectic lineup than conveyed the different ways horror can be interpreted and portrayed. Some interesting conversations were had!

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. We know some connections were made! AND we hope you'll join us again for our November screening on the 14th!

See photos from the evening:

The Films of the night:

The Run-In (Directed by Pete Talamo, Written & Produced by Heidi Kikel)
On her way home from a late night party, Hannah experiences an unnerving encounter with a stranger who leaves her mentally paralyzed.

Mare (Directed by Nicole Solomon, Written & Produced by Nicole Solomon & Sean Mannion)
Sean, an anxious and isolated man, goes about his mundane daily routine with a pleasant twist: an unexpected trip to sunny Brighton Beach. His desire to enjoy the gentle breeze, lapping waves, and sunny skies is put to the test as the beach itself seems to turn against him, culminating in an unexpected and deadly confrontation with a mysterious, demonic creature.

I Baked Him a Cake (Directed by Vanessa Ionta Wright, Written & Produced by Samantha Kolesnik)
Lenora can't wait for Dad to come home to celebrate his birthday. The cake is ready, the balloons are out, and the gifts are piled. Only, where is Dad? 

Through the Wide Gate (Written & Directed by Patrick Clement, Produced by Catherine Kosiba)
A sensitive young woman stalks a romantic rival in this 1970's-revival psychological drama.

Holiday Fear (Written & Directed by Nicholas Santos, Produced by Matthew John Lawrence, Nicholas Santos, Kyle I. Kelley)
In the final act of a slasher film, Bruce attempts to reclaim his manliness and impress the final girl by finishing off the killer.

Smile (Directed by Bill Kirstein, Written & Produced by Bill Kirstein & Ginny Leise)
A man tells a woman on the street to Smile. He lives to regret it.

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, 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 a free Social Media audit ($200 value) from 4MileCircus. 

For the October 2017 lineup, our winning films were:
    Audience Choice Award:  "The Run-In"
    Silver Whiskers Award:  "Smile"

Join us next month for our November edition on the 14th!

IndieWorks: September Recap

Last Tuesday was the September edition of IndieWorks! And it was our annual web series month, where we screen episodes from local series. We screened 6 episodes total and had over 40 people in house. Smaller crowd than usual, but considering the rainy evening, it was quite an impressive turnout! Web series month is always a special one because it's nice getting to meet characters we could tune into over and over again. And web series in general tend to be comedy leaning, so it was an overall fun night filled with a lot of laughs. Unfortunately, one of our filmmakers had to cut out before their Q&A, but otherwise the night was a real success with thoughtful discussions and lots of mingling!

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 webisodes and the opportunity to network with other filmmakers and film enthusiasts. We know some connections were made! AND we hope you'll join us again for our Halloween Special on October 24th! 

See photos from the evening:

The Series of the night:

Pair of Normals (Created (written & directed) by Jason Hood)
Iris, an anxious Youtube psychic fresh out of a mental hospital, and Betty, a destitute college dropout who makes ASMR videos, meet and bond when they are dragged to a vlogger meetup. When they meet again in a chance encounter after both their lives have worsened significantly, Iris offers Betty a place to stay.

You Only Die Once (Created (written & directed) by Amanda B. Goodman)
A 6 episode modern horror comedy web series that tells the story of three life long best friends and vampire hunters from Astoria Queens as they face the biggest threat to their family yet.

Modern Aliens (Written & Directed by Jordan Jaffe, Produced by Samantha Slater)
The documentary periodical comedy series dedicated to unearthing alien influence in modern society. 

[Blank] My Life (Created & Written by Alex Spieth, Directed by Benjamin Viertel)
In episode 5 of season 2, Susan realizes rape culture isn't that far from home.

Seeking Sublet (Created (written & directed) by Katie Tibaldi)
A new comedy web series about two roommates in search of the perfect third roommate in New York City. Think you've had bad roommates? Tune in. Commiserating begins here.

Keep Me Posted (Created (written & directed) by Hillary Berkowitz)
WA biting look at the impact of texting and social media on our closest relationships.  

Watch our Q&A Recap (shot & edited by Kimberly Drew Whiten). The perk of web series month is that the episodes can be watched online NOW to offer context to the Q&A! Find most on Youtube!

The award goes to...

At the end of the evening, we announced our winning filmmaker of the Audience Choice Award. We've realized from past years that web series episodes always feel a bit confusing alongside all standalone films at Best of Fest, so we decided moving forward that at our specialty months we'll just award one audience-selected winner all the monetary prizes. The winner receives $50 towards a crowdfunding campaign on SeedandSpark.com should they use the platform and a free Social Media audit ($200 value) from 4MileCircus. 

For the September 2017 lineup, our winning series was:
    Audience Choice Award:  "Modern Aliens"

Join us next month for our Halloween edition on the 25th! 

IndieWorks: August Recap

Last Tuesday was the August edition of IndieWorks, and what a night it was! We screened 4 films and had over 45 people in house despite the rainy evening. It was one of our strongest-quality monthly lineups ever with dramatic films that approached important social issues from nuanced, character-focused, and often incredibly creative perspectives.  All the pieces of the night resonated with the audience differently, and some very thoughtful discussions were had.

Something we're really disappointed in ourselves about though is that one film of the night had a tech issue and only 12 of the 15 minutes could be fully played. In the almost 5 years of holding a screening every single month, we've never experienced this before. We always check the films multiple times, so this was a really frustrating occurrence. We take it very seriously, as we are a screening series by filmmakers for filmmakers. So we assure anyone who was there or reading this that we will be working over the next month with our venue to figure out what happened and make sure it doesn't happen again. Despite this error though, the filmmakers were so understanding and still had a really engaged Q&A! The night was quite inspiring in various ways.

We'd 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 19th. (Anyone who was there and didn't receive an email with a private link to the film that didn't get to finish, send us a message through our site and we'll pass it along!)

See photos from the evening below:

The Films of the night:

Santi (Directed & Written by Mateo Marquez)
When violence erupts at home, a young man must decide whether to flee or remain by his family's side.

Madness (Directed & Written by Tae Jung Choi)
AEun Ju is the perfect 1990’s Orange County Korean American House Wife, but when her son, drastically misbehaves in front of her Sunday Church group, Eun Ju must confront her own suppressed internal madness in order to protect her son.

Pickup (Directed by Jeremiah Kipp & Written by Jessica Blank)
A compelling film that allows the audience to take a deeper look into the psyche of a woman who appears to have it all. Through her banal daily routine, Megan develops an addiction that begins to unravel her carefully put together life. She is grappling with wanting more , but is feeling tremendously guilty because she already lives the "ideal perfect life".

Fresh Blood (Directed & Written by Richa Rudola)
When a young South Asian girl is forced into the sex trade, she must choose her path to freedom even if it involves a vampire.

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, 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 a free Social Media audit ($200 value) from 4MileCircus. 

For the August 2017 lineup, our winning films were:
    Audience Choice Award:  "Fresh Blood"
    Silver Whiskers Award:  "Madness"

Join us next month for our September (Web Series) edition on the 19th!

It's not too late to submit your series. We're accepting episode submissions until August 31st.

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One filmmaker of the night, Mateo Marquez, is an alum whose previous short "The Blood in Our Veins" won the Golden Whiskers Award at our Year 4 Best of Fest. He's currently crowdfunding his latest short. Help him and his team hit 500 followers to unlock Filmmaker Awards on Seed&Spark.