Yes, Aruba has its own film festival and it's one of the festivals we have stayed in touch with (and become friends with) since our first feature documentary "Finding Hillywood" screened there in 2013. Read More: 10 Things I Learned from Self-Distributing My First Documentary We were elated when the festival staff asked us to come back this year to teach three days of workshops to help local filmmakers develop professional skills and continuing education. After all, "Finding Hillywood" profiles the beginning of the Rwandan film industry and Aruba is in a similar position trying to grow their local industry and film economy. Aruba International Film Festival (Aiff) is particularly interested creating valuable industry events and panels to support and educate their local filmmakers. We called the workshops "Getting Your Film To The Masses" and covered topics such as: fundraising, pitching, outreach, distribution, festivals, marketing and...
- 10/28/2015
- by Leah Warshawski
- Indiewire
I recently wrote a two-part article featuring four documentary filmmakers who not only pursued a hybrid release approach with their most recent films, but also were generous enough to share the real data from their films' releases for the article (Read Part 1 and Part 2). Upon reading these stories, filmmaker Leah Warshawski expressed interest in writing a similar piece on her experience self-releasing her film, "Finding Hillywood". The following post chronicles the story of her release and concludes with a list of 10 tips for filmmakers. When all of the data is in – about a year from now – Warshawski will write a follow up piece and include the actual data from the release. I encourage more filmmakers to tell their stories – not just the how, but also the results. A great way to do this is to participate in the Sundance Transparency Project. This information helps all of us learn from each...
- 7/1/2015
- by Leah Warshawski
- Indiewire
Here's your daily dose of an indie film in progress -- at the end of the week, you'll have the chance to vote for your favorite. In the meantime: Is this a movie you’d want to see? Tell us in the comments. Big Sonia Tweetable Logline: Big Sonia profiles 89-year old Diva and Holocaust survivor Sonia Warshawski. Deeply rooted in the past and completely relevant Now. Elevator Pitch: Big Sonia is a feature documentary about 89-year old, 4'8" Sonia Warshawski - Diva, businesswoman, and Holocaust survivor living in suburban Kansas City. She still drives herself to work every day at her late husband's tailor shop - John's Tailoring - in the corner of a giant dead mall. Sonia can barely see over the steering wheel of her giant pink Buick, but customers come from far and wide just to be in her presence. And she just so happens to be my grandmother.
- 1/21/2015
- by Indiewire Staff
- Indiewire
Four years after my original guest post “Navigating Rejection With Grace” (May 10, 2011) we’re still navigating plenty of rejection (c’mon, does that really ever end!?) but also proud to share some “wins” – seven years in-the-making! Our doc Finding Hillywood (www.findinghillywood.com) has screened at more than 60 festivals around the world, and is available on iTunes (and a myriad of other digital platforms) this month!
I remember being knee-deep in production and fundraising just to finish our film. Grant-writing, crowd-funding, trying to stay positive, constant highs and lows… it all takes a toll. But then you premiere in front of a packed theater with friends and family who give you an emotional standing ovation, and it feels pretty damn good. Things can only get easier from here, right? We made an inspiring film about the universal power of story and the power of art to heal – themes that should resonate globally.
I remember being knee-deep in production and fundraising just to finish our film. Grant-writing, crowd-funding, trying to stay positive, constant highs and lows… it all takes a toll. But then you premiere in front of a packed theater with friends and family who give you an emotional standing ovation, and it feels pretty damn good. Things can only get easier from here, right? We made an inspiring film about the universal power of story and the power of art to heal – themes that should resonate globally.
- 10/7/2014
- by Leah Warshawski
- Hope for Film
There are several documentaries out there at the moment about the Nigerian film industry, movies clearly in awe of the money that Nollywood generates, the sheer volume of movies being made, the colorful characters who make up the landscape of what is the third movie industry in the world. And it’s great that these docs exist, because if there’s one thing the growing awareness of Nollywood has done it’s proven that there is a market for films in Africa, films made for and by Africans on their own terms. Finding Hillywood, Leah Warshawski and Christopher Towey’s documentary about the budding Rwandan film economy, proves the same point in a much different way. Unlike the distinct...
- 10/6/2014
- by Zeba Blay
- ShadowAndAct
I was happy to be invited for the second year to serve on the jury for narrative features with Dan Mirvisch, indie filmmaker and founder of Slamdance, Dana Harris, editor in chief of Indiewire, Morrie Warchawski, author of Shaking the Money Tree and former Executive Director of the Bay Area Video Coalition and The Media Project. We had a spirited discussion about the films we saw, drank a lot of great wine at marvelous receptions and had a superb dinner in the dining room of the Black Stallion Winery which is on the former site of the famous Napa Valley Equestrian Center and has been owned by three generations of the Indelicato family. Chef Misty Phelps prepared a wonderful meal which we shared with invited guests, Hollywood Foreign Press members Patricial Danaher from Ireland and Dierk Sindermann who was on the doc jury and is a correspondent for 10 European publications. It was the second great dinner I had with Hfp folks, the previous one being at Spago after the screening of Japan's Like Father Like Son. These Hollywood Foreign Press people live a nice life because they love films so much! Their love of film is proven because the small indies, foreign language and doc films are not what their employers pay them to see or review. Their love of film brings them to see these films in addition to the star studded blockbusters. I digress because I am beginning to love the Hfp members, sharing dinners as we do, there are always interesting conversations as well. Other filmmakers and jury members were served equally special dinners at the Alpha Omega and Chappellet Reserve, Beaulieu Vineyards, Bello Family Vineyards and Cardinale. Films, food and wine truly served as catalysts for conversation.
We awarded The Best Narrative Feature Prize to Hank and Asha (www.hankandasha.com) directed by James E. Duff. It had previously won the Audience Award at Slamdance and won at Portland, Brooklyn, Rhode Island and Woods Hole Film Festivals. It was a beautifully shot near-romance of an Indian film student in Prague who connects via webcam with a New York based filmmaker whose film she admired when she was the the Prague Film Festival. Their intercultural exchange leads to a love and affection which is never culminated by a meeting.
The Audience Favorite for Documentary Feature went to Finding Hillywood (www.findinghillywood.com) directed by Christopher Towey and Leah Warshawski (the daughter of our own jury member, Morrie Warchawski). This film has played in numerous festivals and garnered many awards and much attention as it shows the fledgling Rwandan filmmaking community.
Here are the other awards!
Juried Awards
Best Narrative Feature: Hank and Asha directed by James E. Duff
Best Feature Documentary: Alice Walker: Beauty In Truth directed by Pratibha Parmar
Best Short Documentary: Sky Burial directed by Tad Fettig
Best Animated Short: Sleight of Hand directed by Michael Cusack
> Honorable Mention: The Right Place directed by Jamie Gallant
> Honorable Mention: Horsepower directed by Olivia Lai Shetler
Best Narrative Short: King of Norway directed by Sylvia Sether
> Honorable Mention: The Romantics directed by Ryan Daniel Dobson
> Honorable Mention: The Listing Agent directed by Matthew Helfgott & Jared Hillman
Special Jury Prize for Most Thought Provoking Film: The Last White Knight directed by Paul Saltzman
Audience Awards
Favorite Narrative Feature : The Little Tin Man directed by Matthew Perkins
Favorite Actor : Andrew Pastides, Hank & Asha
Favorite Actress : Mahira Kakkar, Hank & Asha
Favorite Documentary Feature : Finding Hillywood directed by Christopher Towey and Leah Warshawski
Favorite Documentary Short : Make Haste Slowly: The Kikkoman Story directed by Lucy Walker
Favorite Narrative Short : The Listing Agent directed by Mathew Helfgott and Jared Hillman
Favorite Animated Short : Horsepower directed by Olivia Lai Shetler
Favorite Lounge Feature : Starring Adam West directed by James Tooley
Favorite Lounge Short : The Romantics directed by Ryan Daniel Dobson
Next year's Napa Valley Film Festival will take place on 12-16 November 2014. To buy passes visit Here...
We awarded The Best Narrative Feature Prize to Hank and Asha (www.hankandasha.com) directed by James E. Duff. It had previously won the Audience Award at Slamdance and won at Portland, Brooklyn, Rhode Island and Woods Hole Film Festivals. It was a beautifully shot near-romance of an Indian film student in Prague who connects via webcam with a New York based filmmaker whose film she admired when she was the the Prague Film Festival. Their intercultural exchange leads to a love and affection which is never culminated by a meeting.
The Audience Favorite for Documentary Feature went to Finding Hillywood (www.findinghillywood.com) directed by Christopher Towey and Leah Warshawski (the daughter of our own jury member, Morrie Warchawski). This film has played in numerous festivals and garnered many awards and much attention as it shows the fledgling Rwandan filmmaking community.
Here are the other awards!
Juried Awards
Best Narrative Feature: Hank and Asha directed by James E. Duff
Best Feature Documentary: Alice Walker: Beauty In Truth directed by Pratibha Parmar
Best Short Documentary: Sky Burial directed by Tad Fettig
Best Animated Short: Sleight of Hand directed by Michael Cusack
> Honorable Mention: The Right Place directed by Jamie Gallant
> Honorable Mention: Horsepower directed by Olivia Lai Shetler
Best Narrative Short: King of Norway directed by Sylvia Sether
> Honorable Mention: The Romantics directed by Ryan Daniel Dobson
> Honorable Mention: The Listing Agent directed by Matthew Helfgott & Jared Hillman
Special Jury Prize for Most Thought Provoking Film: The Last White Knight directed by Paul Saltzman
Audience Awards
Favorite Narrative Feature : The Little Tin Man directed by Matthew Perkins
Favorite Actor : Andrew Pastides, Hank & Asha
Favorite Actress : Mahira Kakkar, Hank & Asha
Favorite Documentary Feature : Finding Hillywood directed by Christopher Towey and Leah Warshawski
Favorite Documentary Short : Make Haste Slowly: The Kikkoman Story directed by Lucy Walker
Favorite Narrative Short : The Listing Agent directed by Mathew Helfgott and Jared Hillman
Favorite Animated Short : Horsepower directed by Olivia Lai Shetler
Favorite Lounge Feature : Starring Adam West directed by James Tooley
Favorite Lounge Short : The Romantics directed by Ryan Daniel Dobson
Next year's Napa Valley Film Festival will take place on 12-16 November 2014. To buy passes visit Here...
- 11/26/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
‘Finding Hillywood’: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to present documentary about Rwanda’s budding film industry The 2013 documentary Finding Hillywood, which offers a glimpse into the budding film industry in Rwanda, will be presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Bpeace, the Business Council for Peace, at a special screening on Monday, October 21, at 7 p.m. at the Academy Theater in New York City. The Finding Hillywood screening will be followed by an onstage discussion with Leah Warshawski, who directed and produced the documentary with Christopher Towey, and production designer Wynn Thomas (Ron Howard’s A Beautiful Mind, Spike Lee’s Inside Man), who was a member of the Academy’s International Outreach delegation to Rwanda and Kenya in 2011. According to the Academy’s website, Wynn Thomas and several other Academy delegates, among them actress Alfre Woodard (Cross Creek), writer-director Phil Robinson (Field of Dreams...
- 10/4/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Emir Baigazin’s Harmony Lessons won the 39th Seattle International Film Festival’s Best New Director grand jury prize on Sunday [9] as top brass handed out jury and audience awards.Scroll down for full list of winners
The Siff 2013 Best Documentary grand jury prize went to Penny Lane’s Our Nixon and Lucy Walker earned a special jury prize for The Crash Reel, while Kyle Patrick Alvarez took the Best New American Cinema grand jury prize for C.O.G.
In the audience awards, Henk Pretorius’ Fanie Fourie’s Lobola won the Best Film Golden Space Needle Award and Morgan Neville’s Twenty Feet From Stardom took the corresponding documentary prize.
The Best Director Golden Space Needle Award went to Nabil Ayouch for Horses Of God, while best actor was awarded to James Cromwell for Still Mine and best actress to Samantha Morton for Decoding Annie Parker.
The Best Short Film Golden Space Needle Award was presented to [link...
The Siff 2013 Best Documentary grand jury prize went to Penny Lane’s Our Nixon and Lucy Walker earned a special jury prize for The Crash Reel, while Kyle Patrick Alvarez took the Best New American Cinema grand jury prize for C.O.G.
In the audience awards, Henk Pretorius’ Fanie Fourie’s Lobola won the Best Film Golden Space Needle Award and Morgan Neville’s Twenty Feet From Stardom took the corresponding documentary prize.
The Best Director Golden Space Needle Award went to Nabil Ayouch for Horses Of God, while best actor was awarded to James Cromwell for Still Mine and best actress to Samantha Morton for Decoding Annie Parker.
The Best Short Film Golden Space Needle Award was presented to [link...
- 6/9/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Rwandan cinema (dubbed Hillywood - because Rwanda is known as the land of a thousand hills) is at the center of an upcoming new feature documentary from directors Leah Warshawski and Chris Towey, titled Finding Hillywood. We're probably all used to seeing the country via limited lenses, and rarely, if ever, get to know the land and its people from the people themselves. That there's a film festival in Rwanda that's now in its 8th year, is likely news to many outside of the country. Nollywood stories seem to dominate African cinema news, and with good reasons of course. It's one of the top 3 largest film-producing industries in the world, in terms of output,...
- 3/26/2013
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
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