One of our favorite film festivals to cover in New York City is the First Time Fest, a festival that is devoted to giving first-time filmmakers a chance to exhibit their debut movies. For the past two years, the film selected as the festival’s best has been awarded distribution, a dream-come-true for rookie filmmakers. In its first two years the festival has given exposure to some stellar films — you can check out our coverage of First Time Fest 2014 here and First Time Fest 2013 here. This year, First Time Fest runs Thursday, March 5 through Sunday, March 9.
This year’s line-up includes six competition films, including films from the Netherlands, Lebanon, and Greece, and two special screenings of The Life and Mind of Mark DeFries and One Eyed Girl. However, one the highlights of First Time Fest has always been the panels. This year’s panels includes FROM ROCK TO SCORE, featuring Wayne Kramer of MC5 and Questlove of The Roots. There is also a roundtable for Women in Entertainment, a panel about the future of film distribution, and a brunch that will feature panels on producing and financing films. Many of this year’s panels are presented by Big Vision Empty Wallet.
Check out the full line-up below. For more information on First Time Fest and tickets, visit FirstTimeFest.com!
COMPETITION FILMS
The Intruder (Infiltrant) – US PREMIERE
Netherlands | 2014 | Narrative | 87 Minutes
Director: Shariff Korver
Writer: Rogier de Blok & Shariff Korver
Producer: Eva Eisenloeffel
Cinematographer: Alex Wuijts
Editor: Ruben van der Hammen
Synopsis: In this intelligent and intense thriller, a Dutch cop of Moroccan descent goes undercover to infiltrates a drug-trafficking Moroccan family. His world is turned upside down when he starts to feel at home with his new family, and disillusioned by the police force. Neither is what they seem. This deeply personal film is about a man trying to figure out where he truly belongs. This is the U.S. premiere of a film that was first shown at the Toronto International Film Festival.
WHEN: FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 6:00PM (FOLLOWED BY SKYPE Q&A WITH SHARIFF KORVER)
WHERE: CORE CLUB SCREENING ROOM – 66 E 55TH ST., NYC
Void (Waynon) – NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Lebanon | 2013 | Narrative | 78 Minutes
Directors: Naji Bechara, Jad Beiruty, Zeina Makki, Tarek Korkomaz, Christelle Ighniades, Maria Abdel Karim, Salim Haber
Writer: Georges Khabbaz
Producers: Sam Lahoud, Nicolas Khabbaz
Cinematographer: Kamal Bou Nassar
Editor: Salim Haber
Synopsis: Six Lebanese women, different ages, await the return of their sons, brothers, husbands or lovers, who have been missing since the Civil War. Void depicts the events that take place on the eve of the Beirut Parliament Square sit-in, where the women petition to renew the cases of their missing men. The lives of these women revolve around waiting for the men in their lives. A wait filled with uncertainty, and hope.
WHEN: SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 1:00PM (FOLLOWED BY SKYPE Q&A)
WHERE: CORE CLUB SCREENING ROOM – 66 E 55TH ST., NYC
Beneath the Olive Tree
USA / Greece | 2014 | Documentary | 82 Minutes
Director: Stavroula Toska
Writers: Sophia Antonini & Stavroula Toska
Producers: Sophia Antonini & Stavroula Toska
Cinematographer: Sophia Antonini
Editor: Lauren Beckett Jackson
Synopsis: This deeply-moving, personal, and eye-openng documentary focuses on the true stories of women exiled to Trikeri Island; the biggest women’s concentration camp during the Greek Civil War (1946-49). Years after the camps were phased out, seven notebooks written in secrecy and buried under a tree have surfaced, revealing the truth about their suffering and their survival. The women’s journals, and Toska’s film, bring to light some history the Greek government continues to manipulate and repress.
WHEN: SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 3:30 PM (WITH STAVROULA TOSKA IN PERSON)
WHERE: CORE CLUB SCREENING ROOM – 66 E 55TH ST., NYC
I Believe in Unicorns
USA | 2014 | Narrative | 80 Minutes
Writer and Director: Leah Meyerhoff
Producer: Heather Rae
Cinematographer: Jarin Blaschke
Editors: Rebecca Laks and Michael Taylor
Synopsis: Davina is an imaginative and strong-willed teenage girl who often escapes into a beautifully twisted fantasy life. Having grown up quickly as the sole caretaker of her disabled mother, she looks for salvation in a new relationship with an older boy. Davina is swept into a whirlwind of romance and adventure, but the enchantment of her new relationship quickly fades when Sterling’s volatile side begins to emerge. I Believe in Unicorns takes us on a road trip through the stunning and complex landscape of troubled young love.
WHEN: SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 6:00PM (WITH LEAH MEYERHOFF IN PERSON)
WHERE: CORE CLUB SCREENING ROOM – 66 E 55TH ST., NYC
Other Madnesses – WORLD PREMIERE
USA | 2015 | Narrative | 105 Minutes
Writer and Director: Jeremy Carr
Producers: Jeremy Carr, Dawn Fidrick
Cinematographer: Jeremy Carr
Editor: Jeremy Carr
Synopsis: Ed Zimmer is a reclusive, New York City tour guide who suffers from recurring nightmares. The haunting premonitions force him to take violent action against the perceived threats all around him, as he attempts to maintain a relationship with a Russian tourist named Lucya, who just might be the girl of his dreams. Jeremy Carr’s mesmerizing debut film is a dark character study that evokes Taxi Driver and other 1970s American films.
WHEN: SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 8:30PM (JEREMY CARR and JAMES MOLES IN PERSON)
WHERE: CORE CLUB SCREENING ROOM – 66 E 55TH ST., NYC
Come Simi – NY PREMIERE
USA | 2014 | Narrative | 82 Minutes
Director: Jenica Bergere
Writers: Jenica Bergere & Doc Pedrolie
Producers: Jenica Bergere, James Portolese, Keith Kjarval, Mary Vernieu
Cinematographer: Peter Mosiman
Editor: Jaceson Mann
Synopsis: A neurotic pregnant woman on the verge of giving birth, attempts to reunite her estranged family which includes an impossible mother riddled deeply with Alzheimer’s, an aging porn star sister and an intense Aunt, whom the family hasn’t seen in 18 years. All in an effort to fix her family history before giving birth. The colorful journey travels from Venice to Van Nuys to Simi Valley and in the end, love must win out.
WHEN: SUNDAY, MARCH 8, 7:00PM (WITH JENICA BERGERE IN PERSON)
WHERE: WILD PROJECT THEATER, 195 E 3RD ST., NYC
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
The Life and Mind of Mark DeFries
USA | 2014 | Documentary | 92 Minutes
Writer and Director: Gabriel London
Producer: Daniel J. Chalfen
Cinematographer: Jim Butterworth
Editor: Nick Clark
Synopsis: Once known as Houdini for his multiple and improbable jailbreaks, Mark DeFriest was condemned to Florida’s toughest prison after a lone psychiatrist declared he was faking mental illness. When that doctor reaches out 30 years later, DeFriest finds an unlikely ally willing to examine his infamous past and offer new insights to the Parole Commission. Along the way, they uncover lingering questions about whether Mark should have been sent to prison, yet face the daunting task of explaining why a notorious troublemaker deserves to go free.
WHEN: FRIDAY, MARCH 6TH AT 6:00PM
WHERE: VILLAGE EAST CINEMA – 189 SECOND AVE, NYC
One Eyed Girl – NY PREMIERE
Australia | 2014 | Narrtive | 102 Minutes
Director: Nick Matthews
Writer: Craig Behenna & Nick Matthews
Producer: David Ngo
Cinematographer: Jody Muston
Editor: David Ngo
Synopsis: Would you risk your life to save your soul? One Eyed Girl, a jury prize winner at the Austin Film Festival, is a riveting, accomplished, and dark thriller about Travis, a young psychiatrist who is haunted by the death of a patient. On the brink of a breakdown he meets a teenage girl named Grace, who invites him to a church run by charismatic leader. In search of answers Travis is led deeper and deeper into the underworld of a doomsday cult where he is given one last chance for redemption.
WHEN: FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 8:30PM (WITH NICK MATTHEWS IN PERSON)
WHERE: CORE CLUB SCREENING ROOM – 66 E 55TH ST., NYC
HOW THEY DID IT PANELS
FROM ROCK TO SCORE
Thursday, March 5th at 9:00pm – Gansevoort Meatpacking (18 9th Ave, NYC)
Presented by by Gibson and Tascam.
Hosted by The Gansevoort Meatpacking, this year From Rock to Score will feature Wayne Kramer of MC5 and Questlove of The Roots.
Rock to Score is a discussion of how Rock Stars became film composers and how their proses differs in each medium. What does it take to make leap from pop/rock success to the world of film scoring? Prominent musicians talk about the different challenges of scoring film, Broadway musicals, TV shows, commercials and video games.
POWER GIRLS! – Women in Entertainment Roundtable
Friday, March 6th at 4:30pm – B Bar (40 E 4th St, NYC)
Programmed and Hosted by BIG VISION EMPTY WALLET
Join leaders in film and TV for a solution-oriented panel and roundtable discussion about the struggles that women face in today’s entertainment landscape! A percentage of the panel proceeds will be donated to Women Make Movies.
Moderators: Dani Faith Leonard & Alex Cirillo
Panelists: Jacqueline Gonzalez, Executive Director, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, New York; Jenny Halper, Development Executive, Maven Pictures; Anne Hubbell, Founder, Tangerine Entertainment; Terry Lawler, Executive Director, NYWIFT; Leah Meyerhoff, Director & Founder of Film Fatales; Soo Kim, Producer, Creator of Team Umizoomi.
HOW EVERYTHING WORKS – Producing & Financing Master Class + Brunch
Saturday, March 7th at 11am – B Bar (40 E 4th St, NYC)
Presented by by Lazar and Raptor Films.
Programmed by BIG VISION EMPTY WALLET
Moderator: Steven Beer.
Producing Panelists: Jessica Caldwell (Awol, Happy Baby); Frida Torresblanco, Braven Films; Katie Stern (Listen Up Philip, Francine); J.P. Sarni, Head of Television at Cinema Gypsy Productions; Rose Ganguzza (Kill Your Darlings, Margin Call).
Finance Panel: L.A Teodosio; Rafe Fogel, Falcon Investments/Board Member of Legendary Pictures; Kristen Konvitz, Indiegogo.
PANEL 1: WE NEED A BIGGER BOAT – PRODUCING INDEPENDENT CINEMA
Independent film – made without deep-pocketed support of major studios – relies on the ingenuity and resourcefulness of talented producers. Hear some of the finest producers working in indie cinema today discuss their projects, raising money in a troubled economy, and getting their film made no matter what
PANEL 2: SHOW ME THE MONEY
What more important question is there for aspiring filmmakers to answer than: How do I fund my film?! Hear experts – from established financiers to DIY and crowdfunding leaders – illuminate the way.
CRYSTAL BALL – The Future of Distribution
Sunday, March 8th at 11am – B Bar (40 E 4th St, NYC)
Programmed and Hosted by BIG VISION EMPTY WALLET
Whether you are releasing a film, web series, book, or product, you must build a loyal, engaged audience and devise a plan to ensure that your work will reach that audience. For many years, distribution in the creative space was framed as “someone else’s problem.” During this panel, we’ll discuss traditional film distribution and current trends that filmmakers are embracing to make a sustainable living creating.
Moderators: Dani Faith Leonard & Alex Cirillo
Panelists: Michael Ben Lawson, Head of Content, Candy Factory Films; Alexandra Marvar, Marketing Director, VHX; Allie Esslinger, Founder, Section ii; Linzee Troubh, Head of Sales, Cinetic Media; Jason Sondhi, Curator, Vimeo.
For more information on First Time Fest and tickets, visit FirstTimeFest.com!
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