Posted 31 October, 2009 in FilmUSA
States offer upgraded incentives
Location hotspots from Arkansas to Utah
By KATHY A. MCDONALD
ARKANSAS
A “right-to-work” state, Arkansas initiated a production incentive program in July. Features, documentaries, musicvids, TV episodes and even trailers are covered, provided a production company spends at least $50,000 in state within a six-month period, with 15% of all qualified production costs eligible for a rebate. An additional 10% rebate is available for below-the-line personnel who are full-time residents of Arkansas. Post-production expenses are also eligible for rebate.
Key contact: Christopher Crane, Arkansas Film Commissioner
Arkansas Film Commission: arkansasedc.com/business-development/arkansas-film-commission.aspx
CALIFORNIA
In July, California began administering its five-year, $500 million tax credit production incentive program. A 20% tax credit can now be applied to crew and local vendor costs; above-the-line personnel are exempt. For a series that relocates to California, the credit is 25%. Productions are chosen by lottery.
The state has 50 regional film offices, and some California cities also offer deals in addition to state incentives. San Francisco refunds city costs and payroll taxes paid to the city during filming of up to $600,000 per production, provided a show lenses a majority of principal photography within city/county limits. For shows based in Santa Clarita that hire locally based crew, the city will subsidize most permitting fees and refund hotel taxes. In October, Los Angeles established some incentives: free parking in city lots after hours, business tax credits for business owners that allow filming for free and expanded film permit powers for FilmLA.
Key contacts: Amy Lemisch, director, California Film Commission; Stefanie Coyote, San Francisco Film Commission
California Film Commission: film.ca.gov
San Francisco Film Commission: filmsf.org
City of Santa Clarita Film Office: filmsantaclarita.com
Film LA: filmla.com
CONNECTICUT
Minimum expenditures for Connecticut’s transferable tax credits have been revised and will go into effect Jan. 1. Tax credit amount is dependent on the production’s total expenses or costs, from 10% to 30%. As of Jan. 1, a production will be required to conduct at least 50% of its principal photography days or 50% of its post-production in the state to be eligible, and no out-of-state expenses will qualify. Talent salaries are capped at $20 million and, to be considered in the total expenditures, must be subject to the state’s personal income tax.
Top facility: Connecticut Film Center, Sonalysts Media Group
Key contact: George Norfleet, film division director, Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism
Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism Film Division: cultureandtourism.org/cct/cwp/view.asp?a=2126&q=302556&cctNav=|
New London Film Commission: filmnewlondon.com
New Milford Film Commission: filmnewmilfordct.org
FLORIDA
As of July 1, the state has $10.8 million in funding for production rebates via its Film, TV and Digital Media Incentive. Film, TV, commercials, musicvideos, indie films and interactive entertainment are eligible for rebates that vary from 10% to 22%, depending on the production spend, whether local crews are hired and type of production. Indie films and documentaries as well as multiple commercials and musicvid productions can apply as well, with differing criteria for qualified spends. The state has 60 regional film offices to help navigate locations and incentive programs.
Top facilities: Universal Studios Florida; Telemundo Studios Miami; Big Time Prods.’ Ice Palace Studios, Miami
Key contacts: Lucia Fishburne, state film commission; Susan Simms, L.A. liaison/state film commission; Jeff Peel, director, Miami-Dade Office of Film & Entertainment; Suzy Spang, VP, Metro Orlando Film & Entertainment Commission
Film Florida: filminflorida.com
Miami-Dade Office of Film & Entertainment: filmiami.org
Metro Orlando Film & Entertainment Commission: filmorlando.com
GEORGIA
Since May 2008, Georgia has been offering a 20% tax credit for qualified spending. An additional 10% tax credit is available for approved productions that imbed an animated Georgia promotional logo within the finished product. Qualified companies can also utilize an immediate point-of-purchase sales tax exemption that can save productions up to 8% on most below-the-line materials and service purchases or rentals. There are no project or funding caps.
Top facilities: Tyler Perry Studios, Atlanta; Turner Studios, Atlanta; Riverwood Studios, Atlanta
Key contacts: Bill Thompson, deputy commissioner, Film Music and Digital Entertainment Office; Jay M. Self, film services director, Savannah Film Commission
Georgia Film Music and Digital Entertainment Office: georgia.org/GeorgiaIndustries/Entertainment
Savannah Film Commission: savannahfilm.org
KENTUCKY
In June, Kentucky created an incentive that provides a refundable income tax credit of up to 20% of approved production expenditures. There is a $500,000 minimum spend for features and TV productions; commercials are eligible with a $200,000 minimum spend. A 6% sales tax refund for qualified production expenses remains in place, but producers can opt in for only one program. Walt Disney Co.’s “Secretariat” is the first film to qualify for incentives.
Key contacts: Todd Cassidy, director, Kentucky Film Office; Nina Clooney, chair, Kentucky Film Commission
Kentucky Film Office: kyfilmoffice.com
LOUISIANA
Effective July 1, Louisiana upped its fully transferable film tax credit to 30% of total in-state expenditures. If Louisiana residents are hired, 5% of their wages and salaries qualify for a labor tax credit, with a wage cap of $1 million per individual. There is no cap on the amount of tax credits a single production can earn. Additionally, producers have the option of transferring credits to the state for 85¢ on the dollar. Jefferson Parish sweetens incentives with a 3% cash rebate for qualified local spends.
Top facilities: Raleigh Studios Baton Rouge at the Celtic Media Center; Second Line Stages, New Orleans
Key contacts: Chris Stelly, director, Louisiana Film & Television Office of Entertainment Industry Development; Jennifer Day, director, New Orleans Office of Film & Video
Office of Entertainment Industry Development: louisianaentertainment.gov/film/default.cfm
New Orleans Office of Film & Video: filmneworleans.org
Jefferson Parish Film Office: filmjeffersonla.com
Baton Rouge Film Commission: filmbatonrouge.com
MASSACHUSETTS
Productions that shoot at least 50% or spend half of their production budget in the state are eligible for a 25% tax credit for all production-related expenditures. From pre-production through post, filmmakers are eligible for 100% sales tax exemption for production-related items purchased in the state. Minimum spending is $50,000; digital media projects and documentaries are now eligible to participate. There are no caps on credits that individual projects can receive, and there is no cap on total number of credits in a given year. The tax credit applies to below- and above-the-line personnel, with no salary caps, provided the individual pays Massachusetts state income tax.
Top facilities: Two major soundstages are on the drawing boards: Plymouth Rock Studios and Southfield Stages; two others are proposed for Boston and Lowell
Key contacts: Nicholas Paleologos, director of the Massachusetts Film Office; Mary Chiochios, director of operations, Massachusetts Film Office
Massachusetts Film Office: mafilm.org
Berkshire Film and Media Commission: berkshirefilm.com
Boston Film Bureau: cityofboston.gov/arts/film/default.asp
MICHIGAN
Michigan has the U.S.’ most generous film tax credit program. The state offers a 40% refundable or transferable tax credit on film and TV spending in-state. The minimum budget for a qualifying project starts at $50,000. Productions can claim an additional 2% (42% total) for expenditures if filming is done in one of 103 “core” communities such as Detroit. Echoing New Mexico’s film crew advancement program, there’s a 50% credit for salaries of those Michigan-based crew receiving on-the-job training. Additionally, the state offers a 25% infrastructure investment tax credit.
Key contact: Janet Lockwood, director, Michigan Film Office
Michigan Film Office: michiganfilmoffice.org
West Michigan Film Office: wmta.org/west-michigan-film-office-68/
Film Detroit: visitdetroit.com/index.php/film-detroit
Wayne County Film Commission: reelwc.com/index
NEW JERSEY
New Jersey offers a 20% tax credit for qualified production expenses, provided the production meets certain criteria: At least 60% of the total project expenses, exclusive of post-production costs, must be incurred for services performed and goods used or consumed in New Jersey. There is also a 20% corporate business tax credit available for companies producing digital media content. Some purchases necessary for production (like lumber and hardware to build sets) are exempt from the state sales tax.
Top facilities: Rollercoaster Studios, East Hanover; TriStar Studios, Fairfield; MediaMix, Allendale
Key contact: Steven Gorelick, exec director New Jersey Motion Picture & TV Commission
New Jersey Motion Picture & TV Commission: njfilm.org
NEW YORK
On June 30, New York City’s “Made in NY” program ran out of funds (though legislation is pending that may change that). However, New York state’s 30% tax credit for production expenditures remains in place, with $350 million allocated in 2009. Allotment is based on a first-come, first-served basis. Productions in New York City are exempt from sales tax on production-related goods and services; there are no fees for permits, public locations and police assistance in the five boroughs.
Top facilities: Steiner Studios at the Brooklyn Navy Yard; Silvercup Studios in Queens
Key contact: Pat Swinney Kaufman, exec director, N.Y. State Governor’s Office for Motion Picture and TV development
New York State Governor’s Office for Motion Picture and TV Development: nylovesfilm.com
City of New York, Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting: nyc.gov/html/film
Nassau County Film Office: nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/filmcom/
NORTH CAROLINA
As of Jan. 1, North Carolina’s film tax credit incentive will rise from 15% to 25%. A $250,000 minimum local outlay is required, and there is no cap on the fund; however, there is a per-project cap of $7.5 million. Post-production expenses qualify as well. Other exemptions: sales tax and hotel tax relief for productions.
Top facility: EUE Screen Gems added a 37,500-square-foot stage to its existing nine-stage lot in 2009.
Key contact: Aaron Syrett, director, North Carolina Film Office
North Carolina Film Office: ncfilm.com
Charlotte Regional Film Office: charlotteusa.com/Film/film_resources.asp
Wilmington Regional Film Commission: wilmingtonfilm.com
Durham Film Office: durham-nc.com/film
Piedmont Triad Film Commission: piedmontfilm.com
TENNESSEE
A “right-to-work” state with no personal income tax, Tennessee’s film, TV and commercial production incentives include up to a 32% cash rebate of qualified production spends. Once a production spends more than $1 million, an additional 15% kicks in from the state. Salaries and personnel fees are capped at $250,000 per individual. Some P&A expenses, such as DVD manufacturing, are also covered for those companies based in-state.
Top facilities: NorthStar Studios, 821 Entertainment, Paragon Studios
Key contact: Perry Gibson, executive director of the Film, Entertainment and Music Commission
Tennessee Film, Entertainment and Music Commission: tn.gov/film/film
Chattanooga Film Commission: chattanooga.gov/EAC/2919_ChattanoogaSETNFilmCommission
East Tennessee Television and Film Commission: ettfc.com
Nashville Mayor’s Office of Film: nashville.gov/ecdev
Memphis and Shelby County Film and Television Commission: memphisfilmcomm.org
WISCONSIN
Recently, Wisconsin capped the refundable tax credit program for film, TV and videogame productions at $500,000 annually until June. (Fiscal year 2010-11 will also have a $500,000 cap). A minimum outlay of $50,000 is now required to be eligible for incentives, which include a 25% credit on salaries paid to state residents making $250,000 or less and a 25% credit on qualified production expenditures in state; 35% of the project’s total budget must be spent in Wisconsin to qualify.
Top facility: RDI Stages, Milwaukee
Key contacts: Scott Robbe, Film Wisconsin; Dave Fantle, Milwaukee Film Office
Film Wisconsin: filmwisconsin.net
Film Green Bay: filmgreenbay.com
Milwaukee Film Office: visitmilwaukee.org/media/milwaukee-film-office
UTAH
As of July 1, Utah restructured its Motion Picture Incentive Fund. The state now offers up to 20% of expenses spent in state in the form of a cash rebate or refundable tax credit. Based on a minimum $1 million in-state production spending, the fully refundable tax rebate is not brokered; the state cuts production companies a check whether or not the company is based in state. Expenditures must be made in state; there is a $500,000 cap on the cash rebate; there is no cap on the refundable tax credit. For productions under $1 million, there is a 15% cash rebate available. Also available: a sales and use tax exemption on TV, video and film equipment. Hotel room taxes may be refunded as well.
Top facilities: Salt Lake Studios and Silver State in Salt Lake City; Moab: standing Mexican town set;Western towns: Salt Lake City;Heber: the Heber Western Town.
Key contact: Marshall Moore, director, Utah Film Commission
Utah Film Commission: film.utah.gov
Park City Film Commission: parkcityinfo.com
Moab to Monument Valley Film Commission: moabcity.org/filmcommission
PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico offers up to a 40% transferable tax credit. Qualifying expenditures must be paid to a Puerto Rico resident or entity. Expenses include equipment, crew, travel (if through a local travel agency), hotels and any other local expenses during pre-production, production and post-production. To qualify, a production must shoot 50% locally or spend more than $1 million locally. Up to 50% of the cash invested as equity in the project may also qualify, provided the film entity or corporation organizes its financing structure in Puerto Rico.
Key contact: Mariella Perez Serrano, exec director Puerto Rico Film Commission
Puerto Rico Film Commission: puertoricofilm.com
Read the full article at:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118010632.html
Posted 29 October, 2009 in CA News
Eight months after California lawmakers passed a five-year, $500 million entertainment industry tax credit, production companies have exhausted the first year’s allocation of $100 million and are now drawing from the second.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said this week that 50 projects have been approved for the program to date.
“I’m thrilled by the early success of our program,” the governor said.
That’s the good news.
The bad news is that California continues to lose scores of projects to states with more generous incentives.
“More pictures would stay here in California if more money was available for tax credits,” said Jeff Begun, founder of the Incentives Office, a Santa Monica company that navigates incentive programs for production companies.
California’s new program includes a 20 percent tax credit for film projects and a 25 percent tax credit for television series. A minimum of $10 million is available each year for independent films.
Schwarzenegger said 36 film and TV productions are set to shoot during the last quarter of this year as a direct result of the program.
Still, California is not as aggressive as other states.
Citing data from 2008, a report by the Motion Picture Association of America said 40 states have found movie and television production beneficial enough to their economies that they have enacted specific incentives to increase production.
Production in at least half the states was higher in 2008 than 2007, the report said.
California and 15 other states offer refundable income tax credits, according to the latest update by Entertainment Partners, a Burbank-based production management company. Another 16 states offer rebates, 11 offer transferable income tax credits, Delaware has a loan program and Texas offers grants.
Michigan and New Mexico are now among the most active states competing for production, along with Massachusetts and Louisiana, said Begun. The Canadian cities of Toronto and Vancouver have been production magnets for decades, in part because in Canada, production companies can get tax credit refunds from the federal and provincial governments.
Only two states seem to be struggling with the issue. Pennsylvania enacted a tax credit in 2007, capped at $75 million, that is now being reduced to $42 million. Iowa has a different problem: Its incentive program was suspended while a criminal investigation determines whether tax credits were applied illegally.
“California is still behind the curve,” said Karyn McCarthy, a film production manager and producer of Drew Barrymore’s “Whip It.” The film, which had a budget under $20 million, is set in the fictitious Bodeen, Texas, but was shot almost entirely in Michigan, a “state to watch,” according to the MPAA.
McCarthy said she did comparative budgets for shooting in California, Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Arizona. Then in April 2008, Michigan enacted one of the most generous film production programs in the country. It provides a 40 percent rebate for all expenditures in state, including salaries. An additional 2 percent is available for shooting in any of 103 so-called “core communities.”
“Whip It” was shot in three of them: Detroit, Ypsilanti and areas of Saginaw County.
“So many things are being shot here,” McCarthy said, “when I walk around the hotel lobby, I bump into friends from California working on other projects.”
Over the last eight months of 2008, when Michigan offered the new incentives, production companies made 35 films there and spent $125 million, about $40 million of which was returned to the companies, said Michael Shore, a spokesman for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. For all of 2007, he said, three films were shot in state and companies spent $2 million.
“We’re looking to create an industry here,” he said, adding that Hollywood-based Raleigh Studios is one of three L.A.-area companies planning to build permanent production facilities in Michigan.
New Mexico, another “state to watch,” is also drawing away projects by building an in-state film industry, said Mark Burton, president of production for IndieVest, an L.A.-based independent film studio and financing company. His company recently shot “Saint John of Las Vegas,” with a cast that includes Steve Buscemi and Sarah Silverman, almost entirely in New Mexico.
“They’re being very smart about how they’re structuring it,” Burton said. “They’re doing it very, very efficiently, and they’re very, very friendly for production companies.”
California has the additional burden of trying to boost the industry during the state’s worst economic conditions in generations.
“Unfortunately, California is in a very tough spot,” said Burton. “You look at the issues we have, cutting services in health care and education, and it’s just devastating. There is a need to hold onto our core industries, but there’s only so much the state can do.”
Posted 29 October, 2009 in TX News
The Buzz
There may not be a lot of red-carpet glitz, but the Lone Star International Film Festival has a distinctive Fort Worth flavor: high artistic
aims, down-to-earth attitude, community spirit .
If Fort Worth has a national reputation for culture, it’s for the great museums, atmospheric honky-tonks and famous piano competition. Until recently, few people would have thought of it as a movie town. With apologies to the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, which has long brought us arthouse movies on weekends, a true film scene may finally be taking shape thanks to the Lone Star Film Society and its Lone Star International Film Festival, whose third edition runs Nov. 11-15. After a somewhat rocky start in 2007 (the founding director was ousted just after that first festival’s close), the event came back last year with a smaller schedule and more organization, and earned generally positive reviews. The revamped management team that made it all happen then went to work immediately on this year’s festival, and that year-round effort has been a major boon to the fest — and to the film options in Fort Worth. Lone Star has been
able to promote its festival at other film events around the world, boosting its profile and raising the quality of submissions.
Maybe more important, Lone Star is more than just the four-day festival, and it’s definitely not just for film snobs. It has produced more than 50 screenings in Fort Worth in the past year, joining with art museums, music groups and other community institutions to offer everything from classical-music documentaries at the Cliburn Competition to a summertime film festival for kids. It’s all thanks to the vision and hard work of executive director Dennis Bishop, managing director John Storm and
artistic director Alec Jhangiani, although each stresses the collaborative nature of the work and is quick to share credit with staff, board, interns and scores of volunteers. Bishop, an Oak Cliff native who lives in Santa Monica, is a movie and TV producer whose résumé includes Dexter and The Trip to Bountiful. A former vice president at HBO Pictures, he has strong industry connections and knowledge, and came with lots of experience organizing discussion panels at film festivals. He was called in to do just that about It In
a month before the first LSIFF in 2007. “I came just to produce the panels and help out a friend, and here we are two years later.” Bishop and Jhangiani, with help from a 50-person screening committee who watch and rate hundreds of titles, choose the festival’s films and create other relevant programming such as educational panels. Unlike some other festivals, the focus is on high- quality films, not the number of films, and not celebrity appearances. “Any big names we bring in need to be relevant to the festival and not just for
attracting press,” Bishop says. One important goal is to “bring out artists who are doing stuff that’s really relevant and ground-
breaking but who just aren’t getting the proper attention,” Jhangiani says. The focus is on independent films, meaning ones that don’t yet have theatrical distribution — you’re not going to see them at the mall. Only these are eligible for the festival’s awards, although we’ll see four “centerpiece” films that might include bigger-name releases such as Serious Moonlight, starring Meg Ryan and directed by actress Cheryl Hines of Curb Your Enthusiasm. It’s Hines’ first film as a director, and that fits the LSIFF’s mission, too. “We’re very focused on emerging artists, first and second-time feature directors, and actors who are really talented but may not have made it to the point
where they’re the lead in films,” Jhangiani says. The screening committee volunteers aren’t industry insiders or even film geeks, necessarily. They come from all walks of life, from one staff member’s 7-year- old son to a couple in their 80s. “That helps us curate a
festival that’s for everybody,” Jhangiani says. This user-friendly attitude plays out during the festival, too. “We have a lot of people who come here Meg Ryan and Timothy Hutton in Serious Moonlight, a black comedy about fidelity and revenge. Written by the late Adrienne Shelley (Waitress), it marks the directorial debut of Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm).
The Details The Lone Star International Film Festival is Nov. 11-15 at various venues in Sundance Square and the Cultural District.
As of press time, the schedule had not been released. See www.lsiff.com for more information. Drink It In from Houston and El Paso and Austin, because it’s a great time of year to come to Fort Worth and people love the fact that our festival is in Sundance Square,
where you park your car on Wednesday and don’t have to do anything else — the trolley can take you everywhere.” And most competition films screen twice, giving moviegoers a chance to react when a particular film generates word-of-mouth buzz. That inclusive spirit extends to filmmakers. “We’re very much a filmmakers’ festival,” says Storm. “It’s a place to come and interact with your peers, to see quality films made by your peers and to really be part of the filmmaking community.”
A Panther City showcase puts the spotlight on locally made works, and educational panels are designed to bring local filmmakers and students up to speed with what’s going on in LA in New York. Education happens on a broader community level, too, with collaborations with other arts groups and organizations including Carter BloodCare and the Girl Scouts. One example: “Last year we had the
film How to Be, with Robert Pattinson of Twilight, so we knew we could fill the theater,” Bishop says. “We learned that the local food bank had a 10-minute documentary about the food bank made by a local filmmaker. So we screened that before How to Be in front of 250
people, mainly twentysomethings who we thought might need to know about food banks and that part of the world. The local filmmaker was high as a kite. So we try to get the word out and help on many levels.” In the past year, this Tinseltown veteran has spent more time here than at his Santa Monica home, though he hates our summer weather. “I love Fort Worth. I love the community here, I love all the support. It’s so radically different from Hollywood, and that makes all this worthwhile.”
Posted 28 October, 2009 in CA News
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California’s Film & Television Incentive Program Records Early Success in Retaining Jobs
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced that 36 film and television productions are set to shoot during the last quarter of 2009 as a direct result of California’s recently launched film and TV production incentive. The Governor successfully proposed and pushed for the Film and Television Incentive as part of a package of economic stimulus measures, which was passed by the state legislature in February 2009. Aimed at curbing runaway film and television production, a total of 50 projects have been approved for the program to date.
“I’m thrilled by the early success of our program – it’s having an immediate impact,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “Productions that were slated to film outside the state have shifted gears and are now shooting in California because of our film and television incentive. This is not only great news for our production workers, but for the thousands of small businesses that support film and television production in California and our state’s economy as a whole.”
The California Film Commission, which administers the incentive program, reports that among the 50 approved projects 50 percent are for independent feature films, 22 percent are for non-independent (studio) features, 8 percent are for direct-to-DVD films, 14 percent are for movies of the week and 6 percent are for TV series. Fourteen projects have already begun filming, and 22 more will begin before the end of the year. The remainder will begin filming in early 2010.
Notably, Sony Pictures Television’s new series for FX, “Lawman,” about a U.S. Marshal, will begin production in late October in Santa Clarita. The show is set in Kentucky and the pilot episode was photographed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
“Thanks to the production incentive and with assistance from the guilds and unions, we were able to prevent this show from leaving California,” said Ed Lammi, Executive Vice President of Production for Sony Pictures Television. “We are extremely grateful that this new program allows us to keep the series here.”
While many of the productions are slated to film in the Los Angeles area, other regions around the state will also benefit from an increase in production activity. Several productions are set to film scenes in Fresno, Kern, San Francisco, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
Other approved projects slated to begin production this quarter include Burlesque, Beginners, Social Network, The Raise, Answers to Nothing, Dinner for Schmucks and Max Rose.
“Our members are starting to see results and are getting calls from productions that have qualified for the program,” said Steve Dayan, Business Agent for Teamsters Local 399. “I am happy to see tangible jobs being created so quickly. This is great news for my members and our industry.”
“Every week we learn of another production slated to film out of state that have instead chosen to stay in California,” said Amy Lemisch, Executive Director of the California Film Commission. “The program is performing exactly as it was designed to, leveling the playing field and keeping us competitive.”
Please visit www.film.ca.gov for details on the California Film and Television Incentive Program.
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Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Pros pick best places for filmmaking
Industry insiders choose world’s greatest locations
By IAIN BLAIR
‘Wall Street 2′
• Locations photo gallery
Variety recently conducted an online poll among several hundred location managers, unit production managers, cinematographers, directors and assistant directors asking them to rate their favorite locations according to visual appeal, incentives, film-office support, production resources, and ability to substitute for another location.
The top five North American locations and the top five international locations, ranked here by overall excellence, are regions or cities that scored high on most or all of the criteria. Following these top 10 locations is a list of places cited by the polled pros for excelling in specific categories.
TOP 5 NORTH AMERICAN LOCATIONS
#1 California
Los Angeles and environs, San Diego, San Francisco and spots throughout the state
While California reels from the double whammy of a lousy economy and continued runaway production, it’s easy to forget just how much the state has to offer. It still has the deepest talent pool — both in front of and behind the camera — and the largest and most technologically advanced production infrastructure and equipment in the world.
Plus, the state offers varied outdoor locations, including snow-capped mountains, sandy beaches, rolling vineyards and misty forests — not to mention the hilly streets of San Francisco and palm-fringed urban landscape of L.A. The state’s coast has hosted such films as “Sideways” and “Pirates of the Caribbean 3,” its arid stretches have doubled for Iraq and Afghanistan, and at the center of the action is Hollywood, the longtime center of the global entertainment industry, with its backlots and studios.
Now, for the first time, California has taken steps to stem runaway production. The state enacted a 20%-25% tax credit — in a bill signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who made his name in Hollywood — that went into effect July 1.
#2 New York
Manhattan, the rest of New York City plus upstate locations
Filmmakers have flocked to the Big Apple since the early days of cinema, drawn by its restless energy, its world-famous skyscrapers and backdrops that range from the mansions of Fifth Avenue to the gritty back alleys of Hell’s Kitchen. There’s no more authentic place to capture a New York street scene, as Oliver Stone is currently doing in “Wall Street 2,” or to create a mythical New York, as Woody Allen has done.
The city boasts an abundance of skilled crews and major studios like Silvercup, Kaufman-Astoria and Steiner — plus the facilities of the TV networks headquartered there.
Outside the city, filmmakers have long explored locations ranging from Long Island, the Hudson Valley, the Catskills and other picturesque regions. Helping the state attract productions: a 30%-35% refundable state tax credit on qualified expenses.
#3 New Mexico
Albuquerque, other cities and remote areas
Known for scenery that ranges from white desert sands to forested mountains, New Mexico also offers a 25% tax rebate on all production costs and local labor payments. This aggressive incentive has spurred a heavy production slate, promoting growth in studio and stage space. This year alone has seen 15 major feature film productions as well as various TV series. The newest facility is the giant Albuquerque Studios complex, joining Albuquerque-based Rio Grande Studios. But while Albuquerque remains the center of gravity, production is also moving to remoter areas like Deming (”Indiana Jones 4″) and Clovis (”Believe in Me”). “Transformers 2″ was filmed at White Sands Missile Range and Holloman AFB adjacent to Alamogordo, with additional locations in Tularosa and the Mescalero Indian Reservation, all in Otero county. The state claims the largest crew base outside the coasts — more than 3,000. A new studio complex is being built in Santa Fe.
#4 Chicago
Prototypical urban America
With its iconic downtown skyline, mix of traditional and radical architecture, historic neighborhoods and modern city life — all fronted by Lake Michigan — the Windy City exerts a powerful pull over filmmakers. Add in the 30% transferable tax credit and it’s clear why the Illinois Film Office has been successful. Since the late ’80s, more than 800 feature films and television projects have made use of local soundstages (the Chicago Production Center, Chicago Studio Center, NBC Studio) and the city’s cinematic locations, including “Public Enemies,” “Traitor,” frequent visitor “ER” and “The Dark Knight.” Chicago, a center of advertising and TV commercial production, also boasts a deep crew base, high-end post facilities and multiple equipment-rental houses.
#5 Louisiana
New Orleans, other cities and parishes
Louisiana isn’t just the boisterous Big Easy, soggy bayous and graceful old plantations draped with Spanish moss. The northeast has pine forests, rolling hills and small towns that can double for many other places. But the state’s main attraction may be its 35% transferable tax credit coupled with large studio and stage facilities. These include Raleigh Studios Baton Rouge, StageWorks in Shreveport and Louisiana Film Studios in Elmwood. Shreveport also boasts the Louisiana Wave Studio, with a 750,000-gallon tank originally built for Disney’s “The Guardian.” New Orleans has bounced back post-Katrina; Tony Scott and Jerry Bruckheimer got the ball rolling by shooting “Deja Vu” there soon after the disaster. Shreveport has positioned itself as a production center (”Mad Money,” “True Blood,” “Premonition”), and local locations doubled for Washington, D.C., in Oliver Stone’s “W.”
TOP 5 INTERNATIONAL LOCATIONS
#1 Morocco
Cities and landscapes
A short list of filmmakers who’ve shot in Morocco reads like a Who’s Who of Old Hollywood: Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, John Huston, Henry Hathaway and David Lean. More recently, Morocco was the location for Martin Scorsese’s “The Last Temptation of Christ” and “Kundun”; Oliver Stone’s “Alexander”; and Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator,” “Black Hawk Down,” “Kingdom of Heaven” and “Body of Lies.” Other high-profile productions include “Babel,” “Troy,” “The Mummy” franchise and “Prince of Persia,” currently filming. The country’s locations range from Mediterranean coastline to mountains and desert, and uniquely Moroccan skylines in Casablanca, Tangiers, Marrakech, Fez and Rabat.
The country boasts a solid cinema infrastructure. Thanks to their long experience, Morocco’s film companies have developed a full gamut of production services, including location scouting, equipment and office rental, crew hiring, shooting permits, transportation, catering and accommodations. Local crews are often bilingual and accustomed to working with foreign productions, and location fees are low. Film companies also coordinate the use of the Moroccan military for the use of tanks, helicopters and aircraft in battle scenes — assets that might be prohibitively expensive elsewhere.
#2 France
Paris, Provence and the Dordogne region
For an atmosphere of romance, fine cuisine and visual splendors, it’s hard to beat France. The iconic cityscapes of Paris — the Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, the Seine — have long provided backdrops for films about love and food (”Julie & Julia” being the latest) as well as actioners (”Rush Hour 3″). And in the south and west, Provence and the Dordogne region offer filmmakers a different kind of beauty, with lavender fields, sleepy villages, ruined castles and the spectacular cliff-hugging roads of the Riviera where James Bond raced his Aston Martin.
France has a network of 40 film commissions, experienced crews, deep infrastructure and a long history of filmmaking expertise and foreign production (”G.I. Joe,” “The Bourne Ultimatum,” “The Da Vinci Code,” “Ocean’s 12″ to name just a few recent examples). The nation’s new tax rebate, which the French Parliament enacted last December, created a credit for foreign productions shot in France.
#3 Prague
Center of Central European filmmaking
Prague’s long, rich tradition of filmmaking didn’t begin with Milos Forman and Saul Zaentz’s “Amadeus,” but that production helped put the visually beautiful and culturally rich capital of the Czech Republic back on the international stage. Since then, such high-profile films as “Mission: Impossible,” “Casino Royale” and “Hannibal Rising” have taken advantage of the city’s locations and film-friendly atmosphere. Prague also boasts some of the largest stages in Europe in the Barrandov complex; recent productions include a Disney “Narnia” sequel and “The Illusionist.” The latter also used local post/vfx house Universal Production Partners (UPP) for all the effects. Since its establishment in 1994, UPP has worked on shots for Tom Tykwer’s “Perfume” and Ron Underwood’s “The Year Without Santa Claus,” among others.
#4 Spain
Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands
An extensive coastline, desert scenery, high mountains and a culturally rich and diverse architecture have long helped Spain’s cinematic development. The country has doubled for the American West (Sergio Leone’s “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”), the Muslim Middle East and many other world locations. Helped by Spain’s fledgling incentives, Madrid and Barcelona have attracted filmmakers such as Woody Allen and have also grown into major production centers, supported by homegrown talent including Pedro Almodovar. The cities of Zaragoza and Aragon formed the backdrop to Guillermo del Toro’s “Pan’s Labyrinth,” Malaga is busy with features and commercials, and Alicante now boasts the Ciudad de la Luz studio complex. Spain’s Canary Islands offer the rugged, volcanic locations seen in Stanley Kubrick’s “2001.”
#5 U.K.
London, Edinburgh and elsewhere
The U.K. has a deep pool of acting talent, extensive infrastructure and great crews and facilities — including the Ealing and Pinewood studios — that can handle all levels of production, from the biggest sets of the James Bond and Harry Potter franchises to the smallest indie pics. The U.K. also offers an aggressive rebate program. For films budgeted at less than £20 million ($31.8 million), filmmakers can earn up to a 25% tax credit. Add in the natural beauty of the countryside, a widely spoken world language and the architectural appeal of cultural hot spots such as Bath and Edinburgh — and the advantages become apparent. Contributing to the industry’s health today: a plethora of productions from overseas and the solidly booked post and vfx industry in London’s Soho
HONORABLE MENTIONS, PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Best Visual Appeal
Croatia, Hawaii, Panama
Croatia boasts World Heritage sites (Dubrovnik’s Old City, Split’s Palace of Diocletian), the stunning Dalmatian coastline and Plitvice Lakes National Park with waterfalls and 16 azure lakes. Hawaii is U.S. soil and offers good infrastructure, plus jungle, rain forest, towering cliffs, waterfalls, beaches and sunsets — and beautiful weather. With its relative proximity to the U.S. and more than 30,000 square miles of terrain, Panama presents filmmakers with a variety of locations, including tropical rain forest, Caribbean beaches, volcanic areas, islands and a cosmopolitan skyline.
Best Incentives
Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina
Michigan grabbed the tax-break spotlight with its pumped-up package of a refundable, assignable credit that ranges from 30% to a whopping 42% of a production’s eligible expenses. And the required minimum in-state spend is only $50,000. Georgia offers a transferable tax credit of 20%, with a possible further 10% if a state promo logo is included in the finished production. Minimum spend is $500,000. North Carolina recently upped its incentive to the level of a 25% tax credit on a minimum $250,000 in-state spend.
Best Film-Office Support
Connecticut, Utah, Vancouver
Connecticut’s film office offers an online production guide, location gallery and information on local crews, casting and infrastructure. It also serves as a clearinghouse for tax-break information and production services. Vancouver long ago earned the title “Hollywood North,” and the British Columbia Film Commission recently celebrated its 30th anniversary of helping productions such as “Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian” and “Watchmen” find locations, crews and post facilities. The Utah Film Commission helps filmmakers deal with permitting, local government agencies and locations that range from “John Ford country” backdrops to alpine meadows and woodlands.
Best Production Resources
Sydney, Montreal, Toronto
Sydney’s Fox Studios Australia is a major world destination for film and TV production, and the city has experienced crews and deep infrastructure. Montreal offers expert vfx work, spurred by tax breaks. High-profile films including “The Golden Compass” and “Indiana Jones 4″ might shoot elsewhere but still use Montreal’s talent pool for effects. Toronto, long home to a strong film and TV production community, is known for facilities, crews and a range of post, animation and vfx services. The first phase of its ambitious FilmPort studio complex opened last year.
Best Doubles for Other Locations
Buenos Aires, Iceland, Arizona
With its handsome, Eurocentric architecture and ambiance, Buenos Aires has long been known as “The Paris of South America” and can also double for London, Berlin, Rome — even Mumbai (taxis and the train station are virtually identical). Iceland is home to spectacular, almost otherworldly locations that are surprisingly versatile, which is why Clint Eastwood used it to double for the South Pacific’s Iwo Jima in “Flags of Our Fathers.” It’s not just Arizona’s famous canyons, deserts and lakes that can twin for foreign lands: Although set in the Middle East, Universal’s “The Kingdom” was primarily filmed in the Phoenix area.
Posted 24 October, 2009 in TX News
Contact: Thomas Moore
Blanchard Schaefer
Advertising & Public Relations
817.226.4332 x223
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Lone Star International Film Festival Fort Worth in Sundance Square Releases Film Lineup
Wide variety of genres and artistic expression represent the best of global cinema
FORT WORTH, Texas – Oct. 23, 2009 – The Lone Star Film Society (LSFS), has released the feature film lineup for its 2009 Lone Star International Film Festival Fort Worth in Sundance Square, Nov. 11-15. (Complete listing of films and synopses below.)
“The quality of our films signify that the Lone Star International Film Festival Fort Worth in Sundance Square is maturing and growing in stature among festivals around the world,” said Dennis Bishop, LSFS director. “With films of this quality, from U.S. and international talents, there is such true diversity in this selection that it offers an absolutely unique experience to expand ones horizons.”
“Our films represent an eclectic cross-section of genres and artistic movements, with an emphasis on the future of the art of filmmaking,” said Alec Jhangiani, LSFS artistic director. “There are films that pursue revolutionary new directions promising to impact our craft for years to come. Several of the works are from playwrights who are forging completely new territory. When you consider our international spotlight, with powerful films from the German Berlin School, which, has been likened to the French New Wave, and our documentaries, among other things, you are seeing major paradigm shifts. This year’s festival promises to represent a defining time in our history.”
As of now, filmmakers and actors associated with the films “The Scenesters,” “Touching Home,” “Artois the Goat” and “Tenure” are scheduled to attend. Award recipients and additional attendees will be announced next week. Available screeners will be shared upon request. Specific times, dates and locations are to be announced. Visit www.lsiff.com for more details.
FILMS:
OPENING NIGHT
The Scenesters (North Texas Premiere)
THURSDAY NIGHT CENTERPIECE
Touching Home (Texas Premiere)
FRIDAY NIGHT CENTERPIECE
Tenure (North Texas Premiere)
CLOSING NIGHT
The Messenger (North Texas Premiere)
SPOTLIGHT SCREENINGS
The Eclipse (Texas Premiere)
Serious Moonlight (North Texas Premiere)
Herpes Boy (North Texas Premiere)
The Vanished Empire
A Sea Change
Breaking Upwards (North Texas Premiere)
Watching TV with the Red Chinese
Racing Dreams (Southwest Premiere)
Blood Simple
Ichi
NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION
Spooner (Southwest Premiere)
Easier with Practice (Texas Premiere)
Modern Love is Automatic (North Texas Premiere)
The Shaft (Dixia de tiankong) (Southwest Premiere)
Artois the Goat (North Texas Premiere)
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
My Neighbor, My Killer (Southwest Premiere)
Severe Clear (North Texas Premiere)
Strongman (North Texas Premiere)
Garbage Dreams (North Texas Premiere)
Petition (Southwest Premiere)
CURRENT GERMAN CINEMA (INTERNATIONAL SPOTLIGHT)
Hilde (United States Premiere)
Distance (Texas Premiere)
The Red Spot (United States Premiere)
GATEWAY TO THE ARTS
Dancing Across Borders (Texas Premiere)
You Won’t Miss Me (North Texas Premiere)
God’s Architects (North Texas Premiere)
FILM SYNOPSIS:
OPENING NIGHT
The Scenesters (North Texas Premiere – In Attendance: Todd Berger, Kevin Brennan)
USA/English
Every resident in the hip environs of East L.A. has a mini-cam in hand and is wired for sound. And they all seem likable enough… That’s the impression you get from Todd Berger’s film, 90 minutes of fun composed of crime scene investigation footage, scenes from a fledgling director’s foray into film noir, trial transcriptions, television news reports, and some stuff that happened when everyone forgot the camera was running. The Scenesters dissects the mediated nature of experience in the postmodern age, but don’t let that worry you. It is also very funny, and it offers at least this one valuable life lesson. If on the witness stand you are asked the question, “Did you not know that withholding evidence in a criminal investigation is a felony?” always answer, “No.”
Charles Dee Mitchell
Writer/Director Todd Berger
Producers Kevin Brennan, Jeff Grace, Brett D. Thompson
Executive Producers Christopher R. Sabin, Eric Sherman
Cinematographer Helena Wei
Production Designer Eve McCarney
Editor Kyle Martin
Original Music Dan Houlbrook
Principal Cast Sherilyn Fenn, Blaise Miller, Suzanne May, Jeff Grace
Running Time: 96 minutes
Thursday Night Centerpiece Film
THURSDAY NIGHT CENTERPIECE
Touching Home (Texas Premiere – In Attendance: Logan and Noah Miller)
USA/English
Identical twins Logan and Noah Miller write, direct, produce, and star in this deeply personal story of young men coming to grips with their fading dreams of baseball stardom. When Lane (Logan Miller) is dismissed from his minor league team for a fast ball that is not quite fast enough his brother Clint (Noah Miller) drops out of community college to follow him home. Back in the small town they grew up in, they practice for upcoming tryouts, work at the local gravel pit, deal with their alcoholic father (Ed Harris), and live with their simple-minded uncle (Brad Dourif). For the first time they realize that truly growing up may involve growing apart.
Charles Dee Mitchell
Writer/Directors Logan Miller, Noah Miller
Producers Logan Miller, Noah Miller
Co-Producer Jeromy Zajonc
Cinematographer Ricardo Jacques Gale
Production Designer Roy Rede
Editor Robert Dalva
Original Music Composer Martin Davich
Principal Cast Ed Harris, Brad Dourif, Robert Forster
Running Time: 108 minutes
FRIDAY NIGHT CENTERPIECE
Tenure (North Texas Premiere – In Attendance: Mike Million, Brendan McDonald)
USA/English
Charlie Thurber (Luke Wilson) is on the fast track for tenure at Gray College, he tells himself and his retired professor father. Charlie is a really nice guy. As he is the only English professor up for tenure, his effort to impress fellow academics is lackadaisical while his teaching indisputably reaches his students. When new, pretty, straight from teaching at Yale tenure contender Elaine (Gretchen Mol) appears, Charlie sees his tenure drifting quickly away. In an effort to help Charlie, his best friend and recently declined tenure track and Bigfoot expert Jay (David Koechner, The Office) devises multiple sabotage plots against Elaine in this charming romantic comedy by first time director Mike Million.
Janis Jolcuvar
Writer/Director Mike Million
Producers Tai Duncan, Brendan McDonald, Paul Schiff
Executive Producers Richard Hull, Dominic Ianno, Kelly Rodriques
Co-Producer Jared Goldman
Cinematographer Steve Yedlin
Production Designer Beth Mickle
Editor Tom McArdle
Original Music Composer John Frizzell
Principal Cast Luke Wilson, Gretchen Mol, David Koechner, Sasha Alexander, Bob Gunton
Running Time: 90 minutes
CLOSING NIGHT FILM
The Messenger (North Texas Premiere)
USA/English
Will (Ben Foster) has only three months left in the service. Having spent much of his time in the hospital recovering from a near brush with death, he finds that his final assignment is with the Casualty Notification Office. Working with his senior officer Tony (Woody Harrelson), he must now break the news to families that their son or daughter has been killed. The Messenger is the story of his and Tony’s efforts to return to a normal life they know will never be normal again. Oren Moverman’s film won Best Screenplay and the Peace Film Award at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival.
Writers Alessandro Camon, Oren Moverman
Director Oren Moverman
Producers Benjamin Goldhirsh, Mark Gordon, Lawrence Inglee, Zach Miller
Executive Producers Steffen Aumueller, Nathaniel Bolotin, Christopher Mapp, Shaun Redick, Glenn M. Stewart, Matthew Street, David Whealy, Bryan Zuriff
Line Producer Gwen Bialic
Cinematographer Bobby Bukowski
Production Designer Stephen Beatrice
Editor Alexander Hall
Original Music Composer Nathan Larson
Principal Cast Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton, Jena Malone
Running Time: 105 minutes
SPOTLIGHT SCREENINGS
The Eclipse (Southwest Premiere)
Ireland/English
Acclaimed Irish playwright Conor McPherson wrote and directed this moving drama, seamlessly acted with a stellar cast led by Ciaran Hinds (of HBO’s Rome) playing Michael Farr, a widower in a small Irish costal town whose nightmares and brushes with ghosts draw him to guest horror writer Lena Morelle (Iben Hjejle) during the local literary festival. Assigned to take her around, he must also deal with notable, arrogant, author Nicholas Holden’s (Aidan Quinn) pursuit of her. Michael grapples with the eerie lines of life and death and how they hold him as a quiet, contrasting depth of expansive emotion washes over this elegantly crafted film. Ciarán Hinds took a Best Actor Award at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival for this performance.
Janis Jolcuvar
Writers Conor McPherson, Billy Roach
Based on a play by Conor McPherson
Director Conor McPherson
Producer Robert Walpole
Executive Producers Paddy McDonald, Rebecca O’Flanagan
Co-Producer Donal Geraghty
Cinematographer Ivan McCullough
Production Designer Mark Geraghty
Editor Emer Reynolds
Music Fionnuala Ni Chiosain
Principal Cast Ciarán Hinds, Iben Hjejle, Aidan Quinn
Running Time: 88 minutes
Serious Moonlight (North Texas Premiere)
USA/English
The late Adrienne Shelly’s (Waitress) talent for mixing everyman dilemma with eccentricity has a way of knoodling an unexpected path to expected outcomes, with a wink. Such is the case when high-powered attorney Louise’s (Meg Ryan) surprise early visit to Ian (Timothy Hutton) her husband of 13-years, unravels his plan to run off with his twenty-something mistress, Sara (Kristen Bell). Unwilling to give up both husband and marriage, Sara refuses to let Ian go by tying him up. When Todd (Justin Long), a menacing hooligan, hears Ian’s cries for help and decides to take advantage rather than help, he creates an even thornier patch for the ill-fated love triangle, as Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm) explores the outer reaches of love and commitment in this dark comedy, her feature directorial debut. Janis Jolcuvar
Writer Adrienne Shelly
Director Cheryl Hines
Producers Andy Ostroy, Michael Roiff
Executive Producers Cliff Chenfeld, David Graff, Dan Katcher, Todd King, Rick Milenthal, Dawn Porter, Isabel Rose, Tod Stein
Line Producer Brigitte Mueller
Cinematographer Nancy Schreiber
Production Designer Cecil Gentry
Editor Steven Rasch
Original Music Andrew Hollander
Principal Cast Kristen Bell, Justin Long, Meg Ryan, Timothy Hutton, Kimberlee Peterson
Running Time: 84 minutes
Herpes Boy (North Texas Premiere)
USA/English
Rudolph Murray (Byron Lane) has a problem. Actually he has many problems – school problems, family problems, girl problems – but his main problem is a birthmark on his upper lip that has earned him the nickname “Herpes Boy.” He goes on the web to make videos about how much he hates his life but thanks to the unwanted intervention of a cousin, so obnoxious that she spells her name “Christeee,” he becomes an internet star. Herpes Boy began life as a series on YouTube and is the first film to crossover from the web to the big screen. Lane’s script was funny enough to attract such actors as Beth Grant (No Country for Old Men), Ahna O’Reilly (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), and the accomplished veteran actress Julianna McCarthy in the role of Grananna.
Charles Dee Mitchell
Writer Byron Lane
Director Nathaniel Atcheson
Producer M. Elizabeth Hughes
Line Producer Kelly Green
Co-Producers Beth Grant, John Baumgartner
Cinematographer Benjamin Kantor
Production Designer Giovanna Federico
Editor Nathaniel Atcheson
Original Music Dorothea Tachler
Principal Cast Beth Grant, Byron Lane, Ahna O’Reilly, Zack Silva, Julianna McCarthy, Octavia Spencer, Michael Chieffo
Running Time: 85 minutes
The Vanished Empire
Russia/Russian with English subtitles
1973- Moscow, the hottest contraband is blue jeans and western rock music, traded on the black market, and it’s just what 18-year-old student Sergey Narbekov (Alexander Lyapin) needs to impress Lyuda (Lidiya Milyuzina). At a time when the old school of respected intellectualism is beginning to lose ground with Russian youth to the elements of western pop culture leaking through, these typical pursuits of students, who happen to be Russian, present a charming and intriguing glimpse into Russia during the mid-70’s with the expertise of esteemed filmmaker Karen Shakhnazarov. Janis Jolcuvar
Writers Sergei Rokotov, Yevgeni Nikishov
Director/Producer Karen Shakhnazarov
Executive Producer Galina Shadur
Cinematographer Shandor Berkeshi
Production Designer Lyudmila Kusakova
Original Music Konstantin Shevelev
Principal Cast Alexander Lyapin, Lidiya Milyuzina, Yegor Baranovsky
Narrated by (Documentaries)
Running Time: 105 minutes
A Sea Change (North Texas Premiere)
USA/English
A Sea Change follows Sven Huseby from California to Alaska to Norway as he searches for the facts behind the rising acidity of the earth’s oceans. On his journey, he meets with oceanographers, marine biologists, climatologists, and artists who are involved with the dangers posed by this fundamental change in the quality of ocean water. His findings are made charmingly accessible as reported via letters to his grandson. Babara Ettinger’s film won Best Documentary Feature at the FICA International Environmental Film Festival and has played at festivals from Kosovo to Honolulu. Throughout the film, Claudia Raschke-Robinson’s spectacular cinematography accentuates the beauty of this endangered world.
Charles Dee Mitchell
Director Barbara Ettinger
Producers Barbara Ettinger, Sven Huseby, Susan Cohn-Rockefeller
Cinematographer Claudia Raschke-Robinson
Editor Toby Shimin
Running Time: 86 minutes
Breaking Upwards (North Texas Premiere)
USA/English
Daryl (Daryl Wein) and Zoe (Zoe Lister Jones) have planned the perfect break up of their four-year relationship. They will do it slowly, establish “on” and “off” days, and ease into a separation so that nobody will get hurt. This all goes about as well as any rational person might expect it to but for the audience the process is both humorous and heartbreaking. Along with playing characters named after themselves, Daryl Wein directs, and Zoe Lister Jones shares the screenplay credit with Peter Duchan. Charles Dee Mitchell
Writers Peter Duchan, Zoe Lister Jones, Daryl Wein
Director Daryl Wein
Producers Zoe Lister Jones, Daryl Wein
Cinematographer Alex Bergman
Editor Daryl Wein
Original Music Kyle Forester
Principal Cast Zoe Lister Jones, Daryl Wein, Julie White, Andrea Martin, Peter Friedman
Running Time: 88 minutes
Watching TV with the Red Chinese
USA/English
The year is 1980. Dexter Mitchell (Ryan O’Nan), a graduate student in New York City, finds that his new neighbors are three exchange students from the People’s Republic of China. He enjoys getting to know them, chiefly by explaining to them the arcana of American popular culture they encounter on TV, and he hospitably introduces them to his circle of friends and neighbors. Initially, the three Chinese students are amused and intrigued by everything they find in America but the darker aspects of their host country also appear on the screen and in the neighborhood where they live. Jealousy and violence infect even the most well intentioned situations as Shimon Dotan’s culture clash comedy heads into unexpectedly dark territory.
Charles Dee Mitchell
Writers Netaya Anbar, Shimon Dotan
Director Shimon Dotan
Producers Sameer Butt, Shimon Dotan
Co-Producer Netaya Anbar
Cinematographer Mike Rossetti
Production Designer Tania Bijlani
Editor Netaya Anbar
Principal Cast Ryan O’Nan, Leonardo Nam, Gillian Jacobs, James Chen
Running Time: 117 minutes
Racing Dreams (Southwest Premiere)
USA/ English
Academy Award nominated director, Marshall Curry (Street Fight), takes us into the lives of Annabeth (11 years old), Josh (12), and Brandon (13) as they compete for the World Karting Association’s National Championship. Clocking speeds of up to 70 mph in extreme racing karts, these young racers hope to follow the scores of great NASCAR drivers who got their start in racing’s version of the little league. As they race their way through the year-long Championship series, they also navigate the treacherous road between childhood and young adulthood. In intimate moments of young love and family struggle we experience a time in life when all of us are just beginning to figure out who we are. Curry’s film won Best Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Charles Dee Mitchell
Director Marshall Curry
Producer Bristol Baughan
Executive Producers Dany Johnson, Benjamin Goldhirsh, Dwayne Johnson, Jack Turner
Cinematographer Marshall Curry
Editors Marshall Curry, Matthew Hamachek, Mary Man Hardt
Original Music Composer Joel Goodman
Running Time: 93 minutes
Blood Simple
USA/English
Some films just seem to have it all: sex, betrayal, murder, Austin, Texas, and M. Emmett Walsh as the meanest, toughest bastard you would ever not want to cross paths with. Joel and Ethan Coen’s first feature film won the Grand Jury Award at the 1985 Sundance Film Festival and it keeps looking better over time. For this “Director’s Cut,” the brothers have actually removed three minutes of footage. Charles Dee Mitchell
Writers/Directors Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Producer Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Executive Producer Daniel F. Bacaner
Cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld
Production Designer Jane Musky
Editors Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Don Wiegmann
Original Music Carter Burwell
Principal Cast John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, M. Emmet Walsh
Running Time: 99 minutes
Ichi
Japan/Japanese with English subtitles
Between 1962 and 1974, Japanese studios produced 26 feature films and over 100 television episodes on the life of Zatoichi, a blind masseur and swordsman of the Edo Period. In this version, the character becomes Ichi (Haruka Ayase), a beautiful woman searching the snowy, mountainous regions of Japan for the man who taught her the way of the sword. True to the genre, she meets someone to protect, Takao Osawa in a comic role, and crosses paths with many rogues and villains whom she cuts down mercilessly with great style. The fight sequences were choreographed by Kuzi Hiroshi, also responsible for the fights in such films as Ran and Twilight Samaurai. Sori’s film is a perfect blend of action, period detail, and gorgeous cinematography. Charles Dee Mitchell
Writer Kan Shimosawa
Director Fumihiko Sori
Producer Toshiaki Nakazawa
Cinematographer Keiji Hashimoto
Editor Mototaka Kusakabe
Original Music Michael Edwards, Lisa Gerrard
Principal Cast Haruka Ayase, Shido Nakamura, Yôsuke Kubozuka, Takao Osawa
Running Time: 120 minutes
NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION
Spooner (Southwest Premiere)
USA/English
Henry Spooner (Matthew Lillard) meets the girl of his dreams, Rose Conlin (Nora Zehetner), as he heads into the worst day of his life. A used car salesman, his sales numbers, like his life, are just coasting along but not really cutting it. Teetering on the edge of 30, with a mandate to move out of his parent’s house when he reaches that ominous age, and a mandate from his boss to bring up his numbers, Spooner’s heart overrules his practicality diverting his energy from securing his job and a place to live to securing the heart of his new-found love who reveals she is leaving for the Philippines. This quirky romantic comedy has won multiple film festival awards this year.
Janis Jolcuvar
Screenplay Lindsay Stidham
Story Lindsay Stidham, Drake Doremus, Jonathan Schwartz
Director Drake Doremus (story)
Producer Jonathan Schwartz
Executive Producer Zygi Wilf
Co-Producers Matthew Lillard, Marius A. Markevicius, Lindsay StidhamCinematographer John Guleserian
Production Designer Theresa Avram
Editor Andrew Dickler
Original Music Bobby Johnston
Principal Cast Matthew Lillard, Nora Zehetner, Shea Whigham, Christopher McDonald, Kate Burton, Wendi McLendon-Covey
Running Time: 83 minutes
Easier with Practice (Texas Premiere)
USA/English
Davy Mitchell (Brian Geraghty) is touring the Southwest promoting his self-published book of short stories. What he imagined to be a fun trip with his brother has turned out to be a series of poorly attended readings, bad meals, and cheap motels. Alone in the room one night, Davy gets a call from a woman who identifies herself as Nicole. She just wants to talk but she turns the talk sexual. Davy’s initial, amused distrust – this has to be a joke, right? — turns to arousal because Nicole is very sensual and clearly no stranger to phone sex. For the remainder of the trip, Davy and Nicole “meet” every night and their relationship is both erotic and affectionate. Davy realizes that it is the most real thing in his life and he wants to meet Nicole. Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s first feature film, already the winner of several international awards, is an accomplished meditation on loneliness, desire, and both the pleasures and dangers of intimacy.
Charles Dee Mitchell
Writers Kyle Patrick Alvarez (screenplay), Davy Rothbart (story)
Director Kyle Patrick Alvarez
Producer Cookie Carosella
Co-Producer David Melito
Cinematographer David Rush Morrison
Production Designer Brooke Peters
Editor Fernando Collins
Principal Cast Brian Geraghty, Kel O’Neill, Marguerite Moreau, Jeanette Brox, Jenna Gavigan, Kathryn Aselton
Running Time: 100 minutes
Modern Love is Automatic (North Texas Premiere)
USA/English
Director Zach Smith has said he wanted this film “to take the exact same stance on being a dominatrix that it would take on making a sandwich. Both are just things that are done in the course of someone’s day.” In this case, that someone is Lorraine (Melodie Sisk), nurse by day, dominatrix by night. Her new roommate is Adrian (Maggie Ross), an aspiring model whose unflagging optimism is severely tested by her job at what must the sleaziest mattress store on the planet. Their stories are told against a soundtrack filled with the music of Blasphemer and in a visual style that evokes Douglas Sirk on a John Waters budget. Modern Love is Automatic, winner of the Best in Fest Feature Award at the 2009 Boston Underground Film Festival, is a movie that manages to be both understated and totally nuts.
Charles Dee Mitchell
Writer/Director Zach Clark
Producers Zach Clark, Sydney-Chanele R. Dawkins
Cinematographer Daryl Pittman
Editor Zach Clark
Original Music Composer Adam Blais
Principal Cast Melodie Sisk, Maggie Ross
Running Time: 97 minutes
The Shaft (Dixia de tiankong) (Southwest Premiere)
China/Mandarin with English subtitles
Writer/director Chi Zhang’s debut film is a moving series of linked stories centered around one family in a mining community in western China. As they seek to find their place in a post-Communist world, a father, his son, and his daughter all dream of leaving the impoverished village where they have spent their lives. These stories of dreams, frustrations, and family are told simply and with minimal with minimal dialogue. The Shaft introduces an important new presence in the growing number of masterful Chinese filmmakers.
Charles Dee Mitchell
Writer/Director Chi Zhang
Producers Hu Guipu, Jianmin Kang
Cinematographer Shumin Liu
Editor Yong Chen
Original Music Sida Guo
Principal Cast Deyuan Luo, Xuan Huang, Luoqian Zheng, Chen Li
Running Time: 98 minutes
Artois the Goat (North Texas Premiere)
USA/English
Virgil Gurdies (Marl Scheibmeir) doesn’t eat to live, he lives to eat. Unfortunately for Virgil, his passion for fine cheese and wine doesn’t jive with his day job: manufacturing artificial flavor additives for TV dinners. But Virgil is ready to take a bold step. He strips off his lab coat, spends the money he had saved for his girlfriend’s engagement ring on a goat, and plunges into the world of artisanal cheese making. It’s a world where a hermit, yes, a hermit, becomes your best friend, and nefarious German bakers work to foil your every move. The Austin-based Bogart Brothers’ first feature is the story of one young man’s quest for true love and the perfect round of goat cheese.
Charles Dee Mitchell
Writers Cliff Bogart, Kyle Bogart
Directors Cliff Bgart & Kyle Bogart
Producer Richard Reininger
Cinematographer David Blue Garcia
Editors Cliff Bogart, Kyle Bogart
Original Music Brian Satterwhite
Principal Cast Mark Scheibmeir, Sydney Andrews, Stephen Taylor Fry, Dan Braverman
Running Time: 107 minutes
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
My Neighbor, My Killer (Southwest Premiere)
USA,France/English, Kinyarwanda with English subtitles
In 1994, when Rwanda’s Hutu populace was incited by the government-supported to an ethnic cleansing of the country’s Tutsi minority, 800,000 lives were claimed in 100 days. Winner of the Nestor Almendros Prize for Courage in Filmmaking (Human Rights Watch), this powerful and heart-wrenching film follows Rwanda’s new regime government’s Gacaca (ga-CHA-cha – open-air hearings) of 1999, in which citizen-judges publicly tried their neighbors, released from prison, who had slaughtered their families. Designed to reunite the country, empty the incomprehensibly full prisons and help rebuild the nation, the despair, fear and resignation, accusations and defenses, wisdom, lies, power of betrayal and need to forgive and be forgiven reveal unusual glimpses into the depths of the collective community.
Janis Jolcuvar
Director Anne Aghion
Producer Anne Aghion
Cinematographers Claire Bailly du Bois, Linette Frewin, Mathieu Hagnery, James Kakwerere, Simon Rittmeier
Editor Nadia Ben Rachid
Running Time: 80 minutes
Severe Clear (North Texas Premiere)
USA/English
First Lieutenant Mike Scotti was deployed with the 1st Battalion, 4th Marines at the beginning of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. During the weeks that followed he kept a journal and used his digital mini-cam to record events from the initial staging of troupes in Kuwait to their entry into Baghdad. Director Kristian Fraga has used Scotti’s journal and the footage he and other members of his battalion shot to assemble a movie that gives a raw, uncensored view of the tedium, chaos, and adrenalin rush of 21st century combat.
Charles Dee Mitchell
Director Kristian Fraga
Producers Kristian Fraga, Marc Perez
Executive Producers Benjamin Charbit, John Sikes,
Co-Producer Sehban Zaidi
Editor Kristian Fraga
Original Music Cliff Martinez
Principal Cast Mike Scotti
Running Time: 92 minutes
Strongman (North Texas Premiere)
USA/English
Stanless Steel is a very strong man. He can leg press a 10,000 lb dump truck, bend a penny between two fingers, bend a horseshoe with his bare hands and, with his bare fist, drive a nail through a board and two New Jersey license plates. But Stanless Steel’s audiences are getting smaller and he is getting older. For this cinema vérité documentary, Zachary Levy spent time over several years with Stanless and his family. The result is a moving and sometimes unsettling story about a man who cannot dare lose faith himself for fear of facing the failure that surrounds him. Strongman won the Best Documentary Award at the 2009 Slamdance Film Festival.
Charles Dee Mitchell
Director Zachary Levy
Editor Andrew Pang
Sound Editors Andrea Bella, Michael Feuser
Running Time: 113 minutes
Garbage Dreams (North Texas Premiere)
USA/English
In a small ghetto located on the outskirts of Cairo, 60,000 Zaballeen (“Garbage People”) collect and recycle 80% of their garbage as their method for survival in the world’s largest garbage village. Their efficiency in garbage collection is, arguably, the most proficient in the world; however, their jobs quickly become endangered by the globalization of their trade from larger multi-national garbage disposal companies. Through the narrow roadways in the labyrinth of garbage, three boys, born into the trash trade, must make choices at a cross roads in their lives that will impact their future as well as the future of their community. This fascinating film has won 4 festival awards this year.
Blake Nelms
Writer/Director/Producer Mai Iskander
Executive Producer Tiffany Shauer
Running Time: 82 minutes
Petition (Southwest Premiere)
China, France/Mandarin with English Subtitles
In Beijing, the government has established an official Complaints Office where petitioners come from across China in hopes of redress for injustices in their local communities. The Complaints Office however, is organized to force the petitioners to wait years for their cases to be heard, creating a Kafkaesque nightmare for country people stranded in the city and often pursued by “retrievers” sent by their local governments. Zhao Liang began work on this documentary in 1996, often shooting footage with a secret camera. It is both infuriating and moving as it shows the community that comes together in the shantytown known as Petition Village. Zhao’s film was among those pulled by the Chinese government from the 2009 Melbourne International Film Festival. Petition Village was demolished as part of Beijing’s Olympic building program.
Charles Dee Mitchell
Director Zhao Liang
Producer Sylvie Blum
Cinematographer Zhao Liang
Editors Zhao Liang, Sylvie Blum, Shun Zi, Bruno Barwise
Running Time: 120 minutes
CURRENT GERMAN CINEMA (INTERNATIONAL SPOTLIGHT)
Beginning in 2003, the world has experienced a resurgence of German films such as Goodbye Lenin!, The Edukators, and Fatih Akin’s Head On at major festivals like Berlin and Cannes. This trend continues today with the triumph of Michael Haneke’s White Ribbon at this year’s Cannes film festival, Turkish-German director Fatih Akin’s continued excellence, and an ever expanding movement known as the Berlin School, as crests of a wave in a sea of artistic expression. Remaining in many of the films are themes that have pervaded German culture since World War II. While considering it fitting to acknowledge these themes, this year’s international spotlight is also meant to showcase films that prove Germany extends far beyond a period in its history.
Hilde (United States Premiere)
Germany/German with English subtitles
American audiences knew Hildegard Knef as a European actress with usually minor roles in American films and as the star of Cole Porter’s Silk Stockings on Broadway. But in her native Germany and across Europe, Hildegard Knef (born 1925) was a major star whose colorful career included a scandalous nude scene in The Sinner (1951), three marriages, triumphs on stage and screen, and a final turn as a night club singer. Kai Wessel’s film is a sumptuously mounted bio pic. Art director Thomas Freudenthal recreates postwar
Germany, midcentury Hollywood, and 1970’s Europe in lavish detail. German singer/actress Heike Makatsch finds the beauty and power of Knef’s character whether playing her as a twenty-year-old aspiring actress of a fifty-year-old chanteuse.
Charles Dee Mitchell
Writer Maria von Heland
Based on the autobiography of Hildegard Knef
Director Kai Wessel
Producer Judy Tossell, Jens Meurer
Line Producer Anne Leppin
Co-Producers Ralf Schmitz, Bastian Griese
Cinematographer Hagen Bogdanski
Production Designer Thomas Freudenthal
Editor Tina Freitag
Original Music Martin Todsharow
Principal Cast Heike Makatsch, Dan Stevens, Monica Bleibtreu, Michael Gwisdeck, Hanns Zischler
Running Time: 136 minutes
Distance (Texas Premiere)
Germany/German with English Subtitles
Jana (Franziska Welsz) quite likes Daniel (Ken Duken), her shy, introverted co-worker at the botanic garden. They have a few dates and Jana feels that Daniel also likes her. What she doesn’t know however, is that Daniel also likes to kill people. Frequently. For his debut feature, Thomas Seiben has put together a quiet, stylish thriller punctuated by well-timed shocks and the blackest of humor.
Charles Dee Mitchell
Writers Thomas Sieben, Christian Lyra
Director Thomas Sieben
Producers Ken Duken, Norbert Kneissel
Executive Producer Michael Frenschkowski
Co-Producer Patric Stegenwalner
Cinematographer René Dame
Editor Charlie Lézin
Principal Cast Ken Duken, Franziska Weisz, Josef Heynert
Running Time: 84 minutes
The Red Spot (United States Premiere)
Germany/Japan -German/Japanese with English subtitles
When young Japanese student, Aki Onodera, finds an old camera, a yellowed envelope with a letter, and a map marked with a red dot left by her long-deceased parents, the pull of her unanswered questions becomes irresistible. Leaving her studies to re-trace their steps, she travels alone from Tokyo to Bavaria. A local German family comes to her aid and their personal journeys intertwine in this award winning debut feature by Marie Miyayama. The Red Spot (Der Rote Punkt), her graduation project, is an intriguing blend of German and Japanese aesthetics.
Janis Jolcuvar
Writers Marie Miyayama, Christoph Tomkewitsch
Director Marie Miyayama
Producer Martin Blankemeyer, Miyako Sonoki
Line Producers Christian Müller-Germany, Kinya Yagi-Japan
Cinematographer Oliver Sachs
Production Designer Gabriele Mai
On-line Editor Marko Krinke
Digital colorist Manfred Turek
Original Music Helmut Sinz
Principal Cast Yuki Inomata, Hans Kremer, Orlando Klaus, Imke Buechel, Zora Thiessen, Shinya Owada, Mikiko Otonashi, Yuu Saito, Toru Minegishi, Toshihiro Yashiba, Nahoko Fort-Nishigami
Running Time: 85 minutes
GATEWAY TO THE ARTS
For many, film can be a gateway to the arts. Since its inception, the Lone Star International Film Festival has made celebrating the intersection of film and other arts an essential part of its mission. Due in large part to the existing cultural community of Fort Worth, this has proven to be a highly rewarding effort. As the momentum of our shared successes expand cultural interaction, we look forward to further exploring the presence, in terms of both method and content, of architecture, painting, sculpture, music, literature, photography, dance, theater and design in cinema. In turn, the festival aspires to afford these disciplines greater exposure by capitalizing on the mass appeal of the moving image.
With these objectives in mind, we are proud to announce the first edition of Gateway to the Arts, a multi-faceted program that will lend additional form to the ideas stated above. For 2009, this program is comprised of two parts. First, a special category of films listed on the following page. There are no concrete criteria for this category but in the synopses we have described the rationale behind each selection.
Dancing Across Borders (Texas Premiere)
USA/English and Khmer with English subtitles
First time filmmaker Anne Bass successfully captures the talent and charm of dancer Sokvannara (Sy) Sar in this uneven but captivating documentary. Following his pursuit of classical Cambodian dance from age nine in his native country through his subsequent discovery by and patronage of Anne Bass, we follow his journey to New York and his immersion in classical training, as the oldest recruit at the School of American Ballet at age 16. The sheer talent, charm and determination of Sy, as he struggles with the physical, artistic, cultural, economic and personal challenges, is at once admirable, riveting, sad and triumphant as he returns to Cambodia as an accomplished western ballet dancer and cultural ambassador, and ultimately joins the Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle. Featured performance footage includes Sy with legendary composer Phillip Glass at the Vail International Dance Festival.
Janis Jolcuvar
Director Anne Bass
Producers Catherine Tatge, Anne Bass
Executive Producer Anne Bass
Cinematographer Robert Elfstrom, Anthony Forma, Tom Hurwitz
Editor Girish Bhargava, Mark Sutton
Principal Cast Sokvannara (Sy) Sar
You Won’t Miss Me (North Texas Premiere)
USA/ English
Shelly (Stella Schnabel) is 23 years old and no longer out of control enough to stay at the mental hospital. She is sent home to Brooklyn and to her old circle of friends and casual lovers who seldom seem to work but always pay the rent. But Ry Russo-Young’s second feature film is not a navel-gazing exploration of the twenty-something psyche. Fueled by Schnabel’s no-holds-barred performance and shot in five different formats that capture the tech-soaked atmosphere Shelly and her friends inhabit, You Won’t Miss Me is both a hilarious and excruciating ride through the inner life of a fragile but tenacious young woman.
Charles Dee Mitchell
Writer Ry Russo Young, Stella Schnabel
Director Ry Russo Young
Producer Andrew Barchilon
Executive Producer Ry Russo Young
Cinematographer Kitao Sakurai
Editors Ry Russo Young, Gil Koffman
Original Music Composer Will Bates
Principal Cast Stella Schnabel, Noah Kimmerling, Gina Abatemarco
Running Time: 81 minutes
God’s Architects (North Texas Premiere)
USA/English
Leonard Knight has worked for decades on God is Love Mountain, his painted concrete hillside in the California desert. In Arkansas, Shelby Ravellette is building a stone castle to honor his young daughter who died of the flu. These are two of the five visionary artists profiled in Zack Godshall’s documentary. Each one has devoted his life to realizing in this world the environment they feel God has chosen them to create. Godshall allows them to speak in depth about their projects and their faith and leads the audience on a tour of their eccentric, often beautiful, and always moving constructions.
Charles Dee Mitchell
Director Zack Godshall
Producer Zack Godshall
Executive Producer Zack Godshall
Co-Producer Emilie Taylor
Cinematographer Zack Godshall
Editor Zack Godshall
Original Music Shane Monds
Running Time: 82 minutes
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