USA Film Festival

 One Armed Man

The USA Film Festival announced the winners of the 36th Annual National Short Film & Video Competition. The awards program took place on Closing Night of the 44th Annual USA Film Festival in Dallas.  One Armed Man, directed byTim Guinee, won the First Place award for Fiction; Confusion Through Sand directed by Danny Madden won the First Place award for Animation and Not Anymore: A Story of Revolution directed by Matthew VanDyke won the First Place award for Non-Fiction.

 Chosen from more than 500 U.S. entries, the winners included:

FIRST PLACE / FICTION $1,000 
One Armed Man, Tim Guinee, director 

FIRST PLACE / ANIMATION $1,000
Confusion Through Sand, Danny Madden, director

FIRST PLACE / NON-FICTION $1,000
Not Anymore: A Story of Revolution, Matthew VanDyke, director

First Place Winners in the Fiction, Animation and Non-Fiction categories that meet Academy eligibility requirements qualify for consideration from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. For more information on Rules & Eligibility for the Academy Awards, please visit www.oscars.org/rules

THE STUDENT AWARD $250 
Samnang, Asaph Polosky, director 

SPECIAL JURY AWARDS $250 each
5cm, Jordan Schiele, director Children of the Peacock, Travis Andrade, director For the Birds, Tara Atashgah, director A Long Walk, Chinonye Chukwu, director

THE TEXAS AWARD $250
A Quiet Strength, Bobbie Baird, Hannah Caggiano, Deborah Hammond, Tommaso Spinelli, co-directors

In addition to the Jury awards, FESTIVAL-AWARDED PRIZES also went to the following official selection short works:

Across Grace Alley, Ralph Macchio, director
The Bakerman and the Bunnymen, Scout Raskin, director
Dress, Henry Ian Cusick, director
Looms, The Funk Brothers, directors
Ni-Ni, Melissa Hickey, director
Thursday, Milcho Manchevski, director
Tobacco Burn, Justin Liberman, director

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The documentary Rise Up, West has been added to the lineup for the 44th Annual USA Film Festival, taking place April 22 to 27, 2014 in Dallas, Texas.  After a fertilizer plant explosion killed 15 people in the town of West, TX the high school football team helped lead the town’s recovery. 

David Woodard, a West native, took the job as West High School coach just months before the blast.  He knew he’d spend the next ten games rebuilding a losing football program.  He did not know, within months, he’d be rebuilding his own hometown and his own home, destroyed by the explosion.  But he was the right man for the job with a focus and dedication that gave his players something and someone to believe during the darkest times of their lives.

http://youtu.be/9ShZDo9uZVs

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 Fading Gigolo

The USA Film Festival announced the schedule for the 44th annual festival, taking place April 22 to 27, 2014. Actor, author and native Dallasite Stephen Tobolowsky returns to his home town (and the USA Film Festival) to host the program. All programs will be held at the Angelika Film Center, 5321 E. Mockingbird Lane, Dallas, Texas. 

Program highlights include:

Actor/writer/director John Turturro will present his new film Fading Gigolo

Noted sound editor Mark Levinson will present his new documentary Particle Fever

Academy Award®-winning sound editor Ron Judkins will present his film Finding Neighbors

Superstar wine expert Charlie Arturaolo will present the new film El Camino Del Vino (“The Ways of Wine”) in which he stars

36th annual National Short Film & Video Competition (an Academy-qualified program); the 2014 National Jury includes: writer/producer Paul Marcarelli; actor/writer/director Catherine Dent; actor/writer/director Christina Beck; actor/director/producer Charles Haid; and actor/writer Elisabeth Harmon

Stephen Tobolowsky hosts a free program of narrative short films and filmmakers (featuring several actors making their short film debuts, including Tim Guinee with The One Armed Man, Henry Ian Cusick with Dress, and Eden Sher with The Suitcase); Several additional short film compilation programs will be presented (Narrative, Nonfiction, Student, Animation) at no admission cost

Community Showcase programs featuring short films with ties to Texas (including a special nod to Dallas actor Larry Jack Dotson) and the works of area students 

Tributes to Master Artists:

Salute to actor Ed Harris with screening of writer/director Michael Berry’s new film Frontera (The Ed Harris Tribute will include a film clip compilation program hosted by actor/director Charles Haid)

Salute to actor Carol Kane with screening of her new film Clutter (The Carol Kane Tribute will include a film clip compilation program)

Salute to actor Fionnula Flanagan with screenings of two of her new films Tasting Menu and Life’s a Breeze

Salute to actor Linda Gray (The Linda Gray Tribute will include a film clip compilation and on-stage conversation hosted by FOX4 news anchor Clarice Tinsley; Honorary Chairman for the evening is Caroline Rose Hunt)

Salute to actor Morgan Fairchild (The Morgan Fairchild Tribute will include a film clip compilation and on-stage conversation hosted by fellow native Dallasite and actor Stephen Tobolowsky and actor/producer Corbin Bernsen.

The Festival will also reveal a sneak peek of footage from the trio’s new film project.) Salute to actor Peter Riegert with screening of new short film The Walk

 

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The USA Film Festival announced the Winners of the 35th Annual National Short Film & Video Competition of the 43rd Annual USA Film Festival in Dallas. The festival ran April 24-28, 2013 at the Angelika Film Center in Dallas, Texas.  Native Boy, directed by Henry Roosevelt (pictured above, Read More … for trailer) about “A story about a boy on a quest to capture the sun” was awarded the First Place prize for Fiction. Nine to Ninety directed by Alicia Dwyer, which ” explores delicate moments of aging through the intimate perspectives of three generations of an Italian American family” was awarded the First Place prize for Non-Fiction. Strange Fruit, directed by Neal Sopata “is a short animated film that contrasts pastoral scenes of the Old South with the racial violence that occurred during the Jim Crow era in the United States” was awarded the First Place prize for Animation.

Chosen from more than 500 U.S. entries, the winners included:

Native Boy (Trailer) from Native Boy Films on Vimeo.

FIRST PLACE / FICTION $1,000
Native Boy, Henry Roosevelt, director 

FIRST PLACE / NON-FICTION $1,000
Nine to Ninety, Alicia Dwyer, director

[caption id="attachment_3812" align="alignnone" width="550"]Strange Fruit[/caption]

FIRST PLACE / ANIMATION $1,000
Strange Fruit, Neal Sopata, director

First Place Winners in the Fiction, Animation and Non-Fiction categories that meet Academy eligibility requirements qualify for consideration from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 

THE STUDENT AWARD $250
Josephine and the Roach, Jonathan Langager, director

SPECIAL JURY AWARDS $250 each
Ice, Anthony Tarsitano, director
Ojala, Ryan Velasquez, director
Cicada Princess, Mauricio Baiocchi, director

THE TEXAS AWARD $250
Southmost U.S.A., Trish Dalton, director

This year marks the 43rd Anniversary of the Academy-qualified festival, which has awarded more than $250,000 in cash prizes, including prizes to many (then) emerging filmmakers, including Jessica Yu (Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O’Brien), Todd Haynes (Superstar and Dottie Gets Spanked), Alexander Payne (The Passion of Martin), George Hickenlooper (Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade), Alan Taylor (That Burning Question) and John Lasseter (Tin Toy).

In addition to the Jury awards, FESTIVAL-AWARDED PRIZES also went to the following short works:

Best If Used By (fiction), Aemelia Scott, director
Old Man (animation), Leah Shore, director
Silk (fiction), Catherine Dent, director
The Captain (fiction), Nash Edgerton & Spencer Susser, co-directors
The Procession (fiction), Robert Festinger, director
Do Not Duplicate (documentary), Jonathan Mann & Sean McGing, co-directors
A Little Something on the Side (fiction), Stephen Tobolowsky, director 

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The USA Film Festival announces the full schedule of events for the 41st Annual USA Film Festival, April 27 – May 1, 2011 at the Angelika Film Center Dallas, Texas.

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