deadCENTER Film

Pick of the Week: OFFICIAL REJECTION

Beginning this week, every Tuesday we’ll be pointing out a new film in theaters, on demand, or on DVD that we think you should know about. This week Program Director Kevin Ely looks at 2009 Best Documentary Award Winner OFFICIAL REJECTION. Got a pick of the week? Post your picks in the comments below.

In 2006, writer Paul Osborne and director Scott Smith brought their indie thriller TEN TILL NOON to deadCENTER, walked away with the Jury Prize for Documentary Feature, and hit the festival trail in search of fame and glory. In 2009, Paul and Scott returned to deadCENTER with a new film and a huge chip on their shoulder.

OFFICIAL REJECTION tells the sordid tale of Scott and Paul’s death march through the highs and lows of the independent film festival circuit, debunking the rags-to-riches myths perpetuated by festival behemoths like Sundance, and providing a firm-but-loving slap in the face to delusional filmmakers around the world. Did I mention that it’s hilarious?

Somehow director Osborne manages to create an unflinching, (semi) sober and jaded look at the politics of the festival process without losing the enthusiasm and love for movies that brought him there in the first place. Maybe it’s the genuine camaraderie between him and TTN director Scott Storm that comes through in every scene. Maybe it’s the good experiences they have along the way in places like Phoenix (and Oklahoma City, sadly relegated to the end credits). Maybe it’s the drinks. Whatever. Paul Osborne made a great doc that should be seen by indie-film lovers everywhere, and should be required viewing in every film program in the country.

Get OFFICIAL REJECTION on Netflix starting today, or purchase your own copy here.

The Referral: The Filmcake finishes a film, has regrets, starts a discussion

Our good friend Dwight over at The Filmcake published a really interesting blog post we think deserves your attention. Having just finished his first short film, he has begun to reflect on the reviews he’s written from the perspective of a new filmmaker.

Along the way, he touches on several things many of us involved with independent film at any level struggle with – how important are access and funding? To what extent, if any, should those circumstances affect or make themselves known to the viewer? And finally, how should critics approach low or no-budget films?

Read the whole thing here. And when you’re done, we’d love to hear what you think about the subject in our comments section below.

“Winnebago Man” Director and Star To Appear on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno

I can’t help but feel all warm and fuzzy when I see a fellow Oklahomie filmmaker making it big. Seriously big. Like being on The Tonight Show BIG. This evening, I plan on taking off my Team Coco gloves (but just for tonight) and sitting down to watch Ben Steinbauer talk about his film, “Winnebago Man”, with the Winnebago Man himself, Jack Rebney.

And what’s über awesome about it all is that “Winnebago Man” was one the first films to go through deadCENTER’s Fiscal Sponsorship. I could tell you all about it, or you could just go to the Fiscal Sponsorship page and read until your heart is content. TEAM COCO! I’ll stop now.

The Referral – Film Threat Wants to Help Fund Your Film Project

If you attended our excellent panels series this year at deadCENTER, you know something we talked about a lot is the effect the Internet has had on the entire filmmaking experience, not to mention the film viewing experience. During these discussions, one issue kept popping up: the lowering of barriers is great, but it also means there’s just a lot more competition.

One of the best examples of this is the huge number of film projects vying for funding on the Internet. On that front, Film Threat is trying to help by giving a few worthy projects a leg up. Every week, they will be featuring one noteworthy project posted on crowd-sourced funding sites like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo on their site. Which means more eyes on your fund-raising efforts. Which could mean more cash. From the posting:

“That’s right, every Monday, starting July 25, 2010, we’re going to feature one film or film-related project in progress that we feel is worth your and our time. From there, it’s up to our passionate, film-hungry and film-savvy readers to decide whether they want to take that extra step to help make these projects in progress a reality. It’s then up to you, the filmmaker, to live up to the faith we’re putting in you and your efforts by giving you such lofty praise as featuring you and your project as a top story on our site (seriously, you want this; studio films and indies alike routinely angle for space and feature stories on our site).”

For the full post and submission form, click through to the Film Threat post. And if you’re an Okie filmmaker who is going to submit, let us know in the comments, and we’ll keep an eye on Film Threat to see if you’ve been spotlighted.

AWARDS!

Awards for the 2010 deadCENTER Film Festival were presented Saturday night.  Here are the winners:

Best Student Film: In This Place

Best Animation:  O Pintor de Ceos (Painter of the Skies)

Best Narrative Short:  Junko’s Shamisen

Best Documentary Short:  A Song for Ourselves

Best Narrative Feature:  earthwork

Best Doc Feature: A Good Day to Die

Best Okie Short:  The Rounder Comes to Town

Best Okie Feature: The Rock and Roll Dreams of Duncan Christopher

Grand Jury Narrative Feature:  Simmons on Vinyl

Grand Jury Doc Feature:  Our House

Two great panel discussions today

Make sure you’re at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art at 12:30 and 2 pm today for the last two panel discussions of the festival.

At 1230, Julie Porter of the OK Film and Music Office will be talking with some of Oklahoma’s most talented independent filmmakers for the “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Make My Movie” panel. We’ll be hearing about how these filmmakers got that first film done; it’s a must-see for any aspiring filmmakers out there.

At 2 pm, the museum will screen “For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism,” and a panel discussion moderated by OKMOA film curator Brian Hearn will follow immediately afterwards. The panel will feature Elvis Mitchel, Pete VonderHaar and the director of the film, Gerald Peary. We expect a big turnout for this screening, so make sure you secure a seat early.

4 Questions: RACHEL IS

Zombies! Porn! Hot Brando! Awesome radio!

If you care about pop culture at all and you live in OKC, chances are you’ve heard about the Spy coming back to the airwaves after a much-too-long absence. And if you’ve been listening to the Spy, you know that besides having the best music on the dial, the Spy features some of the best commercials as well. Naturally, we wanted in on the party, so we teamed up with the man you know and love as the Pop Culture Junkie to come up with the spots below.

Enjoy:

Hot Brando:

Zombies!:

Porn! (not really):

Only 30 seconds:

This is awesome – you can see it Friday or Saturday night. You’re Welcome.

Countdown: 2 Days to the 10th Annual Fest

Today’s Featured Film:

The Four-Faced Liar

The Pitch: A girl and a guy walk into a bar. They meet a girl and a guy. The guys talk about the girls. The girl falls for the girl. The guys don’t know…until they do..
Why you should see it: Charming, lovely, engaging. Beautiful camera work, swift and delicious story and surefooted performances from the actors. Director Jacob Chase and Writer/Actress Marja-Lewis Ryan will be in town for the screenings. Well here – see what a tiny publication called Variety says about it.
When it’s playing: Friday June 11th @ 7:30pm @ [ArtSpace] @ Untitled and Saturday June 12th @7:30pm @ the IAO Gallery.

Watch the Trailer For The Four Faced Liar

More About The Four-Faced Liar Here

4 Questions: EN TUS MANOS

We thought it would be a good idea to help you get to know some of our fantastic filmmakers. So, borrowing an idea from LA Weekly’s Karina Longworth (the Bernard Pivot to our James Lipton), we submitted four questions to each filmmaker about and themselves and their films.

En Tus Manos is a unique hybrid of indie film: Produced by Oklahomans, filmed in Bogota, Columbia, featuring Actors from Columbia and Mexico, and exploring themes that are universal. It screens as part of the Worldview Shorts Program Thursday, June 10th at 7:30pm.

Here’s Producer Brent Green and Director Ron Jacobs: