Today
IFP announced the projects selected for this year's
Independent Filmmaker Lab, taking place next week.
In it's 5th year, the Lab is a highly immersive, free mentorship program for low-budget ($1 million) first feature films that have shot all or a substantial amount of footage but have not completed post-production. The goal of the program is to connect mentors with projects before they are submitted to film festivals. Past participants include
The New Year Parade (2008 Slamdance Grand Jury Narrative Prize winner) and
Half-Life (2008 Sundance Film Festival and Tokyo International Film Festival).
The 2009 Narrative Lab leaders are producers
Scott Macaulay (
Raising Victor Vargas and editor of IFP published
Filmmaker Magazine) and
Gretchen McGowan (
Limits of Control).
Workshop leaders include, amongst others:
Anton Sanko, Composer (
Big Love,
Delirious,
Handsome Harry);
Barry Cole, Music Supervisor, Spot Music (
Beauty Shop); Editors
Sabine Hoffmann (
Hounddog,
Ballad of Jack & Rose,
Brother to Brother),
Brian Kates (
Nights in Rodanthe,
The Savages,
Shortbus),
Lee Percy (
The Ice Harvest,
Maria Full of Grace,
Boys Don’t Cry),
Sam Pollard (
When the Levees Broke,
Mo’ Better Blues,
Jungle Fever),
Jay Rabinowitz (
The Limits of Control,
I’m Not There,
The Fountain) and
Kate Williams (
Frozen River,
Interview,
Trees Lounge).
The selected projects for the 2009 Narrative Lab and Lab Fellows include:
Au Pair Kansas Director: JT O'Neal
Producers: Joan Jerkovich, Catherine A. McCabe & JT O’Neal
Editor: Brad Roszell
Helen, recently widowed, hires Oddmund, a fun-loving Norwegian soccer
player, to work as a male au pair in a small town in Kansas and help raise
her two boys and work on their bison farm. Featuring Tracy Lords (Zack &
Miri Make a Porno, Crybaby) and Spencer Daniels (The Curious Case of
Benjamin Button).
City on a HillDirector: Amy Seimetz
Producer: Justin Barber
Editor: Adele Romanski
Present and past begin to merge when Paul finds out his old fling and
quasi-revolutionary partner committed suicide. From the producers of
Medicine for Melancholy, City on a Hill marks the directorial debut of
actress Amy Seimetz (Alexander the Last, Wristcutters: A Love Story).
The Imperialists Are Still Alive! Director: Zeina Durra
Producer: Vanessa Hope
Editor: Michael Taylor
The Imperialists Are Still Alive! is a film about a woman making her way as
an artist in an indifferent and sometimes hostile world. Featuring Élodie
Bouchez (The Dreamlife of Angels; Sorry, Haters).
The Myth of Time Director: Miller "Jaguar X" Koepenick
Producer: Scorpion Hernandez
Editors: Miller "Jaguar X" Koepenick & Scorpion Hernandez
Shot over five years in Guatemala with a diverse cast including over 5,000
extras, the film relates the unwritten chapter of the Popol Vuh (The Mayan
Book of Advice), as told through the protagonist’s (The Dark Eyed-One)
journey into manhood.
PerfectionDirector: Christina Beck
Producer: Annette Murphy
Editor: Rob Poswell
The debut feature from actresses Christina Beck (Suburbia, Boys Next Door)
and Annette Murphy (Star Maps), Perfection chronicles the life of
Kristabelle, a woman her thirties living at home with her mother who cuts
herself to feel "something"; little does she know that Simon, a sweet, newly
sober, British stand up comic is about to show her that her scars can't
scare love away.
Phasma Ex Machina Director: Matt Osterman
Producer: Jennifer Kramer
Editor: Matt Osterman
A young man tasked with raising his brother after the death of their parents
invents a machine intended to be a conduit to the supernatural.
Postales Director: Josh Hyde
Producer: Clare Connelly, Dan Fischer, Maxim Holland and PJ Fishwick
Editor: Josh Hyde & Evan Smith
In the streets of Cusco, Peru, the lives of an American businessman and his
family become irreversibly intertwined with those of a rural Peruvian family
struggling day to day to survive.
Stranger Things Directors: Ron Eyal & Eleanor Burke
Producer: Ron Eyal & Eleanor Burke
Editors: Ron Eyal & Eleanor Burke
Oona is a young woman faced with the dreadful task of clearing out her dead
mother's home. Returning to the countryside property, Oona discovers a
vagrant, Mani, has broken into the house. Their surprising friendship
surmounts the disparities between them and offers unexpected hope and
strength.
The TestedDirector: Russell Costanzo
Producer: Melissa Miller
Editor: Russell Costanzo & Michael Taylor
One year ago, plain clothes cop, Julian Varone gunned down an unarmed teen.
Darralyn Warren, the teen's mother, has spiraled into a pit of despair, as
her other son Dre, flirts with ganglife. As Julian prepares to get back to
work, the three find they cannot find closure without each other. Featuring
Aunjanue Ellis (The Taking of Pelham 123, True Blood), Nathan Corbett (The
Wire), Tobias Truvillion (Brooklyn’s Finest) and Armando Riesco (Che).
WanderlostDirector: David Kabler
Producers: David Kabler, Dan Judson, Mitch Rumfelt & Troy Scott Burnette
Editor: Dan Judson
The Drifter is a train-hopping gutter punk alone in the world, isolated by
years of ritual abuse and life on the fringe. He returns to his father's
grave to break the curse that haunts him, where he sees salvation in a
beautiful girl who could be his key to freedom.
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posted by Jason Guerrasio @ 6/01/2009 01:05:00 PM
Comments (2)
I had the pleasure of seeing the short version of Josh Hyde’s film Postales at Tribeca in 2005. It was a fantastic cross-cultural love story between a Peruvian street kid and a lost American girl. I can’t wait to see the feature!!! Great selection by IFP. I found a blog that documented the shooting of the film in Cusco. http://www.chicleypostales.blogspot.com/
It looks like a truly “independent” production.
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posted by @ 6/02/2009 12:50 PM
Our team is really excited about Josh and his movie Postales. We have the honor of cutting a trailer for the film and are excited about working with the whole Lofu crew. We are looking forward to seeing new works from Josh and I am inspired by the story and overall message that Postales conveys..
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posted by Ben Patterson @ 6/04/2009 12:56 PM
