THE LOFT CINEMA PRESENTS IT’S FIRST “EMERGING FILMMAKER AWARD”
The Loft Cinema is proud to announce that Thomas Erickson, a senior in the BFA program at the University of Arizona’s School of Media Arts, will receive the first-ever Loft Cinema Emerging Filmmaker Award. The $1000 cash award will be presented at 9 PM Friday, November 7th, at The Loft’s First Friday Shorts monthly film contest. The Loft created this award for a UA School of Media Arts senior with a focus in film production. Thomas was selected by the production faculty based on the quality of his work, his scholastic excellence and the quality of his proposed senior project. The Emerging Filmmaker Award is part of The Loft Cinema’s commitment to supporting local filmmakers. It is appropriate that Thomas receive this award at First Friday Shorts, The Loft’s highly-successful monthly short film contest at which local filmmakers can show their work and get honest (sometimes brutally honest) feedback from the audience. Both First Friday Shorts and the Emerging Filmmaker Award are sponsored by the Tucson Film Office, which has been a significant supporter of The Loft’s various programs to encourage and showcase the work of local and visiting filmmakers. In selecting Thomas for the Loft’s Emerging Filmmaker Award, the UA School of Media Arts faculty said, “The success of Tom’s creative achievement stems from several sources. One is the indisputable passion that Tom brings to his work; that passion sustains him through the often-daunting process of production and the myriad challenges, logistical, creative, emotional and intellectual that making films present. His passion is contagious and positively affects his fellow crew, cast, and his teachers. Another of Tom’s strengths is his embrace of feedback and his ability to sift through what he hears, always balancing it against the core idea that animates a particular work. “ Over the summer,
October’s shootout typically nets some of the best films of the year, and this time around was no exception. Twelve teams entered and they all finished on time and within the rules, which was a first in Tucson 48 Hour Shootout history. Even more impressive, every film was well made and fun to watch, another first.
So far I've only been able to find 3 of the 12 entries to this October's 48 Hour Shootout. If you know where to find any of the other ones please send us a link!
The Fall 2008 48-Hour Shootout contest came to a close tonight as the 12 films produced for this year's Fall Classic were screening to a lively audience at The Loft Cinema. You may be wondering why there's a photo of the novel, Thank You For Smoking above... Well, in an odd twist, almost every film submitted to the contest had at least one character smoking a cigarette on screen. My own film, Extinction Level Event, is guilty of this as well. It wasn't a requirement for the contest, in case you were wondering... just sorta happened. I thought it was worth mentioning since I heard several people around me mention the coincidence throughout the night.
The gremlins where not just on the screen for this year’s premeire of 3-Minute Thriller entries. A compression problem led to some of the the fantastic films submitted for this year’s contest not playing as they should.
So that all the films can be screened as their filmmakers intended, the contest’s screening will be rescheduled.
We will post to this website and the listserv the updated date as soon as we have it.
Thanks to all of the filmmakers for submitting their films - and to our sponsors for supporting independent filmmaking in Southern Arizona.
The Three Minute Thriller Screening is Saturday, Oct. 25, 6 p.m. at the Screening Room, downtown Tucson.
Howl for your favorite gory shorts (No, not the ones in the dirty cloths hamper! That' just gross!)
Meet the filmmakers at the mixer following the screaming, uh, screening.
Meet writer/director Roy Wageman, actors Beth Huggings and Bilal Mir, and cinematographer Justin Martinez at this special screening of the Tucson-shot feature, THE PARTS LEFT OVER!
Estranged adult twins Oliver (Bilal Mir) and Lenore (Beth Huggings) are reunited after the sudden death of their father. Hoping a greater insight into his past will bring them catharsis, they embark on a cross-country road trip to spread his ashes in the places that meant the most to him. Along the way, the siblings struggle to reestablish their relationship as they share adventures along the road, and confront the reality of who the other has become. Shot in southern Arizona on a micro-budget, THE PARTS LEFT OVER is a true independent film, and the first feature from Cove Entertainment.
Local Festival Now Accepting Submissions DEADLINE: November 30th, 2008
The 6th Annual All Souls International Film Festival is looking for shorts exploring DEATH through cinema. This regards themes of Ancestry, Global Rituals and Festivals relating to Death, Grief, Loss, and Rebirth. Submissions cannot exceed 15 minutes. Only DVDs accepted. Download the entry form: http://allsoulsprocession.org/2008_asiff_entryform.doc
The ASIFF is an event that happens every year following the All Souls Procession Weekend, one of Tucson 's largest public spectacles. Many Mouths One Stomach (MMOS), a local arts nonprofit, is the organizing body behind the events. For more information, please visit http://www.allsoulsprocession.org or http://www.manymouths.org.
No review here, but a fist-pumping plug for two upcoming events that filmmakers should make every effort to catch.
First, the Tucson Film and Music Festival revs up this weekend, starting Thursday night. In previous years the TFMF coincided with the HoCo Fest at Hotel Congress over Labor Day Weekend. This year it will start with a screening at the UA’s Berger Theater of “Throw Down Your Heart,” a doc about banjo legend Bela Fleck. (Watch the trailer for this film and others at www.aznightbuzz.com/tucsonfilm.
The fest combines a love of music and film with a deep appreciation for the American Southwest. Plush will host live shows as part of the event. Past festivals were packed with great music docs that are hard to see anywhere else, and this year looks like another captivating line up.
As independent artists we need the help of others to create awareness for our work. RED 71 is a feature film made in Southern Arizona with Arizona cast and crew will be playing a full week at the Valley Art Theatre in Tempe, opening tomorrow. Please forward the attached PDF to people in the Phoenix area and encourage them to supportArizonaindependent filmmaking by going to see RED 71 and telling others about the film.
Hello everyone! This is Micah from the 48 Hour Shootout reminding you that the next shootout is right around the corner.
October 17th thru October 19th, 2008 teams from all over the Southwest and beyond will be disregarding the human need for sleep to film their next “epic masterpiece” for the 48 Hour Shootout.
Many of you are sure to be familiar with the format but this time around we are throwing in a few wrinkles to keep you on your toes.And no, I won’t tell you what they are. You will just have to wait until the pre-production meeting, moments before go time.
The basics are still the same. Teams will have 48 hours to pre-produce, write, shoot, and edit their films. Teams will be given a list of elements and/or props to incorporate into their films. These elements help to ensure the films are made during the 48 hour time frame. After turning in the films they are zipped off to our panel of celebrity judges, which includes both notable women and men. They will review the films and determine winners ranging from best Actor/Actress to Best Overall Film, the latter receiving a nifty $500 dollar check at the awards show and screening on October 30th at 7PM. The audience will get to vote for their favorite film of the night in a scream-off, the winning film netting $250.
As a reminder to those that are faint of heart or have basic moral standards, we cannot, nor want to control the films shown. That means there may be, or should I say most likely will be, potentially offensive material in the films.
Upstairs Film is proud to present the 4th Annual Tucson Film + Music Festival, Columbus Day weekend October 9 – 12, 2008.
The Tucson Film & Music Festival celebrates the past, present and future of the Tucson, Arizona music and filmmaking scene. TFMF’s focus is on music-related content, as well as films and filmmakers with a connection to Arizona or the Southwest. The festival accepts documentaries, narrative features, shorts, and music videos.
CLICK HERE to go to the official website for the Tucson Film + Music Festival!
** SUNDAY UPDATE **
Estranged adult twins Oliver (Bilal Mir) and Lenore (Beth Huggings) are reunited after the sudden death of their father. Hoping a greater insight into his past will bring them catharsis, they embark on a cross-country road trip to spread his ashes in the places that meant the most to him. Along the way, the siblings struggle to reestablish their relationship as they share adventures along the road, and confront the reality of who the other has become.
No review here, but a fist-pumping plug for two upcoming events that filmmakers should make every effort to catch. 
Hello everyone! This is Micah from the 48 Hour Shootout reminding you that the next shootout is right around the corner. 
