Bayou City Film News

WorldFest-Houston, the 3rd longest-running International Film Festival in North America, celebrated the conclusion of its 10-day run of film, fun and fanfare in its 42nd annual independent film showcase with a 10% increase in overall audience attendance! Kick-off was the world premiere of WorldFest alum, Jim Amatulli's "Flying By" with film luminary and Oscar winner, Patricia Neal on-hand to receive her Lifetime Achievement Award on Friday, April 17th, Opening night of the 42nd edition of WorldFest. Mid-week, veteran actor Rip Torn and family jetted in to enjoy the premiere of his daughter Angelica's, film, "Lucky Days". Both French and British consuls feted their respective attending directors, Serge Bozon (La France) and David Rocksavage (Shadows in the Sun) with receptions to honor their film premieres at this year's WorldFest. Closing weekend festivities included a Grand Awards Gala on Saturday night culminating with a morning VIP NASA & Space Ce...

Dust off your cameras and round up your friends because the 48 Hour Film Project is back in Houston for another frenzied weekend of film making fun on June 5-7. Teams of film makers from the Houston area will race against the clock to create their cinematic masterpiece in a single weekend. All films will be screened June 10 & 11. Awards will be given for a number of categories (writing, directing, editing, etc) and one film will be selected as Best of Houston.The top film will go on to compete against films around the world for the title of Best 48HFP Film of 2009. All city winners will receive a trophy and the grand prize winner will receive a HD Panasonic camera (list price $5,695) as well as $3,000. A selection of city winners from around the world will be included in the 48 HFP Best of 2009 DVD and 10 of the films will be screened at Cannes Film Festival's Short Film Corner in 2010.To register your team or get information on the project, please visit www.48hourfilm.com/hous...

As you know the Governor signed our Moving Image Industry Incentive into law last Thursday. This gives us the enabling legislation to increase the scope of the production incentives offered by the State of Texas. We currently have $20 million in the State Budget and a request for an additional $40 million. It is important that we receive the additional $40 million to assure the success of our program. Below is the list of the appointees to the Conference Committee that will be voting on whether or not we will receive the additional funding. TXMPA is assembling a list of moving image businesses that are located in each of these Senator’s districts. We are looking for a list of constituents that will be asked to contact their Senator. If your business is located in any of these districts or if you know of a business in any of these districts, please contact me at dtokes@postasylum.com . We will provide additional information on the best method and message for contacting the Confe...

LA ONDA CHICANA (The Chicano Wave) Wednesday, April 29 @ 7PM Ripley House Auditorium, 4410 Navigation, Houston 77011 (down the street from the original Ninfa's Restaurant) Cost: FREE and open to the public Panel Discussion following the screening featuring Dr. Guadalupe San Miguel, Dr. Estevan Azcona (University of Houston), Rey Rodriguez (Founder of the Houston Conjunto Festival) and filmmaker John J. Valadez"La Onda Chicana" is an hour-long documentary about the history of Mexican American music, directed by award winning filmmaker John J. Valadez. The film is scheduled for a prime-time national broadcast on PBS in the fall of 2009 as part of a new series entitled Latin Music USA. "La Onda Chicana" features: Ritchie Valens, Tierra, Little Joe, Los Lobos, Freddy Fender, Flaco Jimenez, Linda Ronstadt, Selena, Los Tigres del Norte, and with special appearances by El Chicano, Cannibal and the Headhunters, The Premiers, Sam the Sham, Narcisso Martinez and Quest...

WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS? Saturday, May 9th @ 7PM; Sunday, May 10th @ 2PM Museum of Fine Art - Houston (Brown Auditorium) Cost: $7 - General Admission; $6 - SWAMP, WiFT & Friends of UH Women's Studies Members Q & A with Academy Award-winning filmmaker Pamela Tanner Boll following the Saturday night screening. "Who Does She Think She Is?" focuses on five particularly bold women artists, each radically different in background, race, religious creed and choice of artistic field. But they all share the common challenge of making careers in their various art worlds. Simultaneously to their creative existence, they are pulled in different directions as they try to answer the competing demands of artistic fulfillment, marriage, motherhood and economic survival. Co-sponsored by the Southwest Alternate Media Project (SWAMP), Women in Film and Television/Houston, Friends of Women´s Studies, and the Women´s Studies Program at the University of Houston. Click here for more...

Title: Crashing Down Genre: Dark Comedy/Drama Format: 4K Red One Digital Cinema Production Company: Eagle Creek Productions/Sandman Media Project Type: Feature Film Locations: Austin/Houston Schedule: Summer shoot Compensation: Daily rate/deferred/points compensation options Eagle Creek/Sandman Media is seeking all adult ages male/female for various roles in the feature film production of "Crashing Down." Some crew positions are also still available. Compensation negotiated on a case by case basis. More info on the web at: http://www.crashingdown.net/ . For consideration, please send headshots and resume's to: Crashing Down Film Properties 5868 A-1 Westheimer Ste. 419 Houston TX 77057 Title: MarfaRed Genre: Drama/Road MovieFormat: Super 16mm Director: Roberto MinerviniProject Type: Feature FilmLocations: Houston/West TexasSchedule: July/August 2009: Preproduction September 2009: Shooting October/November 2009: Post Production Compensation: Due to budget limitations, jobs ...

Become a part of history and join the celebration. Many of us have worked tirelessly to improve work opportunities in Texas. Although we have much work to do to see our appropriation request enacted, this week we get to take in a bit of history and celebrate the fruits of our labor. On Thursday, April 23 Governor Perry will sign HB 873 in to law. This bill, sponsored by House Representative Dawnna Dukes, improves existing law to increase production incentives for film, commercials and video games. It is important to show our support and appreciation of this legislative milestone. Our industry and our industry supporters are all invited to witness the signing ceremony with the Governor when our bill becomes law. Make plans to join us. Thursday, April 23 10:30 a.m. Troublemaker Studios 4900 Old Manor Road Austin, TX 78723 Click here for map We look forward to seeing you there and celebrating our achievement together. Driving Directions: From downtown Austin, drive north on I-35. ...

Broadband Moguls Producing & Distributing Your Own Webseries Online Sunday, April 26, 2009 (10am - 2pm) Rice University Media Center Instructor: Kim Evey ( "The Guild" and "Retarded Policeman") Cost: $40 - General Public or $25 - SWAMP Members and Students Course Description: Everyday, more and more consumers are turning away from traditional media outlets such as television and are seeking entertainment through their computers, iPODS and even their cell phones. Not only are they consuming media online, but they are also creating it! Digital technology has made it easier (and cheaper) than ever for filmmakers to tell their stories. Thanks to YouTube, Vimeo and other video hosting sites, filmmakers now have direct access to millions of online viewers. But what kind of media are people watching online? What is the best way to distribute content? Most importantly, how do you find and build an audience on the world wide web? This workshop will teach you the bas...

The film incentive bill, HB 873 is now passed by Senate and on to the Governor for signature on April 23rd in Austin. Stay tuned for details about the bill signing.

www.worldfest.org

Time is running out on the call for entries! Late entries begin May 2nd. The Gulf Coast Film & Video Festival is announcing their call for entries for this year's films. They are also pleased to announce a category for Scripts and Sreenplays. Dates for both categories are open for submissions from February 23rd thru May 1st, 2009. Late entries (subject to Late Fees) will be accepted from May 2nd thru June 27th. See our website ffor details... www.gulfcoastfilmfest.com

www.swamp.org

As a capstone event to the 2009 AFI DALLAS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, AFI DALLAS will honor the rich history of movies in the Lone Star State with A CELEBRATION OF TEXAS FILMMAKING on Friday, April 3. The goal of the celebration is to promote and bring awareness to filmmaking in the great State of Texas. Governor Rick Perry and First Lady Anita Perry, Ross and Sarah Perot, TexasOne participants, city and state officials, AFI DALLAS and other film luminaries will be in attendance. We are also thrilled to announce that during the evening, film director Peter Bogdanovich will be honored with the prestigious AFI DALLAS Star Award. We applaud him and we celebrate the contribution he has made to our rich heritage with more than 40 years of film through this award presentation.We invite you to participate in the celebration as well. We want to fill the plaza with an enthusiastic audience to celebrate the history of film in Texas and to show our honored guest the spirit of the film industr...