New Filmmakers Los Angeles
NFMLA has monthly festival showcases promoting short films thematically.
If my readers are not already acquainted with NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA), and they are at all interested in shorts, this is the place to partake in monthly curated top level short films.
With great support from the Hollywood community from Film LA, HBO, DGA, Sony, Hollywood Foreign Press, Variety, The Wrap, Screen and many other organizations and individuals, each month showcases innovative works by emerging filmmakers from around the world, providing the Los Angeles community of entertainment professionals and film goers with a constant surge of monthly screening events.
NFMLA provides a forum where filmmakers can be recognized for their contributions, have open audience discussions about their projects and connect with industry professionals for insight on distribution, production, acquisition and representation.
I always want to attend but have been traveling since its December event with The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and the Arab Film and Media Institute, Shortcutz Amsterdam, and the Dutch Culture USA. Aside from showcasing shorts, there were speed-dating sessions and plenty of time to network with established film execs and upcoming filmmakers.
This is one of L.A.’s best filmmaker events. Usually held at the Linwood Dunn Academy Theater on Highland and Fountain, the principals Larry Laboe, Bojana Sandic, Andrew Acedo and (I forget who now) are open and welcoming, great hosts!
A few notable shorts out of the 17 screened follow.
The evening began with InFocus: Dutch Cinema — Shortcutz Amsterdam Showcase. A collection of the winners of Shortcutz Amsterdam’s 2018 season presented in partnership with Dutch Culture USA (Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in New York) offered highlights of diverse work made by Dutch filmmakers throughout the Netherlands. There are stories of peace, discovering one’s identity, the mundane pains of loss, horror, and more.
Otherland by Jan Pieter Tuinstra and Keren Levi, a 14 minute documentary short, is about a vogue dancer at a Voodoo Carnival Ball, an important dance contest where he must prove himself to the local ballroom community. He remembers growing up on Sint Maarten, a small island in the Caribbean and all the changes he has been through since…seeking freedom to be who he is.
The six minute short Bullet Time shows a good old-fashioned western shoot-out in which both the fired bullets fall in love with each other. A Dutch comment on the gun culture of America, it was the Academy nomination for animated short in 2017.
Sjaak’s Wife Died, So He Needs to Say Something tells a perversly funny Dutch tale about a 76 year old trying to prepare a speech at his wife’s funeral. Filmmakers Eva M.C. Zanen already has finished her first feature.
The Dutch Consulate General held a lunch between the two showcases.
The second program of the evening, InFocus: Arab Cinema was presented in partnership with The Arab Film and Media Institute (AFMI), organizer of Arab Film Fesrival in San Francisco, San Diego and LA (where it needs a bit more publicity), showcased Palestinian, Tunisian, Lebanese and Qatari stories that cover the often unmentioned hardships of refugees in Europe, tackle the difficult questions of ideology through the eyes of a child, look at history through a mockumentary lens, and in Oscar-Qualifying and Dubai winner for Best Short, The President’s Visit by student grant winner of National Board of Review Cyril Aris, we visit a seaside town whose preparation for an important guest takes an absurd and darkly humorous turn.
Salamat from Germany premiered at Directors Fortnight in Cannes. Writer Director team Rami Kodeih and Una Gunjak tell the story of a man who is so desperate to escape Lebanon and settle in Europe that he buys a Syrian passport to obtain asylum. uh oh…
The night concluded with InFocus: Middle Eastern Cinema, a selection of striking short films from Middle Eastern filmmakers who have made their work all over the world — Lebanon, Israel, France, UK, Canada and the US.
They tell stories of the complexity of identity, growing up, and of being stuck in difficult situations, personally and politically.
Newborn, by Ray Savaya in which a couple welcomes their first born son into the world gives rise to tensions over the child’s naming which lead the parents into questioning their identity.
— — —
With the goal of showcasing, supporting and connecting emerging filmmakers, NFMLA rapidly expanded to become much more than a monthly film festival. NFMLA regularly partners with organizations, companies, and film schools like SAG-AFTRA, the Producer’s Guild, Film Independent, Women in Film, Disney, Sony, DreamWorks, HBO, 21st Century Fox, USC, UCLA, MovieMaker Magazine, Variety, FilmLA, the City of Los Angeles, foreign consulates, and more to host an array of annual programs, workshops, panels, competitions, and learning and networking opportunities.
- NFMLA Monthly Film Festival — NFMLA’s core program is its monthly film festival. Each festival presents screenings of shorts, documentaries and feature films that have been submitted from all over the world. All of the programs are followed by a Q&A with each filmmaker. The program also offers a special reception so the audience can meet the filmmakers and incredible talent involved, while also networking with industry professionals.
- InFocus Series — NFMLA’s InFocus diversity initiative seeks to combat the lack of diversity in the film industry by giving underrepresented groups of filmmakers (i.e. race, gender, sexual identity, region and socioeconomic background) the opportunity to showcase their work on a large, public platform during our monthly festival.
- On Location: The Los Angeles Video Project — NFMLA’s On Location: The Los Angeles Video Project is a community outreach initiative that celebrates and enlists LA’s remarkable pool of filmmakers. By engaging these storytellers to act and serve as Ambassadors of LA, NFMLA is able to share what these artists call their LA with the world; an insider perspective into this diverse city and its neighborhoods.
- DocuSlate — The program dedicates an entire day of programming focused on documentary filmmaking that represents new stories and unique voices from around the globe.
- Best of NFMLA Awards — Each year, NFMLA presents awards for the best films shown in the previous year’s NFMLA Monthly Film Festivals at an exclusive gala event.
- Stage 5 (On-Camera Interview Series) — All filmmakers featured in each NFMLA Monthly Film Festival are invited to participate in on-camera interviews published by MovieMaker Magazine.
- Special Events, Programs, and Cine Sessions — Year round, NFMLA partners with universities, high schools, studios, guilds, government entities and others to host a wide variety of educational programs and special opportunities for emerging storytellers and aspiring film professionals.
