SHOT gets accepted to SXSW

Congratulations to Steve Acevedo are in order. His 35mm short film SHOT will be screening as part of the "Texas Shorts" at SXSW. Catch it Wednesday, March 12 at Alamo Draft House on S. Lamar (1120 S. Lamar, Austin, TX 78704), and again Friday, March 14 at 5:00 PM and Saturday, March 15 at 12:00 PM, all at Alamo Draft House on S. Lamar, theatre 2. See you there!

Congratulations, AUGUST EVENING

Chris Eska's AUGUST EVENING has been nominated for the John Cassavetes Award at Film Independent Spirit Awards, along with lead actor Pete Castaneda (see his interview). Congratulations Chris! Watch Chris's interview on IFC online.

LOVE AND A .45 Special Screening

SPEND THE NIGHT BEFORE VALENTINES WITH YOUR “LOVE AND A .45”

The Texas Motion Picture Alliance is teaming up with Santikos Theaters to present a special benefit film screening. Spend the night before Valentine's Day, February 13th, with "Love and a .45", and see Renee Zellweger in her first leading role. TXMPA quarterly benefit screenings are generously supported by Santikos Theaters.

“Love and a .45” follows two young lovers (Zellweger and Gil Bellows) as they run from the law to Mexico amidst a media frenzy. Writer/director C.M. "Carty" Talkington will be in attendance the night of the event to present the film. Tickets are $10 at the door and benefit the mission of the TXMPA, Bringing More Business to Texas.

What: TXMPA Valentines Fundraiser: "Love and a .45"
When: February 13, 2008 doors open at 7p.m., film starts at 8:00 PM
Where: Santikos Bijou Theater @Crossroads Mall
Cost: $10.00 at the door
Film: "Love and a .45" starring Renee Zellweger, Gil Bellows, Peter Fonda, Rory Cochrane, Wiley Wiggins
Appearances: Writer/director C.M. “Carty” Talkington, will be in attendance for a Q & A after the film

See the trailer at TrailerFan.

Morgan Spurlock to Speak at SAC

SUPER SIZE ME's Morgan Spurlock (and also executive producer of one of my favorite films, CHALK) will be speaking at San Antonio College along with screening WHAT WOULD JESUS DO? Morgan is fresh from Sundance where he premiered his latest work, WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OSAMA BIN LADEN, and its great having him in SA! More info at: http://www.accd.edu/sac/pr/NewRel8/spurlock.htm

9th Annual New Vistas in Video Contest

I had the privilege of serving as one of the judges for this 9th annual event sponsored by Northwest Vista College and Bill Colangelo. Best of Show honor was awarded to Mark Walley, for his film “Picturesque Joel,” which depicted the mishaps of a young man looking for love.

The New Vistas in Video Festival began in 1999, at Northwest Vista College. Since its launch, it has awarded over 40 scholarships, and several winners have been featured at the prestigious CineFestival and on KLRN-TV.

Winning films included:

Angela Guerra “All American Finger Trap”, Fiction
Justin Gallegos “Make-Up”, Fiction
Alejandra Lopez, “Cool One”, Fiction
Jeffrey Martinez, “Music Within”, Unknown
Dylan Altman , “A Fish Bowl Life”, Fiction

Best of Show
Mark Walley, “Picturesque Joel”, Fiction

I hope a compilation disc comes along soon so we all can see the winners. I was really impressed by works from some of the high school students, from the Film School of San Antonio at Harlandale, NESA Cinema, and Communication Arts. Some very adult themed projects, that were well cast, well acted, great locations, and superb stories.

You owe it to your self to see these films and see what narrative nuggets of gold they are creating. Any readers know when we can see these shorts again? I'd come down with the flu my last day of traveling, and was laid out flat in bed until the following monday so I couldn't see the show on the 26th ....

Thanks Bill for giving me the opportunity to participate this year, it was a lot of fun, and sorry I missed the show.

Lunch with NESA students

Had a chance to have lunch with a good size group of students from NESA Cinema Program and Konise Millender, director over there, while up at Sundance. I could tell they were having a great time, and I knew there was no way I could keep up with this group! Get ready to see some great work at this year's 800 lb Film Festival showcasing the best NESA students have to offer. - should be sometime in April or May I think. I'll keep you posted, or hey, anyone ever read this stuff want to leave a comment with the date? OK, trying to remember everyone, from L to R: Konise Millender, Nisa (doh, I'm blanking on your last name!), Pablo Veliz, Miles?, Dylan Altman, and Adrian Gonzales.

Alex Rivera's Sundance Video Diary

Ok, so this is funny. I was watching Alex Rivera's video diary from Sundance (Variety magazine gave filmmakers cameras to document their festival experience), and I turned up in it for just a second. I was at a screening of "Sleep Dealer", and the students from NESA Cinema Program were also there.

So I had met Alex last year, and we reconnected at the festival, and the kids wanted a picture with him, so we made our way to him in the crowd after the screening, I made some introductions, and proceeded to snap a picture or two. Well, here's the picture I took, and if you notice on the bottom of the frame, Alex has his video camera pointed directly at me. So the video of me taking a picture in his video diary (at minute 2:31), is at the same moment I was taking the picture. HAH! Isn't the space-time continuum cool?