Dances welcomes 'Visitors'
Pic wins Laemmle, aud awards, 'Rose's,' 'Afraid' score nods
|
More Articles:
Most Viewed:
Nine(9948 views)Spielberg abandons 'Harvey'(4685 views)Johnny Depp eyes Pancho Villa role(2571 views)Anderson working on 'Master'(2167 views)Box office incumbents stay strong(1297 views)Imprint Entertainment to remake 'Phone'(1200 views) |
This year's edition showcased 12 features and 16 shorts as well as five films shown out of competition.
"Visitor," a film by Jon W. Doyle, nabbed the fest's coveted Laemmle Award, a prize offered by the Laemmle theater chain. The award comes with a promise that the film will play in a special limited engagement at one of Laemmle's L.A.-area theaters. "Visitor" took the audience award as well.
Best feature kudos went to Frank Petterson's "Rose's"; "Not Afraid to Say," written by Adam Vetri, received the screenplay honors; "Kusah Hakwaan," produced and directed by Sean Morris, won the cinematography award.
In the shorts division, David Garrett's "Clown Car" won, with the screenplay prize going to "Every Night and Twice on Sundays" by James Michael Hughes. Jonathan Bekemeier's "Titler" won the audience award.
Co-festival directors Leslee Scallon and Michael Trent were pleased with the fest's results.
"We're thrilled," said Scallon. "We're talking about films with no names, and yet the attention was way up from last year. About 5,000 people came through the doors. We had sell-out houses...."
Dances organizers say sponsorship rose, with Warner Hollywood, Sony Electronics and Sam Adams each contributing to the fest. And like Slamdance and other more established events, this year's Dances added a filmmaker's lounge and chats lead by industry leaders.
While no fest film has yet been bought, organizers say HBO, Warner Bros. and other companies have expressed interest in some of the films and filmmakers.
The mandate of Dances With Films is to select only those films without known actors, directors and producers.
