Fiction Feature Filmmakers: Have a work-in-progress screenplay? Apply now for the Sundance 2023 Development Track to be considered for multiple programs, fellowships, and grants. Deadline: May 12, 2022. Learn more and apply now.

Rough Cut Retreat offers a one-of-a-kind mentorship experience. Launched in 2016, RCR unites nonfiction filmmakers and mentors in a creative, supportive, and engaged atmosphere. After months in an edit suite, filmmakers often lose perspective; this is a key moment for fresh eyes in a safe space – a focus group for filmmakers to diagnose what is and isn’t working with their film. When selecting projects, True/False and Catapult prioritize work that displays an ambitious, idiosyncratic approach to nonfiction storytelling. We especially encourage filmmakers and those who do not have established feedback networks to apply. Additionally, preference will be given to projects that have not already received significant institutional support. Chosen mentors are professionals who embody creativity and generosity of spirit. Call For Entries runs from March 14th through April 29th, 2022. Learn more and apply now. 

WIFVNE Members Gabrielle Rosson and Alyson Muzila and WIFVNE Board Member Rachel S. Thomas-Medwid representing their films at the opening night of the Massachusetts Independent Film Festival in Worcester, MA in April.

Gabrielle's film "Dessert" was a nominee for Best Massachusetts Short, Alyson's film "Scotch, Please" a nominee for Best New England Short, and Rachel's film "In the Company of Crows" a nominee for Best Genre Short.

MassIFF has shown films annually since 2011 in the Boston area and is now run by The Shawna E. Shea Memorial Foundation Inc. The nonprofit organization, founded by Skip Shea, supports artists, especially women in filmmaking, through financial assistance, collaborative fellowships, mentoring, and educational opportunities.

The 15th edition of Salem Film Fest, an all-documentary film festival that takes place each year on Boston's North Shore took place Thursday, March 24 - Sunday, April 3, 2022.  After a brief hiatus from the 2021 festival, the Mass Reality Check returned at SFF 2022 thanks to these industry sponsors: Documentary Educational Resources (DER), Women in Film and Video New England (WIFVNE),  Boris FX and Talamas.

And the winners are:

1. SHIFTING HEIGHTS by Eamon Laughlin, Boston College

2. NANCY by Carlo Ang, Emerson College

3. THE MOBILIZED GENERATION by Caroline Lidz, Northeastern

Photo: Joey Phoenix/Salem Film Fest

Reprinted by permission from the Boston 48 Hour Film Project and Scott Lebeda.  Scott is a WIFVNE member.  And WIFVNE is a proud supporter of the 48Hour Film Project in cities such as Boston, New Haven, and Providence. 

The 48 Hour Film Project recently spoke with Scott Lebeda, Camera Operator on the Academy Award Best Film “CODA”.  Scott is a filmmaker from the Boston area.  Since 2011, he has taken part in twenty 48 Hour Film Projects—mostly in Boston, but also in Providence and New Haven.  (Below:  cast and crew of CODA, photo by Seacia Pavao)

 

48: How did you get started with the 48 and what roles have you taken on?
Scott: The first one I did was in 2011 when I answered a Facebook post looking for crew.  I have mostly been Director of Photography, Directing and sound mixing on the 48hrs that I have been a part of. I tend to lean heavily towards DP on most although I have directed 3 and mixed one. I’ve also contributed as a writer on quite a few.

48: What was your favorite 48 you made?
Scott:  My favorite 48 was the one that we did in New Haven, “Past Poets Now”, back in 2014. We won New Haven that year and got to screen in Hollywood at Filmapalooza. I was Director of Photography on that one and like a lot of the 48s that we did over the years really had a fun time making that movie.

48:  What was the worst thing that happened during a 48?
Scott:  We had a director on one of the 48s we did in Rhode Island pass out from heat exhaustion. Outside of that nothing too terrible happened on the 48s we did. The most stressful part is always exporting to thumb drive while someone drove you into the city to submit the film.

48: You’ve been in the industry for a while, what is your primary job?
Scott:  I’ve been working in camera departments on films and television for the last 15 years. I started as an AC on reality TV and quickly changed over to 2nd AC for features. I bumped up to a Focus Puller for many years.  I now work primarily as a Camera Operator on feature films, but still do some commercial work here and there. I also do some consulting and teaching from time to time.

48: Tell us about being on the crew that made CODA.
Scott: Being a part of the Coda crew has been such an amazing experience. The filming of Coda was one of the best on set experiences of my career and everything since then has been awesome! I mean we won Best Picture at the Oscars! What’s better than that?
  I was one of 2 camera operators on the film Coda. Most movies that we do we have two cameras on the entire job, A and B camera, and on Coda I was the B Camera Operator. Our A Camera Operator was a very talented Steadicam Op named Alec Jarnagin.

48:  Did you have any idea the movie would be so popular?
Scott:  We always knew that Coda was something special while we were filming it. There were just so many aspects of this film that stood out. The cast was so incredible, they had this chemistry together that you don’t see that often. They really did feel like a family on set. Emilia Jones who played Ruby in the movie was amazing to watch work. She learned to sign for Coda, did all her own singing and is British so had to maintain the American teenager accent the whole time. There were times during filming that we all felt that we were getting to see the beginning of a legendary career! When I first read the script, I was really impressed with how beautiful the story was. Sian Heder really did an amazing job adapting the French movie that Coda was based on. Then on top of the cast and the amazing story there was all the crew that we got to make this movie with. People who I have been making movies with for the last 15 years here in New England and have been a part of building the amazing film community. My 2nd AC on Coda was a fellow 48hr Film Project Alum, Felix Giuffrida.

48: What advice do you have for people looking to get into the film/video industry?
Scott:  Get out there and make something. Take part in the 48hr Film Projects, make your own shorts, make your own music videos, commercials, etc. Just get out there and make something. Also, get on to features and work. Start as a Production Assistant and learn how to be on a set. Learn what each department does and then decide what department you want to end up in. Make sure to let those working in that department know you’re interested in working in their department. Try to get into specific departments as a PA and move your way up from there. If you spend a long time being an undecided PA then you’ll end up PA’ing for longer then you want to.

48: What were some of the things you found valuable in doing the 48 Hour Film Project?
Scott: Getting to know others who work in the film industry already is a very valuable part of the 48 Hour Film Project. I made a lot of strong connections and friends on the 48hr Film Projects that I did. I met Felix Giuffrida on a 48hr Film Project 10 years ago and now he and I work on features all the time together. He was my 2nd AC on Coda. Along with Felix there are several other crew that I met on 48hr Film Projects that I still work with professionally today. Those connections that I made during the 48hr Film Projects have been invaluable.

I was lucky enough to be able to go to film school and obtain a degree in Film and Television, but I know plenty of people that were not able to. A lot of them learned film by working on 48hrs and making connections with crews that had already established in the business. I cannot stress enough how valuable the 48hr Film Project is to up and coming filmmakers.

President Sharon Contillo and RI Co-Chair Hannah Eaton attended the 2022 Alliance for Community Media conference and trade show. The event was held in person March 31-April 1 at the Renaissance Providence Downtown Hotel in Providence, RI.

The Alliance for Community Media Northeast Region (ACM - NE) holds an annual conference and trade show each year targeting our members in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York.

Community media professionals, board members, and producers attend our event each year. This event provides a unique opportunity for exhibitors and sponsors to engage with those who seek products, services, and resources to assist them in their work; and to connect with current customers and identify new ones.

WIFVNE Shares:  WIFVNE member Scott Lebeda was one of the two camera operators on CODA, which won three Academy Awards including Best Picture. See Scott (center) on set in the picture below, and read the article from WCAI. 

Five WIFVNE members were part of the New England cast and crew for the shoot of the psychological horror film Penny, written and directed by WIFVNE Board Member Rachel S. Thomas-Medwid.

The three-day shoot took place in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, in September with Lynn Weissman as Director of Photography, Maddie Staszak as First AC, Alyson Muzila in the role of Mae (with her 8-year-old daughter, Ava, playing a young Penny), and Diana Vicol doing behind the scenes photography. 

Penny—about a hard-core female chef fighting off primitive impulses during a series of dates as memories of her mentally ill mother bleed into current-day life—is being released in March 2022.

Captions: 1) Rachel, Lynn, Maddie 2) Rachel, Lynn, Maddie, and Ava Muzila 3) Alyson Muzila and crew

Send WIFVNE your photos and on-set experiences with other WIFVNE members so we can share the news!  Email info@womeninfilmvideo.org

(h/t Film Industry Marketing Newsletter aka the WIFT Marketing Circle) 

Across the country, the film from Ukraine, The Guide (see trailer here) will be playing and raising money for the film industry in Ukraine, which by the way, was booming before the invasion. Check out links below to get involved, see the film if you are near one of the showings, and generally connect with what is happening in the industry in conjunction with current events. And, if you don’t have a showing near you, maybe you ask others in the area to set one up with you.

You never know who you might meet. You must get outside your own watering hole to expand the horizons wide enough that you create opportunities. And most important, you are helping at a time when there is such a need. - Christine Merser, Managing Partner, Blue Shoe Content

Read entire article here… LOS ANGELES, March 15, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- On Friday, March 18, many leading U.S. movie exhibitors will begin to play Oles Sanin's acclaimed feature film THE GUIDE, subtitled, in their theaters with box-office proceeds to be donated to Ukrainian Relief Efforts. The film's director and producer, Sanin, is currently locked down in Kyiv, but has just provided a moving introduction now attached to the movie. It conveys the urgency of the situation and the need for assistance.

Ukraine has a rich history of filmmaking that reaches back more than a century. For much of that time, Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, but in the last 30 years Ukraine's film industry has stood on its own. Indeed, before Russia's 2022 invasion, Ukraine was a vibrant center of film production.

In the 1930s, the Soviet regime pursued agricultural and other policies that led to the deaths of millions of Ukrainians. This "Terror Famine" represented a genocide aimed at Ukraine. In 2014; Ukrainian filmmakers produced and released THE GUIDE, a drama set in the 1930s depicting this Soviet oppression. The drama was selected as the Ukrainian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards. The film also won the Best Actor and Cinematography awards that year at the Odessa International Film Festival. In addition, Oles Sanin's film was nominated for the grand prize at both the Odessa and the Warsaw International Film Festival.

To support the effort, the Digital Cinema Distribution Coalition will be delivering the film by satellite, while PaperAirplane Media will provide the marketing assets and necessary support materials. Distribution will be handled by Falling Forward Films. All parties are working free of charge to ensure as much money as possible is delivered to the Ukrainian people.

Audiences are advised to find the closest theater in your city, BUY TICKETS

http://www.StandwithUkrainethroughfilm.com

or DONATE at

http://www.StandwithUkrainethroughfilm.org

(Not Rated-Some graphic wartime violence-127 Minutes)

Watch the Trailer

Media Contact

Amy Prenner, "Stand With Ukraine: The Guide", +1 (310) 709-1101, amy@theprennergroup.com

Jeremy Devine, "Stand With Ukraine: The Guide", jeremymdevine@gmail.com

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On March 12, 2022, Sharon Contillo, President of WIFVNE, spoke to RI School of Design (RISD) students about careers in film, TV, animation, and improving employment opportunities in the industry.

Sharon was one of a number of special guest speakers for RISD's in-person event on internships, careers, and post-grad life.