FILM FESTIVALS

AMAZON SHORT FILM COMPETITION

Amazon is now accepting short films for competition:
http://www.amazon.com/shortfilms

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DOC FESTIVAL

Free doc festival accepting submissions:
http://www.amnh.org/programs/mead/submit.html

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INSPIRATION FILM FESTIVAL

No Entry Fee

3277 Perlita Avenue
Los Angeles California 90039
U S A
Phone: (323) 646-5376
http://www.inspirationfilmfestival.com

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CAST/CREW CALLS

LA Indie Short

What started off as a student project for me in January has now manifested
into a professional short film. "Wings of Fire", as the project is now known, is
the story of a physically challenged hip hop dancer who meets a ballet
teacher suffering form leukemia. The story is about their self discovery
through a fusion of dance and disability.

The lead character for the movie will be played by Autianya Pascqua who is
physically challenged in real life. Auti is a hip hop dancer, a choreographer,
an actress, CEO of a non profit … she really kicks butt.

All the details of the project are available at www.neetamittal.com

"Wings of Fire" is my first endeavor in filmmaking at this level of involvement;
I
am writing, producing and directing this short. I have to put together a lot of
resources in terms of cast, crew, locations, permits, insurance, craft services,
etc. At this point, the aim is to get as many resources donated as possible.
(We will be shooting on Sony HDW F900 donated by a camera rental
company. It is one of the best HD cameras out there. )

I am reaching out to all my friends and acquaintances for help (no, no…don't
sweat….no donations). If you could just make a few inquiries in your
community and contacts for the resources listed on the film's website ( http://
www.neetamittal.com/wings_of_fire/resources/index.html ), it will be a great
help to me. I will keep updating the list as items get added or checked out.

I am also looking for a co-producer on this project, so please email me if you
are interested.

And thank you so much for your consideration.

Regards,

Neeta Mittal
neeta@ [no space] neetamittal.com
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San Diego Indie Short

Gariss (whose film also screened with Interminal on 3/2) will be holding
auditions.

Saturday, March 19
San Diego, CA

This audition and the film will be shot in SAN DIEGO.
Be prepared to dance. Must know, but don't have to be good at just
be willing to try the following dances: The Running Man, The Roger
Rabbit and The Cabbage Patch.

more info: gariss@ [no space] fourthproject.com
http://www.fourthproject.com

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AFI Student Short

All roles for people who appear South Asian:

Dadi (65-75 year old woman), preferably North Indian,
fluent in Hindi, relatively nimble, comfortable with
bending and squatting, able to sing (casually, bhajans
and aartis), and comfortable with chopping vegetables
and cooking on a gas stove.

Nikhil (6-8 year old boy), or older that can play
between age 6 and 8, must be able to communicate at
least in broken Hindi, comfortable in large groups of
people, good attention span, and able to take
direction.

Radha (woman in her mid to late 30s), fluent in Hindi,
English with a bit of an accent, first generation
immigrant, but relatively Westernized and
career-oriented.

Naveen (man in his late 30s), fluent in Hindi, English
with a bit of an accent, first generation immigrant,
good with kids.

Naina (12 year old girl), or someone who can play that
age, must have at least basic Hindi speaking ability,
good attention span, ability to take direction.

more info: anupradhan@ [no space] yahoo.com 
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TO DIE FOR

Theo van Gogh directed `Submission' written by Ayaan Hirsi Ali (an ex-
muslim woman) and was subsequently murdered. Here's the controversial
film:
http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2655656

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"INTERMINAL" SCREENING

Wed March 23, 2005 ~9pm
Thin Room (just above Onyx)
852 Fifth Ave
San Diego, CA 92101
http://www.cinemasocial.com
http://www.Anup.net
We had a terrific screening on 3/2. Thanks for the support. A lot of people
couldn't make it, so we're having another screening.

Hope to see you there.

-Anup

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ASK THOMAS

Filmmaker Interviews is starting a new column with tech-guru Thomas Mathai
answering your questions regarding almost anything technically related to
filmmaking.
Send you queries to askthomas@ [no space] FilmmakerInterviews.com. It will
be posted on the site.

-Anup

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NEW SITE FOR MUSICIANS/COMPOSERS TO POST

http://www.Mp3tunes.com

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ART WORK

Storyboard Artist (and man of many hats) Harish Rao's artwork online -
http://www.vision2words.com/gallery/mixed-media
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STAR BILLING

Great article on Billing (lead, supporting, principle, extra, etc) and
additional
misc common questions actors have for CDs.
http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/2005_02_21.html

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2006 SD FILM COMMISSION RESOURCE BOOK

Get 3 FREE crew listings in the Film Resource Guide by the SD Film
Commission.

http://sdfilm.com/resourceguide_form.asp


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PREPRODUCTION PLANNING

Here's an interesting article from Adam Rudder:

Question from a filmmaker: How do I schedule my shoot to save money?
The answer is from prior grant winner, Mindy Johnson, teacher of Docu
School, Producer, Writer, and Filmmaker. Mindy says, "Do the following:"
* Try to schedule your shoot over a weekend, if possible. Rental companies
might make a deal with you to rent equipment over the weekend which could
be 3 days for a one day price.
* Question every price for rentals, do your homework and do not accept the
first quote. Prices aren't the same everywhere.
* See if you could get a discount on equipment by offering a link to your
website, screen credit, etc.
* When hiring your crew, make a flat buyout agreement with them. That
means the person accepts a flat rate for whatever hours they work – you do
not pay overtime. Negotiate your rate for the whole show, just in case you do
one shoot, and your second shoot might not happen for many months later.
Schedule your start and wrap day (if known), scouting or prep days, wrap
days and travel days. Negotiate your per diem, credits, and deferments, if
any. Promise them a pay date too.
* Put your crew on hold, but do not confirm until you are sure of your exact
production shoot date.
* Think carefully when scheduling a shoot for multiple cities. Determine if
it's
cheaper to do it in one trip or multiple trips.
* Someone who works for free seems to be cheaper than an experienced
person. But who will work faster, and add more to your film? Don't skimp on
cameraperson, editor or writer.
* If a person or event is on a remote location, schedule your interview, B roll,
etc at one time, do not travel to the same location twice.
* Create a realistic shooting schedule – keep in mind it takes longer to light
an
interior set than it does to light a day light exterior set. It's easier to
shoot one
interior and one exterior on the same day, rather than 2 interiors.
* When on distant location, hire local crews when possible. Call film
commissions in the state and city you are working in to get personnel.
* Have the camera and sound people take thorough notes, and label the
tapes. It will save you time in the editing bay.
* Purchase stock footage if it would be difficult or expensive to shoot the same
subject.
* When covering military or NASA events, it is possible an event will be
photographed by a governmental agency, in which case the footage is public
domain and you can get access to it.
* Purchase phone cards for long distance calls; it's especially cheap at the 99
cents store. It's less expensive than using a long distance phone company
calling card.
* Whatever equipment you rent, make a detailed list of each piece, its ID # to
insure all equipment is returned to the rental company, and nothing is lost in
transit.
* Network with other filmmakers to purchase tape stock in bulk, if you are
using the same stock, and divide it among all of you. Mindy Johnson is
teaching a 10 week Docu School to create proposals, pitches, budgets, action
plans and more. See Store on www.fromtheheartproductions.com
* https://commerce2.i2net.com/able5stores/stores/1/index.aspx