 |
| ||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
Top-left: The cast of "Tic" won the SAG Indie Award for Best Ensemble Cast and the Audience Award for Best Feature Film. (l-r) Gary Mcdonald, Adriohn Richardson, Daniele Favilli, Howard Antony and director/writer/producer Keith Palmer. Top-right: "Urfrenz," a realistic drama about a group of teenage friends and the dangers of social networking sites won the City of Calabasas Award for Best Feature Film. Lily Holleman won Best Actress, Najarra Townsend won Best Supporting Actress (l-r) Jeff Phillips (director), Jana Winternitz (producer), Michael Kelly (co-star). Bottom-left: French actress, Julie Dray, won the Maverick Award for Best Acting in a Low Budget Film for her work in "Do Elephants Pray?" Bottom-center: Lily Hollmen, Best Actress for "UrFrenz." Lily also won the Rising Star of the Year Award from the Fest. Bottom-right: Nathan Halliday won Best Supporting Actor Award for "Desert Son." 2010 Method Fest presented a lineup of great films, shortsSynopsis for films, then shorts, are listed in alphabetical order below
FILMS
Director: Benjamin Coccio Carter never left his sleepy, suburban, NYC commuter-community after finishing High School. When his friends finish college and return home for a brief visit before starting their adult lives, he is spurred to action. He cashes in his unused college fund, packs a suitcase, and leaves home determined but without direction.
Director: Mark Devenport Richard, bored of his mundane existence as a cycle courier, attempts to make his film 'A Distance Too Far' in a bid to escape to a better life. Driven by the belief that it will propel him, his friends and his girlfriend to fame and fortune, and the fear of ending up like his family, the completion of his 'masterpiece' becomes the sole focus of Richard's life.
Director: James Ivory 28-year-old Kansas University doctoral student Omar Razaghi, has won a grant to write a biography of Latin American writer Jules Gund. Omar must get through to three people who were close to Gund - his brother, widow, and younger mistress - so he can get authorization to write the biography.
Director: James Mann, Brandon Nicholas Phillip is abandoned in the desert by his step father. Days later he is found unconscious by Lucy and Jack, two orphans who live in an abandoned mining town in the middle of nowhere. They bring Phillip back to health and quickly initiate him into their dangerous lifestyle.
Director: Andreas Arnstedt Jacob (11) tries to hide the suicide of his father because he is afraid to have to live in an orphanage.
Director: Paul Hills Callum Cutter (Jonnie Hurn), fastidious 30something head of his own failing advertising company struggles to find meaning in the soulless world he is shackled as he faces the challenge of selling the unsellable product. His life needs to change and it does so in the shape of Malika (Julie Dray) a stunning free-spirited French woman unbound by the conventions or responsibilities of the world. Do Elephants Pray?” is an ethereal drama that baits the spirit and demands answers to questions that may or may not exist.
Director: Steven Peros From award-winning writer Steven Peros, author of the play and screenplay for Lionsgate's 2002 The Cat's Meow (directed by Peter Bogdanovich, starring Kirsten Dunst) comes this haunting, hopeful, and unforgettable mystery - A young woman's journey of discovery on Hollywood Boulevard in one day, from sunrise to sunset.
Director: Dagur Kari Unapologetically oddball from start to finish, The Good Heart casts Brian Cox as Jacques - an almost impossibly surly bartender who forges a tentative friendship with a meek homeless kid (Paul Dano's Lucas) after suffering his fifth coronary.
Director Shana Feste A drama centered around a troubled teenage girl and a family that is trying to get over the loss of their son.
Director: Bette Gordon A phone call on his 52nd birthday sets an ex-Navy man on a search for absolution as he confronts a mysterious past betrayal.
Director: Brad Barnes, Todd Barnes Mike is a locksmith. He's also a prisoner on work release, but you wouldn't know it. He's just trying to focus on his house calls and reconcile with his ex-girlfriend—until Margo hijacks his day.
Director: Mika Kaurismäki A sort of “Divorce Finnish Style,” Mika Kaurismäki's rambunctious comedy, The House of Branching Love , recounts the breakup of a thirtysomething professional couple – Juhani, a family therapist, and his wife, Tuula, a successful business trainer.
Director: Hilbert Hakim A botched car-jacking forces two white-collar criminals to take refuge in the home of the thugs that accosted them. Over the course of one explosive, unpredictable night, worlds collide, fortunes shift, lives are cast aside and the most unsuspecting of heroes walks away with a multimillion dollar score.
Director: John Launchi A disgruntled recent graduate with a mundane office job and a difficult girlfriend, is torn between dealing with the pressures of growing up and hanging on to his irresponsible glory days. Upon getting laid off from his job and dumped by his girlfriend, Mike, influenced by his less-than-motivated best friend, Jimmy decides to use his severance package to fund one last summer of freedom. Named among the "Top 10 movies of 2009, through August" by the Chicago Tribune's Metromix, LEFTY follows uninsured artist, Danny Malone (Thomas Madden), and committed Marine, Tommy "Fudd" Phelan as they return to the insanity of their Irish-Catholic South Side Chicago neighborhood with unspoken issues of their own.
Director: Daniel Adams Set in the year 1912 on Cape Cod, a lighthouse keeper who has disavowed any association with females, must deal with the appearance of two attractive women who move into a nearby cottage for the summer.
Director: Mardana Mayginnes Jamie is disillusioned with a dead-end job and a suffocating relationship with his girlfriend. On a
Director: Ken Loach The plot revolves around a football fanatic postman (Evets) whose life is descending into crisis. Looking after his granddaughter is bringing him into contact with his ex-wife, and his stepson is hoarding a gun for a local gangster. At his weakest moments, when he considers suicide, his hallucinations bring forth visits from his footballing hero, the famously philosophical Eric Cantona.
Director: Patrick Hoelck A young novelist tries to write about love, but realizes he will first need some real-life experience before taking on the subject.
Director: Mike Carroll A contemporary noir set entirely at night Nightbeats is an homage to the classic noirs of the 1940's, though told as a contemporary drama, not a gumshoe satire, Nightbeats follow the lives of five people over four nights. Over these nights there are a series of deaths, suicides at first glance. Or are they?
Director: Kathy Lindboe Inspired by true events, NONAMES follows Kevin and his family of friends as they struggle within the confines of a small town. After his mother's death, Kevin decides to make a life for himself in his childhood home in spite of his father's decision to move. In the wake of tragedy, Kevin must end his extended adolescence or lose the things he holds most dear. Haunted by unsettled scores, it becomes clear that he must leave the town he loves in order to save himself from it. A new beginning is only a bus ride away.
Director: Marc Rensing Parkour is Marc Rensing's debut drama about a young man and his group of friends in an unnamed industrial town in Germany. The film is a captivating story of friendship, love, and jealousy and deals with Parkour, the physical discipline of training in which the traceur has to overcome obstacles within his or her path.
Director: Nicholas Gyeney The Penitent Man tells the story of psychologist Dr. Jason Pyatt, a man at a crossroads with the life he has chosen and the life he could have. When one of his clients - the mysterious Mr. Darnell - walks into his office and paints him a repentant tale of future economic and moral collapse, Jason's eyes are forever opened. With the help of his best friend Ovid, he embarks on a personal mission to change the course of his future, and possibly the world, forever.
Director: Stephanie Argy, Alec Boehm Washington, DC, 1935: At the height of the Great Depression, a charming and irrepressible young thief is forced to help an icy and mysterious United States Navy spy steal a brand new device that the Japanese military is using to encode its top-secret messages.
Director: Justin Monroe Just after his 30th birthday, awkward and mostly untalented gamer Duncan Christopher moves to the big city of Tulsa to test his rock and roll dreams and face his demons in the brutal underground world of karaoke.
Director: Amy Glazer Dark satire of the Manhattan entertainment industry in which a gifted actor begins his fall from grace as he encounters a chameleon-like social climber.
Director: Christian Molina, Sandra Serna Station of the Forgotten is a story that bridges the generation gap: a story about an old sailor and a young teenager brought together by fate. Together, joined by the old sailor's granddaughter and an urn containing his wife's ashes, they will journey back to the fishing town where the old man used to live.
Director: Akan Satayev The main character, his wife and small son lose their way in the steppe and become stuck on a country road. As a result, they have to spend the night in their car. The following morning, the main character awakens alone, his wife and son having mysteriously disappeared.
Director: Bruce Webb At fifteen, Robbie has only one thing on his mind - losing his virginity. The problem is that he's in hospital with a fatal heart condition. And who has to overcome the odds and help him fulfill his final wish? His best friend Ziggy.
Director: Keith Parmer Set in L.A. with flashbacks to '90s London, fate meets fortune head-on when small-time hoods Anton and Tyrone shoot for the big score by holding club owner C-Note and his girlfriend Chilli hostage for ransom. But time is running out for the captives and captors alike, as the past catches up with all of them and the clock ticks slowly toward the moment of truth.
Director: Jeff Phillips urFRENZ, written and directed by Jeff Phillips and produced by Jana Winternitz, is a realistic drama about the lives of teens, their families and the draw and discord of social networking sites.
Director: Alex O. Gaynor 'Wid Winner & the Slipstream' is a coming of age story of Wid Winner, an autoparts store worker whose life never lived up to his own expectations. After one particularly disenchanting day, Wid's store is robbed by a traveling scientist named Kenneth who is convinced he can build a time machine. Together, the two lonesome men embark on a cross-country roadtrip in search of glory, redemption, and a chance to not be forgotten. SHORTS (Listed via the program in which they will play at the Festival)
THE SIERRA Director: Alano Massi The air ain't all that's cold in the Sierra Nevada, especially just outside of nineteenth-century Virginia City... for this is where the lives of a Native American couple collide with a ruthless gang seeking revenge upon two brothers who interrupted their train robbery and escaped with the cash. HEAD IN THE SAND Director: David Baldwin Henry goes to war in Afghanistan. It's not at all what he imagined. NUMB Director: Erwann Marshall While preparing for the biggest fight of his life, a mixed martial arts fighter comes to terms with what it means to be a father and a son. TAKING THE FALL Director: David M. Helman A young comic book fan imagines his father as a superhero but wishes he would get a different job. THE ACTION HERO'S GUIDE TO SAVING LIVES Director: Justin Lutsky When lives are on the line... When there's danger at every turn... When clichés run amuck... Sometimes the best thing to do is call Mulligan! Ace Mulligan!
Director: Joshua Weigel A limbless man in a carnival sideshow encounters an infamous circus showman and is inspired to hope against everything he has ever believed. 3 FACES OF EVELYN Director: Kamali Minter A woman suffering from multiple personalities seeks therapy to help her discover who she voted for in the 2009 presidential election. Jitensha (Bicycle) Director: Dean Yamada “Jitensha” (or “Bicycle”) is a story about Mamoru Amagaya, a young man struggling to find meaning in life.
Director: Dana Turken The line between love and violence is blurred when Renata, the magnetic doyenne of a Grand Guignol theater company, forces Mila, her disgruntled star, to participate in her own usurpation.
Director: Eddie Tapero Gur and Yuval will stop at nothing to make enough money for a fresh start in Berlin. As they approach their goal, the tension is growing between the two, until an unexpected event causes Gur to question both their plan and their relationship.
Director: Peter Besson Last night, Rhett Somers met the love of his life. Now all he has to do is convince her she's the one. Not an easy feat considering how they met... TURN AROUND Director: Prarthana Mohan A woman tries to reconcile society's expectations of her as a wife and mother with her secret desire to fulfill her exhibitionist fantasies, but soon finds herself weaving the tangled web of a double life. CHAMPAGNE SUPERNOVA Director: Fernando Jover A mature lady has a shocking relationship with a younger man.
Director: J.J. Adler THE BAKE SHOP GHOST Director: Lorette Bayle In a haunted bake shop, a determined young woman struggles to find the perfect recipe to satisfy a hungry spirit. Based on a best-selling children's book, this film provides enchantment for all ages. MELTING THE SNOWMAN Director: Ora Yashar In the face of defeat, a young columnist, who has long been her father's golden child, must discover if she has the strength to give herself the permission to fail despite the consequences. ALL IN DUE TIME (TIEMPO AL TIEMPO) Director: Tati Barrantes Jesus and Cisco work together as cooks in a New York City restaurant pursuing their shared dream of owning their own business. Suddenly caught between personal success and family obligation, Jesus must choose: will he lead the life he's always imagined or return home to his awaiting family? TWO INTO THREE (ZWI ZU DRITT) Director:
Director: Zachary Sluser Path Lights is a thought provoking, comedy-noire that puts a human spin on the tradition of detective hero films. THE GOLDEN RULE Director: Meredith Rose Two vehicles collide in the desert. The drivers are forced to ride together, but is either of them really who he appears to be? ONCE UPON A CRIME Director: Lilli Birdsell 'Once Upon a Crime' comically deconstructs the fairytale of Snow White by pulling the princess out of the story book and putting her up on the witness stand where she must defend and be held accountable for the story she's been telling for 152 years. FORFEIT OF GRACE Director: Kane Senes When a man discovers a kidnapped girl in a secluded motel, he struggles to save her and find redemption for his violent past. CLEMENCY Director: Joseph Albanese A sadistic killer takes a reporter on an emotional thrill ride she will never forget. PENANCE Director: Ryan Gould A story about a middle-aged, reclusive widower/owner of lawn company who's second chance at life turns tragic when he over exerts control in the budding relationship with his Autistic employee.
LIFE LINES Director: James Evans A man, a woman and a bottle of tequila walk into an office party. She ends up pregnant. He ends up in a coma. "Life Lines," like life, is a comedy surrounded by tragedy--with Thomas Piper (Denis Leary's "Merry F#%$in' Christmas"), Tate Evans ("Senor Nugget") and Jason Kravits ("The Practice"). DAS BABY Director: Falco Jagau Four days after the birth of her son 18year old Nadine waits for her discharge from hospital. But an odd atmosphere is in the pediatrics ward that day. Nadine notices too late that her baby vanished without a trace. PASSING ON Director: Cameron Clark Just when Colin thinks his post-college life couldn't get any worse, his grandma shows up in the mail. Her ashes that is. Now, with the help of his party-girl sister and her enthusiastically stoned roommate, he must make it to the beach to give her a proper sendoff. THE RESPONSE Director: Andrew Spieler In the early hours of the 1992 LA Riots, Shauna, a seasoned African-American paramedic is forced to confront an incensed and dangerous mob after her idealistic white partner, Rick, violates protocol in hopes of saving a severely wounded child.
Director: Nils Taylor Davin has been estranged from his family for give years. He finally returns home in desperate need of financial help from his sister, his only living relative. During what is supposed to be a quick visit, he learns that his sister may need more help from him than he needs from her. QUALITY TIME Director: Colin Marshall Estranged brothers, road rage, fast food and death...all the makings of a merry Christmas. SORES & SIRIN Director: WORDS UNSPOKEN Director: Renee O'Connor A man and his estranged sister battle against each other, their Father, and ultimately their self, as they look back on their childhood trauma, seeking forgiveness and ultimate freedom. TINGLEWOOD Director: Alexander von Hoffman When a family sets up camp deep in the Tinglewood forest, the last thing they expect is company and a violent struggle to survive the night.
MY MOM SMOKES WEED Director: ABUELO Director: Mary Ann Kellogg After the loss of her mother, Emily, 12, has a bleak outlook on life that only worsens when her grandfather from Argentina arrives for an extended stay. To their mutual surprise, she and her abuelo discover that dance provides a common language. THE GODMOTHER Director: Lior Chefetz Rosella Wu is convinced by her mother to kill her mobster husband Danny. But when Danny quits the mob and cleans up his act, she tries to cancel the hit. Except she's too late - the hitman crashes into the house, guns blazing! Now Rosella must stop the hitman, prevent Danny from finding out it was her, and stand up to her over-bearing mother who still wants Danny dead! FIASCO Director: Nadia Hamzeh A young Arab woman on the verge of realizing her American dream suddenly faces a life-altering test and has to make a risky decision.
DARK HORSE Director: Marc Furmie Minh Tran is a lonely taxi driver whose relationship with his wife has disintegrated following a miscarriage. One night his path crosses that of Isabella Fortino, a girl forced into prostitution by her boyfriend. Minh's show of kindness to Isabella leads to an unlikely connection as they lose themselves in each other's company and leave their troubled lives behind. THE WEEKEND Director: Vanessa Knutsen Recovering from a traumatic break-up, Olivia is on the verge of a nervous breakdown when her friend Maya flies in from New York for a visit. From one failed attempt to another, their weekend starts to feel more like a test of their friendship. Will they pass? SHORT ON TIME Director: Benjamin Mattingly When EDITH (92) takes a final journey from the hospital to a hospice, she finds an unlikely friend in HOWARD (34) the disenchanted orderly charged with delivering Edith to her destination. MILESTONE Director: Julie Tortorici When tubs of ice cream, drinking with friends and sad movies don't get you past your heartbreak...it's time to pull out the big guns. Milestone is a short comedy with a big gun. TOUCH Director: Jen McGowan What happens when the most personal connection in your life occurs with a complete stranger? Touch. LOAF OF BREAD Director: Eric Patton A young office worker has fallen into a mundane existence where his happiest moments are when office supplies are delivered. His friend, a schemer and dreamer, convinces Jack to join him in a life of crime to escape his meaningless life. Jack soon learns that happiness is a choice. WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR Director: Sam Knee When Chase visits his friend Trent in order to borrow a movie for his girlfriend, he stumbles upon Trent attempting to hang himself, and he must choose between helping his friend or making his girlfriend happy.
CHRISTOPHER DISPOSSESSED Director: Matthew Watts He's too late to stop the wedding, but not too late to stop the marriage. BLUE BOY Director: Alex Jablonski A teenage lifeguard finds himself alone with one of the objects of his affection and decides to try to act on his daydreams. MUTUALLY ASSURED DESIRE Director: Andrew Hellesen After a nuclear apocalypse, the last man and woman on earth must fulfill their biological duty. But there's one problem... OPEN HOUSE Director: David Kashkooli House on the market, Beth Dunne is getting organized to move when the doorbell rings: Daniel Berman's arrived late for the Open House. Turns out Daniel was Beth's high school boyfriend 15 years ago. Through this unexpected encounter, Beth and Daniel revisit their past and the choices they've made. TAKE MY WIFE Director: Brett Carlson A married couple intending to hire a gigolo to save their stale sex life mistakenly hires a hitman in this dangerous comedy of errors. TENDER ROOTS Director: Matt Brailey Lloid has always had problems connecting with his peers. Now with prom coming, this may be his last opportunity to make that connection. All he needs is the date. SOME BOYS DON'T LEAVE Director: Maggie Kiley Some Boys Don't Leave is the story of what happens when the break-up happens but the break does not.
Director: Kevin Acevedo A tortured author struggles to overcome writer's block and is propelled into a bizarre series of events. CULEBRA (SNAKE) Director: Sean Carter A pregnant Mexican woman follows a shady human smuggler into an underground border crossing that goes terribly awry. MIND THE GAP Director: Shaun Majumder When a sexy, beautiful young woman sits next to a sweet elderly man on a train, the ride is anything but boring. THE END Director: Eduardo Chapero-Jackson A middle class American family must fight for survival in a nation being torn apart by the lack of water. Not in programs
Director: Gary Ravenscroft A visual mix-tape about love, following two remarkable characters who meet each other at the precise right and wrong moment of their lives. USA, 2:13 MIN, WORLD PREMIERE Director: Alicia Arinella, Diana Witten Dating is difficult, especially when you order in. 'Kung Pow Wow' is comedic tale about an argument between a couple when the boyfriend isn't sensitive to the needs of his girlfriend's taste buds. THE PACKAGE AUSTRALIA, 3:21 MIN, WEST COAST PREMIERE Director: Oliver Waghorn The Package is the story of Dave and Lisa. They are breaking up for the last time. It seems Dave is having trouble with any sort of real commitment. After Lisa storms out Dave receives a Package in the mail. Inside is a VHS tape which, when played, holds the key to Dave's future. RAMPAGE SUPERSTAR Director: THE RESPONSE USA, 14:22 MIN, LA PREMIERE Director: Andrew Spieler In the early hours of the 1992 LA Riots, Shauna, a seasoned African-American paramedic is forced to confront an incensed and dangerous mob after her idealistic white partner, Rick, violates protocol in hopes of saving a severely wounded child. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
