LAFF Judge Tia Lessin Nominated For Oscar® :: January 21st
Congratulations to 2009 LAFF judges’ panelist Tia Lessin, whose award-winning documentary Trouble The Water has earned an Academy Award® nomination for Best Documentary Feature!
Tia and producing/directing partner Carl Deal screened the film earlier this week in Atlanta at the Dr. Martin Luther King Center’s Freedom Hall along with the subjects of the film, Kimberly and Scott Roberts, and the Free Agents Brass Band of New Orleans. This was the second honor for Tia and Carl this week, as Trouble The Water has also been nominated for an NAACP Image Award for outstanding documentary.
The 81st annual Academy Awards will be held February 22nd, 2009 at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles.
2009 Judges' Panel Announced :: January 9th
The Louisiana Film Festival – Student Division is proud to announce the judges’ panel for its 2009 competition. Judges will determine winners in four categories: Best Drama/Narrative, Best Animation/Experimental, Best Documentary, and Best Elementary/Middle, as well as selecting winners for the Jefferson Hendricks Achievement In Film Award (Best In Festival) and the Charitable Film Network Special Jury Prize. Altogether the festival offers more than $1500 in prizes to youth filmmakers K-12. The 2009 judges’ panel includes:
• Tia Lessin, award-winning documentarian and director/producer of Trouble The Water, winner of the 2008 Sundance Grand Jury Prize for best documentary. Tia’s other producing credits include Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling For Columbine and Martin Scorsese’s No Direction Home: Bob Dylan.
• Pruitt Taylor Vince, actor and co-star of dozens of films including Heavy, Identity, Natural Born Killers, Beautiful Girls, Nurse Betty, and Nobody’s Fool and television series including Deadwood, House M.D. and Murder One. Pruitt appears in the Billy Bob Thornton comedy Manure, premiering at Sundance this month, and is currently Artist in Residence in the theatre department of LSUS as an actor and director for the 2008-2009 performance season.
• Tika Laudun, senior producer for Louisiana Public Broadcasting, is responsible for the development of LPB’s documentary and educational productions. She directed and produced 2008’s award-winning program Louisiana Story: The Reverse Angle. Tika’s other producing and directing credits include the six-part Louisiana: A History, Kate Chopin: A Re-Awakening, and Frame After Frame: The Images of Herman Leonard.
• Sean Donnelly, director of 2008 Slamdance favorite I Think We’re Alone Now and animator for 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival jury prize winner Resolved. Sean has created visually inventive music videos for micro-indie artists like The Spinto Band, Angela McClusky, and Galactic as well as subversive ad spots for firms including AOL, Scion, TiVo and Microsoft.
• John Magary, writer and director of The Second Line, a short set in post-Katrina New Orleans which has played several film festivals including Sundance, Edinburgh, Tribeca and New Orleans and won awards at SXSW, AFI Dallas and Memphis. John’s feature script Blood Abundance: Or, The Half-Life of Antoinette was developed in Sundance’s screenwriting and directing labs last year.
In addition to the panelists named above, Jon Rothell will join the panel as 2009’s Guest Alumni Judge. Jon is an alumnus of Centenary College and a 2006 graduate of the University of Southern California’s film and television program. Jon has produced a number of short films and line produced the documentary Truth Has Fallen. He is presently in post-production on Silent Treatment, a 35mm black-and-white short shot here in Shreveport.
The Louisiana Film Festival -- Student Division will be held April 3-4, 2009 at the Robinson Film Center. 2009 sponsors include Centenary College of Louisiana, Charitable Film Network, The Louisiana Division of the Arts, and Shreveport Regional Arts Council. To learn more about the festival or become a sponsor, please visit www.louisianafilmfest.org or call (318) 459-4119.
Guest Filmmaker, New Venue, Dates for 2009 Louisiana Film Festival Announced :: November 12th
The Fifth Annual Louisiana Film Festival - Student Division will be held April 3rd and 4th, 2009 in its brand new home at the Robinson Film Center. Centenary College and the Robinson Film Center are co-sponsoring next year's festival with support from Charitable Film Network, Louisiana Division of the Arts and the Shreveport Regional Arts Council. This exciting and inspiring event is Louisiana's only film festival dedicated exclusively to showcasing the original work of K-12 students. This year, the festival is pleased to host guest filmmaker Celia Carey, producer and director of last year's PBS documentary Mr. Dial Has Something To Say (Golden Eagle Award winner at the 2007 CINE International Film Festival) as well as the Emmy-winning 2005 documentary The Quiltmakers of Gee's Bend. Ms. Carey, a graduate of Columbia University's prestigious journalism school, has worked for National Geographic Television and is an accomplished photojournalist and writer in addition to having won nine Emmys as a director and producer. You can see some of Ms. Carey's work at her website.
The festival is currently seeking sponsors willing to help underwrite costs associated with programming, presenting, and marketing this annual event. If you are interested in learning more about how your company or organization can benefit from a partnership with the Louisiana Film Festival, please contact Will Bryant, Media Educator at (318) 459-4119.
To request promotional materials for the 2008 fest, e-mail wbryant@robinsonfilmcenter.org or mglaros@centenary.edu.
2008 Festival DVDs Available Soon :: October 1st
2008 festival compilation DVD's will be available soon! One complimentary DVD set will be sent to each group, team, or individual who submitted a film to the 2008 festival (one complimentary DVD set per submission).
If you would like to purchase additional copies of the 2008 Louisiana Film Festival DVD, you can pre-order from Will Bryant at the Robinson Film Center: (318) 459-4119.