GIFF Celebrates Year 8!
Gasparilla International Film Festival 2014
Wednesday March 19th-Sunday 23rd
Tampa, Florida
First launched in the summer of 2006, the Gasparilla International Film Festival (GIFF) has grown into an entertaining and educational year-round entity in Tampa Bay. Well-known for its annual film festival, GIFF is operated by the 501(c)(3) non-profit Tampa Film Institute and continually upholds its mission to provide year-long support for film screening, production, and education throughout the Tampa Bay region.
This year’s kicks off, Wednesday, March 19th Opening Night film – World Premiere – Walk the Red Carpet/Q & A following film with Director, Producers and Actors. The opening night film is at the At Tampa Theatre. GIFF is proud to present: “There’s Always Woodstock” – Comedy/Music and feel good film with Katey Sagal, Brittany Snow, Jason Ritter and Rumer Willis.
The festival will have movies in all genres, a large handful of panels and two special programs including: The “New Visions Competition” presented by Indie Pix and “World Showcase” competitions. GIFF also is proud to have special celebrity guests Jason Ritter (from NBC’s PARENTHOOD) and C.S. Lee (Masuke from the recently completed TV series DEXTER). There will be more special guests, but this festival will be excellent, so take the time to come out and see the other special guests.
GIFF Panels:
Saturday, March 22, 2014 – Hillsborough Community College Ybor Campus Ybor Room
“Behind the Scenes: Realities of the Casting Process” (11:00 AM – 12:30 PM)-From Breakdown Services, Jason Teresi, sheds light on exactly how casting directors operate, while revealing the most effective techniques actors use to stand out from the crowd and get their shot at fame and fortune!
Ricky Wayne (Freeride, Real Steel) moderates.
“Power Women in the Biz” (12:45 PM – 2:15 PM)– As the industry constantly evolves, powerful and imaginative film industry women continue to drive past the old Hollywood mentality to create stronger roles for women in front of and behind the camera’s eye.
Leslie Cohen (HBO), Rita Merson (Director, “There’s Always Woodstock”), Dori Sperko (Sundance Catalyst), Lauren Wissot (Filmmaker Magazine), Stacia Crawford (Producer/Actor “River Guard”), Cindy Baer (Director, “Odd Brodsky”), and Cinda Snow (Snow Entertainment, Talent Manager).
Moderated by Jeanne Corcoran (Sarasota Film Commissioner).
“Sell your Film!” (2:15 PM – 3:45 PM)– Producers, Talent Managers and Distributors discuss the art of packaging a film for distribution success Domestically, Digitally and Internationally.
Bob Alexander (Indie Pix) Jim Klock (Sunrise Films Executive VP), Ron Moring (President, Double Dutch International), Sam Maydew (Silver Lining Entertainment), Leslie Cohen(HBO VP Film Programming)
Ron Satlof (Spider-Man Strikes Back, The A-Team) Moderates
“It’s all about the talent” (3:45 PM – 5:15 PM)– Festival talent guests discuss their craft. Martha Macissac (Superbad), Martin Starr (Knocked Up, This is the End) Andre Holland (42, 1600 Penn), Ryan O’Nan (Chu and Blossom, The Iceman), Jason Ritter (There’s Always Woodstock, Freddy vs. Jason), C.S. Lee (Dexter), Hrach Titizian (Homeland), Armand Assante (Mambo Kings), Keir Gilchrist (Seasick Sailor), Blake Berris (House of Last Things, Meth Head).
Steve Persall from the Tampa Bay Times moderates.
Some Festival Highlight’s Include:
Thursday, March 20th – films start at 2 PM at CineBistro, Hyde Park (All films will have the Director and/or actors in attendance)
-International Film – From France, “Tu Seras Un Homme” – Florida Premiere
-Documentary – “Antarctica: A Year on Ice” – Tampa Premiere
-Horror Film – “The Black Tape” – World Premiere
-Teddy Bears at 3:55 – Emmy Nominated Actor Jason Ritter will present the film(son of John Ritter)
Friday, March 21st films start at 2:30 at Centro Ybor Theatres and 4:30 at Tampa Museum of Art (Stay for Q & A’s with filmmakers)
Tampa Museum of Art screenings:
4:30 PM – Short films related to Food
6:30 PM – “Bella Vita” – Beautiful film that follows surfers in Italy
Centro Ybor Theatres
-Cuban film with Filmmaker in Attendance – “Melaza” 6:15 PM
-Boys of Abu Ghraib(Military, Drama) – World Premiere at 8:15 PM
-Enemy (Mystery) – Florida Premiere at 10:30 PM stars Jake Gylanhaal
Saturday, March 22nd films start at 11:00 AM at Centro Ybor Theatres (Stay for Q & A’s with filmmakers)
-High School Film Showcase at 11:00 AM – 12 short films from high school students from Tampa, Georgia as well as Italy
-International Films – “The Bloc” from Poland at 1:45 PM, “Puzzle” from Romania at 10:50 PM
-Documentaries – “The Tinaja Trail” World Premiere at 3:10 PM, “Machine Gun Preacher” at 4:45 PM with the Preacher in attendance
“Misled” (Drama) – 6:35 PM – World Premiere, filmmakers and actors from Detroit. This film is part of the New Visions Competition Presented by Indie Pix.
Synopsis: Two brothers from the gritty streets of Detroit battle to improve their lives. Struggling to pay his college tuition and support his mother, Jason turns to stripping and prostitution, posing a huge threat to his new relationship. Bobby’s own drug habit spirals him down into a dark place, exasperated by the re-emerging memory of the horrible childhood secret he shares with Jason.
Interview with: Scott Baldyga (Co-writer/Producer/Director)of MISLED
Paul Booth: Why did you guys have to tell MISLED?
Scott Baldyga: “Misled” is about the choices we have to make when it comes to family and sacrifice. How far would you go for family? The fact that it’s based on a true story makes it even more powerful and immediate. It’s something we can all relate to. Misled is about a guy trying to pull himself out of a tough environment, constantly struggling with ghosts from his past and the sacrifices he makes for his family. I can’t tell you how many people in Detroit told me that the story resonated with them personally.
PB: What was the toughest challenge as a producer and director?
SB: As producer, Jon and I consciously pulled out all the stops and wrote a very ambitious script for our budget, with a very aggressive schedule. Our whole team stepped up and made the film their own. Many of our Detroit cast and crew could relate to the story. There were lots of tears on set, and not only from the actors when the cameras were rolling. It was like every actor, every crew member saw something of themselves or their loved ones in the story. The production became all of ours.
It’s a true story that takes place in some rough neighborhoods in southwest Detroit and that’s exactly where we shot. It was a little risky at times but the support we received was overwhelming. Not only from our amazing cast and crew who all made the production their own, but also from people we met randomly, people who lived in these neighborhoods. Many of them told me how strongly the related to the story.
As writer/director; on this kind of budget, you’re always faced with obstacles. We would lose locations or actors hours before shooting. Several times I found myself, with weeks of no sleep, sitting on a curb in Southwest Detroit during lunch, gunshots ringing out down the street, axing pages from the script on my iPad in order to make our schedule. And we still cut 30 minutes from our first assembly!
PB: How long did it take to shoot?
SB: We shot in nineteen-days plus a few second unit days. Me, Jon, our DP Derek Dale, and our assistant Tom were even shooting on Thanksgiving Day. There wasn’t much sleep going on. Derek called it Navy Seal training. It was a real labor of love.
*****
Sunday, March 23rd films start at 11:00 AM at Centro Ybor Theatres, Awards at 5 PM and closing party at the Ritz, Ybor
Words from Jonathan Stanley Co-Writer/lead Actor in MISLED:
In late 2011, I was at a very low point in my life, due to various personal developments. Finally, I buried myself in self-help videos and spiritual literature, which very much helped me in many different ways. This really freed me up, too, motivating me to write a script based on my life, as well as those of folks close to me in Detroit. After hooking up with Scott Baldyga, who is in L.A., for the re-writing, I soon realized Scott would be a great person to direct it, as he really ‘got’ the material, and all of its essence. Soon after, a good friend, John Blackwell, loved the story, so we started a production company where he lined up the financing
Family Short Films – 11:45 AM
Cuban Short Films – 4:15 PM
Closing Night Film – “Chu and Blossom” – 6:30 PM Made in Tampa, St. Pete, Safety Harbor, Plant City, Lakeland. Stars Annie Potts, Alan Cumming, Mercedes Ruehl and others.
Synopsis: A coming of age comedy centers on an unlikely brotherhood between a pensive, awkwardly tall Korean foreign exchange student and a militant performance artist, both trapped together in a small town.
Review: Chu and Blossom is a refreshing, comical take that examines social attitudes on race relations, art and how or when we should be ourself. The film was perfectly timed with no dragging dialogue scenes or unnecessary side stories to create drama. Chu and Blossom was beautifully simple and was touching without being sappy. The film had a few season professionals, that were nice to see in smaller roles (so I don’t want to spoil the faces you will recognize). My favorite part of the movie is, it never lost me.
It has becomes normal these days to see a movie and tell yourself “o.k., I can be lost for 15 minutes and get involved after I finish my popcorn.” This is disheartening as an audience member whose jobs is to tell you what I think. Movies are what we bring to them, so they will never be just the movie by itself.
Chu and Blossom was a superb film because it allowed the audience in, without forcing an opinion out of you. In reality, the only feelings you can have are your own and that was the premise of the movie (be your own muse). The director’s message and subtext worked like a charm.
Paul’s Score: 9.5/10.
Interview with Co-Writer Charles Chu (written with Ryan O’Nan)
Paul Booth: What was your inspiration or made you guys decided to do Chu and Blossom? Any specific challenges with the story of culture?
Charles Chu: I co-wrote the screenplay with Ryan O’Nan who also happens to be a producer on the film slash Butch Blossom slash my creative soulmate slash my heterosexual life partner slash BFF. He’s a Jack of all trades to say the least. We both grew up as kids that moved around a lot and had trouble fitting in. I grew up in a Korean family but in neighborhoods that were predominately other races. So I had identity issues. I remember when my parents sent me to Korea for a summer program when I was a kid, I was always viewed as the American kid. I was never fully accepted even though my ethnicity was Korean. And they could smell it right away that I was not from there. And when I was in America, even though I was born in the US and raised as an American, I was always viewed as the Asian kid. I never fully felt accepted until I discovered myself as an individual and was comfortable in my own skin. I think a lot of races raised in America can identify with this issue. So the fish out of water story was always appealing to me. I also had relatives and friends that were F.O.B.’s (what asians like to call foreigners that move to America, an acronym for Fresh Off the Boat) and I saw the issues that they had to confront. As adolescents, many of the ones I knew were shy from uncertainty and never revealed how creative, beautiful and unique their souls were. We wanted to tell a story about someone who found the courage to do so.
On a side note, Charles really wanted his character to be believable to Korean’s who are the toughest critics. We hired a Korean voice-coach for him even though he knows the language. Charles and the production wanted his character to be accepted by the toughest of critics.
PB: How long did it take to make? Where else has it screened? What are your hopes with it?
CC: The journey of Chu and Blossom started a few years back when it won the Grand Prize for Best Feature at the Expo 5 Screenwriting Conference which holds the largest screenwriting convention in the World. The team worked on numerous projects together and a part after beginning the script and starting pre-production at the end of July in 2012. Filming started in August and lasted 18 days in Tampa and surrounding areas with a couple pick-up days back in LA. Soon after post-production started and we finally finished late in the year of 2013. We had our World Premiere in the Narrative Competition at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in January 2014. We are having our Florida Premiere as the Closing Night film at Gasparilla International Film Festival which is a sort of homecoming for the production as many from the area helped with the film and the production happened because of Ryan O’Nan going to GIFF with his film Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best back in 2012. We will be screening the film at other prestigious festivals like Sarasota Film Festival, Florida Film Festival and several other US festivals as well as having our international premiere this year as well. We can’t announce it yet though! But, we are extremely excited to show the film to several audiences around the World as we feel it relates with the masses. We have a Sales Agent(Preferred Content) handling our distribution and really look forward to getting the film out!
PB: Were there many different versions of the script or in the editing room? Please give us some words on the challenge of timing some of the humor.
CC: Yes there were. The very first version of the script had our names as the characters and was 138 pages long. Over many many versions, I want to say around 20 versions, we cut it down 102 pages. I think its important when to know when it needs to exist in a finished state. We could have written another 20 versions. But there is a point where it’s no longer efficient to keep writing alternate versions, and the version that you do have is in its best state. Its sort of like knowing when to leave the blackjack table.
In the editing room, we had maybe half as many versions. You’re on a budget and time restriction when working with an editor, so we couldn’t afford to have too many. Some directors love as many choices as possible and love to look at things constantly. I don’t know how they do that. It’s difficult to keep objectivity when you’re staring at the same thing over and over for so much time. We made the real tough plot decisions early, so that we’d have more time with nuancing and crafting scenes.
The challenge in humor is the sweet spot of comedy exists in milliseconds. If you wait a millisecond too long or cut in a millisecond too early, your joke is either completely twisted into a different meaning, or worse…just unfunny. Also so much of comedy is based on taste and general instincts, so getting someone else’s opinion can sometimes do more harm than good. In most cases in editing comedy, I think its your first instinct that is the right one. If it felt right the first time, don’t adjust it after watching it 64 times…it might be your mind playing tricks on you. Or the lack of sleep and overflow of coffee/caffeine in your system. I thought one of the most interesting things I learned while making a feature, is that one second could affect an entire film. One second of a frame missing or too long, could change the meaning of a scene. Which can take on a ripple effect and shift the meaning of the next scene…and so on. It’s very daunting, but there’s also power in that knowledge.
PB: Is this a first time director? If not, what else have they done?
CC: Gavin Kelly and Charles Chu are both first time directors. Gavin has DP’d many great films that have premiered at some of the biggest festivals in the world. The Dry Land(Sundance 2010), LUV(Sundance 2012), Brooklyn Brother’s Beat the Best(Toronto 2011).
For more information visit http://gasparillafilmfestival.com online.
Festival coverage by Entertainment Writer Paul Booth
