Photo Galleries

Jayson Simba ‘s Festival of Cinema NYC kept the red carpet fun going with the first of two mid-week photo calls

By John Wildman 4 years ago

Therefore, the first FOC NYC photo call featured Daniel Merino Villavicencio’s SWEET PEA & GLASS (Important note: Villavicencio has attended every FOC NYC fest, from fan to volunteer to filmmaker. That’s a very cool progression to any of us that love the film festival circuit and believe in it, as I most definitely do.), and Nathan Buck, the director and writer of UNDER SPANISH SKIES was also there, having made the trip from Berlin to attend the film festival. You make that kind of trip to attend a film festival then you best be getting more out of it than your garden variety Q&A.

Festival of Cinema NYC 2022 kicks off fest with a stylish red carpet: Sassy Mohen, Bec Fordyce, Luis Cortes, and more!

By John Wildman 4 years ago

Festival of Cinema NYC came back big in 2022 with its 10-day in-person film festival located in Forest Hills. Drawing filmmakers from around the world (UK, Iceland, Germany, Japan) and hosting them the way a film festival should with multiple mixer events, several screenings with Q&As, and multiple red carpets and photo calls spread out over the week and a half, FOC NYC is not so quietly giving film fans in Queens a reason to not have to travel to Manhattan to see a top-flight film festival. The procession of filmmakers on the first Red Carpet on Saturday, August 6, underlined that fact.

“Waco is Made for Movies” : Deep in the Heart Film Festival 2022 proves Waco is Made for Red Carpets

By John Wildman 4 years ago

Waco’s Deep in the Heart Film Festival kicked off it’s 6th edition with a blowout pre-screening reception at Anthem Stories with filmmakers representing more than 40 of the films screening that weekend in attendance. Deep in the Heart doubled down on its commitment to the art and importance of short films by dedicating its Opening Night slot to a curated collection of shorts, and immediately offered up evidence as to why MovieMaker Magazine included it in his year’s list of Best Film Festivals for First-time Filmmakers. This year’s theme was “Waco is Made for Movies” and the Opening Night Red Carpet entrances which included two network affiliates on the press line certainly put the spotlight on that idea.

Asian Film Festival of Dallas (AFFD) rolled out the red carpet for the first time during big return to theaters in July

By John Wildman 4 years ago

The Asian Film Festival of Dallas (AFFD) marked it’s big in-person/in-theater comeback after two years of only doing one-off events, with the film festival’s very first red carpet presentation. With filmmakers representing films that have been major film festival players and award-winners this year (CAT DADDIES, DEALING WITH DAD, 7 DAYS) in attendance, representatives from key and influential DFW organizations (Dallas Asian Historical Society, Orchid Giving Circle), top DFW female filmmakers celebrating the fest’s day-long Sunday focus on female filmmakers, and special guests like Dr. Tiffany Moon (Real Housewives of Dallas) and Ricco Fajardo (MY HERO ACADEMIA) making appearances, AFFD delivered the kind of film festival event the city very rarely sees these days.

San Luis Obispo International Film Festival 2022 celebrates its Central Coast filmmakers on the red carpet

By John Wildman 4 years ago

The San Luis Obispo International Film Festival celebrated Central Coast filmmakers before an exclusive screening of Jessica Hester and Derek Schweikart’s COAST. Local music legends PANCHO & THE WIZARDS, DOG PARTY & BLACK MATCH, performed live as part of the big event. Prior to that, the COAST team dominated the red carpet with the filmmakers, cast members, band members and more, joining other filmmakers in the Fremont Theater lobby.

Soren Sorensen’s OMAR SOSA’S 88 WELL-TUNED DRUMS has an energetic world premiere at the USA Film Festival

By John Wildman 4 years ago

The film enjoyed an enthusiastic debut, with the director, subject, and Sosa’s longtime manager (who also appears in the film) Scott Price, all on hand to do press, and talk about the filming process and Sosa’s career following the screening. Sosa’s fans, some of which were newly converted after seeing Sorensen’s film, then crowded the area outside the theater to meet Sosa and get his latest CD and the film’s poster signed by the man himself.

Oxford Film Festival 2022’s Closing Night Red Carpet featuring A LOVE SONG and some filmmaker moms

By John Wildman 4 years ago

The Oxford Film Festival’s second red carpet featured Max Walker-Silverman’s festival hit A LOVE SONG, with the director and festival honoree (Rising Star Award honoree) joined by two members of the film’s cast – star Dale Dickey, who was also being honored by the film festival with the Breakthrough Award, and Marty Grace Dennis. There was also a reunion of the Sound Unseen film festival and the filmmakers from BEING BEBE, who had a huge screening there last Fall, and some filmmaker moms and family members on hand to see their filmmaker kids enjoy a socially distanced red carpet rock star moment.

Jamie Meltzer’s documentary NOT EVEN FOR A MOMENT DO THINGS STAND STILL filmmaking team enjoys award-winning SXSW experience

By John Wildman 4 years ago

The talk focused more on the art installation itself, but also was a reaffirmation of how Firstenberg’s work fused with Meltzer’s work as a filmmaker to create a piece that didn’t simply document what was literally on the ground, but fulfilled the ambition most documentarians have – of providing a keener insight into the impact of the art (in this case), and to capture moments, sights, sounds, and emotions that one could easily miss in the moment as they are overwhelmed by the scope and enormity of what was created there on the grounds of the National Mall.

Hugo Sobelman’s SOUL KIDS, Mye Hoang’s CAT DADDIES: Oxford Film Festival 2022’s Opening Night red carpet!

By John Wildman 4 years ago

The Oxford Film Festival returned with a new Interim Executive Director and Director of Programming to bring the world of film, as only it can, to Mississippi. Celebrating the Opening Night screening of Hugo Sobelman’s SOUL KIDS, and Mye Hoang’s festival favorite CAT DADDIES, the socially distanced red carpet included filmmakers, jury members, and representatives from the Oxford Film Festival programming team.

TOMORROW’S HOPE, Executive produced by the Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation, turns some heads at SXSW EDU 2022

By John Wildman 4 years ago

Tomorrow’s Hope producers Tamra Raven and Aaron Steinberg were joined for their screening at SXSW EDU by one of the film’s outspoken subjects Portia Kennel to talk about the film, what it took to make it, and the ongoing issues and hurdles that teachers face as we attempt to not simply educate children, but also take care of the people charged with that responsibility of teaching them.