Naples International Film Festival

Chris Hansen’s SEVEN SHORT FILMS ABOUT (OUR) MARRIAGE : Naples International Film Festival; unique approach to showing the life of a marriage

By John Wildman 5 years ago

In the interview, I talk to Hansen about why he chose to structure the film the way he did to properly portray the “raw, real life junk” that marriages are chock full of. He also discusses how much the actors’ had to shoulder when it comes to delivering a nuanced look at a relationship and how shooting out of order and shooting primarily at night could have complicated that effort – yet didn’t.

Olympia Stone’s ACTUALLY, ICONIC: RICHARD ESTES: Naples International Film Festival; called the “father of photorealism”

By John Wildman 5 years ago

In the interview, I talk to Stone about Estes’ exceptionally rare ability to capture not just architecture to a remarkable exactness but to subtly give an artistic life to the images he paints. She discusses the unique pressure and challenges to introducing the public to this artist who was not “asking” for attention in that way, including getting him to discuss, if not open up freely about his life as a gay man, as well as his approach to his art.

Jonathan Wysocki ‘s DRAMARAMA: Naples International Film Festival INTERVIEWS; farewell murder mystery slumber party

By John Wildman 5 years ago

In the interview, Wysocki and I talk about being the architect of a film that can be made without depending on extensive financing or support from others, and what the tipping point is to finally kick that into gear. He also gets into the realization of how much a filmmaker will be “living with their film” and how much that determines the film you choose to make.

Lanie Zipoy’s THE SUBJECT: Naples International Film Festival INTERVIEWS; legitimate hit on the regional film festival circuit

By John Wildman 5 years ago

In the interview (which follows a few interviews I have done with Lanie for various outlets as the film has screened at the Bentonville Film Festival, the Harlem International Film Festival, and now NIFF, among others), we talk about how the script for the film found its way to Zipoy, and why the story stuck with her and infiltrated her dreams to the point she needed to make the film. We discuss the director/writer working relationship on an indie film – at least on this one, as well as Jason Biggs’ involvement in the film and participation beyond just playing a role to being a more supportive asset than just being a top lining star.

Alice Gu’s THE DONUT KING: Naples International Film Festival INTERVIEWS; Cambodian force of nature with a donut is the stuff of American legend

By John Wildman 5 years ago

In the interview, Gu and I talk about her experience doing the COVID virtual film festival tour and the bittersweet nature of it all. We also discuss the protective nature of film festival programmers toward their filmmakers, my usual rant about filmmakers not delivering good production stills to promote their films, how much the virtual application has affected the connection to other filmmakers and ability to maybe work with them in the future. We finish with a “Thumbs up/Thumbs down” assessment of different donuts.

Hannah Black and Megan Petersen’s DROUGHT: Interviewed at Naples International Film Festival; a road trip that becomes stormy

Hannah Black and Megan Petersen’s DROUGHT: Interviewed at Naples International Film Festival; a road trip that becomes stormy

By John Wildman 5 years ago

In the interview, I talk to Black and Petersen about the development process and filming process and how they divided up those responsibilities (since they co-directed, co-wrote, co-produced, co-starred, and co-damn near did everything on the film), and how they would work through “crises” like having their grip truck stuck in the sand. They talk about sensing when they were on or off performance-wise, and the support they had beyond that – on a micro-budgeted production.

Ondi Timoner’s Coming Clean at NAPLES INTERNATIONAL: Film Festival REVIEW: effectively shines a light on the opioid crisis

By Luke Y. Thompson 5 years ago

The focus of Coming Clean is opiates, which, as several talking heads point out, leave a trail of bodies that would be deemed a life-changing national emergency if caused by terrorism, plane crashes, or anything more visual and camera-friendly. Hence, perhaps, all the visual flair Timoner uses to get us watching and listening. And yet, while this seems to be a new problem, it’s not. Oxycontin and Fentanyl constitute a third wave, following those that originated with opium and morphine.

David Gutnik’s MATERNA leads Naples International Film Fest 2020; announces awards BASTARDS’ ROAD, and COMING CLEAN

By John Wildman 5 years ago

The 2020 Naples International Film Festival announced the filmmaker award winners following the conclusion of this year’s virtual/outdoor screening hybrid fest. The jury prize for Best Narrative Feature (and a cash prize of $1,250) went to David Gutnik’s MATERNA, and the jury prize for Best Documentary Feature (and $1,250) was given to Brian Morrison’s BASTARDS’ ROAD. Audience Awards went to Lanie Zipoy’s THE SUBJECT (Best Narrative Film) and Lynn Montgomery’s AMAZING GRACE (Best Documentary Film), which each won a cash prize of $1000.