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GUERRILLA FILM FEST5 Carnegie Institution Washington, DC Saturday January 29, 2005
WINNERS:
Best Picture: BEAT THE DRUM Best Actor/Actress: Teresa Harder, MY PARENTS (MEINE ELTERN) Best Director: David Hickson, BEAT THE DRUM Best Screenplay: Maggie Peren, MY PARENTS (MEINE ELTERN) Best Cinematography: Lance Gewer, BEAT THE DRUM Best Film Editing: Mark Winitsky, BEAT THE DRUM Best Music Production: Dessie Markowsky, BEAT THE DRUM Best Sound: THE CLIMACTIC DEATH OF DARK NINJA Best Visual Effects: APPLE JACK
FEATURE PROGRAM 9PM
BEAT THE DRUM Director: David Hickson South Africa / 2003 / 114 min When his mother and father become victims of 'the curse' which is destroying his remote African village, nine-year-old Musa, a Zulu boy, is determined to find his long-lost uncle and earn enough money to help his grandmother to buy a new cow. The boy embarks into a journey to the heart of AIDS-torn Africa. His only possessions are his wit, determination, and a small drum, a gift from his dying father.
-- Best of Festival, Palm Springs International Film Festival -- Best Feature, Urbanworld Film Festival, New York City -- Best Feature, Best Director, Best Newcomer - Junior Singo, and Best Supporting Actor - Owen Sejake, Monaco International Film Festival -- Golden Zenith for Best African Film, Montreal World Film Festival -- Cinestar Award (Best Feature), Schlingel Film Festival, Germany -- Feature and the Audience Award at FICI in Madrid, Spain "Spectacular. Handsome, well-crafted family drama...naturalistic performance...affecting human drama...first-rate." -- Dennis Harvey, Variety
SHORTS PROGRAM 7PM
TAKE IT BACK Director: Viko Nikçi Ireland / 2004 / 10 min ‘Take It Back’ is the story of an ordinary man whose entire world changes in the blink of an eye.
-- Audience Award, Brooklyn International Film Festival 2004
THE CLIMACTIC DEATH OF DARK NINJA Director: Peter Craig USA / 2004 / 12 min A frazzled auteur struggles to keep his lead actor, avoid heat stroke, and weather creative differences all while attempting to shoot his movie's climactic final scene.
-- Grand Jury Prize - Best Short, Indianapolis International Film Festival 2004 -- Best Narrative, Big Muddy Film Festival 2004
DER TEMPLER (THE CRUSADER) Directors: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, Sebastian Henckel von Donnersmarck Germany / 2002 / 15 min A crusader returns to the homeland, wounded and shaken in his faith. When he meets a mysterious woman, he realizes again what is worth fighting for.
-- Official Selection, Cannes Film Festival 2003
APPLE JACK Director: Mark Whiting USA / 2003 / 16 min On the eve of Halloween, 1938, CBS radio reported UFO's in the skies over the United States. That same night, two notorious criminals escaped the maximum security prison at Macatawa...They were never seen again.
-- Best Film, Los Angeles International Short Film Festival 2003 -- Best Short, Deep Ellum Film Festival 2004
NATURAL SELECTION Director: Scott Leberecht USA / 2003 / 17 min In the future city of Los Angeles 2097, outlaw genetic engineering has transformed the streets into a battleground between those who protect nature & those who exploit it.
-- Best Short Film, The Dragon*Con Independent Film Festival 2004
MEINE ELTERN (MY PARENTS) Director: Neele Leana Vollmar Germany / 2003 / 18 min Marie has a problem. She has met the man of her dreams. But he desperately wants to get to know her parents, which wouldn't be so bad had Marie not told him her parents were still madly in love.
-- Best Student Film, Aspen Film Festival 2004