Interview with Kim Ryan Producer 'Desire'

Kim Ryan Producer
'Desire' premiered in the Music video block at 2011 Hollyshorts Film Festival

Interview by Jasmina Nevada

-Would you like to tell me more about your video ?

Its sort of a long form music video/short film/ musical
It was created to go along with the 1st 4 songs on the album of the artist J Natural. Her new album is called love is on hiatus and so we made this short to go along with her album. It is a story sort of a love triangle kind of timeless very dramatic piece

-From the outset did you particularly want to make it a music video rather than a short film?

Yeah, actually she came up with the concept. Her album was finished, she was overseas, in her hotel room one night and came up with the story and when she got back she asked me to help her produce it. So it definitely was created to go along with those 4 songs

-The concept that is now the finished product did it meet your expectations?

Yes it did definitely. it was sort of a first for all of us as far as Eric Heights Director he had done a lot of music videos but this was the first time he had ever done anything that long it was actually 28 minutes long and Janelle and I did all the pre production and that was really a first for both of us too so we definitely learned a lot along the way and we were all really happy with the way it turned out

-What was the message you were trying to put across to your audience?

Kinda about doing something different and involving the music. Actually apart from the 4 songs off her album we had someone compose the music for the rest of it so it was really heavily about music and sort of tying that in with film.

-In view of the fact it wasn't the traditional short film or music video per se .. how long did it take you to finish it?

We did about a month of pre-production we shot it all in 4 days and then it was about 6 months of post production it was definitely our most challenging.

-So have you enjoyed the Hollyshorts film festival?
Of course this is probably the 3rd or 4th year that I have been back actually. This year is the first that I had something entered in the festival. The festival gets bigger and better every year and I have seen some really great films...

Links
http://jnatural-desire.tumblr.com/

Thanks for your time

Interview about Short Film 'Byron'

“Byron” by Yolande Geralds
Shaqwan Lewis, better known as a Hip Hop MC and your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper “Skillz” Actor and writer
Cisco Reyes Actor
Willis Chung Producer
Dominic Comperatore Actor 'role of Byron'


Interview by Jasmina Nevada

-Would you like to tell me a little bit about the role of 'Byron'? (at Dominic Comperatore )

He is the only 'white' guy in the film and I have been playing white guys all my life.....

-I guess it is a bit of a 'Steve Martin' thing going on here?

Yeah, I was uniquely qualified for the job. So they called in all the white guys and I think that I was the whitest! I was pale and I stayed out of the sun for a couple of weeks whilst I was shooting ..I am a dedicated sort...

-Please outline briefly the movie?

(Shaqwan Lewis,). It's about circumstances and karma. Cisco Reyes plays a character named Dee who is not thinking about his actions or anything thereof and some things come up that he has to deal with and that is the basis of the movie.

-I am curious to know where did this concept arise from? Where did you get this idea to make this movie?

It actually came from a song the original version was a song I used to play it for my friends. I would play it and stop at about one minute and a half into the song and everytime without fail they would want to hear the end of the song. From that point on I started thinking that it might be something special and we developed it into a short film.

-How long did it take you from the initial concept to the finished product?

About 5 years, when I wrote the song there was no such thing as get your own camera and film your own movie. Technology hadn't caught up to us yet. There were no red cameras or DSLR

-Were you waiting for this development in technology to nail down your idea?

No, I thought I could buy a camera and shoot this myself even though I didn't, it worked out that way

-Which format did you shoot in?

DSLR'S 5D 7D's

-Do you think that the final product met your expectations?

Exceeded it..

-What message were you trying to bring to your audience?

That you can't control everything and be careful how you treat people as you never know those feet you step in might be attached to the 'ass' you have to kiss later on in life

-Most definitely and I think that is a lesson to everyone...

-How long is your short?

15 minutes around 14.46 minutes..

-How have you enjoyed the festival?

I have been here a few days and have seen some amazing films so we are definitely up against some good films but I think we have a good chance.....

Thank you

Links

http://www.yolandegeralds.com/2010/12/%E2%80%9Cbyron%E2%80%9D-a-short-film-by-yolande-geralds/

http://allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2011/02/03/22575375.aspx

Interview with Bryan Loudon & Jason Barber 'Rape Kit'

Bryan Loudon -Writer,director & producer
Jason Barber Musical score composer
'Rape Kit' premiered at the 2011 Hollyshorts Film Festival

Interview by Jasmina Nevada

-I am extremely curious to find out from you both – why such a stark title 'The Rape Kit'?

It puts people on a back foot a little bit, it's a dark comedy actually. It puts people on one track and then they have to come to the comedy from an alternate direction.

-Would you like to outline your short film?

It's about a guy who has this horrible idea that he is going to rape his ex-wife for revenge. He buys this mask but he can't fit his glasses over the mask and so he ends up getting the wrong girl, because he has bad vision. He gets locked in this room in the basement with this girl who he just raped... and then he finds out that it is not the girl he thought it was. The movie is basically about this conversation between these 2 people in this confined space. They are both locked in this space for the whole night. To take a situation like that's so horrible and to find a way to bring humor to it was what really interested me in writing it. It's twisted but it does get funny

-So what you are saying is that you took an extremely devastating situation and tried to cast a positive light on to it?

No, it's not a positive light at all.... it just keeps getting worse. You can find humor in how badly it goes for these characters. It's definitely darkly comedic.

-Where did you get the idea to write such a story?

I like the idea of 2 people being confined and one of them has just done the worst thing he has ever done in his life. He is forced to sit across from the person whom he has just harmed. That in itself is such a charged moment and what sort of conversation would come about with that. That's what intrigued me. The way the girl takes it is unusual, she is a strange girl.

-This strange and unusual situation did it provide challenges during shooting? Did you change a lot of the original script to what actually happened whilst you were shooting it?

I tried not to, only a little bit. We lost some elements by making it shorter to keep it tighter. There were some changes and I tried not to do any improvisation. I personally, don't like that. In a script that's so specific as this one is if you get offline it could just go bad. It was written very precisely and its such a delicate situation that if you go off in different directions it could go really bad …..

-So in summary you keep everything precise and to the point?

Yes, that was the intent

-How long is the short?

Thirteen and a half minutes

Did you cut it down a lot to get to this time?

Originally it was 20 minutes, but at first pass I was not heading for length, I was just trying to get everyone’s best stuff together.

-In view of the delicate topic of the short film, how did you arrive at an appropriate theme score that would suit the elements of this particular short film? and obviously still maintain the message that you wished to convey via the musical score? (at Jason Barber- musical score composer)

Yeah, the subject matter, or should I say, the films title conjured up a lot of emotional responses at first. The great thing about working with Bryan is that he's so open to ideas, and was completely trusting from the minute we sat down about the music. We both wanted the music to play an almost transparent role, which is something I strive for anyway. We worked closely together in my studio along with Brad, and I wound up composing about 3 or 4 cues that developed out of a set of sounds, I designed using some 'ErHu' or 'Chinese Fiddle' recordings I'd made several years ago. Ultimately I arrived at at balance between musical tone and color that blended almost invisibly into the films sound bed. The only real exception to this is where Tommy's character attempts to explain his motivation for committing his crime. We really wanted to bring out the sappy, almost pathetic attempt of the character explaining something so horrible. So we went with a very short, soft piano and violin motif. It's a very funny touch. Bryan was wise to play this up. The audience reaction has been overwhelmingly spot on with Bryan's intention. It's the point in the film where the audience really seems to "get" how satirical the story really is. After the cues were finished we worked hard to arrive at a balance between music, sound design and dialogue that would allow the characters room to stand out. I think we did a very nice job.


-What's next in the pipeline for you both?

I have a feature script that I wrote called 'The Charm' that Jason Barber is going to produce and we are out taking meetings on it on this trip and taking the opportunity to talk to people about it. We are starting to gather different ideas we have for talent to start the casting.

Thank you for your time

Links
Bryan Loudon

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4182074/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1777602/combined


Jason Barber

http://www.jasonbarbermusic.com/

http://www.jasonbarbermusic.com/main/2011/4/21/bryan-loudons-latestjasons-score-slated-for-newport-beach-fi.html

Interview with Monique Ganderton 'Seven Layer Dip'

Seven Layer Dip Premiered at this year's 2011 Hollyshorts Film Festival
Monique Ganderton Co-director, producer & writer
Sam Hargrave, Co director

Interview by Jasmina Nevada

-Would you like to tell me your participation in this short film?

My boyfriend and I are the only 2 people in this movie. It's a little action comedy and it may be based on true events...

-And the true events being?..

I made seven layer dip one day and he scooped off the entire top layer of cheese and I got a little upset. I said 'why wouldn't you eat the rest of it? Your dip etiquette is horrible! I made 7 layers and you only ate 1, it doesn't make any sense?'... He said 'why does it matter how we eat it?' and then we started laughing about it. It was this man versus woman moment in time and I thought it would be funny to re-create that in a 3 and half minute video,including a massive fight.

-What were you expecting from your audiences with this?

I don't know what I was expecting. I was hoping people would laugh and just enjoy themselves. It's short, when we made it we never intended it to go to film festivals. We put it online and got such a huge response from it. So we went back and re-edited a lot of stuff for sound. It has been in a bunch of festivals and this has been the only one that I have actually been able to go to, so it has been really exciting....

-So this true event that has been re-created for screen how long did it take to get it festival ready?

A day of shooting and then a day of editing for the first pass at it and then we spent about 2 days re-shooting a couple of things and doing some ADR to make it festival ready.

-What format did you shoot in?

Little Sony HD Handy Cams. It was just the 2 of us and so we shot each others coverage. We just got really creative. We bought ropes and pulleys and strung a line up in between 2 trees. We had our camera on a zip line, we had a string attached to it puling it up and really tried to find inventive angles and tricks to make it just the 2 of us completely. It was challenging but fun...

-Inside information tells me that you are also a stunt woman! Would you like to tell us a little bit about that? And how did you get into that?

I have no idea... I was modelling in Toronto and doing a runway show on a TV show called Femme Nikita at the time and I saw this girl she rolled down some stairs, shot a gun and kicked some guy in the face and I thought that makes so much more sense... like a lot of fun so I started taking acting classes and taking martial arts I am really tall so I think that maybe they needed someone like me..

-Are you pretty athletic, gymnastics as well?

I did when I was shorter..when I was little and when my legs started dragging over the parallel bars I had to stop. I did diving and have been riding horses my whole life, also track and field.

San Hargrave my boyfriend and partner who made this short with me is also a very well known stunt man and we were actually working on a movie at the time doubling 'Nicole Kidman'. He was the Assistant stunt coordinator and that's when we made seven layer dip. It was on our day off, in Shrevport, Lousiana

-So what is next for you?

We have a couple of scripts that we are working on. We have another project that we would love to do, another little short film just the 2 of us. We are gong to step it up a little bit 4 characters and 2 people. It will be difficult but really cool and then looking forward to a couple of movies that I worked on last year. Also just writing and thinking about new projects.

-Its sounds very creative! And I wish you the best with everything and hope you enjoyed the festival..

It has been a blast!

Links

Monique Ganderton

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1244650/

Sam Hargrave
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1092087/
Thank you for your time

An Interview with Alex Feldman with 3 short film entries 2011

The following films premiered at the 2011 Hollyshorts Film Festival -
“Fit to be Tied” by Alex Feldman.
“Trixie” by Dave Kebo. Alex Feldman Lead Actor
"The Ally” by Slobodan Gajic-USA put together by Alex Feldman's Company


Interview by Jasmina Nevada

We are very happy to return to the Hollyshorts Film Festival, we have been here for the past three years. We originally came here with a series called 'Floored and Lifted'

Website link http://flooredandlifted.com/

Hollyshorts has supported us very much and we are excited to return for the 3rd year running.

-I note that you have 3 films entered into the film festival,could you give me a quick breakdown of each one?

“Fit to be Tied”
Website link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt197265

I directed this film – It is an offbeat modern day fairytale that centers around a girl who ties people's shoelaces for a living. Its a 'coming of age story' about a young female entrepreneur who is trying to get a business going, the obstacles she faces along the way and the support that she gains from her piers in her town. We really tried to maintain a traditional storytelling point of view of fairy-tales in there...

-Where did the concept for “Fit to be Tied” come from and how long is the short?

It's 14mins long. The writer is a genius named Tim Tori with whom we have worked together on 7 or 8 different projects. The first time we worked together was a project that he wrote and I acted in 'One Believes'. Since then we have gone on to really relate to the language that he writes, the tone that he says, the themes that are important to him. We have really have discovered that I have a good ability to take his tone and translate it to a visual medium and I think that we are a strong team together. We can have him come up with very creative dialogue that I can then translate to images. We have had success with it in the past with the web series, this seemed like a logical next step to take. We also got some budget from Jordana Berliner, who funded the whole situation and she was also the lead actress in the film.

-So you were able to give something back to her in return?

Absolutely. Yes It was really a labor of love with the whole crew.

-Could you tell me about your 2nd entry into the Festival?

"Trixie" – also known as Trixies Last Case which was a 2 story of 2 detectives that are trying to solve a crime,

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1965255/

-This being a total opposite to the first film?

Yes, it focuses on the answer to the current 1 hour dramas the CSI's etc.. in Los Angeles. I as an actor I have been in every CSI type drama and I really wanted to be present something that builds upon that... but also creates a new avenue and an ability for a new audience to relate. So we created this scene and it was shot over one day only in my friend Keenan Henson's apartment. We made it look like a wonderful interrogation room. David Kebo who is a very creative and very capable Director,he put all that together. We shot the scene and its all about these detectives that are trying to crack a case with the help of a canine helper named Trixie. Honestly we shot this in true independent film making style over several hours and got it all done and that is a testament to what independent film makers can do in a short period of time.

-Yes, one could say that, that is the beauty of the short film to be able to put it together in a short period of time as opposed to a feature movie?

Right

-With regards to your 3rd short film entry into the Festival?

3rd film is called "The Ally” by Slobodan Gajic-

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1886695/

Keenan Henson who is a close associate of mine, he is the lead actor in the film. The film is directed by Slobadan Gajic who is a very, very intelligent film maker. This is a period piece and a departure from stuff that we have done in the past.

-In my estimation you enjoy a lot of contrasts, rather than staying in one genre?

Yes, my Production Company has diversified as much as possible and this particular project is something we are trying to do that is a little different Slobadan Gajic has come on to write and direct this project. This is a period piece that takes place in Eastern Europe during World War 2 and it is a relationship between an American solider and her Eastern European child who find a way to help each other out during a very immense conflict. I think that it is a fascinating study of human behavior and I think that audiences will be very intrigued by this film so I recommend that you check out The Ally

-I certainly shall and recommend it to the wider audience...

-What are you expectations in total for the 3 films? What are you hoping that they perceive and that they get from all 3 of your short film entries into this film festival?

I have not necessarily put the pressure upon the audience to perceive something or come over with a message. I'm curious to see what their responses will be but our company is putting together a couple of different feature films at the moment. I am hoping that the different variety of films that we are presenting is going to build confidence within the audiences, that we are capable of presenting a very solid product and the features that we have coming out should reflect that.. you guys should look for a comedic feature called 'All in'

-Are you saying that you want to provide films that have that wow factor, are different and provides a curiosity as to what the company may do next – to maintain an interest, by not staying with the same genre and material....because you are presenting this in a totally different way and diversifying you are hoping that you audience will see that?

Yes absolutely, we are a group of very talented and a conglomerate of people. The best way I think that we can benefit for ourselves by creating a product for the consumer that is continiously creative and diverse productions

-Especially in today's world...

Anyone who is interested in our projects can always look us up on my personal website which is

http://alexfeldman.info/

We try to create opportunity for new film makers.

I have a brand new Acting Studio here in LA which is called the Acting Studios of Beverly Hills

Website link http://www.actingstudiosbeverlyhills.com/

and that is something I am focusing a lot on at the moment and we welcome anyone who has a desire to get into the entertainment industry but does not necessarily know how.

Come to Acting Studios of Beverly Hills and we will hook it up

-Thank you very much for your interview about your 3 films you have provided a very detailed insight into your films and current and ongoing projects. For those just starting out artistically in acting etc I think you have given them hope and inspiration.....

Interview with Steven Galarce Actor 'The Long Journey Home'

Interview by Jasmina Nevada (via email)

-I asked Steven a range of questions: from details about the short film, his involvement with that, his preparation process, and his future projects etc..


The film "The Long Journey Home" premiered on August 18th 730pm

It takes place in a barber shop when a War Veteran walks in for a haircut, and he shares his story with the barber.
He begins to morph into different War Veterans with similar stories.

The movies idea came from true war stories.

It was shot with a Canon 7D, because of the dark mood which is easily created.

As an actor I wanted to deliver an honest performance, so I had to do plenty of research, being that I've never been in the military.

"The Mile" (an action film) was shot in Miami where I play the role of "Esteban" a crazy cool time bomb. It was wrapped up last month, and I am currently working on a pilot for a pre World Cup 2014 TV show.

"The Long Journey Home" has already shown in the L.A, Shorts Festival, and is being submitted to other festivals. This was my first time at the Holly Shorts Film Festival, and the experience will have me returning next year. 
Here is a clip from my scene in the movie "The Long Journey Home"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr-89DgkGL8


Please check out Steven Galarce's links: -

/http://stevengalarce.com/
http://lacasting.com/StevenGalarce
http://resumes.actorsaccess.com/StevenGalarce
http://www.imdb.me/StevenGalarce
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08e-itK-Cao&feature=player_embedded

'En Heritage' Interview with Guillerme Sharon, Producer & Michael Mayart, Executive Producer

Filmmaker Reda Mustafa (France)

Interview by Jasmina Nevada

-Would you like to tell me a little bit about the short?

It s a family short about a father and his son. The father made a decision because his son is sick and needs new organs and there is no money in the family to help. So the father decides to go into a private clinic to have his organs removed and to raise some cash to give to his sons. He needs to leave behind some 'heritage' – inheritance and wants to leave some money behind by accepting to die..

-This sounds like the character of the father is making a sacrifice in order that he can leave inheritance behind for his sons?
Yes

-Where did you come up with the idea for this short film?

Reda Mustafa the Director, he put the idea on the table when we were talking about the producing the new movie. He had already had made 2 shorts which had success in the USA. The 1st one won the award at the Aden Films Festival in New York and the 2nd one 2 years ago won this festival.


-Is your short film in English or French with subtitles?

Its in French with English subtitles

-Are you enjoying the festival so far?

Yes its great we saw some great movies and surprising talents in the student movie section – 'Goldenbox & John Doe

Do you return back to France?

Yes

-Do you have something coming up in the pipeline?

2 more short film projects and the 1st one will be called 'Le Forgon' Like the van story involving the political story of the French President Pierre Sarkosy's son. The character will be interpreted by Jean-Baptiste Maunier from 'The Chorus'

We would like to say that we saw another good movie - 'Hollywood Superhero'

-I shall certainly put forward your recommendations and your favorities

Thank you for your time
Unfortunately photo was unavailable

Interview with Thomas Berg – Dance Video Teaser- 'Hjerteknuser' - Heartbreaker

Interview by Jasmina Nevada

-This music video teaser has been causing some sensation on the screens at the Hollyshorts Film Festival and it was my 'mission' to find you by whatever means – Twitter etc and interview you...What is the name of your video teaser?

It's music video for Kaisers orchestra called 'Hjerteknuser'(Norweigan) which in English translates to 'Heart breaker.'We are also the creators of Believe The Dance teasers which have been been tearing up the screens at Hollyshorts..

-For sure it has been providing a lot of entertainment? Where did this idea come from?

The film idea came from a dance that we choreographed in theater school back in 2005. This guy, 'the dancer' who the film was based around has a life of his own, moving to different projects until we decided to make the whole thing into a film. That's where we are at now..

-Its kind of intricate but has a very simple meaning in in terms of the way it has been produced especially the dance move at the end of the teaser it's very simple ….

He is a dancer that goes with the flow there is no choreography..

-So was this last part of the teaser improvised?

Very much so, 'the dancer' does his own thing

-What are you hoping that your audience perceive from this teaser?

We are hoping that they will follow us in the process of actually releasing the film. At the moment we are in the final stages of post-production right now. Hopefully we will have it done within a month or two and we will ship it out to festivals. At the end of that we will release it on U tube for everyone to see. People can follow us on Facebook and Twitter, also it's very easy you can Google it on U tube also.

Thank you for your time

Link:- http://believethedance.com

Video teaser and further information