Slamdance has awarded its grand prize for screenwriting to writer Joyce Sherrí for her first feature screenplay for coming-of-age drama “Sweet Sixteen.”
The festival announced 13 prizes Thursday during a live-stream ceremony co-presented by Writers Guild of America West and hosted by Slamdance alum Todd Berger across feature film, horror/thriller, TV pilot and short film categories. Slamdance awarded more than $16,000 to winners across all categories.
“Sweet Sixteen” centers on Sweet, a 15-year-old girl who tries to convince her parents to throw her a big sweet 16 birthday party, but money and family problems lead her down a destructive path.
“Black people are not a monolith then neither are our experiences,” said Sherrí. “There is more to us than racial trauma. Sometimes we just want something as simple as a first kiss or a sweet sixteenth birthday party. I wrote ‘Sweet Sixteen’ because I want to share a story that explores a...
The festival announced 13 prizes Thursday during a live-stream ceremony co-presented by Writers Guild of America West and hosted by Slamdance alum Todd Berger across feature film, horror/thriller, TV pilot and short film categories. Slamdance awarded more than $16,000 to winners across all categories.
“Sweet Sixteen” centers on Sweet, a 15-year-old girl who tries to convince her parents to throw her a big sweet 16 birthday party, but money and family problems lead her down a destructive path.
“Black people are not a monolith then neither are our experiences,” said Sherrí. “There is more to us than racial trauma. Sometimes we just want something as simple as a first kiss or a sweet sixteenth birthday party. I wrote ‘Sweet Sixteen’ because I want to share a story that explores a...
- 10/8/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Slamdance has awarded its grand prize for screenwriting to Tamra Teig and Michael Lipoma for their feature screenplay “The Fall.”
The festival announced a dozen prizes Thursday night during a ceremony hosted by Writers Guild of America West across feature film, horror/thriller, TV pilot and short film categories. Slamdance awarded more than $16,000 to winners across all categories.
“The Fall” is a historical drama set in East Berlin in 1989, where a single mother is forced to become a spy to save her son after he’s framed for murder. Her act of revenge, woven into historic events, leads to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
“With over 4,200 submissions this year, our judges were challenged by a wealth of exciting new writers to choose from,” said Slamdance president Peter Baxter. “Many plugged into the passion and concern around socially conscious themes our world is currently dealing with in raw, fun and unique ways.
The festival announced a dozen prizes Thursday night during a ceremony hosted by Writers Guild of America West across feature film, horror/thriller, TV pilot and short film categories. Slamdance awarded more than $16,000 to winners across all categories.
“The Fall” is a historical drama set in East Berlin in 1989, where a single mother is forced to become a spy to save her son after he’s framed for murder. Her act of revenge, woven into historic events, leads to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
“With over 4,200 submissions this year, our judges were challenged by a wealth of exciting new writers to choose from,” said Slamdance president Peter Baxter. “Many plugged into the passion and concern around socially conscious themes our world is currently dealing with in raw, fun and unique ways.
- 10/11/2019
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
What the hell is an independent film? It's kind of like the Pop/Rock section of the chain store music sections. It's a broad umbrella that covers a lot of ground. An independent film used to mean any small film not made by the studios, but now all the major studios have their own independent arms. It used to mean films that played only at tiny La/NY theatre chains and film festivals, but now Sundance and South by Southwest, and even Fantastic Fest have become early way stations for studios to give filmmakers major releases. With the dawning of digital film, easy access to home computing editing software, and Netflix and YouTube, anyone can make a movie and get it out there for people to see. For my purposes, I defined independent film as a small, lower budget film that touches you on a personal level and speaks only to you.
- 12/15/2009
- by Dustin Rowles
Variety reports that Mos Def has joined the cast of The Woodsman, which has also nabbed an executive producer in hip-hop impresario Damon Dash. Def joins Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Eve, Benjamin Bratt and David Alan Grier in the drama about a sex offender (Bacon) just out of prison who tries to rebuild his life. Currently filming in Philadelphia, The Woodsman is directed by first-time helmer Nicole Kassell, who also adapted Steven Fechter's play for the screen.
- 5/30/2003
- IMDbPro News
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