Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo

Stephanie Jones
| August 21, 2009 3:15 PM TrackBacks (0) Comments (0)

Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo Trailer from Myriapod Productions on Vimeo.


Beetle queen Jessica Oreck tells of Japan's love story with insects from the first cricket selling business in the 1800s to today, where 128 million people experience nature at a of everyday life. Oreck first discovered the relationship between bugs and humans while working at the American Museum of Natural History.

The films links the history, religion, and literature which so closely bonds the country and the bug. Her next film will explore the role of mushrooms in Eastern European mythology.


To schedule your own screening, go to http://www.beetlequeen.com.


Number 9 - Shane Acker's & Tim Burton's new movie

Stephanie Jones
| August 20, 2009 3:41 PM TrackBacks (0) Comments (0)

http://www.examiner.com/x-20195-LA-Film-School-Events-Examiner~y2009m8d16-Number-9--Shane-Ackers-new-movie


Animator and UCLA alumna, Shane Acker will debut his biggest film yet, 9,  produced by Tim Burton,Timur Bekmambetov, and Jim Lemley, in September 2009.

After the earth has been decimated by creature of unknown origin, a scientist brings nine if his creations to life. The ninth invention, 9, is chosen to lead a group of anythings that move and save the future of what's left. Thus, the world in the hands of 9.

Dubbed the "visionary director" of the project, Acker turned the two minute short into a feature length film. The original short at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and went on to win an Academy Award in the animated short film category in 2006.

Ackner's background began at the University of Florida and continued at UCLA, where he earned a Master's degree in Arts and Architecture. Although he had the skills of an animator, he to pursue neither architecture nor animator. He moved on to film, which gave him the creative freedom he needed. 

9 is a Focus Features film and includes the voices of Eilijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer, Crispin Glover, and Martin Landau. The screenplay is written by Pamela Pettler. The film is set to debut in the United States on September 9, 2009 - 09/09/09.

30 sec. interview

Stephanie Jones
| August 17, 2009 11:26 AM TrackBacks (0) Comments (0)

My Neighbor, My Killer

Stephanie Jones
| August 16, 2009 3:10 PM TrackBacks (0) Comments (0)


At the USC School of Cinematic Arts Visible Evidence 2009 International Conference, My Neighbor My Killer made its appearance in a academic setting. The documentary was shown in conjunction with a Q&A session by the USC Shoah Foundation Institute to show the importance of testimony in documentary film.

The film recorded real life attempts of reconciliation between Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda. Proceedings took place during Gacaca Tribunals over a period of nine years, where Rwandan government and citizen judges send "genocide killers" were released from prison survivors were asked to forgives their neighbors in the hope of living side by side once again.

Filmmaker Anne Aghion recently finished The Notebooks of Memory, the third installment of the Rwandan trilogy, and Ice People.

For more information, visit http://www.gacacafilms.com/mnmk/.

Fives Shots

Stephanie Jones
| August 14, 2009 11:32 AM TrackBacks (0) Comments (0)

Mississippi Damned

Stephanie Jones
| August 13, 2009 9:45 AM TrackBacks (0) Comments (1)



Writer/director  and USC alumna Tina Mabry is the talk of the town among film festivals, winning  Atlanta, Philadelphia, Newfest, Outfest, and two American Black Film Festival awards throughout 2009. Based on a true story, it tells of a Black women and her family in Mississippi in the 1980s and 1990s struggling to overcome various type of abuse and violence. The protagonist, among the youngest members in her family, must figure out if they can escape the demons and terror that have been passed down from generation to generation.

Mabry has been acclaimed in Shadow and Act as well as in Filmmaker Magazine as one of The 25 New Faces of Independent Film.