Superb Film Showcase at VisionFest12

EYES IN Editor-in-Chief, Vivian Van Dijk, had the pleasure of attending VisionFest12 and made the following remarks:

"VisionFest 12 is a fine example of domestic filmmaking and I thoroughly enjoyed the vast selection of wonderfully-created US films. The highlight of my experience was being able to meet and speak with the 'Falling Uphill' Writer/Director Richard Bosner, Producer Barret Hacia and the very talented actorAri Kanamori. I look forward to next year's festival."

VisionFest12: The Other Festival, wrapped its 5-day run last night with the 2012 Independent Vision Awards (IVA) Ceremony and the World Premiere of its exclusive filmmaking initiative, the 5x5 New York State of Mind Digital Project. VF12 co-director, Bruno Derlin, kicked things off with a musical twist, literally breaking into song with an ode to Billy Crystal’s “It’s a wonderful night for Oscar” and replacing the award name with IVAs. He followed the zany introduction by handing out the first set of awards, which saw three writers from the Visionfest Feature Screenwriting Competition recognized, as follows: Third place recipient, Austen Brauker for HOMUNCULUS; in second place, Thomas Pace, for his screenplay, THE HIGH MESA COLONY; and the winner of the 2012 Feature Screenwriting Competition, Giles Daoust for FOUNDING FATHERS. Second place winner, Thomas Pace, was on hand to accept his award, humorously threatening to walk off with one of the acrylic statuettes intended for the film honorees.

The evening was fueled by the generous energy of the crowd, which was at capacity in Tribeca Cinemas Theater 2, and often broke into slightly rowdy but respectful applause and cheers as each IVA recipient was called to the stage. Unlike recent years, there was not a single film sweep, with many of the nominated projects taking home a nicely balanced share of the honors.

Filmmaker Sheena McCann was crowned with the festival’s top honor, the Domani Vision Award for Emerging Talent, for her short subject narrative, THE DARKNESS IS CLOSE BEHIND, which also took home a statuette as the year’s Best Short. McCann’s Domani Vision Award win marked the first time since 2002 that a short subject filmmaker was honored with the Domani Vision Film Society special prize.

Directing honors were bestowed upon Richard Bosner, whose narrative feature, FALLING UPHILL, also won the Jack Nance Breakthrough Performance Award for its female lead, Jessiqa Pace. Bosner took to the stage to accept both awards, graciously thanking everyone at the festival for his award and defining Ms. Pace as “a truly special and talented actress.”

Scott Schaeffer’s narrative short subject, THE CARRIER, was cited for Outstanding Achievement in Production, with Schaeffer going up to accept the award on behalf of the film’s team of producers, Anna Ramey, Chris Wilson, and Mark Hartzell.

VF12 Opening Night feature, BROADWAY’S FINEST, by Stephen Marro, landed wins in two categories: Writing (Stephen Marro) and the Abe Schrager Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography (Adrian Correia) – the latter award sponsored by the American Society of Cinematographers. Mr. Marro joked about his poor spelling skills as he accepted his award, adding that “that’s exactly what makes this award extra special.” Adrian Correia humbly embraced his statuette, stating: “I didn’t personally know Abe (Schrager), but I hope to be able to honor his memory with this award. Thank you.”

Ali Scher’s THE MAIDEN AND THE PRINCESS was singled out in Acting for its male lead, David Anders, and for Short Form Screenwriting (Ali Scher & Joe Swanson); the latter prize marking the only “tie” result in this year’s IVA winners’ list, with WEB OF LIES scribe, Kathryn Gould, taking home a Certificate of Award for her work.

Female Acting Lead honors were assigned to Nicki Micheaux for her work in NARCOCORRIDO, a Student Academy Award winner, directed by Ryan Prows. The short was also cited for its Sound Design with a Certificate of Award for Brett Hinton.

A Special Jury Prize for Technical and Artistic Achievement was issued to Harvey Hubbell V for his documentary, DISLECKSIA: THE MOVIE, which enjoyed a standing room only screening at VF12 and was defined as “a genuine crowd pleaser” by countless attendees.

Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Filmmaking was bestowed upon Grant Hamilton for his epic feature doc, TIME ZERO: THE LAST YEAR OF POLAROID FILM. Mr. Hamilton took to the stage to accept his award, giving a warm and loving ‘shout out’ to his executive producer and wife, Sara Hamilton. He returned to his seat and celebrated his triumphant moment with Ms. Hamilton by ‘sealing it with a kiss’ in what was probably the evening’s warmest “Polaroid moment.”

The Editing Award winner was the feature film, IN MONTAUK, by Kim Cummings. Ms. Cummings accepted the award with an emotionally charged acceptance speech, assigning the larger part of the credit to Eleanor Burke, who, as stated by Ms. Cummings, ultimately took the film from rough to finished form.

Original Score & Music honors went to Rob Kleiner for Steve Bladerson’s CULTURE SHOCK. Kleiner, who was nominated this year for the third consecutive year, had previously won the award with his music score for STUCK! at VF10 and was a runner-up last year with THE CASSEROLE CLUB.

Rounding out all of the award winners were: Visual Comforts (aka Michael Wiehart) for the Production Design on RE:LEASE and Alexander Yan with the Domani Visionary 2012 Award for his short, ELKO; and a Special Jury Prize for Artistic/Technical Achievement for Brendan Gabriel Murphy for his short, experimental film, PERCEPTIO.

The audience responded with sustained applause to the unveiling of the 2012 5x5 New York State of Mind Digital Project, and the Project’s producer, Nyle Cavazos Garcia, thanked all the writers and directors of the five digital shorts (Jon Carlos Evans, Roald Graves, Geoff Lerer, Bryan Norton, and Jef Taylor; working from scripts written by Nicholas Begnaud, Randy Brown, Alexander Jorgensen, and Jackson Wade), inviting the audience to meet and greet with them at the VF12 after-party, which was held in the Tribeca Cinemas’ Varick Room Lounge.

Following is the complete list of IVA winners:

Domani Vision Award for Emerging Talent

Sheena McCann (The Darkness is Close Behind)

Outstanding Achievement in Production

The Carrier (Anna Ramey, Chris Wilson, Mark Hartzell)

Directing

Richard Bosner (Falling Uphill)

Writing

Stephen Marro (Broadway's Finest)

Short Subject Narrative

The Darkness is Close Behind

The Jack Nance Breakthrough Performance Award

Jessiqa Pace (Falling Uphill)

Acting (Male Lead)

David Anders (The Maiden and the Princess)

Acting (Female Lead)

Nicki Micheaux (Narcocorrido)

Special Jury Prize – Technical/Artistic Achievement Statuette

Harvey Hubbell V (Dislecksia: The Movie)

The Abe Schrager Award for Cinematography

Adrian Correia (Broadway's Finest)

Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Filmmaking

Time Zero: The Last Year of Polaroid Film

Editing

Eleanor Burke & Kim Cummings (In Montauk)

Original Score

Rob Kleiner (Culture Shock)

Production Design

Visual Comforts – Michael Wiehart (RE:LEASE)

The DVFS Visionary 2012 Award

Alexander Yan (Elko)

Short Form Screenwriting

Ali Scher & Joe Swanson (The Maiden and the Princess)

Kathryn Gould (Web of Lies)

Sound Design

Brett Hinton (Narcocorrido)

Special Jury Prize – Technical/Artistic Achiement Certificate

Brendan Gabriel Murphy (Perceptio)

Feature Screenwriting Competition

1st Place: Giles Daoust (Founding Fathers)

2nd Place: Thomas Pace (The High Mesa Colony)

3rd Place: Austen Brauker (Homunculus)

Source: www.visionfest.com