“Shooting in Vain” and “Wale” Take Top Prizes
As Dances With Films Comes of Age and Turns 21 in the 21st
(Hollywood, CA) -- The 21st edition of the fiercely independent film festival Dances With Films (DWF) concluded on Sunday evening (June 17) with a closing night celebration at the TCL Chinese Theaters in Hollywood where the excitement was electric throughout the arena.
The unstoppable festival, for over two decades a champion of independent filmmakers, is widely recognized as the premiere showcase of innovative independent cinema in the U.S., presenting amazing, undiscovered talent to an industry audience in Hollywood at the always jam-packed TCL Chinese Theaters.
“Coming of age at this year's 21st installment, we have certainly surpassed our optimistic expectations. As we close in on our milestone year, we know that what we provide for the filmmakers is a valuable vehicle to showcase and highlight some of the best indie films from around the world. We continue to evolve the festival and we consistently strive to enhance our presence and work model for every single festival we host each year.” says Michael Trent andLeslee Scallon, Festival Founders.
DWF kicked off their 21st festival season and presented over 11 days, beginning with the opening night party on June 7th at Ohm Night Club at the Hollywood & Highland Complex and ‘wrapped’ with the closing awards ceremony at the TCL Chinese 6 Theaters on Sunday, June 17th.
Dances With Films is sometimes referred to as a “summer camp” for filmmakers because of its awesomely friendly spirit, the fostering of camaraderie and continual efforts in helping filmmakers forge relationships that will last long after the end credits roll and the lights come up in the theatre.
GRAND JURY AWARD | COMPETITION FEATURE:
SHOOTING IN VAIN
Written By D. H. Nelson, Directed & Produced By Jared Januschka
Honorable Mention:
CHASING BULLIT
Written & Directed By Joe Eddy
Produced By Ryan Richter & Joe Eddy
GRAND JURY AWARD | COMPETITION SHORT:
WALE
Written & Directed by Barnaby Blackburn
Produced byEdward Speleers, Catherine Slater, Sophie Alexande
Honorable Mention | Grand Jury Short:
LAST MEAL
Written By Michael Boyle, Directed by Austin Simmons
Produced byNimisha Patil & Alex Bratsos
ICA | INDUSTRY CHOICE AWARD OVER 40 MIN:
BULLY
Written By Joe Campanelli, Directed by Santino Campanelli
Produced by Joe Campanelli, Santino Campanelli and Scott Hansen
ICA | INDUSTRY CHOICE AWARD UNDER 40 MIN:
THE NEPHEW
Written & Directed by Wilhelm Kuhn
Produced byAhmed El Lozy, Wilhelm Kuhn & Cécile Invernizzi
DANCES WITH KIDZ By Pros AUDIENCE AWARD
SOCI CIRCLE
Directed By Cindy Baer
Produced By Pamela Lashall & Tiana S Clark
OVERALL AUDIENCE AWARD | FEST SHORT:
BENEATH THE INK
Directed By Cy Dodson
Produced By Cy Dodson & Torin Scott
AUDIENCE AWARD | COMPETITION FEATURE:
DOUBTING THOMAS
Written & Directed By Will McFadden
Produced By Mark Mathias, Sayre, Laura Jane Salvato & Casey Morris
AUDIENCE AWARD | COMPETITION SHORT:
HOLLY GOES TO THERAPY
Written & Directed by Cat Ventura
Executive Produced byJonney Ahmanson, Produced by Assaf Ben Shetrit
AUDIENCE AWARD | DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
PSYCHONAUTICS: A COMIC’S EXPLORATION OF PSYCHEDELICS
Directed By Brian Bellinkoff
Produced By Matt Schuler, Brian Bellinkoff & Shane Mauss
AUDIENCE AWARD | DOCUMENTARY SHORT:
BENEATH THE INK
Directed By Cy Dodson
Produced By Cy Dodson & Torin Scott
AUDIENCE AWARD | FUSION FEATURE:
A HORSE FROM HEAVEN
Written & Produced By David de Vos & Stephanie de Vos
Directed By David de Vos
AUDIENCE AWARD | FUSION SHORT:
SAM DID IT
Written & Directed By Dominic Burgess
Produced By Natalie Britton, Casey Graf & Art Schneider
AUDIENCE AWARD | DOWNBEAT MUSIC VIDEO:
TRACK 1
Written & Directed By Bilal S. Haider
Produced By Bilal S. Haider, James Rozelle, K.C. Patel & Krystel Seier
AUDIENCE AWARD – TV PILOTS:
YELLOW
Written & Directed By Sarah Deakins
Produced By Sarah Deikins, Julia Benson & Arielle Boisvert
AUDIENCE AWARD – WEB SERIES:
STELLAR HOSTS
Written By Katherine LaVictoire
Directed By Keith Schneider
Produced By Myko Olivier, Vince Tanzilli, Katherine LaVictoire & Keith Schneider
The prestigious 2018 Features Jury was comprised of past DWF alums:
Constanza Castro, Jonathan Cvack, Desmond Faison, Jamielyn Lippman,
Michael David Lynch, Eric McCoy and Monika Petrillo.
The Industry Choice Award (ICA), juried by a select group of industry professionals, was established in 2011 to provide recognition of the outstanding work that is presented each year at DWF. This year's jury was comprised of award winning film and tv producer Effie T. Brown, UTA agent Grace Royer, EVP of Aquisitions and Co-Productions, CBS Films - Scott Shooman, Sr. VP of Aquisitions, Magnolia Pictures - John Von Thaden, Packaging Agent, The Gersh Group - Gerren Crochet, Editor Gregg Featherman and CEO Creative Future - Ruth Vitale.
The inaugural DWF Key Art Award was juried by Michele Bell, SVP, Worldwide Creative Services for Paramount.
Dances With Films 2018 Film Festival season took place from June 7 – 17, 2018 in Los Angeles, CA at the TCL Chinese Theaters, located at: Hollywood & Highland, 6925 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028.
About Dances With Films
In 1998 DWF began and is designed as a film festival dedicated to finding tomorrow’s talent today. With many World and West Coast Premieres, DWF provides a coveted first stop on the festival circuit. With a vast number of submissions, the selection process is based solely on merit and discoverability, DWF continues its dedication and is a devoted champion of fresh and creative voices, mandating that all competitive films have no known actors, writers, directors or producers. For the past 19 years, DWF has proudly provided access and opportunity to thousands of films and filmmakers from across the globe that diligently work year after year to see their dreams realized. Last year, 15 features were picked up for distribution at the festival. Now, with over 20,000+ festival attendees plus 2.5 million impressions per month on www.danceswithfilms.com, DWF is loyal and dedicated to the indie filmmaker and is considered their champion here in Hollywood.
At the core of DWF is the narrative competition section, comprising both features and shorts. DWF is comprised of 16 competition features and more than 3 dozen competition shorts. In addition, DWF presents some of the most groundbreaking documentaries and cutting-edge music videos from the indie scene. All of this on top of the Fusion series, which brings together a multitude of amazing additional features and shorts.
Notable Dances With Films alumni who first gained notice at the festival include: Gina Rodriguez, Bryan Cranston, Will Scheffer, Mark V. Olsen, Jesse Eisenberg, Mike Flanagan and John Hawkes, among others.
Legacy Media Relations Howie.Simon
Media Partners:
Media: Damian De Langeron-Dmytryk, Eva De Langeron, Vanessa Terrazas
