NewFilmmakers LA Honors Work from Top Emerging Filmmakers at Best of NFMLA Awards Show
By: Marianka Swain May. 01, 2018
For talented new filmmakers, there is virtually a superabundance of content to have to contend with before even having one's work become discovered by audiences.
One organization, NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMA), has held tight to its more than a decade-long mission of not only helping filmmakers from around the world to have their works be discovered, but curates this content as well, even going so far as to shepherd early stages of emerging filmmakers' careers by connecting them with industry professionals who can guide them through the distribution, marketing and acquisitions processes from soup to nuts.
Throughout the year, the Los Angeles-based arts and culture non-profit organization hosts a monthly film festival for the public and for industry professionals, showcasing the innovative cinematic works of talented rising filmmakers. This is especially true through its InFocus program, which celebrates a multitude of quality works from distinct diverse communities, including Women, LGBTQ+, Asian, Latinx and Hispanic, African-American, Canadian, UK, and more, all of which make up the filmmaking community and its audiences.
On May 12, from 6 to 11 p.m., NFMLA will pay tribute to its finest filmmakers from throughout the previous year's programming by highlighting the inspired works of independent filmmakers that have received a tremendous amount of recognition, during the organization's 5th Annual Best Of NFMLA 2018 Awards show. This year's awards show will take place at the South Park Center in Downtown Los Angeles, located at 1139 S. Hill St.
The Best of NFMLA 2018 Awards show will honor more than 115 nominees with over a dozen winners, including writers and producers, who represent the absolute best in independent filmmaking from around the globe. The nominees, largely comprised of films from NFMLA's InFocus diversity initiative, will include selections in the categories of long- and short-form narrative, animation, documentary, and new media formats.
Awardees will be selected from amongst nearly two dozen notable jurors, a list of which includes heavyweight industry professionals such as Variety film journalist Anna Marie De La Fuente, The Wrap's Thom Geier and Ana Maria Bahiana from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association; Bettina Fisher of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; Gersh Agency agent Sean Barclay; Christine Davila of Warner Bros. Stage 13; and Liz Manashil of Sundance Institute. Other jurors include high-profile producers, writers, creative executives and more.
Says Larry Laboe, Executive Director of NewFilmmakers Los Angeles: "We're extremely excited about this year's Best of NFMLA Award Nominees. Our incredible pool of talent continues to grow year after year and, as a result, has increased advancement opportunities for our alumni. From NFMLA's inception in 2007, it has been the mission of the organization to underscore the importance of global storytelling and I'm very proud to see that mission thriving."
The 2018 Best of NFMLA Awards show is made possible by sponsors, which include: Venue Sponsor South Park Center; Executive Circle Sponsors HBO and Film L.A. Inc.; Producers Circle Sponsor SAG-AFTRA; Angel Level Sponsor UCLA Extension; Official Airline Partner Norwegian Airlines; and many more.
Food and drinks will be provided by sponsors Pink's Hot Dogs, Tito's Vodka and Karl Strauss Brewing Company. EFILM, a Deluxe company, will award one filmmaker with a $5,000 Post-Production Color Grading Services package.
Varda Bar-Kar, an award-winning British-born filmmaker (Big Voice) and Co-Chair of NFMLA's Board of Directors, explains: "I'm just very proud to be involved with NFMLA and its Best of Awards program. And it's growing and all toward a very good end. There are people that come every single month to the monthly film festival and it's very much about building community around the film showcase. I'm really grateful that I can contribute to NewFilmmakers, because they really do empower filmmakers in various ways."
Bar-Kar herself has experienced firsthand the power that an organization such as NFMLA has and the value it provides to the filmmaking community, as she started out having a film she created screened, and was subsequently invited to take part in NFMLA's On Location: The Los Angeles Video Project" series, for which she ended up winning the grand prize. The monetary component of the prize helped provide her with the resources to go further with her next film, Big Voice, which won 'Best Documentary' in NFMLA's Best of Awards program the following year and has since gone on to appear on Netflix, Amazon Prime and air on PBS as a special cut.
The Best of NFMLA 2018 Awards could not happen if it weren't for its remarkable Board of Directors hosting the event. In addition to Bar-Kar, its Board membership is comprised of seasoned film producers such as Steven J. Wolfe of Sneak Preview Entertainment and Franco Sama of Samaco Films, LLC; VP of Acquisitions for Freestyle Digital Media, Daniel Fisher; VP of Brand Marketing for Walton Isaacson, William Swann; Attorney John W. Fagerholm; CEO of Equilibrium Entertainment, Damien Lichtenstein; Founder of 3 Dots Entertainment, Margaret Wu, and a veteran of the advertising industry; Texas-born screenwriter David Quan; and its Chair, actor and presenter Danny De Lillo.
In addition to curating and presenting monthly screening events, NFMLA also hosts other special events, workshops and programs, including its On Location: The Los Angeles Video Project, in which it awards prizes to the top short films featuring the City of Angels. In addition, NFMLA invites all of its filmmakers featured in its monthly film festival to participate in on camera interviews with MovieMaker Magazine.
NFMLA's core goal is to support, showcase and connect emerging filmmakers, and in doing so regularly aligns with strategic partners, including film schools, organizations and businesses, as well as the Los Angeles city government, and media partners. It also puts together panels, competitions, Q&A sessions, and additional educational and networking opportunities.
For more information on the Best of NFMLA 2018 Awards show and NFMLA, visit www.NFMLA.org/Awards.
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