| Director Shaz BenAAett and producer Melanie Miller emerge as US in Progress winners for Alaska is a Drag! The 5th edition of the US in Progress co-production forum was held on October 22-23, 2015, during the 6th American Film Festival in Wrocław. Director Shaz Bennett and producer Melanie Miller acquired most awards and therefore emerged as US in Progress winners for Alaska is a Drag. Watch Alaska is a Drag trailer here. US in Progress is an industry event that aims to strengthen the trans-Atlantic film industry collaborations and partnerships and help European film professionals establish working relationships with new emerging American filmmakers. The event is a bi-annual program conducted at the Champs-Elysées Film Festival in Paris during the summer before kicking-off in Wroclaw at AFF during the fall. At the 6th American Film Festival, six films in various stages of post-production have conducted private screenings for film industry professionals, including Laurent Danielou (Loco Films), Mathieu Delaunay (Memento Films), Oda Schaeffer (k5), Silje Grimsdal (Trust Nordisk), and festival programmers from Edinburgh, Locarno, Tribeca, and a jury composed of Sydney Levine and Polish post-producers, to compete for post-production and promotional packages. In addition to the filmmaking duo, Shaz Bennett and Melanie Miller, two films have earned significant post-production awards - Actor Martinez by Nathan Silver and Mike Ott and The Loner by Daniel Y-Li Grove. Here is a detailed listing of the awards: Alaska is a Drag by Shaz Bennett, produced by Melanie Miller will receive:
The Loner by Daniel Y Groveand produced by Reza Sixo Safai received:
Actor Martinez (working title) by Mike Ott and Nathan Silver (produced by Britta Erickson) received a second acquisition offer by Ale Kino+ Selected projects participating in last year's US in Progress Wrocław or 2015 US in Progress Paris were included in the AFF program: Take Me to the River, dir. Matt Sobel (Polish premiere); Stinking Heaven (dir. Nathan Silver); MA (dir. Celia Rowlson-Hall) and Reza Safai and Daniel Y Grove-produced A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night returned to the AFF to let the audiences benefit from the creators' attendance. For the missing color correction, sound mix, VFX, and other deliverables for Bennett's and Miller's Alaska is a Drag, the US in Progress prize adds significant value in the finishing stage of post-production. The organizers and programmers of US in Progress, Ula Śniegowska (artistic director of AFF), Adeline Monzier and Marie Zeniter (Black Rabbit Film), and Chantal Lian (Champs-Elysées Film Festival), look forward to following all the participating unfinished projects, and the future work and collaborations of all US in Progress filmmakers. More about US in Progress and American Film Festival on www.americanfilmfestival.pl. |
