Over 100 Films and Counting
So, you missed some of the past events? No worries, here's the rundown of the films.

Fearless Filmmakers is proud to present the Cine-O-Matic Closing Gala and Awards Ceremony for the 2008 48 Hour Film Festival in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Minneapolis has consistently been one of the largest participating cities competing in the 48 Hour Film Festival. Local filmmakers have produced top quality films every year, and Fearless Filmmakers felt it was time that all these talented artists received the recognition they deserve.

So roll out the red carpets! Pop open the champagne! Strap on those tuxedos
( don’t do that … they are uncomfortable ) and get ready for a night of surprises, celebrities, and a gala celebration that will pay respect for the Herculean effort being put forth by the 48 Hour Filmmakers!

The event will take place in the heart of downtown Minneapolis in the Hennepin Center for Performing Arts. THE ANNEX will open up it’s doors exclusively for guests of “The 48” as we gather to see who will walk away with prizes totaling over $5000 dollars! Fearless is doing this “Hollywood Style”! There will be celebrity presenters, acceptance speeches by the award winners, free appetizers, drink specials, surprise performances, and a place we can all come together to celebrate another successful end to “The 48”.

What: Fearless Filmmakers presents the Closing Gala and Awards Ceremony for the 2008 48 Hour Film Festival.

Where: The Annex
              528 Hennepin Ave. S.
              Minneapolis, MN
              612-338-1730

When: Thursday, June 26th – Event begins at 9 PM following the “Best Of Screening at The Riverview Theater”

Who: Presenters scheduled to appear  : Mayor R T Rybak, Rusty Gatenby (KSTP), Eric Perkins (KARE11), The Minnesota Rollergirls, Dance Band, Critically acclaimed filmmakers Melody Gilbert and Joanna Kohler, Bill Kruse (Executive Producer at Pixel farm, Jane Minton (Executive Director IFP MN), Lucinda Winter and Chris Grap (MN Film and TV), Dan Satorius (Entertainment Attorney Lommen Abdo), Local Actors Scott Jorgenson, Heidi Fellner and  last years Best Picture Award Winners Mojo Solo.

The Gala will feature Free Appetizers, Drink Specials and parting gifts for all Gala guests. ADMITTANCE ONLY WIH A PRE - PURCHASED TICKET.

Tickets for this event are $12 and only 400 tickets are available for purchase ONLY on Thursday June 26th at The Riverview Theater beginning at 5 PM.

Check http://www.48hourfilm.com/minneapolis for full festival details

2008 Awards Include…
GRAND PRIZE FOR “BEST PICTURE” AWARD WINNER

• Winner of Best Picture chooses one of the following packages from Cine-O-Matic

1. Standard Definition DVD package:
   • Up to 3 hours of encoding (MPEG-2 for DVD)
   • Main Menu design
   • Additional menu design (extras, scene select, etc.)
   • Custom chapter placement
   • Subtitle track or closed captioning placement
   • Dolby 5.1 surround audio placement
2. Blu-ray package:
   • 30 minutes of high definition encoding (MPEG-2 for Blu-ray disc).
   • Interactive graphic main menu design.

• Winner of Best Picture also receives this prize package courtesy of The  South Dakota Film festival

• all-access, VIP passes to the South Dakota Film Festival
• Hotel accommodations
• Film submission fees waived
• And best of all, Best Picture is automatically accepted into the South Dakota Film Festival!

Other prizes include:
$100 Gift Certificates to Alpha Video
$55 Gift Certificates to RejoovMe
Dvd Duplication packages by ADS Group/Studio 120
1lb bags of coffee and gift certificates from caribou Coffee

And many more!

MONDO BONDO

Thursday, June 5th, 2008 at St. Anthony Main Theater- Mpls   8:00 PM Screening

When the public demands something, Fearless Filmmakers says, “YES!” Well, not always … but in this case, it’s a no -brainer. The underground hit of the 26th Annual Minneapolis/ St Paul International Film Festival will be re-screened due to the hundreds of requests from “kinksters” and “kink – curious”.

MONDO BONDO was one of the first sell-outs the festival had, and why not? You have a film by an Emmy Award winning director, Tony Cane-Honeysett  (THE ROYAL ACADEMY) and a subject which everyone has an interest in.

"I cannot imagine needing a custard pie in the face to have an orgasm, but someone out there does. Everyone has a kink." (Honeysett)

Ropes, cuffs, nipple clamps, and all the miscellaneous tackle of America's most persistent sexual taboos (custard pies included) are the underdog protagonists of Mondo Bondo, Cane-Honeysett's immensely entertaining documentary about American bondage and its participants. Though bondage may not be the fearsome menace it was in the xenophobic days of American sexual antiquity, it is still a hush-hush underworld that is grievously misrepresented in popular culture as a subversive and often violent perversion. (City Pages)

The best part here is, after you learn about it, you can experience it for yourself at the after party.

Where: St. Anthony Main Theater (612) 331-4723
115 Main St NE
Minneapolis, MN 55413

When: Thursday, June 5th -- Event begins at 8:00 PM. 

Who: Q and A will follow the screening with Emmy Award winning director Tony Cane-Honeysett (The Royal Academy)

What Else: Official After-Party to follow at a SECRET LOCATION revealed at the screening. After Party features free parking, free schwag bags filled with kinky goodness, live bondage exhibits, Fearless happy hour drinks all night, and the chance to experience the kinkier side of Minneapolis. Admittance with theater ticket only!

Tickets for this event are available at St Anthony Main Theater. Tickets will be available for pre purchase on May 28th. Check http://stanthonytickets.com to pre-purchase as this event will likely sell out. Ticket prices are $9 General Admission, $7 Students.

Movie Review:

MONDO BONDO
Tony Cane-Honeysett

Tony Cane-Honeysett, a mug of Stella Artois in hand, reclines in his high-top barstool. Eighteen years stateside haven't robbed his speech of a fine British tint that thieves the occasional "r," and his manner is playful, easy, and engaged.

"I cannot imagine needing a custard pie in the face to have an orgasm," he says plainly. "But someone out there does. Everyone has a kink."

Ropes, cuffs, nipple clamps, and all the miscellaneous tackle of America's most persistent sexual taboos (custard pies included) are the underdog protagonists ofMondo Bondo, Cane-Honeysett's immensely entertaining documentary about American bondage and its participants. Though bondage may not be the fearsome menace it was in the xenophobic days of American sexual antiquity, it is still a hush-hush underworld that is grievously misrepresented in popular culture as a subversive and often violent perversion.

"There's a subtext about rope and people," says Cane-Honeysett of the lingering misconceptions that haunt the bondage world. "It's lynching. It's Christ on the cross. All these images that play on people's subconscious. As soon as they see people in rope, they freak out."

Fortunately, Mondo Bondo is an odyssey of breezy, winking confrontation, one that uses its humor and wit to knock the wind out of the prejudicial bluster of an American sexual mainstream and bring into restorative sunlight an artful practice that is as much about aesthetic as it is about sex.

"My film is about the B and D, not the S and M," he points out, referring to the acronym BDSM, which stands for bondage, domination, sadism, and masochism. "They are extraordinarily different. The B and D that I saw is an art form. When you see the rope work involved, it's exquisite. It's absolutely beautiful. But I also saw a guy get strung up and have his back slashed up with razorblades. Covered in blood. To me, that wasn't artful. It was blatant exhibitionism. I couldn't grasp it psychologically."

Cane-Honeysett's interest in bondage was piqued after the release of The Royal Academy, his first feature-length documentary, about his mother's efforts to have her works of art shown at a prestigious London academy. That film netted him national exposure and several big-name awards. "I thought it impossible," he says of a friend's suggestion that he consider bondage as his next topic. "How do you make a documentary on that subject without making one long porno movie?"

It was a meeting with Craig Morey, a San Francisco bondage photographer, that warmed Cane-Honeysett to the idea. "He didn't fit my perception of the sort of guy that would take these pictures. He had a degree in psychology. He's married with two little kids. And he was the most normal person I've ever met."

The concept of normalcy is a latent antagonist throughout Mondo Bondo. By film's end, Cane-Honeysett comes to regard it with cheeky ridicule, and his path from hapless interloper to honorary initiate is surprisingly brief. "One woman walked into the room in leather boots," he says of an early interview. "Nothing else. Had her breasts bound tightly with rope and nipple clamps. And I interviewed her like that." Cane-Honeysett shakes his head. "A morning later, it was suddenly not strange. It suddenly felt very normal. And that's what was shocking to me."

Throughout the documentary, Cane-Honeysett's personal stake in the material rarely feels much weightier than fancy, and his curiosity is a powerful solvent to the anxieties that women in painful rope bondage would otherwise arouse in the outsider. "There's humor in it," he says of the doc, "but I'm the butt of the jokes. You can't poke fun at people for what they want to do."

All documentaries are a dare to unforeseen possibility, but Cane-Honeysett's film is particularly fraught with surprise. Early in the filming, Craig Morey, our Virgil in the bondage underworld, was diagnosed with throat cancer, and Cane-Honeysett's film suddenly stood on the edge of a razor. "I was stunned," he says. "But that story was there, staring me in the face. I had to confront it. What came about was that his cancer was a bigger bondage than anything he'd been involved in."

The development yields the film's most concise and startling insights into the essence of bondage and submission, and Cane-Honeysett finesses the disaster into a thematic anchor to which other surprises wrought during the filming are loosely affixed. Moving through its subject matter in swift, effortless strides,Mondo Bondo touches on vastly human complexities that multiply before the camera like Russian nesting dolls, a testament to the harrowing adventures known to any artist who uses reality as an inkwell.

Draining the dregs of his Stella, he summarizes those complexities with typical candor. "When you see that bondage can mean cancer and custard pies," he says, "the mind boggles."
—David Hansen-City Pages

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MINNESOTA SHORT NARRATIVES – MSPIFF – Tuesday April 29th

Short films by a collection of people who have a bit of “Minnesota” in them…

GOOD MORNING
En route to interview for her dream job, Sylvia Wiggins finds herself trapped with a calamity from her past.
Sarah Morreim (director) is a professional photographer, event producer, and founder of CCE Productions.  Since 2002, she has directed and written three independent short films.  Her latest film, Good Morning, incorporated a mentoring program for high school students through the nonprofit, Story Board.  Sarah is a founding member of the MNWIFT chapter. 

SECRETS OF THE SYMMETRICAL GENTLEMEN 
The National Entry into the 48 Hour Film Project, the Mpls team drew Comedy/Adventure to tell a tale of an ancient secret society. 
Jesse Roesler (director) finds humans fanscinating and fantastic, so naturally he likes making movies about them. He has directed a handful of short documentaries, narratives and music videos.

THE ARCTIC QUADRANGLE
Watch as Bill Spockman, famed explorer, exposes the mysteries of the well-known Arctic Quadrangle. 
Hailing from St Paul, Jonathan Nowak (director) works as a commercial and short film director in Los Angeles. He recently finished the feature script, Came Tumbling After, and is currently shopping it around.   

FLESH
Conceived while listening to the album, "Colors," by talking jazzartist, Ken Nordine,  "Flesh" is a visual translation of the musical track with the same name.
Victor Rukavina (co director) was born and raised on the Iron Range of northern Minnesota, Victor Rukavina moved to Minneapolis in 2002 where he graduated from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design with a degree in filmmaking.  He is currently employed as a videographer, makes independent work on the side, and travels as much as possible. Eric Carlson (co director)hails from Northfield, MN.  He graduated from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, focusing on Graphic Design.

C U @ ED’S
Tadd and Tina met online…are they ready for the face-to-face?
Casey Stangl (director) is part of American Film Institute’s 2007 Directing Workshop for Women, where C U@ED’S was developed.  Casey was the artistic director of Eye of the Storm Theatre in Minneapolis and was named Artist of the Year and Best Director in 2003.  Casey recently directed Third at the Guthrie Theater. 

THE EPICENE
Mythical lovers Bruno and Filippa vanish for 300 nights to conceive the most dangerously stunning creation the world had ever known in this Greek-chic mini flick.
Raised on a steady diet of fashion magazines and music videos, cinematic duo JoEllen Martinson and William Scott Rees (co directors) have funneled their style-minded, angst-fueled lives into a string of acclaimed, female-focused films under their CandyEyeFactory.com video label, founded in 2003.

THE PARDONER’S TALE
Based on Geoffrey Chaucer’s 14th-century short story of the same name, The Pardoner’s Tale follows three friends as greed tears them apart.
Dan Olson (director) grew up in Hastings, Minnesota and began acting in theatre in middle school. He followed that passion through high school, and while pursuing an economics degree at Hamline University in St. Paul, Dan spent most of his time working on various theatrical productions - both on- and off-stage. In 2004 Dan moved to Los Angeles to study filmmaking at Chapman University and recently received his MFA in Film Production. The Pardoner's Tale is his graduate thesis film.

WHEN I LEARNED WHAT ALL THE HYPE WAS ABOUT, IT WAS BEAUTIFUL
A French-speaking student from Vermont enrolls in college and ends up living with an odd roommate. Overtime, they learn to accept their differences.
A homegrown Minnesotan native, Brian Barnes (director) is a second year film student attending Ithaca College in New York. His film, WHEN I LEARNED WHAT ALL THE HYPE WAS ABOUT, IT WAS BEAUTIFUL, is his directorial debut in film school.

FORGOTTEN
A nun’s chance encounter with a troubled young woman takes an unexpected turn when it’s learned they share a mutual acquaintance. 
A native of Burnsville, Chris Gegax (director) graduated from Minneapolis Community College's Filmmaking Program and moved to Los Angeles to work at Orion Pictures under Director David Anspaugh ("Hoosiers," "Rudy"). In 1997 he began producing and directing narrative short films on his own. Gegax lives in Minneapolis with his wife and daughters.

POLISHED
It's his time to shine...
In March 2002, Jason Lausche and Andrew Hunt (co directors) founded the creative group, Sleepy Eye •.  This boutique specializes in developing original content for the web, television commercials, shorts and feature length films. Sleepy Eye • is currently developing a variety of internet-based programs and shows geared for an online audience.   You can check out Sleepy Eye • on the web at sleepyeyeflix.com
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Further North

Director's Bio
James Snapko has spent over ten years in the film and video industry splitting his attention between advertising, film, and academic work. Further North is his second feature film.

Director's statement
While it's impossible to pinpoint the exact origins of this project and why it was made, I can say that it has something to do with death. All along we discussed making a modern day western, mainly because we liked westerns. The film is violent and that seemed to be a necessary part of expressing who the main characters are and how they deal with the crisis they find themselves in. But once the film came together I realized it really wasn't a western; in fact I don't know what kind of film it is. That's a hard question for me to answer. What I do know is that it's a film that took on a life and energy of its own, and that it moves me in a way I cannot adequately articulate here. But more importantly it's an example of how a group of talented people worked together to create something very special.

Writer/Director: James Snapko

Producers: Blair Prax, Jake Perron

Cast:
Lee Adams (John Malone)
Ryan Wotherspoon (Thomas)
Dawn Brodey (Brenda)
Adam Fielitz (Jim Mortimer)
Sam L. Landman (Richard Oxley)
Emily Fradenburgh (Rachel)
Larry Laverty (The Sheriff).

FOR FULL CAST AND CREW VISIT http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0986271/

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Fearless Females

LEFT BEHIND WITHOUT A CHOICE – WORK IN PROGRESS
Kim (Walsh) Borgan has been a volunteer for several animal rescue organizations over the last 5 years, and has been certified as an Emergency Animal Rescue Services volunteer through United Animal Nations. She made 3 trips to the Gulf Coast region as a Hurricane Katrina Animal Rescue volunteer for the Best Friends Animal Society camp in Tylertown, Mississippi.  Prior to this film, Kim worked as Assistant Director on "Hexadermy" (48 Hour Film Festival, 2006).
On August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina turned the gulf coast region into a sea of loss and despair. Animals desperately searched and pleaded for help as they were left behind with no choice but to endure a hurricane, floods and a fight to survive the streets on their own. People from across the United States, Canada and countries abroad heard their cries and took it upon themselves to do something about it.  "Left Behind Without a Choice" explores the less media-friendly side of the animal rescue efforts; the physical and emotional conditions of the animals are told by the very people who cared for them and nurtured them back to health as they recount their journey with Hurricane Katrina animal rescue.

Come and Get Your Meat—meat raffles of Minneapolis.
M.A. Rosko has been a feature reporter at KMSP-TV’s Fox9 Morning News for 8 years, where she has covered just about every quirky story except meat raffles. Before that, she worked in television in Oregon, Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania
A native Pennsylvanian, M.A. Rosko is unfamiliar with the Midwestern obsession with meat raffles when she moved to Minnesota. Frequenting bars and VFW halls, soaking up the beer-and-cholesterol-clogged culture, she is completely won over by the carnivorous competition, and keeps at it until she wins her very own pack o’ meat.

PRISONER 32,232
Gayle Knutson is a 25-year veteran of the film and television industry. She produced and directed the powerful dramatic short film, GRANDFATHER'S BIRTHDAY (www.GrandfathersBirthday.com), winner of 24 awards worldwide including a regional Emmy. Her second independent film, IF THERE WERE NO LUTHERANS...WOULD THERE STILL BE GREEN JELL-O®? (www.ChurchSignGuy.com) is a humorous, short documentary about the “Church Sign Guy” of Stillwater, Minnesota.  It has been selected for inclusion in the permanent film collection at the Library of Congress and the Minnesota History Center. 
PRISONER 32,232 tells the story of longtime St. Olaf College (Minnesota) Professor, Reidar Dittman and how the Nazi invasion of his native Norway led to Dittmann’s involvement in the Norwegian Resistance and 15 months of incarceration in Buchenwald concentration camp.  PRISONER 32,232 has been selected for inclusion in the film collection at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C.

LADY OF THE WOODS
Aleshia Mueller has over ten years of experience in media production. From offering editing and DVD authoring workshops at Carleton College to producing long and short narrative, documentary and new media projects that have screened worldwide, Aleshia is passionate about her work. Aleshia is the president of Reel Nomad Productions and is the current secretary of MN Women in Film and Television (MN WIFT).
Lady of the Woods tells the story of Alma Christensen, a self-taught botanist and expert on wild edibles who grew up in an Austrian immigrant family in Central Minnesota. Alma's depression-era conservation ethic, "Use everything but the squeal on a pig!" is increasingly relevant amid current concerns about global sustainability.

REDEFINE
Molly Worre, Carrie Bush and Carrie Volk started their careers working on common feature films and shorts. Since then, all three Women have individually worked as Producers, Directors, Writers and Editors. In September of 2005 they were awarded the IFP access grant, spearheading their first short Documentary REDEFINE. Their creative dynamic, inspired them to begin MC2 Productions, with the intention of producing more films to come.
REDEFINE a Short Documentary that follows two women at the Harriet Tubman Transitional Program as they break away from domestic violence. It explores their pasts and their children’s futures as they fight daily against the cycle of abuse.

WILL WORK FOR YOU
Molly Worre is an award winning local filmmaker. Her career is sustained as a Freelance Script Supervisor, keeping her busy with feature films, shorts and commercials. In 2007 she began Assistant Directing and Producing and now is the Producer for Smokin’ Yogi Films.
Phillip is an obsessed young man who winds up homeless over the pursuit of a woman he has never met. His misson for happiness is paralleled by his his alcoholic friend Zeke, who unwittingly ends up showing Phillip the way to true contentment.

THE PUSSYCATS
JILL BROADFOOT is a set decorator in the commercial/film business and has worked on films such as “Sweet Land”, “Older Than America”, and “Killer Movie”. Ms. Broadfoot is a member of Women in Film and Television and IFP.  “The Pussycats” is her first film.
The Pussycats is a film about a group of 40 year old women tossing their panties to the wind and reclaiming their sense of fun and adventure as they take a road trip to the Corn Palace to see Tom Jones The film, shot as a documentary, explores the women’s complicated lives through interviews and heartfelt conversation.  When the women decorate their rundown RV with leopard fur and pink chiffon, the small, male crew, add whiskers and eyebrows and a sign reading “Tom Jones or Bust!”. Soon the group bonds in ways that few men and women do as they all try to recapture a fun-loving, sensuous attitude that embodies the spirit of… The Pussycat.

BIRDS AT NIGHT (MIGHT FALL)
Bridget Riversmith is a self-taught artist, web designer, and animator living in Duluth, Minnesota. Drawing upon dreams, memories, emotions, and other tricks of the light, Riversmith creates vibrant gouache and acrylic paintings, wood carvings, metal sculptures, and animation which evoke narratives of joy despite loss of innocence, embracing entropy and chaos, and the endless quagmire of adventure. Since taking part in her first public exhibit at the Minnesota Fringe Festival in 2002, she's gone from rewiring lamps at Goodwill Industries in Duluth to exhibiting her award-winning artwork in Toronto, Budapest, and New York City. Her artwork can be viewed online at:  www.redrabbitriversmith.com
Fatally young, asleep at the wheel, and heading over a cliff to the sea, a boy and girl share a near-life experience as they turn into birds.

The Red Tail – WORK IN PROGRESS
Dawn Mikkelson (Producer/Senior Director/Writer): Named to AV Multimedia Producer’s 2004 National “Top Producers Showcase”, Mikkelson is both an award-winning media producer and documentary filmmaker.
Melissa Koch (Producer/Director/Writer) is an emerging filmmaker. Ms.  Koch is collaborating on her first feature length documentary about a subject as close to home as it gets, her family.
August 2007 , the Koch family and the crew of The Red Tail traveled the streets of Hong Kong to meet the worker who is doing the outsourced airline mechanic job Roy Koch used to do in Minnesota. Roy’s daughter and film Director Melissa Koch, joins award-winning documentary filmmaker Dawn Mikkelson (Senior Director) to tell the personal story of working-class America in a global economy. This extraordinary young woman explores the trail of broken dreams left by a powerful corporation, while rediscovering the meaning of family and just how far they will go for one another. Through the lens of the Northwest Airlines struggle and its impact on one inspiring family, the Koch's, The Red Tail explores the systemic destruction of the working-class in America and the impact of globalization on us all.

DAD AND ME
Carrie Volk is a local freelance filmmaker aiming her passion into meaningful narrative scripts and documentary films. Carrie’s career focus is writing, editing and cinematography. She currently works as an Assistant Editor for Charthouse Learning.
This short documentary deals with the connection and separation between a father and daughter. Through reminiscing about their personal past, dark memories of carelessness, alcoholism and suicide link the two together. The father has suffered from long-term memory loss, and the daughter longs to find that needed connection between family.

FRITZ: THE WALTER MONDALE STORY – WORKING TITLE  and  DIVORCE CAMP
Melody Gilbert is an independent documentary filmmaker who has directed andproduced for film and television for more than 20 years. She has made fourindependent feature-length documentaries in the past five years: URBAN EXPLORERS: INTO THE DARKNESS (2007), A LIFE WITHOUT PAIN (2005),WHOLE (2003) and MARRIED AT THE MALL (2002).  All of her films have screened at major film festivals, in theaters and on television worldwide, including the Sundance Channel. She produces, directs, and shoots most of her films. Her website is www.frozenfeetfilms.com.

FRITZ: THE WALTER MONDALE STORY (WORKING TITLE)
Walter Mondale believes politics and public service build bridges rather thanbarriers. In this documentary, we explore the former Vice President's extraordinary life from the 1960s through today, from Minnesota to White Houseand back. Mr. Mondale probes the issue of American values and, through histeaching at the University of Minnesota, he inspires a new generation to seek a life of public service.

DIVORCE CAMP-  WORK IN PROGRESS
When a woman faces the shocking reality of divorce, her life is shattered. Whether the cause was abuse, infidelity, or lack of love, everything in her life that could be trusted disappears. Enter "Daisy Camp,” a place where women are taught how to pick up the pieces and move on. Over the course of a weekend,“campers” learn the “nuts and bolts” of divorce as well as struggle to regaintheir sense of power. Through tears and fear, each creates a vision of a newlife beyond her divorce where she can believe in herself again.

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MUSIC THAT MOVES – MUSIC VIDS AND DOCS

Wednesday January 30th
Prince, Soul Asylum, The Replacements; the common thread running through all of these artists is that they came from Minnesota. There are countless other great bands that have started right here in the Twin Cities and with so much music being created, you would have to imagine there would be a few music videos being created as well.

Your about to find out there are more than a few as Fearless Filmmakers unveils MUSIC THAT MOVES – a collection of the best music videos and documentaries currently being produced by Minnesota filmmakers. Veterans such as Chuck Statler, Rick Fuller and Phil Harder will be leading the way with notable artists such as Dan Wilson (Semisonic), The OWLS and a "secret" EXCLUSIVE behind the scenes look at one of the greatest "hair" bands of all time,

MUSIC THAT MOVES ROSTER

Title: "Stop"
Band: Against Me!
Director: Justin Staggs
Producer: Shane Nelson & Justin Staggs
Run Time: 02:39

Title  "Snow Day"
Band : Patrick McGuigan
Director: Andy Grund
Producer: Andy Grund
Runtime: 2:41

Title: “The man with the shovel is the man I am going to marry”
Band : To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie
Director: Tristan Allen
Producer: Brady Kiernan & Tristan Allen
Runtime: 6:48

Title: "Channel"
Band: The Owls
Director: Phil Harder
Producer: Phil Harder
Run time:  2:21 

Title: “ A Violet Walk”
Band:  Jenny Dalton
Director:  Jason P. Schumacher
Producer: Jason P Schumacher
Runtime: 4min 33sec

Title             "Early Mornin' Tony"  
Band Name   Felt
Label            RhymeSayers Entertainment
Director        Nick Simon
Producer      Dan Merritt
Runtime       2:37
Website       www.make-a-dent.com

Title “Girl”
Band: Pepe Deluxe
Directed by Paul Malmstrom and Linus Karlsson
Produced by Bob Medcraft
Runtime: 3:37

Title: “We Love You (Billy Budd)”
Band: Red Red Groovy (featuring Tiny Tim)
Produced and Directed by Rick Fuller and Clayton Condit
Executive Producer Brett Edgar

Title: “Dan Wilson - Free Life"
EPK (Short Version)
Produced by Rick Fuller
Runtime : 8

Title: “Fortune”
Band : Ela
Director: Eli Ljung
Runtime: 2:56

Title: “Devil and the Witch”
Band: Ouija Radio
Directed by Paul Moehring
Runtime: 3:35

Title: “The Sound from the Ceiling”
Produced and Directed by: Chuck Statler
off-line editorial: Jagged Edge
on-line editorial: Crash & Sue
Runtime: 6:30

Title “ Do You Know Your Neighbors?”
Band: His Mischief
Director: Jon Nowak
Producer: Bobby Marsden
Runtime: 3:45

Title : “The Way On”
Band : The Owls
Director : Todd Cobery
Producer: Brady Kiernan
Runtime: 3:08

Title: “An Instant”
Band: Revolver Modele
Director: Paul Moehring
Runtime : 3:45

Title :” The Dregs”
Director: Frost Simula
Runtime : 15:35

Title: "Stop"
Band: Against Me!
Director: Justin Staggs
Producer: Shane Nelson & Justin Staggs
Run Time: 02:39

Title: “Let Me Come Home”
Band: Limbeck
Director: Shane Nelson and Justin Pierre
Produced by Shane Nelson
Runtime: 4:18

Title: “ Hey MOM! I’m on Tour!”
Director: Ryan Schaddelee
Runtime: 7:30

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THE LISTENING PROJECT thelisteningprojectfilm.com

About the Filmmakers :
Dominic Howes & Joel Weber (Co-Directors)
Dominic and Joel are co-owners of the Minneapolis-based production company
Rikshaw Films. In 2005 they co-directed their first documentary film,
the 48-minute Awakening. Filmed in Afghanistan, India, Colombia, and South Dakota, Awakening explores the emergence of micro-finance as a tool for economic empowerment and poverty alleviation in the developing world. Awakening won the Audience Award for best short documentary at the 2006 Santa Cruz International Film Festival.

Dominic was born in Philadelphia, PA, but grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. He plays the Indian tabla drums and is a devoted exponent of the Hindustani classical music style from India. He is an experienced home-builder using eco-friendly construction practices. Dominic was a contributing author for Alternative Construction: Contemporary Natural Building Methods (2000) and his work was featured in the book, Building With Earth, by Paulina Wojciechowksa (2001).

Joel was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota with a degree in Film Studies. He also holds an MA degree in International Business from Saint Mary’s University in Minnesota. Joel served as the director of photography for both Awakening and The Listening Project. Prior to pursuing a career as a documentary filmmaker Joel played drums and toured North America with the popular jazz/funk trio The Greyhounds.

Jim Pohlad (Executive Producer)
Jim Pohlad is executive vice president of Marquette Financial Companies and serves as a member of its Board of Directors. Under Jim’s leadership, Marquette has built a strong portfolio of high-performing businesses. He also has led the acquisition of several fast-growing specialty finance organizations to expand Marquette’s product depth to areas of automobile, equipment, construction, land development and commercial real estate financing.

Jim is a director and vice president of the Pohlad Companies and a member of the executive committee of the Minnesota Twins.

Jim’s civic involvement includes work on behalf of organizations and programs that support the well being and interests of children and families in the Twin Cities and surrounding communities. He currently serves on the boards of the Pohlad Family Foundation and The Minneapolis Foundation. He has actively supported and been a business leader for the United Way and the YWCA of Minneapolis Capital Campaign. He has been General Walk Chair for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation Walk. His involvement also includes serving on the boards of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Greater Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce. Jim is a graduate of the University of Southern California. He holds a degree in business administration and is a certified public accountant.

About the Film:
CO-DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT

Civilizations, empires and nation states have come and gone for millennia but none before eclipse the massive economic, social and military power that the United States now wields. There are few people on earth who are not affected by this. With this in mind a central question emerges, “what do people think about the United States?”
In mid-2005 we were finishing our first documentary film, Awakening, about the emerging phenomenon of micro-credit. After two years of work in four countries on a shoestring budget, we were beginning to ruminate on what we would do next.  Awakening had taken us into rural India and an Afghan war zone. As we worked through post production in the safe confines of our Minneapolis studio, a new conversation evolved in response to Executive Producer Jim Pohlad’s curiosity about current global opinion of the United States.

As a team, we’d been lucky enough to have spent significant time overseas and could recount many encounters in which our American identity overshadowed all else. Whether it was the time we spent in Afghanistan, visits to Europe or even a long-ago vacation to Mexico, we had often seen firsthand the deeply passionate feelings evoked by the mention of “America.”

Our conversation soon turned to brainstorming how we could explore this idea through documentary filmmaking. Like all Americans, we had our own feelings about the United States and its place in the world. We were much more interested in finding a way to create a platform for other people’s ideas around the world. As our friend Marcelo who we met during filming in Brazil said, “God has given you two ears and one mouth, to listen more than speak.” This was the ethic we tried to maintain with our film, The Listening Project.

The film was edited from over 300 hours of footage shot on location in fourteen countries. A wide-ranging group of people are portrayed, with myriad different views and ideas of the United States. Not surprisingly, we found that the relatively simple idea of “what people think of America” is in reality incredibly complex.  Rarely were any of the responses to our questions cut-and-dried, but instead often thoughtful, personal, and contradictory. People’s views were often interwoven with the day-to-day reality of their own regional, political and social environments. We tried to avoid providing ready-made “answers” or thrusting a convenient narrative onto the many hours of footage we sorted through. Ultimately, we chose characters and subject matter that would provide both “person on the street” opinions and more in-depth examples of U.S. impact on peoples lives in other countries.

Visually, the film combines a cinema verité style with some journalistic qualities, such as enlisting four friends who we followed traveling and interacting with our subjects. However, our correspondents – or listeners as we like to call them – are not professional journalists, academics or experts on foreign policy. They are simply four Americans from different backgrounds with their own unique stories and perspectives. Besides providing a vehicle to help the viewer experience our global journey, the listeners also shaped the film through their interactions and perceptions. However, the emphasis always remains on the fascinating people we encountered everywhere we went.

Stylistically, we avoided making a traditional talking head-style documentary. Instead, the action unfolds in the homes, workplaces and communities of our subjects. By employing small cameras and a team never larger than four, we were able to be present in the moment with our characters. Rather than an obstacle, we found the camera to be a tool capable of capturing moments of true human vitality.  Ultimately, our goal was to be reactive and observant, not controlling of every situation, and the scale of our production helped facilitate this.

We placed a strong emphasis on the cinematography in an attempt to give a worthy depiction of the rich and diverse cultures of each location and to bring a sense of humanity to the film. Hours and hours were spent behind the camera, on street corners, in living rooms, and simply capturing the day-to-day rhythm of life.  We have portrayed numerous people and stories that simply aren’t found in the countless polls on global opinion of the United States. We hope that the film will engage viewers with the seemingly limitless ideas of what America means to people around the world. We hope that viewers will be moved by the engaging are left less fearful and more curious about the world around them. It is our ultimate hope that Americans who see this film will be compelled to ask themselves what it means to be a citizen not just of the U.S., but of the world.
-Dominic Howes & Joel Weber

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Fright Night

9 Films by local filmmakers that will tickle your funny bone and send chills down your spine...Featuring the premiere of the Jon Springer film "DOLLFACE"

DOLLFACE
As a way of escaping from her estranged boyfriend, Maxine takes a job sitting a creepy two-story house in the dead of winter. After an uneasy encounter with an equally creepy real estate manager, Maxine settles into the job. She passes the time searching the old house, looking for the perfect subject for her watercolor painting. She discovers a child’s doll in the basement and goes to work on the portrait, only to become obsessed and eventually consumed by the identity of her new still life companion.

Jon Springer is an award-winning writer/director with regional and national acclaim, and is regarded as an established Midwestern cult horror filmmaker. Ain’t it Cool News described Springer’s short film Living Dead Girl as a “hilarious silent-movie spoof…a grotesque, full-color, Romero-style gore fest.” Film Threat described Springer as “a filmmaker who sees nothing as taboo and whose imagination is something to behold,” and in 2002 City Pages called him “our state's most audacious narrative filmmaker.” Springer was recently awarded the 2007 McKnight Filmmaker Fellowship.

THE DEAD WON’T DIE
SEX, GORE, VIOLENCE, GUNS, NUDITY. A woman is captured and forced to breed zombies....but she will get her revenge in this homage to the film trailers of the 1970's. Produced specifically for the SXSW Grindhouse Trailer Competition, it was selected by Robert Rodriguez as one of three finalists and screened at his Grindhouse 101 panel.

Todd Cobery is an east coast transplant who has spent the past ten years as a filmmaker and producer in Minneapolis. He has worked in commercials, music videos and narrative film, slowly earning a reputation as a filmmaker with a unique perspective and sense of humor. Chuck Terhark of the City Pages’ says, “if Cobery has Tarantino’s taste for splatter, he’s also got Lynch’s gift for haunting imagery.” His 2006 entry into the 48 hour film festival, “Dangerous Proximity” won the best film award, and he has directed several shorts and music videos that have screened all over the U.S. and Europe. Cobery is currently working on turning his award winning trailer, “The Dead Won’t Die” into a full-length feature film.

PIRATES VS. ZOMBIES
When a pub crawl of 300 Zombies meets a pub crawl of 100 Pirates anything can (and does) happen. This short documentary can best be described like this: Michael Jackson's Thriller walks into a bar, sits down next to Pirates of the Caribbean and says, how about a drink for my friend West Side Story.

Jesse Roesler finds human beings fascinating, funny and fantastic. So naturally, he likes making movies about them. His babies have been broadcast on PBS as well as Al Gore's the Current channel. Recently his team won best 48 Hour Film in MSP and the Audience Award for his Grain Belt Commercial Contest entry. Visit www.deliciousfilimworks.com to view more of his short films.

Jeremy Wilker, an independent business owner, spent over 18 years in the print world while dabbling here and there with video. The sheer lunacy of the first zombie pub crawl hooked him on documentary storytelling and led to two recent awards for his team at the 48 Hour Film Festival ("Best Ensemble Cast" 2005 & 2006). He recently finished two short documentaries for the 2007 Greatest Generation project and several web video projects for local clients. Jeremy can be found online at www.moonpost.com

FLASHLIGHT
After becoming stranded on a country road, a helpless motorist finds himself the victim of a toying intruder.

Mike P Nelson grew up in the suburb of Maple Grove, MN. He went to film school at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and made his love of movies and monsters his life’s work. In 2005 he started Random Creatureface Films with two other local filmmakers, Ben Trandem and Lance Hendrickson and shortly after shot their first feature, Summer School. He also started a small subsidiary company tagged Rockford Road Pictures, dedicated to creating quickly made, yet stylized exploitation films in the action and horror genres. Aside from making and directing film, he currently works at Undertone Music in Downtown Minneapolis as a sound designer for film and television. His current work as a sound designer includes several short independent films and the feature film Summer School. He also is a dialogue editor for the Food Network show "Diners Drive In's and Dives."

Seeking Wellness Part One: Cup of Friendship, Shrine of Scars
A conceptual video project that uses traditional narrative film technique combined with unique visual and aural experimentation to tell the heroic story of a group of burn survivors during their first painful steps towards recovery. 'Seeking Wellness Part 1: Cup of Friendship, Shrine of Scars' is the first in a series of projects exploring ideas relating to victimization, recovery and empathy. Winner- 'Most Disturbing Film' -Seattle True Independent Film Festival. Winner- 'Experimentation in Film Award' Sydney Underground Film Festival

Daniel Schneidkraut was born in Estes Park, Colorado but spent the majority of his childhood living in Boulder, Colorado with his parents, Julie and Andrew. Daniel began making films in the mid-nineties and has had the majority of his films shown publicly in small festivals and other venues. Mr. Schneidkraut now resides in Minneapolis where he works in building maintenance and low-voltage cable installation.

CUT OFF
A short look at how a minor case of poor traffic etiquette can lead to a major case of road rage. Watch how the protection of a speeding automobile can make a man feel brave. Watch how quickly that bravery disappears.

Pete Marcy, Chris Marcy, and Adam Anderson grew up in Minneapolis and call themselves Failureboys. They shot Cut-Off while they were in post-production for Firefly (2005), a sci-fi feature made for a budget of $6,000. They recently finished shooting a feature-length horror movie.

URINE TROUBLE
Killer Urinal Cakes attack unsuspecting restaurant patrons in this absurdly gruesome and taboo short ... "They've been pissed on, now they're pissed OFF!"

Along with "Urine Trouble," Sam Thompson has directed other short horror films, including "UNSETTLED: Zombies vs. Pilgrims" and "There's a Werewolf in My Attic!" All 3 can be found in the new horror-shorts collection, "Mutilated Movies," which is now available on DVD from sbtfilms.com.

WAR PROPHETEER
"What is the cost of the Iraq war?" An American contractor working during the current war in Iraq is violently abducted and thrown into a room alone. A lone video camera coldly records him as he waits and struggles to contemplate his fate.

Paul von Stoetzel has written/directed several films and plays in the Twin Cities area, including the award winning short H.P. Lovecraft adaptation, “Asleep in the Deep”, and the award winning “Von Convex” that was nominated Best of Fest for the Minneapolis 48 Hour Film Festival. His first feature documentary, SNUFF: a documentary about killing on camera is preparing to travel the film festival circuit while his short film, "Creep" is shown from September to December at the Bryant-Lake Bowl Cabaret Theater. Paul is now editing his newest short film, "My Friend Root Rot" while in post-production for Scrap, a feature documentary about two eccentric builders and their bizarre structures while also preparing to direct Shakespeare's epic tragedy/revenge play Titus Andronicus for the Cromulent Shakespeare Company in late January.

BETTER LEFT ALONE
When an eerie young girl discovers an old man secretly living in the cellar of her parent's rural farmstead, she unwittingly sets in motion a series of events, which prove that some people are better left alone.

Son of a poet and civil engineer, Jake Yuzna has already begun to make a name for himself as a young director among international film festivals. With his short work programmed across six continents and receiving fellowships and awards from the Jerome Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board, as well as the National Endowment for the Arts. Currently he splits his time between Minneapolis and New York City as he works to complete his first feature length film, (open).

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KIDS IN THE BIZ

As September approaches, a change of season is imminent. Fearless Filmmakers likes to change things up as well and the upcoming event has TWO! The first is a move to a new venue. The newly remolded Parkway Theater will open its doors for Fearless with a new screen, lounge seating and full bar now available IN the theater.

The second is a shift in focus. We realized that we have only screened films made by adults. There is another group of filmmakers which have been hard at work and deserve a Fearless look. That group represents the future of filmmaking here in Minnesota and they are the "kids in the biz". There will be over 10 filmmakers ranging in age from 7-17, and some of them come from a gene pool rich with filmmaking experience.

If all that is not enough, Joe Minjares (owner of The Parkway and Pepitos restaurant) has promised to provide appetizers and drinks for the Fearless crowd inside the theater as we listen to the local band "Now, Now Every Children" before the screening, and then test our own rocker skills as we play "Guitar Hero" on the big screen following the screening and Q and A.

This is truly and event for the entire family and a glimpse into what the future holds. Who knows, you may see the first film by the next Scorcese.

Event begins at 5 PM with a reception and live music by "Now, Now Every Children" www.myspace.com/nownoweverychildren . Screening begins at 6 PM. Q and A and After Party to follow with "Guitar Hero" competition.

Over 10 films by the groups "TV By Girls" and "Wazoo TV", along with films by the children of local filmmakers Phil Harder, Vaughn Juarez and many more.

Official reception and after party will feature Free Food, Free Drinks, and mingling with the local film community. Tickets for this event are available only on Wednesday September 23rd at 5pm at the Parkway Theater Box Office. Ticket prices are $9 General Admission, $7 Students, $5 for children.

Filmmakers:

Sam Har is ten years old. He is the son of film maker Mark Har. Sam has appeared in a television commercial for Great Clips and a music video for Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20. Sam with the help of his friend Jordan Lund shot the short “Dr. Strangemind” in one day in the fall of 2006. Sam loves Snowboarding, Camping & Rock n Roll. Sam is in the fifth grade at Forrest Elementary School in Crystal

Otto Harder made his debut at A Fearless filmmakers event staring in "LOOSE TOOTH" directed by his dad. Maddy and Otto met at New City School in2005 and have been friends and creative partners since. They just shot a new short film called "SEARCH FOR CLAY MONSTER".

Madeleine Grace Maynor is a fifth grader at New City School. She loves to play piano (especially scary pieces in minor keys) and to play with her friends. Her favorite part about making movies is adding funny ideas to the plot.

Molly Nemer, age 12, has been part of TVbyGIRLS, since she started middle school. Having always enjoyed art, writing, and music, Molly finds filmmaking a perfect combination of her interests.

Cameron MacKenzie is a 9 year old 4th grade student at Academy For Children (Montessori) in Fargo, ND. Besides being a social butterfly, Cameron thrives being on the stage or in front of a camera. Cameron’s debut “behind” the camera came with The WaZoo! Show when she directed her short film “Abigail Makes A Choice,” which she wrote at the age of 8.

16-year-old Rachel Quednau is very involved in percussion including school band, pep band, percussion ensemble and the Twin Cities Youth Symphonies (GTCYS). She loves to write. She's part of TVbyGIRLS because "Filming is a blast, I've made lots of new friends, and I'd like to change the media's current portrayal of women."

Ashley Roberts is 17 years old and takes Video Production, Video Production for Television, and Screenwriting at the ComArts High School in Minneapolis. She plans to go on to study Education and hopes to teach screenwriting someday.

Josh Carlson is a senior at ComArts High School in Minneapolis and is a talented screenwrititer and editor. Jarvis Gibson graduated from ComArts in 2007 and is planning to study advertising at MCTC this year

Daren McGrath is a junior at Belle Plain High School. He often works on projects that his mother and step-father are putting together. Daren has also learned the basics of grip and electric duties and makes himself very handy on set. Daren’s interests are computers and participating in Airsoft military simulations. Daren enjoys stories that are not predictable and are on the edge of social expectations. This is the reason Daren chose to work with such controversial topics in his short film, “Out of Nowhere.”

Tyler McGrath is a sophomore at Belle Plaine High School and has been drawing since he could pick up a pencil. Tyler’s work has been featured in projects such as “The Tipparinos” and other works produced by his mother and step-father. Tyler has an inspiring passion for art and his skills have earned him honors at the State level. Tyler has drawn storyboards and conceptual artwork for many of his parent’s pitches and productions.

Hannah Nemer, 15, has been an active member of TVbyGIRLS for the past 3 years and sees it as an opportunity to not only expand her filmmaking skills, but also to help share girls' voice. She loves the community of TVbyGIRLS, and hopes she can continue to explore other art mediums to express herself.

Jesse LaVercombe is a15-year-old hooligan, currently attending the world-famous Southwest Public High School. His film career started in January of this year. He joined The WaZoo! Show in April as an actor and made his directing debut in July with “Fly Fishing and Selling Bras.”

Ruthie Stein, a sophomore from Northfield, MN joined The WaZoo! Show in 2006. Ruthie's credits include 1 writing credit (“The Director's Nightmare”) and 2 directing credits (“Block Heads 1-3” and “The Director's Nightmare”). Ruthie has also been actively involved with other crew positions and acting for many WaZoo! sketches. Her great enthusiasm for this industry is definitely shaping her goals for the future.

Maddy Shaw is a junior at Southwest High School, Maddy has been with TVbyGirls for over 3 years. She likes to paint, listen to music, run, hang out with friends, go to the beach, eat, and make films. She also runs Cross Country and Track. “I want to do something with film in college. I wish I could dance.”

Sara Baranczyk, an 11-year-old from Saint Paul, is making a splash in the film and video production world as an up and coming writer and director. She started her career with an interest in acting that began at age 3. At the age of 9 she began writing and directing sketches for The WaZoo! Show, opening the door for other young directors in the group. Sara is a sixth grader at Horace Mann Elementary School this year. Her credits include 5 writing, 5 directing, and numerous crew credits for The WaZoo! Show and independent films.

Blade Yocum, age 8, of southwestern Minnesota is a fourth grader at the Community School. He excels in math...loves to act, do martial arts, skateboard. The "Eating Out" sketch he directed for The WaZoo! Show was his directing debut. He's presently working on some ideas for another sketch.

A freshman at Southwest High School, Annie Wood loves cooking, photography, filmmaking (of course) and journalism. She writes for her school district's youth voice newspaper and loves it! “Through TVbyGIRLS I've become so much more aware the importance of youth voice, especially girls' voices, and how we can have an impact using the media. I love that we can tell real stories and open people's eyes. “

Amalia Nicholson is a sophomore at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. She originally joined TVbyGirls because it was a unique and exciting way to access filmmaking, a medium new to her at the time. She has since enjoyed it so much that she has decided to make it her major and plans to work with young girls for a long time into the future.

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SNUFF: A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT KILLING ON CAMERA (sneak preview)
July 25th

Synopsis
"Snuff: a documentary about killing on camera" examines the existence of films where people are murdered on camera and the culture that surrounds said films. Through interviews with former FBI Profilers, Cultural Academics, and Film Historians the film delves into the subject by attempting to define what a Snuff Film is. Snuff Films are, by legal definition, made with the intention of distribution to a relatively mass market. However, the FBI claims there is no evidence to prove the existence of Snuff, and, therefore, Snuff is a myth. Many others have found Snuff Films to be at the most a perpetuation of American violent culture. This ideology is usually tied in with extreme horror or cult films that have been investigated as suspected Snuff, all of which have been found "innocent" of actually capturing a murder on film.

The history of Snuff begins in the late 1960's, a time in which Snuff was primarily a tool for those who opposed Pornography. Different political groups attacked the Pornography Industry by claiming Snuff Films, the most abhorrent concept in film, was linked with Pornography. Soon after, rumors began circulating that serial killers such as Charles Manson made Snuff Films that have circulated among various cult members.

Snuff also analyzes the relationship between war and this "myth" that has seemingly been debunked time and time again, yet continues to thrive. The Snuff Film was born during the time of the Vietnam War, and it is clear that Snuff and war remain intrinsically linked. This is shown through examination of the current Iraq War. Specifically, the documentary exposes the videos of beheaded Americans as the newest manifestation of Snuff Films, and that these images are only at the surface of this genesis.

"Snuff: a documentary about killing on camera" discusses the ways in which the existence or non-existence of these films brings together such unlikely bedfellows as Pornography, news media, war, horror films, and serial killers. It depicts a dark reality that has been largely ignored by the media, and yet is one of the most disturbing concepts of the last century.

About the Filmmaker :
Paul von Stoetzel has written/directed several films and plays in the Twin Cities area, including the award winning short H.P. Lovecraft adaptation, “Asleep in the Deep”. He has won numerous other awards for his screenplays and various short films he has directed including Granite Ridge Productions submission for the Minneapolis 48 Hour Film Festival, "Von Convex; The Cutting Edge of Experimental Filmmaking", that won two awards and was nominated for the Best of Fest. He is now in post-production for The Belly of the Beast, a documentary about missing children and Scrap a documentary about two eccentric builders and their bizarre structures. Paul is also preparing to direct Shakespeare’s epic tragedy/revenge play Titus Andronicus for the Cromulent Shakespeare Company in late January

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US Premiere –
IMPALER:THE DOCUMENTARY
May 30th

Synopsis
Jonathon 'The Impaler' Sharkey threw himself into the race for Minnesota Governor on January 13, 2006. His thirteen point platform included helping farmers, improving the public school system, and advocating for better benefits for United States veterans. However, it was his 'coming out' to the media as a 'Hecate Witch', 'Satanic Dark Priest' and 'Sanguaryan Vampyre' that grabbed Jonathon National and International attention. His candidacy marked the beginning of the largest amount of media coverage ever given to an unknown third party candidate running for Governor in American history.

In the first week alone Jonathon was doing National TV interviews and 'A' list radio programs. People wanted to know about his political views, specifically, his plan to impale all child molesters, rapists, drug dealers, terrorists and murders on the Governor’s Mansion lawn. But while Jonathon's fame was exploding his private life was falling apart. Because of his outrageous campaign, Julie, Jonathon's Pagan wife, was fired from her job as a school bus driver for "being a witch" and simultaneously pulled into a court battle involving the custody of her two youngest children. Then after three weeks of almost superstar fame Jonathon was arrested for outstanding warrants under his real name, 'Rocky Adonis Flash' and that's when the story becomes truly odd.

IMPALER documents the strange fascination the media had with Jonathon and the macabre, absurd, funny and ultimately heartbreaking events that took place throughout this 8 month long documentary.

Directors Notes:
Going into this I was expecting one of two things. Either a hilarious documentary about a bumbling fool or a sadistic gore fest filled with satanic rituals and vampire orgies. Thankfully, neither was the case. In fact, nothing I expected from this “Satanic Vampire” came to fruition. Jonathon is an absolute mystery to me. He worships Satan yet holds Christian values. He fantasizes about personally impaling people but he’s actually a pretty nice guy. His favorite bands are Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi. He’s a former wrestler who loves NASCAR, but he still prays to Satan daily.

It was close to midnight on a Tuesday when I ran across Jonathon’s campaign website. This was before he exploded in the media. I was taking a break from writing my groundbreaking, “great American screenplay” when I became engrossed by the apparent madness that was Jonathon Sharkey. He was writing about having terrific sex with his half sister, Kathleen Sharkey. He threatened several high ranking Federal officials with his “bones to anger” curse. In Sharkey’s world he was magically changing the weather and causing earthquakes in locations that angered him. Then I got to his thirteen point platform. His platform was actually one of a moderate Democrat, with a touch of right wing extremism sprinkled in for fun. So I did what any bored 28 year old kid from Texas would do. I called him.

The next day I was in Minnesota intrusively pointing my camera in his face. Eight months later I was in the editing room trying to figure out what just happened. My goal in crafting this story was to simply make an honest documentary. And yes, there is a subtle overreaching theme. If you look hard enough, there are social statements about the American media, the pursuit of fame, and American way of life. However, in the end, this documentary is about one man who may or may not be mentally insane and the affect he has on people.

My ultimate goal in doing this documentary was to make it interesting and entertaining, while not editorializing. It was a very raw and emotional experience for me so that’s what I put on the screen. I want each person to have a different opinion as to who Jonathon is and why he does what he does.

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MINNESOTA SHORTS PROGRAM – APRIL 25TH – MSPIFF

Total runtime 105 minutes

Program Notes:

“An across the board mix of some of the best short films Minnesota has to offer. The only drawback to this program was that it could only include 11.”

Directors present!

1. DEVLISH MAN(Music Video)
Director: Eli Ljung
Runtime: 3:40
Year : 2007
Country of origin: USA
The story of an ill-fated love triangle is told with the music of local recording artist Haley Bonar.

2. OUT OF LINE(Animation)
Director: Bradley Pearson
Runtime: 2:20
Year: 2006
Country: USA
A young ball attempts to “bounce” like the other balls it sees. It soon discovers happiness by “bouncing” it’s own way.

3. THE MALLORYS GO BLACK MARKET (Comedy)
Directors: JoEllen Martinson and William Scott Rees
Runtime: 8:00
Year: 2006
Country:  USA
In this cheeky love letter to 1980’s clothing, a pair of Big Apple fashionistas and their misfit sidekick embrace the thrills of materialism in their scheme to export two suitcases worth of vintage casual-wear to unfortunate teenagers through the Russian black market.

4. H-E-N-R-Y (Drama)
Director:  William Kruse
Runtime: 18:30
Year: 2006
Country: USA
Hank meets Henry on the prison basketball court. It’s Hank’s first day in, Henry’s last. Henry challenges Hank to a game of H-E-N-R-Y, a version of the playground basketball game H-O-R-S-E. The wager is for Hank’s basketball, the only possession he’s got. With each shot comes a new reality. Hank and Henry discover that despite the difference in their circumstance they are more similar than first perceived. When the game concludes the two are connected in a profound and surprising way. Shot on location inside and outside of the historic Stillwater prison, H-E-N-R-Y provides a unique perspective on confinement, using a lyrical, atmospheric tone.

5. YOU’LL BE FINE  (Drama)
Director: Catrin Magnusson
Runtime: 6:30
Year: 2007
Country: USA
Claire wants nothing more than to skip town and forget about her absent mother and her mother’s foul boyfriend. But on her way out of town, Claire runs head-to-head with her younger sister, Sam, and she begins to realize that her freedom has a price.  

6. Miles Crowe’s 1st Annual Egg Hunt Standoff (Mockumentary)
Directors: Adam Anderson, Brent Augustinack, Chris Marcy, Joe Marcy, Pete Marcy
Runtime: 8
Year: 2007
Country: USA
Miles Crowe loves Easter. Sure, he appreciates the religious significance of the holiday, but his real passion is for the egg hunt. This year he has invited four friends over to search for dozens of eggs in the wooded acres of his backyard. When the men are split into pairs to find the eggs, conflicting personalities hinder productive teamwork as their egg-hunting skills are put to the test, and each man leaves with a different take on the experience.

7. THE TIPPARINOS (Comedy)
Director: Vaughn Juares
Runtime: 8
Year: 2006
Country: USA
Winner of the 2006 48 Hour Film Project Sam Adams shootout, this live action/animation brings a new meaning to the word “gangster”.

8. Tag (Action/Adventure)
Director: William Prouty
Runtime: 5
Year: 2007
Country: USA/UK
A bike messenger chases a skater through the streets of London.

9. Tiny Explosions (Drama)
Director: Collier White
Runtime: 30
Year: 2006
Country: USA
Set in a post-epidemic Minneapolis, this musical tells a story of cyclists empowered by the conceal and carry law passed at the turn of the millennium. Young and idealistic, they arm themselves with handguns to defend against the careless rage of motorists.  Carissa (Linnea Mohn) and her friends cycle through a brightly colored but evacuated landscape, dreaming of the coming post-petroleum future while evading the dangerous adherents of car culture. But while her friend Hayden (Chase Korte) agitates the rabble, Carissa’s activism subtly shifts as she identifies with a police woman responsible for her arrest (Christine Clayburg).  In the film’s three original songs, Carissa expresses the sentiment of motorists, who she increasingly sees as the wretched offspring of a desperately alienated culture. The film features Chase Korte, a local actor who recently died tragically in a car accident in Bullhead, Arizona

10. The Conservationist (Dramedy)
Director: Matt Goldman
Runtime: 6:30
Year: 2006, USA
The Conservationist is about a simple man who l  lives a simple life.  He is determined to leave the earth unscarred by his presence, taking only what he needs and recycling whatever possible.

11. Sweetness to Infinity
Directors: Shane Nelson and Justin Pierre
Runtime: 3:30
Year:  2007, USA
A young idealist, devastated by the dwindling supply of his favorite concentrated juice beverage, must overcome his agoraphobic tendencies and the gravitational pull of the davenport in order to save the lives of 38 unenthused extras 5who’s lives hang in the balance.

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March 28, 2007

It’s Killing Me. 
Having found a malignant tumor in a part of the brain that will lead to a horribly painful death, this short drama follows this young family’s journey to euthanasia.  It is narrated through the voice of the 5 year old boy. 
OrangeApple Productions (OAP) is a new production company to the Twin Cities area.  OAP  shoots Wedding Video, Family History Interviews, as well as Fictional Shorts, and moving to do Feature Films as well.  For more information please visit our website (orangeappleproductions.com) or e-mail us at info@orangeappleproductions.com.

The Man Who Couldn't Stop Eating Cake
 A man in serious need of motivation and personal fullfilment finds it in the form of an enormous sheet cake.  But, will his hunger tosucceed get the best of him?
Aaron Gelperin and Steve Blehert have spent a long time in collaboration on independent film projects.  In developing their oeuvre, they strive to weave richly layered motifs and symbols into a nuanced cinematic
tapestry.  While their films are intended for sophisticated audiences interested in complex themes and spirited post-film conversation, they find their work is best appreciated by children ages 2-8.

Turtle
Jim is a simple man who finds solace in the Bible, the community at church, and white toast every morning. It all changes when he receives a message from God that he is to build an Ark before the impending flood.
Matt Osterman has written, directed, or produced over twelve documentaries, narrative shorts, music videos, and feature screenplays.  His latest project was executive produced by Jon Stewart and aired nationally on SpikeTV. Matt also spends time copywriting for Target and Best Buy and was also the lead researcher for a National Geographic cover article in November of 2005.  

$$$ (In:love)
“Wrong Answers” is a series of telephone conversations between Benjamin Martin and various callers, usually telemarketers. Serving as an alternative to suffering, “Wrong Answers” obscures these unwanted telephone calls into something worth putting up with. In this animated adaptation of the track entitled "$$$ (In: Love)", a college-educated pistol participates in banter with a fast-talker
Benjamin Martin graduated from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 2004 and has since worked as a  photographer, videographer and multimedia design artist. For more information on Ben and his projects, please visit www.benjaminm.com. www.chowprojects.com

Girl Next Door
An attractive girl must protect herself from her house’s haunted past while in her skivvies.
Joe Johnson is a local recording engineer and musician who dabbles in film in his free time. He likes to geek out about lighting.

Manfant
Denise, a first time babysitter for the Applebee family gets much more than she bargained for when she agrees to watch their “special” child for a night in this horror/comedy with a twist.
Ryan Schaddelee graduated from Columbia College, Chicago in 1999 with a degree in Film Directing.  He then moved to Minneapolis and started work as a freelance video technician, director, and producer and began making his own films including “Scream Like a Girl”, “Zombie Chomp”, and “LIKEHELL: The Movie”.  He is currently working on various personal projects including the short “VomiTom” and is contemplating spending the summer touring with ‘80’s hair band Poison again as their video director.

Love (Feature Documentary Trailer)
A shy office worker believes God has implored him to spread love throughout the world. LOVE: A DOCUMENTARY is currently in post-production with a targeted release date of summer, 2007.
Dave Ash works in Finance for a Minnesota glue company. Away from the glitz and glamour inherent in this position, Dave makes films with esteemed filmmaker Christopher Mick. In the fall of 2006, Mick & Ash co-founded 355 Productions LLC, a Hudson, WI-based company that provides full-service video production for corporate clients at a reasonable price when its founders are not busy working on their own non-profit (trust me) projects. 

Karen
Is the snow always whiter on the other side of the street? Karen spends her day off catching up with some old friends, but it is the friend that she is about to meet that will change her bleak view of her world.
Motion City Soundtrack www.motioncitysoundtrack.com / www.epitaph.com frontman Justin Pierre recently put down his guitar and picked up a camera. The result was a 18 minute 16mm short he titled Karen.  Justin is currently recording with Motion City Soundtrack and Cars frontman Rick Ocasek, but will be back behind the camera this spring when he co-directs the music video "Big Drag" for Limbeck. Justin is represented by the William Morris agency. Producer Shane Nelson became a producr/director to score chicks. For more information on Shane Nelson please visit www.omni-fusion.com.

MVP
Winner of the 2006 Grainbelt “Make Your Own Commercial Contest”; this hilarious piece redefines the term “wingman” and takes it to a whole new level.
Ryan Taylor created the boutique production company Prime Productions after graduating college in 2005. He has since went on to work professionally both in videography and photography and just recently completed  the high energy project “Capturing The Art Of Snowboarding”. For a complete list of Ryan’s work please visit www.primeproductions.com

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January 31 , 2007

Fearless Filmmakers Screening: "The Viral Market"

The Fimmakers:

Michael Aaron has been with Fallon for over seven years, joining the agency after serving in the United States Navy as a Deck Division Officer, primarily aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk. Having received his formal business education from Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, Michael put his knowledge of business to work by joining Fallon’s broadcast department in 1999.

Working exclusively with the Director of Broadcast, Michael began developing emerging media projects and creating a new business unit, Fallon Entertainment. Over the next three years, Michael worked on award-winning national campaigns for Citibank, United Airlines, Starbucks, PBS, Timex and BMW— and was a proud part of the development and production team for BMW’s first series of short films, “The Hire.”

Concurrent with his work at Fallon, in February of 2003, Michael assumed the role of Executive Producer of Uncle Forehead Filmworks, a young start-up production company based in Minneapolis, MN. Since Michael’s arrival, Uncle Forehead has produced both commercials and new media projects for blue-chip clients Citibank, Virgin Mobile, The Discovery Channel and Lee Jeans -- the latter of which was an interactive three-episode miniseries entitled “Buddy Lee, Guidance Counselor,” airing on MTV2. Featured in The New York Times, this program allowed viewers to vote, in real-time, on the optional endings to each episode. This was a first for narrative television content.

In 2004, “Suspension,” a short film Michael executive produced (Directed by Jon Nowak and produced entirely in Minnesota) screened in the 2004 Sundance Film Festival as part of Actor/Director Kevin Spacey’s Triggerstreet film festival -- Suspension went on as one of nine winning films in the 2004 Triggerstreet festival.
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Melody Gilbert (Director/Producer/Editor/Cinematographer/Educator) is an independent documentary filmmaker who has worked in film and television for more than 20 years.  She has made four feature-length films in the past four years:  A LIFE WITHOUT PAIN (2005),  WHOLE (2003) and MARRIED AT THE MALL (2002). She will be premiering her new doc URBAN EXPLORERS: INTO THE DARKNESS (www.myspace.com/urbanexplorers) in February 2007 at Cinequest in California. That film will also screen at the Walker Art Center on March 16th. You can contact Melody through her website www.frozenfeetfilms.com.

Melody was recently asked by Best Buy to make some documentary-style "webisodes." The result is a series of 8 short videos that show a behind-the-scenes look at the casting of real Best Buy employees for the 2006 holiday television commercials. The "American Idol" verite’-style shorts were originally posted on an internal website for Best Buy employees. Now you can see all the webisodes on YOUTUBE (type in "Best Buy employee auditions") . The webisodes were shot, directed and produced by Melody Gilbert along with William Scott Rees, who also edited the videos.
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Filmmaking for writer/director Ryan Wood is merely a stepping-stone so he can concentrate on his first love - Vegetable Party Trays.  "Directing actors is nifty and everything," says Wood, "but nothing compares to an artfully crafted cucumber tulip with cherry tomato accents orbiting a bold yet,  inviting dill dipping sauce."  Wood's films have appeared all over the world, including such festivals Toronto International Film Festival, Bermuda International Film Festival, and the Minneapolis/St. Paul Film Festival.  Wood has follow up his wild Internet success, 'Fear of Girls', with 'Fear of Girls: Episode 2' - launching a major comedy website later this year.

In January of 2006 s 'Fear of Girls' was launched on Google Video and quickly became an viral video phenomenon.  To date, 'Fear of Girls' has reached two million views on Google Video alone, became the most blogged site in the world for day in February 2006, been posted dozens of time by fans across the Internet, been added to the Wikipedia, and translated into Russian...  Even an award winning Dungeons & Dragons adventure, "The Pleasure Prison of the B'thuvian Demon Whore', has been published based on the film.

The journey continues with ‘Fear of Girls 2’! We follow up with the lives of Raymond & Doug a year after the first 'Fear of Girls' and how they are dealing with their newly found Internet notoriety.  'Fear of Girls: Episode 2’ will launch a major comedy website later this year.
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In March 2002, Jason Lausche and Andrew Hunt founded the creative group, Sleepy Eye. This boutique specializes in developing original content for the web, television commercials, shorts and feature length films.

In 2005 Sleepy Eye produced a seven dollar short film entitled, “Say Nothing”. The film was later selected as a finalist on Kevin Spacey’s Triggerstreet.com, and was screened at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival. Filmmakers Andrew Hunt and Jason Lausche were covered in the May 2005 issue of Vanity Fair magazine. Recently, “Say Nothing” has experienced online success with over 200,000 views on sites such as Google Video and Revver.com. Sleepy Eye’s newest film, “ Buzzkill” which premiering at Fearless Filmmakers, hopes to have even better success on the viral market

Sleepy Eye’s other accomplishments include awards for a variety of other short films:
“Paper Hearts” – Audience Award Winner and Finalist (2005 48 Hour Film Project, Minneapolis), Best Screenplay (2006 Seattle DRG Film Festival), Official Selection (2006 Solstice Film Festival). “Stuff’d” – Audience Award Winner (2006 48 Hour Film Project), Official Selection (2006 Solstice Film Festival), Official Selection, (2006 NAB – New York). “Say Nothing” – Finalist (2005 Triggerstreet.com festival), Official Selection (Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival). Vote-A-Flix – Finalist, (New York Television Festival)

Sleepy Eye is currently developing a variety of internet-based programs and shows geared for an online audience. You can check out Sleepy Eye on the web at sleepyeyeflix.com

Synopsis for the two Sleepy Eye pieces are as follows:
BUZZKILL: A married couple tries to find a way to re-charge their struggling relationship.
SAY NOTHING: Boy meets girl, blah, blah, blah…
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Julie Rappaport opened SMOKIN YOGI FILMS in 2006. Her first film, a documentary, is entitled "Introduction to Yoga for Non-Yoginis." This also served as a practice to prepare for the pilot episode of "ABNORMALLY NORMAL.”

In writing a book with her ex-husband and their daughter entitled, "RELATIONAL SHIFTS," they discuss how 'A Family Doesn't Have to End Just Because a Marriage Does.' The series, "ABNORMALLY NORMAL" spirals into the voices in the head that each of us accumulate throughout our lives. Each episode begins with a shamanic-type dream sequence that is explored in the episode. World philosophies and traditions are sprinkled into the stories of past that led to present.

Smokin Yogi Films uses viral marketing as their main campaign. The www.smokinyogi.com platform (a resource website www.E-ZineDivorce.com, the book, and the episodic series with a feature film attached and future seasons planned,) will use Direct Internet Download for general revenues, with DVD and hardcover books as ancillary sales.

ABNORMALLY NORMAL’s pilot episode, Just Breathe, Part I, has been awarded IFP’s fiscal Sponsorship for the project. IFP encourages funders to support Smokin Yogi Films through tax-deductible donations. Smokin Yogi Films is also creating strategic partnerships and funders for their upcoming series and feature film. Contact Julie@smokinyogi.com.
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Kevin Myers is a Senior Creative Producer at FOX 9.  He is also owner and operator of Humdinger TV, a video production company.

"Intramural Glory" is a scripted-reality, mockumentary web series following Team Unglaublich ("The Greatest Intramural Basketball Team of All-time"). After winning last year's league championship, the team's owner decided to hold tryouts for the new season's roster, and allow internet voting to determine who made the squad. "Intramural Glory: Best of the Worst" is a compilation of the first two webisodes. The rest of the series will follow the team as they compete in a real-life intramural league. You-Tube made Intramural Glory its #1 featured Sports video. The series has gained viewers from around the world, including Brazil, Japan and Egypt.
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Vaughn Juares founded SER International, Corp, a Los Angeles based production company, in 1997. Under Vaughn's leadership, SER became a sought-after provider of content for Spanish-language markets worldwide. Vaughn has directed music videos for Billboard's #1 track of the year three consecutive years (2002, 2003, 2004) and has produced films that have won top honors at the San Francisco International Film Festival and Showtime Networks Film Showcase, among others.

Vaughn's first venture into "viral" internet videos was to produce and direct the "Jesus Christ Action Figure" spec spot. The Jesus Action Figure piece was posted on it's own web-page and after more than 4 million hits and multiple death threats the site was eventually shut down.

The Jesus Action Figure was a springboard for Vaughn Juares and producer Bridget McGrath into working with Nestle on a variety of viral video and web-based marketing campaigns. Vaughn and Bridget produced a series of "viral" clips for the re-launch of the Butterfinger’s website, www.followthefinger.com, aimed at encouraging web visitors to submit homemade videos that promoted "The Finger," Butterfinger's new brand icon and it's "Make the Most of Any Moment" campaign.

Currently the team is working with Baby Ruth to developing video clips and web-site elements that promote the brand's status as the official candy bar of Major League Baseball. in 2007 Vaughn and Bridget well dev