Want to make films? Everyone knows that the odds of making it in LA are like winning the lottery.
Consider following the example of indie musicians and writers who take advantage of the current advances in technology and stick around.
You can make movie magic right here at home where the subjects are familiar, there is way less competition and of course you know your friends and family will have your back.
Indie Film Club Miami wants to make you think about Miami’s loss of talent in the search of fortune and fame. The monthly event, “I’m Not Gonna Move To LA” doesn’t just want to appeal to the one-way traffic flow of filmmakers and actors. IFCM wants to help you improve your craft, express yourself, network with each other to keep making films. Since we have yet to hear of a filmmaker who did not suffer through a few shorts before embarking on the feature that will make her name, this event is just that – an exhibition of local shorts. Around five films, compete for the audience award. That’s right, this is a competition and a $1,000 are at stake. The prize is provided by the oldest production rental house in town, Cinevideotech, led by the colorful master cinematographer, Egon Stephan Jr.
You can bring your friends to vote for you, but sometimes a short is so good that even your friends and family might give credit where credit is due. Now, the method of voting is quite unorthodox, some might say terrifying for the filmmakers, but we won’t give it away and you will just have to see it. Suffice to say is that there is a reason why Indie Film Club Miami brands the event “where Japanese game show meets film fanaticism”. This screening is a celebration of everything local: there is always a local band performing in an intimate setting. What else is different when Indie Film Clubbers take over O Cinema, their favorite stomping ground.
Filmmakers can be discovered and it’s a lesson that no one should take themselves too seriously. Filmmakers get roasted by a trio of local comedians, radio show host personalities, and producers. Last month the audience lost their minds over comediennes Kristy Webb and Lisa Corrao, as well as the beloved SoFl radio host Jorge Rodriguez. There is also a trivia game for the audience, where they compete with the filmmakers in a family feud-like film and Miami history trivia, brush up on it and you might snag some cool prizes. I’M NOT GONNA MOVE TO LA, or NOLA, as people are starting to call it, also has been encouraging projects with transmedia elements. Transmedia is just another word for cross-platform storytelling, where what is going on screen is enhanced by a different medium of expression – dance, comic book, physical objects, games, interactivity with the audience.
Two films by the extremely talented duo Pioneer Winter and Marissa Nick did just that and the dancers took their performance out of the screen and between the audience. We caught up with one of the comediennes we mentioned, Kristy Webb, who returns this month as the host of the event. She was born and raised in Miami, FL. After attending FIU’s Theater program, she moved to New York in 2005. Later she worked on her Hollywood hustle in LA until she returned to Miami last year. Kristy is not only outrageously funny, but a talented filmmaker.
We asked her a few questions:
Introduce yourself and how do you prepare for an event like this?
Kristy Webb here! I actually like to not prepare – WHAT? Yup, that’s right. I show up with an open mind basically. Then I like to let my first impression of the films be the inspiration- good or bad. Most comedians keep a little notepad to write with on them and I also have to have something to write with and on at all times. So I was writing as I was watching, which also can determine how entertaining a film is or isn’t.
What was your favorite film or character?
My favorite was “YBi-173” aka “The License Plate”, directed by Alfredo Hueck, it was well made, shot on film, and the actors did a great job with the premise.
Did anything happen that was unexpected?
The fuzzy footballs. Only in Miami.
Say something funny about Space Odyssey 2001:
I heard that Stanley Kubrick made Hal do his takes at least 90 times so he could achieve the attitude needed for the story.
