filmmaker
The Strongest Man'sRoad to Sundance
Diliana Alexander asked Kenny Riches 10 questions on how he was able to capture Miami’s spirit animal so well in his feature film, The Strongest Man – can you guess what it is?
Little Haiti Rock City
Anyone who has ever gone to Churchill’s Pub has a unique story to tell about such special moments, most likely along with some amateur cell-phone footage. With seven days a week of live music spanning various genres and entertainment ranging from burlesque to poetry open mic, no two days at the two-stage pub are ever the same. And, Churchill’s Pub, also known as the CBGB of the South, boasts over 35 years of such fun in an unbridled, raw, and creative environment, where musicians and artists express themselves without pretense, intimately, to an open audience that has suspended their better judgment for an inebriated moment in time. This is definitely a place that needs to be documented, and there are as many stories to tell, as there are faces in the audience at a show.
We Bought the Wrong Damn Chickens
“We bought the wrong damn chickens…” Brandon Payne, Ti Laurent’s Production Manager, sighed as one of our Haitian colleagues, Widline made an unsuccessful attempt to shoo off a chicken that was supposed to be used in a key scene of the film. In it, the chicken needed to run comically fast, like in a Rocky training for a fight scene and be tackled by our main actor, Pedro. But our chicken calmly took two steps and continued to peck at the dirt. Brandon and Wildine had purchased the chickens from La Savanne, a crowded and depressing slum at the edge of La Cayes, where we were shooting some of the film. Bazil, the Haitian producer on the team, shook his head, “they must be Dominican chickens, Haitian chickens run,” laughter ensued. Producing in Haiti was like this, buying 10 chickens was relatively easy and cheap, but making the chickens run, difficult. Finding a hospital operating room to use was easy and free! But, finding a sausage to use as a prop proved impossible, as we found out after wasting two days navigating the intricacies of Haitian offerings, to finally end up with hot dogs.
CrossfadeHow EDM Transformed Miami
Crossfade: Electronic Music’s Transition into Society, a short film by Miami filmmaker, Catherine Skipp, documents the profound influence on the values and ideals of the listeners by exploring how electronic dance music has transitioned itself into society and become the defining format…
Edward James OlmosTalks Filly Brown
Edwards James Olmos is in Miami for the South Florida premiere of Filly Brown. The opening film for the Hispanicize Festival was a collaboration with the Miami International Film Festival.
Phillip Bloom Miami x Interactive Film
Philip Bloom is an industry veteran of 23 years of which he spent a large portion working in broadcast news and documentaries. What turned Philip into an idol for many independent filmmakers though is his pioneering work with DSLR and affordable large sensor camcorders.
Basically, he showed us all that gorgeous images are possible on a pretty low budget. We all rushed to buy a Canon 7D or even better 5D, then visited his website religiously, along with over a million other fans, hungry for the next free video tutorial.
Not Your Ordinary Film Series:The Burning Moon
We are pleased to introduce the Independent Film Club Miami (IFCM) an organization dedicated to the next generation of local filmmakers and film enthusiasts. Of course, there is a film community in South Florida! Surprised? The Independent Film Club Miami will cover local film happenings and original, bold, intrepid films and filmmakers via a new series on Tropicult. IFCM attended the screening of The Burning Moon at O Cinema and sat in a dark room with Jillian Mayer to present to you this delightfully frightening series premiere….