Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Casting & Directing Actors Panel

Fall Semester is finally here and Women In Cinema will start off the year with a Casting & Directing Actors Panel.  And who is on this lovely panel, you ask?  Some of Austin's most accomplished and knowledgeable ladies.


Angela Rawna is best known for her role on NBC's Emmy award-winning drama Friday Night Lights.  Angela played Regina Howard, a drug addict mom of East Dillon’s star quarterback Vince Howard (Michael B. Jordan).  Angela prepared for her meaty series recur role by checking herself into Austin Recovery, an alcohol and drug addiction treatment center in Austin, TX where the series was shot. Angela’s compelling performance on Friday Night Lights grabbed the attention of the producers of the hit show Private Practice. Angela also landed a recur role on Parenthood also on NBC as therapist, Dr. Schecter. Angela recently teamed up again with Austin director Richard Linklater to film, Boyhood, a feature film where Angela plays opposite Patricia Arquette as her best friend.  Boyhood is a 12-year project about the actual “growing up” of a child and witnessing the changes of both him and his parents (Arquette and Ethan Hawk) as it is literally filmed each year.  Boyhood will be released in 2015.  Additionally, Angela has co-starred with Keanu Reeves in the Warner Brother’s sci-fi thriller, A Scanner Darkly now on DVD. Angela just completed filming a personal project, All from the Same Dust, a dramatic and suspenseful story that takes an unwavering look at racism at a time in our history when an African American has become the 44th President of the United States. Angela executive produced and co-stars in the film.


Kat Candler's award winning films have screened at Sundance, Los Angeles Film Festival, San Francisco International Film Festival, Austin Film Festival, SXSW, Slamdance, Florida Film Festival, Houston Museum of Modern Art, Chicago International Children's Film Festival, The National Institutes of Health and on PBS. Her teen thriller screenplay Love Me produced by Dolphin Entertainment and Anchor Bay Films will be released in 2013. She's currently in development on two feature films: the IFP Emerging Narrative participant, Nikki is a Punk Rocker and the Sundance Creative Producing Lab participant, Hellion. Candler is a film Lecturer at the University of Texas.


Beth Sepko is an Emmy award-winning casting director with 20 years expertise in the industry, now specializing in the casting of television series and feature films. Based in Texas, Beth has over 50 feature films under her belt and consistently works with local director Robert Rodriguez (Machete, Machete Kills, Predators, Grindhouse, Shorts, Sin City, and all 4 Spy Kids movies), Richard Linklater (Bernie, Fast Food Nation, A Scanner Darkly,his on-going 12 year project Boyhood and new hulu series Up to Speed), Mike Judge (Idiocracy, Office Space) and Tim McCanlies (Secondhand Lions, The Two Bobs, When Angels Sing). In the last few years, Beth has been casting several television series including the continuation of Dallas, The Lying Game, Friday Night Lights, The Good Guys, Chase, Lone Star as well as pilots for GCB and My Generation. In 2007 Ms. Sepko was honored with the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Casting of Drama Series for the first season of Friday Night Lights and received nominations in 2008, 2009, and 2010 for consecutive seasons. Also in 2010, Beth received an additional Emmy nomination for the casting of the HBO film Temple Grandin.


Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Heather Kafka was living above her mom’s hair salon, rollerskating the neighborhood, and acting in local theatre when she booked a job as an extra in a Coca-Cola commercial and earned $200.  She bought an Atari 2600 and began planning an acting career. She was six years old.  After high school, Heather moved to Los Angeles, graduated from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and worked odd jobs from waitressing at the Hard Rock Café to cigarette girl at local clubs. But Austin always called her home. She would spend the next 20 years moving back and forth, torn between her love of home and her drive for a career in acting.  Over this time her resume grew.  She played “Chloe” on MTV’s first scripted series Austin Stories, guest starred on CSI, CSI N.Y., E.R., and House.  She played Dr. Emily Dawson on the Emmy awarded Huff and turned in a memorable comedic performance on the Wilson Brothers project, The Wendell Baker Story. But it was her role as demented sister to Leatherface in the 2003 remake of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre that pushed her farther.   In 2008, she found herself staring in fellow Austinite Bryan Poyser’s Lovers of Hate.  Most recently, she has worked on Spencer Parson's Saturday Morning Massacre, the Zellner Brothers Kid Thing, David Lowery's Ain't Them Bodies Saints, Geoff Marslett's Loves Her Gun, Yen Tan's Pit Stop, Bob Byington's Audition and Kat Candler's Black Metal.


The Casting & Directing Actors Panel is set for Monday, September 10th.  The Women In Cinema meeting is scheduled from 7:30-8:00 pm and the Panel will run from 8:00-9:30 pm.  For more panel details click here.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

2012 WIC Master Class with Amy Heckerling


Hello all!

If you missed the master class featuring Amy Heckerling, go to the Women In Cinema YouTube Page and watch it all there! She discusses everything from her upbringing to how she got to where she is and what is in store for for the future. At the end of the master class she answered audience questions about bigger productions and her experiences in the film world. Go check it out HERE!


Thursday, June 14, 2012

A Conversation in Film with Elizabeth Avellán: Producing Your Independent Feature Film


A Conversation in Film with Elizabeth Avellán: 
Producing Your Independent Feature Film

July 22, 2012 3:00 PM
Harry Ransom Center (300 West 21st Street)
$12 General, $10 AFF Members

 Presented by Austin Film Festival and Women in Cinema
Join producer Elizabeth Avellán and her EYA Productions partner Shannon McIntosh for an in-depth and informative discussion on producing an independent feature film. Using WHEN ANGELS SING and BLACKTINO as case studies, they’ll talk about all aspects of producing your feature film: from selecting your script and director, financing, putting your crew together, production – specifically in Austin – through post- and marketing.

Elizabeth Avellán is the Co-Owner and Vice President of Troublemaker Studios and President of EYA Productions. Avellán’s producing career began with Robert Rodriguez’s EL MARIACHI – made for just $7,000, EL MARIACHI was the winner of the 1993 Audience Awards at the Sundance and Deauville Film Festivals - and her credits have since grown to include  DESPERADO, FROM DUSK TILL DAWN, THE FACULTY, SPY KIDS, ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO, SIN CITY, GRINDHOUSE, and many more. In addition to producing family and genre films that have collectively grossed over a billion dollars, she has played a primary role in developing Austin, Texas as a thriving film community.
  • $10 AFF members – To purchase an AFF member price ticket, please email our Office Manager, Marcie Mayhorn at Marcie@austinfilmfestival.com or call 512.478.4795
  • Please bring a valid form of ID to the event to claim your ticket. 
  • For More Information and to BUY TICKETS, GO HERE.
Conversations in Film consist of script readings or in-depth discussions led by screenwriters on an aspect of screenwriting and/or filmmaking. These discussions are also accompanied with a screening. Previous participants include Randall Wallace, John Lee Hancock, Tom Holland, Anne Rapp, Polly Platt, Jim Dauterive, Dan Petrie, Jr., Shane Black, Johnathon Schaech, Kevin Reynolds, Kyle Killen, Noah Hawley, James V. Hart, Jessica Bendinger and others.

Friday, May 25, 2012

Clueless Screening with Amy Heckerling in Attendance

As a summer treat, Women in Cinema's bringing director Amy Heckerling (Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Clueless, Look Who's Talking, European Vacation) to Austin for a screening of Clueless at the Stateside Theater and a Master Class at UT.

CLUELESS SCREENING DETAILS
Saturday, June 9th
Doors @ 12:00pm | Film @ 12:30pm
Stateside Theater
Online Advance Admission - $8 | Regular Admission - $10
Film Fan Admission with Card at Box Office - $6
Q&A to follow with director Amy Heckerling
Tickets Available Here.

MASTER CLASS DETAILS
Saturday, June 9th
3:15pm - 5:15pm
CMB Building, Studio 4D
Must RSVP to utwomenincinema@gmail.com to reserve a spot.

AMY HECKERLING BIO:
Amy Heckerling was born in the Bronx, NY. She directed Fast Times at Ridgemont High, followed by Johnny Dangerously and European Vacation. Amy wrote and directed, Look Who's Talking, Look Who's Talking too, Clueless, I Could Never Be Your Woman, and produced, A Night at the Roxbury. She executive produced, wrote, and directed episodes of the T.V. series of Clueless and Fast Times, and directed an episode of The Office. She just wrapped her latest film, Vamps, which stars Alicia Silverstone, Krysten Ritter, and Sigourney Weaver, and also shot an episode of Gossip Girl.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Austin Film Organizations Panel Recap

Last week's Austin Film Organizations Panel was full of great information about getting involved in the Austin film community, both by taking advantage of the many programs for emerging filmmakers and through internships at one of the many organizations dedicated to supporting filmmakers in Austin.

The panelists, who included Kimberly LeBlanc – Location Scout for the Texas Film Commission, Maya Perez - Conference Director of Austin Film Festival, Agnes Varnum - Director of Marketing of the Austin Film Society, Michelle Voss - Executive Director of Femme Film Texas, and H. Cherdon Bedford – Executive Director of the Austin Film Meet,
spoke about the advantages of making films in Austin. Michelle noted the committed, DIY ethic of filmmakers here. Kim talked about the many different types of settings and terrain that are within a few hours drive of Austin.

Agnes gave us details about Austin Film Society's programs for emerging filmmakers, including TFPF, Member Mixers, and their Narratives In Progress program. Kim told us about the Texas Film Commission's cast and crew hotline and location scouting services. Michelle mentioned her organization's after school and summer film camps, and the organization's ability to serve as a fiscal sponsor. Maya from the Austin Film Festival talked about the festival's film and screenplay competitions, and H. Cherdon offered details about her group's meetings and script swap opportunities. Thanks to these women and the organizations they represent, there's certainly no shortage of development and networking opportunities for Austin filmmakers.

In addition to these programs, all of the organizations that participated in Thursday's panel offer internships or volunteer opportunities to qualified applicants. Most are looking for summer interns now! More details about both programs and internships can be found on the organizations' websites.