Topanga Film Fest: Filmmaking Isn’t Brain Surgery - or Is It?

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Sunday, 24 July 2011 05:00

Written by L E Shannon

The 7th Annual Topanga Film Festival (TFF) runs July 28 - 31, 2011 at the Topanga Canyon Gallery, Topanga Elementary School, Church of Cinema and other venues in Topanga Canyon, located in the Santa Monica Mountains of Los Angeles, California.

The Topanga Film Festival "is dedicated to empowering, informing and interconnecting all generations of storytellers who wish to pioneer a new era of global trans-format content. TFF endeavors to promote culture, community, and collaboration through the creative process of storytelling."

"In the last five years, [we have seen] a surge of corporations utilizing the expertise of neuromarketing firms in order to technically understand what makes their workforce tick. The entertainment industry is no exception. In fact, it is an ardent participant in these endeavors.

Most major Hollywood studios employ the services of neuromarketing firms and experts to learn how an audience perceives their films. They want to know what’s going on in their brains that keeps them glued to the screen. The studios then integrate this information into the filmmaking process in an effort to make their product, the motion picture, as appealing to the public as possible."

At this year‛s festival, filmgoers will experience first hand the tools available to help filmmakers tell their stories more efficiently and effectively.

"This year we’re establishing panels connecting neuroscience and art (film)," said LG Taylor, Director of Communications for the 2011 Topanga Film Festival. "The neuroscience community is passionately embracing our endeavor and the filmmaking community is contagiously excited to understand the science behind their art."

Each filmmaking panel will include a world-renowned neuroscientist or neurosurgeon.

The Opening Night Film is The Highest Pass, directed by Jon Fitzgerald, written by Adam Schomer and produced by Fitzgerald and Schomer.

This documentary is a motorcycle journey through the Himalayas of India and over the highest motorable road in the world, following a daredevil yogi that leads seven Americans to make decisions about life and death while traversing steep, icy cliffs and the chaos of India’s "road killer" traffic.

TFF is working with Cinecause, "a Foundation that combines traditional and new platforms to provide film fans with engaging cultural cinema and related news content while connecting them to worthy causes."

"Audiences are increasingly turning towards socially relevant films that inspire them in their lives and connect them to peoples, cultures and causes," explains Jon Fitzgerald, co-founder of Slamdance. "With TFF supporting this type of programming, and an interest in providing avenue for audiences to take action, they are the ideal partner to kick off this exciting new platform."

All proceeds from the screening of The Highest Pass will go to towards The Khushi Foundation, which strives to provide continuing education and food to the children of Rishikesh, India.

The Festival includes several special events:

This year, TFF honors Charles Chaplin with A Tribute to Charlie Chaplin, presented by Miranda Robin on Saturday, July 30 at 3:00 pm. A director, writer, actor and composer, Chaplin was not only a film pioneer but an international icon whose creativity and soul left an indelible imprint on film that resonates to this day.

TFF presents Community Voices (Chapman University Showcase), a series of films by students of Chapman University‛s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.

Films include:

Among Giants
dir. Chris Cresci, Ben Mullinkosson, Sam Price-Waldman
As clearcutting continues to ravage California's coastal redwood region, an environmental activist decides to tree sit to defend the McKay Tract.

Hold My Hand
dir. James M. Parker
Eliza Schaaf is a 20 year old woman with Down syndrome who has always been included with her peers. Now, as she reaches for a higher education, she must face rejection because of her difference.

Worlds Apart
dir. Brendan Nahmias
A young Native American woman is trapped between two worlds: the success and distance of college, and the roots and challenges of life on the reservation.

In conjunction with Ciné Institute of Haiti, TFF is screening a special presentation:

Maswife: Life in Camp Pinchinat
dir. Students of Ciné Institute
"Following a catastrophic earthquake in Haiti, 1.5 million people are homeless, living under tarps and in tents. Refugee camps are the new communities of a battered nation. For four months, students from Haiti's only film school lived in a camp. This is the story they've told."

Ciné Institute, located in Jakmèl, began as Festival Film Jakmèl, which for three years showed hundreds of international films free of charge to tens of thousands of Haitians.

"Using the power of cinema, integrated educational programming, technical training and media production support, Ciné Institute educates and empowers Haitian youth who seek the creative, technical and business skills necessary to grow local media industries that can provide jobs and spur economic growth needed to improve their lives and the lives of others."

The TFF 3D Feature Film Presentation:

StreetDance 3D
dir. Max Giwa, Dania Pasquini
With George Sampson, Nichola Burley, Richard Winsor, Charlotte Rampling, and performances from Britain's Got Talent Winners Diversity and Flawless
The worlds of street dance and ballet collide in this ground-breaking 3D movie from Vertigo Films. While training for the UK Championships, a street dance crew is forced to work with ballet dancers in return for free rehearsal space. With no common ground and passions riding high, the two groups of dancers realize they need to find a way of working together to compete at the Championships.

This year, Dance Film Showcase includes seven films that reveal the power and beauty that is the nexus of dance on film. Some of the works are:

Black Train is Coming
dir. John T. Williams
Black Train is Coming is based on the 1926 sermon, "Death’s Black Train is Coming" by Rev. J.M. Gates, one of the most prolific black preachers in the United States. Many of his sermons were strong warnings of the hellish punishments that awaited sinners. The film blends this old time sermon with modern day Flex and Turf dance style.

Next
dir. Joshan Esfandiari-Martin
A young dancer auditions for a role. Relayed in a striking new format, her personal, contemporary choreography intimates her private passions and artistic dreams, culminating in the revelation of a peculiar practice -- the secret of her preparations.

Two Seconds After Laughter
dir. David Rousseve
The heart longs most for the one place to which it can never fully return… home. Inspired by choreographer Sri Susilowati's experience of returning to her native Indonesia after 20 years of living and dancing in America, this film is "a meditation on the nature of memory; a cry of longing caused by separation; and a fable-like tale of the joys and emotional dislocation experienced by contemporary immigrant peoples."

Other documentary features being screened include:

Bag It
dir. Suzan Beraza
wr. Michelle Curry Wright
This is a compelling examination of society's use and abuse of plastic. "Jeb, an average American guy makes a pledge to stop using plastic bags, and after doing so, is inspired to embark on a journey around the world to unravel the complexities of our plastic world. His findings reveal the tremendous impact that society’s throwaway mentality has on our environment."

American Renegade: Confessions of a Radical Humanist
dir. Scott Garen
Activist, lover, visionary, renegade -- for 75 years, Abe Osheroff (1915-2008) fought on the front lines of social justice -- the Spanish Civil War, the McCarthy witch hunts, Mississippi, Nicaragua, and streets all over America -- virtually all the hot spots of 20th century activism.

Canoe Way: The Sacred Journey
dir. Mark Celletti
This film documents the annual Tribal Journeys of Indigenous tribes and First Nations from Oregon, Washington, Canada and Alaska as they follow their ancestral pathways through the waters of Puget Sound, Inside Passage and the Northwest Coast. Families and youth reconnect with the past and each other. A proud people "share the story of the resurgence of the cedar canoe societies, and how it has opened a spiritual path of healing through tradition."

The Road to Nkunda
dir. Douglas Busby
"In the war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo, two filmmakers journey on a quest for answers. However, there is no preparing for what they are about to experience. They must become outlaws themselves in order to locate and interview the notorious and elusive Rebel General Laurent Nkunda."

Workshops include:

Barefoot Workshop – Chandler Griffin, Documentary Filmmaker and Director of Barefoot Workshops
Chandler demonstrates how to create a one-person, professional HD equipment package to work in a variety of remote locations. Chandler also shows how documentaries can be created in under two weeks using inexpensive and budget-realistic equipment packages.

On Camera Audition Workshop – Andrea Morris
Morris focuses on the science of actor physiology in relation to the camera’s unique perspective. The camera has a completely divergent perspective from that of the naked eye, so film and TV actors must train according to what the camera sees. A photogenic face can be acquired by unlearning certain neuromuscular habits and conditioning new ones, according to what the camera "prefers". A unique, scientific approach to acting in film and television.

No Subtitles Necessary: Cinematography Workshop – James Chressanthis, ASC
With film clips and stills, Chressanthis unlocks the language of images using pre-visualization, composition and lighting to tell visual cinematic stories.

Sound Design for Writers and Directors – David Sonnenschein, Filmmaker, author of Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice, and Sound Effects in Cinema
The soundtrack is essential for developing emotion, plot and character. By introducing principles of psychoacoustics and the relationship between sound mapping and dramatic conflict, Sonnenschein shows how stories can be tremendously enhanced with conscious, creative use of sound.

Marketing Your Transformational Film Using the Visioneering Marketing Mandala – Gate
Marketing roles and functions are aspects one should be aware of and consider in the context of marketing a film. All of these areas are crucial for consideration, and how they are fulfilled will determine to a great extent how successful one‛s film will be.

Salon Discussions include:

Actors: Strip It Down – An exploration of the actor‛s craft. What is the biology of emotion? How do actors get into a role they’re not that passionate about? What happens to the brain when an actor "tricks" the brain into believing that the imaginary circumstances are real?
Moderator: LG Taylor; Panelists: Melissa Leo, Diane Louise Salinger, Ellen Geer, Dr. Jonas Kaplan (neuroscientist)

Lighting the Future: Emerging Cinematographers – Today’s smaller, smarter cameras make it easier and less expensive for first-time filmmakers to work. But if they don‛t learn about lighting and lenses, their films will be worth nothing. Panelists discuss the importance of training in today's rapidly evolving technological changes, and the respective values of film and digital photography.
Moderator: David Geffner, editor, ICG Magazine (International Cinematographers Guild)
Panelists: James Chressanthis, Marco Fargnoli, John Snedden, Rodney Taylor, Todd A. Dos Reis

Neuroscience of Directing: Do Directors Really Control the Response to a Film? – If more areas of the brain are used while watching a film, does that make the film better? Neuromarketing: invasive? Scientifically proven? Will this new analysis change the way stories are told?
Moderator: LG Taylor; Panelists: James Ponsoldt, neuroscientists Dr. Amir Vokshoor, Dr. Steven Quartz

3D: The Future of Storytelling – What happens to our spatial perception in the brain as we watch 3D Films? Does it affect how we view reality? Panelists explore:

• 3D as a character of your story
• the creative challenges of 3D
• the audience response, how it varies from 2D
• why the panelists chose 3D
• whether 3D will be more Indie accessible and if so, how

Moderator: Urs Baur; Panelists: Ted Kenney, Wayan Palmieri, Chuch Comisky, Max H. Penner, Dr. Alan Horsager (neuroscientist)

Documentary: Art and Science of Empathy – What makes a good documentary? Why do we need empathy in good storytelling? Where does it take place in the brain?
Moderator: LG Taylor; Panelists: Phillip Montgomery, Geoffrey Smith, Tre Azam, Dr. Jonas Kaplan (neuroscientist)
Documentaries to be discussed:

• ReGeneration
• The English Surgeon
• I’m a Muslim and the BNP Got My Vote!

From Production to Distribution: So It’s in the Can, Now What? – Panelists discuss the producer‛s role and explore the 21st century platforms of distribution.
Moderator: LG Taylor; Panelists: Tre Azam, Stuart Volkow, Beth Portello, Lawrence Inglee, Seamus Conlan

Finally, the Festival includes a special cinematic sneak peek, title to be revealed at screening time.

For more information, go to www.topangafilmfestival.com.

Topanga Film Festival
July 28 - 31, 2011

Main Stage:
Topanga Elementary School
22075 S. Topanga School Rd.
Topanga, CA 90290

Church of Cinema:
The Christian Fellowship
269 Old Topanga Canyon Rd.
Topanga, CA 90290

Ribbit Tree and Plant
310 Old Topanga Canyon Rd.
Topanga, CA 90290

Jalan Jalan Imports
525 S. Topanga Cyn Blvd.
Topanga, CA 90290

Topanga Canyon Gallery
120 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd. Suite 109
Pine Tree Circle
Topanga, CA 90290
310-455-7909

Redhanded
155 Topanga Canyon Blvd.
Topanga, CA 90290

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