News

Exclusive: Concord Originals, the production arm of Concord, has announced a partnership with NewFest to launch Sound & Scene: NewFest x Concord Qtbipoc Short Film Initiative, the next round of the short film financing and intellectual property licensing initiative to support up-and-coming Lgbtqia+ filmmakers of color.

In addition to providing financing of $20,000 per short film and production support, Concord Originals also will enable the winning filmmakers to incorporate one of six songs from its vast well of IP into their films: Phil Collins’ “Against All Odds,” Joan Sebastian’s “Secreto de Amor,” Billie Holiday’s “God Bless the Child.” Radical Face’s “Welcome Home, Son,” Allison Russell’s “All of the Women” and Muna’s “Home by Now.”

This summer, eligible filmmakers will pitch their original short films incorporating the Concord-licensed IP to a panel of judges including Charles Hopkins, Director of Development & Production at Concord Originals, and a NewFest staff member.

Concord is reaching into its huge library of music recordings for a first-of-its-kind initiative with Outfest to support up-and-coming Lgbtqia+ filmmakers of color.

Over the weekend, the festival premiered three short films selected for the initiative — each of them making creative use of a song from the Concord IP holdings, which include more than a million recordings and music compositions.

Skate, a short written and directed by Zoë Hodge that’s set in a roller skating rink, incorporated Sylvester’s disco anthem “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real).” Avivar, a drama that revolves around the patriarch of a Latino family and his queer son, drew inspiration from “Tres Días de Carnaval” by Latin music icons Celia Cruz and Johnny Pacheco. Miles Lopez directed, while Jonathan De La Torre wrote and stars in the film.

‘Artificial,’ directed by Chanelle Tyson

Artificial, meanwhile – a sci fi romance written and directed by Chanelle...

“Please Baby Please” and “Mars One” are among the winners of the 40th Anniversary Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival. The organization announced the honorees during its award ceremony Wednesday.

The L.A.-based nonprofit, which promotes LGBTQ filmmakers and projects, ran its 40th edition festival from July 14-24. Over the course of the festival, 30,000 people attended its programming and more than 200 films screened, including 42 world premieres. The festival opened with Billy Porter’s directorial debut “Anything’s Possible” and closed with the LGBTQ slasher film “They/Them.”

“Please Baby Please,” directed by Amanda Kramer and starring Andrea Riseborough and Henry Melling, took the outstanding North American feature prize, while Brazilian director Gabriel Martins’ family drama “Mars One” won the outstanding international feature award. Audience award winners included “Unidentified Objects” by Juan Felipe Zuleta and documentary feature “Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story.” Select award winners will be available to stream...

The Screenwriting Lab at Outfest, Los Angeles’ Lgbt Film Festival, offers a platform to tell important stories. In the program’s 19th year, writers Michael Colucci, Kellee Terrell, Chanelle Tyson, Jen Richards and Michael Walek not only got to work with professionals to hone their skills and develop their stories in a three-day, mentor led workshop, but also got to see their visions come to life during the Screenwriting Lab’s Live Stage Reading at Outfest on Tuesday night.

Read More: Outfest 2016 Opens With A Heavy Heart And A Message of Hope

With actors including Elaine Hendrix, Zackary Drucker, Mather Zickel, Jason Stuart, Kym Whitley and Alexandra Grey, the reading presented select segments from each writer’s scripts. From gay ancient Greeks to a young girl exploring her sexuality to transgender women navigating Chicago, it was a powerful and emotional journey through the important and varied stories of the lab’s fellows.

New York-based Fork Films announced on Tuesday it will provide grant funding for ten projects in different stages of development centring on human rights and social justice topics.

Recipients include $2 A Day by 2011 best documentary short Oscar nominee Jennifer Redfearn (pictured) and Tim Metzger, as well as Aaron Kopp and Amanda Kopp’s Liyana.

“We are really encouraged by the fearless nature of this year’s filmmakers in exploring topics of injustice, intolerance and inequality,” said Abigail Disney, CEO and president of Fork Films, and Gini Reticker, the company’s chief creative officer.

“In a year of particularly hateful and purely opinionated rhetoric, these storytellers are diving into challenging topics with empathy, thoughtfulness and nuance. We’re honoured to help these filmmakers share the lives and narratives of their subjects.”

Los Angeles-based non-profit organisation Outfest has announced the five fellows and their projects selected for its 2016 Screenwriting Lab. Michael Colucci, Jen Richards, [link...