By Ed West

New York - October 2002.

"Click Here" for a list of Award Winners

Presented by Panasonic and brought forth to everyone's attention by FYI Media, INDIEVISION FILMFEST 02 began its six-day marathon of films and events on the evening of September 17, 2002, with a special "Media" opening party held at Dylan Prime - just a few blocks north of the Tribeca Film Center, the festival's primary screening venue. Attendees that evening included several cast members from the HBO show, OZ, comedian Jackie "the Jokeman" Martling, and a slew of industry shakers from the independent film milieu, as well as the music and fashion industries.

Immediately following the party, crowds moved to the Tribeca Film Center Screening Room, where festival co-directors, Bruno Derlin & TJ Stone, introduced themselves, the festival, its sponsors, and ultimately the MCs that would carry on the proceedings for the nights to come. Finally, the lights went down and the festival trailer unspooled, garnering unanimous breaths as a gloomy aerial shot of the 'Hollywood' sign dissolved into a bright, sunny aerial image of the WTC Twin Towers, with the Statue of Liberty noticeable in the near background. Chuckles ensued as various stills of empty theater seats with an occasional foot sticking out from random spots led to the shot that symbolized the festival's signature image for this year: two legs, slightly open, sticking up, while Tony Bennett's rendition of "The Best Is Yet To Come" played in the background. Immediately following the trailer was a pristine, 35mm print of David Russo's experimental opus, POPULI, an 8-minute project packed with breathtaking images and a thunderous soundtrack featuring Gustav Holtz' "Mars: Bringer of Wars." FITS & STARTS, the second film in the program, directed by Vince DiMeglio, delighted the audience with its witty mix of surreal absurdities and 'inside' film humor. The feature presentation, LEARNING TO SURF, finished things off to a great startÉ especially for the pic's director, RJ Thomas, who went on to win the festival's award for "Outstanding Achievement in Directing."

The second night of films was characterized by the unusual fare being screened. Eric Gardner's UNDER THE INFLUENCE was the feature presentation for the first block that evening, whiled Joao Machado's THE CHAMPAGNE CLUB (which went on to win an "Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography" award for its DP, Jonah Torreano), gave way to some heated discussions that took place in the bar area of the Tribeca Grill, following the screening, and in spite of the fairly smaller audience in attendance, compared to the opening night program.

Day Three was dedicated to the "Best of DancesWithFilms," the LA-based festival that was frequently referred to as "the sister festival" to INDIEVISION FILMFEST 02 by the MCs. DWF director, Michael Trent, was on hand to introduce the films and filmmakers that would be showcased during the two programs that were scheduled. Informative and very entertaining Q&A sessions followed both programs, as Trent and his festival alumni proudly supported the great projects that were shown, particularly one crowd-pleasing short called THE KING, which featured non-stop laughs with its irreverent story surrounding a black Elvis Presley reincarnation.

Day Four marked a solid, "sold out" performance for STRING THEORY, which paved the way for a night of true audience pleasers - SAME DIFFERENCE (the fest's only multiple award recipient - for Sound Design and Screenwriting), THE PERVERTS, 5 CARD STUD, and Eric Patrick's experimental, ABLUTION, which was the recipient of this year's Domani Vision Award for Emerging Talent. Meanwhile, at the Tribeca Grand Hotel, the fest's second screening venue, the Crook Brothers' SUCKERPUNCH, which featured Paris Campbell, this year's recipient of the "Male Performance" acting award, played to a satisfied, almost 'sold out' crowd.

On Saturday, things got off to an early start, with programs beginning at 2 p.m. and featuring an entire block devoted to "showbiz" themed films. MAJOR DAMAGE, a three-minute computer-animated piece that had the audience cheering at the end, started the day's second block, which also featured Justin Sullivan's BIG BLUE: THE NYC HANDBALL DOCUMENTARY, this year's recipient of the "Outstanding Achievement in Editing" award. The "world premiere" of Adam Reist's short, BACK TO ONE, preceded that evening's special presentation of POONA THE FUCKDOG & OTHER PLAYS FOR CHILDREN, which unfortunately, due to a technical glitch caused by another New York-based film festival (they actually lost the screening print the night before), had to be screened on a 'hard to watch' VHS copy. On a happier note, Laura Faye Smith, the title character of the latter film (which is actually a taped rendition of a stage play), went on to receive an award for her sublime acting.

The Tribeca Grand opened its shows at 7 p.m. with a few shorts and a feature presentation of Shaun Peterson's LIVING IN MISSOURI. An 'encore' performance of MAJOR DAMAGE preceded Alan Vint's REVERSAL, the evening's 'standing room only' show, and this year's recipient of the INDIEVISION MAGAZINE award for Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking.

Once again, an early start marked Sunday's Tribeca Film Center screenings, which kicked off with the 'world premiere' of Voula Giatzkis' FINAL BREATH, and continued on a somber, quite philosophical strain, with IT TAKES TWO, WONDER, and ultimately, A CRISIS OF FAITH. Things picked up speed and energy with the following block, which featured Eli Kabillio and Lorna Thomas' FIRST DOWN, the winner of the Oddball Film + Video Award for Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Filmmaking.

Award winners sparkled throughout the next program, as ELEANOR (Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design), ONCE ABOUT WATER TOWERS (New York State of Mind Award), and RE-MEMBERING JACK (Outstanding Achievement in Production), closed the screenings at the Tribeca Film Center.

The Tribeca Grand offered I DON'T KNOW JACK, a special New York exclusive premiere, paying tribute to the late Jack Nance. Another "standing room only" show featured LAST LAUGH (recipient of the Outstanding Achievement in Short Subject Filmmaking award) and ONE EYED KING (a special screening honoring Julius R. Nasso, who received the Independent Vision award for his continued support and dedication to independent filmmaking). This final program block preceded the "Awards Ceremony," which was hosted by Jaid Barrymore (who was also the festival's coordinating director). Without a single empty seat in the house, the ceremony was ignited by a truly hilarious experimental project called THE OTHER GUY'S SUBVERSIVE CINEMA. The 5-minute piece was shot and edited in two days, as part of a special Panasonic promotion. The new Panasonic Mini-DV camcorder (the first such camera to feature 24P acquisition) was given to three random filmmakers just a few days before this final show. The filmmakers were told they only had two days to shoot and edit a project, which would then be showcased at the "Awards Ceremony." Eli Kabillio, the one filmmaker who came back with the most 'complete' work in progress, cringed as his short unveiled - but only because he wasn't exactly ecstatic about the 'unfinished stage' his project was being shown in. Technical shortcomings notwithstanding, Kabillio's experiment paid off as the mock show's host, The Other Guy, and his guest, James Carlisle (both played by TJ Stone) delighted the audience with truly side-splitting anecdotes about independent filmmaking. Loud cheers and laughter echoed as The Other Guy explained that: "Spielberg never used videoÉ he said, you put the kid over hereÉ the shark over thereÉ and you make the shark eat the kidÉ and you shoot it on film."

The awards were then handed out to the filmmakers in attendance and announced for those filmmakers who could not be there. Heartfelt acceptance speeches and an overall 'joy' for filmmaking permeated throughout the proceedings, with Julius R. Nasso, introduced by fest producer, Kevin DelGaudio, closing the evening with a poignant, but very inspiring acceptance speech recognizing the passion, effort, and dedication it takes to make a filmÉ period. These elements were present throughout the entire INDIEVISION FILMFEST event, as filmmakers told their stories and shared their thoughts in a festival forum that continues to promote a "new vision."

COMPLETE LIST OF AWARD WINNERS

Production - Onur Tukel for RE-MEMBERING JACK

Directing - RJ Thomas for LEARNING TO SURF

Writing - Gregory Katsoulis for SAME DIFFERENCE

Acting - Male: Paris Campbell for SUCKERPUNCH

Female: Laura Faye Smith for POONA THE FUCKDOG & OTHER PLAYS FOR CHILDREN

Cinematography - Jonah Torreano for THE CHAMPAGNE CLUB

Editing - Justin Sullivan for BIG BLUE: THE NYC HANDBALL DOCUMENTARY

Sound Design - (tie) - Joshua Chase for ELEANOR

Gregory Katsoulis & David McMahon for SAME DIFFERENCE

Independent Vision - Julius R. Nasso

Domani Vision for Emerging Talent - Eric Patrick (ABLUTION)

New York State of Mind - Stephanie M. M. Lucas (ONCE ABOUT WATER TOWERS)

In Memoriam - Jack Nance

Oddball Film + Video Documentary Award - Eli Kabillio & Lorna Thomas (FIRST DOWN)

Indievision Magazine Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking - Jim Petulla (REVERSAL)

Outstanding Achievement in Short Subject Filmmaking - Jeff Mazzola (LAST LAUGH)