Amir Motlagh

I was in attendance this weekend at the Film Independent’s Filmmaker Forum. I got a  full press pass from a friend and checked out out the panels.  Many of the information has been publicly cited in the blog scene and publications for some time now, but the tone of the forum was a little different.  Also, hearing it from people heavily involved in the Indiewood scene is a little different then second and third hand journalistic blog reporting.

All in all, most of the panelist were talking about the state of affairs as cyclic, and that the upswing was just around the corner.

I also met some very interesting people, all with different stages of project development.  There was also a panel on Micro Budget Films that was very cool.

Plain Us premieres at The Hells Half Mile Film and Music Festival, Saturday, Oct 4th 2008 at 6PM.

Check out the lineup and schedule….

hhmfest.com

Here it is….

whale

Cameron, a writer who seems to have never finished his first novel, returns home to his mother’s house in Orange County Ca., after a failed relationship and lack of direction with life. Back home, Cameron spends his time reacquainting with old high school friends, only to find that life has only gotten more confusing for everyone. What is a young man to do when he seems to have lost all hope?

The film uses a cast made up of mostly non-actors, including Motlagh’s real life parents. Many of the cast were first seen in Amir Motlagh’s short film, Dino Adino (2001). By using an alternative narrative style, the film destroys the lines of fiction and documentary by engaging the audience in a way that traditional narrative fictions cannot. Motlagh utilized an approach that mixes the cinematic language, using influences ranging from Dogme 95, No Budget DIY, Iranian Cinema, Collage, John Cassavettes and Youtube  to string together the film in a unique and original way.

-Quotes-
“DIY meets cinema art”

“A collage of life, weaved with a sparring, gentle narrative that says more, without hardly saying anything”

“An autistic vision of cinema, equal parts beautiful, indulgent, and raw”

“Life unfolds in Amir Motlagh’s new film whale”

-Cast-
Amir Motlagh
Darren Oneil
Mike Flowers
Atefeh Galledari
Yousef Motlagh
Rastin Ashtiani
Kindy Barr

-Company Credits-
Production Company - AYA Films
Produced by - Amir Motlagh, Darren Oneil
Music- Shanks and the Dreamers

Total Run Time: 72 Minutes

Plain Us gets its North American Festival Premiere at the Hells Half Mile Film and Music Festival in Bay City, Michigan.

The festival runs from Oct 2-5th.  Along with some fine film, what really makes this fest stand out is the bands they bring, which, looking at there 2007 festival where pretty damn good.

The festival suits the film very well, with the main character being in a band and all, and well, also for the independent content, both form and story.  HHM seem’s to program cooler shit then some of the more mainstream and so called “INDEPENDENT” festivals.  The fact that i am premiering a film with them might have something to do with my very subjective attitude, or i might in fact just be right….haha

I always assumed that festivals were around to give alternative and independent visions a platform and voice, but after many years doing this, i don’t really trust that as truth, especially as far as the short form is concerned.  But just like many things in life, the reality is different then the ideal.

But on a more positive note, this is also the place knock. knock. got its festival premiere before being picked up for distro…..

Anyways, when further details come out, like screening schedule, i’ll let you know….

Till next time,

Be proactive