Tonight, the 1st annual DOWNTOWN FILM FESTIVAL in LOS ANGELES closed down a city block and announced the short film awards. And I FUCKING HATE YOU was the winner of the PROGRAM DIRECTOR’S PRIZE! And that is too cool. We are very, very happy to be recognized by such a respected individual!
Crawled out of bed this morning afternoon, jumped in the car with Jamie, picked up John T. Woods at his place and headed downtown for the first annual DFFLA. And this festival, from the same people who bring you the Silverlake Film Festival, absolutely rocks. I met Roger M. Mayer who is the festival programmer and I was reminded of something Marion Kerr said to me in Big Sur – that this film keeps leading us to kindred spirits. And Roger is definitely that. He compared us to the filmmakers that made Raising Victor Vargas and Half Nelson. Not bad company by any means.
It was so great to be part of something so unique, especially for LA. The Q&A after IFHY and the rest of the shorts that played were awesome. Afterward, we got interviewed (by Alex from Russia), signed some programs and had lunch with a team of young filmmakers we met at the fest. Looking forward to attending the short film awards ceremony tomorrow.
Below are some photos taken by the film’s rockstar co-producer, Jamie Cobb.
Filmmaker Kevin K. Shah follows the IFHY cast and crew in this three-part microdocumentary on bringing “I Fucking Hate You” to the Dances With Films festival in Los Angeles. Make sure to register and be notified of upcoming festival podcasts.
PART I – BEFORE THE SCREENING
PART II – THE SCREENING
PART III – THE Q&A
Music by “Hi, Lonely Oak” in episodes one and two was provided courtesy of Broken Electric Records.
Next week, we will begin broadcasting a live webcam feed from the edit bay where Jamie Cobb is cutting Heart of Now. This is a pretty unique opportunity to witness a process that is often a mystery to audiences and fans. You are encouraged to watch, comment and ask questions. Both Jamie and I will be there to interact with you. So remember, next week, after we return from the Sacramento Film & Music Festival… stay tuned.
This past Saturday we were at a festival for IFHY. Because the short uses the F-Word a few times it was paired with other “R” rated films which just happened to be the most ultra violent, misogynistic, offensive, racist, and insensitive films I have ever seen together. By the time that our film finally screened after sitting through 2 hours of this, I was left feeling really angry at what I had just experienced and even more enraged about how mis-programmed our short was.
All of the films leading up to ours were not only the antithesis of IFHY but pretty much go against what Sabi is all about, not to mention common decency. The audience was confused during IFHY because the previous 2 hours had desensitized everyone and trained them not to trust what they were watching.
So I have been trying to shake these negative feelings and just move forward and dive back into Heart of Now. I got to the office early this morning and Zak informed me that he wanted to try broadcasting from the bay, an idea I was not crazy about. A few minutes after the camera went live in the bay I read a message from a poster talking about strippers. Given the weekend I had just experienced I was not in the mood for that kind of commentary, but tried to forget about it and focus on the film. Then a half an hour later an anonymous poster asked Zak why he would let a woman cut his film.
At first I ignored it, not wanting to feed into the poster’s neanderthal ignorance, but eventually it seeped in and affected me. Then Zak read the comment, and thankfully that was the end of the outside world’s view into the bay.
From a young age we are taught to look for similarities and differences (one of these things is not like the others). So I guess it should not be as surprising to me that some people still discriminate by class, race, and gender. But that by no means makes it right. And whether the poster was looking for a cheap laugh, or actually believes that a female is incapable of editing a film I don’t really care. But I am hurt, disappointed, and drained. I was hoping that by the end of this entry I would feel better and be over it, but I gotta say I still feel blah. At least through all of this Zak managed to maintain a clear head and reply to the poster why he in fact specifically chose to have a woman cut this film. By being a female I have more insight, skill, and yes sensitivity, in telling the story of a young woman than any man could, and I will support that kind of gender discrimination and discernment any day of the week.
OurStage is sponsoring our film “I FUCKING HATE YOU” by giving us $4 for everyone who starts a free account at their site. You will also get to download 30 mp3s at no charge.
Many of you are already fans of our wildly popular short film. This is a quick and easy way for you to help us make another.
JUST FOLLOW THIS LINK…
http://www.ourstage.com/banner/charity_bookmark/zakforsman
And again, thank you!
Zak Forsman
After more than a year in residence at LA Center Studios downtown, Sabi Pictures has opted to return to Wilshire Blvd on the Miracle Mile. You will instantly recognize our new digs as the Samsung building at Wilshire and La Brea. Our outdoor patio/rooftop is huge! Thanks to Neha and Kevin for finding it.
Sabi Pictures
5225 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 311
Los Angeles, CA 90036
what a ride. we are all so proud to have been a part of the best film festival in los angeles. the audience responded really well to IFHY. and a lot of the questions during the Q&A were directed specifically at our little film. does that really say anything? i don’t know. but it sure feels good.
thanks to everyone who came out to support us.
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