Film Independent unveils Los Angeles-themed short films by Global Medias Makers Fellows

Film Independent, the nonprofit arts organisation that produces the Film Independent Spirit Awards, shared five short films directed by Fellows selected to participate in its Global Media Makers (GMM) Fall 2022 LA Residency.

GMM is an innovative mentoring initiative and cultural exchange program that fosters relationships between filmmakers and industry professionals in the U.S. and abroad.

The shorts are a result of a workshop where GMM fellows participating in the Residency’s Creative Producing Track were paired with Los Angeles-based Film Independent Fellows to direct a short impressionistic film encompassing their personal views of Los Angeles. This collaborative initiative is an opportunity to establish a creative dialogue between international and local filmmakers while exploring the city.

“Providing our GMM Fellows a space and time to explore our city of Los Angeles, guided by a local Film Independent Fellow, is central to the mission of the program: building bridges and fostering a dialogue amongst creative minds around the world”, said María Raquel Bozzi, Senior Director of Education & International Initiatives, “As we started this initiative, we realized an iPhone, with its high-quality capture and ease of use, is a perfect tool for them to freely explore the visual richness of our dynamic Angeleno community.”

Previous Film Independent Fellows that have participated in this collaborative workshop include Andrew Ahn (Director, Fire Island), Shane Boris (Producer, Fire of Love), Lulu Wang (Director, The Farewell), and Nepali Fellow Anup Poudel, who produced the short film, “LORI (Melancholy of my Mother’s Lullabies)”, which received Special Distinction at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.

The Film Independent Fellows who collaborated as Creative Producers in the shorts published today are Erick Castrillion (Writer/Producer, Blast Beat), Katherine Fairfax Wright (Producer, Behind the Curtain: Todrick Hall), Trent Nakamura (Director, “It’s a Boy”), Stephanie Osuna-Hernandez (Director, “Dreamer”) and Dyana Winkler (Director, United Skates).

The six Global Media Makers Fellows, who participated in this collaborative workshop, come from India, Lebanon, Nepal, Tunisia, and Turkey.

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Turkey
Angelenos directed by Aren Perdeci and Ela Alyamac
Angelenos’ joys, sorrows, desolations, hopes, and fears…all in one minute.

The Istanbul-based Armenian writer-director Aren Perdeci’s second feature film Lost Birds’ screenplay was selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Margaret Herrick Library’s Core Collection in 2016. Lost Birds is the first film shot in Turkey to depict the great tragedy of 1915. Lost Birds was featured in American Cinematographer Magazine’s September 2015 issue, singing praises for its stunning cinematography. The ten-page article was a first for a Turkish Project at the legendary magazine. Perdeci’s debut Wrong Time Travellers was shot on super 16mm with an innovative directing style.

The Istanbul-based Turkish writer-director Ela Alyamac’s co-directed Lost Birds. Alyamac made her debut with Fairy Dust (2008), a romantic drama about growing up, making peace with the past and believing in miracles. The film significantly changed how romantic comedies and coming-of-age movies are told in Turkey. Alyamac has a Master of Fine Arts in Directing and Screenwriting from Chapman University.

Tunisia
Dear John directed by Mehdi Hmili
A visual love letter to John Cassavetes by remembering his films shot in Los Angeles.

Mehdi Hmili is a Tunisian director and producer. In 2019 he participated in La Fabrique Cinémas du Monde at Cannes Film Festival with the feature documentary Fouledh. His second feature film Streams premiered at the 74th Locarno Film Festival and won numerous awards such as Best Actress at the 43rd Cairo International Film Festival, Special Jury Award (Kolkata International Film Festival), and Best Director Award (Malmö Arab Film Festival). Mehdi Hmili is part of the new wave of young Tunisian filmmakers, and he is a major figure in the current Tunisian cinematographic landscape.

India
In The Rearview directed by Shyam Bora
An exploration of the LA city through my Uber rides.

Hailing from Assam in the northeast of India, Shyam’s debut feature as Producer, Aamis (Ravening), premiered at Tribeca Film Festival 2019 in the International Narrative Competition section. His second feature, Emuthi Puthi (A Very Fishy Trip), was shot entirely on an iPhone and released across the regional cinema theatres of Assam in June 2022. Shyam’s latest feature, Second Chance (Film Independent’s Global Media Maker Program 2022) is currently in the post-production stage. He is a graduate of the Busan Asian Film School’s International Film Business Academy (AFiS) and the Buncheon NAFF Fantastic Genre Film School.

Lebanon
Prince K: Los Angeles directed by Wadih Safieddine

Searching for the letter K across the city of Los Angeles is like searching for the Unity of all things to me – I have been searching for at least 30 years…

Born in Beirut, Wadih Safieddine grew up in Paris during the Lebanese civil war before returning to settle in his country as a journalist, a copywriter, a music manager, and an art space curator. Saffieddine produced hundreds of hours of TV shows and teaches TV production at the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts and ESA Business School. In 2014, he opened the Beirut office of Déjà vu, headquartered in Dubai. Déjà vu has produced some of the most iconic commercials in the region and won awards at every major advertising festival around the world.

Nepal
Sanar directed by Ram Krishna Pokharel

Follow Jorge as he navigates life unhoused in the Mid-Wilshire neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Ram Krishna Pokharel is an Emmy award-winning film producer best known for A Mountain to Climb (2017). His feature and short films have been invited to major international film festivals such as Berlinale, Busan, Palm Springs, APSA, and Fribourg. He is the first Nepalese producer to participate in the EAVE Producers Workshop with a scholarship from CNC (France 2017). He has several projects in development, including those that have been invited to platforms such as Locarno Festival’s Open Doors Program, Film Bazaar Goa, and Cannes Film Festival’s Cinefondation l’Atelier program. He is committed to providing opportunities to new and emerging talents from Nepal and the region.

All of the films were shot on the new iPhone 14 Pro Max with color grading provided by Picture Shop. This is the sixth iteration of the workshop.