Race and politics highlight this year's Pan African Film Festival. The Pan African Film and Arts Festival just wrapped up in Los Angeles screening a total of 160 films in 12 days. Based at the Magic Johnson theaters in Baldwin Hills, the festival is in its 14th year and is the largest international Black film festival in the US screening shorts, features, and documentaries from all over the world. Reinforcing the growing resurgence of South African film, the festival opened with the Academy Award nominated. TSOTSI (see our INsider feature) and closed with the critically acclaimed, SON OF MAN. Directed by Mark Donford-May, SON OF MAN which had its world premiere at Sundance this year, is a fantastic hyper-realist retelling of the Gospels as a parable for the corruption and political strife in contemporary Africa. It won the Festival Award for Best Feature. The majority of the festival's award winners were also either politically or racially charged: the Jury Prize for Best Documentary went to Thomas Allen Harris' THE TWELVE DISCIPLES OF NELSON MANDELA: A SON'S TRIBUTE TO UNSUNG HEROES about a son's search for reconciliation with the man who raised him, an African National Congress foot soldier who sacrificed his life for the freedom of his country; the Jury Prize for Best Director First Feature went to Donovan Marsh's DOLLARS AND WHITE PIPES, a rags to riches story of a former gang member who becomes a well respected businessman; and the FESTIVAL AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY went to ARISTIDE AND THE ENDLESS REVOLUTION (directed by Nicholas Rossier) which chronicles the events that led to the removal of Haitian president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. One of the most terrifying films that I saw at the festival that was all about race and politics was a documentary called THE ORIGIN OF AIDS (directed by Peter Chappell and Catherine Peix) which traces the appearance of HIV back to the experimental polio vaccine that was given to nearly a million Africans in the Belgian Congo in the late 1950s. A multi-layered multi-national story, the film is a must-see civics lesson on how governments are capable of instituting tremendous campaigns - medical, political or economical - without any kind of accountability or recourse. I thought about it for days after I saw it. You will too.

Keeping it indie,
Julie

It's a good day to be a short filmmaker! Magnolia Pictures and Shorts International have teamed together to bring the Oscar-nominated shorts to theaters. The films will screen first in New York and Los Angeles, on February 24, and then open in select theaters various cities including San Francisco, Chicago, Denver, Austin, Portland, and Seattle.

After the Oscars, the shorts will also be available through HDNet and Magnolia's Home Entertainment division, and through ShortsTV, for download on mobile phones.

This is great news for short films, who in past only have the opportunity to find their audiences through film festivals, online, and through select TV programming. It will be interesting to see, based on the success of this theatrical run, if perhaps this will pave the way for other Short Film Series to play theatrically across the country.

Below is a list of all of the nominated films, as well as a brief description. Make sure to check out this great collection of films if it reaches your city!

Long live indie film,
Michelle

Best Animated Short Film

Badgered
Directed by Sharon Colman
A beleaguered badger tries to get some sleep

The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation
Directed by John Canemaker and Peggy Stern
A son explores his difficult relationship with his dead father through an imaginary conversation about the older man's past.

The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello
Directed by Anthony Lucas
Haunted by a tragic mistake, an aerial navigator leaves his wife behind in their plague-ridden homeland and embarks on a voyage that he hopes will redeem him.

9
Directed by Shane Acker
In a nightmarish landscape, a hunted figure confronts an insect-like creature that is stealing the souls of its brethren.

One Man Band
Directed by Andrew Jimenez and Mark Andrews
Two street performers compete for a small child's last coin.


Best Live Action Short Film

Ausreisser (The Runaway)
Directed by Ulrike Grote
When the six-year-old son he never knew he had shows up on his doorstep one morning, a novice father tries to find the boy's absent mother.

Cashback
Directed by Sean Ellis and Lene Bausager
A London art student with a vivid imagination explains the fine points of getting through the night shift at a dull job.

The Last Farm
Directed by Runar Runarsson and Thor S. Sigurjonsson
An elderly man keeps a secret from the outside world as he reacts to the possibility that he will no longer be able to remain on his isolated farm.

Our Time Is Up
Directed by Rob Pearlstein and Pia Clemente
A therapist who learns he has only six weeks to live begins treating his patients with a dose of brutal honesty.

Six Shooter
Directed by Martin McDonagh
As he travels home by train after his wife's death, a grief-stricken man finds an already terrible day taking some bizarre turns for the worse.

It is with very great pleasure that we, at indieIN, congratulate our friend, Jacques Thelemaque on his film,
"Transaction" winning the Grand Prix Du Jury Award at the 28th Clermont Ferrand International Short Film
Festival. Not only is this the festival's highest award but it is the first American film to ever win the award in the
Lab Competition category and the first American film to win the Grand Prix Du Jury Award in any category since 1995.

For those of you who are not aware, Clermont Ferrand is arguably the most prestigious short film festival in the world. It also boasts a higher attendance rate than major festivals like Sundance with over 100,000 people attending each year. Started by a group of student filmmakers in 1981 out of the need to both exhibit and celebrate short films, the festival has since 2000 been housed in a building appropriately called La Jetee in homage to Chris Marker's seminal short film of the same name. Note to readers: if you haven't seen this film, see it as soon as you can because I guarantee, you will never be the same.

Speaking of never being the same, I would be remiss in not mentioning the fact that we lost three incredibly independent minded women recently without whom the world (creative and otherwise) would be a much different place. All three, Betty Friedan, Wendy Wasserstein and Coretta Scott King, spoke their minds, stood their grounds and changed the face of and opportunity for women (and men) everywhere. There is nothing more indie than that.

Keeping it indie,
Julie

It already seems like award season has been going on forever, but alas, the Oscar nominations were finally announced. It doesn't matter if you are on team indie or team studio, these are the noms that everyone looks forward to see what is considered "best"!

While there are certainly some familiar faces on the list, it was quite nice to see so many indie films included on this list. Off the top of my head, I can't remember seeing such a strong stance for independent films in the Oscar since 1997!

Here are some highlights of this year's nominations:

Leading Ladies
Independent films dominated the Actress categories this year. For Best Supporting Actress, there's Amy Adams for Junebug, Catherine Keener for Capote, Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener, and Michelle Williams for Brokeback Mountain. In the Best Actress, the lovely Felicity Huffman for Transamerica, Keira Knightley for Pride & Prejudice, and Dame Judi Dench for Mrs. Henderson Presents, go up against Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line. Special note: although North Country is not an indie film, it was directed by director Niki Caro, director of Whale Rider.

Capote
I have to send out a special congratulations to Bennett Miller for his nomination for Best Director. I have been a fan of Bennett's ever since I saw The Cruise. If you haven't seen this film, check it out.

Good Night, and Good Luck.
George Clooney's Good Night and Good Luck received four nominations including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Director. Mr. Clooney also made an Oscar first by becoming the first person to nominated for both Best Director and Best Supporting Actor for a different film. While Syriana is not an indie film, it's definitely a must-see.

The Squid and the Whale
Although they were shut of the acting nominations, Noah Baumbach still was recognized for his poignant script. Congratulations Noah!

Hustle & Flow
Terrence Howard was recognized for Best Press and Curl, but let's get to the real deal. I think the highlight of this year's show GUARANTEED will be when a "special celebrity" sings the hustler's theme song, It's Hard Out There for a Pimp. My money is on Jamie Foxx. Any takers?

Here's a list of the indie films that received nominations.
A History of Violence
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
The Constant Gardner
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Hustle & Flow
Junebug
Mrs. Henderson Presents
Murderball
Paradise Now
Pride & Prejudice
Transamerica
Tsotsi
The Squid and the Whale

For a full list of nominees, check out www.oscar.com.

Long live indie film,

Michelle