Author Archive

MVAAFF: 2012

Tuesday, September 11th, 2012

Sheldon Levy, Festival founders Floyd and Stephanie Rance and our Nothing is Impossible Winner Ya’Ke Smith

2012 marks the fourth consecutive year that Saatchi & Saatchi has been a proud sponsor of Run & Shoot Filmworks Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival. For the past four years we’ve presented the NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE Producers Award, and this years entries were amazing. And 2012 was a big year for the festival. It was not only our fourth year with MVAAFF, but also their 10th anniversary.

Earlier this summer the Saatchi & Saatchi film jury reviewed many wonderful films, settling on 6 oustanding finalists. The feature films included Dar-He: The Lynching of Emmett Till, Homecoming, WOLF and The Last Fall; and the documentary finalists were Versailles’73: American Runway Revolution and The Powerbroker: Whitney Young’s Fight For Civil Rights.

After the customary lively exchange, the feature film WOLF emerged as this year’s winner. WOLF is the first feature to receive our award and it is a much-deserved accolade for director/ producer Ya’Ke Smith. WOLF, puts one of our most sacred institutions under a microscope in a unique and thought-provoking cinematic style.

This years in-agency  NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE Producers Award Finalist Screening Series begins September 25th with Bonnie Boswell’s documentary The Powerbroker: Whitney Young’s Fight For Civil Rights. Stay tuned…

A special thank you to our Saatchi & Saatchi Film Jury.

And thank you Saatchi & Saatchi Team for your continued support in this out reach.

Category: Film & Television, New York, Our People

MVAAFF: Now in 3D

Tuesday, March 27th, 2012

2011 marked the third consecutive year Saatchi & Saatchi sponsored the NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE Producer’s Award at the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival. This award celebrates the indomitable spirit of Independent Filmmakers, whose achievements often defy the laws of both finance and physics. Their passion, persistence and vision are the very essence of ‘Nothing is Impossible.’

And so we ask you to join us this Friday for our 6th NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE Award Screening Series from the 2011 Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival. This week’s film is Take Too Long (trt 17 min), a beautiful and haunting animated short centered on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. To add to the excitement, we’ll be screening the film twice, both of which will be projected in awesome 3D!

ABOUT TAKE TOO LONG
This film depicts the wake of Hurricane Katrina where a young couple tries to reunite with a lost father, and while doing so witness the panoramic specter of destruction and destitution that was New Orleans. The director, Kwesi Davis, went from writing software for the gaming industry to NYU’s film school, before leaving early to join Pixar’s animation studio. His Nothing Is Impossible film utilized all those skills to tell the story New Orleans/Katrina story in a unique and memorable way.

THE DETAILS
To join us for this very special premier and participate in a Q & A with director/ producer Kwesi Davis please see info below:

When: Friday, March 30th
Where: Boardroom
RSVP: Email Danica Rosen
Screening times: 12-1pm or 1:30-2:30 (max 25 people per screening)

Lunch will be served.

See you in the screening room!

Category: Events, Film & Television

Infiltrating Hollywood

Tuesday, February 14th, 2012

'Spook Who Sat by the Door' Author Sam Greene and film director the late Ivan Dixon on set 1973

2011 marked the third consecutive year Saatchi & Saatchi sponsored the NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE Producer’s Award at the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival. This award celebrates the indomitable spirit of Independent Filmmakers, whose achievements often defy the laws of both finance and physics. Their passion, persistence and vision are the very essence of ‘Nothing is Impossible.’

We are pleased to present the fifth installment in our 2011 series of the ‘Nothing is Impossible’ Producers Award Finalists’ Screenings.  On February 16th from 11:45am-2pm in the Board Room, we present the documentary film Infiltrating Hollywood: The Rise and Fall of the ‘Spook Who Sat By the Door’ (Sandwich lunch served, RSVP via email here).

Infiltrating Hollywood: The Rise and Fall of the ‘Spook Who Sat By the Door’ (TRT 104min) reveals how the revolutionary 1973 film “The Spook Who Sat By The Door” horrified J. Edgar Hoover and explores how the FBI methodically expunged the film from memory.

See you in the screening room!

Category: Events, Film & Television

Counterfeit

Monday, January 9th, 2012

2011 marked the third consecutive year Saatchi & Saatchi has sponsored the NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE Producer’s Award at the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival. This award celebrates the indomitable spirit of Independent Filmmakers, whose achievements often defy the laws of both finance and physics. Their passion, persistence and vision are the very essence of ‘Nothing is Impossible.’

We are pleased to present the fourth installment in our 2011-12 series of the ‘Nothing is Impossible’ Producers Award Finalists’ Screenings.  On January 11th from 12-1:30pm in the Board Room, we present the short film Counterfeit (TRT 16 min), followed by a discussion with the producer/director Geoff Bailey (Sandwich lunch served, RSVP: Danica Rosen).

Counterfeit is a voyeuristic snapshot of the underground trade in counterfeit goods plied by West African peddlers in New York’s Chinatown. Counterfeit lifts the veil on the ad hoc morality behind crafty commerce.

See you in the screening room!

Category: Events, Film & Television

MVAAFF: The Barber of Birmingham

Monday, December 5th, 2011

2011 marks the third consecutive year Saatchi & Saatchi has sponsored the NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE Producer’s Award at the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival. This award celebrates the indomitable spirit of Independent Filmmakers, whose achievements often defy the laws of both finance and physics. Their passion, persistence and vision are the very essence of ‘Nothing is Impossible.’

We are pleased to present the third installment in our 2011 series of the ‘Nothing is Impossible’ Producers Award Finalists’ Screenings.  On December 7th from 12-1:00pm in the Board Room, we present the short documentary The Barber of Birmingham; directors/producers Gail Dolgin and Robin Fryday (Sandwich lunch served, RSVP w/ Danica Rosen).

This documentary film depicts the journey and struggle for human and civil rights in America through the eyes of an almost overlooked foot soldier; the unassuming James Armstrong The Barber of Birmingham (TRT 25min).

See you in the screening room!

Take a peek at photographs captured during our November screening of the film Flat-Tire, with guest speaker director/writer Machua Koinange:

Photo Cred: Ryan Fitch (under each photo taken from last screening)

Category: Events, Film & Television, New York

MVAAFF: Flat Tire

Tuesday, November 8th, 2011

2011 marks the third consecutive year Saatchi & Saatchi has sponsored the NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE Producer’s Award at the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival. This award celebrates the indomitable spirit of Independent Filmmakers, whose achievements often defy the laws of both finance and physics. Their passion, persistence and vision are the very essence of ‘Nothing is Impossible.’

We are pleased to present the second installment in our 2011 series of the ‘Nothing is Impossible’ Producers Award Finalists’ Screenings.  On November 20th from 12-1:30pm in the Board Room, we present the short film Flat-Tire (TRT 24 min), followed by a discussion with the producer/director Machua Koinange (Sandwich lunch served, RSVP w/ Danica Rosen).

Flat-Tire is a testament to strong narrative overcoming a suicidal production budget. The film cleaver weaving of stereotypes and rug pulls. Three buddies pull over to assist a stranded well-heeled woman. As her tire gets repaired, the trio debates the merits of mercy versus mercenary.  Mercy triumphs… or does it?

See you in the screening room!

Category: Events, Film & Television, New York

Got Film?

Monday, October 17th, 2011

2011 marks the third consecutive year Saatchi & Saatchi has sponsored the NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE Producer’s Award at the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival. This award celebrates the indomitable spirit of Independent Filmmakers, whose achievements often defy the laws of both finance and physics. Their passion, persistence and vision are the very essence of ‘Nothing is Impossible.’

We are pleased to present six finalists and the winner of the 2011 Saatchi NOTHING IS IMPOSSBILE Producer’s award at the agency throughout the months of October to April.

You are cordially invited to the second installment of our series of the ‘Nothing is Impossible’ Producers Award Finalists’ Screenings. Beginning on October 19th from 12-2pm in the Atrium Board Room, with the presentation of the documentary Separate but Equal followed by a discussion with the producer/director Shawn D. Wilson. (Sandwich lunch served, RSVP: Danica.Rosen@saatchiny.com).

Separate but Equal’s off-screen biography and on-screen narrative unquestionably, without doubt, embodies the spirit of ‘Nothing is Impossible.’ Through the long forgotten photographs taken by Rev. Anderson, filmmaker Shawn D. Wilson provides a rare portrait of a thriving African-American middle class community in Mississippi during the Civil Rights Era.

Trailer’s above. See you in the screening room!

Category: Events, Film & Television, New York

MVAAFF

Monday, August 22nd, 2011

For the third consecutive year Saatchi & Saatchi New York has sponsored the NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE Producer’s award at the 9th annual Run & Shoot film works Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival.  The award represents a continuing commitment to engaging in a dialogue with filmmakers of color.

This year the Saatchi jury was challenged to select one winner out of 7 outstanding finalists. The selection ranged from short films like Flat-Tire, Counterfeit, and Take too Long that captivated the jury with unique styles of story telling and beautiful imagery. To Documentaries like Separate but Equal, Furious Force of Rhymes and The Barber of Birmingham that enlightened us on the anthropology of the last American century.

The Saatchi jury finally settled on one of the most unique stories presented to us. There is just no denying that the documentary INFILTRATING HOLLYWOOD: The Rise and Fall of ‘The Spook Who Sat By The Door,’ is the literal embodiment of the credo Nothing is Impossible.

The winning producers Christine Acham and Clifford Ward brought us the author Sam Greene’s story. We see how in 1973 Sam saw his controversial and revolutionary novel, ‘The Spook Who Sat by the Door,’ go from best seller to Hollywood film adaption to the government black list. The film ‘The Spook By the Door’ was only in theaters for a week before being shelved by the FBI. And now 28 years later his story is being told, the film was re-mastered and is now finally available for public viewing.

To find out more about our finalists and 2011 winner please come to our October in-house screenings of their films, which is followed by a Q & A with the producers and directors.

In addition to presenting our NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE Producer’s Award, Sheldon Levy, the curator of our award, also presented the workshop, ‘This is How We Do It,’ an interactive, hands on, exploration of commercial production. Participants had the opportunity to follow a commercial from concept to shooting to finishing. They also learned the ‘rules of the road’ for choosing the appropriate director for a commercial.

We were also proud to present for the very first time, the designation of ‘artist in residence’ to a finalist from last year, the talented Bree Newsome who directed the short WAKE. She will live with us here at Saatchi for several months of observing and absorbing our creative process. From our house she will then move to a major production company for an equal amount of time as our sponsored artist.

A special thank you to our Jury and the entire Saatchi community for its continued support of the festival.

Category: Events, Film & Television, Our People