The LRFF has pushed back  the dates slightly to August 20-22, to give teams time to sign up and us time to prepare.

Now that we’re full steam ahead, please register for the Little Rock
48HFP today!  Go to:
http://www.48hourfilm.com/littlerock

If you have any questions about this year’s LRFF 48 HFP, please contact Jacob@littlerockfilmfestival.org.

Jennifer M. Wood at MovieMaker Magazine, writes in the Spring 2010 issue of which festivals give filmmakers the most bang for their buck and The Little Rock Film Festival was among the top 25! Wood writes “While every moviemaker’s priorities vary, what follows is a list of festivals that offer something a little out of the ordinary. Sometimes it’s money, sometimes it’s a distribution opportunity and sometimes it’s the chance to be a part of an event regardless of whether your submission is even accepted.”

LRFF is listed alongside heavyweights like the Newport Beach Film Festival, Chicago International Film Festival, Brooklyn International Film Festival and the Los Angeles Film Festival and so many other great festivals across the country. Click here to read the full list but be sure to pick up your copy of the Spring 2010 edition of MovieMaker Magazine or subscribe for only $9.95 for an entire year.

Little Rock Film Festival 2010: Down to the Bone “If standards used in measuring a film festival’s success are solely based on the fruition of its films, the Little Rock Film Festival continues to surpass those measurements.”

Little Rock Film Festival 2010: Lost on Another Island “The film that intrigued and fascinated me more than any other at this year’s festival isArcadia Lost, directed by the acclaimed cinematographer Phedon Papamichael (Sideways,Walk the Line, 3:10 To Yuma, The Pursuit of Happyness).”

Little Rock Film Festival 2010: War is Still Hell “Beebe’s support has led to more favorable tax incentives for filmmakers wanting to work in Arkansas. And he’s right about their abilities to penetrate the soul–evident in this year’s documentaries.”

For more press on the 4th Annual Little Rock Film Festival click here.

Published at 4:00 PM on June 12, 2010 at Paste Magazine

What starts out as an insider’s look at the world of stand up comedy I Am Comic turns into a comeback story for the interviewer/semi-retired comic, Ritch Shydner. The personal accounts alone, told by countless comedians like Lewis Black, Phyllis Diller, Sarah Silverman, Roseanne, Bobby Slayton and Tim Allen are enough to make it an absorbing and hilarious film. But watching Shydner as he decides to take a stab at stand up again is like watching a train wreck in slow motion. You can see disaster coming but you can’t look away. Director Jordan Brady does, however, give Shydner enough footage to show off the re-sharpening of his act, which at one time was one of the best stand up routines in the business. Praise also goes to editor Karoliina Tuovinen who took the old adage that timing is everything in comedy and applied it to this fast paced and engaging film.

Published at 1:52 PM on June 15, 2010 at Paste Magazine

Little Rock Film Festival 2010: War is Still Hell “I don’t know what they did in the four or five thousand years of civilized history before we had film,” said Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe at the festival’s closing night gala where filmmakers were present for the awards ceremony. “I’m sure they told some kind of stories but they never could tell them as well as you all could. They never could, I think, penetrate the depths of people’s souls the way you can penetrate those depths.” Beebe’s support has led to more favorable tax incentives for filmmakers wanting to work in Arkansas. And he’s right about their abilities to penetrate the soul–evident in this year’s documentaries.

Two insightful viewpoints are shared in two separate documentaries about the war in Afghanistan. In Restrepo (above) we follow a platoon of U.S. soldiers deployed in the Korengal Valley, what CNN once called the deadliest place on earth. Dealing with at least four fire fights per day instills a comradery among the troops that is especially evident when one of them is killed in action. (The film’s title comes from a fallen comrade.) Plenty of full force, in-your-face action with some wrenching emotion. Camp Victory, Afghanistan offers another perspective of the war with its look at the Afghan army. Whereas American troops regularly reenlist, voluntarily, the Afghan army must contend with soldiers leaving and going home. When the commanding officer is begging his troops to not run away during a battle it shines a light on the quandary of fighting a war for the defense of a country whose citizens won’t even take action themselves.

Racing Dreams follows three young go-kart racers, ages 11-13, who are competing for the national championship of World Karting. These are not the go-karts I remember as a kid. The races are huge events on quality tracks and are considered to be an important step in these youngsters becoming NASCAR drivers. The filmmakers not only do an amazing job at building suspense in the actual races but they also let us into the kids’ homes and reveal the sacrifices by their families to keep their dreams alive. And there are some surprising results.

Another group of kids are featured in Louder than a Bomb. But instead of cars it’s poetry slam. This spoken-word competition climaxes with the largest high school slam in the world. The competitors come from “clubs” formed in high schools around the country. What hits you is how these kids, some from badly broken homes, can so eloquently reveal their inner emotions on stage.

I was not prepared for the outstanding quality of the short films at this year’s festival. The short comedy Antiquities, which won the Charles B. Pierce Award for Best Film Made in Arkansas, especially delighted moviegoers, and surprised critics considering it was writer/director Daniel Campbell’s first film. Centered around an antique mall where Terrance (Jason Thompson) works a low-wage job and is harried by a belittling, sarcastic boss, we learn that the boy has a crush on Marissa (Jennifer Pierce), one of the vendors. But Terrance (who reminds me of a young Warren Beatty) is much too shy to ask her out. The strength of the film is its fast paced dialogue, crisp editing and spot-on performances by a cast of mostly non-actors.

One of the most creative monologues of any short film this year comes from Spanola Pepper Sauce Company. With his excited elucidation on the merits of his business, founder Tookie Spanola (delightfully portrayed by Graham Gordy) brings an element of mystery as he drops the occasional reference to not driving past sundown and keeping garlic about one’s body. Smartly attired in his searsucker suit, bowtie and straw hat, Spanola stands in the middle of his far-as-the-eye-can-see Louisiana farmland and appears to be everything you would expect from a successful entrepreneur, except for the occasional reference to the importance of wooden stakes. Directed by Oscar winner Ray McKinnon and written by Gordy.

Named “Best Short Film”, The Greims reunites estranged brothers Howard (Francesco Saviano) and Donnie (Wes Bentley). It opens with a wonderful, almost musical, counterpoint of a phone conversation, a television playing and someone knocking on the door. Smartly performed with some witty dialogue and a fitting conclusion.