"Great Locations" Article Features New Hampshire

Markee Magazine's feature article in the December 2007 issue is called "Great Locations Coast to Coast" and showcases New Hampshire right out of the gate. Writer Mark R. Smith specifically wanted to put together a piece that gets back to focusing on locations, rather than regurgitating information on states and their filming incentives (although I did manage to sneak in a quip that we are working on the incentive piece!)

I don't know how long the write-up will be available online, but you can currently read the piece here.

New Hampshire Film Office Launches High School Short Film Festival

(Concord, NH) – High school filmmakers from around the state will showcase their works on the silver screen this May when the New Hampshire Film and Television Office launches the first-of-its-kind, statewide high school short film festival. New Hampshire Technical Institute’s Sweeney Hall Auditorium in Concord will set the stage for the inaugural fest on Saturday, May 17, 2008 beginning at noon.

“One of the missions of the film office is to support and promote the efforts of our New Hampshire filmmakers, and student filmmakers are no exception,” says Matthew Newton, Film Specialist managing the New Hampshire Film and Television Office. “Student filmmaking is an exciting and essential part of our industry here in the Granite State, and we’re thrilled to be able to provide this venue for young talent.”

Newton is a graduate of the film studies program at Keene State College in Keene, New Hampshire.

The New Hampshire High School Short Film Festival is the first part of a broader film education initiative from the film office to roll out in the coming year. A web-based resource for students and their teachers will provide filmmaking tips, articles, suggested exercises and other documents that will introduce students to the fundamental and aesthetic principles of motion picture production, foster the educational benefits of cinematic storytelling and help ensure that student efforts in film will be approached creatively and professionally.

“We want to provide a resource that will not only supplement existing high school media arts programs, but hopefully create a springboard for schools that are looking to start them,” says Christian Gompert, co-founder of the festival and a teacher at Nute High School in Milton. “It is also important to encourage students to learn the steppingstones of conventional filmmaking while also letting their creative spirit thrive through creative risk-taking. This festival will be a great opportunity for that.”

“It’s great to be able to add a statewide high school film festival to a growing list of New Hampshire-based festivals where independent film can be seen,” says Van McLeod, Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Resources. “This will be a nice companion event along with the New Hampshire Film Festival in Portsmouth and the SNOB (Somewhat North of Boston) Film Festival in Concord. Everywhere you look now there’s film.”

The festival is open to students currently enrolled in a New Hampshire public or private high school (grades 9-12). Submissions will be accepted for festival consideration until March 14, 2008. Films will be selected by a panel of judges to screen at the festival. Five winning films will be packaged onto a DVD, which will include brief interviews with the films’ respective directors, and distributed to every community access television station in the state for future broadcast.

Rules and guidelines, film submission forms and other festival information can be found online at www.nhstudentfilm.com.

The New Hampshire Film and Television Office, as part of the New Hampshire Department of Cultural Resources, works to expand business activity and employment throughout the state by acting as a liaison between the film industry and an established network of government agencies, the state’s film industry workforce, and local property owners. The office is responsible for location assistance, public relations, and general production support in an effort to broaden the cultural and economic impact of film and television production in the state. For more information about film and television production in New Hampshire, call (603) 271-2220 or visit www.nh.gov/film.

Casting Two Films for May 2008

Stagewrights, Inc. in association with BBTFilms announces auditions for two film projects shooting at Granite Media Center in Tilton, NH May 4 thru 23, 2008.

The screenplays have been adapted directly from the stage plays by David Mauriello. Bill Humphreys will direct. These are non-union, paid roles. Housing and meals will be provided during the shoot.

Currently seeking three roles:

For the film Just Say Love:

Actors for Just Say Love will be needed full-time May 4 through May 10 as well as one week in April for rehearsal, which will be scheduled around personal calendars and obligations

GUY – between 28 and 34 is gay and open about it. He’s an environmentalist and animal lover as is depicted by his form fitting tee shirt that reads PLANT A TREE on the front and I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO ARM BEARS on the back. A well dressed man, his casual slacks are neatly pressed, his white sneakers immaculate. Guy is a pseudo intellectual. A reader. He enjoys philosophy, art, music and healthy respect for the human soul. He is however not above being swept off his feet should the opportunity present itself.

DOUG - similar in age, is the epitome of a male centerfold even with his clothes on. He wears a headband, work boots scarred from hard labor, tight fitting jeans worn white in all the right places. A tank top shirt wet with perspiration shows off his muscular physique, arms and chest. DOUG is fairly ‘base’ in his intellectual status. He can be a bit slow on the up-take when it comes to humor. He knows what he wants, how far he’ll go to get it and what he’ll do in return. If he wore one, he’d be classified as blue-collar. His girlfriend is pregnant and he is questioning how he feels about being a father.

For the film Passage of Time:

Actor for Passage of Time will be needed 5 days out of the May 12 thru 23 range as well as one week in April for rehearsal, which will be scheduled around personal calendars and obligations

MICHAEL is Joey’s lover – both are in their thirties. Together they have purchased an old house on the Maine coast, which they plan to renovate into a Bed and Breakfast. MICHAEL is athletic, enjoys the outdoors and tends to have his shirt off more than on. He is open about his sexuality – which Joey is not - at least not to his family, which is a bone of contention between them. MICHAEL loves animals – the sun – the ocean and even though his is frustrated with Joey, he loves him as well. MICHAEL is honest, direct and can fall into the trap of caring too much about those around him and those who come into his life unexpectedly. His method of coping with frustration is to escape - to run away till he's had a chance to think things through.

Auditions will be held January 12 3:00 to 7:00 pm and January 13 5:30 to 8:30 pm at

SRT-2
7 Walker St.
Kittery, Maine

To schedule an audition, send an email to: Casting@bbtfilms.com include your name, phone number, the role you are interested in, the audition date you prefer and a time that would be convenient for you.

We will make every effort to accommodate your request and will confirm by email or phone.

Audition sides will be sent via email once an appointment is scheduled.

Be sure to bring headshot and current resume' to the audition.

If you have any questions regarding the films or the roles being offered, please feel free to write Casting@bbtfilms.com.

Feature Article on Ti Alan Chase

Always good to see press about New Hampshire's own. Thought I'd pass along this recent write-up in the Portsmouth Herald profiling New Hampshire filmmaker Ti Alan Chase (Sharp Dressed Men). Great job, Ti!

Read the article here.

Great Northern Video to Hold Indie Filmmaking Workshop

[Submitted by Great Northern Video in Pembroke, NH.]

Great Northern Video is going to have an Indie Filmmaker Workshop covering all the fundamentals of film making from pre-production to post on January 12 or January 19 at 9 a.m. for only $349.00

Our company sells, supports, trains and consults. We advise broadcasters, independents, film schools and commercial production companies. Learn film making on professional state of the art equipment in an environment that caters to AV professionals all over the US.

Email msutton@greatnorthernvideo.com or visit our website www.greatnorthernvideo.com for more information. Booking is limited.

"Including Samuel" Write-Up in Boston Globe

Here's more press for New Hampshire-based Dan Habib's new documentary, Including Samuel - this time in The Boston Globe.

Read Linda Matchan's article on the film here.