A spectacular night recognizing the best talent in independent cinema from around the globe.
The evening will honor 110 films, writers and performers, nominated in 16 Award categories including new media, animation, documentary and narrative. The nominees are largely comprised of films from the NFMLA diversity initiative, InFocus.
Check out the Best of NFMLA nominees from our 11th film festival edition.
Dir & Writ: Anne Marie Hess
Prod: Matthew Leutwyler
Dir & Writ: Polly Steele
Prod: Lizzie Pickering
Dir & Writ: Shaz Bennett
Prod: Shaz Bennett, Jean-Pierre Caner, Melanie Miller & Diane Becker
Dir & Writ: Jason O. Silva
Prod: Annette Silva
Dir: Jenica Bergere
Writ: Laura Greenman Heine
Prod: James Portolese
Dir & Writ: Lindsey Grayzel
Prod: Lindsey Grayzel
Dir & Writ: Todd Howe
Prod: Michael J. Baum
Dir & Writ: Christopher Gruse
Prod: Erin Henneghan
Dir & Writ: Joel Fendelman
Prod: James Chase Sanchez
Dir & Prod: D.P. Carlson
Writ: Joe Frank
Dir & Writ: Jessica Beshir
Prod: Jessica Beshir
Dir & Writ: Michelle Latimer
Prod: Catie Lamer
Dir & Writ: Devin Thomas
Prod: Devin Thomas
Dir & Writ: Priscilla Gonzalez Sainz
Prod: Priscilla Gonzalez Sainz
Dir & Writ: Adriano Valerio
Prod: Giulia Achilli, Lionel Massol
Dir & Writ: Cy Dodson
Prod: Melody Gilbert
Dir & Writ: Rebecca Kenyon
Prod: Rachael Swindale
Dir & Writ: Valentino Natale Misino
Prod: Derek Wang
Dir & Writ: Mariel Sosa
Prod: Mariel Sosa
Dir & Writ: Rayka Zehtabchi
Prod: Melissa Berton
Dir & Writ: Andrew Vasquez
Prod: Andrew Vasquez
Dir & Writ: Rebekah Miskin
Prod: Rebekah Miskin & Miriam Levin-Gold
Dir & Prod: Erica Eng
Writ: Horace Gold
Dir & Writ: Beata Calinska, Sarah Jacobson
Prod: Christopher Allen
Dir & Writ: Firul Maithya & Stories Found Nairobi Team, Kenya
Prod: Firul Maithya & Stories Found Nairobi Team, Kenya
Dir & Prod: Julien Sauvalle
Writ: Jack Sullivan
Dir & Writ: Elinor Nechemya
Prod: Elinor Nechemya
Dir: Dina Fiasconaro
Writ: Emilie Feldenzer
Prod: Melodie Sisk
Dir: Charlie Tyrell
Writ: Charlie Tyrell, Josef Beeby
Dir: Emma Debany
Writ: Emma Debany, Daniel Irons
Dir & Writ: Mark C. Smith
Dir & Writ: Diane Obomsawin
Dir & Writ: Fiona Lu
Dir & Writ: Kjell Boersma
Prod: Josh Clavir
Dir & Writ: Frodo Kuipers
Prod: Merlijn Passier
Dir & Writ: Jonathan Ostos Yaber
Prod: Jonathan Ostos Yaber
Dir & Writ: Cassie Guidry
Prod: Cassie Guidry
Dir & Writ: Diana Carter
Prod: Diana Carter
Dir & Writ: Melanie Brown
Dir & Writ: Thu Vu Kim Nguyen
Prod: Thu Vu Kim Nguyen
Dir: Blake Harrison
Writ & Prod: Kerry Keenan Lynch
Dir: Cyril Aris
Writ: Mounia Akl, Cyril Aris
Prod: Valerie Martinez, Marc Fadel
Dir: Jasper Savage
Writ: Jessica Greco
Dir: Simon Ryninks
Writ: ZAK KLEIN
Prod: Tibo Travers
Dir & Writ: Johnnie Walker
Dir, Writ & Prod: Abrar Athar
Dir & Writ: Fadi Baki
Prod: Niklas Hlawatsch & Bernadette Klausberger
Dir & Writ: Alyson Richards
Prod: Mike MacMillan
Dir & Prod: Daniela Arguello
Writ: Marianna Di Pasquale
Dir & Writ: Dane Clark & Linsey Stewart
Dir & Writ: Michael Clowater
Prod: Jessica Miller
Dir: Una Gunjak, Rami Kodeih
Writ: Rami Kodeih
Prod: Myriam Sassine
Dir, Writ & Prod: Garry Crystal
Dir: Sherren Lee
Writ: Jesse LaVercombe
Prod: Charlie Hidalgo
Dir & Writ: Dominik Bücheler
Dir & Writ: Naledi Jackson
Prod: Priscilla Galvaz
Dir & Writ: Marina Rocco
Prod: Guja Quaranta
Dir & Writ: Justin Harding, Rob Brunner
Dir, Writ & Prod: Rubin Stein
Dir & Writ: Francois Chandelle
Dir & Writ: Lu Han
Prod: Ahleea Zama
Dir & Writ: Sohil Vaidya
Prod: Andrew Reid
Dir & Writ: Shaandiin Tome
Prod: Aroonsri Khamsamran
Dir, Writ & Prod: Mahaliyah Ayla O
Dir & Writ: Pablo Gómez Castro
Prod: Elisa Lleras
Dir & Writ: Mike Olenick
Dir, Writ & Prod: Jackie Katzman
Dir, Writ & Prod: Nardeep Khurmi
Dir, Writ & Prod: Gabriel Savodivker
Dir: Alexis Ostrander
Writ: Dani Bailes
Prod: Michael Buissereth
Dir: Kholi Hicks
Writ & Prod: Teresa Decher
Dir: Rachael Meyers
Writ: Elise Zell
Dir & Writ: Sam Carmichael
Prod: Matthew P. Higgins
Dir & Writ: Kuan-Fu Lin
Prod: Yixia Li
Dir: Jessica Sanders
Writ: Joanne Giger
Dir: Jon Hoeg & John F. Beach
Writ: Dustin Hahn & Greg Hahn
Prod: Martin Spanjers
Dir & Writ: Dinh Thai
Prod: Brian Burgett
Dir: Fabio Frey
Writ & Prod: Daniel Weingarten & Becky Robinson
Dir & Writ: Christian Vogeler
Dir: J.J. Adler
Writ: Gary Richardson
Varda Bark-Kar is a world traveler and an award-winning film director based in Santa Monica, California. Varda got her start in film production working as a Script Supervisor for maverick feature directors like Jim Jarmusch, Wayne Wang and Carrol Ballard. Varda’s short and long form films explore the breadth of the human condition. Her most recent feature documentary Big Voice chronicles a challenging year in the life of a determined high school choir director and his most advanced ensemble. Big Voice won the “Best U.S. Premiere” at the Heartland Film Festival, “Best Documentary” at New Filmmakers Los Angeles and “Best Family Documentary” at the South Dakota Film Festival. Netflix picked up Big Voice for distribution, and a broadcast version of the documentary is now airing on PBS stations across the United States.
Currently, Varda is in pre-production on the feature documentary Fandango At The Wall which will weave together music, dance and nature imagery to tell the stories of local musicians who gather once a year on the border of Tijuana and San Diego to celebrate family, community, and culture with a style of dance called fandango and music called son jarocho. During the festival the musicians and their families are inches apart but often unable to cross the international border.
Varda Co-Chairs the board of New Filmmaker Los Angeles, and a member of Film Independent, the Alliance of Women Directors & Film Fatales.
STEVEN J. WOLFE (Producer) is a seasoned film producer and President of Sneak Preview Entertainment, a production and talent management company he founded almost 25 yearsago. Steven has produced a diverse range of films throughout his career including Golden Globe® Best Picture nominee 500 Days of Summer starring Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt; Our Family Wedding with Forest Whitaker and America Ferrara, David E. Talbert's Baggage Claim, Phat Girlz starring Mo’Nique, A Dennis the Menace Christmas; Twin Falls Idaho and the Sundance Film Festival hit Relax, it’s Just Sex! starring Jennifer Tilly, Lori Petty and Mitchell Anderson.
Wolfe recently produced a musical re-imagining of the 1983 classic, Valley Girl with Matt Smith for MGM as well as acclaimed writer-director Alan Rudolph's Ray Meets Helen and writer-director Nnegest Likke's Everything But a Man, which is currently winning awards on the festival circuit. His vast list of producing credits such diverse films Miss March, The Secret Lives of Dorks, Tollbooth, Fast Sofa, When Do We Eat?, Beautiful Loser, Civilization of Maxwell Bright, Hellbent, Circuit, The Clean & Narrow, Bird of Prey, Only You, Scorchers and My Mom’s a Werewolf.
Margaret is the founder of 3 Dots Entertainment that develops, produces and promotes content with focus on China-U.S. It also develops education programs on filmmaking for the China market.
3 Dots Entertainment is currently producing The Genesis Game, a feature documentary on artificial intelligent music. It is also responsible for the marketing/promotion of Better Angels, a feature documentary that focuses on the U.S. - China relationship. The movie is directed by a two-time Academy Award winning director, Malcolm Clarke and is set to be released in China and U.S. in 2018.
Before 3 Dots Entertainment, Margaret was a veteran in the advertising industry with over 20 years of experience in the U.S. and Asia-Pacific where she worked with blue chip clients such as Pepsi, Johnson & Johnson, Unilever, General Motors, L’Oreal, American Express across different disciplines in different regions. Under her supervision, many of them were award-winning campaigns that produced tangible results. She was nominated by Campaign Magazine for “Account Person of the Year” in 2010 and 2011. She was also named one of the “Best Performing Professionals in Advertising in Asia-Pacific” by R3, a highly regarded brand consulting company in Asia. Having lived in China for 11 years, Margaret has a deep understanding of the country. She now lives in Los Angeles and still travels frequently to China for cross-border initiatives.
David is an independent filmmaker and screenwriter who daylights as the Director of Video Production for Blueprint Test Preparation, an LA-based educational company specializing in online higher education. He studied film at the University of North Texas where he gained a deep appreciation for documentary and non-fiction cinema.
He has worn multiple hats for NewFilmmakers Los Angeles, as an intern, Festival Consultant, and Screening Committee member. Currently he directs and produces their monthly Stage 5 interview series, featuring in-depth conversations with emerging local and international artists, which also serves as an educational opportunity for aspiring student filmmakers to gain valuable on-set experience.
Demian Lichtenstein is an international best selling author of Discover the Gift, a prodigious producer, director and writer with over 250 major media and music videos to his credit such as Sting, Eric Clapton, and Queen Latifah as well as feature films such as 3000 Miles To Graceland starring Kevin Costner and Kurt Russell. Demian is also a writer, producer, and director in the Video Game industry, with #1 hits such as the successful PAYDAY 1 & 2 video game franchise / Net TV series. Demian has built and sold five media, VR and gaming companies. During his tenure as US Studio Head for Starbreeze, Demian oversaw Production on the John Wick Chronicles VR Video Game, the Walking Dead VR Experience as well as Producing and Directing the PAYDAY Live Action 360 VR Experience. Currently Demian is building his new venture, Futurism: Where Technology and Entertainment meet.
Independent feature film producer Franco Sama boasts a remarkable and extensive history in public speaking, public relations and a decade of independent film development, production and financing.
Sama has Executive Produced an impressive array of over twenty (20) independent feature films including most notably, “Guns, Girls and Gambling” starring Academy Award Winner Gary Oldman, Christian Slater and Dane Cook which is quickly becoming a cult favorite; this film was released into theatres on December of 2012 and, in January 2013, acquired a worldwide distribution deal from Universal Pictures.
Other films Sama has produced include; “Black Limousine” starring David Arquette and Vivica Fox, “Tooth and Nail” starring Michael Madsen and Vinnie Jones, "Paid," starring Corbin Bernsen and Tom Conti and “The Penitent Man,” starring “The Terminator’s” Lance Henriksen. Sama also serves as Executive Producer on the film festival darling “Petunia” starring Thora Birch, Brittany Snow and Academy Award Winner Christine Lahti.
William currently heads entertainment for BBH-LA, the development arm of the global creative agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty. He has over a decade of experience in the studio space, including work at Disney and The Weinstein Company. He then went on to helm the content strategy for Coca-Cola Europe as their Content Director. William understands how brands need to align in partnership with Hollywood to execute prestige content to meet marketing objectives. During his tenure at the TWC, he managed all brand relations for the 13 time Emmy-nominated series Project Runway and all feature films, including The Artist, My Week With Marilyn, Silver Linings Playbook, Django Unchained, The Kings Speech, and more. While at Coca-Cola, he won a gold Cannes Lion for his first marketing campaign.