Newsletter - August 2010
Washington Filmworks attends FilmPAC
FilmPAC, the Political Action Committee designed to honor elected leaders who have a strong record of supporting the film industry, hosted an event on Monday, August 2 at Spitfire. The event celebrated members of the Washington State Senate and House of Representatives who have been strong proponents of the film industry. The event welcomed financial contributions and with upwards of 200 people in attendance the evening proved a huge success both philosophically and financially. With competitive election campaigns for House and Senate members in the fall, FilmPAC will be hosting another event in Spokane this September.
Washington Filmworks would like to thank the community, Senators and Representatives who continue to support the efforts of Washington Filmworks and the motion picture industry as a whole.
Seattle AFTRA Members Attend WA Labor Convention
From August 9-11, Seattle AFTRA delegates attended the 2010 Washington State Labor Council Convention in Tacoma. This years convention was a "Focus on Jobs." During the two day event, the resolution "Support of Washington Filmworks" was passed unanimously by members of the local unions. Washington Filmworks would like to thank the SAG Seattle Branch, along with the International Cinematographers Guild (affiliated with IATSE) and IATSE Local #15 for their continued support.
Fore more information visit http://www.aftra.org/F867BE71C5EE43469EAB1EC865BAD3FE.htm
The feature film Grassroots has wrapped production!
On August 8, the independent feature film Grassroots wrapped production in Seattle. Directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal (Numb3rs, Losing Isaiah) the film is the true story of one unlikely candidate's 2001 race for Seattle City Council and how his passion to extend the monorail almost won him a seat.
The production's social media push, which garnered over 1500 Facebook fans (and counting), propelled major Seattle publications such as the Seattle Times, Seattle Weekly, Seattle Met Magazine, and news outlets like Komo 4 to conduct cast interviews and/or write articles highlighting places the production chose to shoot scenes. The production even inspired Seattle Met Magazine to host a contest encouraging fans to write 10 word Haikus proclaiming why they should be selected to win a visit to the set to meet the cast and crew.
Grassroots' savvy social media marketing campaign garnered a viable presence and harvested a large following of people who will no doubt track the films progress straight to the theaters and beyond.
Keep an eye out for updates on the film on their website http://www.grassrootsthefilm.com/
Locally shot feature films "Late Autumn" and "John Carpenter's The Ward" to premier at Toronto Film Festival
The feature films "Late Autumn" and "John Carpenter's The Ward" have been selected to premier at the Toronto International Film Festival. In 2009, both productions spent time shooting in locations around Washington and took advantage of Washington Filmworks tax incentive program.
Washington Filmworks Around Town
Celebration of Filmmaker Magazine 25 New Faces at the Tacoma Grand Cinema
On Saturday, August 21 Washington Filmworks headed to Tacoma to attend an event in celebration of Filmmaker Magazines 25 New Faces. Hosted by the Grand Cinema the event honored some of the brightest up and coming filmmakers such as Rashaad Ernesto Green , Robert Machoian and Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck, Brent Stewart,
Adam Bowers , and Holden Abigail Osborne. The weekends events included filmmaker attended screenings followed by a Q & A as well as a hosted cocktail party at the home of Grand Cinema board member's Mr. and Mrs. Heaton.
Washington Filmworks tours Seattle's newest production facility Beyond Home
Founded in 2001, Beyond Home is a production company specializing in creative services, video production, live event production and post production. Their diverse clientele ranges from Fortune 500 companies, to sports organizations, schools and non-profits. They are currently in the process of opening a production facility in Seattle where they hope to expand on their current services through original content. Washington Filmworks had the pleasure of touring the facility and meeting the companies founder, Keven Maude, producer Paul Killibrew, and creative director.
Washington Filmworks Staying Connected
This months Coffee Talk was held on August 4 with staff inviting Brad Anderson, the Northwest Regional Director for AFTRA and Steve Krueger, the Seattle AFTRA President to an informational conversation about the Seattle AFTRA chapter. Staff learned about AFTRA's early beginnings from its radio broadcast days to its current evolution into digital media. Both Steve and Brad educated staff on the various AFTRA contracts and how they are implemented within the entertainment industries. They also offered insight to AFTRA's goals and initiatives for the future.
The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) is a national labor union representing over 70,000 performers, journalists and other artists working in the entertainment and news media. The Northwest Region supports upwards of 600 members in Seattle and 180 in Portland.
To find out more information about (AFTRA) / Seattle visit: http://www.aftra.com/seattle.htm
"Coffee Talk" is a series of casual conversations with leaders from the film and business communities to discuss trends, events and politics happening around the state. These discussions provide an opportunity to talk about potential areas of collaboration as well as Washington Filmworks' mission and goals.