Celebrating New Writing Voices
SEEfest Accelerator participants are making waves
Two writers who participated in this year’s workshops, part of the festival’s Accelerator platform for the development of new projects, are getting recognition for their work. L.A.-based Amanda Andrei, whose Filipino-Romanian heritage inspires much of her work, is completing her masters in Dramatic Writing at USC with the thesis play “Lena Passes By,” and will have staged readings in Los Angeles and Denver, Colorado.
Toronto-based Ivana Strajin’s feature script “The Immigrants” was announced as one of the semifinalists in WeScreenplay competition Diverse Voices Screenwriting Lab. We wish them success in having their work produced, on stage and on-screen!
Films from SEEfest archives
Two years ago Mila Turajlić’s documentary THE OTHER SIDE OF EVERYTHING enjoyed tremendous success at international festivals garnering nominations and awards from, among others, IDFA, ZagrebDox, SEEfest and San Francisco festivals, as well as Creative Recognition Award from International Documentary Association.
It was New York Times critics pick and noted as one of the best films of the year by the New Yorker’s Richard Brody. The film is a searing portrait of an activist in times of great turmoil, questioning the responsibility of each generation to fight for their future. THE OTHER SIDE OF EVERYTHING screened at SEEfest 2018.
Available for streaming on Amazon.
** available for streaming in Europe – not available in the U.S. ** SUMMER BROTHERS is a heartfelt gem from the Netherlands, filmed on location in Turkey with an all-Turkish cast and directed by Mustafa Duygulu. It is a story about a Turkish-Dutch teenager on the last day of his summer vacation in Turkey with his ‘summer brothers.’ He clumsily tries to overcome his insecurities and fit in with the young crowd frolicking on the beach. SUMMER BROTHERS screened at SEEfest 2019.
https://www.vpro.nl/speel~
Here are links to the previous SEEfest At Your Home posts: Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 and Part 6.
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Friends of SEEfest
SEEfest program and activities are supported, in part, by the California Arts Council, a state agency; Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture; and by an Arts Grant from the City of West Hollywood. Special thanks to ELMA, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for their continued support of our programs.
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SEEfest Project Accelerator Alumna selected for First Films First at the Berlin Film Festival
Vera Mijojlic | February 10, 2017, 7:00 PM
At the 2016 SEEfest Accelerator, young Turkish filmmaker Derya Durmaz presented her project for a feature film entitled The Bus to Amerika. This February her project is among only 8 selected for the 2017 First Films First at the Berlin Film Festival. The program was conceived by the Goethe-Institut as a Young Directors´ Academy, aimed at supporting young Southeast European film directors to develop their first feature-length fiction film. We are so happy for Derya and congratulate her on this success!
“After taking the great 1st step at SEEfest, thanks to the great program you put together The Bus to Amerika went on to be selected for a number of international co-production markets and programs,” says Derya. “The project also received development grant from the German Turkish Co-production Development Fund. Now it is selected for the Berlinale Talent Project Market, and is one of 3 projects nominated for the VFF Talent Highlight Award (German copyright agency for film and TV producers)! I would like to take this opportunity to thank you again for providing me with a good start.”
And we hope to see you again at SEEfest, and to show your film!
Submissions for the 2017 Accelerator Program for Film Projects in Development are open until March 26. To request detailed guidelines for the Accelerator program, email us at [email protected].