MIDDLE GROUND - My new short film is now online!
/My latest short film, Middle Ground, is now available online. Check it out and share it if you dig it!
"Making Your First Feature" Workshop @ NYU Production Lab
/On March 30th, the team behind But Not For Me held a roundtable discussion at the NYU Production Lab about our experience making our first feature film. It was a detailed, intimate discussion with great questions from those in attendance. It feels good to share your knowledge and experience with your fellow filmmakers and aspirants. As Kevin Spacey has said, (I'm paraphrasing) when you achieve a certain amount of success, you have an obligation to send the elevator down to those coming up behind you. We're happy to help!
"A Warm Spell" wins big at Queens World Film Festival 2016
/A Warm Spell, an Official Selection of the Queens World Film Festival and nominated for three awards - Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Narrative Short - won the big prize last night and was chosen as the best short film of the festival.
Big congrats to Toshimichi Saito, the writer/director, and the whole team!
(A Warm Spell, formerly Koharubiyori, is a short film I produced that we shot in Japan in February 2013).
March is BNFM Month!
/But Not For Me is an Official Selection of NewFilmmakers New York - with a Manhattan screening in March - and Queens World Film Festival (which is also playing the short film I produced, A Warm Spell!) - with a Queens screening in March.
We're excited for both our Queens Premiere (where my production company, Impolite Company, is based) and our Manhattan Premiere.
Don't worry Bronx, Brooklyn, and Staten Island, we haven't forgotten about you!
"But Not For Me" @ Blow Up Chicago Arthouse Film Festival
/But Not For Me is an Official Selection of the Blow Up Chicago International Arthouse Film Festival. The film has been nominated for Best Student Film as well. Woo-hoo!
"But Not For Me" Trailer is Here!
/Check it out and share it - don't be stingy!
"House Rules" - Screencraft Production Fund Semi-Finalist
/My short film script, House Rules, is a semi-finalist for the Screencraft Short Film Production Fund. It's one of approx. 200 semi-finalists culled from 1,100 submissions. Winners receives $5,000-$20,000 to make their films.
Winners are announced next week - fingers crossed. Let's get this money and make this film!
https://screencraft.org/2015/10/26/short-film-production-fund-semifinalists-announced/
"But Not For Me" - Official Selection, Virginia Film Festival
/I'm ecstatic to announce But Not For Me is an Official Selection of the 2015 Virginia Film Festival! I've been submitting work since I was in high school and I'm so excited to finally have something playing in the festival!
The film will screen alongside new films from Todd Haynes ("Carol"), Rodrigo Garcia ("Last Days in the Desert"), and Paolo Sorrentino ("Youth").
Our screening is Saturday, November 7th, at 6:45pm followed by a Q&A with Ryan Carmichael (writer/director), Me (producer), and Maria Vermeulen ("Grace").
Tickets can be purchased on the film's festival page: http://virginiafilmfestival.org/films/but-not-for-me/
"This is my body, it's not yours" (Newsletter #15)
/Check out my Summer 2015 Newsletter by clicking here!
I send 3-5 newsletters/emails per year, with updates about my work and a little more in-depth information. If you're interested in receiving these emails, sign up here: http://jasonstefaniak.com/contact/
"Middle Ground" is going to Europe!
/My short film, Middle Ground, will have it's European Premiere at the Student International Film Festival (STIFF) in Rijeka, Croatia, in October.
The film will screen at the Art Kino theater, which is run by the city and dedicated to exhibiting the best in classic and contemporary cinema. Look at how beautiful this theater is!
I'm excited!
"A Warm Spell" @ Raindance Film Festival
/A Warm Spell, the short film I produced that's written/directed/edited by my good friend and frequent collaborator, Toshimichi Saito, will have it's UK Premiere at the Raindance Film Festival in October!
Congratulations, Toshi! I'm very excited for you.
P.S. Toshi is killing it with this film
"But Not For Me" @ Capital City Black Film Festival
/The feature film I produced, But Not For Me, will be playing the Capital City Black Film Festival in Austin, Texas, on Friday, August 14th, 2015.
But Not For Me is going to Texas!
If you're in Texas and want to see the film, check out the festival's website: http://www.capcitybff.com/
Otherwise, like the film's Facebook page for info on future screenings: https://www.facebook.com/ButNotForMeFilm
"But Not For Me" Wins Big @ Brooklyn (Newsletter #14)
/Check out my latest newsletter - Spring 2015!
To sign up (I send no more than 4-6 per year), follow this link and enter your name, email address, and zip code: http://jasonstefaniak.com/contact/
Things are looking up (Newsletter #13)
/Check out my Winter Newsletter (forgot to post it before now)!
It tells the story of how things started to get better after they got kind of crappy...
"But Not For Me" Wins @ Brooklyn Film Festival
/But Not For Me, the feature film I produced that's written/directed by my Impolite Company partner Ryan Carmichael, had it's World Premiere at the Brooklyn Film Festival on June 4th. The premiere was SOLD OUT and was hosted by the Nitehawk Cinema.
Our film closed the festival on Sunday, June 7th, with an even larger audience. And that evening we won the Audience Choice Award (Feature Narrative) and Best Original Score Award!
The next screening in New York will be held on July 6th at Videology - it SOLD OUT in four hours after posting the invite on the film's Facebook page. BUT - put your name on the waitlist so you can get a ticket if any open up and to be notified about future screenings: butnotformefilm.eventbrite.com
My friend Peter wrote a book - and I'm in it!
/Sort of. I said this about the book, and he put it in the book ("award-winning" filmmaker attribution courtesy of Peter):
Peter's book The Happenstances at the Yellow County Community Swim and Racquet Club the Summer Before Last is on sale now in e-book form for ONLY $5.99. Support an up-and-coming, independent artist and buy his book here: www.TinyUrl.com/PetesEbook
Print version is coming June 21st! More info: http://peterlharmon.tumblr.com/
"A Warm Spell" at New York Japan Cinefest 2015
/The short film I produced, A WARM SPELL, will be screening at the New York Japan Cinefest at the Asia Society and Museum on Thursday, June 4th, at 6:30pm.
I'll be participating in a Q&A session with the film's director of photography and my NYU Grad Film classmate, Michael Wood.
"But Not For Me" a "must-see" says AM New York
/From AM New York: "5 must-sees at the Brooklyn Film Festival"
"A world premiere at the Brooklyn Film Festival, this movie stars Marcus Carl Franklin as a New York-dwelling copy writer grappling with the challenges of life in the big city. It's one of many movies with strong local connections playing here."
"Fog City" World Premiere
/The short film I produced, FOG CITY (written, directed, and starring Liam Brady), will have it's World Premiere at the Oak Cliff Film Festival in Dallas, TX, on June 12th. Congrats to Liam and the entire team!
"But Not For Me" - World Premiere (now SOLD OUT!)
/Update 5.27.15: AND THE WORLD PREMIERE HAS SOLD OUT! Tickets still available for the Sunday, June 7, 8pm screening - get them now before they're gone!
The feature film I produced, BUT NOT FOR ME, will have it's world premiere Thursday, June 4, at 9pm via the Brooklyn Film Festival at Nitehawk Cinema. We're super pumped and want you there to see it!
Check out our festival page for more info about the film and to purchase tickets: http://www.brooklynfilmfestival.org/films/detail.asp?fid=1530
In the meantime, check out a clip from the film below: