Let me first say how THRILLED I am that GenArt is back up and running again! For those of you who don't know, GenArt is a national nonprofit organization focused on promoting up and coming talent in the film, fashion, art and music worlds. After closing their doors just a little over a year ago, GenArt is back in motion with fantastic new leadership and an upcoming year of exciting events.
Last week I was lucky enough to participate in their first big event since the relaunch, the GenArt Film Festival. Tweeting from the red carpet six nights out of the seven night festival, I got to meet some incredibly talented people, watch some fresh, moving and thought provoking films (shout out to the programmer Aaron Levine - the selection was brilliant), and of course attend a ridiculous after party at a different venue every night! Baby event planner's dream? Um definitely!
It's crazy to think that I worked my first GenArt event just a little over two years ago at the Box8 fashion show during LA Fashion Week in March of 2009. I remember standing in the back after all the chaos of seating people had died down and watching the models charge the runway, the flashing lights, the pounding beats, for the very first time...that event helped shape my career. And now here I am in New York City and GenArt is still helping shape my experiences and my dreams. Thanks so much to the leadership, staff, and volunteers - you're changing lives you don't even know about. Keep it up!
Below is a quick recap of the festival. Many many apologies to the films shown on the second night - I wasn't in attendance so I can't really comment...
Night One: Opening night at the Zeigfeld Theatre. Gorgeous venue.
Highlight: hanging out with Jennifer Vineyard of NY Mag waiting for Harvey Keitel to appear.
Film: A Beginers Guide to Endings - a fun romp with spot on casting and just enough unbelievably ridiculous situations to make you feel like a kid again but enough borderline humor to make you remember you're a grown up, albeit one with an imagination. I left the theater laughing and rolling my eyes. Not a bad first night.
Afterparty: Vermilion. Two floors and great floor to ceiling windows. I just wish it hadn't been so insanely crowded...
Night Three: Screenings held at the SVA Theatre on 333 23rd St where they stayed for the rest of the week. With all the chips served as favors a thorough vacuum job must have been done because I never once saw crumbs lying around.
Highlight: meeting the fabulous Alex and Emil on the red carpet. Well, on the press side of the red carpet. What exactly do you call that?
Film: Norman. I laughed, I cried, I laughed again, I cried again. I kept waiting for this coming of age film to get pretentious (as indie films dealing with subjects like, oh I don't know, suicide and cancer tend to do), but it never crossed the line. Brilliant, spot on acting jobs by Dan Byrd and Emily VanCamp. Def my favorite film of the week and a total surprise.
Afterparty: LAVO. This was a good night.
Red carpet at the SVA - that's the child star of Henley, that night's short film.
Little blurry pic of the GenArt team and Norman director Jonathan Segal (third from left) and star Dan Byrd (second from right)
Night Four: Back at the SVA.
Highlight: Getting my tweeting camera to actually focus.
Film: Gould's Gold. Quirky documentary about an eccentric's quest for gold in the earth revealed by Alaska's melting glaciers. The characters were great but I think the most interesting part of this film was the insane amount of effort it must have taken to shoot the footage itself. Plus, add sweeping Alaskan landscapes and everything looks amazing.
Afterparty: Le Poisson Rouge. Not my favorite venue. Not the best crowd. I tweeted a few photos and then peaced. (Also ended up getting lost that night and ending up outside of a friend's apartment in the rain with no idea how I got there...)
Crew of Gould's Gold. That's Gould himself on the far right.
Lea Mathiesen - director of that night's short film, the Renovation. Super sweet girl, great style and a supporter of one of my fave Scandinavian designers, Henrik Vibskov.
Highlight/Embarrassment: My boss Aurora putting my name in the "networking" game sponsored by dating organization HowAboutWe...and then tweeting my progress for the world to see.
Film: The Pill. Smart, witty, and (as the boys told me) "terrifyingly relateable," this film about...well...the morning after, was a nice escape into a lighthearted depiction of what makes the New York dating scene such a wild ride. Plus the director, J. C. Khoury, is a great guy.
Afterparty: The Chelsea Room. Many interesting encounters via HowAboutWe and I had a very entertaining time. Let's just leave it at that.
Night Six:
Highlight: Having a good half hour conversation with J.C. Khoury about film and his love for New York City; meeting the gracious and gorgeous Aine who still owes me a dinner date.
Film: American Animal. By far the most controversial film of the festival, this peek into the life of a terminally ill, white privileged sociopath sparked in depth, philosophical conversations deep into the night. In my own opinion, it was a poignant, brash, and almost offensive slice of the truth about a generation of instant gratification, few consequences and self-centered living.
Afterparty: Avenue. One of my favorite venues by far. Great crowd, great conversation, pretty fantastic night.
Writer, director, and star of American Animal, Matt D'Ella is either visionary or insane. Or both.
Closing Night:
Highlight: Being with the GenArt family on the last night of a really great festival.
Film: Salvation Boulevard. Ok, I was really worried I was going to hate this movie. A comedy about Christian fanatics and an ex-Grateful Dead follower? The caricatures of ignorance and prejudice could have easily been too much for me. Hello? I'm a Christian, love Jesus and am NOT a fan of ignorance or prejudice, thank you very much! But instead of hating this movie, I actually quite enjoyed it. The humor was tasteful and rollicking and, in more cases than I care to admit, hit very close to home in its surprisingly accurate depiction of the suburban mega-church.
Afterparty: Hiro. Great night, great people, great dancing, great last night of the festival. Yay!!
Jeff Abramson. Co-founder of GenArt and all around great guy.
It was closing night so I had to get some LCS in...
(we match!!)
Disclaimer: yes, I did steal the movie poster/logo stuff off the GenArt website. They were good pictures...visit www.genart.org - get involved in this fantastic organization!
