'MOONLIGHT SONATA', SFSDF's 3rd FEATURE FILM ANNOUNCES WRAP OF PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY

"MOONLIGHT SONATA", our third independent feature film at SFSDF by the Fog City Pictures, has wrapped its principal photography on October 31st, after 5 weeks of shooting in the Bay Area ( in HD, Digital Format ). After completing a few pickup scenes, the film will be edited for submission to prestigious Film Festivals and will be prepared for wide theatrical release.

Celik Kayalar, PhD, the director of our "Film Acting Program" at SFSDF wrote, directed and executive-produced the psychological thriller. The producers were Jeremiah Birnbaum, the Founder of Fog City Pictures, and Milena Grozeva-Levy, one of our Digital Filmmaking Faculty.

"Moonlight Sonata" is the story of a privileged San Francisco family, the difficult moral choices its members make and the consequences they have to face, told in the genre of a modern psychological thriller with surprising twists and turns along the way, all culminating in a cliff-hanger climax.

The production boasted a large and highly talented and accomplished cast and crew from San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. Sam Chase was the master cinematographer on the set, visiting from New York.

Twenty-one of our advanced Filmmaking Students apprenticed as crew members under Sam and other professional department heads. For our students this unique training on the set was an invaluable experience, preparing them further for the future challenges of their careers in the film industry.

The cast members included distinguished Los Angeles actors M.J. Karmi and Irena A. Hoffman as the female-leads, and Sita Young, P. David Miller, Nate Reese and Ann-Marie Jolly featured in major supporting-roles.

The esteemed San Francisco actor & director Warren David Keith was cast as the male-lead who also teaches one of our "Advanced Film Acting" Classes at SFSDF.  Two of our other Film Acting Faculty, Celia Shuman and Brian D. Scott also had supporting roles in the movie.

Twenty-two of our own Acting Students at SFSDF were among the cast members of “Moonlight Sonata” ( all speaking-parts ). Several of the 22 were major supporting-roles that took many days to shoot. Here are all their names, in no particular order:

Taren Howes, Edith Reiner, Maggie Grant, Kay Ewing, Aimee McCrary, Jinnifer Jacobs, Goldie Chan, Joan Laqui, Hueiyen Tsai, Ashley Allen, Katrina Gimenez, June Barnard, Sarah Leight, Daniel Will-Harris, Micci Toliver, Tony Williams, Marshell Harwell, Roy Hylton, Vincent Leddy, Brendan Sweeney, Nate Duncan and Johann Schiffer.

A few of our Acting Students had non-speaking parts: Chris Leidecker, Mauro Pivi, Michelle Grey, Dawn Green ( Eli Kramer: his scenes are still to be shot ). In the pickup scenes we plan to shoot soon, another four small roles will be cast among our own Acting Students, as well.

SAM CHASE, DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY, ON SFSDF'S 3RD FEATURE FILM, 'MOONLIGHT SONATA' DELIVERS ONE LAST WEEPY THANKS AND FAREWELL

Hey Everybody,
I just wanted to deliver one last weepy  thanks and farewell. I had a great time and having spent the last two days getting caught up on dailies I was floored by the quality of our footage. I think it was a worthwhile and challenging experience for us all. For the pros Moonlight Sonata was a chance to remember that filmmaking doesn't always need to be a money-driven cutthroat world and for the students it was an unmatchable opportunity to get a genuine feel for what it's like to work in the business - not parking crew cars (that was my first job in the biz) or fetching coffee,  but as a propping, camera assisting or editing. Several of you even walked away with marketable skills and/or even jobs. Pretty cool. It was a great chance for us all  to learn as well as improvise. Watching the footage from scenes we shot in the woods I was struck by the beauty of a gentle  mist floating through the dappled light and thought "how lucky I was to get  a misty day"... then I remembered Heather chicken-scratching the dusty trail to get that effect. What we lacked in resources we made up in heart and you all had that in spades. I couldn't have been more impressed with each and every one of you - you're professionalism and your dedication blew me away. I wish you all the greatest success in your work and your lives and encourage you to keep at whatever it is that fills your dreams. Stay in touch and keep smiling.
All The Best
Sam Chase

AROUND JUNE ON YOUTUBE

Several small "behind the scenes" clips of "Around June" are now available on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/AroundJune

These clips feature the actors Samaire Armstrong, Jon Gries and Brad Henke and writer/director James Savoca and director of photography Peter Hawkins. They were shot and edited by SFSDF graduate Maria Victoria Ponce who will also do a longer documentary for the DVD of "Around June". Check the clips out and vote for them.  Your vote can help them get more exposure on YouTube.

Feel free to also check out the full website at http://www.aroundjune.com with much more: actor bios, many photos from the film and a director's blog by James Savoca

Achim Voermanek
Post Production Supervisor "Around June"

SFSDF IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE PICTURE LOCK ON 2ND FEATURE FILM, "AROUND JUNE" & WEBSITE LAUNCH aroundjune.com

The San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking and production company, Fog City Pictures is proud to announce we have picture lock on newest Feature Film, “Around June”. James Savoca, Writer/Director and SFSDF Instructor, talks about working on a professional film with SFSDF students.

James says, “It was inspirational to work with non-professionals who desire to be filmmakers.” He raved about SFSDF student, Stephen Bourdet for his exceptional cameraman work, saying, “He held his own." Stephen worked as the second assistant cameraman under 1st AC Paul Marburry and DP Peter Hawkins and received praise from them both for his great work.

“Around June” is now in the latter stages of post production; sound design, score, and titles. SFSDF students Staci DeGagne and Brandon Hamilton were Assistant Editors on the film, and Achim Voermanek, was the film's Post-Production Supervisor.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SF SCHOOL OF DIGITAL FILMMAKING, ANNOUNCES START OF PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY ON SECOND FEATURE FILM, "AROUND JUNE" ­ STARRING NAME HOLLYWOOD ACTORS
Filming begins January 15th- February 9th in SF's Potrero Hill area

SAN FRANCISCO, CA- JANUARY 5, 2007 -- The San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking (SFSDF) is not just a world-class learning facility for filmmaking; in less than two years it has established itself as a force-to-be-reckoned-with for quality independent film production. On January 15th, SFSDF's second independent feature film, Around June, starring Hollywood actors Samaire Armstrong (Entourage, The O.C.), Brad William Henke (World Trade Center, Sherrybaby), Jon Gries (Napoleon Dynamite, Real Genius) and introducing Oscar Guerrero, will begin filming on location in the Potrero Hill district of San Francisco through February 9th. For more information on SFSDF, visit the website at www.sfdigifilm.com or call (415) 522-1200.

With an original screenplay by SFSDF teacher, James Savoca, who will direct the film, Around June is a love story in the vein of a classic fairy tale set near the shipyards of San Francisco. June (Armstrong), is a young woman trapped in a life caught between her crippled, abusive father (Gries) and mentally challenged uncle (Henke), whose adoration of her offers little solace. One day, through a poetic twist of fate, June meets a penniless immigrant, Juan Diego (played but newcomer Oscar Guerrero), whose love empowers her to finally break free and realize her dreams.

Jeremiah Birnbaum, co-founder of SFSDF, instructor, and producer of Around June was impressed with the script handed to him by one of the school's teachers, James Savoca. "I read James' script and loved it so much we decided that it would be perfect for our second feature film project," says Birnbaum. "Our feature films serve two purposes, it offers our students the unique opportunity of crewing on a professional film project and it brings more feature film production to the Bay Area."

Around June will be shot with the help of a 35 member crew comprised of two-thirds industry professionals from both San Francisco and Los Angeles. The remaining crew members are SFSDF film students working in two 2-week shifts.

Produced by Jeremiah Birnabaum, Ralph King, and James Savoca from SFSDF and executive produced by Greg Corbin of the L.A. based production company Caviar Films and L.A. based Alyssa Weisberg of Alyssa Weisberg Casting, Around June will be entirely shot in hi-definition digital video.

CAST

Japan-born Samaire Armstrong didn't pursue acting professionally until a few years ago. She was first cast in a recurring role on the critically acclaimed NBC series, "Freaks and Geeks." That role was followed shortly thereafter by guest-starring roles on, "Judging Amy," "Party of Five," "That's Life, "ER," and pivotal role in a particularly creepy episode of the "X-Files." She is best known for starring as Emily, Ari Gold's assistant and Eric's love-interest, on "Entourage" for HBO, and she was recently seen co-starring on the hit Fox series, "The O.C."

Brad William Henke is quickly making a name for himself as one of the busiest actors in Hollywood. During the last two years he has appeared in such acclaimed projects as Me You and Everyone We Know, North Country, Oliver Stone's World Trade Center, Sherrybaby co-starring Maggie Gyllenhaal., and Hollywoodland opposite Adrien Brody. Brad will next be seen co-starring in the ABC mid-season drama "October Road."

Jon Gries has appeared in more than 30 feature films. He recently wrapped production on "The Astronaut Farmer" with Billy Bob Thornton and Virginia Madsen for the Polish Brothers and Warner Brothers and starred opposite Jon Voigt and Terence Stamp in the feature film, "September Dawn." Gries has also completed starring roles in the Trigger Street production of "The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang" and in the independent feature films "Frank", "Elsewhere", "South of Heaven," "Waterborne," "Sledge: The Untold Story," "Car Babes" and "Bar Starz." He is also appearing in Fox Atomic's "The Comebacks." Last year, Jon received the prestigious 2005 IFP Spirit Award Nomination for Best Supporting Acting for his role as Uncle Rico in the multiple-award-winning Fox Searchlight smash hit "Napoleon Dynamite."

PRODUCTION

James Savoca - Writer/Director. A New York native, James got his start in the theatre and made the choice to study acting with Louise Lasser at Carnegie Hall, not to become an actor, but to become a better director. His feature film directorial debut was "Sleepwalk," starring Drea de Matteo (The Sopranos), which had its broadcast premiere on IFC. His second feature, "The Crooked Corner," was recently completed and is in the beginning stages of the festival circuit. James' short film, "Revelation", starring Kevin Corrigan, aired on The Sundance Channel. Before directing his first feature, James assembled two successful theatre groups where he wrote and directed four plays on off-Broadway's downtown theatres.

Ralph King ­ Producer: Formerly a student at SFSDF, Ralph co-produced Presque Isle and directed 5 short films. Prior to filmmaking, he worked as a journalist for 25, primarily writing for the Wall Street Journal and was twice nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

Jeremiah Birnbaum - Producer: Jeremiah is the Co-Founder and CEO of the San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking. A native New Yorker, he has worked as a producer, editor, director and educator in film and video for over seventeen years.

Greg Corbin- Producer: Originally from Southampton, NY, Greg started his career in the film industry by producing his first short film in 2000 called Mid-Summer Life Crisis, which was filmed in New York City and directed by James Savoca. Since joining Caviar Films, Greg has put together a slate of over 20 projects that are in various stages of development. Some of the projects include: Senor Vasquez and the Holy with Alfred Molina, Goldenbones, an outrageous teen comedy, written by Allan Aaron Katz (Diamonds), and The Lieber & Stoller story, based on the life of the famous rock and roll songwriting duo.

Caviar los angeles is a Los Angeles-based production company, founded in 2002 by Michael Sagol and Tom Weissferdt. Initially called Atomik Pictures, in 2004 the company partnered with Belgian production company caviar to begin representing European directors for the American television market with offices in L.A. and Cape Town, South Africa.

Alyssa Weisberg - Executive Producer/Casting Director: Alyssa has been casting for the past 14 years in film, television and theater. Her film credits include studio films such as Mission Impossible III, The Long Kiss Goodnight, U-Turn and Booty Call; she's also worked extensively on the independent scene on such projects as The House of Usher, Telling You, Freeway and The House Of Yes. Alyssa recently won an Emmy Award for casting the pilot of ABC's Lost, which has gone on to international acclaim.

About SFSDF:
San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking (SFSDF), the most innovative film school in the Bay Area, bridges the gap between traditional education and professional moviemaking. Utilizing state-of-the-art high def equipment and a professional sound stage, students make their own movies, work on HD feature films, and launch their careers. Offering intensive, hands-on one-year Digital Filmmaking Programs, five-week Digital Filmmaking Workshops, and eight-week Acting for Film Classes.

In 2006, SFSDF produced their first feature film, Presque Isle, written and directed by Cannes and Sundance award-winning filmmaker Rob Nilsson. The film was shot on location in Santa Cruz and on set at SFSDF and is currently in post-production with the goal to submit in March for consideration at Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, France.

INDUSTRY PRO CALLS ‘PRESQUE ISLE’ ENCHANTING
“That was a very watchable, enchanting film, and its imagery lingered in my mind for several days afterward. My compliments to you and your crew for coming through with a soulful creation and a powerful example of cinematic storytelling.”

Christian Schneider
Director of Photography
Filmmaking Professional

JOIN US FOR THE WORLD PREMIERE OF 'PRESQUE ISLE', OUR FIRST FEATURE FILM TO SCREEN AT THE MILL VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL

We are proud to announce that the World Premiere of PRESQUE ISLE, our first feature film, has been given a prime time Friday night slot at the Cine Arts Sequoia Theatre in Mill Valley.  Rob Nilsson's long time association with the festival began in 1979 when, NORTHERN LIGHTS which had just won the Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, had it's North American Premiere at Mill Valley.  Since that time Mill Valley has featured all of Nilsson's films including his nine feature film 9 @ Night Film Cycle, produced with the Tenderloin Group his ensemble of street players and professional actors from the San Francisco Tenderloin.

Also featured at Mill Valley this year are World Premieres of the last two of Nilsson's 9 @ Night Films, USED and GO TOGETHER.  The completed series will now go on to play at the Harvard Film Archive, Nov. 17-19. This will be the first time that all nine films will play together in their intended order, three films a night for three nights, a total of 14 hours of film.  Following that the films will open in the Bay Area at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center and other selected cinemas.

This will be an historic night for PRESQUE ISLE and a kick- off for an upcoming distribution campaign which we hope will reach all corners of the world.  Come and see what a little school with big dreams can accomplish.  We'll see you there.

World Premiere of PRESQUE ISLE at the Mill Valley Film Festival
Friday, October 5 at 7:15 pm
Cine Arts Sequoia Theatre (415) 388-4862
25 Throckmorton Ave., Mill Valley, CA 94941
Map and Directions

CLIPS OF SFSDF'S FIRST FEATURE FILM, PRESQUE ISLE SHOWN AT THE SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL WITH PRESENTATION FROM WRITER/DIRECTOR ROB NILSSON

SFSDF Instructor, Milena Grozeva-Levy and Writer/Director, Rob Nilsson are wrapping up the final edit on the SFSDF produced Feature Film, "Presque Isle".  Clips of the film were shown at an evening featuring Rob’s work on Saturday, April 28th at the San Francisco International Film Festival, held at the Sundance Cinemas Kabuki.
 




The program, entitled “Carved from Pavement: The Work of Rob Nilsson” included a Nilsson interview by Festival Director, Graham Leggat, scenes from former films and the four films currently in post production, introduction of long time Nilsson collaborators and a discussion session about the ideas behind Nilsson’s “Direct Action” work.
 

SFSDF COLLABORATES WITH BAY AREA LEGENDARY FILMMAKER, ROB NILSSON, ON FEATURE FILM!

SFSDF is currently in post-production on its first feature-length motion picture, Presque Isle. Written and directed by Bay Area independent filmmaker Rob Nilsson, Presque Isle was crewed by a combination of Bay Area movie professionals and SFSDF students. The film was shot using the latest HD digital filmmaking equipment.

About the collaboration Nilsson says, "I like to take artistic risks and SFSDF is promoting visions and verges or they wouldn't be working with me. I also like doing better than talking. This is a hands-on action oriented group. I never believed in film school, until now."

SFSDF's active production company, Fog City Pictures, produces two feature films per year. These production provide a rare opportunity for digital filmmaking students to learn their craft from working professionals in a real world environment. SFSDF students were involved in all aspects of the Presque Isle production. They worked as Associate Producers, Assistant Camera, Grips and Electrics, Set Decorators, Props, Wardrobe, Boom Operators and Assistant Editors.

Pixel Corps, the Bay Area-based "guild for digital craftsmen," will provide many of the Compositing and Special FX shots.

Fog City Pictures is currently in pre-production on its next project, a love story to be shot in the Potrero Hill neighborhood of San Francisco. The film, Around June, is scheduled to begin production in January 2007.

ROB NILSSON

Rob Nilsson, an award-winning director since the 1970s, was the first American director to win both the Camera d'Or at Cannes (for his 1978 film Northern Lights) and the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival (for Heat and Sunlight, 1987). He has in recent years been working with the Tenderloin Action Group (now the Tenderloin yGroup), a San Francisco inner-city acting workshop, on a series of nine "street-level" digital features, cast from the group, about the lives of inner city characters.

Presque Isle is set in Nilsson's childhood home of Rhinelander, Wisconsin. He describes the story as "touching on themes of memory, human suffering, family reconciliation, and also a portrait of a land much neglected by American cinema." The film will be shot on location in the Santa Cruz Mountains and using the school's green screen for special effects and compositing.

FILMMAKERS SPEAK ABOUT STUDENT PROFESSIONALISM

Willingness, strong motivation, attentiveness. Add to that... talent. We had students heading departments, learning as they worked. To me this sort of passion will out- perform an efficient, but cold professionalism any day. This was a very difficult shoot by any standard but the students worked as if they didn't know that. Nothing seemed beyond them. I hope it never will be.
Rob Nilsson
Bay Area Filmmaker & Presque Isle Writer & Director

Spending a month of both creative and physical challenges with these inspired students was truly memorable. They were always eager and ready to learn, putting 110 % of their effort. Sound recording tends to get less attention than cinematography and acting. We often pay the price for it when we get to the post-production. The students knew about this from their own experience. I edit too, and that's why I know how important the sound is. Much experience in various circumstances helps, but most importantly good preparation and attention to details always pay off. Each project comes with a different set of challenges and provides us something new to learn. Remember to be vocal and pushy when trying to get the best sound for yourself and for the project. I'm looking forward to working with these students/great people again in near future.
Chikara Motomura
Presque Isle Sound

SFSDF STUDENT, AARON STOUGH, SPEAKS ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCE AS A KEY GRIP ON PRESQUE ISLE

Prior to the start of Presque Isle, I had interest in possibly doing editing on the movie. As the start date drew closer and I did more work on other student movies, I realized that I'd like to find what I want to do for a profession on this movie, and editing wasn't it. So with the permission of the teachers, I dove head first into doing lighting/grip work for the full month. It was a very physically taxing position, but that was definitely counter weighed by the amount of fun it was.

I had the privilege to work with Ernie Kunze, Professional Gaffer and Key Grip. He not only taught me industry terms for equipment, but also tips and tricks to make work go faster and easier. I heard stories of his own experience in the industry, and how those situations could be applied to my own future as a Grip. While I went into the project fairly confident from what I learned from Stephen Kopels (SFSDF Founder and Director of Education), with what I learned from Ernie added I had no fears about being able to perform in the Grip position on any set.

What was a bonus was being promoted to Key Grip. Jeremiah Birnbaum (SFSDF Founder, Director of Productions and Executive Producer of Presque Isle) and James Savoca (SFSDF Instructor and Producer of Presque Isle) both felt that with the work I did and time I was putting in, that I was deserving of the title. And thankfully by the end I hadn't disappointed them! All in all it was a very eye opening and educational experience.Prior to the start of Presque Isle, I had interest in possibly doing editing on the movie. As the start date drew closer and I did more work on other student movies, I realized that I'd like to find what I want to do for a profession on this movie, and editing wasn't it. So with the permission of the teachers, I dove head first into doing lighting/grip work for the full month. It was a very physically taxing position, but that was definitely counter weighed by the amount of fun it was.
Aaron Stough
Digital Filmmaking Program
Key Grip, Presque Isle