SUTTON – State filmmaking takes center stage on June 5 – 7, 2009 when the West Virginia Filmmakers Guild (WVFG) invites media professionals, enthusiasts, students, performers, and anyone with an interest in film and media to the annual workshops held at the beautifully-restored Landmark Studio for the Arts at 401 Main St., Sutton.  On Saturday, June 6, this year’s workshops and presentations will include: 

o 1:15pm Tax Incentives for the Film Industry 

– Pamela Haynes and Jamie Cope of the West Virginia Film Office will provide a brief overview of the tax incentive program for the state film industry.  Local and regional filmmakers are encouraged to attend this free presentation. 

o 1:30pm Workshop - Directing Actors

– Presented by actress and stage director Susan Marrash-Minnerly, this workshop demonstrates techniques to facilitate a constructive collaboration between independent makers and aspiring talent to produce sharper performances for a better film.  Narrative filmmakers are encouraged to bring in a 2-3 page unproduced script segment for possible use in the workshop; some audience members may be asked to perform as actors.

o 3:00pm Discussion Panel - High Definition Video Production

– A discussion regarding Hi-Def video production, post-production, and the continued emergence of the medium.  Moderated by filmmaker Jason Brown, the panel will include award-winning filmmaker Paul Harrill (www.lovellfilms.com), and media professionals Debra Keddie and Richard Warmuth of Wheeling’s The Walkabout Company, LLC (www.gowalkabout.com). 

“We are excited about offering these top-notch filmmaking workshops in West Virginia,” said Terry Lively, WVFG President.  “And we’re proud of our members who have helped build the foundation of our industry over the last quarter century.”

Admission to the Directing Workshop and HD Panel is $10 for non-members, and $5 both for Guild members and/or students with valid I.D.  Meanwhile, a reception will be held Friday, June 5, in the lobby of the Elk Hotel – located at 200 2nd Street – for all visiting filmmakers and returning Guild members.

Returning, new, and prospective Guild members are urged to attend an executive meeting at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday at the Landmark Studio.  New opportunities for filmmakers and upcoming events will be discussed, as well as organizational business. 

Guild members will also have the opportunity to screen works-in-progress Sunday afternoon at the Landmark for discussion.

Susan Marrash-Minnerly – a transplant to Charleston, WV from Charlotte, NC – earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Virginia, studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, and has worked for several years as a professional actor in theatres, and in national and regional commercials.  She is a proud member of AEA (Actor’s Equity Association) and SAG (Screen Actor’s Guild), and for 11 years prior to moving to WV, she was head of the Acting Program in the Dept. of Dance and Theatre at UNC Charlotte.  In March 2008, Marrash-Minnerly was awarded Best Director from the Southeastern Theatre Conference for the Charleston Stage Company’s production of “The Exonerated,” and is currently Chair of the Department of Communications at West Virginia State University.

Paul Harrill – a native of Knoxville, TN – is a filmmaker whose short works include: “Gina, An Actress, Age 29” which won the Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival; and “Quick Feet, Soft Hands” – a co-production with ITVS (Independent Television Service) – which premiered in competition at the Nashville Film Festival in April 2008.  Harrill – who has been an Artist-in-Residence at the University of Tennessee and a fellow of The MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts – is also known for his popular weblog Self-Reliant Film (www.selfreliantfilm.com), which champions small-crew, low-budget, and regional filmmaking.  Harrill received his M.F.A. in Film & Media Arts from Temple University in Philadelphia, and has taught Digital Cinema Production at Virginia Tech since August 2006.

Debra Keddie has managed all documentary, broadcast, and non-broadcast media projects for The Walkabout Company, LLC since 1992, when she oversaw the production of two weekly series for youth, which aired on WV PBS.  Recent broadcast productions include “The Historic National Road - The Road That Built the Nation,” which received a 2006 regional Emmy nomination for Achievement in Writing, and the Videography Award for achievement in production.  She is currently the producer for the first two episodes of “New Mountain Living,” a new series that will be broadcast via WV PBS and other regional PBS stations. Keddie also serves on the Board of Governors, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (Ohio Valley Chapter - WV, OH, IN, KY).

Richard Warmuth has served as principal scriptwriter, director, and editor for all media projects from The Walkabout Company, LLC since 1987, and received a 2006 Emmy Nomination in Scriptwriting for “The Historic National Road - The Road That Built the Nation.” The recipient of the Videography, Hermes and Accolade awards for excellence in production, Warmuth’s work also includes 45 episodes within the company’s two weekly series for youth that aired via WV PBS, and three long-form broadcast documentaries for the company.

Jason Brown – West Virginia born and raised – is a Video Production professor at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, LA.  A graduate of Concord University, Hollins University, and the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, he is passionate about filmmaking and the good people he meets.  Brown is also the director of the upcoming documentary “Them That Work”, (www.themthatwork.com) about the making of John Sayles’s film “Matewan” in WV, and the effects it had on the state film industry.  

Incorporated in 1982, the WVFG is a 501(c)3 Non-Profit organization working to help film and media-makers grow the state film industry, and to support makers through public screenings, workshops, networking with fellow state filmmakers, and fiscal sponsorship.

For more information:

contact President Terry Lively at vandaliaproduction@gmail.com, 

Vice-President Leann Hughes at wvfilms@yahoo.com, 

or check out our blog at wvfilmguild.blogspot.com.

Yayyyyyyyyyyyy!!! Ladies and gentlemen, a step in the right direction! (Part II)

Yayyyyyyyyyyyy!!! Ladies and gentlemen, a step in the right direction!

Hey Folks, Take a minute to check out this trailer for the upcoming short film "Clockdown," by Jan Bezouska. Jan is an ambitious graduate student in WV State University's Media Studies program. Congratulations to everyone involved in the production!