Atlanta Film Festival presents a diverse slate of year-round offerings for film-lovers, filmmakers, and established & emerging industry professionals.
When you meet Landon Ashworth, you know quickly that you won’t forget him. ATLFS Community Engagement Lead, Keith Hannigan, sits down with the actor, writer, director to discuss their upcoming project and their journey leading up to the 2023 Atlanta Film Festival to now.
Read Morewas scrambling from the Plaza Theatre to the Tara Theatre and all the parties and hangouts in between. And every time I saw Don, he threw me a grin and asked if it was a good time to talk. I told him to give me a beat, and I would as soon as possible. Finally, when the tides went in a bit, I finally did something I should have done sooner but was glad I waited to give it the proper time he deserved, and I spoke with the Director, Producer, and star of the ATLFF’24 Episodic Short, Last Option.
Read MoreFilmmaker-In-Residence/2018 Screenplay Competition Semifinalist, Molly Coffee has come back to bring the world yet another impactful story coupled with amazing production design.
Read MoreEntropia is a short musically-themed thriller set in the Polish neighborhood of Philadelphia - Port Richmond - where an immigrant master piano restorer gets embroiled in an insurance scam that tests his sense of Old World integrity.
Read MoreWe chat with ATLFF mainstay Jiyoung Lee about what ATLFF accomplished for her as a filmmaker, her favorite city haunts, and what she likes to make in lieu of an artistic statement.
Read MoreBefore Virtual Reality (VR) was a Sundance submission category or upcoming Playstation edition, it was on display at the Atlanta Film Festival. The World Premiere of INTERRUPTURE, a short VR film co-directed by Thomas Nybo and Jason Drakeford, was a highlight at our biggest party of the festival week—a multimedia film and music event called Sound + Vision. Attendees waited their turn to be transported into the true story escape of two 11-year-old girls from Syria.
Since building a seasoned track record of art direction and video production for the likes of Showtime, Adult Swim, New York Times, MTV and MailChimp, Jason works freelance for the American Museum of Natural History (read on for a peek at his upcoming video!), speaks on VR filmmaking, and continues to produce his own independent work. We talked with Jason on how he fell into ATLFF, the innovation behind his other favorite genre, and what Atlanta means to him as a creative.
JASON DRAKEFORD AT THE 2016 SOUND + VISION WORLD PREMIERE OF INTERRUPTURE
Q: How did you first hear about the Atlanta Film Festival?
A: Videodrome! The best place for a filmmaker to hang out and devour great cinema in Atlanta.
Q: What did your ATLFF screening accomplish for you as a filmmaker, if anything?
A: It opened up more opportunities in meeting fellow filmmakers and established me further as a VR director. It also opened my eyes to see how people reacted to our film - one woman was crying after she took the headset off.
Q: Why did you submit your film to ATLFF?
A: I've been to previous ATLFF events, watching incredible curated films and meeting people I look up to and have established collaborations with, so it was a no-brainer.
Q: Since our community met you as a VR guy, clue us in on your other favorite genres to work with.
A: I absolutely love to create physical manifestations of my films, specifically in projection-mapping. While in New York I worked under Tony Oursler, a projection-artist and shot a music video with him and David Bowie, and ever since then I've been itching to create more in that medium. I think there is a natural connection to virtual reality and projection-mapping that no one has really explored yet.
Q: Okay, everyone's favorite question—what are you working on now?
A: Currently I'm directing a new VR film series with The American Museum of Natural History. Also continuing to create the space series "Out There" with The New York Times (we just wrapped our 17th episode) as well as independently producing a documentary on the life of Shigeko Kubota, as a followup from my previous film profiling Ken Jacobs. I'll also be at the Adobe MAX conference this fall talking about VR filmmaking, behind-the-scenes making-of and best practices while producing immersive stories.
Q: What part of Atlanta (or place in Atlanta) serves as your most reliable arts incubator?
A: Grant Park, mainly because of the combination of the Elevator Factory and Octane Coffee. Great people and random encounters for collaboration.
Q: If you were an Atlanta neighborhood. Which would you be?
A: Cabbagetown... during Chomp and Stomp.
Q: What sets Atlanta apart for you as a creative home?
A: After 5 years in New York, coming back to Atlanta (my hometown), creating work here has had a much more relaxed, meditative process than being in NYC. I think projects have the space to breathe, and other "backburner" film ideas have time to marinate into solid ideas instead of forcing them into a specific outlet. There's a great talent base that's growing with the film industry as well down here that's very exciting.
Our 2017 festival will expand our VR program, and we're always looking for compelling, boundary-pushing intergenre work. Sound familiar? Send us your stuff and join the family.
Catch up with the ever-versatile championess of Atlanta to learn more about where to find her work this weekend and what sets Atlanta apart as an arts home.
Read MoreWe talked to three-time #ATLFF alum Alex Orr about his first ATLFF experience and an upcoming project.
Read MoreLIMO RIDE was a two-time sell-out world premiere huge hit at the 2014 festival. BUY THE MOVIE. FUND THE RELEASE.
Read MoreDavid Bruckner, a Georgia-born filmmaker and ATLFF alum behind films like "The Signal" and "V/H/S," returns to Atlanta next week for his latest, "Southbound." Linda Burns hosts a Q&A with Bruckner at the 7:30 PM screening at The Plaza.
Read More
