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15th Annual LA 3-D Movie Festival

FESTIVAL WRAP-UP

 

3-D SPACE, The Center For Stereoscopic Photography, Art, Cinema, and Education, is pleased to announce the winners of the 15th Annual LA 3-D Movie Festival which took place December 15-16, 2018. The Festival's mission is to showcase the best independent stereoscopic 3-D filmmaking from around the world.

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Festival Awards were announced at the Closing Night Ceremony on Sunday, Dec 16th, by LA 3-D Movie Festival director and 3-D SPACE executive director Eric Kurland. Top films were selected by audience ballot. Award winners were presented with the traditional Ro-Man trophy of the LA 3-D Movie Festival, and an assortment of valuable prizes from festival sponsors LACMA, Berezin Stereo Photography Products, the London Stereoscopic Company, and Lucidcam.

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1st Place in the USA film category was awarded to Cryogen Children by Sadie Schiffman-Eller. The film is a multi-media animation centered around the questions of identity, inheritance, and ethics that are embedded within the topic of sperm donation. As the child of two mothers, conceived with sperm from the California Cryobank, Sadie approaches this topic from an intimate, but also interrogative standpoint. The piece involves a confrontation with a conception that is embosomed by the love of two mothers, but also linked to a multi-million dollar industry and to a nameless man. 

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Sadie Schiffman-Eller was also named the recipient of this year's Ray Zone Award For Excellence In 3-DIY. The award is named for the late stereoscopic filmmaker, author, and festival co-founder, Ray Zone, who passed away in 2012. It celebrates what Zone described as “fiercely independent do-it-yourself 3-D filmmaking.” Schiffman-Eller was recognized for her work which combined stop-motion clay animation, drawn animation, computer graphics and compositing, and an innovative virtual 3-D camera in 360-degree computer space.

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The 2nd Place USA film award was presented to the animated music video The Simple Carnival - Go Away I Like You Too Much by filmmaker and musician Jeff Boller, who also presented a live, in depth look at his one-man production process at the festival. Boller is a previous recipient of the Ray Zone Award.

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In the International Film category, the 1st Place award goes to the  film Une Histoire D'Amour by Julien Charpier. This French short is described by the filmmaker as â€‹"a sidereal, digital and experimental journey, by way of a declaration of love sent to the woman I love." The film uses stereoscopic multiple exposures and projected textures, combined with a haunting soundtrack to relate the intimate relationship between a couple separated by space and time. 

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2nd Place in the International Film category is shared by three films: Stereoscopic Society by Kate Sullivan, a short documentary from the UK about the 125-year-old organization for stereo photographers; Space... Spaces! a science fiction/comedy by French director Esther Jacopin; and from the Czech Republic, Domino, Secret of the Lost World by Marek Audy and Richard Bouda, a documentary about discovering the longest quartzite caves of the world on table mountains of Venezuela.

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On Saturday and Sunday, December 15-16th, the festival returned to its home at the Downtown Independent Theater in Los Angeles for two full days of programming, including 3-D independent features, short films, food and festivities.

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Day One began with a special presentation by Jannicke Mikkelsen, internationally known for her work as film director with the British rock band QUEEN on their virtual reality film VR The Champions. Mikkelsen talked about the challenges she faced in designing a new stereoscopic camera system and shooting the groundbreaking VR concert film. Her presentation concluded with an interactive screening of the VR film, projected on the big screen for the entire audience to experience.

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The Centerpeice of the festival, on Saturday night, was a live performance by Charles Phoenix, retro pop-culturist and Addicted to Americana author, celebrating a century of classic and kitschy American life and style in 3-D. Charles gleefully shared the stories and glories of legendary local landmarks, sci-fi TV, space age concept cars, mid-century modern diners, world's fairs, and colorful theme parks, and paid tribute to some of the mid-20th century's notable 3-D photographers, including Jack Laxer, George Mann, and silent film star Harold Lloyd.

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Day Two of the festival included a screening of the independent British 3-D feature Crooked Billet II by director Richard Connew, and a program of student produced 3-D films from the University of Texas in Austin

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Sunday evening featured a 10th anniversary reunion screening of the 2008 3-D film The Butler's In Love, including a lively discussion with actor/director David Arquette, actor Richmond Arquette, and director of photography/stereographer Peter Anderson. Based on the beautiful 'Absinthe Era' painting of the same name by the late renowned artist Mark Stock, the film tells the story of the romance between a butler and the wife of the host of a fancy dress party in 1912. The screening was followed by a food and drink reception presented by the LA 3-D Club and featuring food from popular local restaurants Howlin' Ray's and Spitz.

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The 2018 edition of the festival closed with a special screening of the new Indian sci-fi action movie 2.0, and a Q&A with the picture's stereoscopic supervisor, Ray Hannisian. Directed by Shankar and starring Indian superstar Rajinikanth, this movie is the biggest production ever undertaken in Bollywood. With a cast of thousands and truly mind-blowing visual effects, 2.0 proved to be a visual treat for the 3-D festival audience.

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The 15th Annual LA 3-D Movie Festival was presented by 3-D SPACE and co-presented by the LA 3-D Club, LACMA, and the Downtown Independent Theater

2018 Festival Photography by Lawrence Kaufman

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2018 Festival Photography by Andy Parke

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