Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
www.iffny.com
May 2018
The winnerS of International
Screenwriting Competition 2018
Congratulations to the winners of ISC!
We would like to say a big thank you to everyone for participating! It has been a great plea-
sure receiving your screenplays, they were all amazing!
Feature film:
• Bruce Gordon Composition $6,000.00
• Christen Kimball Dirty Nights $5,000.00
• Felicia Tann Napoli $4,000.00
• Violeta Bulic Visitor X $3,000.00
• Justin Bamfour Her Sister $2,000.00
• Mike Middelton All about you $1,000.00
Short film:
• Louis Cohen It’s Time $5,000.00
• Afia Frimpong Pasadena $4,000.00
• Jamila Vance Amigos $3,000.00
• Neil Kurt Elona $2,000.00
• Rohit Lokhil I’ll forgive you $1,000.00
• Sarfaz Hassan Suspected $500.00
Congratulations to the winners of International Screenwriting Competition!
Thanks to everyone who participated and helped make this competition a success!
Stay tuned. Our next competition starts on June 1, 2018!
In case you missed it, you can check out the competition here:
www.nilproduction.net
I am honored to create a global platform
through IFFNY that promotes the world’s
most artistic and creative films. As we
We are excited you joined us in our
celebration this year for the prestigious
IFFNY film festival. We value the hard work
continue to celebrate our 7th festival success, and dedication from each filmmaker. Let us
we strive to provide New York with unique grow together as we make history and leave
film and arts programming each year. a legacy for generations to come.
Closing Night
After Party: George’s at Kaufman Astoria Studio (Address: 35-11 35th Ave, Astoria, NY 11106)
ACKNOWLEGEMENTS
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the overwhelming support received in making our
7th Edition of 2018 IFFNY a Great Success.
Thank you to CYNATION: Josh Mak, Simon Lai, Andrew Teo, Aaron Mak (cynationband.com)
Ibër Deari (Director, Producer, the film “Toka” (Land) and thesis “To Film or
Writer) Not to Film”.
– IFFNY Festival Selector
Ibër Deari is the winner of numerous
Director, writer, producer, DOP Ibër prestigious international awards, including:
Deari is born in 1990, in Macedonia. He Best Artist in Macedonia from Milingona e
is a talented director and writer, known Artë; Best Film for “Between Paradise and
for his award-winning movies: My City Hell” from Gässli Film Festival in Basel,
Screams (2015), Toka (2016), A long way Switzerland; the Audience Award for Best
Home (2017). Filming is his biggest passion Film for “Last Confession” at New York
and he has been making films since high Albanian Film Week in Manhattan; Best
school. He has also written and directed a Director and Best Film for “My City Screams”
number of short fictional and documentary at the Nine Eleven Festival in Prishtina,
videos. Ibër Deari studied Film School at the Kosovo; Best Short Film and Best Director
University of Audiovisual Arts “ESRA” in for “Land” and Best Director for “A Long
Skopje. He graduated in 2013 with the film Way Home” at the International Filmmaker
“Last Confession”. Deari earned his Master of Festival of New York in Manhattan.
Arts in the Department of Film Direction with
Jotti Ejlli (Director, Producer, Writer) John Blenn (Director, Producer, Writer)
– President of the Jury
John Blenn is well
Jotti Ejlli (Kastriot Ejlli) known in New York
is a talented filmmaker, media circles as an
born in Albania. He has entertainment writer
always been creative and critic for over 40
since he was young, years. In addition to
growing up with publishing Long Island
love of art, cinema, Entertainment for 7
painting and music. years, he has also been
Jotti studied “Cinema” featured in magazines and Newspapers
(Discipline delle Arti della Musica e dello such as Newsday, Good Times, Island Ear,
Spettacolo) at the University of Florence in It’s Hip, The Music Paper and Network. He
Italy. After graduation, he moved to Milan, is also currently a contributing arts reviewer
Italy to continue his studies at the SAE for Village Connection. Mr. Blenn has had
Institute for “Filmmaking”. Upon graduation, over 80 plays staged with over a 23-year
he started working as an independent career as a New York playwright as well as
filmmaker in Milan, where he completed serving as director/producer for the world
many successful projects, documentaries, premiere of Eddie Money’s autobiographical
music videos and short films. His critically musical, Two Tickets To Paradise.
acclaimed debut short film “Rosso Fuoco”
received positive reviews by film critics and When he isn’t serving as a professor of mass
the audience. communications & playwright-in-residence
for Five Towns College, he also keeps busy
In 2012 Jotti returned to Albania to as a SAG actor and producer. Among his
continue with his successful work in various screen credits are the Kevin James/Henry
well-known projects, as a filmmaker and Winkler/Salma Hayek film, Here Comes
as a director of many popular television the Boom, Bronx Bull, 911 and Beneath The
programs. In 2014 he collaborated with Darkness, all Martin Guigui films, and Big
Kinostudio Dardan, to produce many Fish Blues, by Leslye Abbey. He’s currently
projects in a very short time. In 2015 he working on a book of the history of Long
wrote and directed his first feature film, Island Comedy, continuing to produce
“Hije” (Shadows), all accomplished as an theatre of Long Island as the owner of
independent production. “Hije” was released Middle Class American Productions (with wife
for the audience in 2016 and it screened in Joni), Long Island’s ONLY all-original theatre
New York at AFW, where it won the “Artistic company, as well as handling several
Achievement Award”. Jotti Ejlli is currently different tasks on several film projects.
working on his next feature film “Nik”, that
will launch its production in 2019.
Margherita Peluso (Actress, Writer) premiered at NYC’s “In Scena” festival.
Margherita’s current project “Io, Marta”
Margherita is a screen has been workshopped at the prestigious
and stage actor from international theater festival “La Mama Next
Milan who works in Generation” in Spoleto. The show premiers
Italy, Australia and at the Pirandello National Festival in Turin.
the USA. She studied Future projects include a Docu-Fiction about
with Emma Dante Marta Abba, and a new film called “Chasing
and Mamadou Dioum Marilyn”.
of The Peter Brook
Ensemble in Italy, and Kendrick Merdani (Actor, Teacher)
later at The Gloria Gifford Conservatory in Los
Angeles. Most recently she had the pleasure Kendrick Merdani
of studying with Fay Simpson and Larry is a successful actor
Moss in NYC. She is a company member known for a variety
of an educational theatre company based of primetime TV
in Melbourne, Australia called, Make A shows like NBC’s The
Scene. She is also an active member of The Blacklist, Allegiance,
Lucid Body Institute in NYC. Margherita is Fox’s The Following,
a regular performer at La Mama Theater in CBS’s Person of
both Australia and NYC, where she’s acted Interest, MacGyver,
in a wide variety of work, ranging from Luigi and USA’s Falling Water. He earned his
Pirandello’s Caps and Bells to a provocative bachelor’s degree in Dramatic Arts at CUNY
new translation of La Medea by Franca Rama and furthermore continued his professional
and Dario Fo. Other shows include Wounded training as an actor at the William Esper
by Mario Fratti, at LES Festival in NYC, The Studio where he completed the Two Year
Count of Montecristo produced by New Light Meisner program under the tutelage of Terry
Theater Company, NYC. Knickerbocker.
In addition to her theater work, Margherita Kendrick has also trained with Maggie
is an accomplished film and TV actress, Flanigan and Shane Ann Younts for Voice,
receiving several “Best Actress” nominations Speech, and Shakespeare. He’s been seen
at Film Festivals around the world. She is a performing in new and classic works at the
familiar face on Italian TV: Blood Trust, Gray’s American Theatre of Actors, Theatre for the
Disconnected, Amore Criminale, Un’Amore di New City, Shelter Studios, and Theatre 54.
Strega. As a writer, she has translated “Le Kendrick also serves as Associate Teacher
Beatrici” with the author Stefano Benni, of Meisner Technique at Terry Knickerbocker
Studio in New York.
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