Tinsel & Tine Spotlights

The PHILADELPHIA INDEPENDENT

FILM AWARDS

May 20, 2018

By Le Anne Lindsay, Editor

As a Philly Film Blogger and supporter of indie films, I would love to see Philadelphia Independent Film Festival merge with the Philadelphia Independent Film Awards. The two events run back to back, one is an indie film festival that gives out awards (click HERE for T&T post), the other is an awards night for indie films, which are screened leading up to a gala event. I know the organizers on both sides and they’re all wonderfully creative people, who should pool their resources, time and commitment together to create a super Philadelphia celebration to support Independent film and filmmakers. Perhaps the two entities will eventually see the merit of combining forces, but for now…

For a third consecutive year, the Philadelphia Independent Film Awards (PIFA) puts independent filmmakers first, honoring them at a black-tie gala awards ceremony to be held Sunday, May 20, 2018, 6-10 pm

International House

(3701 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, PA.)

Comedian TuRae Gordon, “The Heavyweight Champion of Comedy” who has appeared on HBO and Comedy Central and hosts “Soul Comedy” every Wednesday at Warmdaddy’s, returns as host, join this year by co-host actress Mia Mendez.

This year, PIFA received 115 submissions from more than 16 countries including: Canada, India, Italy, Morocco, the Philippines, Sweden, and Taiwan. Films are nominated for the following categories (click links to see nominees in each category and trailers):

Although films from around the world are eligible to win, what makes the event very Philly is the The IFAP Impact Award given to those who have made significant contributions to the independent and mainstream arts in the Tri-State area.

The 2018 IFAP Impact Award candidates are:

Kaliek Hayes – co-founder of Childhoodslost Foundation, a non-profit organization established in 2015 which assists traumatized youth in creating original stage plays in order to give voice to their pain.

Christopher Mann – Actor who has appeared in multiple film and TV projects. His mainstream film projects include “Loving” and“The Bourne Legacy”; as well as television series “House of Cards”; “The Wire”; “Heroes”; “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit”; “Law and Order: Criminal Intent” and “Mindhunter.”

Brian Wilson – Actor who began his film career in the supporting lead role of ‘Woody’ in Kevin Costner’s 1997 film, “The Postman” and has since appeared in more than 140 film and TV projects. His film work includes performances in “Ocean’s 8”; “Glass”; “How to Get Girls”; and “Limitless.” He also appeared in “Creed” & “Black Panther”

Sharon Battle – former educator and current Fortune 100 corporate and CEO and founder of Children of the Arts Foundation (C.O.T.A.), a non-profit community-based organization which supports artistically inclined youth who want to pursue the performing arts but can’t afford the expensive music and theater coaching required.

Roz Fulton – Casting director and co-founder of Direction and Exposure Access (DEA) which specializes in casting hard-to-find actors, including seniors and children.

Tiffany Green – Actress, model entrepreneur and co-founder of the Actors Agenda workshop, a seminar designed to help actors develop effective marketing and branding strategies to help them create a sustainable and self-directed acting career.

So, if you’re a part of the Philly Film scene, or trying to get your feet wet, don’t miss this fun night of cocktails, food, mingling, swag bags, awards and more… For Ticket Information

The awards founder is Philadelphia native Floyd Marshall Jr. Marshall, through his production company Gazelle Films LLC, has written and produced several films including film shorts “Compromised,” “Child of God” and “3 Women,” as well as the feature length film “Love & Litigation.”

Marshall says the recognition the Philadelphia Independent Film Awards provide is long overdue. “We want to reward and acknowledge the hard work by independent filmmakers that oftentimes gets overlooked,” Marshall said. “This awards ceremony validates those efforts and future ones.”

#phillyfilmawards2018 and #philadelphiaindependentfilmawards
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