Dances with Films to Screen Five Selections from LA Film Collective

May 19, 2012 - PRLog -- Dances With Films will present around 100 films this year at the famed Chinese Theatres in Hollywood for their 15th annual festival. Among the selected will be five films that were developed, produced, or star members of the Los Angeles based film collective, We Make Movies.

This recent success is just one of many for the group this year. In 2012, members have had two full length films sold and distributed, and an original series picked up by Hulu.com. Six other films made their theatrical debut, and the group recently completed a Kickstarter campaign that will fund another five. They also just started production on How We Make Movies, a self produced series of filmmaker interviews taped in front of a live studio audience.

Founding member, Sam Mestman, comments, “I think so many people are finding success mostly because they're talented, but also because there's a supportive community around them who just wants to help them make their work better.  Having a community of people around you who are all trying to get to the same place, but aren't interested in stabbing each other in the back to get there just makes life a little easier.”

The group is excited about Dances with Films because it is a unique festival, “dedicated to discovering and championing unknown works from around the globe and providing them with a unique opportunity to screen in front of critics, audiences, and industry heavyweights.” To show their support, members will be volunteering at the festival to build momentum and are joining forces to organize a party that will generate joint support of their films. The films include two features and three shorts.

Three Days of Normal, written by Jarod Parsons and Jace McClean (who also stars) will make its world premier at the festival, and was developed back in 2009 at the the group’s writing workshop, also known as “Something to Do on a Wednesday till you get really Famous Night”.  The film is a romantic comedy about a starlet who, feeling overwhelmed by the pressures of Hollywood, winds up in Nowheresville, N.H. She meets a by-the-book police officer and falls in love. Feature presentation screens Saturday, June 2 at 9:30 PM.

Also making its debut is Disorientation, starring Stephanie Sanditz, one of WMM’s original members.  Directed by Russell Whaley, it’s a film about an underachiever and his brainiac dorm mate who must overcome their differences to exact revenge on a posse of goons who think they rule their college. Feature presentation screens Saturday, June 2 at 11:45 PM.

Coincidentally, Sanditz also stars in Empty, a short film written by Darrow Carson about a group of Angelenos at a gallery opening, each searching for that one elusive thing that might give meaning to their lives. Empty was one of six films chosen last year to be financed by the group through their successful Kickstarter campaign.  Fusion Shorts: Group I screens Monday, June 4th at 5:00 PM.

All Roads Lead to Paradise: The Jimmy Paradise Story is another short that was produced by WMM. Directed by Sam Mestman and starring Eric Michael Kochmer, it is an experimental detective story about a misunderstood beach poet/private eye trying to get a film into Sundance. Competition Shorts: Group I screens Saturday June 2nd at 12:30pm.

Strange Date, directed by Peter Castagnettie, was screened at the annual WMM screening in March. It’s a short about a guy named Jarod, who is excited about his second date with Scarlett. But things are about to get a little strange. Competition Shorts: Group I screens Saturday June 2nd at 12:30pm.

Tickets are $10 prior to May 31st and available for purchase at www.DancesWithFilms.com. To learn more about WMM, their films, how to contribute or attend workshops, please visit www.WeMakeMovies.org.