The Cinema City International Film Festival Announces Winners Of November 2009 Online Competition

Dec. 30, 2009 - PRLog -- The Cinema City Online panel of judges are proud to the winners of the November 2009 Festival winners.  “Our judges, all professionals within the industry, read and review works by filmmakers and screenwriters whose work entertains, provokes, inspires, shocks, surprises, invokes humor, raw emotion and good storytelling into their projects.”

Zdenka Sinadlova was honored with a Gold Award for Best Sceenplay, Mercy.  Zdenka is a director, writer, producer and editor and former a competitive gymnast from the Czech Republic.   Now a fulltime filmmaker, she lives and works in Sydney, Australia.  Her film, Mercy, won a Golden Reel Award at the 2009 Nevada Film Festival and she is currently developing it into a feature film.  The film, composed of three self-contained episodes and acted by an ensemble cast from the Czech Republic has three, interlocking stories about the preset the lives of people in Czechoslovakia, in an era known as Normalization or Pragmatic socialism under the Communist regime.  Zdenka is also developing a script for her next film, DEMARCATIONS, a political feature thriller, set also during the Communist regime and has a saga quality.  She plans to write, direct and shoot in Czech Republic yet another feature film that explores the events around the court trials of the rock band the Plastic People of the Universe and the subsequent formation of the Human Rights Movement lead by playwright Vaclav Havel.  In addition to Mercy, Zdenka has two short films, Defect and Short, official selections in several international film festivals.

Kevin Silva was presented with a “Silver Award” for Best Screenplay, “God I wish you were here.”    Kevin studied screenwriting at San Francisco State University in 1983 and 1984.  His screenplay, “God I Wish You Were Here” attained recognition at the WriteMovies International Writing Contest in December, 2009 and a Platinum Reel Award in November 2009 at the Nevada Film Festival.  His screenplay “Grave Fears” won Script of the Month at AbsoluteWrite.com.  Silva was also a finalist at the Screenwriting Expose in 2002.

The Bronze Award for Best Short Screenplay “Keemo The Archer” went to Mark Winzer.  
“Keemo The Archer” tells the story of a young girl who battles her cancer in a post-operative dream and discovers an unknown fortitude.  This micro budget short delivers a powerful message of hope that will transcend the typical boundaries of a short film.  Mark is seeking a producer/director who is committed to excellence in film making to share his passion in developing this inspirational short film dedicated to the patients and families valiantly battling this disease.  Mark studied film production at Grand Valley State University and earned a Master of Arts degree from Seton Hall University.  

Deborah Craig’s documentary “One Sister At a Time” won in the Best Short Feature Category.  Deborah recently completed her Master of Public Health degree at San Francisco State University where she focused on the use of documentary film to convey public health messages. For her thesis, she produced and directed “One Sister at a Time,” a short film about the struggles and strengths of HIV positive women in the Bay Area. She has also produced documentaries about an elementary school garden in a low-income community of color and about HIV positive women in New Orleans. Deborah has an eclectic background, in publishing, the software industry, music, and the visual arts. Most recently, Deborah has pursued a career in public health, with an emphasis on using the power of the visual arts to depict the human side of health crises.  

Best TV Pilot Award went to Susan Mary Cain, for “Get the Lead Out”.  The story centers around a Palm Springs California Fitness Center housed in a Country Club.  The gym has a series of problems, ie. A personal trainer killed in an accident on bench press; a customer breaks an ankle because of a careless trainer; two lesbian trainers and other assorted characters.

Susan is a former script reader for the once popular Avco Embassy Pictures and Palomar Pictures is also a Certified Personal Trainer in Palm Springs.

“We are extremely pleased by the number of excellent submissions we’ve received since the launch of our online festival, said Suzanne DeLaurentiis, co-founder of the CCIFF Festival.

For information on submitting to this festival, go to:  cinemacityonline.net
Cinema City International Film Festival
cciff.com or cinemacityonline.net

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Suzanne DeLaurentiis is 30 year veteran filmmaker who has produced a number of award winning films.

Suzanne DeLaurentiis Productions is a one stop Hollywood shop, offering writing and development services, the best crews, casting, access to name talent, equipment, catering, post production, music scoring and distribution.