Every year we have the privilege of presenting a two hour collection of the Best of Texas-made short films to the industry in Hollywood, and 2007 is no exception. Studio Representatives, Talent Agencies, Production Companies, and members of the film industry are invited to join us for a screening and reception with the filmmakers in attendance. There is something for everyone among these films made by Texas' most promising new filmmakers. Please see the film synopsis' and filmmaker Bio's below:

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Grammy's (17:00 min., HD)

    Two brothers have a really bad time on a fishing trip until a stranger makes them a bizarre but lucrative offer.

  • Bryan Poyser - Austin, Texas
    Bryan Poyser graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1996 where he co-founded the renowned international short film festival Cinematexas. His previous films include the short Pleasureland and the feature Dear Pillow, both made in collaboration with SwitchFilm partner Jacob Vaughan. Bryan was nominated in 2005 for the "Someone to Watch" Independent Spirit Award for writing and directing Dear Pillow, which will be released on DVD in 2007 by Heretic Films. In 2005 Bryan also co-wrote and produced Jacob Vaughan's feature directorial debut The Cassidy Kids, which premiered at SXSW in 2006. Bryan currently serves as the Director of Artist Services for the Austin Film Society.
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Iris Moon (12:00 min., s16mm)

    A dark secret lurks between Iris Moon and her guardian grandmother Maka, a spinner and a weaver. Its unraveling has the power to destroy or liberate.

  • Iskra Valtcheva - Austin, Texas.
    Iskra Valtcheva is a Bulgarian filmmaker based in Austin, Texas. She has directed and shot a number of short films as an MFA candidate at the University of Texas including her award-winning film Tuber screened at festivals in Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Japan, The Philippines, and the US. Iris Moon was a recipient of the Austin Film Society's Texas Filmmakers' Production Fund grant in 2005 and is a Silver Remi award winner at the 40th WolrdFest Independent Film Festival in Houston. Iskra was nominated for the 2007 ASC John Alonzo Student Heritage Award in cinematography.
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Life In Marbleous! (22:00 min., HDCam)

    While video games and action figures are the focus of gaming today, there are still plenty of folks who haven't lost their love for marbles.

  • Mike Woolf - Austin, Texas
    With Life is Marbleous, Beef and Pie serves up another slice of Americana. They uncover the cheerful obsessions of a handful of marble loyalists in this short documentary. The film visits the home and marble collection of "The Marble Lady," and takes in the action at the National Marble Shooting Championship in rural Tennessee. It all rolls along with original music from Kevin Russell of the Gourds, Dale Watson, Andrea Perry and many others. Visit LifeIsMarbleous.com to learn more and play marbles online.
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Maidenhead (17:00 min., HDCam)

    A.J. Bowen (Sundance 2007, The Signal) stars as a young man trying to have a personal life while tending to his demanding, bed-ridden father.

  • Jim Spanos - Houston, Texas
    Jim Spanos got his first eight-millimeter film camera at age fourteen inspiring him to make several animated shorts and to leave his calculus homework largely untouched. He pursued academic mediocrity at the University of Texas at Austin where his enrollment in solely cinema-related classes led to an early departure from academic life. While hanging around Austin helping out with and acting in short films, he began to write the first of three original screenplays. Spanos learned to direct and edit by shooting his first screenplay, Convertible, on digital video with a group of friends. He is working on a feature version of Maidenhead, which is based on his third feature script, and is currently living in Houston.
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The Second Coming (12:00 min., HDCam)

    An estranged father returns home to make amends with his son and makes a decision that changes both of their lives forever.

  • Ya'Ke Smith - Austin, Texas
    Ya'Ke has always loved the moving image and while a student at Sam Houston High School in his native San Antonio, TX, he made his first film at age 15. He earned his B.A. from The University of The Incarnate Word also in San Antonio and directed three films while there: Black Magic, Family Reunion, and StrangeFruit; all were finalists in various film festivals. After graduation he was accepted into the graduate Film Production/Direction program at The University of Texas at Austin. His first UT short, Shoppin', won awards at the Houston Multicultural Film Festival, WestFest Film Festival, and was featured on African-American Short Films. His next film, Hope's War, won the 2005 Directors Guild of America Student Film Award in the African-American category, was featured on the Showtime Television's Black Filmmaker Showcase, and was screened at the Cannes International Film Festival as part of Kodak's Emerging Filmmaker Showcase. His thesis film, The Second Coming, was nominated for a 2007 Student Academy Award. Ya'Ke earned his MFA in August of 2006 and currently teaches in the film program at UT. He is fundraising for his debut feature, Stolen Dreams, which he plans to shoot in the fall of 2008.
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