PRESS RELEASE
The 14th Annual Gen Art Film Festival kicks off on April 1, 2009 in New York City. The Gen Art Film Festival (GAFF)’s unique format showcases seven features and seven shorts from emerging filmmakers which are followed by seven premiere parties. The festival allows film lovers to experience a movie premiere like a true insider. Each night of this cutting edge festival is an interactive experience, allowing filmmakers, media, and the audience to share in the excitement. The festival will be taking place at SVA; the completely redesigned, state-of-the-art Visual Arts Theater on West 23rd Street between 8-9th Avenue.
Adding to the anticipation, the star-studded LYMELIFE is set to open the GAFF festival. Executive produced by Martin Scorsese and Leonard Loventhal and starring Alec Baldwin, Cynthia Nixon, Jill Hennessy, Emma Roberts, Kieran Culkin, Rory Culkin, and Timothy Hutton, LYMELIFE world-premiered at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival, where it received the coveted Prize of International Critics Award and had its U.S. debut at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. The GAFF opening will serve as the official New York premiere and will kick-off LYMELIFE’s theatrical release. The film is co-written by Gen Art alums, brothers Derick Martini (Writer/Director) and Steven Martini (Writer) and marks Derick's directorial debut. They also co-wrote “Goat on Fire and Smiling Fish” which premiered at the 2000 GAFF. LYMELIFE is being released by Screen Media Films in New York on Wednesday, April 8th and in Los Angeles on April 17th, with additional markets to follow.
"It is incredibly exciting to continue to support our alumni filmmakers as they grow in their careers and as artists,” said Film Division Vice President, Jeffrey Abramson. “We are not only thrilled to have the Martini's back as our opening night filmmakers, but their film LYMELIFE, which is set in New York, strikes a deep chord with audiences who are seeking honesty and reflection on core values during these difficult times."
Entering its 14th year, GAFF introduces audiences to films by emerging North American filmmakers, awarding prestigious Grand Jury Prizes for Best Feature and Best Short, as well as presenting audience awards for Best Feature, Best Short and the “Stargazer Award” honoring breakout talent for excellence in acting.
Gen Art offers both members and film fans an active role in the selection process, by forming screening committees comprised of young professionals, where they collectively sort through approximately 1,000 films and advance favorites to the programming committee for further consideration. The Programming Committee consists of experts from various walks of the entertainment industry.
This year’s Programming Committee includes: Celine Rattray (Plum Pictures), Erik Davis (Cinematical.com), Liz Berger (42 West), David Pomes (Alumnus Director - Cook County), Julia Nickson (Alumnus Actor - Half-Life), Kenny Goodman (Good Management), Mike Jones (writer), Brian Chirls (chirls.com), and Deborah McIntosh (William Morris Independent).
Kevin Bacon, whose film "Loverboy" opened the 2005 GAFF recently told the media that, “Gen Art inspires me as a filmmaker. It is so exciting to share something with a really young, super hip audience.”
Other successful films from past festivals include: "Wristcutters: A Love Story" directed by Goran Dukic, (nominated for two 2007 Independent Spirit Awards), “Four Eyed Monsters” (nominated for two 2007 Indie Spirit Awards), Lori Silverbush & Michael Skolnik’s “On the Outs” (nominated for two 2006 Indie Spirit Awards, the award winning 2007 documentary “Sharkwater”, Brian Dannelly’s “Saved!,” the documentaries “Hands on a Hard Body” and “My Date with Drew" and early work by the likes of Azazel Jacobs, Cary Fukunaga, Gerardo Naranjo, The Duplass Brothers, Jesse Peretz, Richard Shepard, Tim Blake Nelson and Brad Anderson whose debut feature “The Darien Gap” opened the first Gen Art Film Festival.
Additionally, 7 of 28 shorts GAFF has shown in the past four years have been nominated or have won a Student Academy Award.
Advance Full-Festival Passes are available for a limited time at a special discounted rate. Full-festival passes will grant you access to all seven film premieres and after-parties including our Opening Night red-carpet event. For more information on GAFF, please visit www.genart.org/filmfestival.
Synopsis:
LYMELIFE, a story about the dark side of suburban paradise and the loss of innocence centers on two deeply troubled, dysfunctional families during the late 1970s. The film revolves around an awkward, sensitive 15-year old boy, Scott Bartlett (Rory Culkin), whose family life is turned upside-down after an outbreak of Lyme disease hits the community spreading illness and paranoia. Scott’s parents — a workaholic father, Mickey (Alec Baldwin) and an overprotective mother, Brenda (Jill Hennessy) — are on the verge of a divorce as his older brother Jim (Kieran Culkin) is about to ship off for war.
Complicating matters, Scott has fallen in love with his next door neighbor, Adrianna Bragg (Emma Roberts). Adrianna seems to be the only person in the world who understands Scott demonstrated by her equally troubled, less affluent family including an uptight mother, Melissa (Cynthia Nixon), carrying on a not-so-clandestine love affair, and a father, Charlie (Timothy Hutton), slowly slipping away from the effects of Lyme disease. Both profoundly funny and deeply moving, LYMELIFE looks at first love and family.
ABOUT GEN ART
Gen Art is the leading arts and entertainment organization dedicated to showcasing the best emerging talent in film, fashion, visual arts and music. 2009 marks its 15th Anniversary. With offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and San Francisco, Gen Art has succeeded in launching the careers of many young filmmakers, fashion designers, visual artists and musicians, providing them with high-profile events that welcome industry professionals and consumers alike. For more info, visit www.genart.org.
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