L.E.S* began in 2011 in an effort to support and showcase low budget filmmakers, specifically. We sold out all our screenings and were placed on New York Magazine’s …]]>

Well here we go again, Gang. The 3rd annual L.E.S* Film Festival is right around the corner, June 13th-23rd, here in NYC’s Lower East Side.

L.E.S* began in 2011 in an effort to support and showcase low budget filmmakers, specifically. We sold out all our screenings and were placed on New York Magazine’s Approval Matrix – “Highbrow & Brilliant.” Treat! Apparently there was an interest…

We have continued to expand into bigger venues (Sunshine Cinema, Anthology Film Archives, the Crosby St. Hotel) and incorporated some of the best names in film. Our judges panel includes the likes of Academy Award Winner Susan Sarandon, Sundance Winning Director and Writer Rebecca Miller, Academy Award Nominee Travis Knight (Paranorman), Academy Award Nominee Dan Janvey (Beasts of the Southern Wild), legendary performance artist Justin Bond and many many more exceptional individuals.

In the process we have worked hard to stay true to our mission: show the best in low budget filmmaking in New York City’s Lower East Side. Wait… did we mention a lot of our events are FREE and completely awesome?

We wanted to answer some fan mail we’ve received… Kidding – ifp emailed us these questions:

Q: What are festivals looking for in submissions? What about writing a good Artist Statement? How do we know which festivals to apply for?

A: Well, we can’t speak for other festivals, but for L.E.S* we look for the basics first: can you hear the sound? Is the editing good? Are the shots not blown out? Basic things like this are CRUCIAL to watching. You’d be amazed how many people send in films with a weird buzzing noise, zero sound mix, we can’t see or hear the actors… there are many films where we say “if it was just edited a little differently…”

Acting – so important. DO NOT CAST YOUR FRIENDS because you don’t want to pay actors!  If they cannot act DO NOT PUT THEM IN YOUR FILM!

Writing – make sure it’s good! Less is more. Edit, edit, edit! Do a reading with people before you film to see if it makes sense. A reading will change your perception of your writing!

TELL A GREAT STORY! That’s it. Give the audience credit. We have ALL spent our whole lives listening to and telling stories all day every day. There is something in us – ALL OF US – that can tell what is good, what is bad, and what is an artist indulging themselves.

Q: Do we care about an Artist Statement?

A: Not really. The Artist Statement guides the artist. An audience doesn’t care about the artist’s intention. Say you read all about an artist’s intention before you see their film, because you’re curious…if you actually see the film and there’s nothing interesting about it, the artist’s intention or statement is not going to change the bad experience you had.

Applying to festivals requires research. Do not apply to a Christian Film Festival if your film is about a Satanic Cult, or DO because that’s kind of ballsy… but they’re not going to take your film. You may shock them with some blatant hedonism, but they’re not putting your film in their fest.

Every film festival has its own aesthetic and programming committee. Look to where your film may fit best. Look at previous lineups. Where do you think you have the most chance of getting attention from? One of the great things about our festival, we’d like to think, is that it is in NYC and we can get industry to your screening. The great thing about Sundance, SXSW, and Toronto is that everyone knows about them and they can get industry to your screening. Can Big Stone Gap International Film Festival get industry to your screening? No. They can’t. Cause where the hell is Big Stone Gap? Well, it’s where the tip of Virginia meets Kentucky.

Q: What do we do once we’re in a festival? How do we promote our film/short film in the festival?

A: Once in a festival, spread the word like CRAZY! Don’t sit back and think the work is done. The work never stops, and it’s on you to keep pushing!

Q: Do festivals care about having an online following/community or are they just looking at the film?

A: Absolutely!!! Online community is huge! We all know that. If we didn’t we’d be asking for your submissions on Betamax.

Q: When at a festival, how do I maximize the experience for my career (i.e. building relationships with the right people etc.)

A: Don’t rely on the festival to do everything for you. It’s up to you to network and push your film. If you’re travelling to the festival, try to set up meetings wherever you are. Go to other films and reach out to filmmakers whose work you like. There are usually Q+A’s and drinks as well as panels. Go to as much as you can and introduce yourself. Everyone likes meeting future collaborators and friends. If you’re shy, pretend you’re not.

Q: Are festivals going to care if I release my film online?

A: That’s up to the festival.

Our goal, at L.E.S* – to support the next generation of low budget and creative filmmakers. If you are one of them, a film lover, or just want to have a fun time, please come to our Fest. We’d love to have you!

Sincerely,

Damon and Shannon

www.lesfilmfestival.com

You never quite know where something will lead.  We wrote a ridiculous 5 minute sketch in college about a self proclaimed “power couple,” took those characters and created an “interactive dinner party/performance art piece” (as some folks have said), and have …]]>

Shannon Walker as Vicky and Damon Cardasis as Lysander

You never quite know where something will lead.  We wrote a ridiculous 5 minute sketch in college about a self proclaimed “power couple,” took those characters and created an “interactive dinner party/performance art piece” (as some folks have said), and have now sold� Vicky & Lysander to LogoTv.com.  Weird.

To us, the most fascinating and funny characters are the ones who are super-deluded.  Beyond help deluded.  Perhaps this is why a� social climbing, politically incorrect, obsessed with being cool� couple is something we continue to revisit…

Vicky and Lysander at a dinner party

Vicky & Lysander (as the worst Dinner Party you’ve ever been to) was an unexpected success.  Winning “Best Borderline Performance Art” in the� NY Press 2010 edition, and selling out every night for three months at Grand Opening in the Lower East Side was extremely risky and thrilling.  We had little idea of what we were doing and, in fact, the trial dinner party we did the night before the show opened bombed big time. Our sweet friends did their best to pretend it was funny but we quickly realized after that first dinner that you could not script or bullet point out topics of conversation, and that we were going to have to be ready for the possibility of ANYTHING happening.  Our interactive dinner party was going to have to be an hour and a half of mostly improvisation.  And that is what we did.  For 80 performances.  Great news – It seemed to work, it was a fun time, and we learned something VERY important. You don’t have to have all the “i”‘s dotted and “t’”s crossed to start a project.  You just need to friggin’ get started and figure the majority of it out along the way. This is a lesson that we have carried with us in our work for the LES* Film Festival and the web series we just sold.

To clarify for all the sticklers and old school marms that are reading this, we don’t mean “winging it”  in the sense of not preparing or not working your butt off, we mean “winging it” (last time we use that phrase, promise) in the sense of trusting yourself and your ideas and figuring out how to make the rest work.  Because you CAN if you believe in your idea, have a team that believes in it as well, and you remember to stay positive.  The most important thing is to get started, cause there’s never going to be a “more opportune time,”  there’s never going to be 3 million dollars sitting around (unless you’re from old Robber Baron money).  The best time is NOW and the biggest compliment we hear, whether or not people like what we do is, “Wow, I’m so impressed that you guys actually DID something. Most people just talk about doing something.”

Still shot from “Vicky & Lysander”

In regards to the details or any inside advice; we shot the web series this summer with our friends and LES* colleagues and compatriots Tony Castle and Roxy Hunt of BFD productions. In keeping with the theme of the LES* Film Festival, which we all do together and because we had no other option, we shot it all on a budget of $0. That’s right Z-E-R-O!

The idea came after having not done anything with Vicky & Lysander for two years and wanting to take it in a new direction. Tony and Roxy have their own 5d camera, a boom and two lavs, we all had apartments to shoot in, we had NYC to run around and play in, and there’s brand new cutting edge, you heard it here first, software called Final Cut that allows you to edit from your own computer (wink). Completely DIY filmmaking. That was really what it took. All of it done by all four of us. Tony & Roxy as directors and producers, editors, sound mixers…Shannon & Damon as writers, producers, actors and occasional boom holders and our friends as our awesome guest stars and extra crew when needed!

Still shot from “Vicky & Lysander”

We shot on the weekends, weeknights, and anytime that we could as we didn’t have the luxury of endless hours. We didn’t set out to sell it, we set out to make it and put it online and then send to friends. Selling it was the cherry on top and something very unexpected that came up.  Our thinking going in was “No matter what, we will have created more material and learned something new in the process. Plus it will be fun! What’s wrong with that?”  That and the fact that we knew all it would cost us was our time.  This seemed like a pretty good bet to us.

So that’s our advice. Just get started.  Make product.  Team up with people that you know are reliable, smart, and willing to work hard.  You don’t need an entire timeline and chart. Figure out the problems as they come.  Be passionate and willing to work very hard.  Don’t listen to the nay-sayers and pricks.  There’s a million people that love cutting something apart before it even gets started.  One person we met told us (in an obnoxious condescending tone with complimentary eye roll), “Oh…everybody is making web series these days…”  Well good for them and good for us and shut the fuck up cause we don’t need anymore road blocks. Having no money and being only four people certainly brings enough.  TUNE THESE DOUCHES OUT!

Still shot from the series

At the end of the day.  We like these characters.  We made something we like.  We had fun doing it.  And funny enough, someone else liked it too and hopefully others will as well.  Good luck and God speed!

Sincerely,

Damon and Shannon

A new episode of Vicky & Lysander airs every Wednesday @ 3pm on Logotv.com. For more information please go to www.vickyandlysander.com  or watch below: