Just a reminder here to please join our Facebook Fan Page for frequent festival & screening updates, photos, and all sorts of other stuff.

Hey – great interview here with producers Marsha Trainer & Jillian Nodland. Also, a 2 minute clip of the opening of the film. Check it out!

Thank you to our tenacious publicist Sarah Shamla at Tunheim partners for lining this one up!

Next local screening is this Sunday March 14th at the Walker Art Center for the Minnesota Chapter of Women In Film and Television.
Sunday, March 14, 20101:00 pmCinema$8 ($6 Walker and WIFTI Members) Cinephile’s special: See 5 films for the price of 3 for $24 ($18 Walker members). Availalble through the box office at 612.375.7600.

Producers Marsha Trainer, Jillian Nodland will be in attendance for Q&A.

Hey all.

If you’re interested in seeing the film, and you live in Minneapolis area, and you have $10, you are welcome to join us for a screening in Melby Hall at Augsburg College, this Saturday March 6th at 3:00pm. All part of the Nobel Peace Prize Forum.

Sedona International Film Festival award winners
More Than 9,000 Film Fans Break Attendance Record

SEDONA, AZ – (March 3, 2010) – Record-breaking crowds attending the 2010 Sedona International Film Festival chose Prayers For Peace, Ana’s Playground and Hachiko: A Dog’s Story as their choice for top films.

More than 9,000 film fans filled seats in front of six screens at Harkins Theatres and three off-site locations over ten days during the 17th annual Festival. Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, who packed two venues for his “conversations” in addition to those attending screenings of three of his films, was honored for his impact on documentary filmmaking.

In addition, among the artists attending the Festival were Doris Roberts, Richard Schiff, Tim Daly, Jamey Sheridan, James Karan, James Keach, David Rasche, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara.

Prayers for Peace, an 8-minute dramatic short film using stop-motion animation of images from a soldier’s laptop that was returned to his family after his death in Najaf, Iraq, took both the Director’s Choice and Audience Choice Awards for Best Animated Film. Dustin Grella wrote, produced and directed the film.

Ana’s Playground, a 23-minute dramatic short film from director Eric D. Howell depicting “just another day” for children surrounded by armed conflict, won the Audience Choice Award for Best Short Film and the Director’s Choice Best International Spirit Award.

Hachiko: A Dog’s Story, produced and starring Richard Gere in a heartwarming story adapted from a Japanese tale about a loyal dog named Hachiko, was named Best Feature Film in a vote of audience members.

Hey all. Mary Jo and I had a fantastic experience at the Sedona Film Festival this weekend. As we celebrated out 7th wedding anniversary we got to be part of the ‘love of film’ fest going on in Sedona. A huge Thank You to the entire town for making us feel beyond welcome – we felt like family.

We also had the privilege of receiving not one, but two awards. The International Spirit Award, and the Audience Choice Award. These two pieces of recognition summarize everything I was shooting for with this film – I wanted to connect with an audience about an issue that affects the world. Thank you for noticing these efforts Sedona!

02.12.2010 – Saint Paul, MN (February 12, 2010) – Rock the Cause, St. Olaf College and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Minnesota have formed a league of Super Heroes to promote safe play and one-to-one mentoring for children. Also joining the ensemble is Eric Howell, whose film Ana’s Playground, has generated Oscar-worthy buzz for its stunning portrayal for children living and playing in war-ravaged communities.

After School Special, Costumed Charity Ball will feature music from classic children’s programs and other activities that emphasize the value of having a safe and positive childhood. There will be on-campus screenings of the award-winning Indie film, Ana’s Playground, on Friday and Sunday, and a preview of the film during Saturday’s event. Musical performances will include outlaw country national headliner, 32 Below, and Minneapolis-based Indie superstars, White Light Riot.

100% of all concert tickets sales will benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Where: Lion’s Pause, St. Olaf College, 1520 St. Olaf Ave, Northfield, MN.

When: Saturday, February 27, 2010. Doors at 8:00 PM; the event starts immediately.

What: Rock The Cause and St. Olaf College present After School Special, Costumed Charity Ball to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters, featuring 32 Below and White Light Riot.

Cost: $8 All Ages, open to the public. Tickets are available at www.irockthecause.org or at the door day of show. For Ana’s Playground screening Information also visit www.irockthecause.org.

Attire: Come dressed as your favorite cartoon, comic, or superhero character!
About Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Minnesota
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities (BBBS) helps vulnerable children beat the odds. The organization depends on donations to help recruit volunteers and reach more children. Funding is used to conduct background checks on volunteers to ensure child safety and to provide ongoing support for children, families and volunteers to build and sustain long-lasting one-to-one mentoring relationships. Big Brothers Big Sisters is proven to improve children’s odds for succeeding in school and breaking negative cycles. BBBS, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, serves 10 counties in the Twin Cities metro region, including Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, Washington and parts of Chisago, Isanti and Wright counties. To learn more, visit www.bigstwincities.org or call 651-789-2400.

About Rock the Cause
Rock the Cause is a Minnesota 501(c)(3) non-profit that empowers people through music, community and awareness. The organization’s mission is to partner with other non-profits to create the next generation of giving through the power of of rock-n-roll music. Learn more at www.irockthecause.org.

For those of you checking in from around the country here is the most current list of upcoming film festivals & screenings for ‘Ana’s Playground”

Sedona Int’l Film Festival Feb. 21st – Feb 28th
Cinequest (San Jose) Feb. 23rd – Mar. 7th (Academy Sanctioned)
Berlin International Football Film Festival Mar. 13th-17th
Shorts in Ports Mar.18th
San Luis Obispo Int’l Film Festival Mar. 12th-21st
Tiburon Film Fest Mar. 18th- 26th
Cleveland Int’l Film Festival Mar.18-28 (Academy Sanctioned)
Bradford Int’l Film Fest (UK) Mar.18th-28th
Vail Film Festival Apr.1st-4th
Rome Independent Film Festival Apr.8th-16th
Florida Film Festival Apr.9th-18th (Academy Sanctioned)
Atlanta Film Festival Apr.15th-23rd (Academy Sanctioned)
Sacramento Int’l Film Festival Apr.17th-25th
New York Kicking & Screening June 1st-5th

Start getting the word out to anyone you know in these areas if you can!!!

Additional Screenings:

Right To Play Olympic Screenings 10th – 20th of Feb. in Vancouver

Noble Peace Conference Screening in March in Minneapolis

A big shout out to Andrew James at ROW THREE for this review!

Always proud when a worthwhile film, no matter how short or small, makes its way out of the frozen tundra of Minneapolis. Especially when said film is not only a magnificent watch, but also supports a good cause and delivers a message without being ham fisted. Quite the opposite actually. Ana’s Playground is a 20 minute short, sculpted so carefully that while it tackles the social injustice of children involved in armed combat, it never delves into a specific territory, conflict or racial divide. Rather, the film keeps it attention on where it should: the effect and involvement of children during armed conflict; using an unknown, war torn location and even going so far as the utilization of a made up language.

The locale is key. Since the actual city is never specifically mentioned, this could be any war torn city in the heart of chaos. It’s reminiscent of an Eastern European city that we’ve seen in many a film, but keeping the actual name from us leaves it more internal and possibly even relatable. The story depicts a group of children playing soccer (also a key instrument of storytelling as this is probably the world’s most popular sport (especially in Europe)) in the street. Forced to dodge tanks and machine gun fire rather than the usual passing sedan we might see in any typical American suburb, one of the children finds herself in the heart of no man’s land when their ball accidentally goes over the dividing wall. As children often do, ignoring the consequences, young Ana cautiously takes her time exploring the area and scavenging for food before retrieving their soccer ball. Suddenly the whiz of a bullet zips by her ear before an eruption of sniper fire rips from a nearby high rise. Now Ana is caught in a cat and mouse survival game with an unknown assailant. What makes the plot work, beyond the edge of your seat intensity is the intertwining of blunt social commentary twisted into the action effectively and with quality, but without being heavy handed.

Since its September release, the film has been receiving rave reviews and loads of festival awards just about everywhere it goes (including top honors for Best Live Action Short Film at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, the Norwich, New Hampshire, Cenflo and Foyle film festivals, including a ‘Best of the Festival’ and an Academy Qualifying win for the 2010 nomination cycle) – and it’s easy to see why. Director Eric Howell has crafted a film that is amazingly well shot, has great set design, fast paced action (dare I say Hurt Locker-esque?), something meaningful to say (and said well) and the capper is its unique way of being relevant to all.

The film was funded entirely by donation and necessities were provided by countless organizations in and around the Twin Cities, MN area. Focus Features pitched in quite a bundle of scratch, Skywalker Sound did all of the post sound-engineering work and The Coen Brothers themselves provided a lot of the physical set pieces. Sorry, but if they’re behind this endeavor, so should we be.

The film has helped raise awareness and funds throughout the world to children involved with armed conflict and brought people closer together. The proceeds and leftovers from the production (including loads of soccer equipment and hundreds of jerseys) have been donated to various organizations around the globe. You can read a lot more about the film and its endeavors by heading over to AnasPlayground.com. Unfortunately the film isn’t available for viewing yet online, but it’s still making its way through the festival circuit, so you might look for it there. There is a nice looking trailer available however and I’ve stuck it below the seats. Have a look and seek out this quality short film if ever and whenever you can.

Ana’s Playground wins ‘Best Live Action Short’ at Academy sanctioned Santa Barbara Film Festival!
02-14-2010 Happy Valentines Day.