Hollywood CA August 9, 2015—With the 12th annual HollyShorts Film Festival kicking off this Thursday August 11, the organizers are unveiling today the complete lineup for it’s star-studded opening night. Ben Lyons and Alicia Malone have been named the official hosts for the evening. The festival runs August 11-20 at the TCL Chinese Theater and other locations throughout Hollywood. Below is the complete opening night lineup. A limited number of tickets are still available for purchase at HollyShorts.com.
Episodes of Comedy Central’s new digital series, Junketeers, produced with Lexus’ L-Studio branded-content arm and production firm Kids at Play. The series, which premiered last week, was created and produced by Josh Horowitz (Josh Horowitz) and Ben Lyons (E!, Extra, ESPN) and is Directed by Kimmy Gatewood. Junketeers stars Brian Unger, Barak Hardley, Austin Lyon, Phil Augusta Jackson and Amanda Lund as self-absorbed Hollywood reporters struggling to extract quotes from movie stars. Each 5-minute episode of Junketeers centers on the five journalists hitting the junket circuit. Cameos include: Josh Duhamel, Kristen Bell, Gillian Jacobs, Chloe Grace Moretz, Eli Roth, Emily Ratajkowski, Tom Felton and Matt Bomer.
Drama/Comedy Mildred & The Dying Parlor by Alexander H. Gayner. The film stars Zosia Mamet (The Kids Are Alright), Jane Krakowski (30 Rock), Steve Buscemi, Evan Jonigkeit (X-Men: Days of Future Past). In the short, Mildred’s parents run a dying parlor out of their home. Today’s client is not who she expects.
Out of the Village by Jonathan Stein. Shot in West Africa with a local cast and crew, Out of the Villageexplores the social and cultural impact of the Ebola epidemic from the perspective of an orphaned brother and his sister. It stars Abraham Attah (Beasts of No Nation) and is Executive Produced by Bryan Singer (X-Men).
So Good To See You by Duke Merriman is a dark comedy starring Sienna Miller, Janie Brookshire (So Good to See You), Patrick Kennedy (Atonement), George Merrick (The Intern). The short tells the story of a dinner party that goes painfully sour in this darkly comic take on the dual realities of friendship.
As previously announced HollyShorts Opening Night will also feature:
Jennifer Morrison’s Wild Wild Horses, which she directed and stars along with Rose McIver (iZombie) and Geoff Stults (7th Heaven). During the gala, Morrison will receive be honored with the 2016 HollyShorts Trailblazer Award presented by Women in Film. Jane Fleming will present Morrison with the Award.
Daniel Kaminsky’s supernatural thriller short film The Deal is set to premiere on opening night. Written and directed by Kaminsky who began his career as Joss Whedon’s assistant on Marvel’s The Avengers, The Deal stars Jake Weary (It Follows, Animal Kingdom), Alexandra Shipp (X-Men Apocalypse), Michelle DeFraites, Daniel Amerman, and Bobby Soto. The film was produced by Michael Klein, Brett Young-Fountain and executive produced by Joss Whedon.
Cuddle Party, a dark comedy Executive Produced by Golden Globe and Emmy-winner Jill Soloway, creator of Amazon’s hit series Transparent. Directed by Matthew Irving Epstein, Cuddle Party stars Yvette Nicole Brown (Community), Michaela Watkins (Casual, Saturday Night Live), and Rob Huebel (Children’s Hospital, Despicable Me).
The new BITPIX original short form digital sci fi action/adventure series INFINI from the mind of L. Philippe Casseus (Lionsgate’s Freelancers) features a global cast and stars: Wilhelmina LA model and actress Raquel Pomplun (The Gambler, Agents of S.H.I.E.LD), Jaylen Moore (History Channel’s Six, Fantastic Four, RoboCop), Malcolm Barrett (NBC’s Timeless, Dear White People, Larry Crown), Kelly Albanese (Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 Motion Comic) and French superstar Yassine Azzouz (La disintegration). INFINI’s Stunt coordinator is the Emmy nominated Eddie Perez (Showtime’s Shameless).
Prior to the opening shorts program, Kenneth Kokin’s directorial debut BLOOD MOON written by Oscar Nominated Nicholas Kazan and produced by Tim Williams (In The Bedroom) will open the festival. The feature stars Maya Kazan (The Knick), Frank Medrano (The Shawshank Redemption) and James Callis (Battle Star Galactica, Bridget Jones’s Diary).
HollyShorts opening night tickets are available at hollyshorts.com. This year’s online festival pass is available at bitpixtv.com. A special all access pass for the entire festival is available via BITPIX.
2016 HollyShorts Sponsors include: 33 Taps, Avenue 17 Studios, BarkTHINS, BITPIX, BorrowLenses, Deep Eddy Vodka, Delmay Partners, Film L.A., Final Draft, Harmony Gold Theater, Hint Water, Hollywood Short Film Association, inDspotlight, Ignited Spaces, Integro Entertainment Group/Robertson Taylor International, Jungle Software, Lexus Short Films, LightSPEED, Lyft, Media Inc. Magazine, Mingle Media, Monster Energy, OHM Nightclub, ProductionHUB, Red Giant Software, Rums of Puerto Rico, San Antonio Winery, Seed & Spark, Stage 32, TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, TinHorn Flats, True Vision Entertainment, Women in Film and Zooppa.
About HollyShorts
HollyShorts Film Festival is an annual short film festival showcasing the best and brightest short films from around the globe. HollyShorts is devoted to the advancement of filmmakers through a various screenings, film labs, conferences and networking events. The HollyShorts Film festival showcases the top short films produced 40 minutes or less. Categories include Short Animation, Short Live Action, Short Documentary, Music Video, Webisode, Commercials, Youth Film and Digital Microbudget.