Carolina Parakeet Movie Review - Legless Corpse /  by AJ Briones

Click to view Legless Corpse's review of Carolina Parakeet

Click to view Legless Corpse's review of Carolina Parakeet

The nice folks at horror website Legless Corpse have been kind enough to review Carolina Parakeet, and we're relieved to be able to tell you they liked it!

Of course, it's our preference that you watch the film without any prior knowledge, and seeing as it's only 15 minutes long, it's impossible to give a decent review without revealing some plot details. That said, if you're on the fence about checking out the film, which will be screening in Burbank and in Sydney this weekend, we hope that this review puts you over the edge!

Here are some awesome quotes:

"in the tradition of what are truly the best zombie flicks, the ghouls aren’t the real focus of the film; they’re simply the catalyst that makes us look deeper into ourselves."
"I was really, really impressed with the story and the way it unfolded..."
"... in Myles Cranford, playing Wallace, I saw a intricate and emotional performance that was exceptional; I was completely sold on the character."
"I have to tip my hat to writer/director Briones, the film caught me off-guard; it wasn’t at all what I expected, but I thoroughly enjoyed it."

Check out the full review at Legless Corpse!

Where can you watch Carolina Parakeet?

Carolina Parakeet screens this Friday, September 5 at 12:30pm at the Victory Theatre in Burbank for the Los Angeles Fear and Fantasy Festival and on Saturday, September 6 at 2:00pm at the Factory Theatre in Sydney, Australia for the Sydney Underground Film Festival.

Additional screenings in September include:

  • 9/12/2014 - Ventura Comic Con - Ventura, CA
  • 9/21/2014 - Rose City Comic Con - Portland, OR
  • 9/25/2014 - The Arizona Underground Film Festival - Tucson, AZ
  • 9/26/2014 - NOLA Horror Film Fest - New Orleans, LA
  • 9/27/2014 - The Catalina Film Festival - Catalina Island, CA

For more details, check out our Full Festival Screenings Schedule.

Official Selection - Other Venice Film Festival 2014 /  by AJ Briones

Booyah! We are coming back to Los Angeles the weekend of October 10-12 as an Official Selection to the Other Venice Film Festival 2014!

Venice holds a particularly fond spot in my heart because it was where I lived for a few years when I first moved to Los Angeles in 2007 to make a go of my dream of working in the film business, and it was also the location of my first film gig, working as an animator on The Mummy: Curse of the Dragon Emperor for Digital Domain. Man, that seems like a long time ago!

About Other Venice Film Festival

Venice, CA has always been an epicenter for LA artists and filmmakers who continue to pave the way toward expanding the language of underground, alternative cinema. The Other Venice Film Festival bridges the community of Venice and that of greater Los Angeles together in a competitive, fun-filled weekend of movies and mayhem.

The Other Venice Film festival is a not for profit organization dedicated to the discovery and development of independent artists and audiences. Through its programs, the OVFF seeks to discover, support, and inspire independent film and theater artists from Venice and around the world, and to introduce audiences to their new work.

Find out more on their website at http://www.othervenicefilmfestival.com/

Carolina Parakeet Previsualization Compare Reel /  by AJ Briones

Take a look at the previsualization compare reel for two key sequences in Carolina Parakeet.

SPOILER ALERT: There are some spoiler-ific scenes here, so please be warned.

What is Previsualization?

Previsualization, or Previs (sometimes called Previz) is the iterative process of visualizing a complex shot or sequence of shots using computer animation tools. Typically, a previs supervisor and his team of artists work closely with the director to achieve this.

In the case of Carolina Parakeet, this was done over a couple of weekends with a small team who helped out wherever they could. Writer/Director A.J. Briones created the previs, with Todd Patterson putting together a couple of zombie walk cycle animations to help out. The sets were modeled using measurements taken from the actual shooting locations.

In the end, the previs was used as a guide to inform the shoot. It allowed us to shoot quickly and with confidence. In fact, we were able to shoot both complete sequences in one shoot day.

CAROLINA PARAKEET is a short horror film that is currently making the film festival circuit. Our next screenings are at the Los Angeles Fear and Fantasy Festival in Burbank (9/5/2014), The Sydney Underground Film Festival (9/6/2014), Ventura Comic Con (9/12-9/14/2014), Rose City Comic Con (9/20-9/21/2014), the Catalina Film Festival (9/27/2014) and more. 

We have reached a dozen! Official Selection - NOLA Horror Film Fest! /  by AJ Briones

Wow, this is a special milestone for us: We have hit 12 laurels with today's Official Selection to the NOLA Horror Film Fest!

Carolina Parakeet will be screening at the Indywood Theater in New Orleans, with the festival taking place September 25-28! Joining us will be some frightening short films as well as some horrific features!

Stay tuned for specific screening dates and times; we will let you know as soon as we find out!

About the NOLA Horror Film Fest

NOLA Horror Film Fest is a horror film festival created by horror filmmakers for horror fans. As film auteurs ourselves, we appreciate the blood, sweat & tears that go into making movies. We also understand that the fans are ready for something different!
It’s no small wonder & no great surprise that so many of today’s top directors got their start in “low budget horror”. With determination & imagination, these artists have created some truly memorable work that has encouraged & inspired a new generation of filmmakers.

The NOHFF is committed to celebrating the craft & the art of genre filmmaking at its best. And who knows, maybe discovering “Horror’s Next Big Thing”.

Check them out at http://www.neworleanshorrorfilmfestival.com/

Official Selection - Arizona Underground Film Festival! /  by AJ Briones

Arizona, here we come! We are thrilled to announce that we are an Official Selection to the Arizona Underground Film Festival, and they will be the official venue for our Arizona Premiere!

It's a big deal to us, as according to Filmmaker Magazine, AZUFF has "the vision and confidence of fests that have been around a lot longer" and Film Festival Examiner says it is "a wild ride to the edges of visionary independent cinema!"

We will be screening on September 25 at 9:20pm at The Screening Room in Tucson, AZ!

About the Arizona Underground Film Festival

Arizona Underground Film Festival is Arizona’s only premier genre cult film festival, and one of the biggest underground film festivals in the country! We make it our sole mission to showcase the work of filmmakers with defiantly independent visions. We are on a quest to represent every genre of independent film from across the world celebrating the artist, and their work.

We are now celebrating our 7th year as one of the nation’s top underground cult film festivals. It will be a 9 day celebration running from Sept. 19th to 27th 2014. We will have films from categories of Narrative, Horror, Documentaries, Experimental, Animation, and we are proud to offer an Exploitation category. Join us in the underground!

More info on the AZUFF website at www.azuff.org

Official Selection - GeekFest /  by AJ Briones

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We are extremely honored to announce that we are an Official Selection to GeekFest! GeekFest is exciting because it is the first of its kind: a traveling geek genre film festival inatalled into pop culture conventions created by film geeks, for indie film geeks!

What does this mean to Carolina Parakeet? It means not only one screening, but many! Currently on the schedule:

... with more cons to be announced!

Ventura Comic-Con

Ventura Comic-Con

Rose City Comic-Con

Rose City Comic-Con

ShockPop Comic-Con

ShockPop Comic-Con

About GeekFest

Celebrating the Best Geek Content from around the world! Features, shorts, web series, trailers, fan films, parody music videos and more! 

We provide turnkey film festival services to Pop Culture Conventions. Showcasing the very best in Geek: Features, shorts, web series (hosted and narrative), trailers, fan films, and music videos. We do the work so you can concentrate on your convention.

Find out more at www.geekfestla.com

OFFICIAL SELECTION - CATALINA FILM FESTIVAL /  by AJ Briones

We are very proud to announce that we are an official selection to the prestigious Catalina Film Festival!

To be honest, it was not even on my radar, as we have a very modest little horror film. That said, fate stepped in when our Stunt Choreographer, Alley sequence AD and feature zombie Richard Dorton showed our secure online screener to a friend who happened to be on the selection committee, and we were off to the races with a waiver! A few weeks later... and here we are, an official selection!

This is a very special selection for us, as we get to screen for one of my heroes, Wes Craven, who is on the jury!

And yes.... they have a mixer! See you there September 24-28!

About the Catalina Film Festival

Catalina Film Festival, an annual celebration of film on the only West Coast resort island, features more than 75 films, nightly events and entertainment. From Charlie Chaplin to Marilyn Monroe, celebrities and filmmakers have flocked to Catalina for inspiration. Clear blue water and coastal breezes provide the perfect backdrop for unparalleled premieres, yacht and mansion parties, industry networking and discovering everything that the island has to offer— just 22 miles off the coast of Los Angeles.

Films are screened at multiple venues around the island, including the iconic, art deco, 1,200-seat Avalon Theatre— the world’s first sound theatre. Catalina Film Festival is a competitive festival with awards in up to 10 categories, including the prestigious Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation “Great Communicator” Award, Charlie Chaplin ICON Award, Stanley Kramer “Social Artist” Award, and the ISLA Earth Award; an honor presented by the Festival’s beneficiary, the Catalina Island Conservancy.

For more information, visit www.CatalinaFF.org or follow us on twitter: www.twitter.com/CatalinaFilm or Facebook:www.facebook.com/CatalinaFilm. The 2014 Catalina Film Market and Festival run September 24-28, with special celebrity and industry guests!

 

Australian Premiere at SUFF 2014, Tickets on Sale NOW! /  by AJ Briones

We are super excited about our Australian Premiere at the Sydney Underground Film Festival! Tickets are now on sale, and we will be screening at the Factory Theatre on Saturday September 6 at the 2pm Apocalyptic shorts block!

You can purchase tickets directly from the Factory Theatre by clicking here!

You can also read about the other films screening with Carolina Parakeet at SUFF's Apocalyptic Block page.

About The Sydney Underground Film Festival

The festival programs unique, quality independent films that transgress the status quo and challenge the conservative conventions of filmmaking. The festival is devoted to renewing local interest in independent and experimental film as part of an international underground film culture and aims to change an ingrained culture of cinematic complacency and revitalise an enthusiasm for cinema..

The Sydney Underground Film Festival is dedicated to nurturing an alternative film culture through the promotion of independent and experimental films. The festival seeks to support filmmakers (especially those who operate outside established film industry infrastructures) by providing a platform for exhibition, exposure and critical discussion.

Learn more about SUFF on their website at http://suff.com/au