LA Music Video Festival: rookie fest out this month

After many months of preparation, a postponement of the event from october to january, some promo help from filmfestivals.com (bills unpaid alas) the first annual Los Angeles Music Video Festival (LAMVF) will finally take place Sunday, January 23rd, at the Downtown Independent Theater.
Concert and after-party will follow at The Echoplex with LA favorites, Voxhaul Broadcast and Black Apples.

Out of over 200 submissions from 16 different countries, finalists were selected to participate in student and indie video categories of competition. Both categories will be judged by music video industry professionals. The judges include Michelle An (Video Commissioner, Interscope Records), Jen Herrera (Director’s Representative, Las Bandas Be Brave), Yvette Lang-Einczig (Yell Productions), Ryan Singer (Management, Chime Entertainment), Saskia Wilson Brown (DIY Days/Current TV), Coleen Haynes (Executive Producer, HSI Productions), Chris Douridas (KCRW/Music Supervisor), Danielle Hinde (Owner of Doomsday Entertainment), and Scott Hillier (Director, European Independent Film Festival), among others.

The caliber of competition among submissions was incredibly high, and the prizes reflect the effort: they include a premiere camera rental package from Alternative Rentals, one-on-one meetings with industry professionals and complimentary membership to the Music Video Producers Association (MVPA). Winning videos will also be screened at the European Independent Film Festival (ECU) in Paris this coming April as well as featured on the LAMVF website (www.LAMVF.com).

In addition to the juried competition, LAMVF is proud to present two panels of discussion with industry insiders: “Up and Comers,” a discussion with young directors on the verge, presented by Doomsday Entertainment; and “The Business of Music Videos,” featuring a panel of esteemed industry professionals including Coleen Haynes (Executive Producer, HSI Productions), Kathy Angstadt (Video Commissioner, Interscope Records), Danielle Hinde (Owner, Doomsday Entertainment), Danny Lockwood (SVP Video Production, EMI Music), and Missy Galandia (Executive Producer, DNA). The panelists will speak to the ins and outs of the music video industry in their wide range of experience. A complete list of speakers, including the keynote speaker, will be announced in the coming weeks.

The 2011 LAMVF is being presented in association with the Music Video Producers Association. During the festival, the MVPA will present an exclusive awards showcase of their members’ work from the past year in various categories including Best Video of the Year and Best Video Under $25K. For more details, please visit www.mvpa.com/events.

The LAMVF was created for a single purpose: to celebrate the art of the music video. While there are dozens of film festivals that have music video categories, LAMVF is one of the only live festivals in the United States dedicated exclusively to this creative format. Director Sami Kriegstein believes, “[Music videos] are marketing tools for bands, promotional reels for filmmakers, storytelling experiments…they are perhaps the most flexible, visceral and accessible film format, purely focused on the combination of sound and image.” LAMVF will bring together the independent music and independent film communities of Los Angeles in a celebration of talent and creativity like never before.

For anyone who makes music, makes videos, likes music videos or knows anyone who does, come be a part of the movement.