Scion has partnered with 10 tastemaking media outlets – from Giant Robot to XLR8R – to select budding filmmakers for the 2009 edition of the Easy 10 Filmmaker Series. Scion recently solidified the screening schedule and line-up, with the 10 films premiering in New York and Los Angeles.
“This year’s program includes 10 short films that feature icons, characters and topics often unseen in modern cinema,” said Jeri Yoshizu, Scion sales promotions manager. “Scion has partnered with select outlets to ensure that each film represents a cultural undercurrent of our time, whether it’s a documentary, animation, drama or work of fiction.”
The 2009 Scion Easy 10 Filmmaker Series line-up includes:
AllHipHop.Com presents “BDK”
From growing up in New York, leading the Golden Era of hip-hop, and his lasting influence in urban culture, legendary Big Daddy Kane talks about his life in the rap game in “BDK,” a film directed by Anthony Marshall (co-founder of MTV’s “Lyricist Lounge”).
Frank151 presents “More Is L.E.S.”
From the Lower East Side, Max Perlich’s “More Is L.E.S.” follows a young man as he comes of age in the historic immigrant, working class neighborhood. Perlich, a filmmaker and actor, has appeared in “Gummo,” “Blow,” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”
Giant Robot presents “The Dwelling”
Baltimore native and graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Sheldon Candis presents an intimate portrait of the rarely documented realities of Tokyo’s homeless population. “The Dwelling” follows one man who has built a resourceful, imaginative, and functional home within the Japanese high-tech metropolis.
Juxtapoz presents “Spare Paint”
In a film directed by Alexander Tarrant and Shaun Roberts, San Francisco artists David Choong Lee and Brian Barncelo offer their talents to two homeless men they meet during rush hour. As they paint brilliant and vibrant cardboard signs for their new friends William and Joe, the former home-restoration specialist and Vietnam vet share their stories of life on the street.
RE:UP presents “Boxed”
A cardboard box is passed around as seven world-class directors and animators come together for an “exquisite corpse” project; where one artist ends, another begins. The two-minute short features the talents of Labour, EVAQ, Miguel Vega, Claire Carre, Akjak, and Destroy Rock Music.
Theme Magazine presents “2 Makes 1”
Kenji Hirata, a New York-based painter from Nagasaki, Japan, plays with layers of color and motion to depict the core human acts of love, betrayal, inspiration and redemption. An original member of the Barnstormers art collective, Hirata’s minimal stop-motion film is guided by the Buddhist belief that emptiness is everything eternal.
Traunt/Daily Swarm present “The Rock”
Director Joey Garfield, known for his urban culture feature films and imaginative music videos for innovative acts like RJD2, The Count and Sinden, and Aesop Rock, presents the whimsical journey of a rock traveling through music’s past, present and future. As forward-thinking minds of the industry discuss musical history, the rock presents the hard and soft sides of the business.
VBS/Vice Magazine present “Searching for Montauk”
Two renowned filmmakers, Meredith Danluck and Jake Burghart, go on an unlikely exploration for the perfect wave. From the snowy streets of Manhattan to the desolate winter beaches of Long Island, Jake’s backyard adventure leads viewers through a surfer’s paradise.
Wax Poetics Magazine presents “East of Underground”
David Hollander, an LA-born filmmaker, DJ, and record collector, tells the story of a U.S. Army funk band that came together to record an LP of soul covers at the height of the Vietnam War. Encapsulating hope in a time of military quagmire, the band’s guitarist recalls the history behind the recording and the significance of funk music during wartime.
XLR8R presents “The Bus”
Filmmaker Ryan Junell follows John Benson and his friends as they travel from coast to coast in a police street command unit that has been converted into a mobile performance space. Running on veggie-oil and solar power, the vibrant crew of nomads turns heads and melts minds across the U.S.A.
Scion’s Easy 10 Filmmaker Series will have its New York premiere on January 22 at the Tribeca Cinemas, 54 Varick St., from 8:30 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. On February 3, Easy 10 debuts in Los Angeles at the Landmark Theater, 10850 W. Pico Blvd., from 8:30 p.m. until 12:00 a.m.
Founded by Scion in 2007, the Easy 10 Filmmaker Series supports burgeoning filmmaking talent by providing a modest budget and numerous platforms to screen and distribute their creative work. Each filmmaker will be featured in bicoastal Scion Easy 10 premieres and the Scion Easy 10 Compilation DVD, in addition to receiving individualized promotional materials and paid travel to two film festivals of their choice.
Thanks to Scion's ongoing artistic endeavors, Easy 10 filmmakers have an opportunity to express themselves through a medium many do not normally work in. Their films will be a testament to their hard work and creativity, and pieces of art to be enjoyed by all.
For more information on the films, filmmakers, and premieres, please visit www.scion.com/easy10.