Austin Film Festival - we're on the phone

As the Festival approaches, the staff of the Austin Film Festival is spending all most all of its time on the phone - taking badge orders and room reservations, confirming pictures for the film program, and making arrangements for attendees and panelists. Below are some of the folks working behind the scenes to make AFF 2006 a good time for all - if you see any of them during the Festival be sure to say hello.

Farewell to Bergman's Cinematographer

In today's New York Times Stephen Holden pens an obituary for Sven Nykvist, cinematographer for many of Ingmar Bergman's films. Nykvist, who was 83, won two Academy Awards and was a great proponent of the use of naturalistic lighting. Holden offers this 1995 quotation from Nykvist:

"One of the things [Bergman and I] believed was that a picture shouldn't look lit. Whenever possible, I lit with one source and avoided creating double shadows, because that pointed to photography."

Read the obituary here, and a 1984 interview by the American Film Institute here.

Sandwich Your Story

This year Austin Film Festival and Schlotzsky's are partnering together for the first annual "Sandwich Your Story" competition. Open to all teens ages 13-17, the competition challenges teens to tell a story in exactly one minute.

Teens can work in teams of up to five filmmakers. Competition winners get a film pass to the Austin Film Festival, a $500 scholarship, and their film will be screened at movies during the 2006 Austin Film Festival, October 19-26. The second place film will receive a film pass, a $250 scholarship and their film will also be screened during the 2006 festival.

The deadline is October 1st, so get those films in today!