The experimental documentary Yakona will take viewers on a visual journey from prehistoric times through the present day from the perspective of the San Marcos River. San Marcos filmmakers Paul Collins, Anlo Sepulveda and Dean Brennan started collaborating on the movie 10 years ago because of their personal bonds with the river. Now they're working to finish the movie in time to screen it in early 2013.
Sepulveda, a digital video specialist at Texas State University- San Marcos, remembers tubing down the river as a child on annual family vacations from Corpus Christi. However, he said his bond with the San Marcos River really began when he started working for Texas State and moved into a house along the river, where for four years, he would swim every day.
"I really started to see what was under the surface there," said Sepulveda, whose film credits include the Austin-shot Otis Under Sky, which...
Sepulveda, a digital video specialist at Texas State University- San Marcos, remembers tubing down the river as a child on annual family vacations from Corpus Christi. However, he said his bond with the San Marcos River really began when he started working for Texas State and moved into a house along the river, where for four years, he would swim every day.
"I really started to see what was under the surface there," said Sepulveda, whose film credits include the Austin-shot Otis Under Sky, which...
- 2/14/2012
- by Jordan Gass-Poore'
- Slackerwood
Last week, Austin Film Society announced the 2011 Texas Filmmakers Production Fund recipients, awarded a total of $92,000 in grants, film stock and services ... plus $7K for travel grants and $12K for the Slacker 2011 production, bringing the grand total to $111,000.
I always enjoy reading about the Tfpf grants because they provide a sneak peek into upcoming movies from Texas filmmakers. Austin was well represented in this year's list, but exciting productions from around the state are included. Many of these productions held online crowdfunding campaigns; I've linked to the campaign web pages and recommend taking a look, because some of the teaser videos for these films are excellent.
Here are the Austin projects that received grants, with whatever info I could find about the filmmakers and their productions:
$7,500 to Computer Chess -- Andrew Bujalski
Bujalski moved to Austin a few years ago and shot his feature Beeswax here. Now he's working on Computer Chess,...
I always enjoy reading about the Tfpf grants because they provide a sneak peek into upcoming movies from Texas filmmakers. Austin was well represented in this year's list, but exciting productions from around the state are included. Many of these productions held online crowdfunding campaigns; I've linked to the campaign web pages and recommend taking a look, because some of the teaser videos for these films are excellent.
Here are the Austin projects that received grants, with whatever info I could find about the filmmakers and their productions:
$7,500 to Computer Chess -- Andrew Bujalski
Bujalski moved to Austin a few years ago and shot his feature Beeswax here. Now he's working on Computer Chess,...
- 9/1/2011
- by Jette Kernion
- Slackerwood
Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek
(from the 2011 South by Southwest Film Festival)
Directed/Written by: Anlo Sepulveda
Starring: Anis Mojgani, Roberta Colindrez, Tony Jackson and Jacqueline Leal
“Otis Under Sky” consists of multiple story lines about young individuals, each of whom puts some merit in faith while battling their day-to-day realities.
Otis (Anis Mojgani), a loner artist type obsessed with 2012 and VHS videotapes, and Ursula (Roberta Colindrez), a lesbian seemingly struggling with the concepts of trust and fidelity in her relationship, sit at the center of the film, providing an odd-yet-endearing focal point for this unconventional story.
With a raw shooting style and lo-fi sound in the dialogue exchanges, “Otis” feels a little like a student project at times, finding its feet by juxtaposing slide shows, songs and hyper-realizations of urban landscapes against subtle, personal scenes where individuals share their innermost thoughts with the audience via cats and computers.
At only 77 minutes,...
(from the 2011 South by Southwest Film Festival)
Directed/Written by: Anlo Sepulveda
Starring: Anis Mojgani, Roberta Colindrez, Tony Jackson and Jacqueline Leal
“Otis Under Sky” consists of multiple story lines about young individuals, each of whom puts some merit in faith while battling their day-to-day realities.
Otis (Anis Mojgani), a loner artist type obsessed with 2012 and VHS videotapes, and Ursula (Roberta Colindrez), a lesbian seemingly struggling with the concepts of trust and fidelity in her relationship, sit at the center of the film, providing an odd-yet-endearing focal point for this unconventional story.
With a raw shooting style and lo-fi sound in the dialogue exchanges, “Otis” feels a little like a student project at times, finding its feet by juxtaposing slide shows, songs and hyper-realizations of urban landscapes against subtle, personal scenes where individuals share their innermost thoughts with the audience via cats and computers.
At only 77 minutes,...
- 3/15/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Magazine
Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek
(from the 2011 South by Southwest Film Festival)
Directed/Written by: Anlo Sepulveda
Starring: Anis Mojgani, Roberta Colindrez, Tony Jackson and Jacqueline Leal
“Otis Under Sky” consists of multiple story lines about young individuals, each of whom puts some merit in faith while battling their day-to-day realities.
Otis (Anis Mojgani), a loner artist type obsessed with 2012 and VHS videotapes, and Ursula (Roberta Colindrez), a lesbian seemingly struggling with the concepts of trust and fidelity in her relationship, sit at the center of the film, providing an odd-yet-endearing focal point for this unconventional story.
With a raw shooting style and lo-fi sound in the dialogue exchanges, “Otis” feels a little like a student project at times, finding its feet by juxtaposing slide shows, songs and hyper-realizations of urban landscapes against subtle, personal scenes where individuals share their innermost thoughts with the audience via cats and computers.
At only 77 minutes,...
(from the 2011 South by Southwest Film Festival)
Directed/Written by: Anlo Sepulveda
Starring: Anis Mojgani, Roberta Colindrez, Tony Jackson and Jacqueline Leal
“Otis Under Sky” consists of multiple story lines about young individuals, each of whom puts some merit in faith while battling their day-to-day realities.
Otis (Anis Mojgani), a loner artist type obsessed with 2012 and VHS videotapes, and Ursula (Roberta Colindrez), a lesbian seemingly struggling with the concepts of trust and fidelity in her relationship, sit at the center of the film, providing an odd-yet-endearing focal point for this unconventional story.
With a raw shooting style and lo-fi sound in the dialogue exchanges, “Otis” feels a little like a student project at times, finding its feet by juxtaposing slide shows, songs and hyper-realizations of urban landscapes against subtle, personal scenes where individuals share their innermost thoughts with the audience via cats and computers.
At only 77 minutes,...
- 3/15/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Network
Screening Times: Sunday March 13th, 9:30pm (Rollins Theatre), Tuesday March 15th, 9:30pm (Westgate), Friday March 18th, 11:30am (Paramount Theatre)
The story of a Eastern religious obsessive vlogger and idiot savant whose social ineptitude only rivals his desire to create Web Art, Austin based director Anlo Sepulveda’s Otis Under Sky follows the title character as he falls in love with a kleptomaniac, womanizing lesbian and conceives of an Internet-based Art project to connect people spiritually via the Web.
Filmmaker: How did you first conceive of Otis Under Sky?
Sepulveda: The inspiration for Otis was a soft-spoken, somewhat awkward bull rider named Garrison I met years ago. He was into Eastern philosophy and religions. He eventually learned Arabic and moved to Morocco. He came back to Austin once for a visit and had a full beard and was wearing a turban. Of course, when Anis Mojgani was slated...
The story of a Eastern religious obsessive vlogger and idiot savant whose social ineptitude only rivals his desire to create Web Art, Austin based director Anlo Sepulveda’s Otis Under Sky follows the title character as he falls in love with a kleptomaniac, womanizing lesbian and conceives of an Internet-based Art project to connect people spiritually via the Web.
Filmmaker: How did you first conceive of Otis Under Sky?
Sepulveda: The inspiration for Otis was a soft-spoken, somewhat awkward bull rider named Garrison I met years ago. He was into Eastern philosophy and religions. He eventually learned Arabic and moved to Morocco. He came back to Austin once for a visit and had a full beard and was wearing a turban. Of course, when Anis Mojgani was slated...
- 3/15/2011
- by Brandon Harris
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
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