This weekend was the 6th annual Eichelberger FilmDayton Festival and the second year as a submission based festival. For the first time they honored filmmakers with audience choice awards from various shorts blocks during the festival. Members of this weekends audience participated in the awards process by voting for their favorite films.The actual awards was commissioned by FilmDayton and designed and created by talented local glass artist Susan Cannon.

The first group of awards presented tonight are the SUN DOG AWARDS –
These awards are presented to our newest and youngest film makers who participate and compete in the annual Sun Dog film festival for Junior High and High School students. The top 4 student short films were shown at the beginning of our feature films. These award winners are in no particular order as follows:

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SunDog winner Carly Vagedes

“Surrounded” (Brian Ferenchik – Hilliard Davidson)
“Run from Risk” (Khari Anthony – Centerville High School)
“5 Seconds” (Kylee Griffin and Grace Brooks – Southern Middle School)
“Julian” (Carly Vagedes – Stivers School)

Flick My Clip, curated by Ryan Singer
Poker Noir – By B-side comedy, a film that takes Friday night poker games to an extreme.
Accepting for the film were Caz Finnegan and Max Cothrel.

International Shorts
Whose Afraid of The Big Black Wolf, by Janez Lapajne, Slovenia. A film set in the Alps in 1944 as a multicultural triangle between a shepherd boy and two officers from opposite sides with two tunes and one flute.

Ohio Shorts
Sinner Victim Saints, directed by Moses Flores,
Upon meeting a stranger claiming to have supernatural powers at his wife’s funeral is feted the opportunity to exchange his life for hers. receiving the award is Cody Brown and Gregory Kennedy

US Shorts
Personal Day,directed by Philip Jessen,
The story of two disgruntled office workers who, by complete coincidence, choose the same day to bring guns to work and “resign”.

The Filmmaker Award—to honor career achievement of excellence in filmmaking – Jim Klein
An excerpt from the nomination by Shayna McConville

“I have the great pleasure of knowing Jim as a friend, colleague and an integral part of Dayton region’s educational and creative economy. A filmmaker, film advocate and film editor for over forty years, his work has encouraged audiences to look at political and social issues through smart, important and engaging documentary filmmaking.

An educator at Wright State, Jim has impacted the careers of countless emerging filmmakers. His work has been recognized, collected and nominated by such agencies as the Library of Congress, the Academy Awards and the Emmys. Jim is also the co-founder of New Day Films, which strives to deliver “dynamic, provocative storytelling to educational institutions…ensuring access to a wide range of contemporary and classic films. Considering Jim for the Filmmaker Award this year is a great testament to his Salazarb and issues that impact our contemporary lives.

Enjoy the video retrospective produced by local filmmaker Andrew Fiscus:

http://vimeo.com/103484450

The Key Award—to honor special service to the filmmaking community – Jonathan McNeal

Highlights about Jonathan from the nomination from Ann Rotalante

“Many people know Jonathan because of his “day job.” For over a decade, he has managed The Neon, Dayton’s only independent movie theater.

But many people don’t realize that Jonathan is also a talented, award-winning filmmaker in his own right. He is a 1996 graduate of Wright State University’s prestigious motion picture production program. His documentary short The Rubi Girls is a joyous, uplifting chronicle of the professional men behind the comedic, charity-driven, Dayton-based drag troupe. The Rubi Girls premiered at the 2003 San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, and went on to win Audience and Best of Festival Awards at the Fire Island Film & Video Festival and the Out on Film Festival in Atlanta.

Each year Jonathan seeks out new, innovative, and interesting films to program here in Dayton by attending the Toronto International Film Festival, where he screens the latest independent films premiering on the festival circuit. While traveling, he writes a daily online blog to give his readers a little sneak peek to some of the films that will eventually be programmed at The Neon. His blog also allows those back home in the Miami Valley to live vicariously through his marathon movie-watching sessions, Q&A’s with filmmakers and stars, and the occasional industry party where he rubs elbows with celebrities.

Jonathan is also an ardent supporter of filmmaking and filmmakers in the Miami Valley. He offers his time and expertise on professional and student productions. He works closely with local filmmakers who need to have test screenings or local premieres of their finished work at The Neon. Jonathan volunteers his time to support FilmDayton, and has taught film production classes at both Stivers School for the Arts and Wright State University, inspiring the next generation of filmmakers.

Perhaps most notably, Jonathan McNeal is the founder and programmer of the the Downtown Dayton LGBT Festival. This festival takes place each October and will celebrate it’s ninth year in 2014. This popular festival screens the very best in contemporary LGBT cinema and offers something for everyone in the community-at-large.”

Video montage produced by local filmmaker Andrew Fiscus:

http://vimeo.com/103484451

Hello Everyone,

Huge changes are just around the corner for THE NEON. Before I get to the source of my anxiety, let’s talk movies. If you still want to see THE MASTER, Thursday will be your last chance to see it with us. On Friday, we will open a film that has had the most requests this year – SLEEPWALK WITH ME. ARBITRAGE had a solid opening weekend…so it will stick around.

Synopsis for SLEEPWALK WITH ME: From the producers of THIS AMERICAN LIFE, this is the film that Ira Glass has been talking about! “When an aspiring stand-up fails to express his true feelings about his girlfriend and his stalled career, his anxiety comes out in increasingly funny and dangerous sleepwalking incidents.” (IFC Films)

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9tRN7bok4o’]

This weekend is the last chance to see movies via 35mm film at THE NEON. On Sunday evening, we will close our doors for 4 days as we make the transition to digital projection (the new industry standard). Our “Things To Do” list is jam-packed. Over the past 11 years, we’ve opened our doors for business every single day…while we’re closed, we’re going to take advantage of the opportunity and do some major cleaning, lay some new carpet and add some fresh paint to floors and walls.

And speaking of this weekend, Sunday marks the day for our big Digital Conversion Benefit featuring AMELIE. (If you missed Sunday’s nice article from Dayton Daily News, you can check it out here.) The festivities will start at 4:00 with delicious appetizers provided by Meadowlark, Roost and Coco’s Bistro. Around 5:00, everyone will head to the large auditorium for our “Dayton Meets Hollywood” auction (more details below) We’ll plan to begin our 35mm presentation of AMELIE by 5:30. Tickets are still available! 100% of the proceeds will go toward helping us make the switch to digital. They can be purchased at our box office or by visiting this link.

To check out all the items in our auction, we’ve listed each item (along with a picture below). Here’s the skinny:

If you’re unable to attend the benefit but would like to place a bid on one of the auction items, you can send me an email with your name, phone number, and your highest bid. I will need this e-mail by Saturday at noon. send to: [email protected] (If you’d like to see one of the items in person, you can schedule an appointment with me for this Saturday.)

We hope to see you this weekend.

Thanks so much for your ongoing support!

All the best,
Jonathan

SHOWTIMES for Fri. Oct. 12 – Sun. Oct. 14:
(We will be closed Mon, Oct 15 – Thu, Oct 18)

ARBITRAGE (R) 1 Hr 47 Min
Friday, Saturday: 12:30, 2:50, 5:10, 7:30, 9:45
Sunday: 12:30, 8:30

SLEEPWALK WITH ME (NR) 1 Hrs 30 Min
Friday, Saturday: 1:00, 3:10, 5:10, 7:20, 9:30
Sunday: 1:00, 8:30

COMING SOON:

As always, all dates are tentative. Many of these dates will change.
In some rare cases, titles may disappear
Oct. 19 SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN
Nov. ? SAMSARA
TBD LIBERAL ARTS
TBD THE SESSIONS
TBD KILLER JOE
TBD NEIL YOUNG JOURNEYS
TBD ANNA KARENINA
TBD HYDE PARK ON HUDSON

AUCTION ITEMS:

Screenplay from the Pilot episode of THE WEST WING – Signed by Martin Sheen & Allison Janney. Includes signed Martin Sheen Photograph. Starting Bid: $75

Screenplay for THE WEST WING, Season 1, Finale – Signed by Martin Sheen + Signed Photograph. Starting Bid: $50

THE WEST WING Lot of Call Sheets and Script Changes with Signed Martin Sheen Photograph. Starting Bid: $50.

THE BIG LEBOWSKI Storyboard Print. Hand-signed by The Coen Brothers’ storyboard artist and Oakwood resident J. Todd Anderson. Includes $25 gift certificate from Patterson Chase – perfect to use toward framing your storyboard. Starting Bid: $50.

3 DVDs from local filmmakers Julia Reichert, Steve Bognar & Jim Klein. Emmy-Winning A LION IN THE HOUSE, Oscar-Nominated THE LAST TRUCK and recently inducted into The National Film Registry – GROWING UP FEMAL. It’s incredible that all these award-winning films were born right here in the Miami Valley. These films will be personalized by the filmmakers for your collection. Starting Bid: $75.

THE RUBI GIRLS documentary on DVD & Poster (which will be kissed and signed by The Rubi Girls before THE NEON’s benefit). This award-winning documentary has played at numerous film festivals around the world…but has not yet been released on DVD. Starting Bid: $50.

2 Original Chairs from THE NEON. These chairs, with their original upholstery, are 27 years old. Though they have slight imperfections, they still are quite cozy and would make a perfect addition to you screening room. (As a note of caution, these chairs require being bolted to the ground.) Starting Bid: $50.

Naming Rights to our Small Auditorium. Our small auditorium seats 74 people. The name you chose (perhaps your name, your company name or the name of your favorite director) will be placed on a plaque above the door to the auditorium. (The name is subject to approval from THE NEON’s Board…vulgarity or insensitive language will not be permitted.) Starting Bid: $100.