San Francisco’s ‘Super-8 Maestro’ Danny Plotnick Wins Top Award at UndergroundfilmMaker Fest

Local Filmmaker Wins Top Award at UndergroundfilmMaker Fest

San Francisco’s ‘Super-8 Maestro’ Danny Plotnick tops an eclectic field

San Francisco, February 10 , 2008

A full house braved monsoon conditions to pack the Roxie Theater last week for the UndergroundfilmMaker Festival Screening and Awards ceremony. Winner Danny Plotnick refused to leave the theater without an oversized ‘novelty’ check for his winnings, but finally settled for a bank-sized version from presenting sponsor Seagate Technology and a cocktail reception in his honor at neighboring Dalva.

Mr. Plotnick was among a field of over 400 film artists from 38 countries who faced a grueling selection gauntlet in this festival, which purported to separate the ‘webcam uploaders’ from the serious, committed filmmakers. Participants were required to submit an entire portfolio of films before being admitted in competition, whereupon twelve semi-finalists were chosen for the next round. In round two, filmmakers were required to film a self-interview and were given four weeks to complete an assignment formatted to meet the requirements of media sponsor Current TV.

Portfolio excerpts by five finalists, along with their interviews and assignments were screened for a delighted audience at the Roxie theater. “I have never seen anything like this,” said performance artist Linda Steinberger, “the festival really got you inside the head of these filmmakers.”

Winner Danny Plotnick is a veteran of the underground film scene, having helmed over 40 projects, mostly no-budget affairs shot on Super-8 film. Notwithstanding his relative notoriety and wide exposure, he states that he has “never won anything at a festival.” That streak is now over, and Plotnick looks forward to using the $5,000 Grand Prize for an upcoming film project.

Also awarded were experimental filmmaker Chris Hefner, who received an Honorable Mention for Best Assignment, and animator Nicholas Kallincos, who garnered an Honorable Mention for Best Portfolio. Honorable Mention for Best Interview was selected by the festival audience and was also won by Plotnick.

All five finalists enjoyed pitch sessions with creative executives at Current TV, and some have already agreed to have their festival assignments broadcast. Winner Danny Plotnick, however, has chosen to stay underground. His assignment, “Out of Print,” will debut February 21st, 2008, on Undergroundfilm.com.

About Undergroundfilm
Founded in 1998, UGF is the longest running film site on the web. While the web is inundated with user-generated video sharing sites, UGF has built a library of thousands of high quality short form films, leading Wired Magazine to call it “the place on the web for serious filmmakers.” (May, 2006) UGF partners with these filmmakers to connect them to growing audiences through online and offline distribution alliances, direct marketing, mobile phone partnerships, social networking sites, film festivals and other powerful tools.