The Films:
Thursday, March 30, 2006
"Will somebody with bankroll please give Oren Shai a budget to make a feature film?"

Pollystaffle.com has put up a great new review of 'Heavy Soul'.

Give it a Read.

Some quotes from the article:

"Will somebody with bankroll please give Oren Shai a budget to make a feature film?"
"Shot on 16mm on a budget of $10,000, “Heavy Soul” looks better than some features that cost millions."
"“Heavy Soul” would fit perfectly as a DVD bonus feature on a Something Weird Video release. It just looks a hell of a lot better than their usual archive shorts."

Oren.

posted by Oren @ 1:58 PM 1 comments  

Monday, March 20, 2006
SXSW Backlash, Reviews and Other Oddities

Back from the SXSW Film Festival which was nothing short of fantastic.

'Heavy Soul' had 3 screenings and was very well received.

The Austin Chronicle has described the film as:

"Oren Shai genre-hops from black-and-white Reefer Madness-inspired educational films to color-saturated Lynchian scenes to tell the story of a young girl and her bad trip down the road of addiction."

And this is a review posted today on The Greencine Daily Blog:

Heavy Soul Oren Shai knows how to draw attention to a film. First, by sending a somewhat insulting email (if taken seriously); then, by mailing an elaborate package to my office designed to look like a mental patient's hospital records. I wasn't prepared to like it (granted, when folks usually go to this much work it is to compensate for something lacking in the film). However, it is an accomplished, stylish, well-made short with a star-turn by Sally Conway.

In addition, I was interviews by Jennifer Nathan from The Roundtable on WAMC. The interview was to air today and will be streamed very soon (look out for a link).

I will have a full recap of the festival published on Films In Review in the following week or two.

Watched 20+ films during this week and I am not surprised that my two favorites: 'The Notorious Bettie Page' and 'Tales of Rat Fink' both deal with the 50's-60's. Other films of note were 'TV Junkie', 'Things That Hang From Trees', 'Jam', State Vs. Reed' & 'Summercamp!' and the shorts 'Nevel is the Devil' and 'Coney Island 1945'.

Also attended two great live shows by Of Montreal and one of my favorite New York bands: The Dansettes.

Will post pictures from the fest very soon. Keep looking!

Oren.

posted by Oren @ 4:00 PM 0 comments  

Sunday, March 05, 2006
The Brooklyn Independent Screening Series

The Brooklyn Independent Screening Series will screen 'Heavy Soul' on May 1 together with the feature film You Are Alone and the short Twitch.

In addition, check out the Heavy Soul Myspace Page.

posted by Oren @ 1:19 PM 2 comments  

Recent Screenings:

Heavy Soul
 *Oct TBA - Film Pop, Montreal
*July 13 - The Jerusalem International Film Festival
*June 30 - Billyburg Short film Festival, Brooklyn
*July 13 - The Long Island Film Expo
*June 8 - The Brooklyn International Film Festival
*May 27 - Artfest, Harrisburg PA

Recent Press for 'Heavy Soul'
 Shock Cinema Review
Film Threat Review
Film Guru.Net Review
MicrocinemaScene Review
Pulp Movies Review
Film Fanaadict Review
EMVG Review
Cinema-Crazed Review
The Roundtable - Radio Interview
The Austin Chronicle
Greencine Daily Blog
 Pollystaffle.com Review
Austin Daze Review
Hybrid Magazine Review
Rogue Cinema Review
Monsters At Play Review

Heavy Soul on IMDB

Published Writings:
The Jayne Mansfield Collection Review
'Beyond the Valley of the Dolls' Review
SXSW Film Festival Coverage
The Israeli Film Festival Coverage
'King Kong' Film Review
Hebrew Ha'ir - Elvis Tribute
Hebrew Ha'ir - "Death Proof" Review
Hebrew Ha'ir - Italian Exploitation
Hebrew Shox Coloumn #1
 Hebrew Shox Coloumn #2
 Hebrew Shox Coloumn #3
 Hebrew Shox Coloumn #4
 Hebrew Shox Coloumn #5
Recent Posts:
 "Heavy Soul" is now Online
"Before Elvis, there was Nothing"
Exploitation a Go-Go
Film Fanaddict Reviews HEAVY SOUL
New Review for "Heavy Soul"
Viva, Goldstein and Elephant Parade
Oscar Predictions at Polly Staffle
Tales from the Breadline
The "Best Of" 2006
Russ Meyer Documentary

Blog Archives:
 June 2005
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January 2006
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