Friday, March 03, 2023

LA WEBFEST - International Film Festival Partners

 



1. Septimius Awards - Amsterdam https://septimiusawards.com/




2. Jaipur International Film Festival - India https://www.jiffindia.org/





3. Berlin Sci-fi Filmfest - Germany http://www.berlinscifi.com/




Sunday, January 15, 2023

LAWEBFEST 2023 - Organizers & Board Members


 

LAWEBFEST 2022 - Organizers & Board Members 


  • Founder
    Michael Ajakwe Jr. (October 12, 1965 - May 31, 2018)









  • Michael Okwudili Ajakwe Jr. (October 12, 1965 – May 31, 2018) was an American television, theatrical, and film writer and producer. The creator of the world's first web series festival and the founder of LAWEBFEST (Los Angeles Web Festival). Prior to the year of his death, Beauty and the Baller, a nine-episode comedy series that he created, produced, and directed outside of the studio system, was licensed to Viacom, which premiered on Centric TV in 2017.

  • Honorary President
    Tammy Ajakwe


  • Honorary Chairman
    Jean-Michel Albert















Jean-Michel is the founder/artistic director of the Marseille Web Fest, which since its creation in 2011 has aimed to promote and embody series from around the world, as a spokesperson for this new popular and ultra-creative art. From 2016 to 2022, he was also responsible for the Canneseries short-form competition.

He is responsible for development at Darklight Content, a French horror film and/or series production company, and also executive producer for the company TamTam Stories, which he co-created in 2019. In 2022, he joined "Les Humanoïdes Associés" as executive producer.



  • Festival Director
    Young Man Kang

Young Man Kang directed several feature films and over 10 web series. All feature films have been released on VOD in Netflix and Amazon in the US, and have sold in 15 countries. He has a total of 30 awards from a number of film festivals and webfests.

Young Man Kang collaborated with fellow film "Avatar" alumni, Just Cause 3D, on his "4D Experience" Project. His latest series “Lotte Haus” won 10 awards and selected over 30 film festivals.
He is a founder of the Kwebfest (Seoul Webfest) & Asia Web Awards. 


  • Vice President
    Rich Halke













Professor Rich has written or consulted on a wide range of film, television, advertising, animation, interactive, VR, and multi-platform projects for ABC, ABC Family, NBC, CBS, The Disney Channel, Disney.com, Touchstone Television, Fandango.com, Hasbro, FOX, and The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. He has consulted/lectured/served on panels for The Broadcast Education Association, Digital Hollywood, The Warner Bros. Writers Workshop, NPR, USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, UCLA’s Masters Television Writing Program, The University of Miami Film Department, Columbia College of Chicago, Rio Webfest, Buenos Aires Webfest, DC Webfest, and he’s been quoted by multiple news sources, including the WGA’s "Written By" magazine and "The Wall Street Journal". He is a founding board member of The Los Angeles Web Series Festival, an advisory board member of The Marseille Webfest, and lead instructor of The Marseille Digital Writers Residency.  Prof. Rich has also had the honor of serving as a nominator for The Sundance Institute / YouTube New Voices Lab.



  • Festival Advisor
    Joel Bassaget

  • International Relations
    Melodie Everson

  • Chairman of the Board
    Thomas Kim

  • Board Member
    Neem Basha

Neem Basha began his film career training under the tutelage of Emmy-Award winning writer Barry Goldsmith (“The Joan Rivers Show”).  Neem went on to become a 19-time award winning writer/director/producer, starting with his full-length feature film “Ten-Buck Baton,” which was screened at multiple film festivals in 2013 and won four awards -- including Best Feature Film at the New York/Los Angeles International Film Festival. 

Since then, Neem has been at the helm of several successful projects. His varied portfolio includes feature films, music videos, commercials, government PSAs, and short films, including “Home Invasion” and “Repentance,” which is streaming on Amazon Prime.

Neem’s latest and most successful production is his smash hit “Neem’s Themes,” an internationally award-winning sketch comedy series with over 30 crowd-pleasing episodes. More projects are in the pipeline for 2022 and beyond! 

Neem’s work has been seen by well over 40 million people - on The Big Screen, on digital media, and on platforms such as Hulu, NYC cable stations, and others.  His award portfolio is varied, having won awards for his directing and writing, a People’s Choice Award from an international audience in Valencia, Spain, and a filmmaking Achievement Award in Seoul, Korea, among others. 

Neem brought his background and expertise to the New Jersey Web Festival, which went on to become one of the best-reviewed festivals on Film Freeway. He enjoys greeting creators from all over the world for this annual tradition, while also continuing to produce varied and crowd-pleasing productions of his own. Neem is thrilled to join the Los Angeles Web Fest as a board member.





  • Board Member
    Kathie Fong Yoneda














Kathie Fong Yoneda is an entertainment consultant specializing in development and marketing of live action and animated film, television, literary, and web projects. A former exec at Disney, Touchstone, Island Pictures and Disney TV Animation, she has taught workshops in over 20 countries worldwide. Kathie is an original board member for LAWebfest and has worked closely with Jean Michel Albert, founder of the Marseille

Webfest. She is the author of The Script-Selling Game, 2nd edition (Michael Wiese Productions) and has mentored writers for the Rocaberti Retreats in Europe. She exec produced the series Beyond The Break as
well as the acclaimed live action short 30 Minutes, the web series The Big O and worked with author Heather Morris on her award-winning novel The Tattooist of Auschwitz.



  • Board Member
    Frederic Josue















Frederic Josue is a media and entertainment specialist, CEO of 18M.io.
He works for Ferrero, BNPParibas, Orange, French Ministery of Education.
International Innovation Expert dealing with technology. Professor at the Political Sciences Institute of Paris, a class on Tech and Content Platforms Strategy. His skills are public speaking, writing, marketing, consulting. He received Emmy Award and he has clients BNP, Paribas Fortis, Orange.



    • Board Member
      Pamela Jaye Smith 














Pamela Jaye Smith is a Mythologist, Author, international Consultant-Speaker, and award-winning Writer-Producer-Director with thirty plus years experience in features, TV, commercials, documentaries, web series, XR projects, music videos, corporate and military films – in Hollywood and around the world. 
She is on the Board of Advisors for the LAWEBFEST, has presented at the Marseille WebFest, and is a frequent jurist for screenplays and film festivals.



  • Board Member (Podcasts) 
    Mike Atchley













Born in Casper, Wyoming, Mike Atchley is a passionate actor, musician, artist, and author.  He is most known as the narrator, composer and producer of Dice Tower Theatre from Good Ham Productions and his voice has appeared in other audio works such as Aethuran Dark Saga, Ninth World Journal and Chronicles of Eridul. His experience as an audio engineer on recordings and live performances has extended for over 30 years both DIY and as a professional.  Mike believes in promoting the audio community both as a supporter and as a contributor; and share it with those who may have never experienced the magic of audio adventures.







Wednesday, November 23, 2022

Asia Web Awards 2022 the 6th Edition - Official Selections

 


Asia Web Awards 2022 the 6th Edition - Official Selections 


INTERNATIONAL


7 years art from Berlin "BrückenKunst" 2019

Germany

A Hum of Shadows

South Korea

Abracadavers: S2

Canada

Actresses’ Diary S6

South Korea

ADAPTATION

United States

All In Love

South Korea

ANA (I AM)

Lebanon

Are you Amir Shah?

United States

Baek-song

South Korea

Broke Rookie Star

South Korea

Come On, welcome to the bible world

South Korea

Critically Ashamed Vol. 2

United States

Death Doula

Australia 

Find me if you can

South Korea

FORNICAKES

United States

FRIENDMATES

Russia

Girl Dad

United States

I hope to find you better at the end

Brazil

I love you, Daddy

South Korea

I said I had a dream

South Korea

JajangMyeon Thank You

South Korea

Like in Movies S2

Japan

Love Touch

Brazil

Main Street

South Korea

Night Witches

Kazakhstan

Nothing Personal

Russia

Pathways: when dreams meet education

Brazil

Pops

Russia

Qatil Haseenaon Ke Naam

India

Remedy of Love

United States

Scent of Love

South Korea

Shakespeare By Half Light

United Kingdom

SHIFT

United States

Sloppy Jones

Canada

Stupid Wife

Brazil

Tape

France

The Cab' - S2

France

The Eve

Italy

The Madness of George King

United States

The one that came from the 10th floor

Brazil

The Tall Bike Joust

United States

The Waiting room

Brazil

TUTOPIQUE #SPLEEN

France

Two different Woojoo

South Korea

Unframed: Paul Klee, Hand puppets

Switzerland

You've Forgotten

Brazil



PODCASTS


Dice Tower Theatre

United States

Doomed To Repeat

United States

Kakos Industries (Podcasts)

United States

Outgrowth

United States

Tales from Three Corners (Podcasts)

Australia 







 

 

Asia Web Awards 2022 the 6th Edition - Nominations

Will be announced soon! Stay Tuned!!


Live Streaming on Youtube channel
Saturday 8:30pm, November 26 - Korea Time
 
 

 



 

Saturday, November 12, 2022

Kimchi Warrior in the "Kimchi Day"


 


“Kimchi Warrior” in the "Kimchi Day"




The Kimchi Warrior will hold a Kimchi Warrior character cosplay event on Hollywood streets to celebrate the 2nd “Kimchi Day” on November 12, Saturday 3pm thru 5pm. 


The US state of California officially designated November 22, 2021 as “Kimchi Day”. The resolution explained the origin of kimchi, which was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013, and the traditional culture and manufacturing process of kimchi. In addition, kimchi contains probiotics, calcium, and vitamins, which improve the body's immunity. The purpose of this resolution is to unify the Korean community and celebrate the date in the state where 32% of the Korean American population lives.

In addition, it will be an opportunity to introduce kimchi to the American market through various events on Kimchi Day every year.


At the forefront of kimchi promotion at such a time, there is the animated character Kimchi Warrior, who has been promoting steadily for 12 years through online YouTube and Social media.

A Kimchi Warrior character with a green cabbage and red pepper costume, and a band of cabbage leaves attached to his head. In the United States, there is Popeye who eats spinach and exerts superpowers, while in Korea there is Kimchi Warrior who eats special kimchi and uses super powers to defeat virus and diseases. 

In a world dominated by Marvel characters so far, the Kimchi Warrior is the first Korean native character as a superhero.


The Kimchi Warrior is a web series 2D animation created by Korean American director Young Man Kang who was active in Hollywood in 2010 and uploaded to YouTube.

It is a flash-style, low-budget animation with a B-grade comic element added for online users. 


The creator Young Man Kang said that “This will be great promotional tool for the Kimchi Day, because of the Kimchi Warrior animation character and cosplayer has already a lot of fan bases through social media. This is the time to join with other Marvel characters in Hollywood Blvd. Who knows, some day the Avengers Team is calling to the Kimchi Warrior to join as a team member.” 


<The End>







What can you tell me about Kimchi Warrior?  Is it an animation series exclusive for the Internet? Where can we see Kimchi Warrior?
How many episodes are in this series? Who produced it? What animation techniques were used for this production? What kinds of difficulties did you encounter in creating Kimchi Warrior?



Kimchi is one of the world’s top 5 healthiest foods.  It is believed it even prevented the outbreak of SARS in South Korea. Kimchi’s probiotics protect the body against even the worst viruses and bacteria.

So when I was developing a new character for my animation, I wanted to promote Kimchi and Tae Kwon Do into the world of entertainment.  This was the birth of the Kimchi Warrior superhero.

Based on the premise of Popeye, Kimchi Warrior obtains supernatural powers by eating Kimchi.  He strives to defend our health from the world’s most notorious diseases like Swine Flu, Mad Cow Disease, Malaria, SARS etc.
  

Kimchi Warrior has received international recognition and is currently live on YouTube with 15 episodes. You can find episodes of Kimchi Warrior at www.KimchiWarrior.com or just search “Kimchi Warrior” on YouTube.

The animation’s production company, YMK Films of Los Angeles, and Young Man Kang, the producer/director, has also received many awards.

With only a limited number of animators in both Los Angeles and India, the team was still able to produce 15 episodes within a year.  The animation uses 2D animation with Flash, Photoshop, and After Effects. Only one character, the giant robot Onggi Bot, is in 3D.  He was created by the very talented Christopher Nadolski, an animator who received an Academy Award for his visual effects in The Life of Pi. 

We cast all voice-over actors in Hollywood.  One noted voice-actor was Tim Colceri, the door gunner in Standley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket.

The biggest difficulties of production were the extremely low budget and short time constraint.  We made 15 episodes, but in the end cut to re-edit and uploaded on YouTube with 12 episodes.  

I really would like to thank to all of the voice-over actors and artists who graciously worked within our low budget restraint.

The Kimchi Warrior superhero saga continues on as a book series written by Critina Ducu, a talented actress who also has experience in Korean culture.

The Onggi Bot animation screened at the biggest Onggi Festival in Olsan in May of 2013. “Onggi” are traditional earthenware vessels that store key fermented ingredients in Korean cuisine. Onggi vessels are porous with tiny holes that allow air to penetrate inside while still preserving ingredients for long periods of time.

Also, Canal Plus, a TV station in France put Young Man Kang’s activities and footage of Kimchi Warrior in their documentary.  The documentary narrated by “Antoine de Caunes” introduces Korean culture to the French community and aired May in 2013. 

I want to make this animation the Kimchi Warrior into a live action web series, a stylish martial arts action and dark comedy.