The 2008 Gen Art Film Festival has come to a close, and four very good films have emerged victorious. Their Grand Jury awards went to Jennifer Phang's Half-Life (feature) and The Ladies (short). Half-Life, which combines troubling global conditions and a dysfunctional Asian-American family together in this sort of mish-mosh, half real, half animation head trip, first premiered back in January at the Sundance Film Festival. It's a good flick that tries a tad too hard to get across its message, but nevertheless one you should definitely seek out.

The Audience Award for best feature went to my favorite film of the fest, Surfwise. The doc, which was funded -- in part -- by Mark Cuban, follows the Paskowitz family (aka the first family of surfing), who, lead by Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz, traveled the coast with no money and big dreams. Whether or not you believe in what "Doc" Paskowitz did or didn't do for his family (not one of his nine children went to school), Surfwise is a powerful documentary -- funny, sad, hopeful, spiritual and tremendously engaging. Watch this one if and when you get the chance. Additionally, the Audience Award for best short went to A Day's Work and the Stargazer Award (which recognizes new, upcoming talent in front of the camera) went to Luis Chávez, from A Day's Work. (Gotta love a fest that rewards actors in its short films. Kudos Luis!)

You can check out another one of David Jr.'s fabulous video blogs from Day 7 of the fest (the night The Take screened) after the jump, or view one from each night over here. Check out Night 4 and keep an eye out for a familiar face ...

Last night I attended the opening of the 2008 Gen Art Film Festival here in New York City, where the film Diminished Capacity enjoyed its New York premiere at the historic Ziegfeld Theater. Did you go? Really enjoyed this film; as one guy points out in the video above -- "it was cozy." That's exactly how I felt; it was this quiet little comedy starring Matthew Broderick as a guy suffering from memory loss due to a concussion who joins up with his Alzheimer's-impaired Uncle (Alan Alda) on a journey to a baseball memorabilia expo to sell a rare card. Great quirky characters (especially Dylan Baker as a crazed Cubs fan) and the kind of film that just leaves you with good vibes.

But anyway, our very good pal David Jr. is all over this year's festival (as he is every year) with his trusty video camera that tends to freak people out (watch Matthew Broderick's reaction). So if you weren't able to attend the festival last night, his videos give you a great glimpse at what it's like to enjoy a hot, hip Gen Art film event. Seriously, these people are very hot and very hip. I do not, in any way, shape or form, belong in their company. I'm just a slacker from Queens who's balding.

Enjoy the video. Visit DavidJr.com for more of his wacky videos. And head over to the official Gen Art Film Fest site to get tickets, see what's screening, blah blah blah. OH, and Diminished Capacity hits theaters on June 27. Go see it -- cute flick.

If you live anywhere near New York City, and you're a fan of independent films (and free drinks), then there's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't be attending at least every night of the 2008 Gen Art Film Festival. As always, Cinematical will be there in full force (well, those of us in NYC, at least) when the fest kicks off tomorrow night at New York's historic Ziegfeld Theater with a screening of Diminished Capacity, starring Matthew Broderick, Virginia Madsen, Alan Alda and Dylan Baker. Knowing Gen Art, I'm sure more than a handful of celebs will be on hand for that red carpet event.

The fest will continue throughout the week with screenings of films like Half-Life, Cook County, Frost, Surf-Wise, Nightlife and The Take. Of course, following each film is the obligatory awesome after party (with open bar!), which is open to anyone with a ticket to that night's screening. Seriously, it's a cool festival -- and the kind you could totally take a date to, in case you were looking for ideas. (Keep in mind, though, that a kiss at the end of the night is still not guaranteed -- though it's pretty much a given after one of Gen Art's bashes.) Cinematical will be there for a few of the nights (with both Weinberg and myself at the Friday Nightlife screening), so do make sure you say hello.

The 2008 Gen Art Film Festival runs from April 2nd through April 8, and you can find out everything you need to know over at the fest's official website.

Delta Air Lines and Gen Art are coming together for the second year in a row to stage a short film competition, and I've got to say that I love the idea. It never occurred to me before, but screening short films on airplanes is brilliant -- what better way (aside from airing before big films) is there to get an audience for shorter fare? The people are strapped in, and they can't go anywhere! The contest, called "Delta's Fly-In Movies," will select five finalists who will get their shorts aired online as well as on the airline's domestic, transcontinental flights. Viewers will then vote on the films, and after all the finalists are flown out to Sundance, the winner will be announced. The big prize: $10,000 cash and a pair of round-trip tickets to any international destination Delta flies to. (But watch out, taxes, fees and restrictions still apply.)

Now, this is cool, but it could be so very much cooler. Five films will get screened on cross-country flights -- but man, they should look into showing the shorts on shorter flights too -- and not just their contest finalists. It would be much better than an old sitcom re-run or old news piece. And, it could extend into bigger-budget shorts as well -- a perfect opportunity to screen both great little-known films and buzzed-about celeb shorts. Hopefully that will come sooner or later, but for now, some lucky travelers will get to see the 5 finalists when they're screened in December and January.

Submission requirements are after the jump.

Last night, Cinematical was on hand for the New York premiere of He Was a Quiet Man at the 2007 Gen Art Film Festival. Pic wrapped up what was a very exciting seven days, chock-full of some fantastic films that will soon be coming to a theater near you. Following the film, Jeffrey Abramson, Gen Art's VP of Film, announced that the documentary Sharkwater had won the Acura Grand Jury prize for best feature (check out our interview with Sharkwater director Rob Stewart from night 4) and a very cool short film, High Maintenance, won the Acura Grand Jury prize for best short.

On a personal level, this was a pretty cool night for me as I got to meet Christian Slater for the first time. In the video above, I speak with Slater about the film, his role (which has him playing a quiet and lonely cubicle hermit trying to decide whether or not he should listen to the voices in his head and shoot up the office he despises) and his future projects, which include a starring role in a big-screen adaptation of a graphic novel. Is Christian Slater hopping onboard the superhero bandwagon? You'll have to watch the video to find out. Also included is an interview with director Frank Cappello, who returns to the director's chair after a 12-year absence. Oh, and the very beautiful Elisha Cuthbert makes a brief appearance ... although her publicist wouldn't allow her to speak to Cinematical for some reason. She seemed nice though, albeit a tad tiny. I never knew she was that small.

As far as the film goes, it was pretty damn good. Imagine if the Milton character from Office Space was in a very very dark comedy; throw in some fantasy elements, a fantastic performance from Christian Slater and Elisha Cuthbert half naked in a wheelchair -- that's He Was a Quiet Man. With everything that's gone on recently over at the Virginia Tech campus, this was an interesting film to watch in that it really shows us how an ordinary man can be pushed so far, to a point where he contemplates killing those around him. Currently, domestic distribution is not set up, but we'll let you know when this sucker has a release date. Thanks again to Gen Art for hosting a wonderful festival, and for inviting Cinematical to be a part of it.

For more on He Was a Quiet Man, check out Jette's review from SXSW.

Note: Music from Madison Park

The greatest thing about the Gen Art Film Festival is its simplicity. 7 nights. 7 premieres. 7 parties. That's it. That's all you need to know. The films are chosen for you; there's no giant slate to flip through and -- perhaps this is the best part -- all of the movies are screened in one venue. Of course, you do need to be in New York City in order to take full advantage of the fest; however, for the first time in its history, the Gen Art Film Festival will be heading to Chicago later this summer where they'll showcase five different films, as well as host five different parties.

Tonight, Gen Art kicks things off with Gary Walkow's Crashing, starring Campbell Scott, Isabella Miko and Lizzy Caplan. Story revolves around a writer whose wife kicks him out of their house, forcing him to crash with two sexy college students. Gosh, what a predicament! Other films screening include: When A Man Falls in the Forest, The Signal (yay!), Sharkwater, Chalk, You Are Here and He Was A Quiet Man. Cinematical will be on hand for a few of these nights, providing you with extensive coverage of the films, the stars and ... um, the open bar. That's right, each film is followed by a swanky after party at some of New York's finest hot spots (not that I'm, like, cool enough to know what's hot and what's not). Tickets are still available through the festival's website, so feel free to head on over there after you're done reading. I'll see you at the after party -- first drink is on me. Oh wait, they're free. Even better.

Let's say you're both a filmmaker and an environmentalist, and you've made this great short film. Maybe you don't have Al Gore in your film all pumped up and talking about global warming, and you couldn't land Melissa Etheridge to write you a nifty theme song. But still, it's a pretty good little film with an environmental message. You worked your tailfeathers off making it, maxed out your credit cards, borrowed money from your folks and scrounged costume and prop pieces from all your friends, and at the end of all that, what are you going to do with it?

Lucky for you, we may have just the answer. The folks at Gen Art, in partnership with Planet Green Game (which is itself a partnership between Starbucks and Global Green USA) have announced a call for entries for the debut of Gen Arts' Online Film Festival.