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.

My favorite film festival of the year has just announced its slate, and it's a pretty darn good one. The Gen Art Film Festival, held annually in New York City, thrives in its simplicity. 7 shorts, 7 premieres and 7 parties over the course of -- you guessed it -- 7 nights. Does it get any better than that? And instead of trying to hassle your way onto the party guestlist (parties, mind you, which include open bars and are located at some of New York's hottest spots), all you have to do is buy a ticket for that night and you get into everything. Tell us more! Tell us more!

Okay, the fest runs April 2nd through April 8th, and things will kick off with an opening night at the historic Ziegfeld Theater featuring the film Diminished Capacity, starring Matthew Broderick, Virginia Madsen, Alan Alda and Dylan Baker. Other films include the Sundance fav Half-Life, Slamdance fav Frost, SXSW fav Cook County, an outstanding (from what I've heard) documentary called SurfWise, the horror mock Nightlife and the fest will close with Brad Furman's The Take. Tickets for each night run $30 for non Gen Art members and $25 for members, and you can also purchase passes for the entire festival. Cinematical will once again be on the ground throughout the fest, so definitely check back for our coverage.

For more on the festival, feel free to head on over to the official website.

Last night I had a chance to attend a party at the very cool Delta Lounge located on Main Street here in Park City. Gen Art and Delta were celebrating their second annual short films competition by throwing a party and awarding one lucky filmmaker with ten grand and two round-trip international plane tickets. Not a bad deal if you ask me. The film that won, Ctrl Z (or Control Z), was pretty damn funny. Basically, the finalists are narrowed down to five and then passengers on Delta flights (as well as online visitors) vote for their favorites. Ctrl Z featured the ever-so-funny Tony Hale (of Arrested Development fame) who, while working in his cubicle, discovers that by clicking the Ctrl Z button on his keyboard he's able to go back in time. Things escalate to a very hilarious conclusion, and we congratulate writer-director Robert Kirbyson on his win.

The host for the evening was actress Cheryl Hines, who you might remember from Curb Your Enthusiasm or last year's Waitress. She's also in a film called The Grand, which I loved, and kind of geeked out on her over. According to Hines, The Grand will finally see the light of day this March (fingers crossed). The party was hoppin', the drinks were flowin', and yours truly had a badass time. Check out our gallery below for photos from this event.

For the second year, Delta and Gen Art have teamed up for Delta's Fly-in Movies Competition. Five short films have been selected as finalists; the films will be on Delta flights, and you can also watch them online. And the judging panel is comprised of -- you! That's right, you get to determine the fate of these five filmmakers by rating each film on a scale of 1-5. The filmmaker with the highest rating at the end of the contest gets an amazing prize package: $10,000 cold, hard cash, a $2500 Gen Art membership, and a pair of round-trip tickets valid for any international Delta flight. Plus, all the finalists get flown to Sundance for a special celebration on January 23, where the winner will be announced.

This year's finalists (with descriptions from the contest website) are:

Kurt Kuenne's Slow -- A traffic safety worker is accidentally caught in the background of a newspaper photo, and his life is changed forever.

Levni Yilmaz's Tales of a Mere Existence: Conversation -- A simple trip to the video store can bring up EVERYTHING that's wrong with your relationship.

Edward McGinty's Morning Fall -- A mysterious man wakes up on the side of the road, injured and confused. Where will he end up when he can't find his way home?

Bob Giovanelli's Tis The Season -- A little girl is disappointed to learn that Santa Claus is on a break-but she soon stumbles on a somewhat unorthodox replacement.

Robert Kirbyson's Ctrl Z -- When a computer malfunctions, an office loner takes full advantage of the chance to magically undo a lifetime of regrets.

All the entries are quite good ... go watch them for yourself and tell us which you like the best. You have until January 15 to get your votes in!

You've read our reviews. You've heard all the buzz. And now is your chance to check out a special advanced screening of the flick most folks are calling a shoe-in for awards come Oscar time. Oh yes, we're talking Juno. Cinematical, along with Gen Art, are giving away five pairs of tickets to an advanced screening of Juno this Thursday night (11/29) at the AMC 19th Street (Broadway @ 19th street), followed by an after-party at Tenjune. The film starts at 7:30PM. Additionally, you must live in or around the New York City area in order to attend, and be able to travel to and from the theater on your own dime. We'll be giving these tickets away to five random commenters. See the film's synopsis below. For more info on the screening itself, go here. Special shout out to Caroline from Gen Art Pulse for setting it up. (Bonus: Yours truly will also be in attendance, and if you're pregnant I'll sign your belly for free!)

Meet Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) –a confidently frank teenage girl who calls the shots with a nonchalant cool and an effortless attitude as she journeys through an emotional nine-month adventure into adulthood. Quick witted and distinctively unique, Juno walks Dancing Elk High's halls to her own tune - preferably anything by The Stooges - but underneath her tough no nonsense exterior is just a teenage girl trying to figure it all out.

Please check out the Juno trailer, official rules and details on the giveaway 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.