White Claw atmosphere
Day three of the Mammoth Film Festival kicked off with a daytime pop-up hosted by White Claw. The Après-Ski event featured lively DJ sets at the main lift, and everyone from talent to filmmakers dropped in.
Headlining Friday Fright Night, a new staple of the fest, was the thrilling spotlight film premiere of Some Other Woman, directed by Joel David Moore (Avatar, The Way of Water) and starring Amanda Crew, who walked the carpet alongside husband Dustin Milligan, Ashley Greene-Khoury, joined by husband Paul Khoury, Tom Felton, Rick Fox, and Brooke Lyons.
Olympic athletes also graced the red carpet, showing off their medals, in support of the documentary Citizen Athlete. The film reveals the challenges, both physical and mental, that these athletes went through to ultimately get where they are today.
Aja Evans, Elana Meyers, Sylvia Hoffman, Angelo Pagan, Kallie Humphries, Tiffeny Parker, Ryan March and Brandt Wille
Citizen Athlete was featured in the festival’s Action Sports category, which consisted of shorts, documentaries, and features. Being located in a well-known sporting destination for skiing, snowboarding, and more, drawing notable athletes and Olympians all year round, the category represents the festival’s roots.
Another premiere in the Friday Fright Night sect was the horror thriller Night Shift, directed and written by Benjamin China and Paul China and starring Phoebe Tonkin, Lamorne Morris, and Patrick Fischler. The thriller portrays Tonkin, a woman working her first night shift at a remote motel who begins to suspect that the property is haunted.
Michael Madsen’s documentary American Badass: A Michael Madsen Retrospective, from director Dominique Milano, made its own premiere at the event. The film features interviews with well-known names including Quentin Tarantino, John Travolta, Ron Perlman, Paul Sorvino, Mario Kassar, Angie Everhart, Donald Gladstein, William Baldwin, Chuck Zito, Mike Starr, Robert Forster, Daryl Hannah, Virginia Madsen, Charlie Sheen, and many others. Each celebrity shares their thoughts on the magic of actor/writer/director Michael Madsen.
Madsen himself addressed the theater audience, introducing his documentary as well as Danny A. Abeckaser’s crime drama based on a true Israeli story The Engineer, which premiered next, starring Abeckaser and Emile Hirsch, alongside Kyle Stefanski, Robert Davi, Omer Hazan, and Angel Bonanni.
The Mental State, a drama from director James Camali, takes place in the heart of rural Kentucky, where a high school senior and his family struggle to cope with the true identity and intentions of a dangerous town shooter. Featured talent includes Alyssa Sutherland (Vikings, Devil Wears Prada), Bryan Greenberg (Friends With Benefits, The Mindy Project), and Carly Pope (Quantum Leap, Pretty Little Liars).
Dreamer, based on a true story from the Golden Globe winning producers of Argentina 1985, was the festival’s closing night film. Starring Diego Calva (Babylon), Ari Lopez, Renata Vaca, Alfredo Castro, Paulina Gaitan, and Jason Patric, the film follows a Mexican teenager whose dreams of becoming a soccer star are disrupted when his mother dies, resulting in him being smuggled across the border with the promise of a better life but is instead sold to a sweatshop in downtown LA.
A key component to the Mammoth Film Festival experience is the Mammoth Film Summit Interactive Panels, which includes the annual ‘Her Voice’ roundtable discussion of female filmmakers. This year’s Her Voice panel was presented by Saldo Wines and Tavi apparel.
Hosted by Her Voice podcast creator and festival manager, Alexandra Chando, the panel has welcomed great minds like Jennifer Morrison (actor/director), Ngoc Nguyen (Times Up), Laura Lewis (Rebelle Media), Kat Graham (actor/producer), Shannon McIntosh (producer), and many others. The panel aims to explore the work of female filmmakers and celebrate groundbreaking women who give back.
A novel addition to this year was the panel, “The Importance of Indie Projects and Breaking It Down,” which focused on the premiere screening of Radio Telescope, a project created by members of the Mammoth Media Institute.
To stay in the loop, visit Mammoth Film Festival’s website, and follow them on Instagram.
