World premiere of “DOWNRIVER” movie by Michigan Creative Film Alliance debuts on April 25th

The Michigan Creative Film Alliance (MiCFA) will premiere its eagerly awaited new movie Downriver on April 25th. Doors will open at 6 p.m. at the Detroit Film Theatre (DFT) located at 5200 Woodward Ave. Admission is free and open to the public. The 7:00 p.m. program and screening will be followed by an afterglow at the historic Scarab Club located at 217 Farnsworth St. Donations of $7.00 or more will be accepted for admission to the afterglow, featuring DJ Sean Deason.

Downriver is the result of the efforts of over 30 crew members, 164 kickstarter supporters and numerous Michigan based companies, organizations and businesses. “Without the continuous support of our sponsors, this project would not have been possible,” said producer Tinisha Brugnone, a senior in Wayne State University’s media arts and studies program. “We can’t wait to show our audience all of the hard work and sweat equity we put into this project to make it come to fruition.”

Downriver is a short narrative film, based upon an original screenplay by Brandon M. Verdi, a recipient of the 2012 Hopwood Award in Screenwriting from the University of Michigan. In Downriver, a socially awkward 15-year-old, Alex, is forced from his posh suburban lifestyle into life with his estranged older sister in working-class America, following their father’s untimely death. “It’s a comedy,” noted Verdi, “but it’s also a story about loss, anger, grief and family.”

“Production and post-production were intense, but it was worth it,” said Downriver director Billy Jackson, a senior screen arts and culture major at UofM. “Downriver is the best project in which I have participated.”

Downriver is the third project of the MiCFA. Last summer, top students and recent graduates from film-related programs at Wayne State University, Michigan State University and the University of Michigan began production. The budding filmmakers shared their expertise and dedication to make a high-quality film, employing real-world professional standards and practices. The alliance’s first two productions Appleville and Beauty Queen also premiered at the DFT to audiences of over 850 enthusiastic film supporters.

Downriver features Nick Skardarasy, a screen arts and cultures student at UofM, Jordan Trovillion, a recognized SAG/AFTRA actor, Katie Oliver, Chris Newman and Ethan Knoth, natives of metro Detroit's downriver area.

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The Michigan Creative Film Alliance is the first creative arts collaboration among Michigan's three top public research universities — Michigan State University, University of Michigan and Wayne State University. In 2010, these universities launched this historic, innovative collaboration in support of an indigenous film community across the state. The MiCFA provides a unique professional platform for student filmmakers to develop, create and distribute high quality films. For more information about the Michigan Creative Film Alliance, visit http://mi-cfa.com.

Creative Film Alliance students wrap up third movie project “Downriver”

The students of the Michigan Creative Film Alliance (MiCFA) finished filming their 2012-2013 movie project Downriver on August 18, 2012.

Since July 30, the students of the MiCFA have filmed their latest project around the downriver area in cities such as Wyandotte and Taylor. “This past three weeks were very intense, but I learned so much,” says Downriver director Billy Jackson, a senior Screen Arts and Culture major at U of M. “I will never forget this unique real-world, hands-on and professional experience.”

“The footage looks great. I think that it is going to be the best movie yet,” says co-director of photography Ryan Sundberg, a film program senior at Michigan State University. Downriver is a 30-minute narrative film where a socially awkward 15-year-old, Alex, is forced from his posh suburban lifestyle into life with his estranged older sister, Crystal, in working-class America, following their father’s untimely death.

“We worked so hard and all the students had so much fun filming and learning from each other,” says producer Tinisha Brugnone, a senior Media Arts and Studies production major at Wayne State University. “There is still a lot of work to be done before the premiere next April.”

The movie is now in its post-production stage. Top students and recent graduates from the film-related programs at Wayne State University, Michigan State University and the University of Michigan will edit the project and deliver the finalized movie in March 2013.“We now have to cover our post-production costs which is why we are still fundraising,” says Brugnone.

To donate, please visit www.mi-cfa.com. Contributions to Downriver will be administered by Techtown, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and fiscal sponsor for the Michigan Creative Film Alliance.

Production Time...

The MiCFA students have been shooting their new project DOWNRIVER since July 31. Below, you will find some pictures taken in the past three weeks.

Downriver Kickstarter campaign

Dear Bloggers,

The students of the Michigan Creative Film Alliance (MiCFA) have launched their first major fundraising campaign on Kickstarter, an online funding platform for creative projects. Our goal is to raise at least $12,500 by Sunday,July 29, to fund location production costs associated with their 2012 production,“Downriver.”

We only have 4 days left to reach our fundraising goal! You can help us get there by making a pledge at http://kck.st/M1hGRB

Contributions to “Downriver” will be administered by TechTown, a Detroit based nonprofit business incubator and accelerator and fiscal sponsor for the Michigan Creative Film Alliance.

We are back for the third consecutive year!

Dear Bloggers,

We are very happy to announce that for the third year in the row, the Michigan Creative Film Alliance (MiCFA) has a new production team comprised of 30 students or recent graduates from Michigan State University, University of Michigan and Wayne State University.

The MiCFA's main goal is to allow students to work in a real-world feature-film style production atmosphere, filling all key production department roles from development and production through post-production and distribution.

Downriver is the third project of the MiCFA. In this 30-minute comedy, Downriver will meet Upriver. This film will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you wonder how different we really are from one another.

In the wake of his father’s sudden death, 15 year old Alex is forced from his posh, suburban lifestyle into a “downriver” life with his estranged half-sister Crystal and her family. The socially awkward Alex doesn’t like the family, can’t stomach the food, gets into scrapes with their friends, and is drawn into a backyard brawl that turns him into an accidental tough guy. In spite of the cultural divide, Alex and Crystal eventually connect in an unexpected way, realizing that whether you are downriver or upriver, family is family.

The screenplay was written by Brandon M. Verdi, a recipient of the 2012 Hopwood Award in Screenwriting from the University of Michigan. Our team is led by producer Tinisha Brugnone, a senior Media Arts and Studies production major at WSU. Tinisha is a MiCFA veteran who worked as co-producer and unit production manager on the 2011 Beauty Queen team. Downriver is directed by Billy Jackson, a senior Screen Arts and Culture film/screenwriting major at UofM. He’s also a returning MiCFA member of the art department of Beauty Queen. Downriver co-director of photography Ryan Sundberg (MSU) and sound recordist Josh Rickert (MSU) are also returning MiCFA team members.

Welcome to the MI-CFA Blog

This is the place where students involved in the Michigan Creative Film Alliance will share their experiences and insights. You can visit our website at http://www.mi-cfa.com.