21st New Orleans Film Festival
I just returned from a long weekend in New Orleans and I wasn’t there for just the Creole! The 21st New Orleans Film Festival was screening my film The Lift and because I love the town I had to hop a plane down there and check it out.
Overall, a great festival, lots of filmmaker only events, tours and activities. Some of the screenings were held at this phenomenal theater called the Canal Place Theater where you could order food and drink from your seat while watching a movie. The seats where wide leather – New York has to do this!
Kat and I also attended a wonderful filmmaker’s brunch at Second Line Stages, a really swank new Hollywood quality sound stage in the heart of the city. They recently wrapped up filming The Green Lantern there.
I attended my screening on Saturday followed by a short Q&A, mostly I talked about my inspiration for The Lift. Kat and I realized that we needed a motivation for a character early on, which is why we went for a moral tale. Living in New York elevators are a big part of life, so is the etiquette around elevators. We decided on an old and young woman because it would reflect a theme related to respecting elders, a common Chinese tradition. I wanted to use a young woman simply because I wanted to animate that. After that you throw the ideas together and see what sticks.
Overall a really wonderful time at a truly top notch fest!
Based out of Brooklyn NY, Robert Kohr is the owner of