““Despite the small scope of the picture, everything about it shows a virtuosity and understanding about the subtler aspects of filmmaking, director James Macdonald gives us a portrait of two slightly off-beat characters becoming friendly in a way that evokes a wide range of emotions with deftness and respect.””
"Heavy Lifting," writer/director James Macdonald's 2011 short film, impressed judges and audiences at movie festivals across the country. From Brooklyn to Los Angeles, the film garnered multiple awards in the categories of Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress.
Awarded Best Director and Best Screenplay at the Hollywood Reel Independent Festival, organizers said, "...Despite the small scope of the picture, everything about it shows a virtuosity and understanding about the subtler aspects of filmmaking. Director James Macdonald give us a portrait of two slightly off-beat characters becoming friendly in a way that evokes a wide range of emotions with deftness and respect. A quiet masterpiece that we cannot recommend enough."
"Heavy Lifting" culminated its tour of the festival circuit at the NYC Picture Start Festival, where it won Best Short Film, Best Actor and Best Actress awards. At the awards ceremony, organizing director Ben Arredonde told the audience, "From the moment I first saw Heavy Lifting, I knew we had something very special. I'm not surprised it won the festival."
The below photos were from the Famous Baby book tour. Scroll down to view short book trailer.
Famous Baby, a novel by Karen Rizzo, wisely and hilariously explores mother love, identity, and the hazards of parental over-sharing in the social media age.
"This deft first novel uses a driven professional blogger and her resentful daughter as a springboard for a satirical exploration of the modern American family . . . a very pleasing debut." —Publishers Weekly