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Richard Parkin's Spotlight-winning "Contra el Mar" takes LACMA prize

Posted on March 12th 2012 in Announcement

Indiewire reports that “Contra el Mar,” a Spotlight-winning short by TFT student Richard Parkin, took the top prize at the 2012 LACMA Muse Young Directors Night event over the March 11 weekend. TFT alumnus Topher Osborn MFA ’08 (“An African Election”) was the film’s director of photography.

From Indiewire: "LACMA hosted its eleventh annual Young Directors Night on Satuday, showcasing seven short films from student filmmakers around Los Angeles. Presented by Muse, the event’s mission statement is to “not only be a film exhibition, but also to create an educational experience highlighting the intricacies of the filmmaking process.” Following the screening, LACMA curator Elvis Mitchell, Film Independent’s Josh Welsh and Maggie Mackay led a fun and succinct panel.

Richard Parkin, who directed the Mexican subtitled film “Contra El Mar,” talked about the importance of tight narrative screenwriting, and that he had to resist “falling victim to [the tendancy of] a new piece of story information means a new scene.”

The exhibition doubled as a competition, with the host panel and audience voting for the best in show. Parkin’s deserving “Contra El Mar” took home the prize, and he also received an all-access pass to Film Independent’s upcoming L.A. Film Festival 2012.