The 9th Annual HollyShorts Film Festival, running August 15-22, 2013, has announced that Matthew Modine will be the recipient of the 2013 Indie Maverick Award. The fest will screen his short film Jesus Was A Commie on opening night and a block of his short films on closing night. From the official press release:
SOLMont Events, the organizers of the upcoming 9th Annual HollyShorts Film Festival taking place August 15-22 at the TCL Chinese Theatres, are announcing that Matthew Modine will be the recipient of the 2013 Indie Maverick Award during it’s opening night celebration. Past honorees include Paul Haggis, David Lynch, Eli Roth, and last year, Joe Carnahan. As part of the celebration, Modine will showcase his purposefully provocative short film JESUS WAS A COMMIE on opening night.
In addition, Modine will speak with the festival’s filmmakers during the theatrical special screening of ShortsHD’s presentation of THE SHORT FILMS OF MATTHEW MODINE, a collection of Modine’s short films spanning two decades that will close the festival on Thursday, August 22 at 9:30pm. Tickets are available now for both opening night and the closing program. The Short Films of Matthew Modine includes: When I Was a Boy (1993), Smoking (1995) Ecce Pirate (1996), To Kill An American (2005), I Think I Thought (2007), and Jesus Was A Commie. His shorts range in genre – ironic comedy, drama, historic adventure, and documentary narrative.
HollyShorts opening night will be hosted by Amy Paffrath (Hollywood Minute) and Alicia Malone (Fandango). Modine’s honoring completes a star-studded evening. At 5:30pm on Thursday, August 15, the festival will unspool alumni David Rodriguez’s feature film LAST I HEARD, which stars Paul Sorvino, Michael Rapaport, Renee Props, Andrea Nittoli, and Lev Gorn. Immediately following the feature film screening, the fest will have it’s 7:30pm shorts showcase which includes Chadwick Boseman’s (42) drama short HEAVEN, Dan Carrillo Levy’s ZERO HOUR starring Camilla Belle, Jaime Camil, written by Guillermo Arriaga. Thomas Jane and Director Phil Joanou will present PUNISHER: DIRTY LAUNDRY, Michael J. Weithorn will showcase his superhero short film THE SIDEKICK starring Rob Benedict, Ron Livingston, and Lizzy Caplan. Josh Levy will present his award-winning short comedy THE IMMIGRANT starring Scott Thompson, Dave Foley, Deborah Theaker Deadlee, Michael Cera, Margaret Cho, and Will Forte.
Matthew was named as “one of the best, most adaptable film actors of his generation” by legendary NY Times film critic Vincent Canby. He is known for starring in many acclaimed films including last summer’s blockbuster THE DARK KNIGHT RISES directed by Christopher Nolan. He can next be seen as former Apple CEO John Sculley in JOBS opposite Ashton Kutcher in the titular role (opening August 16th).
“Matthew Modine is a true Indie Film Maverick with a passion for short form content and we’re honored to present him with the 2013 HollyShorts Indie Maverick Award,” said Daniel Sol, festival co-founder and co-director. “We can’t wait for our filmmakers and attendees to check out the theatrical presentation of his collection of shorts, it’s a really great showcase.”
Modine has been nominated for three Golden Globes and collected one for Robert Altman’s Short Cuts. Matthew was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award (Equinox) and twice nominated for Emmy Awards (And the Band Played On and What the Deaf Man Heard) He has worked with many of the film industry’s most acclaimed directors including Oliver Stone, Sir Alan Parker, Stanley Kubrick, Robert Altman, Alan J. Pakula, John Schlesinger, Tony Richardson, Robert Falls, Sir Peter Hall, Abel Ferrara, Spike Lee, Tom DiCillo, Mike Figgis, Jonathan Demme, John Sayles, and Christopher Nolan. Modine is well remembered for the title character in Alan Parker’s Birdy, which won the Cannes Film Festival’s Gran Prix Award and as Private Joker in Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket. His short films have premiered at festivals the world over, including Sundance, Museum of Modern Art’s New Directors/New Films, AFI, and the Tribeca Film Festival.
