Featuring Elisabeth Moss of “Mad Men” fame, A BUDDY STORY tells the tale of Buddy (Gavin Bellour), a struggling NYC musician touring the northeast with his pet turtle.  Buddy’s neighbor Susan (Elisabeth Moss) seeks an opportunity for escape from her abusive boyfriend, and tags along on Buddy’s tour. From a rough biker bar to a 100-year-old’s birthday party and other odd stops along the way, Buddy and Susan come to realize that it’s not the road’s end that matters, but rather the road itself.  The route to happiness is long and bumpy, better bring some good tunes along for the ride.

Footage of a dead alien recovered from a crashed UFO found in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947 shocked the world in 1995. The body was moved to Hanger 18 at Area 51. Until now, no one has known the truth behind the “Alien Autopsy Footage.” For over fifteen years the creators of the infamous film have remained silent. Now Ray Santilli and Gary Shoefield reveal all, including the truth about sinister Men in Black invading their lives; how the Chinese knew about the original footage; their beliefs in alien visitation to planet Earth; how governments around the globe are dealing with the phenomenon; and the genetic manipulation of humankind. An unprecedented perspective on the UFO enigma and what it means for us all, ALIEN FROM AREA 51 will test your beliefs and rattle you to the core. See the entire “Alien Autopsy Footage,” unedited and uncensored. The time is coming for alien intervention on planet Earth whether we are ready or not.

God Save My Shoes is the first documentary to explore the intimate relationship that ties women to their shoes. To understand why shoes are the most addictive and seductive fashion accessory, God Save my Shoes journeyed into women’s psyches and closets, examining the psychological, sociocultural, and erotic significance of shoes. The quest to decipher why shoes trigger such passion among most women (and quite a few men) took the production to New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Toronto, Milan, and Florence to interview all those who play a role in the global shoe phenomenon: extreme shoe-lovers and everyday women, fashion historians and editors, psychologists, sex experts, as well as shoe fetishists. Witty, glamorous, insightful and sassy, this film brings an offbeat and captivating answer to the universal relationship between women and their shoes.

A meddling matriarch (Kathleen Turner) is determined to reign her husband (Michael McGrady) and two grown children into her image of what the “perfect family” should be. When her son (Jason Ritter) and daughter (Emily Deschanel) choose to march to the beat of their own drums, the fur begins to fly.

1. Introduce yourself and your film.
My name is Jasmine McGlade Chazelle, I’m 26 years old, and I live in Venice, CA. I wrote and directed MARIA MY LOVE, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film is about a young woman who learns to open up and process her mother’s death with the help of the people she meets — a new boyfriend, her step sister, and a compulsive hoarder — over the course of one Los Angeles spring.

2. How did you become interested in filmmaking?
Growing up I always had a passion for writing, photography, art, and acting. As I got older I realized filmmaking was the ultimate way to marry my interests and take advantage of my strengths, and soon discovered that I was really a director by nature. Before entering college I knew I wanted to study filmmaking and I actually considered going to film school. However, I am so lucky to have found the filmmaking department at Harvard, where I ended up going, which is just so special. I had amazing professors and mentors there, such as documentary filmmaker Robb Moss, and starting out making non-fiction films, which I think forever informed the kind of filmmaker I became/want to be. I am inherently interested in people, human behavior, the way we make sense of life, and the beauty in both the ordinary and the extraordinary. I’ve always had a real indie, DIY, resourceful spirit and believe you can do a lot with a little. In general, I just love the challenge of creating and recreating in order to make sense of it all and, ultimately, to connect to other human beings.

3. Tell us about your inspiration and vision for the film.
The idea first came the night of the world premiere of a film I produced called “Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench”. My high school friend Lauren Fales showed up unexpectedly to the premiere and I hadn’t seen her in over five years, during our senior year of high school. After the screening she told me her mother had passed away from cancer and that she’d been struggling. I was really touched by her story and by her honesty in recounting what she’d gone through. I was looking for a first feature idea and had an instinct during that conversation that this was it. I’m not one to ignore serendipitous meetings or gut feelings, so I went back home and started working on putting it together. I really enjoyed developing the other characters in the story, especially the eccentric Maria played by Karen Black.

In terms of my vision for the film, I wanted to blend non-fiction and fiction. I wanted to shoot it more like a doc than a straight narrative and incorporate improv and hand-held shooting. As a result, this required everyone involved — from the actors to our DP — to be very flexible, adaptable, and free. My aim was to get naturalistic, strong performances and so we worked and reworked scenes over and over again on set to achieve this. In terms of the look, I was very adamant, obsessive even, about capturing vibrant, popping color in everything from the costumes to the environment. I wanted Ana — who is closed off — to be surrounded by intense and vivid signs of life. So as to be spurred back to life by the people and environment around her. I also wanted to shoot and portray Los Angeles in a fresh way — to show a version of LA with lots of flowers and people walking everywhere and eye-catching murals and what not. This alternative reality absolutely exists here, I promise.

4. What were some of the biggest challenges in making and completing the film?
We had very limited resources. We had to constantly cobble together money at each step of the process, and that makes things extra stressful. But I am really proud of what we did with such limited means. Micro-budget films really require sacrifices from everyone involved with the projects, and I think you can tell “Maria My Love” was a true labor of love. I hope it also shows that you can really do a lot with a very small budget. Especially in terms of quality of acting and the look of a film.

5. If this is your 1st film, what will you take away from the experience that you can apply to the next? If this is not your 1st film, what do you recall from your 1st film that you?ve applied to each one following?
It may be a filmmaking basic, but it became extremely apparent in the making of this film that it’s not about a good take or a bad take, it’s about getting variety so you have options in the editing room. Especially because of the improv and documentary aspects, the challenge was we had a massive pile of material — almost every take with different dialogue and staging. I wanted that challenge because it really allowed us to get to what was important for me — the vibrancy, the naturalism, the emotional truth. I don’t think that is the right approach for every film. Even for my future work I’ll only work that way if the particular project dictates that kind of process. But, imagining the film has its own will, t’s exactly what this one wanted to be.

6. What’s next?
I’ve just been selected for Film Independent’s 2012 Director’s Lab (takes place February and March) with a feature I’ve written called “The Fencer.” This script is about the mind, life, and demons of a female athlete vying for a spot on the US Olympic Fencing Team, and the loneliness of someone trying to achieve greatness in a sport that offers no chance for fame or fortune. I grew up a competitive fencer and competed at a very high level so this is my baby. I am really eager to provide an authentic glimpse into the intense world of fencing and marry my creates passions — fencing and filmmaking. In addition to looking for people to help get that project off the ground, I’m also working on a number of other scripts including a female driven Boston crime movie. I just can’t wait to make my next film, whichever it may be!

7. In the spirit of independent cinema and Gravitas Ventures, what is your favorite indie film?
Making me narrow it down to just one… that’s mean and too hard! How about I give you three? One of my favorite American fiction indie’s is Cassavetes’s “A Woman Under the Influence.” Nonfiction goes to Frederick Wiseman’s “High School.” And one of my favorite foreign indies’s is Audiard’s “A Prophet.”