America 1979 – The Series invited to IFP Film Week
I found out the exciting news on Facebook, if you can believe it, when a fellow filmmaker congratulated me and posted this article.
read moreAmerica 1979 on Amazon Prime!
America 1979 is on Amazon Prime!
read moreNYWIFT screens America 1979 Tues Nov 29 @ 7pm
Join us for the New York Women in Film and Television (NYWIFT) Screening Series on Tuesday November 29th at 7pm at Anthology Film Archives.
read moreAmerica 1979 at the Manhattan Film Festival Sat. 4/16 @ 5pm
*note: new screening time: 5pm* Recently named “One of the coolest film festivals in the world,”
read moreAmerica 1979 at the New York Peace Film Festival – Sat. 4/ 2 @ 3pm
The mission of the New York Peace Film Festival (NYPFF) is to present films from around the world that advance global peace.
read moreAmerica 1979 screes at CAAMFEST in San Francisco Wed 3/16, 6:20pm
The Center for Asian American Media will be holding it’s 33rd annual festival celebrating Asian American film, food and culture. We are humbled to be invited to share America 1979 at one of the longest running Asian American Film Festivals in the country.
read moreAmerica 1979 wins the Audience Award at Indieworks
Last weeks screening at the Indieworks Monthly Screening Series was everything we expected and more.
read moreAmerica 1979 screens at Indieworks Monthly Series in NYC Wed 2/17 @ 6:30pm
This casual screening series in it’s 3rd year takes place in the back room of a bar and features short films made by NYC filmmakers. And it’s free! Come have a drink with us and check out some films!
read moreAn Interview with Mash-Up Americans
While I was in Los Angeles for our Hollyshorts screening, I had the pleasure of meeting up with Mash-Up Americans’ editor Suevon Lee and talking about America 1979. Mash-Up Americans is a great website dedicated to all things American – from the multi-cultural and multi-ethnic perspective.
read moreAmerica 1979 screens in L.A. at HollyShorts Monthly Screening Series Thurs 1/21 @9pm <--NOTE TIME CHANGE
We’re very excited to return to Los Angeles to show America 1979! HollyShorts is one of the premier shot film festivals in the country. Click to see important updates!
read moreAmerica 1979 screens in Orlando, Florida on Thursday Nov. 12th, 2015 @ 12:45pm
Screening at the International Peace and Film Festival on Thursday November 12th at 12:45 pm!
read moreAmerica 1979 screens in Toronto at the Diaspora Film Fest on Sat Nov 7, 2015
A rare opportunity to see America 1979 in Toronto!
read moreAmerica 1979 screens at the Philadephia Asian American Film Festival Sat Nov 21, 2015 @ 2:15
Hey Philadephians! Join us for a free screening! (click the image above to read more)
read moreAmerica 1979 Screens at New Filmmakers NYC November 25, 2015
If you are spending Thanksgiving in the city, come unwind with us with us at New Filmmakers first Iranian Film Series. New Filmmakers is a series that’s been around well over 10 years, and has expanded to Los Angeles.
read moreAmerica 1979 screens in Brooklyn on October 24th
Please join us on Saturday October 24th at 1pm for a screening of America 1979, in our home town of Brooklyn, NY. The screening takes place on the Long Island University Campus in Brooklyn…(click the image above to read more)
read moreTwo Q/A’s with writer director Lila Yomtoob
Thank you to Karmel Melamed at the Jewish Journal and Ed Moy at the The Examiner for profiling America 1979 in celebration of the film’s screening at The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. The Jewish Journal article was shared over 300 times on Facebook!
From The Jewish Journal ….(click on the image above to read more)
read moreScreening Tuesday April 28th at 7pm
Thank you to the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Film Festival for recognizing America 1979. If you are planning to attend, it’s a good idea to get your tickets in advance…click the image above to read more
read moreAmerica 1979 receives a Puffin Foundation Grant
We are very pleased to share that America 1979 has been awarded a grant from the Puffin Foundation to continue our outreach and distribution efforts. We are humbled to be included amongst the important projects Puffin supports. A bit about the Puffin Foundation: The Puffin Foundation Ltd. has sounght to open the doors of artistic expression by providing grants to artists and art organizations who are often excluded from mainstream opportunitites due to their race, gender, or social philosophy. Why the Puffin? The Puffin, once endangered in the northeastern United States, was returned to it’s native habitats through the efforts of a concerned citizenry. Our name is a metaphor for how we perceive our mission in the arts: to join with the other concerned groups and individuals to ensure that the arts not merely survive, but thrive at all levels of our society. To learn more, visit... read moreNoor Iranian Film Festival 10/19/14 tickets and after party
Tickets for the “America 1979” screening at the Noor Iranian Film Festival in Beverly Hills, CA are now available for purchase online.
Sunday October 19th at 3:30 pm
Laemmle’s Theater Music Hall 3
9036 Wilshire Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
purchase tickets here
SAG Foundation Short Film Showcase 2014
October 1, 2014 – 7:00pm – NYC This is a private screening for members of SAG/AFTRA. Check the SAG Foundation website for more information. Here is more information that was not shown in the... read moreNoor Iranian Film Festival
October 19, 2014 – 3:30pm – LA Our Los Angeles Premier is coming soon on October 19 at 3:30pm. Check out the Noor Film Festival Site for tickets and details. Here is more information that was not shown in the... read moreA Few Photos from the set of “America 1979”
We are taking a short break from editing, which gives me a few extra free moments to share some photos with you! Cast and Crew try out their hand at cursive on the blackboard. From left to right: Andre Gulik (Extra) Liene Dobraja (wardrobe designer) Sondra James (Ms. Ambrose) Greg Horoupian (producer) Guy Kozak (production designer) and Yessica Curiel-Montoya (swing). From left to right: Lila Yomtoob (Director/Producer), Adrian Correia (Director of Photography), Kathy Lee (Location Sound Mixer), Solya Spiegel (Regina), Anne Pope (boom operator) and our classroom extras prepare for a classroom scene. Jordan Gatti (grip), Yessica Curiel-Montoya (swing) and Chris Ungco (1st AC) make an eye patch for one of our crew members who got some dust in his eye. This crew could do anything. Nico Pollack (Bobby) and Chris Ungco (1st AC) rock out in Bobby’s groovy bedroom. From left to right: Nico Pollak (Bobby), Soraya Broukim (Roya), Solya Spiegel (Regina) and Ali Farahnakian (Bijan) posing for a family portrait. Julie Spiegel and Adriana Najera, the moms of our child stars. Big shout out for the moms for encouraging their kids to explore their creativity and be in the film. Roya (played by Soraya Broukhim, reaches out during rehearsal of the family meeting scene. Also in this photo: (from L to R) Anne Pope (boom operator) Zach Meyer (2snd Assistant Camera/DIT) Jordan Gatti (grip), Soraya Broukim (Roya) Nico Pollak (Bobby) and Solya Spiegel (Regina). Production Designer Guy Kozak puts finishing touched on the family living room. Director of Photography Adrian Correia surveys the next... read moreThe Scallion Wars: Passover Iranian Style
I felt honored to write this comedic expose of Passover Iranian Style for a great blog called Sex and Fessenjoon. I’M A JEWISH IRANIAN IRAQI AMERICAN. Yes, it’s a mouthful. Every year my family would have a Passover Seder. My mother would cook and clean for a week until relatives appeared, often sleeping over on any available surface in our house. My dad would sit at the head of the table with his special Hagada (prayer book), and lead a ritual that lasted all evening long. Take a... read moreAjam Media Collective
Thank you Ajam Media Collective, for asking me to write about my motivation for making “America 1979.” From the forward by Ajam editor Alex Shams: The Iran Hostage Crisis was a seminal event in the experiences of thousands of Iranian-Americans. Although many Iranians had settled in the United States in the decades prior to 1979, they had largely blended into the seemingly undifferentiated mass of olive-skinned immigrants who poured in following the repeal of the racialized immigration quotas in 1965. The Hostage Crisis dramatically transformed how Americans understood Iranians as well as how Iranian-Americans viewed themselves. Once peculiarly exotic, Iranians suddenly emerged as the primary targets of a xenophobic American rage that led to a wave of hate crimes and widespread discrimination. To read the rest of the article, go to:... read moreCasting children’s roles for “America 1979” on Wed. July 24th
AMERICA 1979 **Casting Notice** seeking children for short film AMERICA 1979 is a short film about a 9 year old girl who experiences racism at school and how her experience trickles down through her family. What makes this film different is that the girl is Iranian American and it takes place during the 1979 Hostage Crisis. AMERICA 1979 is directed and produced by Emmy Award winning Iranian American filmmaker Lila Yomtoob. To learn more about the film, please visit www.america1979.com We are planning to shoot the film for three days in September 2013 in Long Island, Brooklyn, Queens or New Jersey. Compensation is $100/day for 3 days. There will also be rehearsal dates in August. We are auditioning children at the Great Neck Arts Center – 113 Middle Neck Road, Great Neck, NY 11021 on Wednesday July 24th from 5:00-8:00pm. No acting experience necessary. If possible, please bring a printed photo with you to the audition. The audition will between 5 and 15 minutes. If you have any questions, or would like to send your photo ahead of time please email artscasting@gmail.com. It is preferred that the children are Iranian American, but it’s also ok if they are other ethnicities but pass for Middle Eastern. Following are descriptions of the children we are looking for: Regina – a 8-10 years old girl, who speaks English with an American accent. Smart and quiet, with a spark of troublemaker. An avid reader. Medium to long black or brown hair. Bobby – a 13-15 year old boy, who speaks English with an American accent. Slim, preferably with grown out, shaggy hair. Naïve and respectful, but grumpy toward... read moreFundraising Campaign through Indiegogo.com launching July 8th!
We are gearing up for our big fundraising campaign! Soon we’ll be providing a link to the donation page, where you will be able to see a cute and passionate video of Lila asking for money, and the fun giveaways we are offering as a bigTHANK YOU to our contributors. Stay... read more…and we’re back!
After an unexpected hiatus, “America 1979” is back in action with production scheduled for September 2013. Please follow us on Twitter and Facebook for frequent... read moreA Grant from The Brooklyn Arts Council
Thank you Brooklyn Arts Council, for your generous grant! Because of you we are one step closer to our goal. read moreInterview with Suzi Khatami at KIRN Los Angeles
Ms. Suzi Khatami graciously invited me onto her radio show during my quick visit to LA a few weeks ago. She is such an important part of Tehrangeles culture, that I am increasingly psyched every time she has me back. In case you missed it, you can listen to part of the interview... read moreFundraising Has Begun
You can make a tax-deductible contribution to our Nest Egg Campaign, by clicking here. The Nest Egg Campaign is our first round of fundraising that will contribute equipment and website upgrades, as well as future fundraising activity. All donations, no matter what size, are greatly appreciated. “America 1979” is a project of Yomtoob Film, which is sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of “America 1979” must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by... read moreMickey Mouse says “Hey Iran! F-YOU!”
Today I was researching imagery to use in the “America 1979” fund raising video. I remembered a friend telling me about a bumper sticker that cropped up in 1979 that read “We Play Cowboys and Iranians.” I was hoping to find visual proof of this bumper sticker, that so far has not been preserved online. But I did find a few images of Mickey Mouse giving the middle finger with the text “Hey Iran!” I found these images as a signature in a forum, and as an illustration to an article discussing the post 9/11 war in Afghanistan. We all know that Afghanistan and Iran are separate countries, and that 32 years has passed since this Mickey Mouse image was issued. So why continue to use this image? It’s hard to tell why these individuals used these images. It seems to me that the villainization of Iranians (and all Middle-Easterners) that began in 1979 with the hostage crisis has never died, and remains an undercurrent in the portrayal of the middle east in the media, and in the psyche of many Americans. I couldn’t possibly end this without mentioning a forum thread from 2008 that I found, about a poster that featured a “guy holding the sword next to the Iranian hanging from a noose” and ends with “let’s get together and shoot another one!” I made this short film about an Iranian American family living in the US during the time of the hostage crisis, to show what what life was like. You can rent it below. ... read moreLila blogs about blogging for Jon Reiss’s “Think Outside the Box Office”
For those unfamiliar, Jon Reiss literally wrote the book on new methods of independent film distribution – it’s called – yes, you guessed right – “Think Outside the Box Office.” I was consulting his blog as I as writing the outline for a class on marketing and distribution that I was teaching at Union Docs for Raindance and I decided I would write him a thank you note for putting together such an important compendium of resources. I was quite surprised when he asked me to write a guest post for his blog. And so what did this comedienne decide to blog about? I blogged about blogging. I wasn’t even trying to be funny! But really folks, I do alot of blogging as a producer, because I think it helps in so many ways. Check out the article... read moreListen to the KIRN interview here
In late October I visited Suzi Khatami at KIRN radio in Los Angeles. You can listen to an 8 minute clip of the interview here, or the full interview here.
read moreHe was Parsi (didn’t speak Farsi) but Freddy Mercury still Rocked Me
I had always loved Queen growing up, and at some point someone told me that he was Iranian. The swell of pride I felt!
read more