NEW YORK, March 28, 2011 PRNewswire

The Roger Smith Hotel is taking its creative and innovative brand to the next level with the launch of The Roger Smith Shorts, a series of six short films shot in the hotel by emerging filmmakers. The short narratives are directed by Aleks Degtyarev, Abianne Prince, John Birdsong, John Knowles, and Melissa Gonzales. The mid-town Manhattan boutique hotel is partnering with high quality video platform The FreeStyle Life in order to connect with consumers through traditional, social and mobile media. John Knowles, Director of Innovation at the Roger Smith Hotel, explains, “The quality of the viewers experience with relevant contextual marketing The FreeStyle Life provides a unique opportunity for us at the Roger Smith Hotel to further our community engagement.” The films’ online release kicks off in conjunction with the hotel’s new rewards program Roger’s Rewards.

The initiative is one that looks to give back to those who participate in the conversation. Each individual who comments on or reviews any of the six short films will receive $100 worth of Roger’s Rewards, which can be applied to a two night minimum stay in a Roger Smith Suite.  Terms and conditions apply.

The FreeStyle life provides a great compliment to the creative culture that is Roger Smith,” Knowles comments. “A platform that combines contextual marketing with groundbreaking documentaries, thought provoking films, and music videos by world-renowned artists, The FreeStyle Life is building a niche in the high end web video market.  ?CEO of The FreeStyle Life, Tommy Swanhaus, comments, “The use of film as a medium of connection through story telling along side the Roger Smith Hotel back drop makes the series a unique fit to The Free Life brand.” The Roger Smith Shorts films can be watched and voted on via The FreeStyle Life’s Tribe page (http://thefreestylelife.com/tribe.html).  The Roger Smith Shorts are Check Mate, The End, Shoe Fits, Hair Ball, Mother Teressa’s Hiatus, and the Counterpane Fairy. Enjoy the Roger Smith Shorts and be sure to share, comment and engage.

In, “On the rocks”, two dudes are confronted with the task of scoring ice for drinks for their dates. What happens to them on this journey is both destructive and life affirming. The protaganists are faced with a grisly task in order to get the ice cold redemption which they seek. We are faced with the question: Will this experience put their friendship “on the rocks” or will it strengthen their resolve?

Directed by Sean Cunningham

Roger Smith Shorts Film Festival Workshop 2009

Cast: Joe Cummings, Brett Siddell, Dirk Keysser, Jillian Federman, Michal Freier, Brittany Angley, Rafael Pimentel
Crew: Written and Produced by Jonathan Monina & Sean Cunningham – Executive Producers: Brendan Crane and John Knowles – Assistant Director; Jonathan Monina – Production Coordinator: Leah Rose Damour – Production Assistant: Shon McGoy – Music by; Justin Vinokur, Adam Keller, Sean Cunningham, The Foot Clan – Set Design; Leah Rose Damour – Lighting; Jonathan Monina – Sound; Michael Parish – Director of Photography; Sean Cunningham – Editor; Sean Cunningham

Website; http://herostatusfilms.com/

About the Roger Smith Shots
With support from Ghetto Film School, Brooklyn Brewery and the Roger Smith Hotels patronage to the arts, the Roger Smith Shorts 09 (Festival Workshop) was conceived. The concept was envisioned as a collaboration of creativity and ingenuity among visual storytellers and those who form the structure behind it.

Interview with the Director

The Roger Smith Shorts were created to engage an audience. Please share with us any feedback that you have. Be sure to comment, share and engage.

Thanks for watching.

About Roger Smith Shorts

The Roger Smith Shorts is a short narrative film series, that brings together emerging filmmakers to create original works all hosted at the Roger Smith Hotel in New York City. In August of 2009, 6 filmmakers were hosted at the Roger Smith Hotel to participate in the first biannual film festival workshop of its kind.

Roger Smith Shorts Film Festival 2009.

Fast forward to June 2010 for the second installment of the Roger Smith Shorts that were premiered in front of a sold out audience at the Brooklyn International Film Festival on June 11, 2010. All films were shot in and around the Roger Smith Hotel making it the backdrop for the entire series.

Roger Smith Shorts 2010

Stay tuned for a schedule of screenings for the Roger Smith Shorts.

It was an honor to introduce the Roger Smith Shorts at the venue in which they were created, to an audience of film creators and enthusiasts. In August 2009, 6 films were created as part of the Roger Smith Shorts FIlm Festival Workshop. The Roger Smith Hotel is a perfect venue to bring together creative individuals to explore the film-making process. The 2010 Roger Smith Shorts Directors and collaborators are; John Knowles, Aleks Degtyarev, John Birdsong, Abianne Prince and Melissa Gonzalez.

I think it is important to thank and recognize Paul Farkas and Sally Golan for putting together Social Cinema Week, better known as SoCin. It is a festival style gathering that will create platforms, networks and relationships that will help facilitate the convergence social media and cinema.

About SoCin
Social Media has changed the face of virtually every consumer-related industry. It is now a primary tool for marketing and distribution running the full range from webisodes, TV shows, networks, and major motion pictures alike. In socializing cinema, the very way audiences view and enjoy entertainment itself has changed as co-viewing evolves along new social platforms and added screen involvement. By situating cinema, programs and movies are moving outside beyond the theater and living room in real-time and becoming living media alongside our daily lives. Profound social good and edutainment increasingly results from the global connection and information provided by dramatically lower barriers of entry, user generated content, word or mouth and viralization.
SoCin recognizes the game-changing impact of Social Media and the web on the Film and TV industry. Its Social Cinema Week aims to provide balanced panels of leading experts from both Film and TV as well as those with social expertise. Importantly, SoCins new approach to industry networking parties provide intimate environments to take these conversations further, spark academic debate, and begin building Social Cinema best practices.

In the new world of the Social Internet it is a pleasure to be involved in its evolution. As a creator, an enthusiasts and a facilitator, I am thrilled to see the excitement and momentum happening in Midtown at the Roger Smith Hotel. We dare to follow our dreams and begin to believe that we should expect results. Destined and determined to achieve greatness we are humbled by the community and film-making process. What I have learned is that there is little time to sleep and all the time to dream.

Feedback is very important for our growth and community engagement. Be sure to follow our Roger Smith Short Tumblr account and reach out with comments.

http://therogersmithshorts.tumblr.com/

Thanks for your continued interest.

Panman

“Clean the Room”, is a film about mistaken identity and serendipity.   This physical comedy, which takes place in the Penthouse of the Roger Smith Hotel is a modern day Cinderella story in which the dreams of a maid strangely come true, while she cleans a messy hotel room. Clean the Room won Best Film at the Roger Smith Shorts Film Festival in August 2009.

About the Director

Dmitry Povolotsky is a writer, director, and choreographer living in Brooklyn. At the age of ten, he was selected to attend the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow to study classical ballet. After graduating from the academy nine years later, Dmitry was awarded a full scholarship to Juilliard in New York City where he received a BFA in modern dance and choreography.

Dmitry remained in New York City to perform with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet for eight seasons and to teach ballet and choreograph for inner city youth at the Harlem School of the Arts.

After making his first short film in 2003, Dmitry left the dance world to study film at Columbia University Film Division. PAL/SECAM, his thesis film, has played at 40 film festivals all over the world, has won several prestigious film awards and was sold to 6 territories so far.

Credits

Written and Directed by Dmitry Povolotsky

Story Idea by Bilge Ebiri
Executive Producers -?Brendan Crane, ?John Knowles
Cast?Maid – Susan Brady

Bobby – Michael Mason

Superstar – Sarah Lilley

Crew

Director of Photography – Christina Voros

Art Direction – Julia Cairo

Assistant Director – Rebecca Conroy

Sound – Marin Conroy

Editor – Julia Kots
Wardrobe Provided by CMarchuska and The Green Room NYC

Special Thanks to the Roger Smith Hotel

6 filmmakers created 6 short films at the Roger Smith Hotel in one week, in August 2009. The 2009 Roger Smith Shorts Directors are Daniel Brothers, Sean Cunningham, Sherng-Lee Huang, Jacob Mendel, Dmitry Povolotsky, Ted Wallach. Stay tuned for updates regarding the production of the 2010 Roger Smith Shorts.

“The Honeymoon Killer” by Shreng-Lee Huang

“Suite 15″ by Jacob Mendel

“Clean The Room” by Dmitry Povolotski

“Rabid Rocky” by Daniel Brothers

“Hotel Genius” by Ted Wallach

“On the Rocks” by Sean Cunningham

Who is Roger Smith?

The 2009 Roger Smith Shorts will be released to the public for the first time since they were made on Tuesday, March 16th 2010. Stay tuned for more information.

Thanks for watching.

John Knowles