MARK AND MICHAEL POLISH:

THE ASTRONAUT FARMER

Born in El Centro, California in the early 1970's, Mark and Michael Polish—the identical twins collectively known as the Polish Brothers—have previously written, produced, and directed three feature films: Twin Falls Idaho, Jackpot, and Northfork. After the premiere of their first film at the Sundance Film Festival in 1999, Janet Maslin of The New York Times declared, "Twin Falls Idaho has style, gravity and originality to spare". The Polish Brothers' second film Jackpot was named the winner of the 2001 Independent Spirit Award's John Cassavetes Award as well as the 2001 Seattle International Film Festival's New American Cinema Award. Northfork, starring James Woods, Daryl Hannah, and Nick Nolte, was an official selection of the 2003 Sundance Film Festival that garnered rave reviews, among them Roger Ebert's who hailed their third film as "a masterpiece". The Polish Brothers' balance of artistic integrity and popular appeal have also attracted the attention of the advertising and music industries: they were chosen to direct the music video for the hit single "Sunrise" from Duran Duran's latest album as well as create five original short films that will be seen on the legendary pop band's upcoming DVD. Mark and Michael Polish were also commissioned to create two TV spots for international insurance giant Aegon. Recounting their artistic rite of passage for aspiring movie makers everywhere, Mark and Michael Polish have written The Declaration of Independent Filmmaking, a practical guide to writing, shooting, editing, scoring, promoting, and distributing short and feature films, which was recently published by Harcourt.

Panelists:

The current list of 2006 Filmmaker Forum speakers:

• Stephanie Allain (producer, Hustle & Flow)
• Aric Avelino (director, American Gun)
• Peter Broderick (Paradigm Consulting)
• Effie T. Brown (producer, Real Women Have Curves)
• Caldecott Chubb (ChubbCo) [Indie Community Lunch Hour host]
• Howard Cohen (Roadside Attractions)
• Patrick Creadon (director, Wordplay)
• Eric d'Arbeloff (Roadside Attractions)
• Mark Damon (Foresight Unlimited)
• Neill dela Llana (co-writer/co-director, Cavite)
• Kirby Dick (director, This Film is Not Yet Rated)
• Michael Donaldson (lawyer and author, Negotiating for Dummies) [Indie Community Lunch Hour host]
• Lindsay Doran (producer, Stranger Than Fiction)
• Dan Dubiecki (director, Thank You For Smoking)
• Udy Epstein (Seventh Art Releasing) [Indie Community Lunch Hour host]
• Mesh Flinders (lonelygirl15)
  
• Ian Gamazon (co-writer/co-Director, Cavite)
• Richard Gladstein (FilmColony)
• Micah Green (CAA)
• Rebecca Green (Linda Obst Productions) [Indie Community Lunch Hour host]
• Callum Greene (co-producer, Marie Antoinette)
• Matthew Greenfield (Fox Searchlight)
• Robert Greenwald (Director, Iraq for Sale )
• Greg Harrison (director, November) [Indie Community Lunch Hour host]
• Preston Holmes (producer, Waist Deep)
• Craig Kestel (William Morris Agency) [Indie Community Lunch Hour host]
• Sam Kitt (executive producer, Sucker Free City)
• Richard Klubeck (UTA)
  
• Ted Kroeber (producer, American Gun)
• Linda Lichter (Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler, and Goodman)
• David Magdael (TC:DM & Associates)
• Gail Mutrux (producer, Kinsey)
• Christine O'Malley (producer, Wordplay)
• Joe Pichirallo (Overbrook Entertainment) [Indie Community Lunch Hour host]
• John Pierson (keynote speaker)
• Mark and Michael Polish (The Astronaut Farmer)
• Rich Raddon (director, Los Angeles Film Festival)
• Peggy Rajski (executive producer, Bee Season)
• Ben Rekhi (producer/director, Waterborne)
• Danielle Renfrew (producer, November)
• Kendall Morgan Rhodes (producer, Southland Tales)
• Rena Ronson (William Morris Independent)
• Ted Sarandos (Netflix)
• Jeff Schenck (Regent Studios)
• John Sloss (Cinetic Media)
• Victoria Thomas (casting director)
• Nancy Utley (Fox Searchlight)
• Cameron Watson (writer/director, Our Very Own)
• Eric Watson (producer, The Fountain)
• Lance Weiler (producer/writer/director, Head Trauma)
• Wash Westmoreland (co-writer/co-director, Quinceañera)
• Greg Whiteley (New York Doll)
• Caveh Zahedi (director, I Am a Sex Addict)
• Amotz Zakai (Echo Lake Entertainment) [Indie Community Lunch Hour host]
• David Zeiger (producer/director, Sir! No Sir!)