2007 Silver Lake Film Festival
Spirit of Silver Lake Music Pioneer Award
John Doe

Saturday, May 12, 2007- EchoPlex

John Doe was the co-founder, songwriter, vocalist, and bassist of one of America's most acclaimed alternative rock bands, X, and while he continues to write and record new material, he has also carved out a reputation as a busy and well-regarded character actor. Born in Decatur, IL, but fascinated by beat poetry and eager to hone his skills as a writer, John moved to Venice, CA, in 1976; early the next year, John adopted the stage name John Doe and began dipping his toes into Los Angeles's burgeoning punk rock scene. The next year, X was born; which blended the power and speed of punk rock with the melodies and accents of rockabilly, blues, and roots rock, all coupled with Doe and Exene Cervenka's hard-edged but literate lyrics about California's underclass. X quickly earned a reputation as one of the strongest bands to emerge from the American punk rock scene. As X's popularity in Los Angeles grew, the band began attracting the attention of a variety of filmmakers. Penelope Spheeris featured X in her seminal documentary about the LA punk scene, THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION, and the band recorded the title song for Jim McBridge’s remake of Jean-Luc Godard's BREATHLESS.  The band split up in 1993 but reunited for a series of live shows in 1998 and tours periodically; their latest album was 2005 “Live In Los Angeles,” recorded at the House of Blues.  Doe also has a vibrant solo career: “Freedom Is...” was released by the SpinArt label in 2000, the semi-acoustic “Dim Stars, Bright Sky” appeared on Artists Direct in 2002, and the subtle but aggressive “Forever Hasn't Happened Yet” arrived via Yep Roc in 2005.

But John Doe has also had a vibrant acting career along with his musical efforts. In 1985, Doe landed his first acting role in BORDER RADIO (directed by Allison Anders, Kurt Voss and Dean Lent). Two years later, he was cast in Oliver Stone’s SALVADOR and Wayne Wang’s neo-noir drama SLAM DANCE. Since then Doe’s roles have run the gamut in a variety of films – PURE COUNTRY, WYATT EARP, GREAT BALLS OF FIRE, BOOGIE NIGHTS, and THE GOOD GIRL. He also had recurring roles on the Fox  Network series “Roswell” and HBO’s “Carnivale.”

Silver Lake Film Festival is thrilled to present punk rock icon John Doe with a Music Pioneer Award.

2007 Silver Lake Film Festival
Spirit of Silver Lake Music Pioneer Award
Alice Bag

Saturday, May 5, 2007- Jensen Rec Center Studios

Born and raised in East L.A., Alice Bag began singing at the age of 8, dubbing cartoons into Spanish and recording the theme songs. By the time she left junior high she had become fascinated with the glitter rock scene and music by T. Rex, Bowie and the New York Dolls. In 1976, she and Patricia Rainone began auditioning musicians for an all-girl punk band: The Bags were born.

Featured in the seminal 1981 film THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION by Penelope Spheeris, and notable for having two strong female members, The Bags were one of the first and most popular bands of the early L.A. punk scene. After the breakup of the band, Alice went on to perform in many different groups, finally joining the pop-punk group Cholita! with Vaginal Davis in the late 80’s. Subsequently, she formed the acoustic group Las Tres, specifically to perform original songs written from a Chicana perspective. The group was a critical and local favorite and led to a spin-off project, Goddess 13, which became the subject of a PBS documentary.

Alice took a break from writing and performing when her daughter as born in the mid-90’s. Soon realizing that this role alone was not completely fulfilling, she started Stay At Home Bomb - an all female punk outfit whose music addresses domestic roles, images of femininity and every woman’s burning desire to kick ass onstage. 

In honor of her continued challenges to the male-dominated worlds of punk and rock, Silver Lake Film Festival is honored to present Alice with the 2007 Music Pioneer Award.

2007 Silver Lake Film Festival
Spirit of Silver Lake Music Visionary Award
Keith Morris

Thursday, May 3, 2007- EchoPlex

Born in Hermosa Beach, California, Keith Morris and guitarist Greg Ginn formed Black Flag during the late '70s, quickly making a name for themselves with their genre-defining, original sound. Black Flag’s first release (Nervous Breakdown) is often credited as having single-handedly put the L.A. Hardcore sound on the map. Leaving the band in 1979, Morris went on to join The Circle Jerks. He continued to churn out confrontational punk music into well into the late 80’s, when the band broke up.

Keith Morris was stricken with a bout of bad health in the late 90’s. The music community rallied to his support with a host of benefit shows. Ultimately recovering, Morris came back on the scene with his band ‘Midget Handjob’, as well as working and playing with legendary musicians such as Henry Rollins and Bad Religion.

Keith currently works as an A&R manager at V2 Records while continuing to perform with Circle Jerks. He’s recently been featured in the My Chemical Romance song "Hang 'Em High" and the Wrangler Brutes song "Driving", as the voice of God.

Shit, man. Who are we to argue?

2007 Silver Lake Film Festival
Spirit of Silver Lake Filmmaker's Award
Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris

Saturday, May 5, 2007- Barnsdall

Husband-and-wife filmmaking team Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the co-directors of the multiple Oscar-winning LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, are being honored tonight with the Spirit of Silver Lake Award in a very special tribute to their career achievements in film and music video.  

The couple met at UCLA in the late 1970’s where Jonathan was studying film and television and Valerie dance. During the 1980’s, introducing bands such as R.E.M. and The Red Hot Chili Peppers on their ground breaking MTV show “The Cutting Edge,” Dayton and Faris continued to work in music television directing music videos and documentaries for bands and performers such as The Smashing Pumpkins, Jane's Addiction, Macy Gray, Janet Jackson, Oasis, Weezer, and The Ramones. Their music productions have earned them two Grammy Awards, nine MTV Music Video Awards and a Billboard Music "Director of the Year" Award.

In 1998, Jonathan and Valerie co-founded Bob Industries, one of the country's leading commercial production companies, directing commercials for VW, Sony Playstation, Gap, Target, Ikea, Apple, and ESPN, among others.  Dayton and Faris have won two Clio Awards and continue to push the medium into new vistas.

Aside from their work in music videos and commercials, Dayton and Faris have done extensive work in television and film, including directing episodes of "Mr. Show with Bob and David" for HBO and producing two feature films: THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION, PART II: THE METAL YEARS for New Line Cinema and GIFT for Warner Bros.

Their most recent work, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, won an ovation at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and garnered numerous other awards and nominations, including two Oscars and the Cesar Award for Best Foreign Film.

2007 Silver Lake Film Festival
Spirit of Silver Lake Filmmaker's Award
Hal Hartley

Thursday, May 3, 2007- Barnsdall

Described by Rolling Stone as “a fervently inventive original” and by the New York Times as “one of the most industrious and least compromising artists in America," Hartley was born in Islip, Long Island, into a family of union ironworkers. His films are often set on Long Island, themed with characters uncomfortable with technology or at odds with local culture.

Hartley’s first films --THE UNBELIEVABLE TRUTH, SURVIVING DESIRE, SIMPLE MEN and TRUST -- were quickly embraced by a generation of art house audiences. TRUST won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance in 1991, and a retrospective of Hartley’s work was presented at the Rotterdam Film Festival in 1992. Two years later, he won the Young Filmmakers Award at the 1994 Tokyo International Film Festival for his film AMATEUR, which also premiered at the Cannes Director’s Fortnight of that year. 

Hartley was made a Chevalier of Arts and Letters by the Republic of France in 1997 and won the Best Screenplay award at Cannes in 1998 for his film HENRY FOOL. He taught filmmaking at Harvard University from September 2001 until May 2004. More recently, he was awarded a fellowship by the American Academy in Berlin.  FAY GRIM is his tenth feature film.

Most directors, obtaining success in the indie world, cast their lot in the safer haven of the studio system. Not Hal Hartley. Each film he makes continues to reflect his own indomitable, creative vision.

2007 Silver Lake Film Festival
Spirit of Silver Lake Filmmaker's Award
Parker Posey

Thursday, May 3, 2007- Barnsdall

Parker Posey has charm galore – and a blazing talent for comedy displayed in over 40 feature films. Crowned "the Queen of the Indies" by Time magazine, Posey made her indie debut in Richard Linklater's 1993 DAZED AND CONFUSED and had her breakthrough role in 1995 with PARTY GIRL, playing a down on her luck diva forced to become a librarian. In roles such as the Dairy Queen waitress in Christopher Guest’s WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, famed gallery owner Mary Boone in BASQUIAT, Hope Davis’ sister in DAY TRIPPERS, the shrieking dog owner in BEST IN SHOW and the beleaguered Fay in the aforesaid HENRY FOOL, Posey has proven over and over how much she merits her royal title.

Posey also occasionally traverses over into mainstream features and TV, playing such characters as Tom Hanks’ narcissistic book editor girlfriend in Nora Ephron’s YOU’VE GOT MAIL and a ruthless upstart in CBS’s HELL ON HEELS: THE BATTLE FOR MARY KAY, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination.
It’s her zestful individuality that makes us love her, that and her ability to turn deeply flawed characters inside out, to find their humor and humanity, and make us love them as well.