''Dinner With Fred'' is an American

live action Live action is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live action with animation to create a live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define film, video games o ...

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

. The film's run time is approximately 23 minutes. It was written and directed by

Ben Proudfoot Ben Proudfoot (born October 29, 1990) is a Canadian documentary filmmaker and entrepreneur. He has won two Academy Awards, the first ever awarded to The New York Times and the LA Times. Proudfoot is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Brea ...

and produced by Alex Kefalos, Matthew Quandt, and Aaron Rabkin. The film was shot on 35mm

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...

film stock using

Panavision Panavision Inc. is an American motion picture equipment company (law), company founded in 1954 specializing in cameras and photographic lens, lenses, based in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk a ...

cameras by director of photography Josh Lipton.

Outline

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Fred Conrad ( Adam John Harrington) was taken from a troop train in Europe and sent home to Canada to use his pre-war chicken raising skills to stop war-time food shortages. Fred and his wife Hilda (Austin Highsmith) turn a misfortunate change-of-plans into a career in humane poultry science that proves to hold meaning and purpose beyond Fred's wildest dreams. Supporting performances by Scott Lowell, Ron Orbach and Scott Laufer, the story shows what it means to serve one's country, even in unexpected ways.Snell, Joe
C Power Player: Matthew Quandt (Critical Studies)
January 6, 2012

About

Dinner with Fred was created by a diverse group of more than a hundred individuals, ranging from first-time student filmmakers to seasoned Oscar-winners including ( Kevin Haney,

Driving Miss Daisy '' Driving Miss Daisy'' is a 1989 American comedy drama film directed by Bruce Beresford and written by Alfred Uhry, based on Uhry's 1987 play. The film stars Jessica Tandy, Morgan Freeman, and Dan Aykroyd. Freeman reprised his role from th ...

and Greg A. Watkins, Dances with Wolves); writer and director Ben Proudfoot, and produced by Alex Kefalos, Matthew Quandt and Aaron Rabkin. The film was shot on of 35mm stock donated by

and a complete camera package from

.Cvercko, Charley
What They Gave Us: an interview with filmmaker Ben Proudfoot
, IndiFlix blog, May 22, 2012, accessed November 14, 2013 Casting director Scott David, C.S.A. assembled a cast of thirty professional actors including Adam Harrington and Austin Highsmith. Produced independently, Dinner with Fred was shot in the summer of 2010 in Fillmore,

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, and

Fort Bragg, California Fort Bragg is a city along the North Coast (California), North Coast of California in Mendocino County, California, Mendocino County. The city is west of Willits, California, Willits, at an elevation of . Its population was 6,983 at the 2020 ...

, where the cast and crew recreated 1944 Canada with an authentic period steam locomotive and dozens of costumed extras. One of the most thrilling moments of the production was when composer Kyle Malkin conducted his award-winning original score for an orchestra composed of

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

’ players, thanks to music contractor Peter Rotter. After premiering in Los Angeles in January 2011, Dinner with Fred began its successful nationwide festival run, garnering numerous awards and accolades. An independent short film of unprecedented scope, Dinner with Fred qualified for consideration for the 2011

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

in the Best Live Action Short Film category.

Awards

*Best Short Film: Tulsa International Film Festival *Best Director (Short Film): Tulsa International Film Festival *Best Short Film: Flint Film Festival *Best Picture: Southern California Business Film Festival *Best Director: Southern California Business Film Festival *Best Actor (Adam John Harrington): Southern California Business Film Festival *Best Original Score: Van Wert Independent Film Festival *Semi-Finalist: Angelus Student Film FestivalAnnouncing the 2011 Angelus Semifinalists!
, 2011 Angelus Student Film Festival, 2011, accessed November 14, 2013 *Winner (Student Short): Redemptive Film Festival *Official Selection:

LA Shorts Fest The LA Shorts International Film Festival (LA Shorts) founded by Robert Arentz in 1997 is one of the largest international short film festivals in the world with more than 300 films screening annually. In order to qualify for a short film award at ...

*Official Selection: The Rome International Film Festival *Official Selection: Rumschpringe Short Film Festival *Official Selection: Film Stories Student Film Festival

References

External links

Official Website
*
Facebook Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dinner With Fred 2011 films American student films 2011 drama films 2011 short films American drama short films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films English-language drama short films