Three films, a trio of Sundance dreams

Andrew Wagner is one of many aspiring local filmmakers who submitted entries to Sundance. Here are three others who attempted to follow their dream -- one who submitted a feature, one a documentary and one a short.

* Andy Johnson was so committed to making his debut feature, the mockumentary “Chuck Gordon: Professional Juror,” that he sold his house and moved to a smaller one to free up the $10,000 budget. In addition to his 60-hour workweek as an assistant line producer on the NBC sitcom “Friends” and his duties as a married father of four, Johnson wrote, directed and starred in his tale of a lovable loser who’s obsessed with jury duty. Johnson learned Monday that his film didn’t make the Sundance cut.

* Melody Murray teamed with Casandra Wasaff to co-write, co-produce and co-direct the black-and-white, silent Buster Keaton hommage “Cozy.” A staffer at the entertainment newsmagazine series “Extra,” Murray made the lighthearted short partly in reaction to arriving in L.A. just two weeks before Sept. 11. As of press time, Murray didn’t know whether the short had been accepted for Sundance.

* Todd Felker directed the documentary “Made in Amerikkka: Say Somethin” after finding himself in a clash of cultures -- a white Christian from Oklahoma mixed in with black Muslims in South L.A. Felker used footage he had shot while filming an unreleased documentary about a group of L.A. rappers preparing an anti-gang song and video. That experience gave him what he believes is a vivid window into a violent part of the city struggling to become more peaceful. The documentary was not accepted by Sundance.