Reporting on film festivals
Noted for its direct approach to foster more diversity and inclusiveness in the film industry and beyond, BFF’s competition selections, which includes 15 narrative films, 14 documentaries, and 9 episodic projects, are 81% female directed, with 68% of the selections having a POC director and/or and cast/subject.
“While the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival has been on an upward trajectory as far as the number of audience members have been concerned for a few years now, this year’s response was seriously off the charts,” said San Luis Obispo Film Festival Director Wendy Eidson. “There are lot of areas that one could chalk that up to, but we all know that it begins and ends with the quality of our films, and our award winners certainly exemplified a very fine year as far as that was concerned.”
WTxFF Founder and Artistic Director Justina Walford added, “We could not be more thrilled to be a part of this wonderful series. Not only does the roster of films and filmmakers include directors we have long admired and films we are fans of, but we are also very excited (in particular) to help shine a light on the horror/thriller selections – and encourage people to come to the theater for an evening of scares courtesy of women behind the camera.”
EarthxFilm Artistic Director David Holbrooke, said, “This year’s EarthxFilm slate clearly shows the urgency of the many crucial battles going on all over the world on the environmental landscape. However, these documentaries aren’t simply earnest attempts to advocate for a just cause but are serious, well-crafted stories that bear witness to what is happening out there on the front lines. Audiences will be motivated and inspired by the real life heroes in these movies and will come out of the theaters ready to make their own impact.”
CineLife Entertainment, the event cinema division of Spotlight Cinema Networks, has teamed with Reel Plan
It is beyond thrilling to honor an actor like Alfred Molina with so many distinctive performances in so many acclaimed and memorable films, like Alfred Molina,” said SLO Film Fest Director Wendy Eidson.
The 25th Annual San Luis Obispo Film Festival (March 12-17) has revealed its full slate of films which will begin with the previously announced special Opening Night performance by Katharine Ross followed by a 50th Anniversary screening of the classic BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID. Along with the films competing in the George Sidney Independent Films Competition, SLO is bringing back several festival favorites from years past for encore presentations. The line-up includes 147 films (23 narrative features, 38 documentary features, and 86 short films) representing 25 countries.
The 2019 Oxford Film Festival celebrated the best of the fest with a typically entertaining awards ceremony, emceed by Crooked Marquee’s Eric D. Snider, at the Powerhouse (413 S. 14th Street) on Saturday, February 9, highlighted by the announcement of Hoka awards for Jordan Noel’s THIS WORLD ALONE for Best Narrative Feature, and Suzannah Herbert and Lauren Belfer’s WRESTLE for Best Documentary Feature.
EarthxFilm’s Artistic Director, David Holbrooke, added, “The proposed wall between the U.S. and Mexico is already such a complicated issue but Ben Masters’ film manages to examine and attempt to understand a critical aspect that’s easy to forget – the abundant wildlife that know no borders.”
Oxford Film Festival Executive Director Melanie Addington, said, “We pride ourselves in celebrating the work of actors’ actors with the Lisa Blount Memorial Acting Award each year, and Roger Bart could not fit the bill more perfectly.
