(Cine)Vegas, Baby. (Cine)Vegas

In a couple weeks, I, your loyal narrator and guide, will be heading to the CineVegas Film Festival. While there will be some major releases in the program (Get Smart, The Rocker, Choke), I'm also looking to catch some smaller films, which is really what going to festivals is all about. Right now, the ones looking good are Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson, Visioneers, and The Wackness (I've heard nothing but great things about this film) but the beauty of a festival is basically writing up a schedule that allows you to spend your entire day in a theatre watching films and trying to find the gems that no one else knows about yet.

If anyone has any recommendations for films showing at this festival, please post them in the comments section!

Three Must-See Films at the 2008 Atlanta Film Festival

Festivals can be tough on the wallet and on the clock. There's so much to see and not enough time and money to see it all. So if you're overwhelmed by the amount of choices, I recommend any of these three:

American Teen (Friday, April 11, 7:30 PM at Landmark Midtown Art)
Son of Rambow (Friday, April 18, 7:00 PM at Landmark Midtown Art)
Nerdcore Rising (Saturday, April 12, 10:30 PM at Landmark Midtown Art)

Of course, the beauty of a film festival is that there are so many fascinating films and it's your chance to be part of a select group of those in the know and in a way to be an investor in a film. Your word-of-mouth and support is invaluable to these filmmakers and in the good festivals, you'll find the movies that don't have ten-million-dollar marketing campaigns but rather a lot of heart and creativity. This isn't to bad-mouth Hollywood films nor is it to deify independent filmmaking. But film festivals provide a unique opportunity and I hope that you'll take a chance and try to see a film or two at this year's Atlanta Film Festival. And if you don't want to take a chance but still want to go to the festival, the three films I've listed above are the closest suggestions I can provide for a "sure thing".

You need Withoutabox in your toolbox

I know nothing about film festivals. I know they take loads of effort and tremendous contributions from both filmmakers and programmers. When I spoke to various programmers from other major film fests during last year's Atlanta Film Festival, the depth and complexity of their job so overwhelmed me that I curled up into the fetal position and cried just hearing about it.

Of course, they probably knew about Withoutabox. I'm not even a film festival aficionado and I know that this thing must be a major boon to anyone who seriously works with film festivals, whether as a programmer, filmmaker, audience member, or distributor.

I know nothing about film festivals and I don't know how anyone would be able to work in film festivals without a robust website like this one.

Check it out.

Film Festival: The French & African Film Festival

The Georgia Institute of Technology presents

The French & African Film Festival
Oct 22 - Nov 6 2007

Co-sponsored by the School of Literature, Communication, and Culture and the School of Modern Languages.

All screenings located in the Clary Theater of the Georgia Tech Student Success Center. All films in French with English subtitles.

All film screenings are FREE and open to the public.

This series is co-curated by Professor Angela Dalle Vacche of the School of Literature, Communication, and Culture and Professor Stephanie Boulard of the School of Modern Languages.

The Tournées program is made possible with the support of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and the French Ministry of Culture (CNC).

Upcoming Festivals in Atlanta

If you haven't entered your film into Atlanta's most exciting film festivals, what are you waiting for??

Atlanta's Festival League - http://www.festivalleague.com - is now is now accepting film entries to four top film festivals:

Animation Attack!
http://www.animationattack.com
July 12 - 14, 2007 - entry deadline extended to: May 1, 2007
The First Annual Animation Attack! will bring you animation of every format and genre with plenty of discussions, panels and demonstrations.

Atlanta Underground Film Festival
http://www.AUFF.org
August 22 - 25, 2007 - entry deadline: May 30, 2007
The Fourth Annual AUFF presents five days of independent and underground cinema from across the world with live music, art
and plenty of late night parties.

DocuFest Atlanta
http://www.docufest.com
September 27 - 29, 2007 - entry deadline: May 30, 2007
The Second Annual DocuFest Atlanta showcases meaningful international documentary films which educate and entertain audiences of every demographic.

Atlanta Horror Fest
http://www.atlantahorrorfest.com
October 2007 - entry deadline: June 30, 2007
The Second Annual Atlanta Horror Fest combines the best in indie horror films with live music and many dark and delicious special events.

Entry fees to all festivals are as follows:
$20 for shorts (under 45 min.)
$30 for features

email us at festivalleague@gmail.com with any questions