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| Traditional Film Fest Introduces Some Firsts |
September 18, 2012
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| By Staff |
For the first time in its 23 year run, the New Orleans Film Festival (NOFF) will kick off its full week of film pageantry on October 11th at the newly-renovated Joy Theater on Canal St. The evening’s red carpet event will feature the star-studded drama, The Paperboy (Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron, Kevin Spacey, and Macy Gray), filmed locally by Lee Daniels, director of the Oscar-winning film Precious.
NOFF offers both amateur and seasoned filmmakers the opportunity to promote their latest works. Over the span of two decades, NOFF has played host to Oscar-winning filmmakers such as Jonathan Demme (I’m Carolyn Parker: The Good, The Mad, and The Beautiful), Todd Solondz (Happiness) and Richard Linklater (Slacker).
The festival, which begins October 11th and ends on October 18th, includes an eclectic and diverse array of films from anime and short documentaries, to music videos. There are paneled discussions scheduled and several networking opportunities for up-and-coming, as well as, established filmmakers.
Last year’s Festival welcomed roughly 150 movie makers and a regionally diverse variety of over 13,000 participants. The event attracts well-known to lesser-well-known influences in the film production industry. Many have moved on to achieve great success- accepting various Independent Awards to grander awards such as Academy Award nominations.
The New Orleans Film Society’s event organizers say that its mission has always been to engage, educate and inspire using film as its vessel- providing media exposure to and for movie professionals.
Another first takes place closing night at Prytania Theatre where, not one, but two films will be shown. The Sessions, a sexually provocative drama starring Helen Hunt and John Hawkes, followed by The Iceman, a true story of a contract killer starring Michael Shannon, James Franco, and Winona Ryder shot in Shreveport, LA.
“We are so thrilled to screen two films with deep ties to Louisiana as part of Opening and Closing nights at the New Orleans Film Festival this year,” says Jolene Pinder, Executive Director of the New Orleans Film Society in a recent press release. “The more we can shine a spotlight on the incredible films being shot and produced here in Louisiana, the more opportunities we can create for our indigenous film community. There’s no doubt this has been an exciting year for filmmaking in Louisiana. We feel these selections only prove our place as a major contributor to the film scene, both in the U.S. and abroad.”
According to the New Orleans Film Society’s website, Movie Maker Magazine named the New Orleans Film Festival one of the “25 Festivals worth the Entry Fee.”
All-Access Passes are currently on sale at neworleansfilmsociety.org ($125 for NOFS members / $150 for non-members). For more information, visit www.neworleansfilmsociety.org.
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September 18, 2012 |
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