Decor Art Galleries to Host VFF12's "Meet the Filmmakers" Party

A special thank-you to Lynne Crandall and everyone at Decor Art Galleries for opening their doors to us and our 2012 filmmakers!  Our “Meet the Filmmakers” party will be the evening of Monday, November 5^th, at 12149 Ventura Blvd., in Studio City.  The party starts at 7:00.

This special evening—by invitation only—provides our filmmakers, from around the corner and the globe, an intimate opportunity to meet one another before all our screenings begin.  It also gives them an opportunity to meet people from the press, the film industry, and other invited guests. 

While chatting with fellow filmmakers and guests, VFF12 filmmakers will also be able to browse Decor Art Galleries extensive and exclusive collection of historic b&w photos of Hollywood and the Greater Los Angeles area...including the San Fernando Valley!

Media and industry requests may be sent to media@valleyfilmfest.com

 

Press Release - VFF12 Program Announcement

The Valley Film Festival announces its twelfth annual lineup of cinema so independent it can be found only in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley.  VFF Founder and Director, Tracey Adlai, says she “looks forward to having our festival down the street from Universal Studios, founded by the Laemmle family a century ago, at a great new theater managed by them.”  The festival will run for five days, beginning November 7^th, at the Laemmle NoHo 7, located at 5240 Lankershim Blvd., in North Hollywood.  Complete festival information is available at ValleyFilmFest.com.

With over 30 films on its program, including fifteen premieres and eight foreign films, the festival showcases independent cinema from around the Valley and the world.  Adlai says, “the Laemmle slogan is ‘Not Afraid of Subtitles’ – and neither are we this year.  We’ve expanded our foreign film selections to include three features—from the UK, Denmark, and Australia—and five short films—from the UK, Italy, Spain, and Poland.”  The selections include documentaries, fiction, animation, and music videos. 

The VFF continues to promote local independent production, with fifteen films made by San Fernando Valley residents, in the Valley, or about it.  Fourteen films are from people who’ve screened previously with the festival.  The opening night feature, ROUTE 30, TOO!, is having its L.A. premiere and is the sequel to ROUTE 30, which the festival screened in 2008.  This comedy is director John Putch’s second installment in his south central Pennsylvania trilogy, with another ensemble cast including Robert Romanus (“Fast Times at Ridgemont High”) and Curtis Armstrong (“Revenge of the Nerds”).  The Thursday night feature program has the L.A. premiere of MULTIPLE MEANS OF MURDER, a comedy feature from Denmark, and WRITTEN IN INK, a documentary short from Poland.

The “Girls on Film” program of short films includes the U.S. premiere of UNDER A VEST, a noir spoof directed by VFF alum Kal Bonner, and the world premiere of YOU GOT THIS, a drama by AFI Directing Fellow Simo Manfredi.  THE OLDEST LESBIAN IN THE WORLD is a documentary co-directed by two-time Emmy-award winning video journalist Renee Sotile. 

Other programs of short films include “Comedy Shorts,” “Alumni Filmmakers,” and “Happy Endings.”  Other features include the thriller END OF THE ROAD, the horror film THE HUMAN RACE, the comedy VINYL, and THE GHASTLY LOVE OF JOHNNY X—a mix of 1950s juvenile delinquent films, sci-fi thrillers, musicals, and comedies.  The latter film is paired with LUMINARIS, a pixilation-animated short about a worker in a light bulb factory who tries to get ahead by cheating, and what goes wrong—and right—when he’s caught.  A playful film from Argentinian director Juan Pablo Zaramella, LUMINARIS was named to the 2011 Academy Award shortlist for Best Animated Short Film.

The closing night feature is A FEW BEST MEN, a wedding comedy directed by Stephan Elliott (“Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”), written by Dean Craig (“Death at a Funeral”), and co-produced by VFF alum Laurence Malkin (“Death at a Funeral”).  The cast includes Rebel Wilson (“Bridesmaids,” “Pitch Perfect”).

Founded in 2000, The Valley Film Festival, a project of Community Partners®, is the first and longest continually running film festival in the San Fernando Valley.  With a mission to join established filmmakers and emerging talent with adventurous audiences in Los Angeles, the VFF has screened a total of over 450 shorts, features, documentaries, animated films, and music videos from all over the world.  While emphasizing independent film, the festival also has occasionally shown studio productions, including BOOGIE NIGHTS, CHINATOWN, ENCINO MAN, FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, MAGNOLIA, TERMINATOR 2, VALLEY GIRL, and WORLD TRADE CENTER.  

In addition to screenings, the festival provides educational panels, social mixers, and awards.  The juried "Ten Degrees Hotter" award is for one short and one feature from a competitive section.  Additionally, there is an award for short films, in the non-competitive section, as chosen by the audience.

THE VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL begins its 2012 season on Wednesday, November 7^th and continues through Sunday, November 13^th, with screenings at the Laemmle NoHo 7, located at 5240 Lankershim Blvd., in North Hollywood.  Tickets are $10-$15.  For more information and tickets, visit ValleyFilmFest.com.

2012 Sponsors: ProductionHUB, Creative Handbook, iBlakeStudio, Footage Firm, Citizen L.A., Decor Art Galleries, Valley Relics, Kirin, The Hollywood Guild, Video Blocks, Cine Gear Expo. 

THE VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL 2012 PROGRAM

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5^th

Evening – Meet the Filmmakers party (for filmmakers, distributors, and media)

 

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7^th

8:00 pm – Opening Night Feature Program: Route 30, Too!

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8^th

8:00 pm – Feature Program 2:  Multiple Means of Murder with Written in Ink

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9^th

5:00 – 6:30 pm – A Happy Hour to celebrate "Girls on Film" filmmakers, at Bow & Truss in NoHo

7:30 pm – “Girls on Film” Shorts Program:  Bathing and the Single Girl, Le Chapeau (The Hat), Liking Men, The Oldest Lesbian in the World, Under a Vest, You Got This

9:30 pm – Feature Program 3:  End of the Road with 108.1 FM Radio

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10^th

11:00 am – 12:30 pm – Panel TBA (topical to independent filmmaking) at The ARC (The Artist Resource Center, in NoHo)

1:00 pm – Comedy Shorts Program:  Goldenbox, Incest! The Musical, The Red Towel, Untitled

3:00 pm – Feature Program 4:  The Human Race

6:30 pm – Centerpiece Feature: Vinyl with L'equip Petit (The Little Team)

9:30 pm – Feature Program 5:  The Ghastly Love of Johnny X with Luminaris

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11^th

11:00 am – 12:30 pm – Panel TBA (topical to independent filmmaking) at The ARC (The Artist Resource Center, in NoHo)

1:00 pm – "Happy Endings" Shorts Program:  Cross Court, Enchanting Hands, Freak, Hi Lillian

3:00 pm – "Alumni Showcase" Shorts Program: Chad and the Alien Toupee, A Day in the Life of Your Cats, Happy Anniversary, History, Reverse Parthenogenesis, Seymour Sally Rufus, Sitting Babies

5:00 pm – Closing Night Feature Program: A Few Best Men

Evening – Closing Night Party at Gallery 800 (operated by IATSE Local 800, The Art Directors Guild)

For review copies, interviews, photos, and press comps, contact Media@ValleyFilmFest.com

Follow us on:

Twitter - @ValleyFilmFest
Facebook - “The Valley Film Festival”

Our blog - ValleyFilmFest.blogspot.com

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Welcome to Our New Sponsors: Footage Firm and Video Blocks

We’d like to thank and welcome our latest sponsors to the VFF:

FootageFirm provides royalty free stock footage reels of locations all over the world and a wide range of specialty topics including images of people, nature, or time lapse photography, as well as visual or audio effects.  Everything comes with a royalty free license granting unlimited worldwide use, for all media, in perpetuity.  So you pay just once and get to keep and use the material, however you like, forever.

Other companies sell footage of comparable quality, but also charge hundreds of dollars to research and provide individual short clips.  FootageFirm instead has hundreds of 30-60 minute reels to choose from, each with a collection of hundreds of clips and at a low price of $149 per SD collection and $249 for HD.
 

The sister company to FootageFirm, VideoBlocks is a subscription-based website offering unlimited downloads of stock video, motion backgrounds, production music, sound effects, special effects, and after effects templates.  Instead of charging per download, or per collection, VideoBlocks provides members total access to a huge database to download whatever they want anytime — all for less than the price of just one clip at many competing sites.

VideoBlocks provides high quality content for large media companies like NBC, but at a price point that independent filmmakers or casual video editing enthusiasts can afford.  For $79 a month or $948 annually, subscribers have unlimited access to the entire Video Blocks archive (which is constantly being updated), with no download caps.  They can cancel their subscriptions at any time; there are no long term contracts.  And they can keep and use their material forever, royalty free, on all types of projects.

We’re proud to welcome our new sponsors aboard, and glad they’re providing these valuable services to our community.  Check ‘em out.

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If you’re involved with independent film and interested in possibly being interviewed, or otherwise contributing to our blog, contact us anytime at info@valleyfilmfest.com

For more on The Valley Film Festival, visit our website or Facebook page.

Countdown to VFF12: 30 Days Out

With about a month to go for VFF12, we’re working hard to make it the best for everyone.  Here’s where we are on many of our agenda items.  If you’re interested in maybe helping out with some labor or ideas, or would like to know more about something we’re doing, feel free to contact us anytime:

Screening venue – We have the Laemmle NoHo 7 (5240 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood), with screenings beginning Wednesday evening (11/7) and ending Sunday evening (11/11).

Website – Maybe you’ve noticed we’ve been overhauling our site design and building great ads.  Our friend Blake McWhirter has been doing this, and will be designing the poster and program handout as well.

Film program / slate – Up and running on the website.

Online tickets – In the works; should be soon. 

First night’s party – This party for our filmmakers, sponsors, and invited guests usually would be the night before the fest starts; however, Tuesday (11/6) is election night.  So we’ll probably schedule for Monday (11/5, save the date). 

Seminars – We’re brainstorming panel ideas (suggestions are welcome) and continue to look for space in NoHo for 30-40.  

Mid-week festival events – We’re working on securing a venue for a small happy hour prior to the "Girls on Film" short film program (Friday, 11/9, 5-6pm), and looking into another venue for Thursday, Friday, and/or Saturday.

Closing night party – We’re looking for space within walking distance of the Laemmle.  It should be able to hold at least 100-150 people and upwards of 200+.  The party will be on Sunday, 11/11, from 7pm-10pm.  As soon as the final screening is over, the party can start; this is where we'll announce festival winners.  Our ideal situation is a private space we can take over (lobby of a business, gallery, etc.) so we can bring in our sponsored wine/beer.  However, we're also open to using a neighborhood bar/restaurant that can section off part of its space for us, and provide drink specials, appetizers, etc. for our guests.

AFM participants – We’re working on inviting distributors who will still be in town on Monday, 11/5, over to the filmmaker party.

Press release – In the works; just waiting to get some more details on these other parts of the festival.

Beverage sponsors – We’re looking to add more sponsors, especially for clear liquids (champagne, white wine, sparkling water, clear soda).  Leads are appreciated.

Festival volunteers – We have a schedule and are signing people up.  Let us know if you’re interested. 

Filmmaker interviews (video) – This is a new project for us, in the works.

Gift bags and items – We’re looking for 100 gift bags (the physical bag) for filmmakers and volunteers.  If you know of a company with reusable branded bags we could use, let us know.  We’ll be developing an item list, and then seeking donors / sponsors to fill it.

Wow, who knew putting on a festival could be so much work!  But we’re totally happy to do it.

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Edited by James Latham

For more on The Valley Film Festival, visit our website or Facebook page.

 

 

Announcing Our Schedule for VFF 2012

We’re proud to announce our program for the twelfth annual Valley Film Festival, which will take place November 7-11.  The opening night feature is Route 30, Too, directed and produced by John Putch.  On closing night, we’re showing A Few Best Men, directed by Stephan Elliott.  In between, we’ll have over two dozen other films—shorts and features, comedies and dramas, fiction and documentary, local and international.  See our Program page for the full list and schedule.

Screenings will be at the Laemmle NoHo 7, an all digital, state of the art facility in North Hollywood (5240 Lankershim Blvd.).  We’ll announce other info, including ticket availability and festival events, when it becomes available.