The Mid-Ohio Valley Players Theatre will again play host this year for the fifth annual Colony Film Festival, and there will be no shortage of films at the event, which has been growing by leaps and bounds.
"We have a really good variety," said Hunt Brawley, director of development for the Hippodrome/Colony Historical Theatre Association. "We have about the same number of submissions, but I think we're getting better word of mouth through our different connections."
Among the entrants this year are "The Broken Shield," a documentary about the USS San Jacinto during World War II by filmmakers out of Parkersburg and Little Hocking; an animated film, "Walter and the Magical Collar," from Virginia; and a first for the Colony Film Festival, a 3-D short film called "A Ghastly Tale."
Sam Holdren, an independent filmmaker from Charleston, W.Va., was excited last year when his film, "The Paradigm Shift," won "Best of Fest," and was truly impressed with the small festival.
"I had a great time attending last year because the audience (was) the most active audience I've ever had when it comes to (asking) questions and expressing themselves," Holdren said in an e-mail. "There are older and larger festivals that are unable to accomplish what seems to naturally happen in Marietta."
Along with the featured films and shorts, Mic Molinaro of Precision Productions in Vienna, W.Va., will present a seminar on digital single lens reflex (DSLR) camera filmmaking on Saturday afternoon.
Fact Box
If you go
What: Fifth annual Colony Film Festival
When: Friday, 6 to 10:45 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 10:30 p.m.
Where: Mid-Ohio Valley Players Theater, 220 Putnam St.
Cost: $15 for a two-day pass or $10 daily
Details: Fifteen entries and the regional premieres of "La Soga" and "Forged"
- For more information: 373-0894
Schedule
Friday, Oct. 15th
6:00 - 6:05: Introduction
6:05 - 6:30 Ora E. Anderson: The Soul of the Woods
6:30 - 7:50 Minus One
7:50 - 8:05 Break
8:05 - 10:15 Special Feature Movie: LaSoga
Josh Crook, Director
Introduction with Q&A following the film by featured speaker, Josh Crook
10:15 - 10:30: Night Owls
10:30 - 10:45 A Ghastly Tale
Saturday, October 16
Noon 12:05 Introduction
12:05 12:15 Brittle Time
12:15 12:50 The Broken Shield
12:50 1:30 The Schartz-Metterklume Method
1:30 2:50 Escribitionist
2:50 3:05 Break
3:05 3:10 The Last Chance
3:10 3:35 Project Jerusalem
3:35 3:45 Hole
3:45 4:05 Blackeyed Redemption
4:05 5:00 Seminar "DSLR Filmmaking"
presented by Mic Molinaro
5:00 6:30 Dinner Break
6:30 6:35 Introduction
6:35 6:40 Walter & the Magical Collar
6:40 7:00 Dawn Bloom
7:00 8:20 School Play
8:20 8:35 Break
8:35 10:15 Special Feature, Regional Premier Forged
Will Wedig, Director, Josh Crook Producer.
Introduction with Q&A following the film by featured speaker, Josh Crook
10:15 10:30 Awards Ceremony
As a special treat this year, two films with local ties that have been shown at several prestigious festivals will have their regional premieres this weekend.
"Forged," written and directed by Marietta native William Wedig, took best picture honors at the New York International Latino Film Festival, was an official selection at the Los Angeles International Film Festival and earned an outstanding film award at the Providence Latin American Film Festival in Rhode Island. It will be shown at approximately 8:35 p.m. on Saturday before the awards ceremony.
Marietta College graduate and Nelsonville resident Josh Crook will be the featured speaker at the festival, and his film, "La Soga," will be screened at 8 p.m. on Friday. A question-and-answer session will be held following each film.
The films will be judged by Maggie Berdine, a professor at West Virginia University at Parkersburg; Jordan Lowe, owner of Asylum Comics; and Marilee Morrow, assistant professor of mass media at Marietta College. The categories include best short film, best feature film, best documentary, best student film, best local film and best of the fest.
