2011 Vail Film Festival

Details

Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Friday, 25 March 2011 10:01

Written by Brad Balfour

The 8th Annual Vail Film Festival takes place March 31st – April 3, 2011 at the Sebastian Hotel in Vail Village, and CineBistro in the Solaris Complex in Vail, Colorado.

Presented by Cadillac at America’s top-rated ski resort, the Festival is produced by the Vail Film Institute, a non-profit arts organization that is dedicated to fostering independent cinema and creative filmmaking.

New to this year’s program is the launch of the "Cadillac Short Series," the only Festival "venue" in which the public is invited to view festival programming from the comfort of a 2011 Cadillac Escalade, a 2011 CTS Wagon, and a 2011 SRX, in the middle of Solaris Plaza.  The Cadillac Short Series features short films screened on the vehicles’ deluxe interior entertainment systems throughout the 2011 Festival weekend.

"We are very fortunate to have world-class partners whose vision aligns perfectly with ours and that encourage artistic expression through their sponsorship of the Vail Film Festival," said festival co-founder Scott Cross. "We look forward to engaging with a wider audience through the exciting activations our partners are planning throughout Vail Village."

The Festival showcases 67 films from around the world, including 11 feature films and 56 documentaries, shorts, adventure, student, and animated films, hosting thousands of filmmakers, musicians, and film enthusiasts for this four-day event.

"The Vail Film Festival is honored to screen the work of established artists and emerging talent that will shape the film making landscape of tomorrow," said Cross. "True to the festival mission to nurture new filmmakers, many of the films have been directed or produced by first time filmmakers. After record submissions and an abundance of high quality work, we are very proud of the caliber of films at this year’s festival. The mix of documentaries, dramas, comedies, shorts, and student films promises to be the best film program we’ve had yet."

The 2011 Festival will donate 5% of the overall ticket sales to the American Red Cross for earthquake and tsunami recovery efforts in Japan, and an additional 5% to Angelight Films, a 501(c)(3) non-profit production company that gives chronically ill children the opportunity to express themselves in their own short film.

Kate Bosworth, star of John Stockwell's Blue Crush, Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns and Kevin Spacey’s Beyond the Sea will be in attendance to receive the Excellence in Acting Award. Emmy Award-winning actor/filmmaker Michael Imperioli (Detroit 1-8-7, Life on Mars) will attend as well to receive this year’s Renegade Award for Risk Taking in Film.

The 2011 Festival officially opens on Thursday evening, March 31st at the Vail Mountain School with a screening of Falling Overnight, directed by Conrad Jackson.

Also on Thursday, the Festival will screen the Colorado Premiere of Super, starring Rainn Wilson, Kevin Bacon, Liv Tyler, and Ellen Page. In this action packed comedy, a wife leaves her husband for a drug dealer. When her husband decides he will win her back as Crimson Bolt, a costumed vigilante armed with a monkey wrench, his actions bring him an admirer: an overeager comic store clerk who wants to be his sidekick.

Throughout the festival weekend, pass holders will enjoy film screenings, red carpet ceremonies and parties, panel discussions, live music featuring Grammy-winning musicians from LA’s famed Hotel Café, the Festival’s hospitality lounge at The Sebastian Hotel, and the annual awards ceremony recognizing the outstanding work of leaders in the film industry on Saturday, April 2nd.

In partnership with Olympus Imaging America Inc., the Festival brings back the 48 Hour film contest. The Olympus PEN Your Short 48 Hour Film Contest kicks off on Thursday, March 31 at 11:00AM, followed by a period of 48 hours where registered filmmakers will be asked to create a short film using the new Olympus PEN® camera. Short films must be submitted by Saturday, April 2 at 10:59AM.  Films submitted by this deadline will be screened on Saturday afternoon in the Cadillac Screening Room at Cinebistro.

The contest winner will be announced during the Saturday evening Awards Ceremony.  The winning team will receive $5,000, Olympus PEN Equipment, VIP Passes to the 2012 Festival, and a private meeting with a Hollywood film producer.

The 2011 Festival Film Program Includes:

Feature Films:

• Boy Wonder, directed by Michael Morrissey
• Face to Face, directed by Michael Rymer
• Falling Overnight, directed by Conrad Johnson
• Losing Control, directed by Valerie Weiss
• Serotonin Rising, directed by Tony Perri
• Small Town Murder Songs, directed by Ed Gass-Donnelly
• Something Better Somewhere Else, directed by Ron Lazzeretti
• The Inner Room, directed by Jack Gastelbondo
• Super, directed by James Gunn
• The Wedding Party, directed by Amanda Jane

Adventure Films:

• Downhill: The  Bill Johnson Story, directed by Zeke Piestrup
• Out of the Shadows, directed by Athen Merrick and Nicolas Teichrob
• Skate Australia, directed by Sebastian Lundmark
• Twiga Stars: Tanzania’s Soccer Sisters, directed by Nisha Ligon

Animated Shorts:

• Bygone Behemoth, directed by Harry Chaskin
• Pinball 12 Reanimated, directed by Abbey Luck
• Something Left, Something Taken, directed by Max Porter and Ru Kuwahata
• Starwars: Retold, directed by Joe Nicolosi
• The Cow Who Wanted to be a Hamburger, directed by Bill Plympton
• The Terrible Thing of Alpha 9!, directed by Jake Armstrong

Documentaries:

• A Perfect Soldier, directed by Jon Severson
• Certain Proof: A Question of Worth, directed by Ray Ellis
• Delicious Peace Grows in a Ugandan Coffee Bean, directed by Curt Fissel
• Echoes of a Storyteller, directed by Daniel Turcan
• Hauling, directed by Sean Walsh
• Lens & Pens: Art in an Unexpected Place, directed by Deborah J. Schull
• Loy Krathong, directed by Jeffrey Waldron
• Odysseus in America, directed by Charles Berkowitz
• Saving Pelican 895, directed by Irene Taylor Brodsky
• The Clean Bin Project, directed by Grant Baldwin
• WE STILL LIVE HERE: As Nutayunean, directed by Anne Makepeace

The Vail Film Festival has also launched a new feature on its website this year allowing pass holders to create their own custom festival schedule, as well as rate and comment in real time on films they have seen.

Pass holders who visit http://vailff.slated.com/2011/films during their visit to the hospitality lounge at the Sebastian hotel will be entered to win a 2011 Vail Film Festival VIP Gift Bag.

For complete film listings and other information, visit www.vailfilmfest.com.

Colorado Film Institute
The Colorado Film Institute, which stages the Vail Film Festival, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit arts organization dedicated to fostering independent cinema. The Colorado Film Institute's primary initiatives are to promote the art of film by providing a screening platform for aspiring filmmakers and by providing a gathering place for film enthusiasts. Additionally, the Colorado Film Institute fosters new filmmakers by providing education, industry expertise, and industry access.

Cadillac
Cadillac has been a leading luxury auto brand since 1902. In recent years, Cadillac has engineered a historic renaissance led by artful engineering and advanced technology. More information on Cadillac can be found at media.cadillac.com.

The 8th Annual Vail Film Festival
March 31 – April 3, 2011

The Sebastian
16 Vail Road
Vail, Colorado 81657
970-477-8000

CineBistro
141 East Meadow Drive
Vail, Colorado 81657
970-476-3344

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