Newtown Will Host One-Day CT Film Festival Event

On April 25 At Edmond Town Hall

The Connecticut Film Festival will have a special one-day event in Newtown this year.

Four films plus a collection of shorts will be screened Saturday, April 25, at Edmond Town Hall. In addition, a postscreening discussion is planned following the debut of Dislecksia, the latest film from Newtown native Harvey Hubbell V, as well as a reception for that featured film at The Inn at Newtown.

Mr Hubbell’s feature is the centerpiece of the daylong, multifilm program that has been coordinated by Newtown Cultural Arts Commission (NCAC). The Newtown event is a first for the festival, which will continue with five days and nights of screenings and related programs in Danbury, June 2–7.

“We wanted to highlight Newtown, and having Harvey Hubbell present a sneak preview of Dislecksia: The Movie was the perfect fit,” NCAC Chairperson Jennifer Johnston.

The Newtown schedule has been finalized and the day will open at 1 pm with a screening of The Flyboys, a 2008 film directed by Rocco DeVilliers; continue with a collection of four shorts at 3:15 pm; and then a screening of Monsters from The Id at 4:45.

The feature program, discussion and party will be presented at 6:30, and then the screenings will resume at 9:15 with a showing of Doug Hawes-Davis and Drury Gunn Carr’s Brave New West.

“We chose the films in conjunction with Tom Carruthers and The Connecticut Film Festival,” said Ms Johnston. “The commission wanted a wide variety of films to cover a diverse population, so there is a little bit of everything for everyone, from children to adults.”

Tickets are $7 per screening. A number of special packages have also been set up, however: There are $10 tickets available for the screening of Dislecksia and a postscreening panel discussion; $25 tickets that include the featured film’s screening, post panel discussion and a reception at The Inn at Newtown; and $35 VIP Pass tickets that are combined Day Passes and feature film events (screening, discussion and reception) passes.

Screening packages and individual tickets will be available at the Edmond Town Hall box office on the day of the festival only.

VIP Pass quantities are limited to 200 people and must be purchased in advance online at NewtownArtsCommission.org (click on Events).

Following the presentation of Dislecksia: The Movie, Harvey Hubbell will lead a panel discussion and Q&A section to dissect the anatomy of his thought-provoking film on a subject that plagues about one in seven Americans, including the filmmaker. Several film industry members, medical professionals and parents will make up the panel for the postfilm discussion.

After that, ticket-holders will be treated to “an upscale film industry cocktail reception,” promise NCAC organizers.

The 2009 Connecticut Film Festival will take over the city of Danbury and campuses of Western Connecticut State University for a six-day festival and conference of independent film, music, interactive and social media, gaming and script writing, June 2–7.

The weeklong event will be highlighted by more than 100 films and educational workshops and panels, keynotes, 100 musical performances by independent artists, industry networking events, parties, a 24-hour film competition, a five-day Writers Unblocked Screenwriter’s Immersion Program, and a high school student filmmaker and musician summit.

For more information about the screenwriter’s immersion project, schedule details or tickets for the Danbury events, visit CTFilmFest.com or send email to CTFilmFestWritersProgram@yahoo.com.

Jennifer Johnston and the Newtown Cultural Arts Commission are still looking for volunteers for April 25. Volunteers can help pass out CTFF-Newtown fliers at the regular movie screenings at Edmond Town Hall for the next couple of weeks, as well as help on the day of the event with taking tickets and ushering.

Anyone interested can contact Ms Johnston at 426-9299.