Inaugural Newtown Film Festival Will Offer Three Days Of Free Screenings
Organizers of the inaugural Newtown Film Fest (NFF), taking place September 18-20 at Edmond Town Hall, have announced that this year’s event will be free of charge.
The goal of the festival is to bring inspiring, motivational, moving pieces to a community that invokes those very traits, according to organizers. The festival will include screenings of shorts, documentaries, animation and features.
The three-day festival is an event of Newtown Arts Festival, presented by Newtown Cultural Arts Commission.
It will open, organizers said August 18, with the short film A Place in The Middle. Derived from a feature length film called Kuma Hina, directors Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson have created a 25-minute piece that tells the story of a young Hawaiian girl who aspires to lead her school’s all-male hula troupe, and the inspiring teacher who uses traditional culture to inspire her.
The Connecticut premiere of Don Hertzfeldt’s award-winning short, World Of Tomorrow, will also be part of opening night.
“I completely fell in love with this film; it absolutely blew me away,” said NFF Executive Director and Founder Cristin Carlin. “The film is poignant and endearing, and has a great heart. I am so thrilled to be able to share it with Newtown in September.”
Time Out New York said of World Of Tomorrow: “At the risk of perilously underselling it, World of Tomorrow might be one of the most satisfying short films since Chris Marker’s 1962 landmark, La Jetée ... and is almost certain to be the highlight of this year’s Sundance, full stop... Wise, hilarious, and formally daring…”
After creating animated films for nearly twenty years using traditional tools (pencil, paper and 35 mm cameras), World Of Tomorrow represents Hertzfeldt’s first 100% digital production.
The voice cast stars English illustrator Julia Pott alongside Hertzfeldt's four-year-old niece, Winona. Winona's voice was quietly recorded while she and Hertzfeldt drew pictures together and talked about the world. From those raw sessions, Hertzfeldt took her candid reactions and partially rewrote the story (and Julia’s lines) to create seamless conversations between the characters.
On Saturday, NFF will include a screening of the 2015 documentary on the need for educational reform in America, Most Likely To Succeed.
“Most Likely to Succeed reinvents how we define and approach education in America, it is a must see!” says Festival Programmer Priya Gupta.
Directed by Greg Whiteley, Most Likely to Succeed made its US premiere at Sundance this past January to enthusiastic reviews. A documentary about education and curriculum reform in 21st Century America, the film has been making its way across screens nationwide to spread the word that change is necessary. It will be screened at Edmond Town Hall on Saturday, September 19, at 7 pm.
In addition, the Academy Award nominated animated feature Song Of The Sea will be part the spotlight animated feature of the festival’s line-up.
“Song of the Sea is an enchanting, magical film that must be seen on the big screen to get the full experience,” says Rachel Olson, NFF director of community outreach/sponsorship.
Distributed and brought to NFF by New York based GKIDS, Song Of The Sea, directed by Tomm Moore, finds Ben, a young Irish boy, and his little sister Saoirse, a girl who can turn into a seal, embarking on an adventure to free the faeries and save the spirit world. Traditionally animated, the breathtaking feature will bring both children and adult along for a thrilling ride. The film, which was inspired by the ancient Irish legend of the selkies (magical beings who live as seals in the water and as humans on land) was nominated for Best Animated Feature during the 87th Annual Academy Awards.
Song of the Sea will be screened on Sunday at 1 pm.
Weekend Schedule
NFF will begin on Friday at 6 with Opening Night Shorts (including A Place in The Middle and World of Tomorrow), followed by Lake Michigan in a Dugout at 7 pm.
Saturday’s schedule will begin at 1 pm, with Saturday Morning Cartoon Shorts. The day will continue with Connecticut Connection Shorts at 2 o’clock, Comedy Shorts at 3 pm, and the screening of Most Likely To Succeed at 7.
Song of The Sea will open Sunday’s schedule, which will continue with Social Impact Shorts at 3 pm, and the finalé, a screening of Imba Means Sing, at 5 pm.
This is the posted scheduled as of August 19; additional films may be added during the next few weeks.
“This is a labor of love for film to all those involved and we want to bring a constant flow of guests enjoying the amazing selection we’ve compiled,” said Ms Carlin. “We are going to be occupying the theater for the entire fall weekend.”
Donations, however large or small, are greatly appreciated and can be made in person to one of the several Newtown Film Fest employees who will be at Edmond Town Hall during the festival weekend, or online at www.newtownfilmfest.com (a Donate button can be found at the bottom of the page).
The Newtown Film Fest is excited to join forces with an established Newtown institution to bring the town the very best in independent art and film to locals and travelers alike.
“We are excited to work with the Newtown Arts Festival to bring a full spectrum of artistic and creative forms to Newtown,” said Ms Carlin.
With September fast becoming what he sees as “arts month” in Newtown, Newtown Arts Festival Chairman Terry Sagedy said he and fellow Cultural Arts Commission members are “thrilled to have an expanded film offering this year with the partnership of the highly-anticipated Newtown Film Festival.”
For additional information visit newtownfilmfest.com.