With only a week left, Danbury is gearing up for this year”™s culmination to the state”™s independent film celebration, The Connecticut Film Festival.
“This is the ideal, and only, opportunity for cinefiles to view such a diverse array of award-winning ”˜indie”™ films nonstop and back-to-back virtually under one roof,” said Thomas Carruthers, executive director and founder of the film festival. “Not only do all of our select films represent every major movie genre, but also, they embody cultural diversity from all points of the globe.”
The weeklong cinematic event, which runs from May 20th through the 25th, will showcase 130 films at venues throughout Danbury.
According to Carruthers, who founded the festival four years ago, each of the films being screened at the festival has ties to Connecticut in some aspect of production, whether it”™s actors and directors or cinematographers and movie set locations.
The festival”™ comedy, “Americanizing Shelly,” highlights the talents of New Milford resident Christo Bakalov, who will be honored with The Connecticut Film Festival Award For Excellence in Cinematography as director of photography for five of the festival”™s films.
The films have been competing and judged since November and have traveled through eight cities on their way to Danbury.
“My goal in creating the festival is to provide a forum for the many talented Connecticut residents, like Christo Bakalov, who are soon destined to see their names on a huge Hollywood marquee,” said Carruthers.
Carruthers notes other standout work with Connecticut connections including “Two Angry Moms,” a documentary created by two mothers in Weston; “Blind,” a short film by New Haven”™s Stephen Dest; “River Lab,” from Wilton resident Charles Clemmons and “Leave You in Me,” produced by Stamford resident William Doscher and Innervisions Media.
Throughout the festival process the organization has also partnered with numerous nonprofit groups to create charity fundraising events, which have benefited the Make A Wish Foundation and The Hole In The Wall Gang camps, among others.
Festival movie screenings will continuously run from May 20th, where there will be a red carpet opening night ceremony, until May 25th for the awards ceremony.
Awards will be presented in eight categories, including Connecticut Filmmaker, Green/Outdoor Adventure, Narrative Feature, Documentaries, Student Filmmaker, Shorts, Animations and International.
“We”™ve created a variety of ways for everyone to experience the festival from an economic standpoint,” Carruthers said. “Tickets can be bought for single movies up to an all-access pass, which if bought before May 15th, costs less than $1 per film.”
