Film festivals can be a whole lot of fun and they are incredibly important and meaningful to the filmmakers whose work is getting exposure. Festivals provide the opportunity for virtually unknown filmmakers to display their talents and projects they have spent precious time and money on. Festivals also provide a venue for like-minded movie enthusiasts to get together, socialize, and indulge in their greatest love: watching movies; and not just the typical Hollywood stuff that the market and the theaters are always flooded with. You can always count on festivals to draw some good independent films and documentaries and every once in awhile you stumble upon and see a really good movie before it's discovered and given a big national release (I love that feeling). These film festivals also give you a way of giving back to the artistic community and helping out struggling filmmakers who are actively pursuing their passions and dreams.
The 2008 Charlotte Film Festival looks like it's gearing up to be a great one. I have recently visited their website and it's filled with good information on the different movies that are being shown, the panel discussions, and the different venues being utilized. After reading through the list of entries this year, I can tell that there is going to be some very good filming-making to be found and good movie watching to be done. I want to point out, again, that these are not the typical Hollywood mainstream movies. I don't want people to go in expecting the big blockbusters with recognizable stars and then find themselves watching movies with limited budgets and unfamiliar faces. That's the point of film festivals, to give unknowns the chance to shine. I say this not to deter people from attending by any means, but rather to inform people of what to expect. I truly hope that every film screening is sold out!
As I mentioned earlier, the festival's website has all the information you would need to know about what films are showing, when and where they're showing, and how to buy tickets. The ticket prices are quite reasonable considering what movie ticket prices are like today. As with most things these days, tickets are cheaper if you buy them ahead of time online ($6.50), but still pretty reasonable at the door ($8.00). There are also some good deals on ticket packages. Personally, I went with the 5-Pack deal, which gives you 5 tickets for $26 (online) that you can use towards any movie during the run of the festival.
The Charlotte Film Festival is running September 25-28 and a total of 70 narrative, documentary, and international films and short films will be shown over these four days. Find some time in your schedule that weekend to get out and see at least one of the movies this year. I'm sure you can find something you like. I mean, there are 70 of them.....
Until next time....
P.S. My Movie-Man Movie Review of the current release Righteous Kill will be posted very soon.
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