Four-day independent film festival to begin Oct. 18 in GP
Rogue Theatre in Downtown Grants Pass will kick off its new yearly event, The Rogue Independent Film Festival, on Thursday, Oct. 18.
The festival itself will last four days, culminating in an awards ceremony that will honor exceptional films in the categories of Feature and Short Film, Long and Short Documentary, Animation, Student Work and “The Oregon Connection.”
The birth of the festival resulted from the environmental film festival held last year at Rogue Theatre as a benefit for Siskiyou Project. Because of a number of people approaching theater owner Greg Tressel, combined with the success of last year’s benefit, Tressel decided to utilize some of his Hollywood connections to make the independent film festival a reality for this year.
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Being affiliated with a networking group of independent film-makers was the catalyst that prompted submittals for the Rogue Independent Film Festival from many countries including China, Australia, Korea and Europe.
One major highlight of the festival will include the world premier of the documentary, Mardik: From Baghdad to Hollywood. Directed by Ramy Katrib, it is about an Iraqi immigrant who attended film school at NYU on scholarship and whose career has included writing Mean Street (1973), Raging Bull (1980) and collaboration with Martin Scorsese on Last Waltz (1978).
A top entry in the animation category is Once Upon a Christmas Village directed by Michael Attardi, starring Jim Belushi and Tim Curry. The characters of this film embody the archetypes of good and evil battling and the task of saving the magic of Christmas.
Besides the films, there will be a workshop on Saturday, Oct. 20 between 10 a.m. and noon with Mardik Martin, Ramy Katrib and Evan York. Martin, currently a senior lecturer at USC Film School, will address screenwriting and his experiences as a screenwriter in Hollywood. Martin has been lecturing across the country about film-making and the economic benefits of drawing film-makers to areas such as Southwestern Oregon.
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Katrib, founder of DigitalFilm Tree LLC, will discuss film-making in the digital age. DigitalFilm Tree’s credits include the movies, Cold Mountain, Napoleon Dynamite and the TV show Scrubs. Similar to workshops hosted by James Lipton on Bravo, the audience is encouraged to participate and ask questions. Tickets for the workshop are sold separately and are available at the box office with a discount available for students.
Tickets may be purchased online or at the Rogue Theatre box office the day(s) of the event. Tickets are $10 per program (see program movie lists at rogueindependent filmfestival.org/schedule/ or $30 for a four-day pass.
