RENO FILM FESTIVAL PRESS RELEASES 2010

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 2, 2010
Contact:  Bob Alessandrelli
775.848.6028
boba@rlasolutions.com

Like an epic Hollywood film, this has been 10 years in the making…..
Reno Film Festival Celebrates 10th Anniversary June 13-20

The Reno Film Festival will celebrate its 10th annual event June 13-20 throughout Reno.  This annual celebration of film is all about films, of course, and includes premieres, family classics as well as educational panels and workshops.  Also featured will be the finalists and winners of Reno’s own Indie Short Film and Lumière All-School Film Fest competitions, each with multiple categories.  A Friday VIP reception and a Saturday awards ceremony are also planned.

In keeping with the downturn in the economy, festival organizers are proud to announce that most films are free to students and have a minimal $5 admission price for adults.  Still others are free for all.

A complete schedule of dates, times and locations is available at the festival’s website, www.renofilmfestival.com.  Advance tickets are available at this website, including free tickets.  Festival organizers suggest that free tickets be ordered being as all events are first come, first serve. 

The festival kicks off Sunday, June 13, at the Siena with an all day Screenwriting Workshop, featuring keynote speaker Pilar Alessandra.  Alessandra is the director of the Los Angeles writing program “On the Page" and has worked as a senior story analyst for DreamWorks and Radar Pictures as well has having trained writers at ABC/Disney, MTV/Nickelodeon, the National Screen Institute, the Los Angeles Film School, The UCLA Writers Program and more. 

Also set for Sunday are screenings of the finalists in the Reno Indie Competition Family category, both live action and animation, and the One Minute category.  These will be at Grace Church and are free for all.  Screenings of the Indie finalists continues throughout the week with Animation and Comedy on Monday at TMCC/Dandini; Nevada and Science Fiction on Tuesday at Studio on 4th; Documentaries on Thursday at KNPB/Channel 5; and Foreign and Drama on Saturday at the National Automobile Museum.  Some of the filmmakers will be present to introduce and discuss their films. 

Finalists from the Lumière student competition will be shown on Wednesday and the winners will be announced at this evening event at the Nevada Museum of Art.  Most Lumière entries come from Washoe County but the contest has a few entries from around the country.  On Thursday, the festival presents a free family-friendly outdoor film screening in Wingfield Park.  This year’s “Movie on the Mayor,” hosted my Reno Mayor Bob Cashell, is the 1998 animated feature “The Prince of Egypt.”  This film features the voices of a “who’s who” in Hollywood:  Sandra Bullock, Helen Mirren, Val Kilmer, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jeff Goldblum, Danny Glover and Patrick Stewart.  It’s the musical tale of two brothers, one born of royal blood and one an orphan with a secret past. 

Another free family film-- “Dear Frankie,” starring Gerald Butler--will be shown on Sunday, June 20, at Grace Church.  This engaging 2005 film is the story of a young deaf boy, his mother and the man that the boy’s mother hires to portray the boy’s father for one day.

One of this year’s special events will be “Bing Crosby Rarities,” which features rare home movies and clips from the famous singer-actor.  Hosted by Bob DeFlores, a film collector and historian who put together this tribute, this Friday evening event on June 18 at the Siena will be entertaining and memorable.  “Rarities” is part of the VIP Reception with tributes to Hollywood actors Kathrine Narducci (“A Bronx Tale” and “The Sopranos”), James Russo (“Extremities,” “Beverly Hills Cop,” “Open Range,” and most recently, “Public Enemies”) and child star Paul Petersen (“The Donna Reed Show”) who is now a children actors’ advocate with his A Minor Consideration organization.    

A musical documentary, “White Stripes,” will be shown for free on Wednesday at St. James Infirmary.  The awards presentation and special screening of “The Loneliest Road in America,” an engaging film set on Nevada’s Highway 50, will take place Saturday evening at the National Automobile Museum.

The week-long festival concludes on June 20 with a Filmmakers Panel that includes Michael Albright, filmmaker/editor/director; Pam Dulgar, screenwriter; Tony McGrath, producer/director/writer/editor; Kathrine Narducci, actor/director; Paul Petersen, actor/author/advocate; James Russo, actor; Toni Suttie, casting director/producer; and Tim Wilson, location manager/producer.

The festival’s final screenings will be two Nevada premieres of Project Moonshine’s latest short films, “Beeing Here,” about beekeepers in northern Nevada, and Chakalela, which looks inside a group of Algerian high school students who visited the Reno area.  These will be screened at Studio on 4th.

Free student tickets are courtesy of these City of Reno Neighborhood Advisory Boards:  Ward 1, Southwest; Wards 2, Central & South; and the Terry Lee Wells Foundation.  The DP Foundation is sponsoring the Lumières with free tickets for all at this Wednesday event and Reno Mayor Bob Cashell is sponsoring the Movie on the Mayor at Wingfield Park on Thursday with free tickets for all. 

Megan M. Fisher, a recent graduate from Truckee Meadows Community College’s graphic communications department and a 2003 Galena High graduate, designed this year’s festival poster.  Fisher’s prize is two all access passes to this year’s festival, courtesy of the City of Reno’s Ward 5, Northwest NAB.  

Festival sponsors this year include the Siena Hotel Spa Casino, Yellowbook, KTVN-Channel 2, Americom/Reno Radio Representatives, Bea-Design for Marketing, H & A Productions, KNPB Channel 5 Public Broadcasting, KUNR Public Radio – FM 88.7, Red Machine Multimedia, Final Draft, and the Reno News & Review.  Grant support is from the City of Reno Arts & Culture Commission; City of Reno’s Neighborhood Advisory Boards: Wards One/SW Reno, Two/Central, Two/South Reno, Three/East Reno, Four/No. Valleys, Four/NE and Five/NW; DP Foundation; E. L. Cord Foundation; Nevada Arts Council, a division of the Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs; National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency; and the Terry Lee Wells Foundation.

May 3, 2010
Contact:  Bob Alessandrelli
775.848.6028
boba@rlasolutions.com

Like an epic Hollywood film, this has been 10 years in the making….
Reno Film Festival Celebrates 10th Anniversary June 13-20

The Reno Film Festival will celebrate its 10th annual event June 13-20 throughout Reno.  This annual celebration of film is all about films, of course, and includes premieres and classics as well as educational panels and workshops.  Also featured will be the finalists and winners of Reno’s own Indie Short Film and Lumière All-School Film Fest competitions, each with multiple categories.  A Friday VIP reception and a Saturday awards ceremony are also planned.

The festival kicks off Sunday, June 13, with an all day Screenwriting Workshop, featuring keynote speaker Pilar Alessandra.  Alessandra is the director of the Los Angeles writing program “On the Page" and has worked as a senior story analyst for DreamWorks and Radar Pictures as well has having trained writers at ABC/Disney, MTV/Nickelodeon, the National Screen Institute, the Los Angeles Film School, The UCLA Writers Program and more. 

Also set for Sunday are screenings of the finalists in the Reno Indie Competition Family category.  Screenings of the Indie finalists continues throughout the week with Animation, Comedy, Nevada, Sci-Fi, Music, Documentaries, Foreign and Drama categories.  Some of the filmmakers will be present to introduce and discuss their films.  A complete schedule of dates, times and locations will be available in late May at the festival’s website, www.renofilmfestival.com.  Advance tickets are available at this website.  Free and reduced student pricing is courtesy of grants from the City of Reno NABs, Wards 2 Central and South and the Terry Lee Wells Foundation.

Finalists from the Lumière student competition, a free event sponsored by the DP Foundation, will be shown on Wednesday and the winners will be announced at this evening event.  Most Lumière entries come from Washoe County but the contest has a few entries from around the country.  On Thursday, the festival presents a free family-friendly outdoor film screening in Wingfield Park.  This year’s “Movie on the Mayor,” hosted my Reno Mayor Bob Cashell, is the 1998 animated feature “The Prince of Egypt.”  This film features the voices of a “who’s who” in Hollywood:  Sandra Bullock, Helen Mirren, Val Kilmer, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jeff Goldblum, Danny Glover and Patrick Stewart.  It’s the musical tale of two brothers, one born of royal blood and one an orphan with a secret past. 

Another free family film-- “Dear Frankie,” starring Gerald Butler--will be shown on Sunday, June 20.  This engaging 2005 film is the story of a young deaf boy, his mother and the man that the boy’s mother hires to portray the boy’s father for one day.

One of this year’s special events will be “Bing Crosby Rarities,” which features rare home movies and clips from the famous singer-actor.  Hosted by Bob DeFlores, a film collector who has put together this tribute, this Friday evening event on June 18 will be entertaining and memorable.  A filmmakers panel and two short films done by the local Project Moonshine endeavor will be take place on Sunday, June 20.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 3, 2010
Contact:  Bob Alessandrelli
848.6028
boba@rlasolutions.com

TMCC Student Wins Reno Film Festival Poster Contest; To Be Unveiled at
Lumière All-School Film Fest Screenings

Megan M. Fisher, who will graduate later this month from Truckee Meadows Community College’s graphic communications department, has won this year’s Reno Film Festival poster contest.  Her art features a clean design of a movie reel, a subtle Reno skyline and the festival logo and dates.  Her design will be used later this month and in June to promote the 10th annual festival, set for June 13-20.  In addition to her art appearing on this year’s festival poster, print media and the festival’s website, Fisher has won two all access passes to this year’s festival, courtesy of the City of Reno’s Ward 5, Northwest NAB.  

Fisher said she came up with the design the first time but her final entry was a third or fourth generation as she refined her work.  Fisher is a 2003 graduate of Galena High and last year’s winner, Matt Sheridan was also a Galena graduate.

Fisher’s design will be introduced at the festival’s May 20-22 free screenings of the finalists in this year’s Lumière All-School Film Fest, at Clayton Middle School on Thursday, Peavine Elementary on Friday and Damonte Ranch High on Saturday.  All screenings begin at 7 p.m.

A number of local students—from elementary school to college—are finalists in the various Lumière categories.  Categories include music, mini-documentaries & visual essays, how-to-films, science and math films, news stories & perspective pieces, public service announcements, animation (CGI, hand-drawn, and stop-motion), fake commercials, original trailers, and live action, science fiction and western shorts.  The Lumières are sponsored by the DP Foundation and the May screenings as well as a screening during the June festival will all be free. 

A complete schedule of the June 13-20 festival, including a ticket order form, will be available on the festival’s website, www.renofilmfestival.com, later this month.

Festival sponsors this year include the Siena Hotel Spa Casino, Yellowbook, KTVN-Channel 2, Americom/Reno Radio Representatives, Bea-Design for Marketing, H & A Productions, KNPB Channel 5 Public Broadcasting, KUNR Public Radio – FM 88.7, Red Machine Multimedia, Final Draft, and the Reno News & Review.  Grant support is from the City of Reno Arts & Culture Commission; City of Reno’s Neighborhood Advisory Boards: Wards One/SW Reno, Two/Central, Two/South Reno, Three/East Reno, Four/No. Valleys, Four/NE and Five/NW; DP Foundation; E. L. Cord Foundation; Nevada Arts Council, a division of the Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs; National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency; and the Terry Lee Wells Foundation.

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January 31, 2010
Contact:  Bob Alessandrelli
848.6028
boba@rlasolutions.com

Reno Film Festival Announces Annual Oscar Shorts Screenings

The Oscar-nominated and winning live action and animated short subjects will be screened in Reno Friday and Saturday, March 26 and 27.  Evening shows at 7:30 pm will screen at the Joe Crowley Student Union at UNR and a 2 pm Saturday matinee will be shown in room 108 of the Sierra building on the TMCC Dandini campus. 

Tickets are available at the door or in advance at www.renofilmfestival.com or from Neil in the TMCC library.  Ticket prices are $8/general and $5/student.  Bring two cans of food to benefit the Food Bank of Northern Nevada and take $1 off.  (Those purchasing tickets in advance will be reimbursed at the door.)

Festival organizers are currently accepting entries for three contests:  March 12 is the deadline for both this year’s annual poster contest and the Reno Indie competition.  The Indie competition has a late deadline in April and the synopsis contest has April and May deadlines.  Information on all three contests is at the festival’s website, www.renofilmfestival.com

This year’s 10th annual Reno Film Festival is slated for June 13-20 and will feature the annual Indie Shorts competition with short films in a variety of categories, classic films, educational sessions, parties and more.  A complete Reno Film Festival schedule and ticket information will be posted at the festival’s website as this year’s program is finalized later this spring.

Festival sponsors for the 2009-10 season include the City of Reno’s Arts & Culture Commission, E.L Cord Foundation, DP Foundation, Terry Lee Wells Foundation and the Nevada Arts Council & National Endowment for the Arts.  Media sponsors include Yellowbook, KTVN-TV, Americom/Reno Radio Representatives, Bea-Design for Marketing, H & A Productions, KNPB Channel 5 Public Broadcasting, KUNR Public Radio – FM 88.7, Red Machine Multimedia and the Reno News & Review.

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