Three Asheville Film Festival Films Receive Academy Nods
Two feature films and a documentary showcased at the 5th Annual Asheville Film Festival this past November have been nominated for numerous awards by the Academy of Motion Pictures and Arts.
”The Savages”, ”The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”, and ”War/Dance” have all been tapped for Oscars in various categories for 2007.
Click here to download the press release.
Film Submission Information will be available on April 1, 2008.
And the Winners are…
Last night, the 2007 Asheville FIlm Festival announced its winners for this year. They include winners, runners-up and audience favorites in the feature, documentary, short, student and animation categories, as well as the Daniel Delavergne award, which honors films for a sense of adventure, and the ETV Southern Lens Award, going to a film that captures Southern culture
The winners are as follows:
Feature:
Winner - Year of the Fish
Runner-up - (tie) Blood Car, Randy and the Mob
Audience Award - Year of the Fish
Documentary:
Winner - War/Dance
Runner-up - Behind Forgotten Eyes
Audience Award - War/Dance
Short:
Winner - Cabbie
Runner-up - Kilroy Was Here
Audience Award - Jonna’s Body, Please Hold
Student:
Winner - The Little Gorilla
Runner-up - Rebel Song
Audience Award - The Little Gorilla
Animation:
Winner - When the World Goes Dark
Runner-up - Glimpse
Audience Award - Glimpse
Daniel Delavergne Spirit Award:
The Oil and Water Project
ETV Southern Lens Award:
Moving Midway
Second chance to catch Blood Car Sunday!
The organizers of the Asheville Film Festival have announced that there will be a second “buzz” showing of the sold-out film Blood Car on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. in Diana Wortham Theatre. Get tickets here.
Blood Car saw its North Carolina Premiere on Friday, and sold out quickly. It drew enough word of mouth that festival organizers gave it a “buzz spot” for a second showing. Director Alex Orr will also be on hand to take audience questions following the movie.
The other “buzz” movie, a noon showing of legendary director Sidney Lumet’s Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, has sold out.
— David Forbes, staff writer
A second chance to catch “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead”
***UPDATE: 2:11 P.M. SATURDAY—THE SECOND “BUZZ” SHOWING OF ‘BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD” HAS SOLD OUT. *** Festival organizers announced a second showing of buzz film, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead after the first showing sold out this past weekend. The second screening will be Sunday, November 11 at Noon at Diana Wortham Theatre. Tickets are now available at the festival box office in Pack Place or online or at 828-257-4500.
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead is being hailed as a comeback for acclaimed director, Sidney Lumet, and is already garnering pre-Oscar buzz among film critics. The film stars Academy Award winners Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Marisa Tomei in a robbery that goes all wrong.
Festival Guide hits the stands!
The official festival guide is out on the stands right now! Pick up a copy of the latest issue of the Mountain Xpress in one of many locations around the area to find everything out about the film festival, the movies, the galas and events that you ever wanted to know!
Horror comes to the Asheville Film Festival!
For those of you whose love of good horror flicks (or good movies period) doesn’t end at Halloween, the 2007 Asheville Film Festival has some of today’s most innovative independent horror movies coming your way.
In Alex Orr’s Blood Car, set in the near future, gas prices reach an all-time high, nearing almost $40 a gallon. Archie Andrews, an environmentalist and vegan schoolteacher, is determined to find an alternate fuel source. While experimenting with various wheat-grass concoctions, he accidentally stumbles upon a solution. Blood. Human blood. Archie soon becomes the only person driving a car and attracts the attention of a sex slut named Denise. Unable to turn down her advances, Archie becomes attached to her—and the only way to keep her is to keep the car running.
Blood Car, which will see its North Carolina premiere at the festival, has drawn quite a buzz. It was selected as the closing night film at the Atlanta Underground festival, was in the top 3 on Myspace Movies for some time and was also featured on Ain’t It Cool News. It’s won awards at festivals around the country, including Cinequest, Chicago Underground and Atlanta Horror.
Jeremy Saulnier’s Murder Party is set on Halloween night in Brooklyn. A random windblown invitation leads a lonesome stranger into the hands of a deranged artist’s collective intent on murdering him for the sake of their art. What follows is a gonzo night of mishap, mayhem and hilarity.
Murder Party was touted as “downright f**king hilarious” by Ain’t It Cool News and won the Audience Award at Slamdance and the Best Feature award at the Vail Film Festival.
Seeing it’s U.S. premiere is Charlotte filmmaker Mark Young’s Southern Gothic. A drama/horror set in the South, Southern Gothic chronicles a man who must atone for a tragic mistake by saving a little girl from a band of ruthless, undead killers. This genre-blurring film defies convention by blending art house and slaughterhouse.
Tickets for any of these films are available here
Galas and parties!
The Asheville Film Festival isn’t just a time to see great movies, it’s also a time for parties and galas, and this year is no exception.
The fun starts Thursday (Nov. 8) night, with the festival kick-off, complete with the critically acclaimed film The Savages. Following the film, ticket holders will adjourn to the lobby and outside atrium of Pack Place for spectacular food provided by Amici, beer and wine. Tickets for this event can be purchased here.
On Friday, there will be an evening with this year’s Career Achievement Award winner, Tess Harper. A special screening of Tender Mercies, which marked the beginning of Ms. Harper’s career with a Golden Globe nomination, will be held at the Fine Arts Theater. It will be followed by a Q&A with Ms. Harper and a reception at Blue Spiral 1. Tickets for this event can be purchased here.
Saturday evening will see the festival’s big event, as the winners are announced and the awards presented at a cocktail reception and exciting awards ceremony. Tickets for this event can be purchased here.
The festival will end on a high-note with a showing of the award-winning film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly followed by a reception with beer, wine and appetizers provided by Amici. Tickets for this event can be purchased here.
More information about any of these parites can be found in our list of events.
“Golden Blade III’s” kung fu is the strongest there is!
The Asheville Film Festival is pleased to announced that “Golden Blade III: Return of the Monkey’s Uncle,” has just won “Best Local Film of the Year” honors in the Mountain Xpress’ annual Best of WNC section. And you can see its mighty kung fu for yourself Friday, Nov. 9 at the Asheville Film Festival!
A roaring kung-fu spoof from Asheville’s own auteur T.J. Wiedow, “Golden Blade III” pays homage to the “classic” kung fu films, when cheap video games and bad movie effects were still awesome and fun, “Golden Blade III” features a magic sword, ridiculous eyebrows, the classic market fight scene and out-of-sync voice dubbing. And that’s before the cyborg and the monkey show up.
More information about “Golden Blade III,” including its prequel and scenes from the movie, can be found at its official website. It will play at the festival on Friday, Nov. 9 at the Asheville Community Theatre from 11:15 p.m. - 1 a.m. Tickets are on sale now.
Tickets are on Sale!
As of this afternoon, tickets for the Asheville Film Festival are on sale! To buy tickets or for more details, just go here.
Along with the tickets, we’ve a whole slew of new movies to announce. In features alone, we’re proud to announce “Blood Car,” “The Garage,” “Golden Blade III: Return of the Monkey’s Uncle,” “The List,” “Orphans,” “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” “Randy and the Mob,” “Slipdream” and “Uranya.”
We’ve also got more documentaries, shorts, animated and student films. For more information, including trailers, check them out in our films section.
We’ve got Ghost Town, the movie!
The Asheville Film Festival is proud to announce that “Ghost Town, the movie” will be playing at the 2007 Asheville Film Festival. This movie has gotten quite a bit of buzz on our discussion boards and we’re happy to have it in Asheville come November.
This unique “eastern” Western is North Carolina native Dean Teaster’s tribute to his father Robert Doyle Teaster and the Ghost Town In The Sky theme park.
Combining factual information about his great-great-grandfather Harold and the best elements of the staged gunfights at Ghost Town In The Sky, the story paints a picture of the beautiful mountain region settled by the Celtic people, whose rich traditions and true grit allowed them to survive and thrive during the rugged 1800’s. With a slight romantic edge, the film is full of messages about love, hate, family, forgiveness, redemption and sacrifice.
For the trailer for “Ghost Town,” along with more information about the movie, visit our Features section.
7 Shorts and 3 Student Films at the 2007 Asheville Film Festival
The Asheville Film Festival is proud to announce 7 short films and 3 students films for the 2007 Asheville Film Festival. We have trailers for several of these movies so you can take a peek at them yourself.
Short films can pack quite a bit of power into their time on screen, and these are no exception. The seven shorts: “A Driving Lesson,” “Blue Suede Wings,” “The Wake of Calum MacLeod,” “Jonna’s Body, Please Hold,” “The Lucky One,” “My Name is Wallace” and “Totally Connected” all offer fascinating stories to tell.
Meanwhile, the student films “Quincy & Althea,” “Saving Mom and Dad” and “The Little Gorilla” all offer movie-goers a glimpse of up-and-coming talent.
More information on these films is available in the Shorts and Student sections.
A full list of all the movies announced so far, complete with trailers for many of them, can be found here.
More films will be announced later this week.
We’ve got Docs! 12 announced for the 2007 Asheville Film Festival
The 2007 Asheville Film Festival is proud to announce 12 groundbreaking and fascinating documentaries for the 2007 Asheville Film Festival.
These documentaries are “American Scary,” “Behind Forgotten Eyes,” “Celebration of Flight,” “El Mechanico Loco,” “Kamp Katrina,” “Kilowatt Ours,” “Laughing Matters… the Men,” “Moving Midway,” “99 to 1: Ovarian Cancer and Me,” “Off the Rocker,” “One Road,” “The Spirit of Sacajawea,” and “The Year of Paper.”
At their best, documentaries provide a glimpse into all aspects of the world and the human experience. These are no exception, covering everything from struggles a world away to those right here, from tales of one family to stories of entire nations. They are by turns funny, tragic, enlightening, terrifying and uplifting.
More information about these films can be found in the documentary section. We are fortunate enough to have trailers for most of these films.
The Asheville Film Festival is proud to have a field of documentaries as diverse as this city—and there are more to come.
“Glimpse” and “When the World Goes Dark” at the 2007 Asheville Film Festival
The Asheville Film Festival is proud to announce its first animated films for this year, Dustin Grella’s “Glimpse” and Anthony Scalmato’s “When the World Goes Dark.”
“Glimpse” began as a study of the life of artist and painter Willem de Kooning and evolved into a narrative of freedom and the impermanence of life. Over 4,500 stills, hand drawn on top of slate from deserted schoolhouses, create the immersive world of this animated experience
“When the World Goes Dark,” seeing its North Carolina premiere, details the struggle of one man in the New York subway system against his own madness as he searches for love.
More information about both films is available in the animation section.
More films for the 2007 festival will be announced throughout the week.
5 features announced for the 2007 Asheville Film Festival
The Asheville Film Festival is proud to announce the features “Art of Suicide,” “Her Best Move,” “Murder Party,” “Wholetrain” and “Year of the Fish.” And we’ve got trailers!
“Art of Suicide” chronicles the quest of Joel Mallon and his artistic friends at White Hall Studio, an eclectic commune for artists and bohemians alike out to put themselves on the map. But just how long can an artist get rejected, overlooked, and written off before his “big break” comes? Joel’s break finally comes when a free-spirited muse enters his life, and gives him the ultimate inspiration. But how far are you willing to go to promote yourself?
In “Her Best Move,” high school is crazy enough, but for fifteen-year-old soccer star Sara Davis, it’s about to get even crazier. On the field she dances through opponents to make impossible shots on goal - skills honed by her father Gil, a pro soccer coach. As Gil pushes Sara to make the Development Team, her hopes of performing in the dance recital and exploring a relationship are shoved aside. With scouts watching every shot, Sara faces the challenge of discovering who she is before making the best move of her life.
In the horror film “Murder Party,” a random windblown invitation leads a lonesome stranger into the hands of a deranged collective intent on murdering him for the sake of their art. What follows is a gonzo night of mishap, mayhem and hilarity…sometimes tender, sometimes terrifying.
Coming from Germany, “Wholetrain” is a gritty urban drama that pulsates with the sights and sounds of the graffiti underworld. It tells the riveting story of the KSB crew, four graffiti writers who are fighting for fame and respect at any price.
The animated film “Year of the Fish,” was shot entirely on location in New York City’s Chinatown. A modern-day adaptation of Cinderella based on an old Chinese version of the story, it was shot on inexpensive live-action video that was used as a guide for digital painting in post-production.
If you want a glimpse at these films for yourself, we’ve also got trailers for all of these movies… Art of Suicide, Her Best Move, Murder Party, Wholetrain and Year of the Fish.
More information about the films, their film makers and cast can all be found in features section.
More films for the 2007 festival will be announced throughout the week. Enjoy!
And the final judges are…
The 2007 Asheville Film Festival is happy to announce the final two additions to this year’s panel of film judges—Felicia Feaster, film critic for Atlanta’s Creative Loafing and Asheville’s very own Ken Hanke, film critic for Mountain Xpress.
Felicia Feaster was born in Jimmy Stewart’s hometown of Indiana, Pennsylvania. She received her B.A. in film studies from the University of Florida and her M.A. in film studies from Emory University. Her master’s thesis on exploitation film became a book, Forbidden Fruit: The Golden Age of the Exploitation Film co-authored with fellow lowbrow connoisseur, husband and filmmaker Bret Wood (Hell’s Highway, Psychopathia Sexualis). She is the staff art and film critic for Atlanta’s alternative newsweekly Creative Loafing. Her writing has appeared in Elle, New York Press, Atlanta magazine, Sculpture, Art in America, Artnews, Playboy online and Art Papers. She has curated exhibitions for the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center and TEW Galleries in Atlanta. She has received multiple Green Eyeshade Awards for criticism and feature reporting from the Society of Professional Journalists.
Mountain Xpress film critic Ken Hanke is a self-confessed monument to a life misspent watching movies. He traces his interest in film back to 1963 and the horror picture publication Famous Monsters of Filmland (which is perhaps why he’s a little more sympathetic to horror movies than most reviewers). It took nearly 20 years for a friend to talk him into actually writing about movies himself—resulting in the book Ken Russell’s Films (Scarecrow Press, 1984). He followed this with articles for Films in Review, Scarlet Street (for which he’s also an associate editor), Video Watchdog, Alternative Cinema, etc. He’s also written the books Charlie Chan at the Movies (McFarland Publishing, 1989; reissued in paperback this year), A Critical Guide to Horror Film Series (Garland Publishing, 1991) and Tim Burton: An Unauthorized Biography of the Filmmaker (Renaissance Books, 1999), along with contributing essays to such books as The Fearmakers (St. Martin’s Press, 1994) and the deliciously titled The Sleaze Merchants (St, Martin’s Press, 1995). In between reviewing about 160 movies a year—and dodging brickbats hurled by occasionally dissenting readers—he’s working on Hollywood’s Other Horrors: a Studio Tour and a full-scale biography of Ken Russell, Nymphomaniacs, Nuns and Messiahs.
They join actors Robby Benson and Harry Anderson, director/writer/producer Don Mancini and film critics Larry Toppman and Sam Watson, as previously announced to complete this year’s distinguished panel of judges.
Final Cut Pro Training workshop coming to Film Festival
Continuing with the success of her FINAL CUT PRO ROAD TRIP last year, distinguished educator Diana Weynand, and author of the best selling book, APPLE PRO TRAINING SERIES - FINAL CUT PRO 6, is taking her Authorized Final Cut Pro course on the road again. Her next scheduled stop is at the invitation of the Asheville Film Festival in North Carolina. The Authorized Apple Final Cut Pro 6 class is being offered November 6-8 at The Gallery at Pack Place.
This unique opportunity will again give people a chance to learn Apple’s award winning editing software and become an Apple Certified Pro user.
“Final Cut Pro is such a popular application among a wide range of users. We want to make sure everyone who wants to become proficient in Final Cut Pro has that opportunity,” says Diana Weynand, president of Weynand Training International, a Los Angeles based Apple Authorized Training Center. “We can help new, novice, or intermediate FCP users raise their confidence and expertise to a more professional level. The Asheville Film Festival is a perfect host for the certified class, since so many filmmakers are using Final Cut Pro to edit their projects and because of its close proximity to the University of North Carolina.”
In addition to delivering the authorized training around the country, Weynand will also offer the End User exam at the end of the course. “When class graduates pass the Certified User exam, they can become Apple Certified Pros and have their names posted on the Apple website. It that you really know the software and to market yourself.”
Diana Weynand brings to this FCP training her many years as a professional editor. She was supervising editor for the Barbara Walters Series of Entertainment Specials, and recently was an online editor for the hit MTV series, “Real World.” Diana has also trained and consulted for many production companies who have switched from Avid to Final Cut Pro, including Bunim- Murray (producers of MTV’s “Real World,” “The Simple Life,” and “Starting Over”), Pie Town Productions, (producers of HGTV programming), KingWorld (producers of “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune,”) NBC/Universal (producers of
“Monk” and “Psych”), Sony, and many others. Shirley Craig, Diana this training available to a large number of users, we are offering several discounts on the cost of the course. There being a student or educator, and we even have a BYOPB discount where you can bring and use your own laptop (as long as it of FCP). In additional participants of the Asheville Film Festival can attend the class for a special discount too.
The road trip will be a really great opportunity for anyone interested in learning Final Cut Pro, to get the training they need – and from the person who actually wrote the book!”
For a complete list of road cities, registration information and our special discount prices, either call (818) 995-1719 or go to http://www.weynand.com
“Intervention” and “Southern Gothic” at the 2007 Asheville Film Festival
The Asheville Film Festival is proud to announce two more films for the 2007 Asheville Film Festival: “Intervention” and “Southern Gothic.”
Mary McGuckian’s “Intervention,” featuring local actress Andie MacDowell and 2006 AFF Career Achievement Award Winner Jennifer Tilly, this film offers a fly-on-the-wall bittersweet glimpse of what goes on behind closed doors at a New Mexico rehab clinic when an eclectic group of people from all walks of life find themselves under one roof for twenty-eight days with one thing in common.
“Southern Gothic,” a drama/horror movie from Charlotte-based filmmaker Mark Young, chronicles one man’s struggle to save a small girl from a ruthless band of undead killers.
Go to the features section for more information about both movies, or to the filmmakers section to learn more about their directors.
Pre-festival Educational Events announced
The educational events leading up to the the 2007 Asheville Film Festival have just been announced. It features chances On Oct. 27 and 28 to see last year’s award winners, the New Generation Filmmaking workshop for middle and high school students, and training in FinalCut Pro.
More information about the educational series can be found here
Of course, during the festival itself, there will also be a whole series of workshops and panels, the New Generation Project screening, and many more events.
2007 Career Achievement Award Winner
The Asheville Film Festival is pleased to announce that the 2007 Career Achievement Award will be presented to Oscar-nominated actress Tess Harper.
Since she first came on the film scene in Bruce Beresford’s acclaimed Tender Mercies (1983)—for which she received a Golden Globe nomination—Tess Harper has proven herself the consummate professional, appearing in over 70 movies and TV films. She’s appeared in films as diverse as Silkwood, Flashpoint, Crimes of the Heart (another film for Bruce Beresford—and one that brought her an Oscar nomination), The Man in the Moon, The Jackal, and even Amityville 3-D. Asheville audiences are apt to know her from Tim Kirkman’s recent Loggerheads—a film with local roots and a strong following.
Apart from Beresford and Kirkman, Harper has worked for such filmmakers as Mike Nichols, Elaine May, Sam Shepard, Robert Mulligan, and recently the Coen Brothers in their latest film No Country for Old Men. She’s shared the screen with Robert Duvall, Meryl Streep, Sissy Spacek, Jessica Lange, Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman and Bruce Willis—and held her own with them all. Her charm, personality and innate sincerity has enlivened many a film.
As part of the Asheville Film Festival honors, several of her best works will be screened throughout the event.
Judges announced for 2007 Asheville Film Festival
Five of the Judges for the 2007 Asheville Film Festival have been announced. They’re a diverse crew, including actors, producers, directors, writers and critics (and some who combine several of the above), with long and storied histories in the film industry.
Harry Anderson
The tall, genial street hustler turned magician gained fame as the star of a popular long-running sitcom, “Night Court” (NBC, 1984-92) as oddball judge Harry Stone. National TV audiences first encountered Anderson performing his unconventional magic on “Saturday Night Live”. Regardless of the role, his cleverness and charm remain a constant.
Most certainly Harry made his name with the success of “Night Court”. He became a TV staple, appearing in numerous guest spots ("Tonight Show”, “Tales From the Crypt"), Disney TV productions (a 1988 NBC remake of “The Absent-Minded Professor"), assorted specials, TV movies and miniseries including “Spies, Lies & Naked Thighs” (CBS, 1988), “Stephen King’s ‘It’” (ABC, 1990) and “Harvey” (CBS, 1995).
Following a personal hiatus, Harry signed for another stint as sitcom star, playing Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist Dave Barry on “Dave’s World (CBS, 1993-97). Both “Night Court” and “Dave’s World” have experienced healthy after-lives in syndication, as has Harry’s comedy work on SNL, HBO et al, keeping him constantly onscreen whether he likes it or not.
Throughout all, Harry has continued to develop his live stage performance as “Harry the Hat” and has fascinated and delighted audiences in casinos, theatres, night clubs and corporate events around the country.
Robby Benson
Best known for starring in films such as Ice Castles, Ode to Billy Joe, and in his own screenplay for the Warner Bros. basketball classic, One On One, and to a new generation as the voice of Beast in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, the only animated feature ever to receive a Best Picture Academy Award nomination, Robby Benson is also a three time Golden Globe nominated actor and star of projects with Paul Newman, Jack Lemmon, Burt Reynolds, Gene Hackman, George Burns, Maximillan Schnell, and Rod Steiger.
His four decade entertainment resume covers a wide range of categories including director of film and over 100 television episodes/pilots, producer of films and television series, Broadway star, film soundtrack composer, and the recipient of RIAA Gold Records for songwriting.
As a theatrical musical composer and lyricist, Robby’s musical “Open Heart” debuted in NYC in 2004 and Samuel French, Inc., published “Open Heart” in November 2006. As a sought after public speaker he is represented by HarperCollins Speakers Bureau. Teaching for two decades at Universities around the country, Robby spent the 2006-2007 academic year as Professor of Film in NYU’s famed Tisch School of the Arts in the Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film and Television, where he received the honor of being nominated for New York University’s Distinguished Teaching Award for his service.
Don Mancini
Don Mancini created the Child’s Play franchise, the phenomenally successful series of horror movies featuring “Chucky,” the killer doll. Mancini wrote the screenplay for all five films in the series, and made his directorial debut with the latest, 2004’s Seed of Chucky. Among his other credits is the Fitting Punishment episode of HBO’s Tales from the Crypt. His screenplays in development include two adventure fantasies, Atlas and The Dog Who Cried Wolf, for legendary producer Dino De Laurentiis. Mancini was born in Boston, Mass., and grew up in Richmond, Va. After two years as an English major at Columbia University, he took a year off from school to work on the daytime soap opera Search for Tomorrow. Resuming his education, he transferred to UCLA, where he was accepted in the school’s prestigious film program, and where he conceived the screenplay for the original Child’s Play in 1988. Currently, Mancini is developing a TV series, Kill Switch, which he created for Touchstone Television and ABC.
Larry Toppman
Lawrence Toppman has been movie critic for The Charlotte Observer since 1987. Before that, he spent 10 years as a professional journalist writing about sports, live theater, classical music and pop culture. He has also spent 25 seasons in the chorus of Opera Carolina, singing in more than 60 productions, and has appeared as an extra in three movies. One of those was “Atlantic City”; it’s probably a coincidence that the film was nominated for five Academy Awards in 1981.
Sam Watson
Film columnist and reporter (Johnson City Press) Sam Watson has been writing about the movies for 25 years. He credits his love for motion pictures to a childhood spent watching old serials, shorts and features in a Saturday morning club for employees’ children at the factory where his father worked in Kingsport, Tenn. He honed his film criticism skills while earning an English/journalism degree at Tennessee Technological University, where he also studied film lit and history. He has particular interest in the life and films of actor Montgomery Clift. Since joining the Johnson City Press in 1988, Watson has received numerous awards for articles about education and his film columns.
“Simple Things” at the Asheville Film Festival
The Asheville Film Festival is proud to announce that the feature Simple Things will be at the 2007 Asheville Film Festival.
“Simple Things,” which tells the story of a Chicago doctor who, after the death of his wife, leaves to set up a clinic in the mountains of North Carolina. It has won multiple awards, taking Best Picture honors at the Appalachian Film Festival and Best Picture, Actor and Director awards at the California Independent Film Festival. It also garnered Audience and Spirit Awards at the International Family Film Festival.
“Simple Things” was filmed in Asheville and around Western North Carolina. The Asheville Film Festival is proud to host both movies.
For more information on “Simple Things,” see its profile in the Features section or, for info about its director, go to filmmaker profiles
Film Festival Trailer Competition!
The Asheville Film Festival and URTV, Asheville’s public access channel, are seeking the most creative festival trailer! This new competition is aimed at filmmakers of all experience levels from Western North Carolina.
The festival trailer will be used to promote the Asheville Film Festival, November 8-11 and will be shown on URTV prior to the festival and during the festival before each screening. A prize of $500 will also be awarded to the winning trailer. Entries will be judged by committee members from the Asheville Film Festival and the URTV Board of Directors.
Entry forms are available here. For more information, contact the city’s festivals division at (828) 259-5800.
Welcome!
Welcome to the website of the 2007 Asheville Film Festival, which will be held Nov. 8-11 in downtown Asheville. From here you can submit a film for competition, get tickets or times, read the latest news, participate in the discussion boards and get more information about the festival and the area.
Now entering its fifth year, the Asheville Film Festival has “seized the spotlight,” according to the Charlotte Observer, serving as a showcase for up-and-coming films and a celebration of achievement in the medium, all located in a beautiful city where anything can happen.
Our festival features a variety of independent films, including feature length, shorts, and documentaries as well as a student film competition. You can attend discussions about the film industry, go on location tours, see movies, and share in the excitement of both opening and awards galas.