The Valley Film Festival (VFF) is an annual independent film festival held in the San Fernando Valley of northwestern Los Angeles, California.
The VFF is a venue for new independent work by Valley residents as well as American and international filmmakers. It screens various genres of short and feature-length films. These include fiction films, documentaries, animated films, and music videos. Typically, over about five days, the festival screens about 50-60 films. In addition to screenings, the festival provides educational panels and social events. [1]
Awards
The festival has juried Ten Degrees Hotter Awards, so named “because it’s always 10 degrees hotter in the Valley." [2] These juried awards are for one narrative feature, one documentary feature, and one short — from competitive sections composed of no more than eight films in each category.
Additionally, the festival has awards chosen by the audience for short films in non-competitive sections such as Comedy Short, Dramatic Short, Alumni Short, and Girls on Film.
History
Founded in 2000 by Tracey Adlai, [3] [4] the VFF is the first and longest continually running film festival in the San Fernando Valley. [5] Over the years, the festival has taken place in the fall, mostly at the El Portal Theatre in the North Hollywood ( NoHo) Arts District. Other screening venues have included the Whitefire Theater and the CAP Theatre, both in Sherman Oaks, and the Laemmle NoHo 7 Theatre. [6]
VFF alumni include film and television director John Putch, [7] actor and director of The Help Tate Taylor, [8] producers Laurence Malkin [9] and Straw Weisman, [10] three-time Emmy award winner Richard Gale, [11] and two-time Emmy Award-winning video journalist Renee Sotile. [12]
While primarily showing new independent films, the festival also has had some special screenings of studio-supported films, often made in or about the Valley. One of these was a 2007 screening of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, which included a Q&A with Robert Romanus and Amy Heckerling. [13] The festival also has occasionally screened some adult entertainment films—or films about this business, such as Boogie Nights [14]—in acknowledgment of the Valley's significant role in this area of film production. [15]
See also
References
- ^ North Hollywood-Toluca Lake Patch: "NoHo Filmmakers Featured in Valley Film Festival"; 11/12/2010 retrieved 9/22/2011
- ^ CanyonNews.com "Valley Film Festival Loved By Fans"; 15 November 2011 . retrieved 11/22/2011.
- ^ Valerie Kuklenski, “FILM SNEAK PEEK,” Daily News of Los Angeles, 10/26/2001, L.A. Life section, Valley edition, Page L6. Retrieved 9/28/11 from NewsLibrary.com
- ^ Valley Film Festival serves as local showcase for filmmakers AllBusiness.com, 9/25/2006 retrieved 9/22/2011
- ^ Kristina Sauerwein, "Film Festival Hopes to Spotlight the Valley," The Los Angeles Times, 10/27/2001 retrieved 10/9/2011 from LATimes.com
- ^ The Valley Film Festival Experience Sherman Oaks Patch, 11/13/2011 retrieved 11/15/2011
- ^ Film Down in the Valley FilmThreat.com, 9/11/2006 retrieved 9/22/2011
- ^ THE 2008 VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES AWARDS IndieExpress.com, 9/2008 retrieved 9/22/2011
- ^ Five Fingers: About the Filmmakers CelebrityWonder.ugo.com retrieved 9/22/2011
- ^ Trunk NewFilmsInt.com retrieved 9/22/2011
- ^ Richard Gale IMDB profile retrieved 11/30/11
- ^ Renee Sotile IMDB profile retrieved 11/12/12
- ^ Valley Film Festival Part I IndieExpress.com, 9/19/2007 retrieved 9/22/2011
- ^ The Valley Film Festival Festivals.com retrieved 9/22/2011
- ^ Valley Film Festival serves as local showcase for filmmakers AllBusiness.com, 9/25/2006 retrieved 9/22/2011