Well, we’re gonna do it again! The 4th Annual Billtown Film Festival is scheduled for April 28, 29 and 30, 2013 at the Community Arts Center in Williamsport Pa. Check this site often for updates.
Well, another year is coming to a close. The culmination of 365 days of eating, drinking, thinking BFF4 has finally arrived. We have quite a smorgasbord this time ’round. There should be something for everybody. We are really proud of our connection with the Bully Project. According to their website, over 900,000 students have seen the documentary Bully. We hope to significantly increase that number. Come out on Monday April 29th to help break the one million ceiling!
Lise Yasui’s father was a much loved physician in Williamsport. Dr. Yasui passed away last year. We expect his friends, colleagues and patients will attend the screening of A Family Gathering on Sunday Night. We’re honored in presenting a very important film on it’s 25th anniversary.
Our final feature film is Within the Eye of the Storm, on Tuesday night. Is lasting PEACE possible in the Middle East? Two former enemies, Bassam and Rami, think it is possible. What do you think? We’re glad to introduce our first foreign language film. It has English subtitles.
And then there’s the shorts to round out the program. Be aware that there is a parental advisory for the first four films on Tuesday. See the timeline for more informtion.
If the table is too confusing check the list of films here.
BFF3 – Our last event was slammin’! The 3rd Annual Billtown Film Festival in Williamsport Pennsylvania included the national touring Lunafest film festival as part of its program. Lunafest honors the talents and stories of women everywhere through a series of inspirational short films. Lunafest was held on BFF’s opening night, April 19th, at the Community Arts Center in downtown Williamsport. Proceeds benefited the Williamsport YWCA and the Breast Cancer Fund. The theme for the Billtown Film Festival is “Art, Women and the Environment”.
Lunafest is a 90-minute program of films by, for, and about women is shown in up to 200 venues and to 20,000+ attendees throughout the U.S. and Canada. LUNAFEST raises funds and promotes awareness for local women’s nonprofit organizations through each screening. For more information about Lunafest, check out their website here.
BFF3 also showed films by local filmmakers too. After Lunafest we showed Lynn Estomin’s Out of Step, a film about women veterans’ writer’s project. On Friday, April 20th, the film stART (formerly known as Williamsport Art Attack) was shown. Although the film was broadcast on WVIA TV, it had been re-edited by director Lorena Benequez with BFF3 in mind. Lorena held a brief Q&A session after the screening of her film.
On Saturday, April 21, we screened 2 one-hour films and several short films on various subjects to round out the BFF3 program. There was a wrap up party at Ozzie and Mae’s Hacienda Restaurant and Cantina on the last evening of the event.
There was a mini-art show featuring women artists in the lobby of the CAC on all three nights. Notable artists included Sculptor Pam Barnes, Watercolorist Pat Neely and photographer “Mishap” Knaur. We had information concerning Art, Women and the Environment at an information table in the lobby.
BFF3 attendees were asked to evaluate the event and to provide feedback on 3×5 cards. The overwhelming majority of responses were positive and encouraging. Thank you. Your input was and is greatly appreciated.
Below: We’re gonna’ fill da’ house on April 19th! Imagine every seat filled in the Community Arts Center! Here’s a clip that’s flowing with positive energy! And then check out the video retrospective of last year’s BFF event. Several members of the audience offered their thoughts after the screenings. Check out what they had to say about the 2011 Billtown Film Festival.
Art, Women and the Environment. A.W.E. Awesome. The theme for the 2012 Billtown Film Festival will highlight the burgeoning art scene in Williamsport, Pennsylvania; the cinematic talents of women filmmakers and women’s issues; and the environmental challenges facing the Central Pennsylvania region. The event will have 3 separate nights of intriguing, and perhaps controversial, insights into seemingly divergent social topics. There will be some overlap between the designations but the festival’s criteria will be loosely structured as to encompass a broad range of works.
The Billtown Film Festival organization is dedicated to supporting the film industry in Pennsylvania by encouraging greater cinema attendance and by educating the public about independent films. We screen films at multiple venues in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. We support and encourage filmmakers, especially students, to manifest their creative expressions through film and video production.
We want more thought-provoking, intelligent and artistic films that, hopefully, will expand our horizons and promote cultural harmony. We want to maintain and improve the quality of life in our region by appreciating the cinematic artists’ sometimes controversial interpretation of our world. We want films and videos that will enlighten and entertain. All points of view are considered.
The Billtown Film Festival also seeks to improve the economic development of the downtown business district in Williamsport, Pennsylvania and the Central Pennsylvania region. The Billtown Film Festival encourages the production of documentary or narrative films that specifically detail the rich histories of Central Pennsylvania. But we’re more than that! We want all voices to be heard cinematically. If you are a filmmaker show us your stuff. Our next blowout event will be April 2012.
