Screen gems

By KAREN MARTIN SPECIAL TO THE DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

LITTLE ROCK — The Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival wants to bring audience members and filmmakers closer together. The best way to make that happen? Have a party!

So this year’s festival will stage a Filmmakers’ Celebration at 7 p.m. Oct. 24 at Horner Hall in the Hot Springs Civic and Convention Center. Wear something festive and get ready to enjoy champagne, hors d’oeuvres, a jazz combo, and the chance to mix it up with special guests Robert Kenner (the director of Food, Inc.) and Chicago bluesman Bobby Rush, along with many other local, national, and international filmmakers.

Why the change from the festival’s annual gala, with its cocktail hour, seated dinner, and guest speakers?

“We wanted to give the party more of an emphasis on filmmakers,” says Guy Galloway, festival chairman and Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute board member. “We wanted to design the party for mingling and talking with more than just the 10 people at your table. And we wanted to make the event accessible financially to more people by lowering the ticket cost [$75, down from the gala’s $150]. We wanted to attract a more diverse group and create an environment that is comfortable and fun.

“The Filmmakers’ Celebration will have more of a cocktail reception feel, or even a lounge-y feel,” he continues. “It will still have a festive, sparkling, glamorous air, but we hope to have a more intimate atmosphere that will encourage one-on one access to filmmakers and all of the interesting people who attend the festival.

“It will be a really fabulous event.”

The festival takes place Oct. 16-25 in downtown Hot Springs. To learn more, visit hsdfi.org.

Teachers can always use some help with inspiring creativity in their students. Here’s an easy and entertaining way to do it. The Best of T Tauri touring program will take highlights of this year’s young filmmakers’ competition to schools or youth groups.

Programs can include films by young Arkansas filmmakers, T Tauri classics from previous festivals, and workshop films created in the T Tauri Movie Camp.

Festival president Bob Pest, a pleasant and chatty guy, will present and discuss the films. T Tauri will throw in a print program and news release to help promote the screening.

Cost is $300; nonprofits can get 40 percent of that through the Arkansas Arts Council’s Arts on Tour grant program (visit arkansasarts.org). Find information about the festival and the films at ttauri.org. For booking information contact Judy Pest at (870) 251-1189 or ozarkfilm@wildblue.net.

Who’s Courtney Pledger? Fans of the Little Rock Film Festival know. She’s a Little Rock native who grew up to be a film producer and exuberant supporter of film in Arkansas. She stays busy. Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, a teenage vampire adventure that she executive-produced, will open nationally Oct. 23.

To celebrate, the PG-13-rated film will screen at 7 p.m. that day at Colonel Glenn 18. Following the screening, Pledger will answer questions from the audience. Then,from 9 to 11 p.m., everybody’s invited to Copeland’s Famous New Orleans Restaurant and Bar, 2602 S. Shackleford Road, for a reception.

Tickets for the event, sponsored by the Little Rock Film Commission, are $20 and must be bought in advance at the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Web site littlerockchamber.com. Proceeds will benefit efforts to retain, expand and attract film and content development in Arkansas.

For more information contact Gary Newton at (501) 377-6007.

Tired of the snow and scene at Sundance? Worn out by those earnest Canadians at the Toronto International Film Festival? Too many hipsters for your taste at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas? Maybe you need a fresh film festival. Here’s one that will impress your friends: the inaugural Doha Tribeca Film Festival, Oct. 29-Nov. 1 in Doha, Qatar.

Festival activities will be centered at the I.M. Pei-designed Museum of Islamic Art.

The opening film will be director Mira Nair’s Amelia, the story of aviation superstar Amelia Earhart starring Hilary Swank and Richard Gere.

Others in the 32-picture lineup include Cairo Time starring Patricia Clarkson, A Serious Man from Joel and Ethan Coen, Bright Star (directed by Jane Campion), Coco Before Chanel starring Audrey Tautou, An Education(directed by Lone Scherfig), Kobe Doin’ Work (a documentary on Kobe Bryant directed by Spike Lee), Red Cliff (starring Tony Leung and directed by John Woo), and South of the Border (a documentary on Hugo Chavez written and directed by Oliver Stone), along with 12 Middle East themed films.

Airfares start at $1,500, and although the festival is only four days long, it takes about25 hours of flying time to get there. So plan on taking off a week. Need more info? Check out www.dohatribecafilm.com.

Send movie news to Karen Martin at

kmartin@arkansasonline.com

MovieStyle, Pages 35 on 10/09/2009

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