Houston Cinema Arts Festival Announces 2013 Dates
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HOUSTON CINEMA ARTS FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2013 DATES
2012 Festival Boasted Redford and Many Packed Houses
`at Screenings & Other Events
HOUSTON – On the heels of a successful 2012 festival that featured an intimate conversation with Robert Redford and eight days of film screenings, installations, live performances and parties, Houston Cinema Arts Society (HCAS) today announces that the fifth annual Houston Cinema Arts Festival (HCAF) will take place November 6-10, 2013.
“We are extremely pleased with the continued success and growth of the Houston Cinema Arts Festival and we know that our fifth year will be the best yet and will bring even more excitement to Houston,” said Trish Rigdon, Executive Director of HCAS.
This past year’s festival presented 54 programs during its five-day run in various downtown and museum district venues. Like 2012, HCAF 2013 will be a “walkable” event, featuring theaters within easy access of the Metro Rail Red Line, including Sundance Cinemas Houston and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH).
The 2012 Houston Cinema Arts Festival Opening Night festivities at the MFAH on Nov. 7 provided a spectacular launch for the festival with a sold-out presentation of LOVE, MARILYN with the movie’s producer Amy Hobby. LOVE, MARILYN also underscored HCAF’s 2012 emphasis on female directors, including a 40th anniversary tribute to the media arts organization, Women Make Movies. The festival culminated with the Houston premiere of DIANA VREELAND: THE EYE HAS TO TRAVEL, followed by a conversation between director Lisa Immordino Vreeland and fashion icon Lynn Wyatt.
More than sixty speakers participated in the 2012 festival, including producer Roger Lee from Hong Kong, documentarian Andrew Garrison from Austin, experimental filmmaker Vanessa Renwick from Portland, and, from Los Angeles, a particularly well-known artist.
One of the highlights of the 2012 Houston Cinema Arts Festival was Robert Redford’s discussion with Houston’s own Ernie Manouse. “Redford’s participation in this year’s festival was very meaningful to us as well as to many of the independent filmmakers in attendance,” said Artistic Director Richard Herskowitz. “His Sundance Institute with its festival, workshops, and other arts programs, has paved the way for festivals like ours as well as for many of the directors and producers who presented at HCAF.”
In addition to sold out screenings of the Opening and Closing Night films, other films and presentations that drew a packed audience included Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp, Conversation with Robert Redford, SuperEverything* by the Light Surgeons, Remains To Be Seen by Phil Solomon, the 25th Dallas Animation VideoFest and the films of J.J. Murphy.
Another highlight of this year’s festival was HCAF’S FILM FESTIVAL FIELD TRIP where more than 500 students attended daytime screenings of TRASH DANCE and LE TABLEAU. Student groups and contemporary art appreciators also enjoyed CINEMA ON THE VERGE, HCAF’s greatly expanded section of interactive media installations, which included six installations that were sited in the modern, mixed-use building at 4411 Montrose. HCAF also added its new CINEMA 16 SCREENING ROOM programming, featuring a series of experimental works shot in glorious 16-millimeter film. CINEMA ON THE VERGE was presented through a partnership with Houston First Corporation.
Further, the 2012 Houston Cinema Arts Festival included the Houston premieres of upcoming feature films, including STAND UP GUYS with guest director Fisher Stevens, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, QUARTET, THE SAPPHIRES, A LATE QUARTET, CASTING BY and CAESAR MUST DIE.
Finally, the Houston Cinema Arts Festival – a program of Houston Cinema Arts Society – could not do all it does for the Bayou City without its slate of first-class sponsors who have been with HCAF for multiple years, such as Houston First Corporation, Levantine Entertainment, Anadarko Petroleum, Champion Energy Services, and Amegy Bank.
ABOUT THE HOUSTON CINEMA ARTS SOCIETY
Houston Cinema Arts Society is a non-profit organization created in 2008 with the support of former Houston Mayor Bill White and the leadership of Franci Crane. HCAS organizes and hosts the annual Houston Cinema Arts Festival, a groundbreaking and innovative arts festival featuring films and new media by and about artists in the visual, performing and literary arts. The festival celebrates the vitality and diversity of the arts in Houston and enriches the city’s film and arts community. HCAS sponsors include the Crane Foundation, a grant from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Levantine Entertainment, Houston First Corporation, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Champion Energy Services, Amegy Bank of Texas, The Brown Foundation, Inc. and others. The project is also supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Texas Commission on the Arts. The 2013 Houston Cinema Arts Festival was held Nov. 6-10. For more information, please visit HCAS at www.cinemartsociety.org.