Hello from the Vail Film Festival (VFF) team. You may have read here about the festival joining the growing ranks of Firefox Flicks Friends. We’re excited to be a part of the Flicks community.
VFF is a young festival, with our third year approaching in a few rapidly disappearing weeks. The festival runs from March 30 – April 2 in Vail, Colorado, North America’s most popular ski resort.
While it’s exciting to have major stars come to the VFF, it’s equally exciting to see what people can do when they are inspired and driven to communicate something important to them. We’ve seen what a team of animators can produce working for over two years to create their short film, or a documentary filmmaker who followed a story that touched him, or a feature film director who took her script and with almost no backing created a moving, elegant picture. It’s about community and connection. Creating a community of filmmakers and people passionate about film and connecting them with each other. And those connections last far longer than the final screening.
That’s where Firefox Flicks comes in. What could be more exciting than the opportunity to support the work of the burgeoning filmmakers for the Flicks Ad Contest? The Vail Film Festival and Firefox Flicks both share the goal of empowering the next generation of film talent to achieve their dreams and get the exposure they deserve. We are enjoying working together on this mission.
Here’s a sneak peek at the 2006 fest:
Opening Night film: “The Oh in Ohio�? directed by Billy Kent, starring Paul Rudd, Parker Posey, Danny DeVito, Mischa Barton, and Heather Graham.
Closing Night film: “American Dreamz�? directed by Paul Weitz (American Pie, About a Boy, In Good Company), starring Hugh Grant, Dennis Quaid, Mandy Moore, Willem Dafoe, Marcia Gay Harden, Chris Klein, and Judy Greer.
Special Feature: From the filmmakers of the indie hit “Napoleon Dynamite,�? comes “The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang�? directed by Tim Skousen.
I’ll be telling you more about what’s going on with the festival in the coming weeks.
~Michael