SCAD Savannah Film Festival

A wonderful time was had by all who attended the Savannah Film Festival on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the Huntington Film Club!





We even made it into page one of the Savannah newspaper:
Savannah takes center stage with 11th film festival filmfest
Joel Weickgenant | October 26, 2008
As the sky cleared over the downtown area just before sunset
Saturday, Savannah Film Festival officials took it as a good
sign.
"When the sun came up after 24 hours of rain this evening,
we knew it was time to start," festival Executive Director
Danny Filson said during an enthusiastic welcoming speech
Saturday night. "There's lots to see, lots to do, lots and lots of
things to learn."
Scroll to the bottom to view video from opening night and
then click here to view an interview with Peter Bart.
Click here to view more photos from opening night of
the Savannah Film Fest.
As the 2008 version of the festival opened, the Savannah
College of Art and Design was celebrating the school's 30th
year as it paid tribute to entertainment journalist and former
Hollywood producer Peter Bart.
The editor-in-chief of Variety, a weekly entertainment
publication and Web site, who also is co-host of the prestigious "Shootout" program on AMC television, was honored with a
Lifetime Achievement Award for "outstanding contribution to entertainment journalism."
"Covering the entertainment industry may be only a bit easier than covering the Pentagon - and way more dangerous," said
SCAD President and co-founder Paula Wallace. "It's quite possible that Peter Bart knows more about Hollywood than
anyone ever."
At 5 p.m. Saturday, workers used dustblowers to clear the sidewalks in front of the Trustees Theater while SCAD volunteers
prepped the red carpet for opening-night festivities.
Meanwhile, Bart spoke with reporters inside a Broughton Street office.
He credited film festivals with helping good movies garner deserved exposure in an era of huge studios that demand instant
results.
"The problem with filmmaking today is it's all in the first weekend," he said. "The movie comes out, and it's either a hit or a
flop based on the first weekend.
"The key value of festivals today is they all provide a showcase for films to get into the bloodstream."
By 7 p.m., film fans from Savannah and beyond waited in lines that stretched along Broughton Street from Abercorn to
Lincoln, while high-profile guests crossed the red carpet and mingled in the street in front of the theater.
"I'm excited about seeing Malcolm McDowell, that's for sure," said Dan O'Hanlon, referring to the 65-year-old British actor
who starred in "A Clockwork Orange" and many other movies.
"This is our 20th anniversary, this month," said O'Hanlon, who came with other members of the Huntingdon (W.Va.) Film
Club to catch the Savannah festival.
Bacon Park resident Carolyn Perry said the film festival helps put Savannah in a league with bigger cultural centers.
"This helps make us a world-class city," she said, "something that's different and better. It puts us right up there with San
Francisco."
The festival's silver-screen action began with "The Wrestler," starring Mickey Rourke as a retired fighter struggling to retain
his sense of identity and mend frayed relationships.