Connecticut Film Festival Announces Partial Film Slate, Sponsors Coming On Board To Support First Year Statewide Effort

-Six day festival is October 3-8, 2006-

BETHEL, CT (August 14, 2006) - Organizers of the Connecticut Film Festival continue to move forward with plans, confirming new sponsors and films. The debut of the Connecticut Film Festival will be held in multiple cities across the state October 3-8, 2006.

Plans are in place to screen more than 100 independent films in Bantam, Bethel, New Haven, New Milford, Norwalk, Westport, Waterbury and Stamford

The multiple markets of the 2006 Connecticut Film Festival were specifically selected, and the two-year plan includes expansion into downtown Hartford, West Hartford, Mystic and New London. This year's event kicks off October 3 and 4 in multiple venues in Westport and Norwalk and continues in the additional cities beginning October 5.

Tom Carruthers, Executive Director, said that prestigious retailer Simon Pearce has come on board to provide hand-blown glass filmmaker awards. Simon Pearce operates retail boutiques in Greenwich and Westport.

The company's flagship store in Westport is in the heart of the Connecticut Film Festival.

In addition, programmer Jean Tait said though submissions will be accepted through August 31, several films have been confirmed including:

THE GOLD BRACELET- Feature
Director: Kavi Raz
The Gold Bracelet is a groundbreaking film with the backdrop of September 11, an event that changed America forever. Brave, proud, soul stirring, wrenching at its every heartbeat, yet showered with colors of a full, blissful life, The Gold Bracelet is a moving journey of man who strives to live a simple yet meaningful life. The Gold Bracelet, an odyssey of a simple, hardworking man, a native of India, but proud of his love for his adoptive country, finds his beliefs tested on the anvil of bigotry that often plagues the soul of our nation

JUMPING OFF BRIDGES - Feature
Director: Kat Candler
Inspired by invincible friendships, junior high journal entries, heart breaking crushes and the complexities of losing loved ones, jumping off bridges follows a carefree, adventurous group of four best friends deep in the trenches of adolescence. Lauded by the Austin Chronicle as "a realistic narrative portrait of love, death, and human debris as anything you're ever likely to see onscreen." The film stars Emmy-award winning actor Michael Emerson, currently seen on ABC's Lost as "the other" Henry Gale.

THE FRENCH GUY- Feature
Director: Ann Marie Fleming
Have you ever heard indecipherable sounds coming from the other side of a wall? Were they cries of joy or pain that you heard? Such is the premise for Ann Marie Fleming's wonderfully absurdist comedy The French Guy. Living next door to just such a racket is our titular character, a French painter who simply wants to finish his next masterpiece - but the noises keep getting louder. What is going on over there?

CAR STORIES - Documentary
Director: Kari Nevil,
Cars-if you love them, you LOVE them. And if you race them, the love becomes even more obsessive. These delightful portraits of obsessive car owners pull one into the world of vintage racing. This film marks lauded filmmaker Kari Nevil's documentary debut.

DARE NOT WALK ALONE - Documentary
Director: Jeremy Dean
We all know about Selma and Birmingham, but it is a little-discussed fact that St. Augustine, Florida was the center of great civil unrest and was instrumental in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1967. The effects of this conflict are still very apparent in today's St. Augustine, where although it is not official, segregation and prejudice still hover over the lives of many African-Americans.

FUMI AND THE BAD LUCK FOOT - Short
Director: David Chai
A little girl whose foot attracts all manner of bad things discovers she can use it to help others, so is it really such bad luck after all? A festival award-winner and viewer favorite.

More films will be announced as they are confirmed.

Tickets go on sale September 1. Prices for parties and other events vary; please visit www.CTfilmfest.com for updates and details.

"Whether it's your first festival or your fiftieth, a team of experienced film festival directors and arts and entertainment marketing experts designed this event for true film lovers," said Carruthers. "From the screenings to the parties to the panels, it's tailored for cinema afficiandos."

Submissions are being accepted through August 31 for the Connecticut Film Festival through www.WithoutABox.com.

Making its debut in October 2006, the Connecticut Film Festival was established to create a lasting cultural tradition for the state by celebrating the art of filmmaking by bringing independent and international film to the area.

The Connecticut Film Festival launch dovetails with the release of new tax credits for the production of digital media and motion pictures in Connecticut. The legislation calls for a tax credit equal to 30% of qualified digital media and motion picture production, preproduction and postproduction expenses incurred in the state that exceed $50,000.
The statewide 2006 Connecticut Film Festival will ramp up over a two-year period. In 2006, the festival screenings and events with will reach out to three of the five CT Dept of Culture and Tourism regions. In 2007 and 2008, The Connecticut Film Festival will expand by premiering in the New London and Mystic area as well as the downtown and surrounding suburbs of Hartford.

For the latest films added to the line up or for more information, log on to www.CTfilmfest.com.

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SUBMISSIONS are being accepted through AUGUST 31 for the Connecticut Film Festival through www.WithoutABox.com.
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CONTACT: Tom Carruthers ~ Connecticut Film Festival ~ TWCarruthers-AT-cs.com ~ 800 655 0900 ~ www.CTfilmfest.com
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