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World And Regional Premieres
Highlight 4-Day Film Fest
The official poster
for the new teen movie Spirit. The film will have
its world premiere this Saturday at the Fries
1910 Theater as part of the Top Ten Films in America
Festival in Galax, Virginia.
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A scene from the new
movie Spirit which will have its world premiere
this Saturday as part of the Top Ten Films in
America Festival in Galax, Virginia.
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By Jeff Eason
Springtime has quickly turned into film festival time
in our region. Winston-Salem’s River Run Film is
in full swing (April 18-23) and features 95 feature length
and short films this year.
Smaller and somewhat lesser known, the Top Ten Films in
America Festival starts today in Galax, Virginia, and
runs through the weekend. The festival features shorts,
documentaries, and feature length films shown at the Fries
1910 Theater and the Historic Rex Theater.
The Top Ten Films in America Festival includes over 30
new films, most of which are making their Virginia, North
America or world premieres. The event also features workshops
and media panels.
The festival will showcase films in the categories of
Feature Films, Short Films, and Documentaries, with a
special category for foreign films.
There will also be a separate acting competition during
the film festival in which winners will have the opportunity
to present their acting talents in front of film producers
and talent agents.
One of the highlights of the festival is the Virginia
premiere of the film Morning Song Way. The film was Drydock
Film Corporation’s first production and was filmed
last year in Virginia and North Carolina. Filmed with
a largely Native American cast, Morning Song Way tells
the story of a little girl who witnesses a murder and
ends up hiding in the Blue Ridge Mountains with her great
uncle, an old fashioned Native American medicine man.
The film recently had its world premiere at festivals
in Los Angeles in New York and won several awards, including
the Best Dramatic Film award at the Native American Film
Festival.
Another film of note at this weekend’s festival is
Cheston Cantaoi’s new movie Spirit. The young California-based
writer and director describes the movie as “about
a high-schooler with uncanny leadership qualities who
runs for class president to win the heart of the upperclassman
beauty.”
Spirit will have two screenings during the film festival:
Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Rex Theater and Sunday at 4
p.m. at the 1910 Fries Theater. Saturday’s screening
will serve as the world premiere of Cantaoi’s new
film.
“I’ll be in attendance along with my actors,
including the star of the movie Andrew Abaria,” said
Cantaoi in a phone interview from California with The
Mountain Times. “We are trying to get the word out
to surrounding areas to come attend and watch.”
Cantaoi described Spirit as “a full feature film
for all ages, especially high school teens and their families.”
Other film titles at the Top Ten Films in America Festival
include We’re on the Brink (world premiere), In the
Foxhole (world premiere), A Christmas Family Tragedy,
The Clinton 12 (Virginia premiere), Millions (A Lottery
Story) (world premiere), Rain in the Mountains, Rommel
and the Plot to Kill Hitler, The Garage (Virginia premiere),
Wrong Answer (Southeast premiere), A Cigar at the Beach
(Virginia premiere), One Last Drink Before Morning (Eastern
US premiere), Morning Glory (Virginia premiere), When
They Could Fly (Virginia premiere), Finding Kraftland
(Eastern US premiere), big mistake (North American premiere),
Bernee (Virginia premiere), and Cuban Hip Hop (US premiere).
Tickets
Tickets for the Top Ten Films in America Festival are
available at the Fries Recreation Center Desk and at the
Fries Town Hall. Tickets are $35 for an “all-screenings”
four-day pass, $15 for the film “Morning Song Way,”
and $10 for a pass for individual screenings or block
of shorts.
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