The 2nd Annual Buffalo Niagara Film Festival will run from Monday, March 24th - Saturday, March 29th at various locations, including the Market Arcade Film & Arts Centre and the Adams Mark Hotel in downtown Buffalo, and the historic Riviera Theatre in North Tonawanda.
The Buffalo Niagara Film Festival's goal is to provide opportunities to the film industry, filmmakers, and the world abroad to present and discuss film as an artistic medium, to provide the opportunity for audiences to view films not otherwise released commercially, to create an awareness of the finer points of filmmaking through seminars and workshops by the international community, and to showcase new and emerging talent.
The festival will open a special screening of The Natural, with several key members of the film on hand to celebrate the 25th anniversary of that film's production in this area.Run, Fat Boy, Run, a comedy directed by David Schwimmer and starring Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz), Thandie Newton (Mission Impossible 2), and Hank Azaria (Huff), will hold its New York State premiere on Tuesday, March 25th. Theme Days include Sports, Western New York, Music, and Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror.
The festival will celebrate a wide variety of films in the categories Feature Films, Western New York Films, Documentary Films, Foreign Films, Animation, Short Films, Music Videos and Student Films.There will also be two screenplay competitions, one for general screenwriters and the other for professionals and industry affiliates.Cash prizes will be awarded the winners of certain categories.
Special Guests at BNFF includeactor Robert Prosky (Hill Street Blues, The Natural); rockabilly singer Wanda Jackson (subject of the featured documentary, The Sweet Lady with a Nasty Voice), who will perform on Music Day; legendary producer Herschell Gordon Lewis (Blood Feast, 2000 Maniacs), who will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the horror genre; Screenwriter and documentarian Roy Frumkes (Street Trash, The Substitute) who will premiere the rough cut of his Definitive Document of the Dead, on the life and career of George A. Romero; screenwriter and director Tom Holland (Fright Night, Cloak & Dagger), who co-created the deadly doll "Chucky" in Child's Play;screenwriter J.D. Ziek (Ronin and the TV series Witchblade), who will head a panel discussion on screenwriting; animation director Tony Pastore, Jr. (The Silver Surfer), who worked closely with Marvel Comics creator Stan Lee; and Rodrigo Gudino, the publisher of Rue Morgue magazine, who will screen his acclaimed short film, The Demonology of Desire. Additional guests are pending.
In addition to film screenings, BNFF will present seminars, panel discussions, and workshops.A complete list of films and events is available at www.buffaloniagarafilmfestival.com.Festival attendees will be able to choose from individual event admissions, day passes, week passes, and VIP passes which include all events.Advance tickets are available now, through the festival website.