Colony Film Festival

October 15th, 2010 - October 16th, 2010

Time: Friday, 10/15 - 6 pm; Saturday 10/16 - Noon
Cost: $15/2-day pass; $10/day
Location: Mid-Ohio Valley Players Theatre, 229 Putnam St., Marietta, OH

Sponsored by: Ohio River Border Iniative; Kevin DePriest, Precision Electronics; Doug Cline, Mister Bee Potato Chips; Lou and Linda Molinaro; Rent 2 Own; David Traugh, Movie Sounds; WTAP Television

The Colony Film Festival presents 16 films, plus regional premiers of two films with local ties: Will Wedig’s Forged and Josh Crook’s La Soga

    The Hippodrome/Colony Historical Theatre Association (HCHTA) will present the Fifth Annual Colony Film Festival on October 15 and 16, 2010, at the Mid-Ohio Valley Players Theatre at 229 Putnam Street in Marietta. In addition to the screening of films submitted for award consideration, the festival will feature two films with Marietta ties. Marietta High School graduate Will Wedig’s film Forged will be shown on Saturday, October 16, at 8:30 p.m. The film, directed by Wedig and produced by Josh Crook, won best picture at the New York International Latino Film Festival, was an official selection at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival and earned the outstanding film award at the Providence Latin American Film Festival held at the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design. Set in the cold, rusty steel-mill town of Scranton, Pennsylvania, Forged follows Cuco (Manny Perez) on his quest to atone for a horrific sin: the murder of his wife. After Chuco’s release from prison, his now 13-year-old son Machito (David Castro) seeks him out to exact revenge. As Chuco’s guilt and Machito’s need for a father take hold, they must find a way to move past impossible circumstances and forge a bond that has been, perhaps irrevocably, broken. (Rated R)

    La Soga, directed by Josh Crook, will be shown at 8 p.m. on Friday, September 15. La Soga is an edgy, action-packed thriller set in the Dominican Republic and New York City. Starring Manny Perez and Denise Quinones, it tells the story of Luisito, a.k.a. “La Soga,” the son of a butcher turned government killer, who risks everything for justice. Inspired by actual events, the film depicts corruption, brutality, and one man’s struggle for redemption. La Soga premiered at the prestigious 2009 Toronto International Film Festival and was released theatrically in August 2010 in select cities nationwide. (In Spanish with English sub-titles; Rated R)

    Josh Crook will present insights into the making of La Soga and Forged before each film, followed by a Q&A session after the screening. Crook is from Brooklyn, New York, and graduated with honors from Marietta College in 1995. He joined his brother Jeff in New York, and the two worked together in the true spirit of independent, low-budget filmmaking, learning from their mistakes and mastering the craft. Their low-budget horror film Salvage (filmed in and around Marietta), had its regional premier in Marietta at the Colony Theatre in November 2005 and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006.

    Mic Molinaro of Precision Productions in Vienna, West Virginia, will present a seminar on digital single lens reflex (DSLR) camera filmmaking on Saturday afternoon, beginning at 4:05 p.m. The seminar will include a basic Introduction to using the NEW digital SLR style cameras to shoot video and will also cover the pros and cons of using a DSLR camera, plus how to overcome some of the obstacles one might encounter. Among the topics Molinaro will cover are shooting a video, choosing a file format, transferring footage to a nonlinear editing software, editing and exporting your movie for DVD delivery.

    Screening of 16 films, including four from local filmmakers, accepted for this festival begins at 6 p.m. on Friday and again on Saturday at noon. Awards and cash prizes will be presented at the end of Saturday’s events for the Best Short Film, Best Feature Film, Best Documentary, Best Student Film, Best Local Film and the Best of Fest.

Tickets available at the door: $15/2-day pass; $10/daily. Doors open 1/2 hour before starting time each day.

For information call the Colony Theatre office: 740-373-0894 or e-mail colonytheatre@colonytheatre.com

Festival Schedule: Click here to see complete schedule.