Georgia Magazine - May 2017 - 27

Ingram, director and programmer for
the RIFF, now in its 14th year. "We
show people how films are made in
different countries and give them different perspectives on global topics."
The BronzeLens Film Festival
started in 2010 with the mission "to
bring attention to Atlanta as a film
and TV production hub for people
of color. We want people to know
about the creative career opportunities here. We're raising awareness,"
says Kathleen Bertrand, executive
producer and founder. "The festival
gives us a platform to speak about
the industry and to honor people
who serve in a variety of acting and
behind-the-scenes roles."
Last year, BronzeLens drew 5,000
attendees. This year it is expanding
from four days to five.
It's easier for film festivals to find
talent to speak at workshops and
panels because "they're working in
Georgia right here, right now," Bertrand says.
Bertrand's daughter Chioma developed a program to assign volunteers to act as personal liaisons and
assist all filmmakers who attend
BronzeLens. This extra touch has

helped to make BronzeLens a big hit
with filmmakers, who ranked it in the
top 2.5 percent of festivals in a survey
conducted by FilmFreeway, a portal
used by filmmakers to submit their
work to festivals.

Gain access to the industry
"If you want to know more about
film, a festival is the place to learn,"
says Jeremiah Bennett, chairman and
president of the Milledgeville Film
Festival. "We started with five panels
[discussions about the art and busi-

A sampling of Georgia's film festivals
January
* Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, Atlanta,
ajff.org

February
* aTVfest, Atlanta, atvfest.com
* Gray's Reef Film Festival, Savannah,
bit.ly/graysreeffilms2017
* Pan African Film Festival, Atlanta,
paff.org/festivals/paff-atl

March
* Atlanta Film Festival, Atlanta,
atlantafilmfestival.com
* Athens Jewish Film Festival, Athens,
athensjff.org

DAEMON BAIZAN

April

Eddy Von Mueller, assistant professor of
film studies at Emory University in Atlanta,
introduces the film "Willy Wonka and the
Chocolate Factory" during the Atlanta
Jewish Film Festival's four-movie tribute
to the late Gene Wilder on Sept. 18.
May 2017

ness of filmmaking that are led by
professionals for audiences and people who want to be in the business]
but now have 10. We believe the education should be free. Our viewers
love getting up close and personal
with filmmakers at question-and-answer sessions, workshops or parties,
where they hear about the filmmaking process and its challenges. You
don't get that elsewhere."
Filmmakers enjoy the attention,
meeting their audiences and seeing a
unique part of the country.

* Atlanta Underground Film Festival,
Aug. 18-20, Atlanta, auff.org

September
* Dragon*Con Independent Film Festival,
Sept. 1-4, Atlanta, filmfest.dragoncon.org
* Atlanta International Documentary Film
Festival (Atlanta Docufest), Sept. 8-10,
Atlanta, docufest.com
* Georgia Latino Film Festival, Sept. 21-24,
Atlanta, georgialatinofilmfestival.org
* Out on Film, Atlanta's LGBT Film Festival,
Sept. 28-Oct. 5, Atlanta, outonfilm.org
* Atlanta Sci-Fi Film Festival, Sept. 29-Oct. 1,
Atlanta, theatlantascififilmfestival.com
* Y'allywood Film Festival, dates to be
announced, Atlanta, yallywood.org

* Cinema Italy, Atlanta,
cinemaitaly.com/atlanta
October
* Milledgeville Film Festival, Milledgeville, * Urban Mediamakers Film Festival,
milledgevillefilmfest.com
Oct. 12-17, Atlanta and Lawrenceville,
May
umff.com
* Wild & Scenic Film Festival, May 13,
* Way Down Film Festival, Oct. 13-14,
Gainesville, chattahoochee.org/
Columbus, waydownfilmfest.com
wildscenic
* Atlanta Asian Film Festival, Oct. 13-28,
June
Atlanta, atlaff.org
* American Youth Film Festival, June 8-10, * Atlanta Horror Film Festival, Oct. 20-22,
Atlanta, americanyouthfilmfest.org
Atlanta, atlantahorrorfilmfest.com
* Southern-Fried Film Festival, June 9-11, * Savannah Film Festival, Oct. 28-Nov. 4,
Atlanta, southernfriedgameroom
Savannah, filmfest.scad.edu
expo.com
* Covey Film Festival, dates to be
July
announced, Thomasville,
* Big River Film Festival, July 6-9,
coveyfilmfestival.com
Savannah, bigriverfilmfestival.com
* Kingdomwood International Film Festival,
* Atlanta Shortsfest, July 7-8, Atlanta,
dates to be announced, Atlanta,
atlantashortsfest.com
kingdomwood.com
* Macon Film Festival, July 20-23, Macon, November
maconfilmfestival.com
* Rome International Film Festival,
August
Nov. 9-12, Rome, riffga.com
* BronzeLens, Aug. 16-20, Atlanta,
* Buried Alive Film Fest, dates to be anbronzelens.com
nounced, Atlanta, buriedalivefilmfest.com
More online at www.georgiamagazine.org

http://www.auff.org http://www.ajff.org http://www.atvfest.com http://filmfest.dragoncon.org http://www.bit.ly/graysreeffilms2017 http://www.docufest.com http://www.paff.org/festivals/paff-atl http://www.georgialatinofilmfestival.org http://www.atlantafilmfestival.com http://www.outonfilm.org http://www.athensjff.org http://www.theatlantascififilmfestival.com http://www.yallywood.org http://www.cinemaitaly.com/atlanta http://www.milledgevillefilmfest.com http://www.umff.com http://www.chattahoochee.org/wildscenic http://www.waydownfilmfest.com http://www.chattahoochee.org/wildscenic http://www.atlaff.org http://www.americanyouthfilmfest.org http://www.atlantahorrorfilmfest.com http://www.southernfriedgameroomexpo.com http://filmfest.scad.edu http://www.southernfriedgameroomexpo.com http://www.coveyfilmfestival.com http://www.bigriverfilmfestival.com http://www.atlantashortsfest.com http://www.kingdomwood.com http://www.maconfilmfestival.com http://www.riffga.com http://www.bronzelens.com http://www.buriedalivefilmfest.com http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - May 2017