Former IU students help put Indiana on film map

In the spirit of the Cannes and Sundance Film Festivals, Indianapolis is starting a new tradition this weekend with its first annual International Film Festival. The film festival runs Friday through Sunday at the United Artists Circle Centre Theatre at Circle Centre Mall, located at 49 W. Maryland St. in Indianapolis, and will show a wide variety of short and feature films from 13 different nations.\nFilm Festival Director Brian Owens, a former IU student, said when he went to the Toronto Film Festival a couple years ago he was inspired to bring something similar to Indianapolis. The event is formatted to recognize independent filmmakers and their work. Friday evening there will be an opening gala where the public can meet the filmmakers at Rock Bottom Restaurant.\n"The reception should be a lot of fun because a lot of filmmakers will be there," said Film Festival Assistant Director Kara Glennon, also an IU alumna. "Meeting filmmakers is something that a lot of people never get a chance to do. I mean how often do you get a chance to meet someone who could be the next Spielberg?"\nGlennon said one of the exciting aspects of the film festival is that nine world premiere films will be screening there. Indianapolis natives will get the first chance to see some quality films, months before they are viewed in New York or Los Angeles.\n"I'm absolutely amazed with what we were able to put together," Glennon said. "All of the films are of a very professional quality."\nOwens said he received so many high quality submissions it was difficult to choose which ones to include in the film festival.\n"I was originally planning to screen six short films, but the level of quality was so high we had to extend it to 16," Owens said.\nA jury of local film enthusiasts will judge six of the features and 16 of the shorts in a competition. The winning films have the opportunity to be distributed by Film Movement, a New York-based film company. Audience members will also vote on their favorite films. The winning filmmakers will be given certificates marking their achievements and be able to add the honor to their film credits.\nThe films will be shown in three different programs representing the different film themes. The "Things We Do for Love" features films about finding, keeping and losing love. "Outside Looking In" includes films about people on the fringe of Hollywood or Broadway trying to break into the mainstream. "Worldwide Shots" represents films from five different countries.\nThree of the filmmakers featured this weekend are Indiana natives. Mark W. Gray, an Indiana native who is now a cinematographer in California, will be in town to show his film entitled "The Morning Guy," a comical short about a woman whose husband is a morning person while she is not.\n"I'm very excited to come to town to show it to my family and friends," Gray said. "It's been to about a dozen film festivals."\nSunday features a closing gala at Rock Bottom which will be attended by local media personalities and the cast of "The Lion King." Tickets for the entire weekend including all of the films, the opening and closing galas and a screening of "Dogville" starring Nicole Kidman, cost $75. Day passes are also available for $35, but do not include either gala. People can also buy tickets to see individual films for $8. The movie screenings on opening and closing night cost $10. Students will receive a 10 percent discount on their tickets with a valid student ID. For more information on purchasing tickets, the movies that will be shown and the film festival schedule, visit the Web site at www.indyfilmfest.org.\n-- Contact staff writer Jenica Schultz at jwschult@indiana.edu.