New "Louisville’s International Festival Of Film" Benefits Louisville Film-making, Sojourn

If you saw the front page of this morning’s Louisville Courier Journal, you had the chance to learn about a new film festival here in town called Louisville’s International Festival of Films.

The festival raises money for the Louisville Film Arts Institute, a 501c3 charity foundation which is trying to bring the art of film into a bigger presence in Kentucky. They focus on educational, with an eye towards awarding scholarships to local kids who want to major in film at Kentucky colleges, as well as developing magnet programs at some of the public schools to teach kids the technical side of film (training programs for kids who might not get a college degree can learn about lighting, camera work and other careers that don’t require a degree).

One film that may be of interest include the documentary The Baptism of Jesus Christ: Uncovering Bethany beyond the Jordan this Saturday at 9:30am at the Kentucky Center.  This locally made film about the discovery and preservation of the site at Bethany along the Jordan River has gotten great reviews.

Families should consider buying a day pass for Saturday.  Festival organizers included a block of family-friendly animated films early Saturday afternoon and other films that are appropriate for everyone and widely acclaimed, such as:

• Another Harvest Moon starring Doris Roberts (Marie Barone on Everybody loves Raymond) who will be in town to promote the film.

• Saving Luna, a winner of 24 international awards, and a host of top reviews from film critics

Tickets to any film cost $10 but you can buy a day pass for Saturday that will get you in to as many films as you want for $35.  And if you order tickets online, you can type SOJOURN where it asks for a code.  The festival will donate 20% of the proceeds to Sojourn Church.

For those of you who are interested in the art of film-making, we’ll close here with this info from the Festival website:

In addition to film screenings, the festival will host a variety of seminars, events and parties designed to provide Kentuckians and industry visitors alike the opportunity to become involved in the future of the Film Industry in Kentucky. We believe that an annual festival will promote Kentucky and Metro Louisville as a destination point for film production drenched in hospitality, arts and culture.