Editor

For over 13 days, Cinequest Film Festival 22 (CQFF22) delivered never-ending passion and provided an unforgettable experience for more than 90,000 attendees.  Through themes of creation, innovation, and empowerment, Cinequest 22 celebrated 60 U.S., North American and World Premieres, representing over 40 countries. A record 95,000 participants enjoyed first-class venues, including those with Barco state-of-the-art projection for all digital formats. A spectacular new Intel VIP Lounge, which acted as the connecting hub to the overall centralized experience, was equipped with Ultimate Intel Ultrabooks, HP TouchSmarts--loaded with interactive Cinequest schedules--and the HP Vantage Point, an 11 by 7 foot touch screen monitor chock full of Cinequest photos, videos, and games for everyone to enjoy. This elite HP interactive monitor contains 32 simultaneous touch points for multi-person, multi-touch interactive applications.

The Opening Night film told the story of Burmese pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi in The Lady, directed by Luc Besson. Eleven days later, on Closing Night, The Deep Blue Sea screened following a Maverick Spirit Award ceremony for auteur Terence Davies.  Previous Maverick Spirit Award recipients include Kevin Spacey, Benjamin Bratt, John Turturro, Sir Ben Kingsley, and many more stand-out film artists.

Film artists at this year's Cinequest were wowed by the exceptional hospitality provided by the Cinequest team. "From publicity, to film traffic, to programming to hospitality, to the art on the screen, this festival is the bar by which other festivals must try to live up to. I look forward to the rest of the festival. I don't know how it could possibly get any better, but I'm excited to see how it will. And after meeting the heads of the departments, and the two co-founders of the festival, I have no doubt that they have something planned and it will be amazing," said Justin Bowler, Executive Producer of the film Touch.

The Cinequest Film Festival has been recognized for years as the meeting place where artists and innovators can connect and transform lives, their own as well as others. Filmmaker and Actor Dan Richardson of The Harsh Light of Day had one such transformative experience. "Cinequest ignited a spark of extra enthusiasm in me which I know will drive me forward with extra passion for a long time to come. Above all, and perhaps most unexpectedly, I left Cinequest a far richer man, and by rich I mean the way in which your life is enriched only when you make new friends. In that sense, I just won the lottery. I'm thinking I might make Cinequest a major factor in my career from now on....I'll only take on film roles if the production team promises to submit it to Cinequest, at least giving me a chance to go back and see my new friends. Thank you, Cinequest, and all of you who make it possible, for creating and providing such a wonderful experience. Your festival ranks right up there with the very best times of my life."

Overall Successes and Highlights:

• Picture the Possibilities (PTP) World Premiere event connecting five site cities with global leaders, using Cisco TelePresence technology. Highlights of the private event were then showcased at Cinequest on March 4th for the public, following  90 minutes of PTP films that were created by the youth over the past year. Post screenings, PTP participants were presented to the audience and engaged the audience in a powerful Q&A session.
• Barco DCI compliant projection (recently named world's brightest projectors by The Guinness Book of World Records) enhanced Cinequest venues with their state-of-the-art technologies, while Omneon servers and Panasonic technologies underscored Cinequest's commitment to being the preeminent digital festival.  HP TouchSmart screens, loaded with applications such as Mass Relevance, showcased live streaming tweets to enhance the highly interactive Cinequest experience.
• Writers Celebration consisted of three panels focusing on pitching screenplays, the business of writing (with top industry executives), and a Maverick Spirit Award ceremony for legendary writer and director Philip Kaufman.
• Superb state-of-the-art venues and added screens equipped with digital servers, digital and 35mm projection were all conveniently located within a four block radius.
• Cinequest Interactive Scheduler and Application for the iPhone, Droid and Blackberry were available.

CQFF22 Maverick Spirit Award Recipients:

Cinequest was honored to present the first Maverick Ensemble Award to Kat Coiro and Krysten Ritter from L!fe Happens. The following individuals received the prestigious Maverick Spirit Award during the 2012 festival: Elliott Gould, Philip Kaufman, Terence Davies, and Maverick Chefs, Michael Mina and Michael Miller (Emerging Maverick Award).

CQFF23 Dates: February 26-March 10, 2013

CQFF22 Award Winners:

COMPETITION

BEST FIRST FEATURE FILM: DRAMA

CHILDREN OF THE GREEN DRAGON

Director:Bence Miklauzic(HUNGARY)

BEST FEATURE FILM: COMEDY

COME AS YOU ARE

Director: Geoffrey Enthoven (BELGIUM)

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE: NARRATIVE FEATURE

OLD GOATS

Director: Taylor Guterson(UNITED STATES)

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:       

INVISIBLE STRINGS: THE TALENTED PUSKER SISTERS                               

Director: Agnes Sos(Hungary)

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE: DOCUMENTARY                      

JASON BECKER: NOT DEAD YET

Director: Jesse Vile (UNITED STATES, UNITED KINGDOM)

BEST NARRATIVE SHORT:

AND WINTER SLOW

Director: Brian Lannin (UNITED STATES)         

BEST ANIMATED SHORT:                    

DRIPPED                                 

Director: Leo Verrier (FRANCE)

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT:           

EVERYTHING IS INCREDIBLE

Directors: Tyler Bastian, Trevor Hill, Tim Skousen (UNITED STATES)      

BEST STUDENT SHORT:                      

THE HOMECOMING QUEEN                

Director: Rammy Lee Park (UNITED STATES)

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE: SHORT FILM:               

PASS THE SALT, PLEASE      

Director: Tatjana Najdanovic (UNITED STATES)

KAISER PERMANENTE THRIVE AWARD

DAVE  

Director: Eric Geadelmann (UNITED STATES)

NEW VISIONS AWARD

SHUFFLE                                

Director: Kurt Kuenne (UNITED STATES)

GLOBAL LANDSCAPES AWARD

THE OTHER FAMILY               

Director: Gustavo Loza (MEXICO)

AUDIENCE AWARD: BEST FEATURE

KING CURLING

Director: Ole Endresen (NORWAY)

AUDIENCE AWARD: BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

JASON BECKER: NOT DEAD YET

Director: Jesse Vile (UNITED STATES, UNITED KINGDOM)

SCREENPLAY COMPETITION

FIRST PLACE AWARD

Death Wind

Screenwriter: Travis Heermann

SECOND PLACE AWARD

The Last Domino

Screenwriter: Adam Meyer

THIRD PLACE AWARD

When the Lights Went Out

Screenwriter: Mozhan Marno

Remaining seven finalists:

Bare Knuckle Days

Confessions of a Naughty Kid

Diamond

Don Q

Frau Einstein

Niggas, Leprechauns and the Incredible Story of B.

Seven Days in Rosetown

CQFF23 Dates: February 26-March 10, 2013

CQ22 Premium Partners: Intel Corporation (NASDAQ-GS: INTC), Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ), Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK), Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ: ADBE)

CQ22 Partners: Applied Materials Inc. (NYSE: AMAT), AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), Barco, Camera Cinemas, CBS Radio, City of San Jose, Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA), Dolby Laboratories (NYSE: DLB), eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY), El Observador, Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ: HLIT), Kaiser Permanente, Metro Newspapers, MovieMaker, NBC Bay Area , Panasonic (NYSE: PC),  Peet's Coffee & Tea (NASDAQ: PEET), Silicon Valley Community Newspapers, Telemundo, The Fairmont, The Hilton, The Mercury News, Travelocity, Valley Transportation Authority, Yelp.

For a full list of CQ22 sponsors go to: http://www.cinequest.org/partners.php

CINEQUEST AT A GLANCE

CINEQUEST: a leading edge organization that, for over twenty years, has successfully integrated creativity and technological innovation to empower, transform, and improve the lives of people and communities.

CINEQUEST Film Festival (CQFF): showcases premiere films, renowned and emerging artists, and breakthrough technology-empowering global connectivity between creators and innovators.

CINEQUEST Picture The Possibilities (PTP): a transformative leadership movement, where empowered youth create films expressing visions of a better tomorrow that inspire global leaders to ignite change.

PTP World Premiere Event during CQFF: multiple, simultaneous, worldwide connections among media, business, entertainment, and political leaders where interaction with PTP films and each other jump start the ultimate realization of these youthful visions for a better tomorrow.

www.cinequest.org