The 2010 festival was hands down the best year yet with respect to quality and content, and a wonderful way to end my eight-year directorship of Smogdance. Over 450 patrons were gifted with an eclectic mix of Drama, Documentaries, Comedy, and Animation.

Special appreciation is extended to Marlene Dermer of the LA Latino International Film Festival as she coordinated the provision of 3 feature-length festival winners and a night of short films:

• Anita (Winner Best Film and Audience Award)
• Cinco Dias Sin Nora (Winner Opera Prima and Best Director)
• MORENITA (Winner Best Screenplay)

Many thanks to The Claremont Forum which hosted a festive Awards Ceremony at their Gallery in the Packing House. Claremont High School Band "The Slims" played jazz while filmmakers and audience members mingled. A long list of filmmakers were present for the filmmaker Q & A, including former Claremont resident Jean Strauss, Oakwood High Schooler Mason Shefa, Cannes film festival winner Alonso Alvarez Barreda, Actor David Lawrence from Heroes, and our long-distance winner, Kaveh Ghahremany who crossed the pond to join us from Iran!

Prizes for Best films will be awarded a $100 contest prize while prizes for Honorary Mention will be awarded $50. There is no monetary prize for the Audience Choice award, just a certificate and a warm and fuzzy group hug. Special Thanks to ALL the filmmakers! It is their hard work and passion that inspire discussion, promote esthetics, and provide cathartic relief in these troubled times.

Special thanks to Deborah Conow and the student volunteers from the Claremont High School, the Smogdance Viewing Committee, and to all who helped to make this year a great success. It is my hope that Smogdance will continue the difficult but essential work of promoting peace, activism, and art within our broad and diverse local and global community. That is certainly the goal for my own future endeavors.

Art Saves Lives!

It was a difficult task for our judges, Mary Olstein, Valerie Ross and Barbara Heavin, but our Contest Results were as follows: