The Smogdance Film Festival today announced its final selection of films for the 2007 festival, which will be held from January 26-28 at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California. Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the dA Center for the Arts, the three-day festival will celebrate its ninth anniversary with an eclectic mix of animation, documentaries, comedies and short dramas. The 40 films selected for 2007 represent local talent, as well as filmmakers from 13 states, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom
“We’re thrilled with the number and quality of films we received this year,” says Charlotte Cousins, festival director. “We had 207 submissions—quite an increase over the fewer than 30 we received in 1999. We’re especially pleased to have 18 student films, including four by local filmmakers from Harvey Mudd College and from Poway and Claremont high schools.”
The festival will expand its outreach to the community this year with support from a Challenge America: Reaching Every Community (CAREC) grant by the National Endowment of the Arts. The grants are awarded to organizations that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations.
“One of our goals is to showcase a wide variety of work that appeals to a broad audience,” says Cousins. “The grant gives us the opportunity to increase our promotional efforts and to share the wealth with emerging filmmakers. We’re not only doubling the amount of the awards we present, but are also making a donation to the video program at Claremont High School.”
Smogdance will be held at the 600-seat theater in Galileo Hall on the Harvey Mudd College campus. “It’s a wonderful venue, with state-of-the art technology.” says Michael Meyka, festival technical director. “There’s not a bad seat in the house.”

Festival hours are from 7-10 p.m., Friday and Saturday, and from 5-8 p.m. on Sunday. Awards will be presented for student and non-student work in best animation, best open experimental and best comedy.

The following films were selected for the 2007 Smogdance Film Festival.


Animation
Fork N' Spoon
The People Who Lived Under the Sea
Clubs
Ballun
Jungle Gym
The Spirit Child
Spinky and Dimble
uh-oh: a brief encounter
Crosswalk Man
The Meatrix II
Sensational City
Puppet


Comedy
The Detention Teacher
Checkout
A Death Sandwich
Pimp My Casket
My Last Confession
Sucker for Shelley
Happy Deathday (I)
A Little Light
10,000 Apologies
Karma Café
Who's On First? - The Movie
And Now a Word from Our Sponsors…
Intelligence

Open/Experimental
Perspective
Eternal High - The Documentary
All's Fair
Every 15 Minutes
Darks and Whites
Pieces
The Silent
Captain Incredible
Fueling Change
Absolute Zero
Casus
ArRuh Ala ArRih-Drifting onthe Wind
The Rise and Fall of Irvine
Meadows West
Gone
Holding Hands

Screening location:
Galileo Hall, Harvey Mudd College, 260 E Foothill Blvd., Claremont, California

Ticket information: Tickets will be available beginning December 15, 2006, online at www.smogdance.com and at the dA Gallery, 252 S Main St # D, Pomona.

Tickets may also be purchased at the door during the festival. Daily admission is $7 for adults and $5 for seniors and students. Festival Passes are available for $15, and $12 respectively.