Worldfest visiting filmmakers

38th WORLDFEST-HOUSTON BRINGS FILMMAKERS TO TOWN!
"One of this year's visiting filmmakers may be next year's Hollywood success story." Kathleen Haney, WorldFest Artistic and Program Director,


" FORGET SUNDANCE! WorldFest is one of the best conceived festival productions on the planet!" Craig Outhier, film critic, Phoenix press; Tempe Times. Upon Accepting his Remi Award in 1984, Ridley Scott said "WorldFest is in the business of validating excellence!" The 38th Annual WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival opens on Friday, April 22nd at 6:30pm with an Art Car Parade at the AMC Meyer Park 16 Theatres, host of this year's festival. After the parade, the Opening Night Gala Premiere will be Houston-produced film 'Dancing in Twilight', featuring appearances by actor Erick Avari, director Bob Roe, and Houstonians Rishi Vij, screenwriter, and Rakesh Vij, producer. Over the course of the ten-day festival, cl producers and actors also attending. WorldFest is the film festival that honored Stephen Spielberg, George Lucas, Ang Lee, Spike Lee, The Coen Brothers, Oliver Stone, and David Lynch with their very first awards. "No other festival has such a 'discovery' track record," said Kathleen Haney, WorldFest Artistic and Program Director, "One of this year's visiting filmmakers may be next year's Hollywood success story."

Director Oyven Sandberg of Norway will attend WorldFest to promote his film, 'Coastal Life', a documentary feature which is part of this year's Commemorative Sidebar of Norwegian films. This special program was developed in cooperation with the Royal Norwegian Consulate General to honor Norway's centennial this year, and will include four Norwegian feature films and seven short subjects. Other international directors will also attend WorldFest with their films, including Haim Bouzaglo of Israel with his drama 'Distortion', Canadian Michael Flaman with his suspense film 'The White Dog Sacrifice', and director Kenneth Bi and producer Rosa Li of Singapore, accompanying the comedy 'Rice Rhapsody'. Serbian drama 'Take a Deep Breath' will bring director Dragan Marinkovic, producer Danica Milojkovic, and director of photography Boris Gortinski to the festival. Kiyoshi Mizuno, producer of Closing Night film 'Frontier Dream', will attend, as will Evgeny Afineevsky, California-based co-producer of Israeli/Indian drama 'The Return From India'. American actors Joshua Brody and Lauren Fales, stars of 'True Story', a drama filmed in the United Kingdom, will fly in to attend its World Premiere on April 24th and its second screening on April 25th. Fales is a Houstonian currently studying acting in New York, and will attend with proud family members from Houston and elsewhere. Local filmmaking couple Sumathy Ram, director, and Ramki Ramakrishnen, producer, will also attend WorldFest with their film 'VishwaThulasi', a musical filmed in India.
April 22 - May 1, 2005 - The AMC MeyerPark Theatre
4730 W Bellfort
Houston, Texas 77035

Houston filmmaker Greg Carter will attend the World Premiere of his film, 'Resurrection: The J. R. Richard Story', on Sunday, April 24th, and its second screening on April 29th. 'Resurrection' is a dramatic re-telling of legendary Astro's major-league pitcher J. R. Richard's life so far, shot in Houston. Carter's first film, 'Fifth Ward', got its distribution deal after being featured in WorldFest's Film Market in 1998. Many more directors, producers, and actors from around the United States and the world will appear with their films at WorldFest.
The ten-day WorldFest, running from April 22nd to May 1st, will include films from 25 countries, selected from almost 2000 submissions. All events, including films, seminars, receptions, and the April 30th awards dinner, are open to the public; tickets are available at www.worldfest.org. Ticket prices start at $6.00 for matinees - all screenings starting at 1:00pm and 3:00pm (weekends) and at 5:00pm (every day of the festival). All films are screened at the AMC Meyer Park Theatre. Evening Shows are $7.50 and VIP Passes start at just $75 WorldFest-Houston is sponsored in part by HP, Eastman Kodak, The State of Texas, The City of Houston, The Renaissance Hotel, Budget Rent A Car, Becker Vineyards, The National Endowment for The Arts, The Texas Commission for The Arts, The Cultural Arts Council of Houston, RM Crowe, MediaATeam, Houston Yacht Club, TV5, Wagner Media, AMC Theatres, The Houston Chronicle & more!