Ksubuzz

Local and international talent showcase at Akron Film Festival

Isobel Parish
September 16, 2010

The Akron Art Museum is hosting its third annual Akron Film Festival Sept. 23-26, and news is already buzzing of the stellar lineup of selections.

The four-day event features films from the Cannes and Sundance film festivals, as well as many local budding filmmakers.

Stunning reviews and sold out screenings at the 2009 festival pushed the event to the next level.

Rob Lucas, co-executive director of the festival, said he expects this year to be more popular than ever, having seen the festival grow from the start.

“We’re always looking for ways to find a new audience,” Lucas said.

This year’s new events feature more local filmmakers available for Q&A sessions.

Film showings begin at 6:45 p.m. Thursday, and workshops are held Saturday and Sunday afternoons for budding filmmakers.

The workshops range from traditional “Cinematography” to “Deconstructing Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’.”

The films kick off with local Canton filmmaker Len Zaleski’s “The Real Bold Badmen,” a film that Lucas suggests seeing.

One of a number of international films, “Blondes in the Jungle” by Whitney Horn and Lev Kalman, shows at 10:55 p.m. on Friday and played at the Rotterdam Film Festival.

Lucas called the film “bizarre, experimental and comedy.”

“It’s northeast Ohio film mixed with international films that are different than the usual,” Lucas said.

He commented that the festival has something for almost every guest with “many unique films that are easily accessible to the public.”

Thursday, Sept. 23:

The Real Bold Badmen

6:45 p.m.

Directed by Joe Siebert

Sincerely, P.V. Reese

7:45 p.m.

Directed by Philip Swift

Friday, Sept. 24:

Rhythmic Uprising