Official Early Selections

Jason Brown

As we began receiving submissions in April of this year, a handful of films rose to the top. While we continue to receive submissions, these films deserved extra recognition. This year have six Official Early Selections, which cover all of our categories.

These films will screen at this year’s festival and most will have someone from the film in attendance. We thank these filmmakers for screening with us and look forward to sharing these films with our community!

 

CRUEL HEARTS (IMDB)   FEATURE

Young man discovers the woman he’s been sleeping is married to a notorious crime boss. When he confesses, the two form an unlikely, dangerous friendship.Thriller – 1 hr 30 min
Language, violence, sexual situations.Director/Writer: Paul Osborne
Producers: Jonathan Brown, Joe Pezzula, Leslie Osborne, Robert Hornack, Bill Eikost
Cast: Patrick Day, Alev Aydin, Melora Hardin, Eddie Jemison, Bonnie Root, Marion Kerr, Dawn Brodey
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SPACE GIRLS (IMDB) SHORT

During a sleepover, four space obsessed 9-year-old girls embark on a secret mission in their cardboard rocket. ‘Space Girls’ is a film that celebrates the power of the imagination, the importance of STEM education & girl power.

Narrative – 10 min

Director/Writer/Producer: Carys Watford
Cast: Bella Padden, Anika Selvarajah, Helena Albright, Emily Albright, Sophia Capasso, Laurence Pears, Evan Cregan
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MAGIC PLAY        COLLEGE

A shy boy wizard-in-training is forced into a play date with a witch girl who is unpredictable with her magic. From SCAD student Natasha Cánepa.

Animation – 3 1/2 min

Director/Writer/Animator: Nathasha Cánepa (SCAD)
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PEGGY (IMDB) SHORT

Everything seems to work out perfectly for Peggy, but her social graces are put to the test when she is surrounded by admiring and covetous parents at a birthday party for her eight-year-old son. From Georgia Filmmaker Justin Miller.

Narrative – 12 min

Director/Writer: Justin Miller (Georgia Tech)
Producer: J Christopher Campbell
Cast: Sarah Blackman, Josh Warren, Jason MacDonald, Muretta Moss, Kristen Shawn, Kurt Yue, Mindy Sparks, Stephanie Campbell, Bonny Breuer
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SOLITUDE     HIGH SCHOOL

In 1944 one woman is forced to face the harsh realities of war and experience the true meaning of solitude.

High School – 7 1/2 min

Director/Writer: Julia Bhansali
Producers: Julia Bhansali, Maddie Gall
Cast: Maddie Gall, Spencer Mercier
—

HEAVENS (IMDB) SHORT

A Colonel returns home from a long mission, but faces the same problems he knew from the military. A golf ball hits him in the head, putting him in an even bigger bureaucratic agency, called Heaven.

Narrative – 14 min

Director/Writer/Producer: Jonas Schubach (Florida State)
Cast: Gordon Ginsberg, Meredith Melville, Charisse Norment, Pamela Williams

The regular submission deadline for the South Georgia Film Festival is December 8. This year’s festival will be held March 1, 2, & 3 on the campus of Valdosta State University. Winners of the High School and College categories are eligible for scholarships to Valdosta State University thanks to the University Admissions office.

Passes to this year’s festival are currently available and discounted through the end of 2018. The All Access VIP pass, which includes a t-shirt and access to the upcoming Georgia Production Partnership event costs $75. The Festival Pass which offers access to all screenings, panels and daily events are $35. Tickets are available through the SouthGeorgiaFilm.com website.

For more information about the festival, contact Jason Brown, Festival Director at 229-219-1298 or jasonebrown@valdosta.edu

GPP Meeting Rescheduled

Jason Brown

The GPP South Georgia Regional meeting cancelled due to Hurricane Michael has been rescheduled for Feb. 28 on the campus of Valdosta State University. Details of participants is till to come.

The event is free for GPP, as well as for VIP All Access Passholders for the South Georgia Film Festival. Admission is $10 for anyone else.

Stay tuned for more information!

South Georgia Film Festival announces 2018 Winners

Jason Brown

2018 South Georgia Film Festival

VALDOSTA – The 2018 South Georgia Film Festival concluded with Kathryne Garrido, high school animator from Gastonia, NC, taking the top prize for her film “Daydreamer.” Garrido joined a crowd of filmmakers recognized for their work.

“We are so proud of the turnout and reception for this year’s festival,” said Jason Brown, festival director and assistant professor of mass media at Valdosta State University. “This year’s event was a tremendous success in terms of local and regional response.”

The 2018 South Georgia Film Festival screened 36 films between March 2, 3 and 4 at the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts and the VSU Student Union Theater. Visiting filmmakers presented panels on various topics, including how to grow a film community. Panelists and local celebrities joined these filmmakers to judge the films.

Sonny Shroyer, Audrey King of Georgia Power, filmmaker Kathryne Garrido and festival director Jason Brown celebrate the Best in Fest award.
Garrido, of Gastonia, NC, walked away with Best High School film, Best Direction and Best in Fest at this year’s South Georgia Film Festival.

The three category winners were:
“Daydreamer” by  Kathryne Garrido – High School category
Garrido’s film was a stop-animation film which she said took one month to complete for every minute of footage. Garrido is currently a high school junior from Gastonia, NC.

“The First Month” by Laura Holliday – College category
Holliday recently graduated of Idyllwild Arts Academy in California and attends Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, she recently was recognized as a Sundance Ignite Fellow at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Holliday’s film, currently available on FUNNY OR DIE, was an autobiographical story of a young woman going off to an Arts Boarding School.

“Cursed World Problems” by Doug Hawley – Open Category
Hawley is a film professional in Los Angeles. His film is a satirical look at a family dealing with old world curses.

All three films were awarded a lovely trophy from Harmon’s Awards here in Valdosta, and they also received tickets to Wild Adventures theme park for the 2018 season. Both the college and high school winners also received a $2,000 per semester scholarship to attend Valdosta State University.

Thanks to an award from American Youth Film Festival, the runners-up in the High School and College divisions were also recognized. Derek Walker, from Decatur, received the High School runner-up certificate for his film “Global Dynamics: A Robot Doc.” Javad Daraei, from Karaj, Iran, was recognized as the college runner-up for his film “Limit.”

“Daydreamer” was also recognized as the best film in competition overall. This year’s judges, which included filmmakers, panelists and local celebrities, reviewed all of this year’s films and decided to recognize much of the work of filmmakers in other ways as well.

That recognition included:

Best Narrative was awarded to Laura Holliday’s The First Month.
Best Documentary was awarded to David Johnson and Sonja Norris for 19 Year: The Story of Dick Rockey, Tom Odom and Valdosta State University Football.

Best Actress was awarded to Doree Seay from Cursed World Problems.
Best Actor was awarded to Davod Moeini Kiya from the film Limit.
Best Ensemble Cast was awarded to the cast of The First Month

Best Production Design was awarded to Limit.
Best Cinematography was awarded to Dwayne Green for The Butcher.
Best Sound Design was awarded to Colin Guthrie for Western Jubilee.
Best Editing was awarded to Gabby Fiszman for Utforska.
Best Director was awarded to Kathryne Garrido for Daydreamer.

“We would like to thank Georgia Power for their generous contribution to the festival,” said Brown. “Audrey King of Georgia Power was able to present the awards Sunday at the South Georgia Film Festival ceremony along with our own Sonny Shroyer.

“This year’s festival also received a tremendous amount of support from the Valdosta State University College of the Arts and a grant from the Georgia Council for the Arts. We greatly appreciate that.”

Community sponsors such as Valdosta Daily Times, WCTV, the City of Valdosta, the Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce, the Turner Center, Fairway Outdoor, 92.1 Talk, Tipsy Transit and Fusion Marketing were instrumental making this year’s festival a success.

 

 

South Georgia Film Festival Announces Judges for 2018 Competition

Jason Brown

South Georgia Film Festival Announces Judges for 2018 Competition

February 26, 2018

VALDOSTA, GA – With local and regional professionals, the South Georgia Film Festival announces the judges for this year’s 2018 competition. This year’s judges include Sonny Shroyer, Terrell Sandefur, Dean Poling, Brantly Jackson Watts, and many more.

Judges will be looking at three categories – Open, High School and College. Winners in each category will receive a trophy created by Harmon Awards in Valdosta, along with a day pass to Wild Adventures them park.

Winners in the High School and College categories will be eligible for scholarships to Valdosta State University.

This year’s judges run the gamut of professional experiences. Actor Sonny Shroyer made the role of Enos on “The Dukes of Hazzard” famous, but has recently been nominated for a Grace Award for his role in “The Way Home” and appeared in the Georgia produced series “Rectify.” Sonny has been very supportive of the arts in Valdosta and students at VSU specifically.

Terrell Sandefur’s work with the Macon Film Festival has led to a successful career in public relations and marketing across the film and arts communities. Currently, Sandefur is working with Veterans of Georgia in Film & Television to support retraining for service members into the state’s growing media industries.

Brantly Jackson Watts just completed shooting her newest film, “Spoon,” and continues to work as the Program and Outreach Manager for Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta. She will be screening her film award winning film “Birthday Cake” Friday night at the Turner Center for the Arts, along her husband and fellow judge Jon Watts, who will be screening his film “Matthew’s Gift.”

The majority of judges will be attending the festival screening films or participating on panels, such as Dan A. R. Kelly of Georgia Film Academy, Luke Pilgrim and Brad Kennedy of Sozo Bear Films, and Klarque Garrison of Surge TV. Klarque will be a part of Friday’s 1 pm networking event, while Sozo Bear has a Saturday Filmmaker panel at 5:45 pm. Kelly’s panel will take place Sunday at 11 am before the Awards ceremony.

Judges also include local media personalities Dean Poling of the Valdosta Daily Times and Marcus McConico of Channel 17. Lyndon Burch and Sheba Thomas of the American Youth Film Festival will also be serving as judges. They will present a prize package to each of the winners of discounted submission and attendance to this year’s AYFF in Atlanta.

The 2018 South Georgia Film Festival includes three days of events – screenings, panels and networking events celebrating the expanding creativity and economic development of the film industry. Sponsored by the Georgia Councils of the Arts, Georgia Power and Valdosta State University, the second annual festival looks to bring the growing film industry to South Georgia.

High school and college students can attend all of the day’s events by showing a valid ID.  All events after 5:30 pm will require a pass.

Passes are currently available through the South Georgia Film website for $35. Participants can also purchase a Day Pass for $15, and get access to all screenings, panels or events for any single day of the festival.

https://filmfreeway.com/SOUTHGEORGIAFILMFESTIVAL/tickets

For more information, contact Festival Director Jason Brown at 229-219-1298.

Jason Brown
Assistant Professor, Mass Media
Valdosta State University
1500 N Patterson St
Mass Media Bldg 1211
Phone: 229-219-1298
Email: jasonebrown@valdosta.edu
Website: http://www.SouthGeorgiaFilm.com/

Georgia Power announced as Sponsor for the 2018 South Georgia Film Festival

Jason Brown

Georgia Power Announced as Sponsor for the 2018 South Georgia Film Festival

VALDOSTA, GA – Demonstrating its support for the creative and industrious in the community, Georgia Power has come on as a Sponsor for the 2018 South Georgia Film Festival.

“We are excited to connect with pillars of the community like Georgia Power,” said Jason Brown, Festival Director and Assistant Professor of Mass Media at Valdosta State University. “As film continues to grow as an industry in our state, we want to showcase the opportunities for our South Georgia communities to take part. I think Georgia Power is the kind of partner that agrees with that kind of community support.”

Pictured from left to right – Sementha Mathews of the City of Valdosta, Jason Brown of Valdosta State University, Audrey King Georgia Power Area Manager, Ike Harbuck Region External Affairs Manager and Steven Heddon of Fusion Creative Marketing.

Georgia Power joins Valdosta State University and the Georgia Councils for the Arts as sponsors of this year’s festival. The festival will take place March 2, 3, and 4.

The festival has also partnered with the Valdosta Daily Times, WCTV, 92.1 FM, the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts, the City of Valdosta, the Valdosta-Lowndes Chamber of Commerce, Fairway Billboards, American Youth Film Festival, Fusion Creative Marketing, and Tipsy Transit.

For more information and tickets, visit – http://SouthGeorgiaFilm.com/

WCTV Joins South Georgia Film Festival as TV Sponsor

Jason Brown

WCTV and Gray Television announce they are proud supporters of the South Georgia Film Festival which encourages and promotes filmmakers and supportive cast to bring Film to the Public as art and entertainment. The South Georgia Film Festival plans to bridge the film industry and South Georgia with the help of such great media partners.

As the CBS affiliate for the Bend Bend of Florida and South Georgia, WCTC was the regions first television station, signing on September 15, 1955. Owned by Gray Television, WCTV broadcasts from Thomas County with its studios in Tallahassee, Florida reaching more than a quarter-million homes and families.

Keep watching your local CBS station to see this great announcement from Valdosta State University President Richard Carvajal.

Williams Group Supports the South Georgia Film Festival

Jason Brown

In support of art and industry, the Williams Group is proud to sponsor the South Georgia Film Festival. Having seen the impact that film and television can have on the local economy, the Williams Group, based in Adel, Georgia, encourages filmmakers young and old to showcase their work across South Georgia.

The Williams Group, founded in the early 1960’s, started with a small gas station, a motel, restaurant and clothing store to take advantage of the impact of Interstate 75 on the region.

The Williams Group currently owns and operates many different businesses in southern Georgia. These businesses include fourteen hotels, several restaurants (which include Burger King, IHOP, Western Sizzlin’, Dairy Queen, Captain D’s Seafood, and Azalea’s as well as non-franchised restaurants.), King Frog Factory Stores, a gasoline distributorship and convenience stores, RV parks, apartments, a billboard company, a wetland mitigation bank, as well as commercial, industrial and residential development. The backbone of Williams Investment Company and Williams Hospitality is the successful operation of its hotel/motel holdings. These include Holiday Inn Hotel & Conference Center, Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Comfort Suites, Comfort Inn & Suites, Country Inn & Suites, Days Inns, Super 8’s, Howard Johnson, and several independent operations. All of Williams’ operations are located along I-75 in Adel, Tifton and Valdosta, Georgia.

Visiting filmmakers will be staying at the Williams properties on Hill Ave, both the Holiday Inn & Conference Center and the Super 8. Saturday, March 3, the film festival will be hosting an after-party at the Holiday Inn for filmmakers and passholders alike. For more information on either property’s availability contact them:

              Holiday Inn (229) 244-1111

              Super 8 (229) 375-0814

For more information, visit the website at http://www.SouthGeorgiaFilm.com/ or contact the Festival Director Jason Brown at 229-219-1298 or e-mail jasonebrown@valdosta.edu.

Films Selected for 2018 South Georgia Film Festival

Jason Brown

With a great group of submissions this year, the South Georgia Film Festival has selected the following films for this year’s 2018 festival.

        High School
Beach Renourishment by Philip Ignatoff
Daydreamer by Kat Garrido
Enough is Enough by Michelle Espinoza
Global Dynamics: A Robot Doc by Derek Walker
One Year by Ashley Kramer
Operation Omega by Michaela Smoak
Straight Out of Money by Joshua Miller
Urban Lightning by Casey Boone
Utforska by Gabby Fiszman
Wrecked by Savanna Barrett

College
19 Years – The Story of Dick Rockey, Tom Odom and Valdosta State Football by David Johnson
Anime Weekend Atlanta 2017 by Jeska Bald
The First Month by Laura Holliday
The Glove by Levi Johnson
Headlock by John Dierre
Limit by Javad Daraei
The Prisoner’s Session by Max Steele
Rickey’s Story by Trey Leonard
Shut-In by Ryan Bryant

Open
Alamo Downs by Chris Gierowski
All Skate, Everybody Skate by Nicole Triche
The Apology Service by Luke Pilgrim & Brad Kennedy
Birthday Cake by Brantly Jackson Watts
The Butcher by Kyle Taubken
Cursed World Problems by Chris Gierowski
Elvis and the Golden Ticket by Palmer Edward
Good Hair by Fray Forde & Catherine D Holly
Harm by Christian Argamasilla
Hide by Jason Kock
The Little Chapel by Richard Schertzer
Matthew’s Gift by Jon Watts
Sunnyside Drive by Luke Pilgrim & Brad Kennedy
Western Jubilee by Donna Guthrie

 

Feature Films

The 12 Lives of Sissy Carlyle by Fran Burst Terranella
Rodents of Unusual Size by Quinn Costello, Chris Metzler & Jeff Springer

 

Look for more information about panels and times in the coming days.