GR Film Festival kicks off tonight
August 26th, 2009 at 8:41 am by Laff at the Movies under Entertainment
Family oriented movies are the focus of inaugural Grand Rapids Film Festival August 26-28
43 movies make up the first ever Grand Rapids Film Festival… 11 features, 12 documentaries, 9 short narratives, and 3 animated films.
There are also 4 free panel discussions focused on ”Making Movies in Michigan”, “Digital Animation and Game Design”, “How Academia Can Help”, and “In the Movies”, a panel that includes some of the filmmakers behind the movies at this festival.
The “In The Movies” panel includes Rick Eldridge the producer of “The Ultimate Gift”, Andre’ van Heerden the producer of “Saving God”, Bobby Downes the producer of “Like Dandelion Dust”, John Grooters the producer/director of “American Sailors”.
The Grand Rapids Film Festival will run August 26-28 at Celebration! Cinema North in Grand Rapids. Tickets are $5- $8 per movie.
Here’s a look at some of the 43 movies, click here for a look at the schedule:
“Like Dandelion Dust”
(1 hour, 40 min/ not Rated)
“Like Dandelion Dust” will make its Michigan premiere at the Grand Rapids Film Festival, the movie has already won 7 awards at festivals across the country this year.
Cast: Mira Sorvino, Barry Pepper, Kate Levering, Maxwell Perry Cotton, and Cole Hauser
Plot: A compelling drama, based on the best-selling novel by Karen Kingsbury, that explores the different meanings of being a parent through the grittily realistic lives of the struggling, blue-collar Porter’s, and the privileged Campbell family. Their lives intersect, intertwine and collide, all for the love of a little boy.
Director: Jon Gunn
Trailer: not available, link to movie website: http://www.likedandeliondust.com/
“Saving God”
(1 hour, 41 min/ rated PG-13)
“Saving God” garnered strong reviews at several film festivals this year and won the Film Excellence Award at the International Family Film Festival. The film is also nominated for a Time for Peace Film Award and Ving Rhames is nominated for a Time for Peace Actor Award for his performance.
Cast: Ving Rhames, Ricardo Chavira (ABC’s Desperate Housewives), Dean McDermott, Dwain Murphy, Genelle Williams
Plot: Armstrong Cane (Rhames) served 15 years in prison for manslaughter. Now he serves as the Pastor of his community church. As he works to rebuild the community he left behind, the ex con meets Norris (Murphy) and recognizes a young man headed down a familiar scary path. Lured into the depths of drugs and violence by local dealer Blaze (McDermott), the troubled teen is pulled in opposite directions.
Director: Duane Crighton
Trailer: http://www.savinggodmovie.com/index.php?obj=trailer
“The Way Home”
(1 hour, 30 min/ rated PG)
Premiered May 12th at Fox Theater in Atlanta.
Cast: Dean Cain, Lori Beth Edgeman, Sonny Shroyer, Tom Nowicki, Brett Rice, Jay Gill, Jackson Walker, L. Warren Young, Jackie Prucha, Bruce McKinnon
Plot: An inspirational true story about how a rural community rallied around a distraught family to search for their missing two year-old boy and through doing so changed the lives of many of those involved.
Director: Lance Dreesen
Trailer: http://www.thewayhome-movie.com/
“The Ultimate Gift”
(1 hour, 55 min/ rated PG)
Won the “Crystal Heart Award” at the Heartland Film Festival in 2006 in Indianapolis.
Cast: Drew Fuller, Abigail Breslin, James Garner, Bill Cobbs, Lee Meriwether, George Lee, Brett Rice, D. David Morin, Ali Hillis, Brian Dennehy
Plot: Jason thought his inheritance was going to be the gift of money and lots of it. Was he ever in for a big surprise. Based on the best-selling book “The Ultimate Gift” by Jim Stovall, the story sends trust fund baby Jason Stevens on an improbable journey of discovery, having to answer the ultimate question: “What is the relationship between wealth and happiness?”
Director: Rick Eldridge
Trailer: http://www.theultimategift.com/movie.php?cid=1560810621&cat=movie