Bay area film fans are blessed with a wealth of festivals at which they can hob-nob with industry professionals and take in multiple under-the-radar movies long before they appear in theaters or on DVD. 2010 will see the launch of the Clearwater Film Festival, which will take over multiple locations around Clearwater from September 29 to October 3. Attendees can expect dozens of film screenings, educational forums with film industry veterans and first-rate parties. Festival Executive Director Mike Rembis filled me in on the developing plans for the festivals, include a Friday night bash on Clearwater Beach spread across four locations and each featuring a live band playing a different genre of music, and a very cool Sunday picnic at Largo Central Park.

Keep reading for more info and a full list of films playing at the festival …

Tickets are on sale now, with package deals running from $35 for a "Supporting Cast" badge (which includes four movie tickets good at any festival screening and admission tot he Sunday picnic) up to $350 for the "Producer-VIP" package (including unrestricted access to all parties and festival events and three reserved seats). Screenings are scheduled to take place at the Capitol Theater, Largo Cultural Center and the Clearwater Cinema Cafe. Full details on packages and prices can be found at the festivals website.

In talking to Rembis, he seemed genuinely enthusiastic about the program and events he had assembled, saying they spared no expense to produce a "first class" experience for attendees. Interested film fans need to act now and get their festival badge, as supplies are limited, and once they're gone there's no guarantee that you'll get into that coveted screening.

We'll have more on the Clearwater Film Festival before the festival kicks off on Sept. 29. See you there …

Full details on the festival program:

OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

6 ANIMATION

A Soldier?s Mission

Animation

Director: Mel K. Lockett

3 minutes

USA 2010

A love struck tin soldier rushes to the aid of a fallen princess.

A Tall Tale

Animation

Director: Brittany Biggs

8 minutes

USA 2010

A lost princess returns home to her ailing father, the King who sent her away.

Entanglement

Animation

Director: Renae Radford

6 minutes

USA 2010

A turbulent journey of unrequited love set in the garden of one’s subconscious.

The Stain

Animation

Director: Ron Segal

12 minutes

Israel 2010

An unfinished version of a fable is given an ending by a random gust of wind through the

author’s study. A new headstrong adaptation of the familiar fable “The Scorpion And The Frog.”

Thembi?s Diary

Animation

Director: Jisoo Kim

6 minutes

USA 2010

A true audio documentary recorded by a South African girl with AIDS. Although her disease is

harsh for a 17 year old, Thembi talks to her virus every morning. With a calm voice she says

that as long as it leaves her alone she will do the same.

Who Do Voodoo

Animation

Director: Tahnee Gehm

3 minutes

USA 2010

Olivia’s life takes an unexpected twist when a voodoo king fixes her back problem. Little does

she expect her obnoxious dog to ruin her performance - for the best!

23 DOCUMENTARY

A Daytona Dream

Documentary

Director: Matthew Barksdale

1 Hour 30 minutes

USA 2010

Team owner and driver Scott Tucker assembles a dream team of elite race car drivers in an

effort to win one of endurance racing's most prestigious events, the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Collisions, confrontations and high-speed racing action take center stage as both the human

body and powerful, purpose-built machines are pushed to their absolute limits.

Absent

Documentary

Director: Justin Hunt

1 hour 31 minutes

USA 2010

From the award-winning director of AMERICAN METH comes Justin Hunt's newest

documentary that will undoubtedly lift the veil of how and why a father's absence can be so

devastating to not only a child; but a family, community, and, eventually, society itself.

Because one man makes a world of difference.

American Colonies: Collapse Of The Bee

Documentary

Director: Jason Kushner

1 Hour 10 minutes

USA 2009

American Colonies: Collapse of the Bee is a completely independent film project that breaks

down the role of bees/pollinators in our environment and economy. It explains the mysterious

problem of Colony Collapse Disorder and then proposes a possible solution for the sake of our

food supply and global economy.

Astronaut Pam: Countdown To Commander

Documentary

Directors: Mary Jo Godges and Renee Sotile

39 minutes

USA 2009

The sky is NOT the limit! Ride along with Commander Pam Melroy and her crew aboard Space

Shuttle Discovery on an exciting journey to the International Space Station. Float in ZERO

GRAVITY and strap in for MACH 25, on the space trip of a lifetime.

“Being an astronaut is totally cool. It's the coolest job in or out of the world.” Pam Melroy.

Breaking News Breaking Down

Documentary

Director: Mike Walter

35 minutes

USA 2009

Journalists who have covered everything from Columbine, to 9-11, from Katrina to the War in

Iraq and the Oklahoma City Bombing. They've told us the most important stories of our time, but

they've never told us their personal stories, how getting the big story can get to the journalists,

in many cases affecting their emotional well being.

Bullfrogs On My Mind . . . A Kentucky Legend

Documentary

Director: Diane Mason

57 minutes

USA 2009

A woman searches for the truth of a family legend - Did their ancestor bring the bullfrog to

Kentucky?

Cangleska Wakan

Documentary

Director: Aitken Pearson

53 minutes

United Kingdom 2009

The sacred hoop of life of the Lakota Sioux is explained by tribe members.

China: The Rebirth Of An Empire

Documentary

Director: Jesse Veverka

1 Hour 26 minutes

USA 2010

Peaceful rise or potential threat? China's 21st century emergence as a global superpower

affects every single one of us.

Healing Neen

Documentary

Director: Laura Cain

Co-Director: Diana Gross

54 minutes

USA 2010

'Healing Neen' takes viewers on a journey to places and subjects that many find difficult or

uncomfortable to even fathom. Beginning with a nightmarish childhood beatings at the hands of

her alcoholic mother and sexual assaults by neighborhood men, Tonier 'Neen' Cain's life

sprawled down into crack addiction, homelessness and 83 arrests. At her lowest point, pregnant

and incarcerated, she was offered her first break - the chance to enter a revolutionary trauma,

mental health, and addictions program. Safe at last, Tonier began to heal and embarked on a

boundless 'upward spiral'. Today she travels the country, speaking to professionals and those

still living on the margins of society, spreading her message 'where there's breath there's hope'.

House Quake

Documentary

Director: Karen Elizabeth Price

1 Hour 33 minutes

USA 2009

The behind the scenes story of how Rahm Emanuel and the Democrats took back Congress

and transformed the way campaigns are run in the U.S.

Houston We Have A Problem

Documentary

Director: Nicole Torre

1 Hour 23 minutes

USA 2009

Step inside the energy capital of the world to hear the truth about oil, straight from the hearts of

the Texas oilmen themselves. See decades of American presidents who have warned against

the dependence on foreign oil, and how the U.S. Energy policy has always been a strategy of

defense, not offense.

I Am Seminole

Documentary

Director: Sabrina Cooper

7 minutes

USA 2010

Join Everett Osceola of the Seminole Tribe of Florida on a journey through the history of the

tribe and how they are preparing for the future.

Mission Appalachia - The Story Of Red Bird

Documentary

Director: Todd Scoggins

1 Hour 10 minutes

USA 2009

The mountain people of these hollers refer to it simply, and affectionately, as Red Bird. The

mission has been in operation for nearly one-hundred years. Red Bird has worked exclusively in

this area since the 1920's. The Red Bird Mission has been described as the most

comprehensive mission site in the world. Nearly 3,000 people journey annually from across the

United States to bring support to fellow Americans in this breathtaking landscape.

Oro Verde (Sea of Green)

Documentary

Director: Todd Scoggins

13 minutes

Argentina 2009

The tea farmers of Argentina harvest their crop.

Piano Grand

Documentary

Director: Stephen Gotler

55 minutes

USA 2010

The story of a magnificent grand piano built in the 1890’s by legendary Boston piano maker

Chickering & Sons. What began as a project to document the piano’s restoration evolved into a

fascinating story about the people and historic events surrounding this beautiful instrument.

Strawberry Fields: Keeping the Spirit Of John Lennon Alive

Documentary

Director: Mark Elsis

1 Hour 21 minutes

USA 2009

In his first in-depth interview in over thirty years Phil Spector tells stories about 'his brother' John

Lennon, their love for each other and the wonderful music they produced. This and other

stories bring over a million people from every corner of Earth to visit Strawberry Fields and the

Imagine mosaic each year.

The Day The World Turned Dayglo

Documentary

Director: Tim Kutler

1 Hour 44 minutes

United Kingdom 2009

Three days after 9/11 and the beginning of a five year odyssey by a young English teacher

traveling through ten Muslim countries at the height of the century’s new conflict. “When you

drive into a sandstorm there is no telling where or when you will finally exit.” Arab proverb.

The Shark Con

Documentary

Director: Rusty Armstrong

1 Hour 26 minutes

USA 2010

The Shark Con takes viewers on a roller coaster ride into the big business of sharks, revealing

the controversial truth about the industry, all the while trying to answer the central question…Are

sharks really over-fished? Or is this just an elaborate con?

The Silent Realm

Documentary

Director: Phillip Arnold

20 minutes

USA 2009

Young men and seasoned athletes still journey to isolated valleys and remote villages to lift

Scotland's famous stones of strength, partaking of a centuries-old tradition that marked the

passage from adolescence into manhood. This ancient custom is explained by Peter Martin,

who has devoted his life to the research and lifting of Scotland's Manhood Stones.

The Story Of Human Rights

Documentary

Director: Taron Lexton

9 minutes

USA 2009

A striking short film defining one of the worlds most misunderstood subjects: human rights.

Through The Tunnel

Documentary

Director: Durand Adams, Charles Williams, Charles Clappsaddle

42 minutes

USA 2010

A retrospective of the desegregation of an historic all black high school through the eyes of the

head football coach and a player who became an All-Pro in the NFL.

Walking With Life: The Birth Of A Human Rights Movement In Africa

Documentary

Director: Kenny Mann

38 minutes

USA 2010

Human rights education in Senegal triggers a re-examination of Koranic law and traditions like

forced early marriage and female circumcision, causing a historic movement towards positive

social change.

Who Is Dancing?

Documentary

Director: Lu Gan

2 Hours 31 minutes

China 2010

A close look at the grueling audition process of the world's top ballet director, Mr. Roland Petit, a

guest to the National Ballet of China as he chooses the starring roles for Bizet’s “Carmen”.

Cutthroat competition ensues in a battlefield without smoke from the start until the opening night

curtain when we find out Who Is Dancing?

31 SHORT FILMS

Ashes To Anthrax

Short Film

Director: Corey Horton

9 minutes

USA 2010

A man follows the clues in his dreams to get answers.

Dark Scribbles

Short Film

Director: Michael Venn

9 minutes

USA 2010

Angela is a psychic whose visions might be more than they appear. Her psychic abilities and her

relationships are becoming intertwined. Sometimes nothing is exactly what it's supposed to be.

Detention

Short Film

Director: Denise Shillito

12 minutes

New Zealand 2010

A school boy struggles to expose the suspicious behavior of the one-eyed caretaker at his

primary school, only to find that life is vastly more complex than he could ever have imagined.

Dialing Amy

Short Film

Director: Lexer Kadan

11 minutes

USA 2010

A young girl left alone in a hotel room gets disturbing phone calls from a child predator. Will she

fall into his clutches or not?

Empty Space

Short Film

Director: Rob Underhill

12 minutes

USA 2009

EMPTY SPACE is based in part on the Mike Wiley one-man play, Dar He: The Lynching of

Emmett Till: A true story that chronicles the 1955 Mississippi murder trial and confession of the

men accused of the horrific slaying of 14-year-old Emmett Till. Mike Wiley plays all the

characters in this, his breakout film debut.

4 Pictures

Short Film

Director: Mike Madigan

15 minutes

USA 2009

'4 Pictures' is a personal narrative comedy that focuses on Kaitlin, living and documenting a

simple day to day routine. Trying to avoid 'change' whenever possible, an unexpected revelation

causes her to rethink her closest relationships.

Friend Of The Devil

Short Film

Director: Eric H. Heisner

24 minutes

USA 2009

Former Texas Ranger, Jacob Matthau goes in pursuit of Bandits that robbed and killed a payroll

guard. The journey takes him to the Mexican border and outside the law.

High Heels

Short Film

Director: Brett Carlson

14 minutes

USA 2009

A not too dark comedy about a guy mortally afraid of all shoes since the day he witnessed a

tragic trolley accident caused buy a pair of sexy red heels.

In Our Closeness

Short Film

Director: Torch Eberhart

7 minutes

USA 2010

Two brothers take off one night to bond and get to know each other. Everything goes wrong with

a stop at the local convenience store.

In The Shadows

Short Film

Director: Thomas D. Thompson

10 minutes

USA 2010

With the promise of a $20,000 reward a trio of friends search Capitol Theater top Prove it is

haunted

LASTRAIN

Short Film

Director: Tony Lopez

23 minutes

Spain 2010

Irene meets a handsome stranger who intrigues her when his predictions become true.

Lighthouse

Short Film

Director: Ling Li

17 minutes

USA 2009

A lonely lighthouse keeper saves a mysterious drowning girl, who insists that she is a fish.

Despite their booming romance she decides to return to the ocean.

Madcap Mabel

Short Film

Director: Dena Schumacher

35 minutes

USA 2010

The life of silent screen star Mabel Normand is seen through the repentant eyes of reporter

Charlie Craig, whose scandalous stories helped destroy her career and give himself a chance to

survive the next four years.

Marvin?s Plan

Short Film

Director: Marc Steele

24 minutes

USA 2009

Welcome to Marvin's world. A world of selling sperm to pay for his dates, only to face rejection

after rejection. Fed up with his lot in life, Marvin concocts an outrageous plan to have a woman

unwittingly have his child. However, what he does not know, is that a woman who works at the

sperm bank where he donates has secretly impregnated herself with his sperm. What follows is

an hilarious turn of events.

No One Island

Short Film

Directors: Stacy Marr and Vanessa Ruane

20 minutes

USA 2009

There's no place like home. After the sudden death of their father, a family attempts to come

together and heal the wounds of a haunted past that have been left unspoken for years.

Only In Paris

Short Film

Director: Cary Cremidas

13 minutes

USA 2009

A woman must prove to herself that she can seduce a man.

Over Cards

Short Film

Director: Marwan A. Abderrazzaq

13 minutes

USA 2010

Five friends, playing poker, discuss how each would kill his wife.

People That Do Something

Short Film

Director: Paul Galvan

6 minutes

USA 2009

An abusive man takes his stepdaughter shoplifting.

Picture Day

Short Film

Director: Ken Adachi

17 minutes

USA 2009

High school is tough. Freshman Miles Dufort will risk everything to take a perfect school picture.

Positive

Short Film

Director: Christian Cooks

19 minutes

USA 2009

Two young teenagers battle with the fact that they are HIV positive.

Ragman

Short Film

Director: Dale Ward

18 minutes

USA 2009

A ragman from another time and place visits a modern city, offering to trade his new rags for the

old ones of the people he meets.

Rita

Short Film

Director: Antonio Piazza

18 minutes

Italy 2009

Rita, a blind child, shelters a boy on the run who suddenly breaks into her home. It's a

mysterious, enigmatic meeting that lets Rita experience a brief moment of freedom.

Seventeen Cents

Short Film

Director: John Marchetti

13 minutes

USA 2009

Based on a true story, rural Georgia, just after the depression, is hard, relentless and desperate

for this farming family. A young boy yearns to take a class trip for a lesson in history. The family's

lack of money and inability to send him becomes the lesson he'll never forget.

Sissy

Short Film

Director: Bonnie Root

22 minutes

USA 2010

Sissy’s mother dumps her with a family friend, Charlie, a struggling magician down on his luck.

He makes Sissy his personal assistant and begins to impose responsibilities upon her that are

beyond the abilities of a 14-year-old child.

Take My Wife

Short Film

Director: Brett Carlson

22 minutes

USA 2009

A married couple intending to hire a gigolo to save their stale sex life mistakenly hire a hit man.

Taught To Hate

Short Film

Director: James Garcia Sotomayor

27 minutes

Ecuador, USA 2009

The story of an Hispanic immigrant trying to find a job in America and an American family who's

uncle's racial intolerance has a strong effect on his nephew.

The Desperate

Short Film

Director: Ben Hur Sepehr

33 minutes

USA 2009

On a rainy night in a concentration camp a fearsome Nazi general is forced to plead with a

condemned Jewish doctor to save his dying only son.

The Nice Girl

Short Film

Director: V. K. Shah

9 minutes

USA 2009

What are the chances that you would meet a stranger one day that could kill , kidnap, test, hurt,

or hug you? After a terrible day at work, Kate is accosted by Jack, a stranger, who leads her on

a quick journey, one that can change her, if she plays her cards right.

Weequahic

Short Film

Director: Jamie Ruddy

8 minutes

USA 2009

Set in 1952, four wise guys in the numbers racket hang out at a diner and spend most of their

time looking for new patsies to collect some extra scratch. Their latest scheme to shake down

the owner of the diner yields very unpredictable results.

When He Left

Short Film

Director: Jeremy Decker

12 minutes

USA 2010

A family struggles with the suicide of their son, a veteran of Middle East deployment and victim

of post Traumatic stress disorder.

Zimbabwe

Short Film

Director: Anjuli Hinds

16 minutes

USA 2009

Amidst the turmoil and uncertainty of a militant regime, two young children of Zimbabwe are

forced into a fight they hardly understand when they are pitted one against the other during a

sudden farm invasion.

2 MINI-FEATURE FILMS

Night People

Mini-Feature Film

Director: Mickey Newman

44 minutes

USA 2010

After accidentally locking his keys, wallet, and cell phone in his apartment late one night, Nathan

Richards embarks on a journey for refuge in which he encounters various drifters along the way.

Out Of Focus

Mini-Feature Film

Director: Jim Cocoliato

45 minutes

USA 2010

Derek Miller was a young prosperous Cinematographer until Super-Star actor Clive Pierce has

him fired. Derek's career and life plummets to the bottom, until opportunity knocks, offering him

his chance to get back on top and enjoy success that he never even had dreamed possible.

10 FEATURE FILMS

A Lonely Place For Dying

Feature Film

Director: Justin Evans

1 hour 36 minutes

USA 2009

In 1972, the conflict in Vietnam continues. The creeping threat of communism grips the nation in

fear. In an abandoned prison on the US/Mexican border, KGB mole Nikolai Dzerzhinsky waits

for his contact from the Washington Post. He holds explosive evidence against the CIA,

information he will trade for asylum in the United States. Special Agent Robert Harper's orders

are clear: take the documents from Dzerzhinsky and kill him.

Around

Feature Film

Director: David Spaltro

1 hour 44 minutes

USA 2009

A homeless man going to school in New York City searches for a place to call home.

Black Dogs Barking

Feature Film

Director: Mehmet Bahadir

1 hour 30 minutes

Turkey 2010

Two friends try to go into business for themselves but instead find trouble with the parking

garage mafia in Istanbul’s chaotic underground.

Earthwork

Feature Film

Director: Chris Ordal

1 hour 33 minutes

USA 2009

earthwork is the true story of real life crop artist Stan Herd who plants his unique, rural art form

in New York City with the help of a group of homeless characters on a plot of land owned by

Donald Trump.

Hope For A Thorn

Feature Film

Director: Erin Kitzinger

1 hour 14 minutes

USA 2009

Fighting loss, loneliness and madness, an estranged grandmother and granddaughter’s only

chance for redemption is each other.

Innocent Crimes

Feature Film

Director: Jonathan Green

1 hour 37 minutes

United Kingdom 2009

A shy accountant seeking an escape from his hum-drum existence meets a charismatic man

who is more dangerous than he first appears to be.

My Name Is Jerry

Feature Film

Director: Morgan Mead

1 hour 40 minutes

USA 2009

As a salesman, Jerry Arthur (Doug Jones) drifts through days filled by slamming doors and low

expectations. He is a middle-aged divorcee with a daughter he has not spoken to in years, a

dead-end job, and low self-esteem. But, when he encounters the right mix of punk rock

mentality and a few unique friends, he gets a rare chance to wake up from life and finally start

living.

Railed Up And Wrecked

Feature Film

Director: Neil Webb

1 hour 36 minutes

Canada 2010

A man has strange dreams after he finds out his recently dead older brother was a drug dealer.

Sneakers & Soul

Feature Film

Director: Jonathan Zelenak

1 hour 41 minutes

USA 2009

After inheriting a pair of blue sneakers and a mysterious key to a New York City apartment, a

young work obsessed lawyer finds himself following in his father’s footsteps - walking from

South Jersey to New York with his loyal but complicated best friend.

Twenty Ten

Feature Film

Directors: Mark Alston & Byron Kaye

1 hour 11 minutes

Austalia 2010

The new Australian comedy Twenty Ten tracks four misbegotten twenty-somethings as they

bicker, snicker and search for a life beyond each other and the deadbeat suburban Sydney

street where they all work. A life somewhere cool. Somewhere like Twenty Ten.