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Chagrin Film Festival preparation is on roll
(by Barbara Christian - September 02, 2010)
Chagrin Film Festival preparation is on roll
By BARBARA CHRISTIAN
A small army of volunteers is being assembled to organize and run the first-ever Chagrin Documentary Film Fest, which will run from open Oct. 12 through 16.
The short-subject documentaries will be screened at Chagrin Valley Little Theatre, Chagrin Falls Intermediate School, Hamlet Village, South Franklin Circle, the Chagrin Falls Library, Chagrin Falls Historical Society's Shute Building and in a tent situated in Riverside Park.
About 90 short documentaries from 26 countries will be included in the festival's maiden voyage. A screening schedule will be announced in the coming weeks. Many of the filmmakers will attend the screenings and other events scheduled throughout the five-day festival.
The film festival is the brainchild of Mary Ann Ponce, a Chagrin Falls resident who has been planning the event for most of the past year, with the help of her husband, Ed Ponce, and a small group of advisers.
A primary adviser is AMRISTA, which has staged film festivals around the world, including the Swansea Bay Film Festival in Wales, where actress Catherine Zeta Jones is its patron, and the International Film Festival in South Africa.
The opening of the film festival office is set for Sept. 8 in Chagrin Falls Township Hall, 83 N. Main St. It will serve as the nerve center and information central for the festival. Festival passes, tickets and special- event reservations, will be available there, along with festival T-shirts.
In addition to the scheduled screenings, the Chagrin Documentary Film Fest will include several special events. An opening reception is set for 6 p.m. Oct. 13 at the little theater. The $25 admission includes a festival day pass and opening-night documentaries, as well as the reception.
On Oct. 14, documentaries will be screened throughout the day. Trifles Cafe will celebrate the festival with a wine and beer tasting, and Gamekeepers Tavern will offer an international beer tasting on its patio. Call Trifles at (440) 247-8595 and Gamekeepers at 247-7744 for reservations.
On Oct. 15, screenings of the documentaries will continue throughout the day. At 10 a.m., Hillbrook Club in Russell Township will offer a brunch honoring women in film. It is being sponsored by the Western Reserve Women's Republican Club and features U.S. Rep. Steven LaTourette, R-Bainbridge, as master of ceremonies.
At 6 p.m. Oct. 15, South Franklin Circle in nearby Bainbridge will serve a festival-themed dinner in its new Radius restaurant. Reservations are required and may be made by calling 247-1300. Dinner will be followed by featured documentaries screened in the Chautauqua Room there. It is open to individual ticket holders, day-pass holders and festival members.
Oct. 16, the final day of the festival, will be celebrated by a gala awards ceremony beginning at 6:30 p.m. in Chagrin Falls Township Hall. The event will recognize the international filmmakers with awards selected and presented by valley residents and dignitaries.
A gala will follow in the Riverside Park tent and feature "creative black tie" attire, entertainment and international food stations with cuisine from Chagrin Valley restaurants. The ceremony and gala tickets are $60 each.
Those wishing to support the festival may do so via donations at various levels.
Festival memberships with program listings are $25 each. Director memberships at $50 each include one film-festival pass and program listing. Producer sponsorships at $100 each include a film sponsorship, one full festival pass and program listing. At $250, founding members will receive a film sponsorship, two tickets to the gala awards ceremony and after-party plus two full festival passes and program listing. At $500, festival premier members receive a film sponsorship, two tickets to the opening reception, two tickets to the gala and after-party, two full festival passes and program listing.
The Chagrin Film Fest was inspired by Fevered Dreams Productions, which was founded by Mr. and Mrs. Ponce's son, the late David Ponce, a Chagrin Falls High School alumnus and filmmaker. Fevered Dreams Productions was his film production company. It was formed to tell the story of Sparrow Village, an AIDS orphanage in Johannesburg, South Africa, in his documentary titled, "The Lost Sparrows of Roodepoort."
"Nothing is as important to me as producing work that is true to Sparrow and showing those who have not visited just what the human spirit is capable of when faced with something immensely dark and frightening," David Ponce said of the story he was telling, even as he faced his own battle with leukemia.
He succumbed to the disease in 2006, before his film could be completed. With the help of his friend Brock Carter and a professor, Michael Kowalski, the film was completed and went on to become an award-winning documentary.
Fevered Dreams Productions has since become a nonprofit organization dedicated to enabling talented filmmakers to tell their stories.
The festival has been dedicated to David Ponce and all of the filmmakers who will share their work in Chagrin Falls.
The festival office may be reached at 247-0137 or by mail to Chagrin Documentary Film Fest, P.O. Box 239, Chagrin Falls 44022.
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