Film and Fun in Houston
LOREE COUCH
THE SIGNAL
“There is at least one film festival in Houston every month, except in April. In April there is WorldFest…” said Trish Rigdon, executive director of Houston Cinema Arts Society.
Founded in August 1961 as a film society, WorldFest became an international film festival in April 1968 and is the oldest independent film festival in the world. It was the third film festival competitive to be created in the United States.
The WorldFest-Houston has given many universities in the Houston area scholarships to give out to those interested in attending their master classes. The University of Houston-Clear Lake received 10 of these scholarships.
The university is offering this opportunity to students interested in taking the master classes, which take place April 10, 11 and 12. The classes will focus on three styles of film work.
The festival hosts six master classes each year and this year’s schedule includes training in documentary making, script writing, directing and creating a recognizable name for your business. Robert Loggia, known for his work in “Scarface,” is scheduled to teach a master class the morning of April 12. WorldFest will honor him with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Kathleen Haney, WorldFest program director, stated that the purpose of the film festival is to allow a platform for independent filmmakers to showcase their work. For this reason, WorldFest accepts only films created outside of the Hollywood circle and does not screen any films produced by major studios or distributors.
WorldFest offers 10 major areas of competition and awards, including new media, music videos, screenplays, film and video production, commercials and public service announcements, television and cable production, feature films, experimental films, short films and student films. The festival accepts both film and video formats.
The WorldFest judges will evaluate the films based off of the concept of “a good story well told;” Haney explained that at the end of the two-hour viewing session the audience should walk away from the event with something good in their minds about the experience. The films, if they are doing what they were created to do, should leave the viewer captivated.
“The documentaries should be compelling, the dramas should speak to the people’s hearts, and the comedies should entertain people,” Haney summarized.
Haney said WorldFest is beneficial to film students because having reviews from film festivals validates the work of independent filmmakers and sets them apart from their peers.
“Getting into this film business is very expensive, and of course the cheapest way to do it is to write a script and to get recognition from it,” Haney said. “We have a scriptwriting competition for scripts and screenplays. If you have an accolade from a well-recognized and respected film festival then it does open doors to them [independent filmmakers] career-wise so that they can meet with the right people.”
WorldFest has previously awarded first honors to filmmakers such as Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Ang Lee, Ridley Scott, The Coen Brothers, David Lynch, Brian De Palma, Oliver Stone, John Lee Hancock, Randal Kleiser, Daniele Gangemi, Francis Ford Coppola and Spike Lee.
“I’d like to think that WorldFest has been instrumental in jumpstarting careers,” Haney said.
Besides WorldFest, there are a variety of film festivals that take place in Houston. Rigdon also encourages students to attend the Houston Cinema Arts Festival, which will take place Nov. 12 through Nov. 16, 2014. The festival will be held at Sundance Cinemas, the Aurora Picture Show and the Houston Museum of Fine Arts.
“The film community in Houston is growing both in size and quality,” Rigdon said. “I think there is more film business coming into Houston all the time.”
