Individual highlights and a closer look at the festival to come. In the meantime, full details of this year’s event via press release from the festival:
12th Urban Mediamakers Film Festival Showcases International Filmmakers and Writers
(Norcross, Georgia, United States, August 26, 2013) – The Urban Mediamakers Association is excited to bring the 12th Urban Mediamakers Film Festival (UMFF) to Norcross, Georgia, October 10-13, 2013. Independent films from around the world will compete for over $20,000 in prizes and awards. With digital technology, social media, and digital distribution models rewriting the filmmaking process, UMFF 2013 provides panel discussions and workshops on the transformation of the industry, and how to use this industry change to a creative advantage.
“Changing the World, One Story at a Time” is the slogan of UMFF, and the festival annually lives up to that tagline. Presented in English and Spanish, UMFF showcases a broad selection of award-winning films from around the world including Argentina, Bahrain, Canada, France, India, Korea, Germany, Lebanon, Mexico, Singapore, Spain and USA.
“We are diverse, all about green-lighting our own projects, and provide an atmosphere for nurturing collaborations among filmmakers and writers. UMFF provides edutainment opportunities for independent actors, filmmakers, multimedia producers and writers,” stated Cheryle Reynolds, executive director/producer of UMFF. “The key for independent filmmakers to be successful today is to be determined, use creative crowd funding, digital production, social media marketing and new distribution models. UMFF 2013 will provide information and resources to take advantage of all of these tools,” continued Reynolds.
UMFF 2013 Highlights…
• UMFF 2013 Opening Night Mixer/Networking Event.
• UMFF 2013 Honorary Chairman is Omar Tyree, New York Times best-selling author of the “Flyy Girl” series. Lionsgate’s Codeblack Films just snagged the rights to the “Flyy Girl” book trilogy. Omar will host several events during the festival, as well as speak about the Lionsgate’s deal, his “Flyy Girl” series, and becoming a successful author.
• UMFF 2013 Red Carpet Reception, Screening and Live Script Reading announcing the top 10 scripts in competition, with the top three scripts revealed through a live script reading of a scene from each project.
• Emmy award-winning producer, Diana Rivera will be featured in a “Conversation with Diana Rivera” Lunch and Learn. Rivera will also present the “Reality TV Production Workshop.”
• The Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle Film Screenings in celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities that use the power of documentary films to encourage community discussion of America’s civil rights history. NEH has partnered with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History to develop programmatic and support materials for the series.
• “Blackhats” thriller feature film cast and crew will conduct a panel discussion. The film is an Atlanta-produced film by Reel One entertainment and Supremacy Films that will be released this year during the 4th quarter. “Blackhats” is directed by Laron Austin, produced by Bennie Swint, Martin Kelley, Errol Sadler, Laron Austin and Eddie Singleton. The film features E. Roger Mitchell, Errol Sadler,l Doris Morgado, Ted Huckabee, Neko Parham, Cheri Christina, Vince Canlas and Onira Tares.
• J.H. Glaze, an accomplished paranormal/horror/sci-fi author, will present “Developing the Compelling Story” – an interactive, team writing workshop.
• Rosalyn Coleman Williams will present the “Acting in the Digital Age” Workshop. An actor, director, and acting teacher/coach, Rosalyn is one of the most sought after audition coaches in New York. During her tenure in show business, Rosalyn has worked with Meryl Streep, Halle Berry, Angela Bassett, Charles Dutton, Tom Cruise, Danny Glover, Christopher Walken, Samuel L. Jackson, Delroy Lindo and Alfre Woodward. She is co-host and co-creator of “Everything Acting Podcast” an internet radio show that informs, inspires and demystifies the actor’s journey. With over 70,000 downloads every month from 25 countries, “Everything Acting Podcast” is the number one Podcast for acting in iTunes.
• Diana McCray and Patricia Rivera of DAP Media Group, both successful entrepreneurs, will present “It’s A Business Not Just an Art Form” workshop. Creative Director Philip Hernandez of DAP Media Group’s Entertainment Brands will also be on hand to answer questions on how you can summit your projects on Black Talent TV.
• Redelia Shaw, DGA and Craig T. Williams, writer/producer at Red Wall Productions will present “Write. Shoot. Cut. Play” – a filmmaking workshop. Redelia has worked on several TV series in California including “Scandal,” “House of Lies,” and “Body of Proof.” Craig is the awardwinning writer of the short films “Allergic to Nuts” and “Drawing Angel.” He is also the founder and CEO of Red Wall Productions in New York.
• The Small Business Digital Marketing Summit is a conference within UMFF 2013 for entrepreneurs, non-profits and small business owners.
• UMFF 2013 offers over $20,000 in prizes for filmmakers and writers including:
o Script Notes from Ellixia Nguyen of The Script Joint.
o $400 towards script consultation with Steve Kaplan, a script consultant for such companies as DreamWorks, Disney, and HBO.
o MCTV and Continuum Motion Pictures distribution for winning feature films, short films and television programs.
o $250 to the best youth film.
o Cable TV airing of shorts, animations and music videos on the Indie Cinema weekly show on AIB-TV.
o Production consultation to winning filmmakers.
o Key art design and digital promotions from Camrose Creative Services, Inc.
o Annual memberships to the Urban Mediamakers Association.
Presented at the Hilton Atlanta Northeast in Norcross, Georgia, this four-day festival is open to the general public.
What: 12th Urban Mediamakers Film Festival (UMFF)
When: Thursday-Sunday, October 10-13, 2013
Where: Hilton Atlanta Northeast, 5993 Peachtree Industrial Blvd., Norcross, GA 30092 USA
Admission: Festival Passes – $40+; Panels/Workshops – $20+; Film Screenings – $5
Call for Entrees: Now open through September 4, 2013
Information: www.umff.com | info@umff.com | 404.460.2793
