Attendees included Actors Shiloh Fernandez & Craig Stark, Bill Sage for THE CATCH, Recording Artist Presley A. Aronson & Drake Bell in support of short film: SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS

Online Festival screens over 200 films and film experiences virtually from September 17-26th

ABOUT CATALINA FILM FESTIVAL & FILM INSTITUTECatalina Film Festival is an annual celebration of film in Southern California with coastal screenings and events in Long Beach and on Hollywood’s island, Catalina, just 22 miles off the Los Angeles coast. Past CFF honorees include Nicolas Cage, Jon Favreau, Stan Lee, Kevin Hart, William H. Macy, Andy Garcia, Sharon Stone, Emmy Rossum, Richard Dreyfuss, and more. CFF is a competitive festival with awards in multiple U.S. and International categories, including the prestigious Stanley Kramer Social Artist Award, Wes Craven Horror/Thriller Award, and the Island’s Conservation Award.
2021 sponsors include blk., The Cafaro Group, Building Image Group (BIG), Bogart Spirits, BANDERO Tequila, FilmFestivalFlix.com, Long Beach Scottish Rite Event Center, KARANA WHOLE PLANT – ALL TASTE, and Horseshoe Bend Vineyards.
Follow @CatalinaFilm, #CatalinaFilm  www.catalinafilm.org

Carpool Cinema Screenings at Scottish Rite Event Center in Long Beach featuring Wes Craven Fright Night Block, A Nightmare on Elm Street, L.A. Social Club Block & The Breakfast Club

The show must go on! Catalina Film Festival (CFF) is thrilled to announce two ways to celebrate their 10-Year Anniversary! In addition to Carpool Cinema live and in-person, CFF will also be virtual, streaming globally via FilmFestivalFlix.com, online anytime, September 18-27. Movie lovers from around the world can log on to stream 119 official selections, including star-studded and independent feature-length narratives, short films and documentaries by award-winning, international filmmakers.

CFF’s Film & New Media Summit will be going LIVE virtually from 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m. with online panels: Fade In: Screenwriters Panel on Friday, Sept 18; The Art of Acting on Sunday, Sept 20; and ACTION: Director’s Panel on Monday, Sept 21. Tune in for additional filmmaker Q&A’s and get a sneak-peek at indie feature, Grace & Grit, starring Mena Suvari in a pre-release interview with cast & crew by Deadline Hollywood’s Geoff Boucher. Movie set to release later this year as a CFF World Premiere theatrical screening.

Locals can celebrate with CFF’s first-ever CARPOOL CINEMA and DRIVE-THRU RED CARPET on September 25-26 at the Scottish Rite Event Center in Long Beach, located at 855 Elm Avenue. Limited tickets available for these exclusive events, featuring two-nights of socially-distant entertainment. Doors open at 6 p.m. for a drive-thru RED CARPET experience with step-and-repeat paparazzi photos and park-and-watch films. Guests will have access to food vendors and cash bar with official programming piped right into your car speakers, sponsored by FilmFestivalFlix.com.

CARPOOL CINEMA FREE BONUS FEATURE FILMS

● FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 / CFF’s WES CRAVEN FRIGHT NIGHT FREE Bonus Screening: A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET Kicking off the annual Wes Craven Horror Block at sundown (on Elm Avenue) with short films: Gaslight, In the Deathroom, Mask of Sanity, Milk Teeth, Mongrel, Need Anything, One Last Thing, Overkill – all in competition for the coveted Wes Craven Award. CFF is the only competitive Festival in the world to have an award sanctioned by the king of horror himself. Followed by a FREE bonus screening of his cult-classic, slasher film, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET starring Johnny Depp (in his first movie ever.) Dress in your best HORROR PANDEMIC FACE MASK for a chance to win prizes.*

● SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26: THE L.A. SOCIAL CLUB FREE Bonus Screening: THE BREAKFAST CLUB Saturday Night Social Club toasts to nostalgia. First a round of independent cinema in the L.A. Social Club Shorts Block featuring films: Balloon, In Hollywoodland, Liquid, Ride in Progress, Thank you Kindly, and Un Hombre Debe Aprender, followed by the 35th Anniversary of John Hughes iconic film, THE BREAKFAST CLUB, starring Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy & Anthony Michael Hall. Dress in your best 80s MOVIE PANDEMIC FACE MASK for a chance to win prizes.*

Tickets for the Carpool Cinema events are $40 per vehicle, including one person per seatbelt. Masks are mandatory and must be worn at all times when outside your vehicle. All-Access Streaming Passes for the Catalina Film Festival Channel are $125 and include 119 official selections. Individual film tickets are available for $12. For tickets and complete film schedule: www.catalinafilm.org.

ABOUT CATALINA FILM FESTIVAL & FILM INSTITUTE

Catalina Film Festival is an annual celebration of film in Southern California with coastal screenings and events in Long Beach and on Hollywood’s island, Catalina, just 22 miles off the Los Angeles coast. Past CFF honorees include Nicolas Cage, Jon Favreau, Stan Lee, Kevin Hart, William H. Macy, Andy Garcia, Sharon Stone, Emmy Rossum, Richard Dreyfuss, and more. CFF is a competitive festival with awards in multiple U.S. and International categories, including the prestigious Stanley Kramer Social Artist Award, Charlie Chaplin ICON Award, Wes Craven Horror Award, and the Island’s Conservation Award. 2020 sponsors include The Cafaro Group, Building Image Group (BIG), Bogart Spirits, REED’S INC, REZ – Recovery Brands, BANDERO Tequila, FilmFestivalFlix.com, Long Beach Scottish Rite Event Center, Horseshoe Bend Vineyards, and Sprint. Follow @CatalinaFilm, #CatalinaFilm www.catalinafilm.org. *See social media + website for contest details.

9TH ANNUAL CATALINA FILM FESTIVAL WRAPS WITH ACADEMY AWARD-WINNER,
MIRA SORVINO, RECEIVING THE AVALON AWARD; BEST OF FEST WINNERS ANNOUNCED

5-Day Film Fest Featured Premieres, Parties & Events on The Queen Mary in Long Beach & Catalina Island;

Other Notable Attendees Included Jaeden Martell (It, It Chapter 2), Kevin Alejandro (Lucifer), Jessica Sipos (Dark Harbor), Lesley Ann Warren (Victor/Victoria) & More

Los Angeles, CA (September 30, 2019)－The five-day Catalina Film Festival (CFF) wrapped its 9th annual festival in coastal sister cities with premieres, parties, and panels in iconic and historic film venues: The Queen Mary in Long Beach and the Avalon Casino Theatre on Catalina Island.

Festival highlights included the Avalon Award presentation to Oscar-winning actress Mira Sorvino who starred in the world premiere of “Badland” alongside Kevin Makely, Bruce Dern and Trace Adkins. Fan favorite, Thriller Thursday, featured the Wes Craven block of horror films, along with the world premiere of “Dark Harbor,” directed by Joe Raffa, starring Joel McHale (Community, The Soup) with cast in attendance: Jessica Sipos, Xander Berkeley, Sterling Hurst, Connor Trineer, Reiko Aylesworth, Nickolas Wolf and Jillian Armenante. Also in attendance were Kevin Alejandro (Lucifer, True Blood) with the short films “The Talk” & “Smile,” plus Jaeden Martell (It, It Chapter 2), Nick Jandl (Nashville), Mike Doyle (New Amsterdam).

The Festival also featured the Film & New Media Summit, with panels that included “Making Your First Feature Film” with Duane Swierczynski, TV/Film writer; Adrian Ward, film financier/deal maker; Zachary Tarica, CEO of the The Forest Road Company; and Taylor Braun, Film Festival Specialist from Chapman University. Also aboard the Queen Mary – a spotlight interview with iconic actress, Lesley Ann Warren, moderated by film historian, Jim Hemphill.

On the island, Catalina Film Fest’s Lion’s Den was stacked with prospective film investors. The annual pitch-fest matched accredited investors with filmmakers seeking funding for their projects with industry notables Shawn Nightingale, Producer; Grady Craig, Bondit Media Capital; Jennifer Bergeron, Private Equity Investor and Producer; Viviana Zarragoitia, VP of Three Point Capital and Producer; Barbara Bickham, Trailyn Ventures.

2019 CATALINA FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS:

• • Avalon Award – Mira Sorvino
  • Best of Fest – U.S. Feature – “Cicada Song” (World Premiere)
  • Award of Excellence – U.S. Feature – “Badland” & “Dark Harbor” (World Premieres)
  • Best of Fest – U.S. Short Film – “Men of Vision”
  • Award of Excellence – U.S. Short Film – “The Scorpion’s Tale” & “The Cake”
  • Best of Fest – Documentary Film (Worldwide) – “Stronger than Carr”
  • Award of Excellence – Documentary Film (Worldwide) – “Camp Alec”
  • Best of Fest – Screenplay – “Kid Soldier”
  • Award of Excellence – Screenplay – “Deep East Texas”
  • Best of Fest – International Short Film – “Janek/Bastard”
  • Award of Excellence – International Short Film – “The Portraitist”
  • Best of Fest – International Feature Film – “RWANDA”
  • Catalina Spotlight Awards – Chuck Liddell, presented by Golden Globe-winner Joseph Bottoms & Lolo Saldana
  • Deb Bauer “Unsung Hero Award” – “Father of the Flying Car”
  • Award of Excellence – High School Student Film: (Worldwide): “Screen Age” & “Artificial Connection”
  • Award of Excellence – Advanced Student Film (Worldwide) – “8”
  • Best of Fest – Advanced Student Film (Worldwide) – “Piggy Bank Proposition”
  • Award of Excellence – Animation Short Film (Worldwide) – “Substance”
  • Best of Fest – Animation Short Film (Worldwide) – “Destination: Unknown”
  • Award of Excellence – Conservation Film – “Saving Ohi’a”
  • Best of Fest – Conservation Film – “The Last Herd”
  • CFF Festival Treasure Award – “Barbie’s Kenny”
  • Best Actor, Male: Ben Gail – “Happy To Help”
  • Best Actor, Male Comedy: Aaron Serotsky – “Men of Vision”
  • Best Actor, Female: Kimberley Wintle – “Mabel”
  • Best Actor,  Female Comedy: Leslie Vincent – “Fairy Tail”
  • Best Child Actor, Charity Rose – “Piggy Bank Proposition”
  • Best Cinematography, Mac Fisken – “High Desert Hell”
  • Best Supporting Actor, Male: Markets Christmas – “Unicorns”
  • Best Supporting Actor, Female – Jordan Knapp- “8”
  • Best Director,  Frank Todaro – “Men of Vision”

PRESS IMAGES: http://bit.ly/CATALINAMEDIA

ABOUT CATALINA FILM FESTIVAL & FILM INSTITUTE

Catalina Film Festival is an annual celebration of film in Southern California with coastal screenings and events in Long Beach and on Hollywood’s Island. Past CFF honorees include Nicolas Cage, Jon Favreau, Stan Lee, Kevin Hart, William H. Macy, Andy Garcia, Sharon Stone, Emmy Rossum, Richard Dreyfuss, and more. 2019 sponsors include The Cafaro Group, Building Image Group (BIG), Bogart Spirits, REED’S INC, REZ – Recovery Brands, BANDERO Tequila, Catalina Express, Toyon Grill, Bezalel, ABK BEER, Horseshoe Bend Vineyards, Sprint. Follow @CatalinaFilm, #CatalinaFilm  www.catalina film.org.

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Contact: Jennifer Chidester jennifer@modernprinc.com, JP Petrini jp@modernprinc.com

2019 Catalina Film Festival