A Sundance near D.C.?
| Courtesy Tom McCall |
Every year, Washington seems to get a bit more Hollywood. More and more celebs swing through town, and D.C. has become the backdrop for some major motion pictures.
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So it should come as no surprise that a film festival will launch in the Washington area.
Prominent residents of Maryland’s Eastern Shore are working together to create The Chesapeake Film Festival, slated to debut next fall. The festival hopes to create a home for filmmakers on the Eastern Shore and the East Coast generally, and will screen movies varying from shorts to comedy, drama to documentaries.
A fundraising launch event took place last weekend. Festivities began with a VIP reception at the home of businessman Mark Jules and his wife, Sarah. Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren and husband John Cole, MSNBC’s Tammy Haddad, John Edwards adviser Joe Trippi and wife Kathy Lash, Ugandan-American musician Samite Mulondo and “Long Way Gone” author Ishmael Beah were in attendance.
The evening continued at the Avalon Theater, where there was an exclusive screening of “War/Dance,” a documentary being distributed by THINKFilm about Ugandan schoolchildren. The film recently took home the documentary directing award at last month’s Sundance Film Festival. Legendary local radio personality Paul Berry emceed the event.
The pedigree of those involved with both the screening and the festival is quite impressive. Two of the evening’s organizers, Paul and Holly Fine, have enjoyed award-winning careers as filmmakers for CBS and ABC. Their son, Sean, and his wife, Andrea Nix Fine, directed “War/Dance.” And, proving that the Fines have three generations of filmmakers in their family, Paul Fine’s father, Mate Fine, was once a photographer for the Redskins.
Doug Sadler, whose films include “Riders” and “Swimmers,” will be the artistic director for the festival. Community organizer Marie U’Ren and Debbi Dodson, from the Talbot County Office of Tourism, will serve as co-directors of the 2008 festival. Sponsors include Van Susteren and Cole, Trippi and Lash, developer Herb Miller and wife Patrice, real estate agent Cliff Meredith, businessman Bill Carter and wife Charley, and NEED magazine and Democratic operative Mame Reiley.
In addition to raising money for the festival, the Avalon Theatre event also raised $5,000 for Ugandan schoolchildren, and the Tidewater Inn sent a check to support three children featured in“War/Dance.”
