THURSDAY FEBRUARY 16 KICK OFF PARTY @ WHITE WATER TAVERN

FRIDAY NIGHT

Theater A

7:00 Madison County – Directed by Eric England
with short Fear Facers – Episode 1 dir. by Will Cleveland
Q & A after film with Director Eric England and Actor/Producer Ace Marrero

Theater B

7:30 Madison County – Directed by Eric England
with short Fear Facers – Episode 1 dir. by Will Cleveland
Q & A after film with Director Eric England and Actor/Producer Ace Marrero

OPENING NIGHT PARTY @ RIVERMARKET TOWER

SATURDAY

Theater A

1:40 The Holding – Directed by Susan Jacobson
with short Fear Facers – Episode 2 dir. by Will Cleveland

3:30 Sennentuntschi: Curse of the Alps directed by Michael Steiner
with short Incubator dir. by  Jimmy Weber

6:00 Arkansas Filmmaker’s Forum with Les Galusha – PANEL
Visual Effects and Make-Up Demos Open to Public

7:00 The Speak – directed by Anthony Pierce
with short Fear Facers – Episode 3 dir. by Will Cleveland
Q & A after film with Writer/Producer/Actor Brett Donowho

9:10 Exit Humanity – directed by John Geddes
with short Cost of Living dir. by BenDavid Grabinski

Theater B

1:00 Boo - directed by Anthony C. Ferrante
with short Never Stop Running dir. by Eric Deitz
Q & A with producer David E. Allen

3:25 Silent Night – PANEL
Turning a Short Into a Feature with actor/director Warren McCullough

4:45 Love Stalker - directed by Matt Glasson & Bowls MacLean
with short Night of the Devil dir. by Florian Puchert & Wolfgang Böhm

7:00 Resurrection - directed by Casper Haugegaard
DVD signed by the director will be given to 1 festival goer!

8:15 The Tunnel - directed by Carlo Ledesma
with short Curtain dir. by Dennis Widmyer
and short Going to Hell dir. by Bruce Hutchinson

SATURDAY NIGHT DRINK SPECIALS FOR PASS HOLDERS @ UNION BISTRO

SUNDAY

Theater A

12:25 Sennentuntschi: Curse of the Alps – directed by Michael Steiner
with short Night of the Devil dir. by Florian Puchert & Wolfgang Böhm

3:00 Love Stalker - directed by Matt Glasson & Bowls MacLean
with short Fear Facers – Episode 4 dir. by Will Cleveland
Q & A with producer/composer David P. Ohliger

5:40 The Holding – directed by Susan Jacobson
with short Excursion dir. by Roman Salcedo

8:00 Dog Soldiers – directed by. Neil Marshall
with short Fear Facers – Episode 5 dir. Will Cleveland
Q & A with producer David E. Allen

Theater B

1:00 Madison County - Directed by Eric England
with short Pillow dir. by Joshua and Miles Miller
Q & A with director Eric England

3:40 The Speak – directed by Anthony Pierce
with short Incubator dir. by Jimmy Webber

5:50 Exit Humanity - directed by John Geddes
with short Night of the Punks dir. by Dan Reisser

CLOSING NIGHT PARTY @ WHITE WATER TAVERN

Coming February 17 – 19th at Market Street Cinema!

One of the best events of the entire Little Rock Film Festival was the event with Hal Needham, director of the classic film Smokey and the Bandit. Tim Basham from Paste Magazine interviewed Mr. Needham who has had probably one of the most interesting lives in Hollywood.  He started out as a stunt man, and later a stunt coordinator, before he went on to direct.  He worked with John Wayne on 8 films.  This was a not to miss event.  Thanks to www.Have-You-Been-There.com for hosting this video! Tim Basham of Paste Magazine interviewd Mr. Needham.

For the first time in the history of the Little Rock Film Festival a person has won the Best in Arkansas Award a second time.  Last year Daniel Campbell won for the short Antiquities and this year he’s won the Ishares Charles B Pierce Award for Best “Made in Arkansas” Film for The Orderly.  This guy has a lot of stuff going on, and you can learn more in this interview from the Film Festival Gala!

LITTLE ROCK (May 27, 2011) – The Fifth Annual Little Rock Film Festival kicks off this Wed., June 1, at 6 p.m. with a red carpet party and screening of the film “The Last Ride” at the Argenta Community Theater in downtown North Little Rock.

Cast and crew from “The Last Ride” will be present at the red carpet party and film screening including director Harry Thomason and actors Henry Thomas, Jesse James, and Kaley Cuoco.

Following the film screening and Q & A with cast and crew from the film, the Oxford American will host the Opening Night block party on Main Street in Argenta. Main Street will be closed between 4th and 5th Streets starting at 8:30 a.m. on June 1 in preparation for the party.

Tickets to the red carpet reception and the Argenta Community Theater film screening are sold-out, but tickets are still available for the Second Opening Night Screening at 8 p.m. at Riverdale 10 Cinemas and Oxford American Opening Night Party. To purchase tickets for the Oxford American Opening Night Party or passes for the five-day festival log on to www.littlerockfilmfestival.org where you can also see a full list of films, panels, and special events.

Background on “The Last Ride”:

“The Last Ride” is directed by Harry Thomason, a native Arkansan known for the television series “Designing Women.” The film was shot in Arkansas and involved several Arkansas filmmakers. “The Last Ride” is a look into the final days of country music legend, Hank Williams, and his relationship with the young man hired to drive the troubled star and his Cadillac from Alabama to Ohio in the dead of winter, around New Year’s Eve, 1952. The story takes the viewer inside the heart of a man who knows he’s dying, and a dreamless boy whose fate seems already determined. And yet, the all too human connection of two souls needing just one friend leave us with an ending of hope, optimism, and ultimately, redemption on one man’s last ride into eternity.

Background on the Little Rock Film Festival:

The Little Rock Film Festival is an international film festival with the Southern experience showcasing the best of Little Rock’s downtown and historic places. Each Spring on the banks of the Arkansas River, centered in the thriving historic River Market District of Little Rock-home to the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Center-and the Argenta Arts District of North Little Rock, the LRFF showcases the best in narrative, documentary, and short films from around the World. Every film in competition at the LRFF makes its Arkansas premiere, and many are regional, national or world premieres.

The Little Rock Film Festival is also the premier festival for all things Southern. Each year the $10,000 Oxford American Magazine Award is given to the best Southern themed film. The LRFF has nourished a thriving local film scene as well, premiering the best work from around the state of Arkansas
Last year, more than 25,000 people attended the LRFF with over 100 films screened, prompting MovieMaker Magazine to name the LRFF one of the “25 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee.”

Founded in 2006 by Owen Brainard, Jamie Moses, and Brent and Craig Renaud, the LRFF is home to the Oxford American Award for Best Southern Film, the Golden Rock awards for Best Narrative Film and Best Documentary Film as well as the Charles B. Pierce Award for Best Film Made in Arkansas.

Source: LRFF press release

The LRFF will be selling 2011 festival passes at the door and if you purchase a pass you get free entry to the Rivertop party. Hosted by the Arkansas Arts Center Contemporaries, the Purchase Your Pass party is a great way to meet the LRFF staff and support the festival. Must be 21 or older.