For information on the BronzeLens Film Festival, go to bronzelens.com.
It was almost a no-brainer when Kathleen Bertrand was asked to look into starting a local film festival highlighting the work of people of color.
Atlanta and, indeed, the state were starting to get more attention from filmmakers and television producers as an alternative to the traditional industry hubs of New York and Hollywood. Why not a festival that would bring in the industry’s best and brightest as well as nurture emerging talent and provide job opportunities?
The film industry here "was coming along," said Bertrand, BronzeLens Film Festival executive producer and a senior vice president at the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau. "It never crossed my mind that we couldn't grow this thing. That's kind of the Atlanta way, you know. This is the city of dreamers. We look at the big picture."
Indeed, her prediction was right.
The first year, the festival drew about 1,500 people. This year will be the fifth for the event, now one of the nation’s more prominent film festivals focusing on people of color, and Bertrand said she expects attendance to exceed 5,000.
The festival runs Oct. 22-26 at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis Hotel and other venues around the city. It will include screenings, workshops and educational programs.
Among guests scheduled to attend this year are Malcolm D. Lee, director of “Best Man Holiday,” and Rain Pryor, actress and daughter of the late comedian Richard Pryor.
Highlights of this year’s festival include:
- As a result of a new partnership with SCAD, Atlanta Celebrates Photography and Sistagraphy, the festival opens Oct. 22 with the screening of "Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and Emergence of a People" at the SCAD Show (formerly the 14th Street Playhouse), followed by a discussion with the film's director, Thomas Allen Harris.
- Returning sponsor BET Networks presents a day of screenings of the festival's 14 official short film selections at the Georgia Pacific Auditorium Oct. 23. BET also will present a $5,000 prize to the winner of the best short film at the BronzeLens Awards the following day.
- Jimmy L. White, screenwriter for "Ray"and a soon-to-be-released biopic about Bessie Smith, will lead a panel discussion on the industry during a writers roundtable Oct. 24. That same day, Roger M. Bobb, CEO of BobbCat Films and executive producer of the TV series "The Rickey Smiley Show" and the TV movie "Girlfriends' Getaway," will head the directors roundtable, featuring other industry veterans.
- On Oct. 25, aspiring film and television students can attend a day of workshops designed to help them learn more about making it in the industry. Students also will be able to screen their work.
- There also are new partnerships with Aspire Television and Up TV. Aspire will present the Aspire Student Award at the BronzeLens Awards Oct. 25. Up TV will present a panel session featuring the channel's programming executives and writers, producers, actors and filmmakers discussing the essentials of creating and launching successful productions.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, who has called Atlanta the “film capital of the South,” said the festival “exposes the Atlanta community to opportunities to become a part of the booming television and entertainment industry in our town.”
Reed said he expects the festival to continue to grow in impact and influence.
According to the Georgia Film, Music and Digital Entertainment Office, feature films and television productions created $5.1 billion in economic impact during fiscal year 2014. The industry has also created tens of thousands of jobs.
Bobb credits Georgia’s tax incentive program as well as Reed and former Mayor Shirley Franklin’s support of the film industry.
If there’s a downside to the tremendous growth of the industry locally, he said, it’s that, before, “there was very little work to be had if you were a crew member or a film technician,” but now “we don’t have enough individuals here locally to fill all the roles.”
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