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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Valley Film Festival Moves into Distribution Deals

After putting on the Valley Film Festival for 10 years, Tracey Adlai wanted to stop but received emails from fans asking if the festival would continue. She then tried to wrap the festival up after its 15th year in 2015, but it was the sponsors who convinced her to keep going until at least 20 years. “So, we are in it for at least another two years, if not longer,” said Adlai, who started the festival in 2000 as a way to promote filmmakers from the San Fernando Valley. The 18th annual Valley Film Festival runs from Oct. 31 to Nov. 4 at the Laemmle NoHo 7 theaters in the North Hollywood arts district. The festival includes feature films and shorts in the comedy, drama, documentary, science fiction and music video categories. The theme of this year’s festival is “United by Film,” which Adlai explained had been the internal tag line for the past few years as the festival began to program more films made outside the Valley. As a theme, it speaks to where people are these days and how everyone has a dysfunctional family and is looking for better opportunities, Adlai said. “These things come out in the films. They are all very relatable, whether it was shot here or elsewhere,” she added. “This year we have films from Russia and Luxembourg and a bunch of other places.” The opening night film is a drama, “818,” that weaves together five stories set in the Valley. The festival will also host the Los Angeles premier of the director’s cut of “George Michael: Freedom,” a documentary on the singer. The festival, however, is more than just about screening films. Over the past few years it has shifted more toward the business side and works now to connect the filmmakers with distributors, Adlai said. “Ultimately, filmmakers want to sell their film and use a festival as their showcase,” she added. The festival developed relationships with distributors to the point that, in March, it is going to have its own film market. Staff is working on getting the details nailed down so that it can be announced during the festival, Adlai said, adding, “it will be a one-day event for local distributors and filmmakers that want to participate.” Films that have screened at the festival are available via streaming from Netfilix and Amazon Prime. A few have even gotten theatrical releases, Adlai said. One example is “Pretty Ugly People,” the closing night film from the 2008 festival, that is available through Amazon Prime. The film was written and directed by Tate Taylor, whose 2011 film “The Help” was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The Valley Film Festival receives funding from Community Partners, a nonprofit charity, and in-kind donations from area businesses. Payroll Promotion Cast & Crew Entertainment Services LLC has promoted Todd Dyer to vice president of sales for its CAPS Payroll division. Dyer will handle employer-of-record payroll services for festival, venue and touring act clients. Prior to joining CAPS in 2014, Dyer had been a founding partner of Evolution 365 Services, a consulting firm to the sports, entertainment and convention industries; general manager of Highlanders Sports Properties at the University of California – Riverside; and director of business development at Aramark Corp., the food service, facilities and uniform service. Frank DeVito, senior vice president of CAPS Payroll, said the company was pleased to recognize Dyer’s efforts in growing its profile with venues, music tours and live events producers. “Most recently, Todd also has played an important role in successfully launching our new office in Nashville,” DeVito said in a statement. “We look forward to his ongoing contribution to the company.” Spielberg’s Sound Win The Cinema Audio Society is presenting director Steven Spielberg with its Filmmaker Award at its 55th annual CAS Awards in February. The Burbank professional group with the mission of promoting the art of cinematic sound has previously recognized Spielberg with nominations for Outstanding Sound Mixing, including a win for “Saving Private Ryan.” Society President Mark Ulano said that the relationships Spielberg has with sound mixers is a strong indicator of his valuing the role of sound in his films. “Steven has long embraced the creative importance of sound for his storytelling and all his projects beautifully reflect this commitment,” Ulano said in a statement. The CAS Awards take place Feb. 16 at the Intercontinental Los Angeles Downtown hotel. Staff Reporter Mark R. Madler can be reached at (818) 316-3126 or [email protected].

Mark Madler
Mark Madler
Mark R. Madler covers aviation & aerospace, manufacturing, technology, automotive & transportation, media & entertainment and the Antelope Valley. He joined the company in February 2006. Madler previously worked as a reporter for the Burbank Leader. Before that, he was a reporter for the City News Bureau of Chicago and several daily newspapers in the suburban Chicago area. He has a bachelor’s of science degree in journalism from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

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