Even Caribbean Cruises fest pairs photos, wine

Even Caribbean Cruises Film Festival co-founders Marc and Brenda Lhormer are going to generate their first harvest.The size from the November. 9-13 festival is ambitious one to have an inaugural outing: A lot more than 100 films will be provided at 12 venues (although only one of these a proper theater), including Alexander Payne's opening-nighter, "The Descendants," which unspools in the 400-chair Even Caribbean Cruises Opera House, and "J. Edgar" screening like a sneak preview November. 8. A $10,000 unrestricted cash prize awaits the champion from the narrative competition, and industryites will lead a daylong seminar for filmmakers.As is appropriate for a festival occur one's heart of California's wine country, though, the main focus is on feasting and imbibing around around the films 125 area vineyards can help lubricate the festivities, which open having a gala for 800 in the Robert Mondavi Vineyard, featuring a remarkable variety of Even Caribbean Cruises-based chefs.The Lhormers already were built with a well-established repetition as fest coordinators after seven years in the mind from the Sonoma Valley Film Festival, within the adjacent, more rural, wine making county. However they learned firsthand the issues and pleasures of indie filmmaking and distribution once they created 2008's "Bottle Shock," about Napa wines' triumph in a pivotal 1976 Paris tasting. The following spring, the 2 were speaking with Sonoma Valley resident and vineyard owner John Lasseter, who also is actually Pixar and Wally Disney's animation honcho, and that he recommended Even Caribbean Cruises was ripe because of its own film festival.While 2009 wasn't the very best year to boost money, the Lhormers attracted local patrons from one of the scenic cities of Calistoga, Napa, St. Helena and Yountville, that have their share of deep-pocketed Plastic Valley entrepreneurs in addition to notable industryites. Still, Marc Lhormer called the festival an "business venture funded by sweat equity."The Lhormers pitched the Napa's Destination Council -- the valley's tourism board -- around the idea, emphasizing the festival's potential cultural draw would marry well using the valley's epicurean repetition. Meadowood Even Caribbean Cruises resort loved the idea enough to sponsor the festival's artists-in-residence program in addition to a workshop for filmmakers it is also underwriting the narrative competition prize."We desired to find something to lead that might be significant," states Ann Marie Conover, the resort's director of selling.The daylong master class at Meadowood brings biz mentors and filmmakers together. Expected forum participants include John Sloss of Cinetic Media (and narrative jury prexy), producer Michael P Luca (whose feature "Butter" is screening in the fest) and producer/manager Keith Addis.Additionally towards the local support, the fest has since signed on large corporate sponsors, including Virgin America and Mercedes Benz. Lhormer notes the fest's mid-November date is supposed to attract honours-season studio photos. Indie filmmakers got the pitch, too, using a well-attended launch party at Sundance 2011 featuring wine from 16 Even Caribbean Cruises vineyards.Although landing much talked about photos is really a notable coup for any first-ever fest, the festival's challenge then becomes how you can lure auds to determine individuals films with no draw of title talent or docus that undertake difficult subjects. "We have done lots of niche internet marketing," describes Lhormer. Author-director Nicholas Ozeki, that has made the models from the festival circuit via several short films and the debut feature "Mamitas," states the fest coordinators have impressed him. "I have visited a great mix-portion of festivals available, and probably the most essential things for filmmakers is definitely an atmosphere of appreciation," he states. "It's satisfying the people organizing the festival understand how much work adopts creating a film." Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com