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WorldFest Houston Set for April 7 - 16

2000: A FILM ODYSSEY 33rd Annual WorldFest-The Houston International Film Festival April 7-16, 2000

Cannes has opulent glitz, Sundance boasts skiing and Robert Redford - but for pure moviegoing pleasure, they have nothing on WorldFest-The Houston International Film Festival.

The 33rd annual WorldFest, celebrating the Millennium with the theme, "2000: A Film Odyssey," will take place from April 7 through 16 at the General Cinema/Meyerland, screening more than 40 independent feature films from around the world. Some 80 award-winning shorts will be shown for free at the nearby St. Thomas Episcopal School.

The festival will open April 7 with "Love and Basketball," starring Omar Epps and Alfre Woodard, a much-anticipated debut film from director-screenwriter Gina Prince-Bythewood about women's basketball that should resonate with audiences in Houston, home of the three-time WNBA champion Houston Comets.

Other WorldFest highlights include "Spring Forward," starring Campbell Scott and Liev Schreiber; the Brazilian film "Oriundi," a tour de force by legendary actor Anthony Quinn; the quirky drama, "The Annihilation of Fish," starring James Earl Jones and Lynn Redgrave; and "Family Tree," a touching drama starring Oscar-winner Cliff Robertson on closing night.

Another acclaimed feature is "The Pavilion," a Civil War suspense thriller based on a Robert Louis Stevenson story, starring Richard Chamberlain, that marks the feature film directorial debut of former Houstonian Grant Mitchell.

Several films from Israel will be spotlighted, including "Circus Palestina," a comedy-drama, the mysterious "Dybbuk," and the dramas, "Yana's Friends" and "White Lies." In addition, works from Greece, Argentina, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Hungary, Canada, Germany, France, Japan and the Philippines will be among the international movies and documentaries shown during the 10-day festival.

A full slate of family features will be screened, including "Finding Buck McHenry," starring Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, a tale of a team of young baseball misfits guided to greatness by a former Negro League player, as well as special family large-screen showings of "The Wizard of Oz" and "The Sound of Music."

The documentary, "Waco," about the Branch Davidian siege, will highlight a series of five award-winning documentaries.

Tickets for individual showings will be available at $4.50 and $6.50 each at the General Cinema box office. VIP passes range from $65 to $500 and are available by calling 713/965-9955.

WorldFest is the oldest film festival in the world under the same nonprofit management - in the person of J. Hunter Todd, its founder and executive director. Over the past three decades, festivalgoers have had the chance to rub elbows with Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Oliver Stone, Jonathan Demme, Ridley Scott, the Coen Brothers and many others who are industry giants today - but who were novice filmmakers when they each received their first awards at WorldFest.

More than 1,500 entrants vie each year to follow in their footsteps, submitting everything from feature films to student shorts to documentaries to screenplays and commercials for judging.

That's just part of the behind-the-scenes aspect of WorldFest that makes it so appealing to independent filmmakers, and more than 500 travel to Houston from around the globe each spring. A series of seminars with movie industry notables is offered, and awards are handed out with appropriate fanfare at a gala banquet at the festival's close.

"These are artists who have created highly personal works," explains Todd. "For many this is their first recognition and that, coupled with the chance to get very direct feedback from audiences, is what makes this festival magical.

"We're unique because we've tried to maintain that purity of recognizing and celebrating independent film without the involvement of major studios and distributors. Our festival is open to anyone with a vision and a camera."

WorldFest does not overlook the "festive" aspects of a festival - with filmgoers and filmmakers having abundant opportunities to socialize. There's an Opening Night gala at WorldFest headquarters at the Red Lion Inn/Galleria which is open to the public for $10 admission, a nightly hospitality "club" at the Red Lion, and a WorldFest Regatta on April 16 launching from Kemah, followed by a barbecue at the Watergate Yachting Center.

"With more than 25,000 attendees each year, we're one of Houston's largest sources of cultural tourism," Todd says proudly.

WorldFest's limited edition poster, created by the design team at Bates Southwest, capitalizes on Houston's "Space City" identity with a film canister that strongly resembles a space ship navigating the cosmos, and a NASA-style patch whimsically paraphrasing Caesar's triumphant words, "Houston: Veni, Vidi, Edi Popcornum" (I came, I saw, I ate popcorn.)

Corporate and community support is strong. Among WorldFest's sponsors are Continental Airlines, Eastman Kodak, General Cinema Corp., Bates Southwest, the Houston Chronicle, the Houston Press, the Houston Film Commission, the Red Lion Inn, LightSpeed Systems, the Showtime Networks, Houston Cellular, GST Corp., Watergate Yachting Center,Budget Rentals, KUHF-FM, Internet Marketing Solutions, and Page Parkes Center of Modeling and Acting.

Additional information about WorldFest schedules, tickets, activities and volunteer opportunities are available by calling 713/965-9955.

Updated: 04/03/2000

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