INAUGURAL DERBY CITY FILM FESTIVAL AUDIENCE AWARD

WINNERS ANNOUNCED

The Inaugural Derby City Film Festival concluded on Sunday October 12th with a screening of the film “Thunder and Reins”, a film fittingly about Kentucky Derby winning jockeys, followed by the audience awards presentation.

Winners of the audience awards included:

Best Short: “Latch Key”

43 min. - Louisville

Director: Georgette Kleier

Writer: Georgette Kleier

Produced By Bill Burns

Starring: Greylyn Gregory, Adam Raque, Sara King, & Claire Longest

A mysterious stranger lurks in the woods as three children walk home from school...

This thought provoking suspense-thriller reveals something from the past which creates

unsuspecting and frightful events to occur.

Best Documentary: “Being Lincoln - Men With Hats”

82 min. - Tennessee

Director: Elvis Wilson

An upbeat, up close look at the lives and motivations of a few of the over 160 men across the United States who are dedicated to bringing Abraham Lincoln to life.

Best Feature & Best Of Festival “If You Could Say It In Words”

95 min. - Pennsylvania

Director: Nicholas Gray Writer: Nicholas Gray

Starring: Marin Ireland & Alvin Keith

A painter with undiagnosed Asperger's Syndrome challenges a young woman's

conventional idea of romance and his own understanding of love.

50 films were screened during the festival, including 19 films from Louisville and 5 world premieres. To mark the birthday of Abraham Lincoln and to open the festival, a Guinness Book of World Records attempt for the “largest gathering of people dressed as Abraham Lincoln.” Took place on Wednesday October 8th. Only 40 of the 200 people needed were able to be counted in the attempt to set the record. “We knew when we received the guidelines we were going to be reaching to set the record. You don’t expect a whole bunch of people to have full Lincoln costumes in their closets.” festival organizer Kris Rommel said, “Either way we had a really great time and thank everyone for their participation. Maybe next year we’ll try for something a bit easier.”

“Being Lincoln - Men with Hats” was the opening film of the festival and followed the record attempt. “Being Lincoln” also took home the award for Best Documentary as voted on by the audience over the five days of the festival.

While the attendance wasn’t what founders Kris and his wife Ashley had anticipated, they are encouraged by the turn out they did receive and the comments filmmakers gave them on an excellent festival, and one that Louisville needs. “We’ll definitely do it again,” an upbeat Kris remarked, “the first year for anything is always the hardest. But now we have a direction of where we want to go, what worked and what didn’t, what we can add and remove for the future. We had an awesome reaction from everyone and all kinds of offers to help this festival continue and that kind of support is what we need going forward. Hopefully this festival is one that can do what the others couldn’t, and that’s continue every year.”

Louisville native Nicholas Gray and his film “If You Could Say It In Words” took home the award for Best Feature and the Best of the Festival award which went to the film with the best overall audience vote. The film deals with a character who has Aspergers syndrome and was a world premiere at the festival. Louisville Producer Bill Burns and his film “Latch KEy” took home the award for Best Short.

Due to a new festival that was announced for the beginning of October of 2009, the Derby City Film Festival will be moving to February of 2010. The 2nd annual Derby City Film Festival will be held in the Eiffler Theatre at the Clifton Center February 19-21, 2010. Submissions will open in May of 2009.

Photos and video of this year’s festival will be posted on the website soon. For more information about this year’s or the next year’s festival visit www.derbycityfilmfest.com