(Courtesy: Courtney Fiorini~Mason City Globe-Gazette)
The Iowa Independent Film Festival looks to blend local talent, classic Hollywood and modern virtual reality (VR) in September.
The
festival board with founders Tanna Fredrick and Richard Schinnow have
changed the festival by waiving admission fees, film submission fees and
taking away the competition element.
“We want to make sure everyone has access to this event, and we want to get the community involved,” Fredrick said.
By removing fees and competition, Fredrick believes that the event can be a true celebration of artistic accomplishment. “This way all of the films get equal respect and attention,” Fredrick said.
The
festival, Sept. 16-18 at the Historic Park Inn Hotel in Mason City,
sets itself apart from others by introducing two award-wining virtual
reality experiences at the festival, uncommon for smaller festivals.
One experience will be the futuristic VR series “Defrost,” produced by Fredrick, a Mason City native.
“Bringing this to Mason City is super cool because it’s such a progressive way of storytelling,” Fredrick said.
Frederick
attended the Sundance Film Festival, ComiCon and other events to show
her virtual reality series this year. Cannes Film Festival just began
showing VR last year.
“We’re playing with the big boys,” Fredrick said. “Mason City is my field of dreams.”
This
was Frederick’s first producing project, and she became the first woman
to produce a narrative VR series. John Randal Kleiser, known for
“Grease” and “Flight of the Navigator,” wrote and directed the series.
Viewers will
watch the film wearing a Samsung VR headset, as if they are in the seat
of a woman who wakes up after being frozen for 30 years. Festival goers
will see a brand new episode.
Each viewer will be helped by a VR expert to achieve the ideal VR experience.
Frederick and Kleiser will kick off the festival Friday with a discussion on the making of their series.
The second experience,
which is about bullying, is directed by Garner native Ron Vignone. The
film was made for the California education system.
“This
is great because it shows what VR can do in terms of helping out a
community and using it as a learning tool,” Fredrick said. “VR is
entertainment through immersion.”
The
festival will also bring actors and actresses to town,
including Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss, who are both known for
their roles in "Catch-22."
They will host a discussion, with several of their films shown throughout the festival.
Frederick said she's been trying to get Benjamin and Prentiss to come to Mason City for three years.
"This is all so rare for a local festival," she said.
Local
filmmakers, films and talent will also be shown. The festival will
premiere a bio-documentary on Iowa native Jean Seberg, "Movie Star: The
Secret Lives of Jean Seberg.”
Viewers can also see the first festival showing of Paul Micich’s documentary, "MacNider Art Museum: 50 Years Eye-to-Eye."
