FiveMinuteFilmFEST

The annual Berks County high school student film festival, Five Minute FilmFEST, is finally here!

All high school student films will be broadcast on BCTV, Facebook, and Youtube beginning Sunday, April 24rd, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM. If you miss today’s show, films will screen again on 4/25, 4/26, and 4/27 from 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM on our Facebook and Youtube channels.

BCTV (Comcast Ch. 15, Service Electric Ch. 19) and streaming at www.bctv.org

ReadingFilmFEST YouTube Live: FiveMinuteFilmFEST2022

ReadingFilmFEST Facebook Page: facebook.com/ReadingFilmFEST

The Awards Ceremony will occur in person on Thursday, April 28th at 6:00 PM at the Miller Center for the Arts RACC. It will include our special guest speaker, J.W. Cortes, Actor, Speaker, Marine Combat Veteran, and NY Police Officer. Join us in supporting these talented students and be a part of the discussion with JW Cortés, who will share his story and discuss how film can be used as a catalyst for social change. This program is free and open to the public. We look forward to seeing you there!

Below is the complete list of student films:

FILM TITLES:

Reading Boxing

A Message from Josephine

Oley Cheerleading

Hope Rescue Mission

Egg

State of Mind

Cleaning Day

The Film Project – Cat Film

Lenzettas

The War of Revenge

Overflow

Integrated Cup

College Ready

Enjoy the show!

Friday Night After Party!

Lisa Tiger Homes presents The Groovemasters!

Cliff Starkey (photo credit Greg Wallace)
Bennie Sims (photo credit Greg Wallace)

Featuring Bennie Sims and Cliff Starkey, Berks own Groovemasters will light up the stage with their legendary R&B, funk, jazz vibe. Bring your dancing shoes to the outdoor venue at the GoggleWorks and be prepared to have fun!

Enjoy food by Greg Buckwalter, beer from Chatty Monks, Pennsylvania spirits,  and Stony Run Wines. This event is free to all VIP pass holders. Cover charge for non-passholders $10/person.

Friday October 1st 9:30-11pm

GoggleWorks Parking Lot*

*In case of rain, this party will move indoors. All attendees must show proof of vaccination to enter any indoor ReadingFilmFEST events.

 

Panel: From Development to Distribution

A conversation about the changes in film release strategies and the impact on the creative process.


Screen Shot 2021-09-18 at 8.46.09 AM

Navigating the changing world of filmmaking and distribution

Streaming, theatrical release, film festivals, self-distribution…what do you do with your finished film in this world of ever changing options? It’s a question you should be considering before you develop your film.

Join us for a casual conversation with Tiffany Boyle (who will join us from LA via Zoom) and Kevin Christoffersen on what we all should be thinking about when making our films. This is your chance to ask the experts!

Tiffany Boyle – President of Packaging and Sales, Ramo Law,PC

TIFFANY is the President of Packaging & Sales at Ramo Law PC, joining in 2009. She is an adviser to foreign production companies all over the world, such as Backup Media (France), Upper Street (UK), and Media Fund Management (Australia). She has been a successful financial consultant, bringing in financing or leading foreign sales, on films such as Ashes in the Snow, which premiered at the 2018 LA Film Festival; The Card Counter, from writer/director Paul Schrader, starring Oscar Isaac and Tiffany Haddish with EP Martin Scorsese; and Die in a Gunfight, starring Diego Boneta and Alexandra Daddario. Tiffany also is a partner with production company Vested Interest, and has served as an EP for films including Better Start Running, which premiered at the 2018 Newport Beach Film Festival; After Midnight, which premiered at Tribeca in 2019; Line of Duty, starring Aaron Eckhart; Arkansas, starring Liam Hemsworth; upcoming Rollers; and Chick Fight, starring Malin Akerman, Alec Baldwin, and Bella Thorne.

Kevin Christoffersen – Educator and Development Executive, Film Startup

Kevin has been working in just about every form of media for nearly 3 decades – producing content internationally across 4 continents while living in 5 countries.  He is an Educator and Development Executive of the platform, ‘FILM STARTUP.’  In this role, Kevin guides filmmakers through the A to Z feature film development process with his workshop courses, development labs, webinars and consultations.  On the Executive Producing side, he works on establishing financing for different feature films of various budget levels both in the U.S. and in Europe.  He is also consulting filmmakers on distribution deals within foreign markets that include tv broadcasters, distributors and streaming platforms.  Kevin sits on the Advisory Board of the Art Of Brooklyn Film Festival and has recently completed co-writing a feature length screenplay.  He was based in Switzerland for over 7 years as Executive Producer of World Television managing Film StartUp managing large scale productions for Fortune 500 companies, United Nations agencies and NGO’s.  While working between New York, Los Angeles and Vancouver, he continues to form new film industry partnerships along the way.

https://readingfilmfest.com/readingfilmfest-course/Don’t miss Kevin’s workshop on Friday Oct 1 at 1 PM for a soup to nuts guide to packaging your film!

Film Schedule 2021

IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ OUR VACCINATION POLICY BEFORE PURCHASING TICKETS!.

2021 FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

SEPT 30 | OCT 1 | OCT 2 | OCT 3 | FEST EVENTS

Thursday, September 30


StudentFEST

September 30 — 5pm
Reading Movies 11 & IMAX Theater


AAUW presents LUNAFEST

September 30 — 7pm
Reading Movies 11 & IMAX Theater

Friday, October 1

Dancers

Opening Gala

October 1 — 5:30pm
GoggleWorks Center for the Arts


Border South

October 1 — 7:30pm
Reading Movies 11 & IMAX Theater


Jack & the Treehouse

October 1 — 7:30pm
GoggleWorks Outdoor Pop-Up Movie Cinema


Simin

October 1 — 7:30pm
Reading Movies 11 & IMAX Theater


Female Filmmaker Shorts

October 1 — 7:30pm
GoggleWorks Boscov Theater


Marionette Land

October 1 — 9pm
Reading Movies 11 & IMAX Theater


Thriller Combo: Don’t Go Hiking & Night At The Eagle Inn

October 1 — 9:30pm
Reading Movies 11 & IMAX Theater

Saturday, October 2


Filmmaker Workshop: Music in Picture

October 2 — 11:30am
GoggleWorks Boscov Theater


Short Docs: Bundini, Amber’s Halfway Home

October 2 — 12pm
Reading Movies 11 & IMAX Theater


The Vow From Hiroshima

October 2 — 12pm
Reading Movies 11 & IMAX Theater


Addressing Mental Health: In the Balance, The Darkness Before Me

October 2 — 1pm
GoggleWorks Boscov Theater


The Remnants of War: Our Feet are Rooted, Buddha’s Shame

October 2 — 2pm
Reading Movies 11 & IMAX Theater


I’ll Be Your Mirror

October 2 — 2pm
Reading Movies 11 & IMAX Theater


Iranian Short Films

October 2 — 2:30pm
GoggleWorks Boscov Theater


Tackling Politics: We’re All in this Together, Vitriol, MEN in Charge

October 2 — 3:30pm
Reading Movies 11 & IMAX Theater


Documenting Art: Voice of Selma, Pictograph

October 2 — 4pm
Reading Movies 11 & IMAX Theater


Women on Both Sides of the Camera

October 2 — 4:30pm
GoggleWorks Boscov Theater


Karma Latte: The Lenin Gutierrez Story

October 2 — 5:30pm
Reading Movies 11 & IMAX Theater


Women & Politics: Can You Hear Us Now?, Finding Justice

October 2 — 6:30pm
GoggleWorks Boscov Theater


Environmental Issues: No Time to Waste, Into the Canyon, The Haircut

October 2 — 6:30pm
Reading Movies 11 & IMAX Theater

Best of StudentFEST

October 2 — 6:30pm
Reading Movies 11 & IMAX Theater


The Andy Baker Tape

October 2 — 6:30pm
GoggleWorks Outdoor Pop-Up Movie Cinema


Short Films – From Here to There…

October 2 — 7pm
Reading Movies 11 & IMAX Theater


The Paper Angel

October 2 — 8pm
GoggleWorks Outdoor Pop-Up Movie Cinema


They Survived Together

October 2 — 9pm
GoggleWorks Boscov Theater


Bitter Taste of Ginger

October 2 — 9:30pm
Reading Movies 11 & IMAX Theater


Welcome to the Show

October 2 — 9:30pm
Reading Movies 11 & IMAX Theater

Sunday, October 3


Shorts Block – Remix

October 3 — 12pm
GoggleWorks Boscov Theater


Pieces of Us

October 3 — 12pm
Reading Movies 11 & IMAX Theater


Made In Reading Films

October 3 — 2pm
Reading Movies 11 & IMAX Theater

Awards Ceremony & Reception

October 3 — 5pm
GoggleWorks Boscov Theater

Music in Picture

A workshop with composer Evan Hodges

Not everyone went to music school, but everyone knows the power that music can provoke in film. This immersive workshop will educate directors and producers on how to effectively communicate with composers. This course is also vital for up-and-coming composers as well.

 

Evan Hodges is an Atlanta based, multi-instrumentalist mixed media composer. His compositional style is a mix of neoclassical and electronic minimalism, funneled through his education of jazz’s improvisation, harmony, and rhythm. His greatest strength is his ability to shape emotional connections through sound and silence to film.

In his career, he has scored a myriad of projects, ranging from narrative and documentary films, modern dance arrangements, corporate commercials, VR projects, video games, and musicals. In 2018, the feature PBS documentary he scored, My Dear Children was nominated for an EMMY. In the same year, he also won a Telly Award for his work on an Arby’s commercial.

As a guest lecturer, Evan has taught composition, film scoring, and music technology techniques at both state and private universities, film festivals, and has led discussions at several music industry round table events. As an artist, Evan is endorsed by: KORG, Adam Audio, Roli, Eventide Audio, Dave Smith Instruments, Phoenix Audio, Spitfire Audio, Audio Modeling, Fodera Guitars, and Aguilar Amplification.

Website: www.evanhodges.com

Made In Reading Films

The Stakeout

Director: Federico Castelluccio
Runtime: 6:24 minutes

Two detectives, one Cuban and one Italian, on a late night stakeout argue about the best mob movie of all time.

website

Righteous Sunday

Director: David Speace
Runtime: 7:14 minutes

Righteous Sunday is a poem written by Greg Gaul. The poem reveals the true inhumanity of racism as it tells the shocking story of the brutal murder of Mary Turner in 1918. While this is an actual reading of the poem, the film creates through a window of time a powerful, historical recreation of the event. The audience will be disturbed as it experiences what racism was really like in the Jim Crow south.

website

Fire on the Mountain

Director: Patrick Corcoran
Runtime: 8:31 minutes

A young woman must stop a centuries old demon from unleashing hell on a small town after she fails to complete an ancient sacrifice designed to prevent it.

Filmed in one of America’s oldest deep coal mines featuring practical FX from Emmy award-winning makeup artist Santino Ferrese (Star Trek Discovery, Transformers: Dark of the Moon)

website | watch trailer | facebook

Reading Cares for Puerto Rico

Director: Mateo Toro
Runtime: 45:13 minutes

Follow Me and I Will Be Behind You

Director: Kyle Allison & Taryn Habel
Runtime: 41 minutes

The true story behind the transformative culture of one hotel, the impact of leadership, trusting in the forgotten, and the revitalization of a community.

watch trailer

Screening Info

Date: Sunday, October 3, 2021 at 2pm
Venue: Reading IMAX Theater
Address: 30 N 2nd St, Reading
Tickets: $10

Shorts Block Remix

I’ll Meet You There

Director: Karl Fernandez
Runtime: 14:46 minutes

A man recounts a trip to his late wife’s childhood home as they prepare for the future.

watch trailer

Wistful Pieces

Director: Ellany Kincross
Runtime: 18:03 minutes

Nick and Nadia are a successful couple in their 40’s who have been married for 12 years. Their lives have revolved around love and career until Nadia’s ex-boyfriend, Adam enters the picture. Adam is desperate to make peace with the past. As he thrusts himself into their lives, Nick and Nadia’s commitment is tested by otherworldly forces.

Can Nadia forgive Adam? Can Nick and Nadia find their way back to each other?

Wistful Pieces explores how the past isn’t always complete and that the world you see isn’t really all there is.

website | watch trailer | facebook

Duet

Director: Mika Orr
Runtime: 21 minutes

Duet is the story of one fateful day in the lives of 8-year-old girls May and Shadmit, who dislike each other but learn that their lives have become oddly intertwined forever.

Duet is a multidisciplinary project, uniquely integrating film and music. The story raises questions about loneliness, regret, subject memory and fate that ties two children together for a lifetime.

website | watch trailer | facebook

The Gangbuster

Director: Mark Adderley
Runtime: 16:30 minutes

A tale of stoic and unwavering determination. Meet OSCAR, an eleven year old boy (with asthma) on a mission to join a “gang”. His strategy is simple: badger an older boy, Kush, who he thinks must be “nice” simply because he “plays in goal.”
Is Oscar irritating? Yes. Is he persistent? Definitely. Is he innovative in his approach? For sure. Is he small for his age? Yes – he has a condition called Ring Chromosome 5 Syndrome. BUT he is also a young boy who quite simply doesn’t see skin color.
Meet The Gangbuster…when NOT seeing a difference… makes you very different.

Life Happens & Then You Cry

Director: Qbah Fernandez
Runtime: 19:53 minutes

A day in the life of busy career woman, Kate (Kate Hughes). Kate finds herself in a pivotal moment of her life where she must make a difficult choice about her relationship with long term boyfriend, Dave (Christopher Morris). With some help from her sassy Latina best friend, Sara (Sara Viteri) she may be able to find a solution to her dilemma.

facebook

Anything 4U

Director: Joshua J Santiago
Runtime: 20:04 minutes

From living the American dream to hitting rock bottom, Damon finds himself struggling with addiction. With help from his nephew Joe, who tries to steer him in the right direction, Damon battles his inner demons to get his life back. However some illnesses are better at hiding in plain sight.

watch trailer | facebook

Jabaril Keating

Director: Stacey Larkins
Runtime: 10 minutes

Upon making a life altering decision, Jabari Keating is a candid first person narrative film that explores his personal reflections, life experiences and trials and tribulations as an African American in present day America.

watch trailer

Screening Info

Date: Sunday, October 3, 2021 at 12pm
Venue: The GoggleWorks Boscov Theater
Address: 201 Washington St, Reading
Tickets: $10

Shorts Films from Here to There

Let Tonight Pass

Director: Hamed Ghasemi
Runtime: 18 minutes

Elham is an English teacher who is from a traditional family. Tonight is a very special night for her family. Her suitor will come to their home with his own family. She’s been recently in a photo shoot as the model for an underground agency. Now she finds her pictures are being used for blackmail.

Mandatory

Director: Javad Khorsha
Runtime: 15 minutes

The story about a fire squad soldier who is forced to kill a prisoner in the firing squad and he does not know which to choose in the dilemma of ethics and duty.

I’ll Meet You There

Director: Karl Fernandez
Runtime: 14:46 minutes

A man recounts a trip to his late wife’s childhood home as they prepare for the future.

watch trailer

Throttle

Director: David Ogrodowski
Runtime: 7:28 minutes

A man sets out on his boat for a river journey into the past, mingled with the present. He is deeply affected by an unexpected visitation in the night. Alone on the river with the city looming all around him, he makes a difficult decision.

website |  facebook

The Gangbuster

Director: Mark Adderley
Runtime: 16:30 minutes

A tale of stoic and unwavering determination. Meet OSCAR, an eleven year old boy (with asthma) on a mission to join a “gang”. His strategy is simple: badger an older boy, Kush, who he thinks must be “nice” simply because he “plays in goal.”
Is Oscar irritating? Yes. Is he persistent? Definitely. Is he innovative in his approach? For sure. Is he small for his age? Yes – he has a condition called Ring Chromosome 5 Syndrome. BUT he is also a young boy who quite simply doesn’t see skin color.
Meet The Gangbuster…when NOT seeing a difference… makes you very different.

How Long Until

Director: Jon Rehr
Runtime: 2:44 minutes

Castaway was about a man stranded on a deserted island. This is about TWO men stranded on a deserted island.

Which changes everything.

Just a Taste

Director: Mark L. Mazzeo
Runtime: 2:40 minutes

Do you believe in God?

website | facebook

Anything 4U

Director: Joshua J Santiago
Runtime: 20:04 minutes

From living the American dream to hitting rock bottom, Damon finds himself struggling with addiction. With help from his nephew Joe, who tries to steer him in the right direction, Damon battles his inner demons to get his life back. However some illnesses are better at hiding in plain sight.

watch trailer | facebook

Time & Place

Director: Matt Dickstein
Runtime: 11:07 minutes

Looking to reignite their love on a weekend retreat, Pete and Ellie find isolation, silence, and finally truth.

website | watch trailer

Screening Info

Date: Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 7pm
Venue: Reading IMAX Theater
Address: 30 N 2nd St, Reading
Tickets: $10

Inspirational Docs

No Time to Waste

Director: Carl Bidleman
Runtime: 51:47 minutes

No Time to Waste celebrates legendary 98-year-old park ranger Betty Reid Soskin’s inspiring life, work and urgent mission to restore critical missing chapters of America’s story. The film follows her journey as an African American woman presenting her personal story from a kitchen stool in a national park theater to media interviews and international audiences who hang on every word she utters.

The documentary captures her fascinating life — from the experiences of a young Black woman in a WWII segregated union hall, through her multi-faceted career as a singer, activist, mother, legislative representative and park planner to her present public role.

At the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park, Betty illuminates the invisible histories of African Americans and other people of color. Her efforts have changed the way the National Park Service conveys this history to audiences across the U.S., challenging us all to move together toward a more perfect union.

website | facebook

Into the Canyon

Director: Pete McBride
Runtime: 84 minutes

In 2016 filmmaker/photographer Pete McBride and writer Kevin Fedarko set out on a 750-mile journey on foot through the entire length of the Grand Canyon. From the outset, the challenge was far more than they bargained for. More people have stood on the moon than have completed a continuous through hike of the Canyon. McBride and Fedarko took a sectional approach, achieving a feat that many adventurers have taken decades to complete. Others have lost their lives trying. But their quest was more than just an endurance test – it was also a way to draw attention to the unprecedented threats facing one of our most revered landscapes.

Throughout their passage, McBride and Fedarko encountered an astonishingly diverse and powerful landscape, rich in history, that is now facing perhaps the gravest crisis in the 98-year history of the Grand Canyon National Park.

Directed by Pete McBride and produced by the award-winning team at Insignia Films, INTO THE CANYON is a story of extreme physical hardship that stretches the bonds of friendship and a meditation on the timeless beauty of this sacred place. It is an urgent warning about the environmental dangers that are placing one of America’s greatest monuments in peril and a cautionary tale for our complex relationship with the natural world.

website

The Haircut…or Learning to Let Go

Director: DM (Deanna) Witman
Runtime: 4:51 minutes

The world is experiencing a time of extraordinary ecological loss – of species, habitat, ecological connectivity, and personal connection to the natural world. An increasing number of individuals and communities are experiencing grief and other health effects surrounding these losses.

It could not be more clear that the world is grappling with loss related to climate disruption and its associated impacts from (un)natural disasters, food insecurity, migration, and pandemics. As losses continues to collect globally with losses felt on so many fronts and so deeply, I undertook a video/performance piece to continue my exploration of the phenomena of grief. The piece is a two-channel piece titled “The Haircut… or Learning to Let Go”. In many culture’s cutting one’s hair is an expression of grief.

website

Screening Info

Date: Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 6:30pm
Venue: Reading IMAX Theater
Address: 30 N 2nd St, Reading
Tickets: $10

Women & Politics

Can You Hear Us Now?

Director: Jim Cricchi
Runtime: 87 minutes

Small-town activism. Nail-biting elections. A last-minute power grab. In Wisconsin, where extreme partisanship has become the norm, voters are finding their lives increasingly irrelevant to state lawmakers.

Through the stories of four tireless women fighting to have their voices heard, CAN YOU HEAR US NOW? unravels the ways that years of minority rule by one-party have reshaped democracy in Wisconsin—a state at the heart of American politics.

website | facebook

Finding Justice

Director: Amanda Owen
Runtime: 18:53 minutes

Part present-day detective story and part a historical account of the movement for voting rights, “Finding Justice: The Untold Story of Women’s Fight for the Vote” tells the story of a band of intrepid women and their one-ton bronze bell that became a celebrated icon of the women’s suffrage movement.

website | watch trailer | facebook