The Valley Film Festival
Encyclopedia
The Valley Film Festival is an annual independent film
festival located on the north side of Los Angeles, in the San Fernando Valley
. A venue for new independent work by Valley residents as well as American and international filmmakers, the VFF screens various genres of fiction, documentary, and animation; both feature-length and short films. Typically, over a three or four day period, the festival screens about 35-45 films. In addition to screenings, the festival provides educational panels and social events.
Founded in 2000 by Tracey Adlai, the VFF is the first and longest continually running film festival in the San Fernando Valley. Over the years, the festival has taken place in the fall, mostly at the El Portal Theatre in the North Hollywood (NoHo) Arts District. Other screening venues have included the Whitefire Theater in Sherman Oaks.
VFF alumni include film and television director John Putch
, actor and director of The Help
Tate Taylor, producers Laurence Malkin and Straw Weisman, and three-time Emmy
award winner Richard Gale.
While primarily showing new independent films, the festival also has had some special screenings of studio-supported films, often made in or about the Valley. One of these was a 2007 screening of Fast Times at Ridgemont High
, which included a Q&A with Robert Romanus
and Amy Heckerling
. The festival also has occasionally screened some adult entertainment films--or films about this business, such as Boogie Nights
--in acknowledgment of the Valley's significant role in this area of film production.
The festival has juried "Ten Degrees Hotter" awards, so named “because it’s always 10 degrees hotter in the Valley,” said Adlai. These juried awards are for one narrative feature, one documentary feature, and one short from competitive sections composed of no more than eight films in each category. Additionally, the festival has awards chosen by the audience for short films in non-competitive sections such as Comedy Short, Dramatic Short, Alumni Short, and Girls on Film.
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
festival located on the north side of Los Angeles, in the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
. A venue for new independent work by Valley residents as well as American and international filmmakers, the VFF screens various genres of fiction, documentary, and animation; both feature-length and short films. Typically, over a three or four day period, the festival screens about 35-45 films. In addition to screenings, the festival provides educational panels and social events.
Founded in 2000 by Tracey Adlai, the VFF is the first and longest continually running film festival in the San Fernando Valley. Over the years, the festival has taken place in the fall, mostly at the El Portal Theatre in the North Hollywood (NoHo) Arts District. Other screening venues have included the Whitefire Theater in Sherman Oaks.
VFF alumni include film and television director John Putch
John Putch
John Putch is an American actor, director and screenwriter. He is best known for his recurring role as Bob Morton on the 1980s sitcom One Day at a Time and as Sean Brody in the film Jaws 3-D.-Career:...
, actor and director of The Help
The Help (film)
The Help is a 2011 comedy-drama film adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's novel of the same name. The film is about a young white woman, Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, and her relationship with two black maids during Civil Rights era America in the early 1960s...
Tate Taylor, producers Laurence Malkin and Straw Weisman, and three-time Emmy
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
award winner Richard Gale.
While primarily showing new independent films, the festival also has had some special screenings of studio-supported films, often made in or about the Valley. One of these was a 2007 screening of Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a 1982 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written by Cameron Crowe and adapted from his 1981 book of the same name...
, which included a Q&A with Robert Romanus
Robert Romanus
Robert Romanus , also billed as Bob Romanus, is an American actor and musician who has starred in film and television. He is best remembered for his role in the 1982 comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High as the ticket scalper Mike Damone, and as Natalie Green's boyfriend Snake on The Facts of Life...
and Amy Heckerling
Amy Heckerling
Amy Heckerling is an American film director, one of the few female directors to have produced multiple box-office hits.-Early life:...
. The festival also has occasionally screened some adult entertainment films--or films about this business, such as Boogie Nights
Boogie Nights
Boogie Nights is a 1997 drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Set in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley, the script focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes a popular star of pornographic films, and chronicles his rise and fall from the Golden Age of Porn of the 1970s...
--in acknowledgment of the Valley's significant role in this area of film production.
The festival has juried "Ten Degrees Hotter" awards, so named “because it’s always 10 degrees hotter in the Valley,” said Adlai. These juried awards are for one narrative feature, one documentary feature, and one short from competitive sections composed of no more than eight films in each category. Additionally, the festival has awards chosen by the audience for short films in non-competitive sections such as Comedy Short, Dramatic Short, Alumni Short, and Girls on Film.