With many film festivals around the country being cancelled or rescheduled, the Cordillera International Film Festival (CIFF) returns to Reno, July 23-26, 2020 as a hybrid event. This annual festival is an opportunity to see independent films, celebrity industry panels and screenwriting table reads with filmmakers from all over the world. It brings together more than 140 selections, representing 43 countries, with 39 percent of official selections that fall into the under-represented voices categories, which includes LGBTQ, female, Indigenous and Black filmmakers.
“While the pandemic created huge challenges, it also gave us the opportunity to innovate and make the festival even more accessible than it was before,” said CIFF co-founder and executive director Emily Skyle-Golden. “While we will miss being able spend time with fellow filmmakers in person, we’re glad we’ll get to show their creations to even more people.”
In the interest of public health, CIFF has invested in the technology to convert film screenings to an online platform through the Eventive app so attendees can safely participate from home this year. There will also be films shared at the El Rancho Drive-In every Friday night in July, through Artown’s Movies in the Park, along with three additional screenings on July 24 and 25.
Film-lovers can attend the festival in three different ways:
Red Carpet Club Membership: $50, which includes an all-access pass to CIFF 2020 and VIP membership benefits throughout the year.
- All Access Pass to CIFF 2020
- Unlocks all virtual screenings
- Unlocks all celebrity & filmmaker panels
- Unlocks 15 screenplay finalist readings, performed by local talent from Bruka, Good Luck Macbeth and Reno Little Theater
- Drive-In Screenings – RSVP for one car pass per screening
- CIFF t-shirt
- Pre-Sale access to events (Oscar Party, Film to Feast, Fright Night)
- Exclusive Discounts on tickets & merchandise
Destination Living Room – Virtual Access Only: $35
People can “attend” virtually — on any computer, smart TV or streaming device anytime between 7:00 a.m. on July 24 through 7:00 p.m. on July 26.
- Streaming films
- Celebrity panels
- Screenplay table readings
- Filmmaker Q&As
Individual Tickets: $10
- Individual screenings of films, celebrity panels and screenplay table readings
Cordillera, in partnership with title sponsor Bill Pearce Motors, has brought together a Grand Jury of revered and expert voices to participate in interactive panels and award feature-length and short films shown at CIFF 2020, with more than 30 prizes valued at $25,000. This gives filmmakers the chance to have their films seen by industry icons and emerging innovators.
Oscar-qualified members include notable film industry veterans such as:
- Cinematographer Peter Menzies, Jr., ACS — Shooter, The General’s Daughter, Die Hard with a Vengeance, A Time to Kill, The Incredible Hulk
- Writer/Director Bruce Beresford — Driving Miss Daisy, Tender Mercies, Double Jeopardy
- Oscar winner/writer/actor Brian Currie — Green Book
- Actor Wes Studi — Last of the Mohicans, Dances with Wolves, Geronimo: An American Legend, Avatar
- Producer Hunt Lowry — Last of the Mohicans, A Time to Kill, Donnie Darko, A Walk to Remember
- Director Simon West — Lara Croft Tomb Raider, Con Air, The Mechanic, The General’s Daughter
- Hollywood executive and producer Ellen Goldsmith-Vein — Hollywood Reporter Power 100, founder of Gotham Group; producer of The Maze Runner franchise, Creature Comforts
- Director Benny Boom — All Eyez on Me, Nicki Minaj and Drake videos
- Director/writer Will Gluck — Easy A, Friends with Benefits, Annie, Peter Rabbit franchise
- Colorist Mitch Paulson — Rogue One: Star Wars Story, Unbroken, Skyfall
- Art Director Derek Hill — Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, The Postman, Three Kings
- Emmy-winning director David Nutter — Game of Thrones, Band of Brothers, The Pacific, The Sopranos
- Actor Kristoffer Polaha CIFF Board & Grand Jury — Angel, North Shore, Mad Men, DC’s highly anticipated Wonder Women 1984
- Director Alex Kalymnios — The 100, Titans, S.W.A.T. Once Upon a Time, EastEnders
- Cinematographer Paula Huidobro — Barry, Tallulah, Shelter, Oh Lucy
- Former AMC Film Chairman Dick Walsh
This year, Menzies, who also serves as CIFF Chairman of the Board, is proud to honor the legacy of his colleague and friend with the newly renamed John Singleton Impact Award, which honors storytellers who give a voice to the underrepresented and inspire change through the art of screenwriting and filmmaking. The award, made possible with the collaboration of Singleton’s five adult children, honors the legacy of the prolific film director, screenwriter and producer. Singleton was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for his film, Boyz n the Hood at the age of 24, making him the first African American and youngest person ever nominated for that award.
“We are humbled and honored to have such an esteemed group of Academy members supporting our festival, helping us get that much closer to reaching our goal of becoming an Academy-qualifying film festival,” shared Skyle-Golden. “We’re looking forward to our hybrid festival showing filmmakers and industry leaders our dedication to put on a valuable festival experience in person or at a distance.”
CIFF is a highly rated festival within the industry, receiving praise for programming and quality of festival production. Ratings are made by filmmakers on a five-point scale, and CIFF has only ever received five-star reviews from the filmmakers it has featured.
For more information about the Cordillera International Film Festival visit www.ciffnv.org.
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