Fairhope Film Festival Starts Soon

By Chad Petri Reporter

Fairhope’s first film festival starts Thursday. Each film needed an “element of romance” to get a spot. Fairhope Film Festival Starts Soon

Published: Wed, April 02, 2008 - 4:35 am Last Updated: Mon, July 28, 2008 - 10:27 pm

Chad Petri

Don't let it catch you by surprise, Fairhope's first Film Festival kicks off this week with the romantic comedy "Jim & Jung."

“It's kind of the comedic struggles of what it takes to get a relationship going and he loses the girl and he has to fight to get her back,” says festival director Ryan Robinson.

He describes himself as an independent-film fanatic. Over the course of three days, the festival will show 15 different movies. Each needed an element of romance to win a slot.

“We wanted some films with some class, we wanted some films that were well shot, well edited well scripted,” says Robinson.

“Jim and Jung” shows traditional romance. The animated short "Creepers" shows the love animated insects have for being heroes. The "Train Master" tells the story of the love between a grandfather and grandson. The festival showcases a variety of movies, documentaries and shorts. Many screenings include question and answer time with creators. The festival is unique because this is probably the largest audience these films are ever going to get. For the film makers and the organizers it's all about the passion of film making.

“We wanted some of the film makers to come to us we wanted to be able to experience more independent films, to be with independent film lovers to be with people that had the same passion that we do,” says Robinson.

35 films were submitted at first. Robinson says watching so much stuff can be taxing but he's ready to try it again next year. For more information on tickets and times click on the link in this story.