Jax Film Festival Summer Events

As organizers plan for The Jacksonville Film Festival in October, they are also busy planning summer events for film lovers. Jacksonville Film Festival will host Gimme Green, a Reel People screening of the documentary plus discussion of green issues with filmmakers, on July 29 at 7 p.m. at MOCA. The Green Program includes the short documentary Gimme Green, a humorous look at the American obsession with the residential lawn and the effect it has on our environment, our wallets and our outlook on life. . From the limitless subdivisions of Florida to sod farms in the arid southwest, Gimme Green peers behind the curtain of the $40-billion industry that fuels our nation's largest irrigated crop—the lawn. Filmmakers, Isaac Brown and Eric Flagg will be in attendance to discuss green issues after the film. Two additional green shorts will follow Gimme Green before the Q&A. The event is free to JFF and MOCA members. $10 general admission

The fest is also busy planning the Filmmaker Series: Screenwriting for Beginners on August 28 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens. Accomplished instructors Jennie Jarvis and John Boles will present a one day intensive workshop to guide aspiring screenwriters through the nuts and bolts of Screenwriting for Beginners.

Jennie Jarvis worked in the film and television industry in Los Angeles, San Francisco, London and New York City before returning to Jacksonville where she currently teaches screenwriting at the University of North Florida and The Art Institute of Jacksonville. While working in Beverly Hills, she served as a script analysis for a major production company working in conjunction with Sony Pictures, producing coverage on over 30 scripts a week for producers, investors, actors, and writers. Major film and television credits include Matrix: Reloaded, Matrix: Revisited, Déjà Vu, Material Girls, The Riches, Accepted, Bobby, Enough, Nash Bridges, and SeaQuest 2032.

John Boles is a writer, producer, director, editor, and actor with 30 years experience and more than a dozen industry awards for his creative accomplishments. He’s worked with such companies as Columbia Pictures, Spelling/Goldberg, Rona II, ABC, and NBC. For the past fifteen years, he has shared his expertise by teaching screenwriting, film, and creative writing courses at several institutions, including JU and UNF. He leads a private screenwriting workshop that has nurtured a number of writers, and he currently works as a freelance writing coach, editor, script doctor, and reader.

Registration is open. Fee for registration is $65 early registration (until August 20) $75 late registration (until August 27th) $85 day of/at the door. All student fees are $45. To register for this workshop, call 904.858.9889.

With new co-directors Warren Skeels and Brenda Egedy Kolb in place, the Jacksonville Film Festival is moving forward with new dates and new momentum. The festival will run four days and five nights October 14-17, 2010 at various venues in and near downtown. The mission of the Jacksonville Film Festival is to provide entertainment, educational opportunities, programs and events that enrich the arts and culture of North East Florida, while inspiring a new generation of filmmakers through the diversity and power of film. For more information on Jacksonville Film Festival, please visit www.jacksonvillefilmfestival.com.