Festival Attracts High Profile Industry Players For Jury and Panels

The Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) announced today the members of the jury that will preside over the 7th edition of the Festival, which takes place December 1-5, 2010. The jury was revealed today by BIFF Founder and Executive Director Leslie Vanderpool.

This year, the Festival will showcase 56 films from 17 different countries, including 27 features of which several are world or international premieres and all Bahamian premieres. The four competition categories at BIFF are Spirit of Freedom; Narrative; Spirit of Freedom; Documentary; New Visions; and Short Film. Special sections include Caribbean and Environmental sidebars as well as a World Cinema showcase. Jury members are:

New Vision
Peter Belsito – Executive Vice President of Film Finders Division at IMDb
Scott Budnick – Producer (“The Hangover,” “Starsky & Hutch”)
RJ Millard – Vice President of Publicity at Focus Features

Spirit of Freedom: Narrative
Morris Ruskin – CEO of Shoreline Entertainment
Rani Sitty – Paradigm Talent Agency
Hannah Fisher – Veteran Film Festival executive

Spirit of Freedom: Documentary
Loredana Boboli de Lama – Owner of Duna Film International
Sandy Cioffi – Documentary Filmmaker (“Crocodile Tears,” “Sweet Crude”)
Karina Rotenstein – Programming Manager at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival

Short Film
Norman Golightly – Producer (“Ghostrider,” “Shadow of the Vampire”)
Sara Nodjoumi – Film Producer/Programmer (“Santa Smokes,” “Duke’s House”)
Craig Woods – Bahamas Film Commissioner

Filmmaker Residency Program
Raymond Forchion – Actor/Writer/Producer/Director (“Will and Grace,” “Last Breeze of Summer”)
Kelly Moore – Independent Producer
Andrew Trapani – Producer (“The Haunting in Connecticut”)

The complete program lineup can be found online at www.bintlfilmfest.com. Book ending the Festival this year are Sony Pictures Classics’ acclaimed comedy “Tamara Drewe,” which will open the Festival and The Weinstein Company’s Oscar® contender “The King’s Speech,” which will close out the Festival on Sunday, December 5th with Harvey Weinstein in attendance.

Industry panels at this year’s festival will cover a wide range of topics including film finance & investing, marketing & distribution, representation, and international collaboration, among others. There will also be a master classes on acting conducted by Raymond Forchion and Wil Shriner.

BIFF is continuing its efforts to educate and inspire a new generation of filmmakers, expanding its popular Youth Film Workshop by partnering with schools throughout Nassau and integrating the workshops directly into classrooms.

The festival is also proud to be bringing back the Filmmaker’s Residency Program. In years past BIFF has exclusively provided the Bahamian and Caribbean community with the opportunity to receive invaluable mentoring from industry professionals. This year BIFF has broadened the program to include filmmakers from around the world to submit screenplays that are based in The Bahamas or Caribbean region.

The Filmmakers’ Residency Program nurtures new filmmakers and screenwriters by providing them with an unrivaled opportunity to spend a full day with accomplished professionals who make a living working in the industry from Los Angeles and New York.

BIFF 2010 begins Wednesday, December 1st and runs through Sunday, December 5th. For additional information please visit www.bintlfilmfest.com.

About the Bahamas International Film Festival

The Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) is a nonprofit organization committed to providing the local community and international festival-goers with a diverse presentation of films from the Bahamas and around the world. In addition to showcasing films that might not otherwise be released theatrically, BIFF provides unique cultural experiences, educational programs, and forums for exploring the past, present and future of cinema. BIFF aims to raise the level of filmmaking, participation and education throughout the Bahamas and the world.

Key Sponsors of the 2010 BIFF are; Ministry of Tourism, Atlantis, RIU Hotel, Old Fort Bay Club, The Nature Conservancy, Galleria Cinema JFK, Starbucks, Ministry of Culture, Post Boxes Etc., Custom Computers, Bahamas Technical Vocational Institute, Bahamas Tourism Channel, American Airlines, Bahamas Air, Spirit Airlines, The Tribune, Bahamas Local, Bahamas Weekly and many more.