Editor

Filmocracy Fest is an innovative film and media festival, bringing together the best of traditional festival events, while integrating unique digital programs to create a memorable and productive experience. Cofounded by Jon Fitzgerald former director of multiple prestigious festivals such as Slamdance, AFI, and Santa Barbara.

In addition to presenting creative programming options for audiences, feature filmmakers with ticketed events will all be earning a percentage of screening fees for their participation. Shorts filmmakers will be available for complimentary viewing in our On Demand Theater, open to registered users and passholders December 9-12, 2021.

Founded on the basis of 4 key pillars (Discovery, Mentorship, Networking, Experience), the Festival will create opportunities for industry professionals and audiences to discover emerging voices in storytelling, while providing points of intersection between emerging talent and established veterans. Talent is the lifeblood of this industry and the festival aims to engage the creative community and support networking opportunities. In addition to the special events, the Festival will enable online audiences to participate through unique gamification programs, supported by the Filmocracy streaming platform.

Filmocracy, the world’s premiere digital screening, distribution and experience platform, has announced it will reprise its groundbreaking Film Festival. Their second Festival begins on December 9^th and runs through December 12^th. Filmocracy will present a robust slate of features and shorts, many of them award winners and social impact documentaries.

The hybrid in-person and digital festival and conference kicks off with a Special Presentation live screening of Richard Yelland’s BIRTH OF THE ENDLESS SUMMER: DISCOVERY OF CAPE ST. FRANCIS. Taking place Thursday, December 9^th at the Lumiere Music Hall in Los Angeles, this is the revelatory story behind one of the most beloved and watched documentaries of all time—Bruce Brown's THE ENDLESS SUMMER.

The Festival closes with a Special Presentation of Liz Marshall’s MEAT THE FUTURE, a timely, character-driven documentary focusing largely on Dr. Uma Valeti, a former Mayo Clinic cardiologist and the visionary CEO of Upside Foods (previously Memphis Meats), an American start-up company. Upside Foods is at the forefront of a new revolutionary industry: making meat from cells, not from animal slaughter. Musician (and vegan) Moby provides the film’s music. This Premiere live screening will precede the Awards ceremony at Boomtown Brewery in DTLA.

The past year and a half have roiled the film festival community, but festivals have, as has been reported, come roaring back. Amid the chaos, technology company Filmocracy developed an industry-standard digital delivery platform that helped Festivals create virtual, navigable worlds for festival goers to experience in a unique, content-rich, entertaining way, coining the motto as they went along: Virtual Festivals Don’t Have to

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suck. More than 75 festivals and markets adopted Filmocracy’s platform for their events, and now, almost all film festivals have adopted a hybrid platform—screening in person and virtually. But digital presentations—most recently confirmed by the Sundance Film Festival—are here to stay.

When Filmocracy co-founder and CEO Paul Jun met festival veteran and executive Jon Fitzgerald, they decided to merge their platform with Fitzgerald’s innovative programming concepts, for their own flagship Filmocracy Fest.

Filmocracy Fest co-founder Jun says, “We're pleased to apply our learnings over the past two years to our second homegrown Festival. Filmocracy is all about helping filmmakers reach wider audiences through unique gamification and prizes while showcasing the most interesting film festivals in the world. Filmocracy Fest will again showcase new talent, world premieres, festival favorites and preview screenings.”

A selection of critically acclaimed Documentaries will be presented at this year's Festival, anchored by a number of social impact films. Each of these projects will be supported by comprehensive detail and links to the related causes and issues they represent, providing audiences with the opportunity to learn more, engage or take action. The Documentary slate of films is here:

End of the Line: The Women of Standing Rock Directed by Shannon Kring, Slamdance standout THE WOMEN OF STANDING ROCK captures history in the making, as a small group of indigenous women establish a peaceful camp in protest of the $3.8 billion oil pipeline construction that threatens their land, water, and very existence. When their camp’s population exceeds 10,000, the women unwittingly find themselves the leaders of a global movement.

Storm Lake Directed by Jerry Risius and Beth Levison. An indelible parable for the state of contemporary journalism, Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Art Cullen and his family fight to unite and inform their rural Iowan farming community through their biweekly newspaper, The Storm Lake Times—even as the paper hangs on by a thread. Twice a week, they work as civic watchdogs to protect their hometown and the legacy of credible journalism, at large—come hell or pandemic.

Try Harder! Directed by Debby Lum. At the top public high school in San Francisco—with a majority Asian American student body—the seniors are stressed out. Students are keenly aware of the intense competition for the few open spots in their dream colleges. With humor and heart, Sundance hit TRY HARDER takes us to the reality of the American college application process and the intersection of class, race, and educational opportunity as they navigate a quintessential rite of passage and make it their own.

The Six Directed by Arthur Jones. Executive Produced by James Cameron, THE SIX is the untold story of RMS Titanic's Chinese passengers. An extraordinary story of survival and dignity in the face of racism and anti-immigrant policy.

Reflection: A Walk With Water Director Emmett Brennan. ​​Reckoning with the reality of a changing climate, Brennan walks 200 miles next to the Los Angeles aqueduct in search of a vision for humanity worth living for—what he discovers has everything to do with water. A Tribeca favorite.

 Ride the Wave Directed by Martyn Robertson. Scottish Surf champion Ben Larg's bigger challenge is the biggest and most dangerous cold water waves in the world at Mullaghmore. Danger, opportunity, parental dilemma collide, propelling Ben and his family towards an unknown destiny.

Have You Heard About Greg? Directed by Steve Ecclesine (World Premiere). HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT GREG: A Journey of Faith, Hope and Humor puts a human face—Greg O’Brien’s—on the most terrifying disease of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. The film features amazing experts committed to the fight against Alzheimer’s who share their experience and wisdom about how to deal with an invisible enemy that is quietly killing millions of people each year around the world and will affect millions more in years to come.

Boulevard: A Hollywood Story Directed by Jeffrey Schwarz. Dickson Hughes and Richard Stapley, two young songwriters and romantic partners, find themselves caught in movie star Gloria Swanson’s web when she hires them to write a musical version of “Sunset Boulevard.” Life imitates art when Gloria falls for Richard, and the men find themselves living a real-life version of the classic film.

Entangled: The Race to Save Right Whales from Extinction Directed by David Abel, ENTANGLED is a Jackson Wild award-winning, feature-length film about how climate change has accelerated a collision between one of the world’s most endangered species, North America’s most valuable fishery, and a federal agency mandated to protect both.

Dear Ike: Lost Letters to a Teen Idol Directed by Dion Labriola. In the feature-length animated documentary “Dear Ike: Lost Letters to a Teen Idol” Los Angeles filmmaker Dion Labriola recounts his all-consuming childhood quest to contact his teen idol, Ike Eisenmann (of Walt Disney's Escape to Witch Mountain fame). The goal of his mission—to ask Ike to star in an animated science-fiction epic that he was forever developing in an overstuffed three-ring binder.

Witness Underground Scott Homan’s feature documentary that reveals the insular DIY artist community that emerged within the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Minneapolis. The artists at the heart of the local music scene have their faith tested in deeply personal ways. They battle for positive mental health and push the boundaries of their religion’s norms, which frowns on music, fame and success and where leaving often means being banned from interacting with your entire family and social circle for life.

For full programming details visit: https://festival.filmocracy.com/filmfest/filmfest-guide/.

As a three-dimensional digital presentation, ticket holders can visit Filmocracy Fest at almost any time and be sure of finding something going on. In addition to scheduled in-person screenings and films on demand, there will happy hours in person at Boomtown Brewery and its digital “Saloon” and an “Impact Expo'' to experience and explore social impact filmmaking and their related causes, a subject near to Fitgzerald’s heart. He says, “As the film festival world continues this dramatic shift, we look forward to bringing together an amazing slate of films, a distinctive roster of Ambassadors and unique discussions that will create memorable and productive experiences for all participants. I thank Filmocracy and Paul Jun for providing the platform to present an event with this mission and scope.” The Festival will announce its full film and panels program shortly.

Tickets go on sale Saturday, November 12^th with two passes and individual ticketing options. The All-Access VIP Pass costs $200.00 and includes entry to all Festival screenings, panels, happy hours and receptions. The Festival Pass is $100.00 and includes screenings and happy hours but not Special Events and receptions. Individual ticket prices are $10.00 for virtual and OnDemand streaming (to include both screening and filmmaker Q&As) and $12.50 for Theatrical screenings. And remember: Filmocracy filmmakers are partners: Filmocracy PAYS filmmakers 30% of their box office.

For the Festival's Executive Director Jon Fitzgerald, Filmocracy Fest is the latest episode in a professional anthology that includes co-founding Slamdance, directing AFI, Naples, and Santa Barbara Festivals, with director/producer credits THE MILKY WAY, THE HIGHEST PASS and WARRIOR ONE, and authoring Filmmaking for Change.

Fitzgerald concludes, “Filmocracy Fest was born as a digital festival and has evolved along with its peers into a hybrid event, bringing in person live events to local audiences, and providing national audiences to experience the richest 3-D digital experience available. We’re again looking forward to presenting industry professionals and audiences with the opportunity to discover new voices, while establishing a myriad of unique networking options.”

About Filmocracy:

Filmocracy is a film and festival streaming platform that rewards users for discovering amazing independent films. Users earn virtual popcorn for watching and rating movies, which can be spent in their shop to earn movie tickets, redeem gift cards, or attend virtual film festivals hosted from around the world. Bringing a powerful combination of technologies together to enhance the virtual cinema and conference experience for filmmakers, industry professionals and audiences around the world. Filmocracy’s mission is to help all independent filmmakers reach wider audiences and grow their communities through storytelling. Festival Co-Founder Paul Jun serves as CEO of Filmocracy.

In December 2020, Filmocracy staged the First Annual Filmocracy Fest, an all-digital juried film festival. Filmocracy Fest presented a slate of 44 films; panels; mentorship program; live performances; script readings; cause-related partners; and dozens of virtual conversations with directors and industry talent. Jon Fitzgerald served as Executive Director.

Filmocracy also has a library of more than 3,500 titles for streaming that is constantly evolving and rotating.