MISSION STATEMENT
Mountain Madness Film Festival is a celebration of the people, products and passions involved in the art of motion pictures. MMFF will provide the community with a cultural institution that inspires, educates and entertains through screenings and events. MMFF will also provide the makers of films, and the makers of film products, with a unique and powerful opportunity to enjoy together, the fruits of their labors - films.
GATLINBURG, TN & GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS
Gatlinburg embodies the values and traditions of small-town goodness. During a visit, experience Mother Nature’s majesty as Gatlinburg is surrounded on three sides by Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In this outdoor lover’s paradise, challenge your skills on the hiking trails, embark on a fly fishing adventure and then simply relax in a quaint mountain chalet, tucked away from the rest of the world. Explore homegrown arts and culture, dine on traditional southern cuisine, find shopping treasures and enjoy spectacular events. Gatlinburg invites you to come see for yourself how simple it is to “Reach Higher Ground.”
Read this wonderful press release: Southern Values and Homegrown Culture: History of Gatlinburg
PERFECT pre-SHOWEAST DESTINATION
MMFF will present the best in independent features, shorts, documentaries and trailers from veteran masters, up-and-coming directors, and first-time filmmakers from around the globe. With ShowEast running October 11-14 in Orlando, FL (less than 700 miles away) - Mountain Madness Film Festival October 7-10 is a perfect pre-ShowEast Destination for filmmakers, press, buyers, exhibitors, sponsors and attendees.
SOCIAL ISSUE DOCUMENTARIES
Mountain Madness Film Festival is very enthusiastic about its dedication to feature and short length documentaries that speak to such issues as social justice, public education, native tribes, government policy, grassroots advocacy, media literacy, civic pride and engagement, youth, sex, politics, substance abuse, violence, learning, love, and life in America. Particular attention will also be given to earth and nature conservation issues.
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILMS
Whereas US film production has been stagnant, the number of films produced in other regions has been growing steadily. Gatlinburg, Tennessee is home to many foreign born residents from Honduras, India, Argentina, China, Canada, United Kingdom, Philippines and Russia. This October at Mountain Madness Film Festival, there will be a wonderful selection of some of the best independent Foreign Language films on the planet.
NATIVE AMERICAN FILMS
Celebrate the creative energy of Native American directors, producers, writers, actors, musicians, and cultural activists, and all who support their endeavors. Be part of the reason that MMFF becomes one of the nation’s most highly regarded festivals of its kind. Showcasing the best in films by, about, and starring Native Americans and other North American Indigenous peoples, the Mountain Madness Film Festival will include feature films, documentaries, and short films.
TEASER & TRAILER SCREENINGS
MMFF will be showcasing Teasers & Trailers for Books, Films and Comic Books from around the globe. A movie trailer or preview is an advertisement for a feature or short film that will be exhibited in the future. Teasers, unlike typical theatrical trailers, are usually very short in length (between 30–60 seconds) and usually contain little, if any, actual footage from the film. A book trailer is a video advertisement for a book which employs techniques similar to those of movie trailers.
SCHOLARSHIPS / GRANTS
A commonly held belief is that college scholarships and artists' grants are only available to the most active, most brilliant, and most talented of individuals, and that there are no scholarship opportunities for average students or artists. But not every scholarship award is tailored specifically to the valedictorian basketball star future beauty queen lawyers among us. Mountain Madness Film Festival is offering several grant and scholarship opportunities for students and non-students of all walks of life with all sorts of skill sets.
PANEL DISCUSSIONS / SPECIAL EVENTS
MMFF will host a series of extremely entertaining and informative panel discussions and special events. Check back often to both pages, as they will be constantly updated leading up to the festival.
10-10-10 AWARDS
Mountain Madness Film Festival will have an awards ceremony on October 10th, 2010 (10-10-10) in order to present Awards for outstanding individual or collective efforts in nearly 30 categories. Mountain Madness Film Festival staff, volunteers and audiences select winners from as many as five nominees in each category, which are determined by members of the MMFF selection committee. Awards will include cash and prizes.
Marine Toys for Tots Foundation has supported Toys for Tots since 1991. The mission of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community in which the campaign is conducted.
Second Harvest of East Tennessee serves 18 counties in East Tennessee, delivering food as far west as Crossville and as far East as Gatlinburg. Second Harvest distributes food to roughly 155,000 hungry people every month through a network of Partner Agencies throughout East Tennessee. Agencies are non-profit organizations dedicated to feeding the hungry and include church pantries, shelters, group homes, local kitchens, after-school program sites, rehabilitation centers and many others.
Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana is leading the fight against hunger in south Louisiana through food distribution, education, advocacy and disaster response. Second Harvest provides food to nearly 240 nonprofit and faith-based agencies throughout its 23-parish service territory – from the Mississippi border to the Texas state line.