Thursday, September 16, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Next Saturday...
Mad-Hatter-Day Saturday is September 25th, the Deadline for submitting films. The exciting screening schedule will be announced then. In the meantime, don't forget to check out the Website. Also, get ready for the Special Events for the Festival. Finally, if you can't attend this year, please Donate Online to any or all of our wonderful Charities...Toys for Tots, Heavenly Hats Foundation, Second Harvest Food Banks of New Orleans and East Tennessee.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
DVDs Now Accepted...
Mountain Madness Film Festival will now be projecting DVDs. Up until now, DVDs were not being accepted. This will make things easier for you to get your films shown at the Festival.
Film Festivals provide such a wonderfully varied cross-section of the population that I can think of no better event to sponsor, exhibit at, advertise at or attend. The MMFF in Gatlinburg, Tennessee is a perfect opportunity for businesses and individuals alike, to reach the the people that matter to them most – their target audience. One of the many aspects of the MMFF that makes it such a unique opportunity is not only its amazing location (the Great Smoky Mountains), or the time of year (October is Gatlinburg busiest month of the year), but, the fact that not one, but, two other events are happening during that time (during the day, while MMFF is at night) that bring an extraordinary amount of people to the immediate area.
Beginning in September, the Smoky Mountain Harvest Festival season finds the folks of Gatlinburg decorating and celebrating the beginning of fall with a variety of events and festivals in Tennessee. From October 7 through 23, 2010, the Gatlinburg Craftsmen’s Fair is recognized as one of the top 20 events in the southeastern U.S. by theSoutheast Tourism Society.
Check out our website at www.MMFilmFestival.com
Thursday, September 2, 2010
O Media Attention, Where Art Thou?
On the eve of a much anticipated meeting with the wonderful people at Toys for Tots, George Clooney accepted the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award at Sunday's Emmys for having made a life-changing impact upon society. He is the fourth person to be recognized with the honor. What he said seemed so relevant to the Festival and so important, that I have to share it.
The speech began with stories of fond memories with Bob Hope, his wife Dolores, and Clooney's aunt, Rosemary. George also spoke of Hope doing his charitable work even longer than most remember. He ended his acceptance with a poignant call to action to keep the attention on the humanitarian crises that fade from the spotlight too soon.
It's important to remember how much good can get done, because we live in such strange times where bad behavior sucks up all the attention and press. And the people who really need the spotlight: the Haitians, the Sudanese, people in the Gulf Coast.. Pakistan, they can't get any.
I thought maybe there was a way to combine the two. I have offered to go to the south Sudan and have a wardrobe malfunction, but it was pointed out to me that I'm 49 and the consensus was that it would just be upsetting and kind of sad.
When the disaster happens, everybody wants to help, everybody in this room wants to help, everybody at home wants to help. The hard part is seven months later, five years later, when we're on to a new story. Honestly, we fail at that, most of the time. That's the facts.
I fail at that.
So here's hoping that some very bright person right here in the room or at home watching can help find a way to keep the spotlight burning on these heartbreaking situations that continue to be heartbreaking long after the cameras go away. That would be an impressive accomplishment. Thank you.