All-star panel assembled to judge Angelus documentary category

June 13, 2008

The Angelus Student Film Festival, which Family Theater Productions started in 1996 and which has become one of the country’s top-rated student film festivals, has secured an all-star panel of judges for its documentary film category. The annual international festival honors and showcases future filmmakers as they explore and create works that respect the dignity of the human person. It is accepting entries in the documentary as well as live action and animation categories through July 1.

The judging of the finalists’ films will be done in August, with the documentaries judged in New York and the live action and animation films judged in Los Angeles by noted and experienced people in the film industry.

The documentary jury has been assembled and includes industry executives as well as award-winning documentary filmmakers. They are:

- Sara Bernstein, HBO’s Director of Documentary Programming.
- Michael Kaufman, Vice President of Development and Production for Al Roker Entertainment.
- Doug Block, a New York-based director, producer and cameraman whose work includes some of the most acclaimed feature documentaries of the past 15 years.
- Geof Bartz, supervising editor for HBO and an award-winning editor or supervisory editor of more than 100 films. His films have won two Academy Awards and four Primetime Emmys.
- John Priddy, co-founder of Priddy Brothers, which develops, produces and distributes independent films that explore with respect, grace and artistry the depth and breadth of the human experience.
- Hilla Medalia, whose documentary film To Die In Jerusalem, recently achieved a Peabody Award. She also won the 2004 Angelus Student Film Festival Outstanding Documentary Award for Daughters of Abraham.
- Alison Thompson, whose documentary The Third Wave, about the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka, had a “red-carpet” screening at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.
- Father Willy Raymond, CSC, National Director, Family Theater Productions, which has produced seven documentaries since 1996 that have been nationally distributed to the more then 340 public television stations (mostly PBS affiliates).

Monika Moreno, Director of the Angelus Student Film Festival, will moderate the documentary judging session in New York.

"We are quite fortunate and excited by the caliber of this prestigious jury," said Ms. Moreno. "Not only does it elevate the festival overall, it underscores our mission to assist emerging filmmakers in cultivating the professional relationships that will help grow their careers."

“All of us at Family Theater Productions are deeply grateful to John and Ed Priddy and all of these high-caliber judges for their efforts and support in enhancing the adjudication of Angelus documentaries by this move to New York,” said Father Raymond. “We expect that this distinguished jury will help us in our mission to encourage young filmmakers to pursue excellence in their craft while respecting the dignity of the human person.”

Priddy Brothers has been an official sponsor of the festival for the past several years, sponsoring the Triumph Award and will now sponsor the $3,000 Outstanding Documentary Award. Priddy Brothers’ recent film, To Die In Jerusalem, a feature documentary directed by 2004 Angelus Outstanding Documentary Award recipient Hilla Medalia, recently received a prestigious Peabody Award. John and Ed Priddy also were executive producers of Doug Block’s 51 Birch Street and Dani Menkin’s 39 Pounds of Love, which was on the Academy Awards short list. Priddy Brothers spearheaded efforts to assemble this year’s Angelus all-star documentary jury.

“Documentaries have clearly emerged as one of the signal art forms of our time, and are now capturing a broader and more diverse audience than ever before,” notes John Priddy. “We want to support these films in the marketplace, and, in conjunction with Angelus, to nurture and encourage those who dedicate their talents to this medium. Few festivals have shown this level of commitment to the filmmakers and their work as they embark in the industry.”

Eligible films are 90 minutes or less and must have been completed between June 2006 and July 2008 while the filmmaker was an undergraduate or graduate student at an accredited film school or university. Entries at $45 each can be submitted through www.angelus.org or www.withoutabox.com/login/1045.

The winning films in all categories will be screened and more than $50,000 worth of cash awards and industry prizes will be presented to the winning student filmmakers on Sept. 13, at the Directors Guild of America, Hollywood.

Since 1947, Family Theater Productions, a Catholic media outlet, has been creating award-winning radio, television and cinema programs, to entertain, inspire and inform families.

More information is available from the Angelus Student Film Festival website: www.angelus.org.