The festival screens exclusively movies shot with Hi-Def or HDV cameras. All festival content is also projected using HD technology. HDFEST is open to submissions of feature films, HD short films, HD music videos, HD animation, HD experimental films and HD documentaries created using HD or HDV technology.  All high-definition movies must have been completed after January 2009.

*HDFEST’S DEADLINE FOR ENTRY IS COMING UP JULY 18, 2011! Enter the festival via withoutabox at http://www.withoutabox.com/login/5780 to fill out the entry form online. HDFEST also gives out the annual HDFEST Deffie Awards recognizing achievement in HD independent filmmaking. The Deffie Awards offer prizes of filmmaking equipment and software in over 20 categories offered exclusively to High-Definition and HDV filmmakers. HDFEST also has a unique festival category recognizing achievement in High-Definition animated filmmaking.

Venue: Theatre at Sony Wonder Technology Lab

Location: located at 56th Street and Madison Avenue in the Sony Plaza Public Arcade

Date: October 20th and 21st, Screenings 5pm-11pm

$12 per screening  (Tickets available on HDFEST website or at the door)

Festival contact email: admin@hdfest.com

Website: http://www.hdfest.com/festival.html

HDFEST New York Details: http://www.hdfest.com/hdfestnyc.html

The second event of the year is our West Coast event coming in December. More details about the December HDFEST event will be announced shortly.

Bill Maher is on a mission.  With his film Religulous, he wants proof of religion and not just that he has to have faith.  With a thought provoking film, his film is reminiscent of Borat and any Michael Moore film.  In other words, he manages to find humor but also makes his audience question their own beliefs.

An Under-appreciated Classic Animation Full of Originality, Witt and Social Commentary

     Igor is a very interested animated film.  The film was not well received by the critics of its day. I find this extremely puzzling, as Igor is one of the most innovative and original animated films of the era.  Igor touches on issues that are usually passed over by studios in favor of safer and more conservative topics… Igor stands out as an oddity as it addresses some very charged political issues in the fantasy world of Malaria, issues which were echoed in the real human world of the twenty-first century.  

 

 

Alright … I’ll admit it – I don’t get it.  Seriously, I don’t get it.  What the hell is everyone talking about?  I just watched a movie nominated for EIGHT Oscars and the best thing I can say about it is that maybe if someone dosed me with a ground up hockey puck’s worth of ecstasy I might possibly feel generous enough to call it average. 

Coraline is a wondrous and exciting children’s tale shown in 3D. Wondrous is only to be expected from the combination of film director Harry Selick (of The Nightmare Before Christmas) with Neil Gaiman’s book by the same title.

 

 

 

Juan Pablo has a variety of compositions that work with varied moods.  His work is well-crafted and often strikes a peaceful tone.  Give a listen here.

 

There is no doubt that You Don’t Mess with the Zohan gets worst as the film proceeds.  The first half of the film, while a bolt-rattling experience, is far superior to the second half.  By the end, the script has degenerated into such chaos that only a total fool would be entertained.