HDFEST "2K Film Festival" to Begin Next Week

[Gregg Lengling]

By Elina Shatkin

Jul 9, 2004, 15:59
 

HDFEST's Los Angeles 2004 Event marks the first 2K film festival, HDFEST will be screening all content strictly from a new projector which will offer significantly better image quality than previous high-definition presentations by the festival. The upcoming HDFEST screenings will provide audiences with a rare opportunity to see 2K projection. Attendance to all Los Angeles HDFEST 2004 events are free with pre-registration.

HDFEST Los Angeles panel discussions will be taking place Tuesday July 13 at the Sony Culver Studios. 2K HD Film presentations will be held July 14 and 15 at the Los Angeles Film School. HDFEST presents a variety of high-definition independent cinema, and features panel discussions focusing on subject matters concerning filmmaking and this new technology.

The three-day Los Angeles event marks the second city on the HDFEST 2004 World Tour, which will also be taking place in Sydney, London, Finland, New York, and Miami. Each year the festival presents the best new works created in high-definition formats including features, shorts, documentaries, animation, and music videos. A variety of awards are handed out to filmmakers recognizing various achievements in HD filmmaking.

In L.A. on July 14 and 15, High-Def projects will be making notable Premieres at HDFEST and will showcase the capabilities of 2K projection. "Somewhere" Directed by Thomas Whelan and Produced by Brian LaBelle will be making its High-Definition and L.A. Premiere. The film, which was shot entirely on location in Thailand and Malaysia, is a coming of age story about two twenty-something travelers who meet in Thailand. Both Brian and Thomas work on the television hit show "Malcolm in the Middle."

The Los Angeles Premiere Screening of the controversial film "Luminal" will also be a notable presentation. In 1999, director Andrea Vechiato, managed to secure the rights to Isabella Santacroce's best selling novel LUMINAL: this film is the feature based on that book. Three of the best special-effects studios worked on the film: mechanical special effects studio Pennicott Payne (Tomorrow Never Dies, Tomb Raider), digital special-effects gurus at the Mill (Gladiators, Harry Potter) and Home (Band of Brothers), who provided HD digital post-production. The first High-Def Presentation of the Feature Film "30 Miles" will take place at the HDFEST L.A. Event. The lead in the film is played by Lawrence- Hilton Jacobs who is best known for his role as Freddie "Boom Boom Washington" in "Welcome Back Kotter." The score for "30 Miles" was recorded with a 22-piece orchestra in London.