WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival

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WorldFest Houston International Film Festival
Location	Houston, Texas, United States
Hosted by	Houston Film Society
Language	International
Official website

WorldFest Houston International Film Festival is an annual film festival, dedicated to the independent feature and short film, held in Houston, Texas.

WorldFest-Houston is one of the three original International film festivals in North America, after San Francisco and New York. It was founded in 1961 as an international Film Society. It is the only totally dedicated Independent International Film Festival in North America, as it does not accept films from the major studios. The festival was founded by producer/director Hunter Todd to present a film festival for the independent filmmakers. ^[1]

WorldFest gave first honors to Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Ang Lee, Ridley Scott, The Coen Brothers, David Lynch, Brian De Palma and many more. All screenings, seminars and events are open to the public, and the festival presents around 55 new Indie feature films and 100 new Indie Short films each April.

All short films and features are introduced by their directors, and the festival offers professional seminars and workshops. There is a Festival Club that is open every evening, an Awards Gala Dinner and a unique Regatta and Texas BBQ held at The Houston Yacht Club on the final day of the festival. It is the only film festival in the world that presents a regatta. Attendance is over 30,000 general public and more than 550 international filmmakers over the ten-day event.

All screenings of 35mm short and feature films and digital projection is held in the AMC Studio 30 Dunvale Theatre. Submitted by George DuPont for WorldFest.

The dates for the 41st annual WorldFest are April 18-27, 2008.

[edit] Awards

The Remi Award is inspired by the creative genius of the great western artist Frederick Remington, famous for his paintings and sculptures of cowboy life in Texas and The West. His vision brilliantly captured the true Independent Spirit of Texas and The West. The Grand Remi Statuette is presented for the top award in each major category. The Special Jury Awards are Grand Remi Nominees, they are the highest awards for creative excellence in each major category. Then the Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze Remi Awards are 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place in each sub-category.