Fourth annual film, wine fest set July 8-11
Short films will have top billing at the fourth annual Johnstown Film and Wine Festival.
The festival will be held at 6:30 p.m. July 8-10 at the Johnstown Flood Museum, 304 Washington St. in downtown Johnstown, and at 7:30 p.m. July 11 at the Heritage Discovery Center, 201 Sixth Ave. in the Cambria City section of Johnstown.
Shelley Johansson, director of communications and marketing at Johnstown Area Heritage Association, which sponsors the festival, is seeing more entries every year.
“We’ve noticed that films by local people, the number of films submitted and the quality of films submitted have all increased,” Johansson said. “The festival is an inspiration to filmmakers. They can afford to do more with today’s technology. We’ve enjoyed watching it happen and want to take the next step to facilitate that.”
The festival will culminate on July 11, when the top entries and winners’ films are shown in the courtyard at the discovery center beginning at dusk, after a wine tasting.
This year’s winners are:
First place: “Rooftop” by P.J. Maynard, a southwestern Pennsylvania native now living in Glendale, Calif.
Second place: “The Wishing Bone” by Stock, who won the viewer’s choice award in a previous festival.
Third place: “John Dunn’s Last Run” by Johnstown native Ryan Dixon, who now lives in Los Angeles.
The festival’s screenings will kick off July 8 with “My Tale of Two Cities,” a feature-length film by “St. Elmo’s Fire” screenwriter and Pittsburgh native Carl Kurlander.
“This film isn’t in the competition, but Kurlander has been wanting to show it in Johnstown,” Johansson said.
“He interviews people about Pittsburgh. It’s been well received.”
The film’s soundtrack was composed by Johnstown native Carol Lee Espy and her husband, Jim Dispirito, who is a former member of the band Rusted Root.
Screenings for July 9 at the flood museum will have a horror theme, while screenings for July 10 will include romances, dramas and documentaries.
The Tribune Democrat: June 30th, 2009
