Second Annual Festival to Take Place - August 25-29
Ten Films to Make Michigan Premiere

Contact: Brian Burch, 616-233-0500

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Aug. 18 /Christian Newswire/ -- Grand Rapids Film Festival announced today the lineup of films it has selected to screen during the 2010 event, which will take place August 25-29, 2010. The complete list of films is available at www.grfilmfestival.com.

More than 140 films were submitted to the 2010 Grand Rapids Film Festival from 20 different states and from countries including Australia, Germany, Canada and Taiwan. The festival chose 58 films, ten of which are Michigan-based films.

"With film production playing an integral role in the West Michigan economy, we are eagerly anticipating a new, golden age for films in our region, and we are delighted to showcase some of the work that is taking place locally, as well as nationwide," said Cory Neimchick, co-founder of the Grand Rapids Film Festival. "We are making a an incredible festival experience for the Grand Rapids community and for filmmakers, by bringing some of the best films that we have seen to the city, and showing them in a premier theatrical environment."

To showcase the diversity to contemporary independent cinema, the Grand Rapids Film Festival offers the latest work from American and international directors, as well as the Michigan premieres of ten highly anticipated films. The event is expanding to five days so that visitors have an opportunity to see more films and participate in workshops and other presentations.

Organizers of the Grand Rapids Film Festival have once again chosen to focus on films that are community minded, family-oriented, message-driven and universally entertaining. The 2010 event will take place at Celebration Cinema North and feature films by some of the best and brightest independent moviemakers from around the world.

Winners of the Grand Rapids Film Festival will be announced during the Grand Rapids Film Festival Awards Ceremony at the Celebration Cinema Wave Room on Friday, August 27. Twelve finalists from four categories (three in each category) will be selected, with one winner in each category and an overall Best In Show award. Additional details on the Festival Awards Ceremony are available at www.grfilmfestival.com.

Among the films featured include "Waking Sleeping Beauty." This full-length documentary tells the true story of the fabled Walt Disney animation studios, which had hit tough times by the late 1980's, and how the studio regained its magic with a staggering output of hits -- "Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin," "The Lion King" and more -- over a 10-year period.

The final lineup features 58 movies encompassing a variety of genres -- independent films, foreign films, documentaries, children's features, animated motion pictures, short films and others. They include:

FEATURE
Genesis Code (Mich.): A college hockey player and a female journalism student struggle to find common ground with their spiritual faith and scientific studies.

What If... (Calif.): 15 years ago, Ben Walker left his girlfriend and his ministry calling for a business opportunity. Now with a high‐paying career and a trophy fiancé, he is visited by an angel, who gives him a glimpse into what his life would look like had he followed his calling.

Earthwork (Calif.): Earthwork is the true story of real life crop artist Stan Herd who plants his unique, rural art form in New York City with the help of a group of homeless characters on a plot of land owned by Donald Trump.

Rust (Calif.): A Pastor who is in a mid life crisis of faith returns to his hometown to heal, only to discover that they too are suffering their own tragedy. Each will need the other and a common faith to move forward.

November Requiem (Mich.): November Requiem is a documentary about the sinking of the Carl D. Bradley, formerly known as 'Queen of the Great Lakes', in November of 1958. The tragedy hit the small town of Rogers City, Michigan by taking the lives of twenty‐five of its men. The story of that fateful night is recalled by family members and the only living survivor.

DOCUMENTARY
The Road Less Traveled (Calif.): National headliner Michael Jr. takes his comedy on the road to places where laughter is sorely needed, but in short supply.

Expansive Grounds (Germany): A personal discussion about the film‐maker’s identity as German caused by the Berlin Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Her observations during the time of 2003‐2007 from the installment of the first slab until two years later the opening of the memorial to the public. Many dialogs with the visitors of the memorial lead her to a new reflection about her family’s role during Nazi time and about the significance of collective guilt. A German story of everyday life.

Shooting Beauty (Mass.) Already the winner of six top audience awards at film festivals around the U.S., 'SHOOTING BEAUTY' tells the story of an aspiring fashion photographer whose life is changed when she discovers true beauty hidden inside a facility for people living with extreme disabilities.

Live To Forgive (Wash.): Could you forgive the man who murdered your mother?

Do No Harm (Ill.): Do No Harm tells the incredible and often outrageous story of two men in a small, southern town who endured relentless attacks in order to draw national attention to hospital corruption and the plight of the uninsured.

Gus: An American Icon (Ill.): An American Icon is a humble tribute to Gus Giordano's (founding father of Jazz Dance) legacy.

Reparando (Ala.): On the morning of June 18. 1954, the US CIA dropped leaflets in Guatemala City demanding the resignation of the president. Guatemala was ravaged by Civil War for the next 36 years. But hope is rising. In the midst of incredible odds, victims have been transformed into champions who willfully embrace the pain of their past to help repair the next generation. This is their story.

PLAY AGAIN (Ore.): PLAY AGAIN investigates the consequences of a childhood removed from nature. What are we missing when we're behind screens? At a time when children spend more time in the virtual world than the natural world, PLAY AGAIN unplugs a group of tech savvy teens and takes them on their first wilderness adventure, documenting the wonder that comes from time spent in nature and inspiring action for a sustainable future.

Walk Right In (Wash.): Created as part of the War on Poverty, the Yale Summer High School brought underprivileged students from across the country to Yale during the 1960s. In 1968, the school redefined itself. Students and staff tackled sensitive issues of race, tolerance, and personal identity, searching for what eluded the nation‐‐ a sense of community and the values which ground people and bind them together. 'Walk Right In' recreates that summer, following students from their moment of selection to the culmination of the program to where they are today -- a compelling reminder of inclusive and effective education and its impact across the generations.

SHORT FILM
The Butterfly Circus (Calif.): At the height of the Great Depression, the showman of a renowned circus leads his troupe through the devastated American landscape.

Deep Sleep (Canada): A man and woman struggling with loss and their inability to escape from deep sleep.

Green Sea (Argentina): Three generations of Ukrainian farmers invite us into their working day on a tea farm in Argentina.

Raised Alone (Mich.): Murad Bandley prioritizes financial security over raising his son, Adam. Now a gifted violinist, Adam Bandley performs his world-renown solo, bestowing a glimpse of his childhood attempt at reconciliation.

Playing House (Mich.): The story of Emily, a young woman who has constructed a childlike world in which she and her husband Tommy play the roles of the perfect married couple. But when reality's imperfections threaten to destroy Emily's fantasy, she must make a devastating choice.

Stillwater (Canada): An afternoon surprise forces two friends to turn hate crime lemons into hilarious lemonade.

Two Men, Two Cows, Two Guns (Canada): A testy visitor sends a farmer's quiet Sunday on a hilarious downward spiral into udder chaos.

Desperate (Calif.): On a rainy night in a concentration camp a fearsome Nazi general is forced to plead with a condemned Jewish doctor to save his dying only son.

Lost and Found Shop (Mich.): In a curious shop with unusual merchandise, a callous Shopkeeper searches for a little girl's favorite memory, but how do you find what you can't remember?

DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Wounded Healers (Wash.): Wounded Healers ‐ How Do You Forgive the Unforgivable? chronicles the extraordinary personal stories of five Rwandans and their post‐genocide journey through the stages of extreme hurt, hate, and healing.

When Cotton Blossoms (Mich.): Exactly 100 years ago... in the piney woods of rural Mississippi... a dream was planted... and Hope sprang forth.

No Good Reason (Mich.): Musicians and singers from around the country, people who have never met and who are currently or recently homeless, gather in Boston to record a song written by a 15‐year girl who was homeless when she wrote it. Features Natalie Merchant (formerly of 10,000 Maniacs).

Brighter Future (N.J.): A Brighter Future explores the relationship between singing in a choir and success in life. Music has the power to transform lives. The scientific evidence has been demonstrated in numerous studies. This documentary is about the human evidence.

Fare‐Off Cry (Colo.): The parallel Pakistan worlds of street children and intellectuals are set on a collision course in hopes that the impact is explosive.

STUDENT FILMS
Free Lunch (Calif.): Walter Tanner Jr. is done with handouts, he’s done with his privileged past, and he's done with having to answer to people. Realizing the value of hard work, Walter sets off on the road to the American dream...in a lunch truck. Together, Walter and his friend Casey serve the working people of LA, while Walter struggles with the realities of business and being a fish out of water. Will the struggle prove to be too much?

No Pity (Wisc.): A poignant expose of pity‐based fundraising, as revealed through a disabled pre‐teen's heartfelt appeal for respect and dignity.

Ordinary World (Ill.): Michael McBride, a high school valedictorian turned medical school dropout, finds himself an undistinguished, forgotten guest at his 10-year high school reunion. Dejected and distressed, he has a chance encounter with a woman from his past, which brings them back to an extraordinary moment they once shared.

Time Machine (Mich.): 'Time travel is possible, I will prove it...'

Storybook Ending (Colo.): A young girl has a crush on the wrong guy. She discovers herself in a tea shop through imagination and books and she finds love between the lines.

Bernard & Addy (N.C.): Bernard is hopelessly in love with a mysterious and emotionally distant convenience store night clerk named Addy. For months he has tried to get her attention and thinks he finally has a plan to win her heart. Unfortunately for Bernard his big night happens to coincide with a local crime boss's plan to get revenge on Addy for her refusal to pay protection money.

Non‐Photo Blue (Mich.): Howie, an art‐school dropout, is in a rut. He works the graveyard shift at a local pizzeria and does nothing to move his life forward. It takes a series of unfortunate and unlikely events over the course of two days to spark Howie into action and out of his life of lethargy.

Surface (Ala.): Earth's ozone layer has finally disintegrated, flooding the planet with deadly radiation and forcing all of humanity into underground Radial Shelters. Completely self‐contained, these safe‐havens allow for the continuation of human kind. When the power supply of their Radial Shelter fails, Isaiah and Jacob must save their community by ascending to desolate terrain. They must venture to the Surface.

Prayers for Peace (N.Y.) Pastels on a slate chalkboard underscore life's impermanence as the artist confronts the memory of his younger brother killed in Iraq.

1 New Message (Ak.): In a moment of life or death, Richard attempts to reconcile with his family before it's too late.

Finding Home (Mich.): A boy loses his cereal and embarks on an adventure, finding many things along the way he never expected to encounter on an empty stomach before breakfast.

'Telefone' (N.Y.): Amidst the loneliness of two isolated individuals, mysterious gift boxes containing rotary telephones begin appearing around them with the promise of connection to better times and places. However, the increasing number of calls overwhelms a maniacal switchboard operator and ultimate destruction is never far away.

Admission to the Grand Rapids Film Festival will be $8 per screening, (excluding opening- and closing-night events). All-event passes will also be available. Tickets went on sale August 9 through the Celebration Cinema box office or online at www.celebrationcinema.com.  

Fans of the Grand Rapids Film Festival can follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/grfilmfestival or on Facebook at www.facebook.com. Sponsorship opportunities are available by contacting info@grfilmfestival.com.  Festival volunteers may register online at www.grfilmfestival.com.  

About the Grand Rapids Film Festival
The Grand Rapids Film Festival is committed to expanding the cultural awareness of film making and to perpetuate the creative talent of aspiring and professional filmmakers in Michigan’s second-largest city. It is headed by a committee of West Michigan filmmakers, writers, artists and other creative professionals. Additional information is available at www.grfilmfestival.com.