Liberty County is becoming a favorite backdrop for filmmakers.
Next week, filmmakers themselves will be in the spotlight at the first Liberty International Film Festival.
The brainchild of Joseph Frew-Miller, who teaches film at the Liberty College and Career Academy, the Liberty International Film Festival-Georgia will be held May 4 at the Liberty County Performing Arts Center from 10 a.m.– 9 p.m.
“This is the third year, but in a different location,” Frew-Miller said of the festival.
With more than 130 entries, organizers are going to show about 40 of the best films. There are several different categories, and prizes will be awarded to first through third-place winners in each. Categories are divided among the ages of the filmmakers — from kindergarten through eighth grade, high school and adult.
The event will hand out close to 45 awards, Frew-Miller said, with awards for documentaries, short films, which are under 45 minutes, and feature- length productions. The longest of those is one hour and 37 minutes.
And entries come from far beyond Liberty County’s lines — Frew-Miller estimates there are submissions from 20 different countries. It’s a number of entries, and a range as well, that has Frew-Miller astounded.
“I am,” he said. “I really am. This is phenomenal we had so many entries and have had so much good response it.”
Frew-Miller held a film festival, starting with one film, at Bryan County High School two years ago. Last year, they produced five student films, shown at Pooler’s IMAX theatre. Last year’s festival had 160 attendees. Frew-Miller is planning for about 300, as people from as far as Pennsylvania and San Diego have indicated they will attend.
Frew-Miller was teaching film studies in Bryan County when Liberty County “wooed” him into coming here. The film festival started with wanting to give his students an opportunity to see films from elsewhere.
An actor himself, Frew-Miller has assembled a panel of judges for the films and speakers for the event, including Liberty County native and award-winning film producer Dr. Samone Joyner Norsworthy. Norsworthy will address the topic of making money while telling stories.
Other presenters include actor and acting coach Patrick Roper on how to get started as an actor and the history of acting techniques, Jaelynn Bufkin on being young in the film industry and Dr. Richard Tavernaro, a U.S. Army veteran, on creating quality content on a limited budget. Former Marine and actor and stunt performer Ryan McVey will have a talk about using your brand. Anthony Paderewski, whose credits include “The Last Song” and “One Tree Hill,” also have a presentation.
Frew-Miller hopes that next year he will have one day set aside for K-12 filmmakers and another day for college and adult aged filmmakers. There also will be three food trucks set up for attendees.
“We had so many we wanted to show this time that we can’t fit them into 12 hours,” he said.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for those 18 and under. Tickets can be purchased at the festival’s website, liff-ga.com.
“Where else can you watch 11–12 hours of variety of movies for $10?” Frew-Miller said. “I look for it to be a big event and next year, even bigger.”