By River View Observer Staff

On Sunday evening October 16th at the grand finale of the four day Golden Door International Film Festival held at the Loew’s Theater and other venues within Jersey City from October 13th to October 16th, 2011 the winners were announced at the Loew’s theater for the people and films nominated for this first ever Jersey City  film festival.

In attendance was actor Paul Sorvino, uncle to Bill Sorvino Executive Director of the GDIFF,  also in the audience, Jersey City resident and Film Director Leon Gast; Oscar winner for “When We Were Kings,” the 1997 Academy Award-  nominated documentary about Muhammad Ali,  both Sorvino and Gast were awarded Lifetime Achievement Awards by the GDIFF  at Sunday nights finale gala.

Talented actor and painter Federico Castelluccio attended (Acting credits include:The Sopranos, Made, and other films) Castelluccio  won for Best Director and Male Actor of a Short for “Lilly of the Feast”.

Earlier in the day the film “Proud” was shown the true story about the men of the USS Mason which focused on the meritorious service of the USS Mason (DE-529) of World War II, the first US Navy ship with a predominantly African American crew, and how three of the men were finally honored in January 1994 for their meritorious service.                             See more photos and winners

Produced by Ally Hilfiger and Written and Directed by Mary Pat Kelly and starred OSSIE DAVIS in his last role,  Denise Nicholas,  Albert Jones, Erik LaRay, Harvey Darnell Williams and  Jeffrey Nash  with Stephen Rea.

At the showing of the film “Proud” was  Lorenzo Dufau 91 year old  (last surviving crew member) of the USS Mason. Mr. Dufau was honored with a citation by Navy personell now stationed on the USS Mason.

The final night gala of the GDIFF drew a large crowd of family, friends and fans supportive of this cultural event that is sure to grow in the coming years.

 
And the winners are for  2011 (winners names are announced in bold face)

2011 Nominations  BEST FEATURE
Nightclub

Victims
Moment of Truth: The Andy Myers Story
Life! Camera Action…
Kerberos

BEST DIRECTOR OF A FEATURE
Sam Borowski
David Bryant
Steven Canfield Crowley
Rohit Gupta
William Kely McClung

BEST SCREENPLAY
Nicky Newark
Victims
Nightclub
Kerberos
Echo

BEST MALE LEAD
Ernest Borgnine-Nightclub
Rick Haymes-Andy Meyers in Moment of Truth:The Andy Meyers Story
Shaheed K. Woods-Life! Camera Action…
Kely McClung-Kerberos

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Natasha Leone-Nightclub
Sarah Coyle-Victims
Whitney Sullins-Kerberos
Dipti Mehta-Life! Camera Action…

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Sally Kellerman -Nightclub
Rob Hesch -Echo
Brian Williams -Night Club
Rob Pralgo- Kerberos

BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Secret Life of…My Small Urban Backyard
Dams the Lethal Water Bombs
In the Footsteps of Willie Sutton
Kevin
Street Corner Harmony

BEST SHORT
Quirk of Fate
The Risen
Bright
Asbury Park
Terms of Employment
Fatakra
Lily of the Feast

BEST DIRECTOR OF A SHORT
Quirk of Fate- Marco Riedl
The Risen -Anthony Maddaloni
Bright- Benjamin Busch
Fatakra-Soham Mehta
Mandala Maker- Sam Borowski
Federico Castelluccio- Lily of the Feast

BEST MALE ACTOR IN A SHORT
Quirk of Fate- Wotan Wilke Möhring
Bright- Eric Nenniger
The Risen- Andrew Gaul
Terms of Employment- James J. Ross
Asbury Park -Chance Harlem Jr.
Federico Castelluccio-Lily of the Feast

BEST FEMALE ACTOR IN A SHORT
Quirk of Fate- Katharina Wackernagel
Terms of Employment- Frida Farrell
Asbury Park -Robyn Hatcher
Sarinaâ€s Song
Courtney Hogan- Mandala Maker

BEST SHORT SHORT
Another Day Another Life
In Transit
Business Is Dead
The Waking
Decent Men

BEST DIRECTOR OF A SHORT SHORT
Another Day Another Life
The Waking
Business is Dead-Vito Labruno
Decent Men

BEST CONCEPT FOR A SHORT
Another Day Another Life
In Transit
Terms of Employment
Decent Men
Lily of the Feast

BEST JERSEY CITY/LOCAL FILM
My Life
Of God and Gucci
Cerise
Business is Dead
Secret Life…of My Small Urban Backyard
Another Day Another Life

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Secret Life of…My Small Urban Backyard -John Dunsten
Quirk of Fate- Marco Riedl
The Risen -Anthony Maddaloni
Bright -Benjamin Busch
Kerberos-Kely McClung
Sarinaâ€s Song

BEST Costume Design
Decent Men-Salome Buelow

Sarinaâ€s Song- Ainsley Waller

Quirk of Fate- Frank Bohn

BEST EDITING
Kerberos-Kely McClung
Quirk of Fate -Mark Steinicke
Sarinaâ€s Song -Patricia Rounds-Manwaring and Chapin Hall

The post Golden Door International Film Festival-And the Winners are… first appeared on River View Observer.

Bill Sorvino – A Dream of a Film Festival

by Sally Deering

 Ideas sometimes come to us in dreams and that’s exactly how Bill Sorvino conceived the Golden Door International Film Festival to be held in Jersey City in October. What started as images flickering in his sleeping mind will now be images flickering on the silver screen.

 “I had a dream last year about having a film festival in Jersey City,” Sorvino says,” and it was like lightning in a bottle. Jersey City is close to my heart. I grew up here and my family has a 100-year history here. I want Jersey City to have something in its own right.”

 

Dreaming of a film festival is not much of a stretch for Sorvino. He’s a screenwriter and actor who studied at the William Esper Studios in New York City and has appeared in several indie films. He also hails from a theatrical family – his uncle is celebrated actor Paul Sorvino and he’s cousin to Academy Award winner Mira Sorvino – and throughout the years Bill Sorvino shared conversations with his Uncle Paul and cousin Mira about film, theater and acting held during family gatherings at the dinner table.  

“My uncle had a farm in Pennsylvania and I would go and hang out and we would eat and talk,” Bill Sorvino says. “One weekend, Mira, my Uncle Paul and Mira’s husband were at his house down the shore and my uncle was holding an (impromptu) class on acting. We were sitting there mesmerized by his depth of knowledge.”

 Not everyone who comes from Jersey City wants to come back and shine a light on the talent here. Usually star-struck wannabees head to Los Angeles and carve their niche there. But Sorvino’s different – his passion for Jersey City and the place where he grew up and his love for film and theater and his uncle Paul and cousin Mira are key factors to his dream. Sorvino and his Uncle Paul are very close – and it’s quite likely festival-goers in October will get a chance to see Paul Sorvino at the festival’s closing night gala at Loew’s Jersey City, the restored movie palace in Journal Square and one of the venues for the festival’s screenings.

The Golden Door International Film Festival will take Jersey City by storm from Oct 13^th through October 16^th – where four local venues will unroll the red carpet to film stars, celebrities and film-goers screening films by local and international filmmakers. It’s a juried competition with awards given out in ten categories including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor/Actress and Best Cinematographer. Still in the preliminary stages – the venues have been chosen and film submissions are pouring in and Sorvino, who grew up in downtown Jersey City and attended Hudson Catholic high school and St. Peter’s College, wants to encourage local filmmakers to submit their films. Comedies, dramas, documentaries, animations and short films are welcome as are student films.

Filmmakers can submit their films to the Golden Door International Film Festival by going to the website www.withoutabox.com an online submission system for film festival and screenplay competitions. Film Festival directors like Sorvino use the website to manage their festivals and for filmmakers it’s the go-to-place to enter the festival, upload their films and PayPal their entry fee. (Deadline for submissions to the Golden Door International Film Festival is July 1, 2011; entry fee is $50.)

“Everyone goes to withoutabox.com if you are going to put on a festival or submit to a festival,” Sorvino says. “They do the money transactions and post the checklist of submission requirements. It makes it easier to screen the films, too.”

 Festival Highlights

The Golden Door International Film Festival will screen film submissions in Jersey City at the beautifully restored Loew’s Jersey City movie palace in Journal Square; Michael Anthony’s restaurant on the waterfront; LITM restaurant, a hip bistro on Newark Avenue; and Bar Majestic, a cozy gathering place across the street from City Hall on Grove Street.

“Another thing I’ve really come to love about planning the film festival is getting to meet the owners of these places,” Sorvino says. “These owners want to create a better sense of community and have an artistic insight.”

So far, Sorvino has received submissions from all over the globe including South Africa, India, Austria and England and several from local filmmakers. Although the roster of films that will be screened hasn’t been chosen yet (filmmakers will be notified Aug 1^st) several submissions have caught Sorvino’s eye including “Street Corner Harmony” a documentary by Abraham Santiago and Steven Dunham about Doo-Wop groups of the 1950s narrated by record producer Wayne Stierle; and “Night Club” a film by San Borowski starring Ernest Borgnine, Mickey Rooney, Lance Howard and Clint Howard (Ron Howard’s father and brother,) Sally Kellerman (‘Hot Lips’ in the film “M.A.S.H”) and Bill Sorvino’s uncle Paul Sorvino.

Members of Jersey City’s arts community are also joining in to support the festival. At the closing night gala at Loew’s Jersey City a panel of judges, including John Dapolito of Jersey City, who teaches acting and script analysis in New York, will give out awards. Members of the Golden Door International Film Festival’s Board of Advisors will also be on hand including Christine Goodman, Founder/Director of Art House Productions in Jersey City; Eileen Gaughan, administrative aide for the Hudson County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs; and Joseph Calamito, publisher of the Riverview Observer newspaper and website.

 “I’m holding it in Jersey City, because for me, when I was growing up here downtown was terrible,” Sorvino says, “and in 2007, I came back and saw the changes. It’s amazing what can happen when there’s group effort, community pride and positive energy moving forward. You have a vibrant artist community in Jersey City, great bars and restaurants. It’s like a little Manhattan. I want to make movies here. I tell everybody I know in the business, we have to look at Jersey City as a location to make films.”

To Sorvino, Jersey City could easily become the new go-to destination for filmmakers on the East Coast. All it takes is a festival and a dream.

Submit your Film

Golden Door Film Festival

Film Submissions:  Go to www.withoutabox.com  or  www.goldendoorfilmfestival.com

Deadline:  July 1, 2011

Fee for Submission:  $50

Notification:  Filmmakers will be notified Aug 1, 2011 if their films have been accepted to the competition

The post Golden Door International Film Festival Director Invites Filmmakers to Screen Their Dreams in Jersey City first appeared on River View Observer.