March 14, 2005
Spiritual Film Festival Sells Out
in its Los Angeles Debut
HOLLYWOOD, March 14, 2005—The
Damah Film Festival—Spiritual Experiences in Film,
a fast-growing independent film festival, premiered
in Los Angeles this past weekend, March 11 and 12, to
sold out crowds at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood, and
at Laemmle’s Music Hall Theater and The WGA Theatre
in Beverly Hills.
Hundreds of festival-goers viewed over 70 spiritually-themed
short films and took in interactive screenings and workshops
led by top-level industry professionals such as Damah
jurors, Ralph Winter (Producer of X-Men I, II
and III and the upcoming Fantastic
Four) and Scott Derrickson (Director of the
upcoming Exorcism of Emily Rose, starring
Laura Linney and Tom Wilkinson)..
Damah is an ancient Hebrew word that means “a
metaphor that transforms”; it is one of the first
festivals in the world to celebrate and explore the
spiritual dimension of life through the art form of
the short film.
“Damah was created to inspire and transform the
viewer with powerful stories,” said Terence Berry,
Executive Director of the festival. “The filmmakers
represented here come from a wide variety of perspectives
and each film helps define their own unique human experience
seen through a spiritual lens.”
This year’s winners are as follows:
- Best One-minute
Film- SHE, by Jimmy Calhoun
- Best
Five-minute Film—Amazing by
filmmakers Eric Lee & Mark Steele
- Best Fifteen-minute
Film— Max by
filmmaker James O’Keeffe
- Best Thirty-minute
Film—The Divine by
filmmaker Tim Hoover
- Best of Show—Everyday
Use by
filmmaker Bruce Schwartz
- Damah Audience Favorite
Award—The
Divine by filmmaker Tim Hoover
Now headquartered in Los Angeles, Damah is in its 5th
year, after being based out of Seattle.
Since its inception in 2001, Damah has awarded more
than $45,000 in prize money; received over 1,000 film
submissions from over 20 countries and taken its “Best
of Damah” touring showcase to New York, Washington
DC, Park City (during Sundance), Seattle, Boulder, Houston,
Minneapolis and Taos. Tour events are scheduled for
Atlanta, Nashville and Washington, DC later this spring.
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To schedule interviews with or request bios for Los
Angeles-based Damah filmmakers, Founding Board members
or jurors, please contact Katherine
Makinney.
A complimentary DVD of selected Damah films is available
on request.
Photographs and MP3 audio clips are available at http://www.damah.com/pressroom.html
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