October 17, 2002

SPIRITUAL FILM FESTIVAL
A HUGE SUCCESS IN SEATTLE

More than 1,000 festival-goers from around the world, including visitors from Japan, Italy, and England, flocked to the Seattle Art Museum October 10-12 to join the conversation inspired by the Damah Film Festival—Spiritual Experiences in Film.

Top Hollywood producers Ralph Winter (PLANET OF THE APES, soon-to-be-released X-MEN 2) and Stephen Simon (WHAT DREAMS MAY COME, SOMEWHERE IN TIME) helped host this new breed of film festival.

“Themes of redemption run through most movies,” said Winter. “However there is more of an interest now, particularly post-911. People are asking, Why are we here? What’s this all about? Does this mean anything? Film is a great medium to ask those questions.”

“Damah had a very relaxed but passionate atmosphere,” said Lowell Frank, 23, co-writer,
director, and producer of Longbranch, awarded the Best Fifteen Minute Damah film. “People were so passionate about the purity of their ideas. The first question out of people’s mouths was ‘What does it mean?’ not ‘What did it cost?’”

“I like how there’s a theme to the festival,” said festival-goer Dan Jamieson, 20. “But it’s so open. It’s very inviting…to everyone.”

The Damah Film Festival screened 118 short films and hosted more than 30 workshops. More than 50 filmmakers participated in this unusually interactive festival.

Other celebrity jurors who presented awards at Damah were Michael Medved (author, film critic, and syndicated radio host), Scott Derrickson (HELLRAISER, URBAN LEGENDS), Andi Chapman (ER, NYPD BLUE, X-FILES) and Kanjiro Sakura (Japanese film producer).

Damah received media attention from Seattle Weekly, The Stranger, Seattle Post Intelligencer, KIRO-710 AM, the number one ranked radio news/talk station in Seattle, the nationally televised Dick Staub Show, and KFWB, L.A.’s premiere news radio station.

Prize money totaling $15,000 was awarded for the five best Damah films of the year.

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To schedule an interview with any of the Damah Film Festival principals, jurors, or filmmakers, please call Jill Schrag at (310) 420-4745.
A complimentary DVD of selected 2002 Damah films is available on request.
Photographs and MP3 audio clips are available at http://www.damah.com/pressroom.html