Napa Valley Film Festival
napavalleyfilmfest.org
November 11 – 15, 2015 (fifth annual)

NVFF is a glorious annual celebration of the best new independent films of the year along with sneak previews of some of the hottest awards-season films. With over 400 film industry attendees (filmmakers, celebrities, industry executives) and some of the best food and wine on the planet, attendees enjoy five days and nights of cinematic-storytelling, epicurean adventures, and unforgettable memory-making in one of the world’s most beautiful destinations.

Matthew Toffolo interviews Co-Founder Marc Lhormer:

Matthew: What is the goal of your film festival?

Marc: The goal of the Napa Valley Film Festival is to celebrate and support the art of cinematic story-telling, and to do so in a way that builds community and contributes to the advancement of human endeavors.

Matthew: How has the festival changed since its inception until your upcoming 2015 festival?

Marc: Our festival footprint was established in our first year, running Wednesday through Sunday and taking place simultaneously with screening, hospitality and special event venues clustered in the four walk-able villages of Napa, Yountville, St. Helena and Calistoga. Attendance has gone up every year, with 2015 attendance (year five) looking to be about double year one attendance (48,000 versus 24,000). The most notable changes are bigger brands involved and more top-level filmmakers and celebrities and industry power players wanting to be here (e.g., Kevin Costner, Mike Myers, Shailene Woodley, Bill Paxton, Michelle Monaghan all made appearances in 2014, along with Harvey Weinstein, one of the biggest movie moguls around).

Matthew: How many films are you showcasing at your Film Festival?

Marc: Each year we present around 120 films, including narrative and documentary features and shorts, primarily from the U.S. but not exclusively. Most of the films are eligible for audience awards and juried awards in various categories.

Matthew: Can you give us a sneak peak of what to except for the 2015 Festival?

Marc: We are already getting calls from filmmakers and talent reps about placing their next films and/or hottest clients here given the great experiences they’ve had with us during our first four years. The Variety 10 Producers to Watch component (new in 2014) is likely to continue, and Billy Bush and Dave Karger are both likely to be back hosting our Tributes and on-stage in-depth discussions with our top filmmakers and celebrities. A massive Festival Gala is in the works plus a series of indulgent filmmaker/winemaker/chef dinners and lunches with an elite group of winery partners we call our Vintner Circle. And we do know we’ll be showing a few of the hottest already-being-buzzed-about Oscar contenders for next year; but if we told you which ones, we’d have to … well, you know!

Matthew: Is there going to be an overall theme for the 2015 festival?

Marc: We do not generally have a theme for our festival from year to year. We seek out films that are mostly positive in terms of what they have to say about the human condition, and filmmakers who are visionary and engaging and eager to interact with our audiences. We plan experiences that encourage the artists-meet-audience dynamic; all of the wonderful food and wine helps!

Matthew: Where do you see your festival in 5 years?

Marc: Bigger, better, more. We see more of the industry’s top players enjoying our festival as the perfect antidote after the American Film Market which ends just as we kick off. We see more top brands bringing their products and services into the festival in ways that enhance the experience for our audiences. We see embracing technology in ways that both showcase how the industry is changing and underscore how special it is to unplug for several days with thousands of old and new friends.

Matthew: What’s the current status of the Film Scene in your city?

Marc: Being in wine country and not in an urban center, the environment around the Napa Valley Film Festival is not much of a Film Scene. This said, our Founders (Brenda and Marc Lhormer) are the producers of the iconic wine-themed feature film BOTTLE SHOCK; that uplifting story of the 1976 wine-tasting competition in Paris where Napa Valley Vintners triumphed over the French is replete with themes that demonstrate the fascinating parallels between filmmaking and winemaking. The aspirational nature of wine country living is offset by the reality that most who live in this area are economically disadvantaged. Our festival organization works year-round to offer filmmaking programs to students in local schools, both teaching filmmaking skills and bringing established filmmakers with their stories into schools to be woven into curriculum. We are actively working to create a culture of appreciation for the power of cinematic story-telling and – who knows – perhaps to inspire a future Francis Ford Coppola or Quentin Tarantino or Alexander Payne.

Matthew: What film have you seen the most in your life?

Marc: Casablanca… though Bottle Shock is a close second given all of the Sundance screenings we had to go to when it premiered there in 2008. And my favorite film of all-time is The Sting.

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Matthew Toffolo, Interviewer BIO

Filmmaker of over 20 short films and TV episodes, Matthew Toffolo is the current CEO of the WILDsound Film and Writing Festival. He had worked for the organization since its inception in 2007 serving as the Short Film Festival’s moderator during the Audience Feedback sessions.

Go to http://www.wildsound.ca and submit your film, script, or story to the festival.

Go to http://www.wildsoundfestival.com and watch recent and past winning writing festival readings.