A dream to bring family tradition to life
Prison City Film Festival
Festival Director Corinne Attaya took time to reflect on the Festival.
“Movies have been as much a part of my childhood and formative years as peanut butter sandwiches and riding my bicycle around the neighborhood on sunny afternoons,” Attaya said. “From the time I was a small child I can remember looking forward to Friday nights.”
Attaya remembers making homemade cheese pizza with her mom, pairing it with her only beverage of choice — root beer.
“We were waiting for dad to get home from blockbuster with what was sure to be the perfect selection for our family entertainment. We were introduced to new releases at the time and intermixed with cinema classics,” Attaya said. “The anticipation that infused each of the six days that separated us from the next movie night were intensified during the week that we waited with baited breath to watch each of the movies in the Back to the Future trilogy.”
She said as she grew and her tastes in movies developed and matured the family collectively became interested in different genres and styles of film and movies.
“We started dipping our toes in experimental cinema and some fringe pieces. They weren’t all our favorites, but we never walked away without something new and intriguing to talk about afterward,” Attaya said.
Spending the latter half of her adolescent years in Huntsville, and being Paul Shiver’s daughter with the Old Town Theater, she remembers having conversations about different types of ways the theater was used for productions and other types of shows.
“The one time I can recall the theater being used for projected films was a very different type of film festival; a ‘horror and gore-fest’ film festival, which of course looked like a blast for those attendees,” Attaya said. “We talked about how fun that must be and what a film festival that we organized might look like.”
While there was certainly a market for certain genre, and the late night film screenings seemed like a particular type of fun, the family knew that they wanted to go bigger.
“We wanted more. Certainly, we wanted to include the fun, campy, horror-type films that had drawn the crowd of that particular festival, but we also loved comedy, and narrative drama,” Attaya said. “As I had moved into adulthood, I was very excited about the possibility of seeing the world through new and different lenses with documentaries.”
Attaya said when they designed the Prison City Film Festival, they didn’t want to limit themselves to one genre or style of film.
“What we did want was to open our doors to filmmakers whose work we might not otherwise have the opportunity to see. Our festival tagline is, ‘Where filmmakers ‘Break Out.’’ And, yes, we do indeed congratulate ourselves on the cleverness of that, but what we have mostly been pleased to see is how many filmmakers have come through our festival and then continued on to do bigger and greater things.”
Now, don’t misunderstand Attaya, she doesn’t posit the festival as ‘responsible’ for any of the great things that some of what they affectionately refer to as “our” filmmakers have accomplished, but they do find themselves honored to be a small part of their stories.
“As we move rapidly closer to our 7th annual festival week, we are beyond excited for the incredible films we have selected for screening. One of the primary goals we decided on for this year’s festival was to make a greater effort to reach out to the local Huntsville community members and make sure they know just exactly what Prison City Film Festival is, and what it offers to them, chiefly — the films,” Attaya said.
If an interested party decides to look into PCFF and finds their way to the festival website, they can view the schedule for each of the four days of the festival. Each day is separated into 2-hour Film “Blocks” and within each block is going to be approximately 1 to 5 (or more) different films, depending on the length of the films.
“If a curious local decided to attend one or more of the film blocks, they are likely going to want to know just exactly what it is that they are going to see, and that is where it all gets fun,” Attaya said.
Each film block is curated carefully to have a variety of different genre’s, lengths and types of films.
“We thought very carefully about how to organize the film blocks, whether to group them by genre or film type, but we finally settled on having different types in each block,” Attaya said. “You may get through the first short film and decide it isn’t your cup of tea, but we always say, ‘Just wait.’ The next one may be your favorite thing that you’ve seen all week.”
Some might decide to go in with an open mind and be surprised with what is screened, but that certainly isn’t required, nor is it expected. On the same schedule posted on the PCFF website, you can easily click on the block of films you are interested in seeing and will notice that the name of each film is hyperlinked to a page that gives as much information about that film as is available. Often there is even a trailer included to watch and see if that particular film might be something that holds a particular interest to the viewer.
“Through the years we have received submissions from all over the world but also from incredibly talented locals,” Attaya said. “We have film submissions from right here in Huntsville, from our very own Sam Houston State University students. There is always a great collection of comedic short films and sometimes even feature length comedies.”
The Shiver family has received some dramatic films both shorts and feature length that have brought them to tears.
“We always have a few music videos from independent artists, and documentary features and shorts,” Attaya said.
A few notable films selected to be screened this year include: the world premiere of “Carnage Radio”, a thriller about a radio DJ whose world is shaken by one of his late night callers; “Betrayal” is one of the international submissions, a beautiful period piece about a German-Dutch officer during World War II and how his feelings change about the atrocities he is being ordered to carry out; “Leverage” is a comedic action short film about the Russian mob, and a Christmas party; “The man In the Red Beret” is a documentary feature following a chess master in the French Quarter; and “Money Bag” is a creative short about a robbery gone wrong, all shown from a very unique perspective.
These are just a tiny handful of the films being screened between Feb. 28 through March 2 at Prison City Film Festival! For detailed information on all of the scheduled films, trailers, and festival tickets, one can log-on to: www.PrisonCityFilmFestival.com
CENTERPIECE FEATURED EDITOR’S PICK
Prison City Film Festival back
Paul Shiver, Founder and President of PCFF, said if you are one who enjoys movies and short films, you’re gonna want in on all of this.
Shiver put his vision into action seven years ago – making each year a bigger and better draw of tourists to Huntsville, including international film submissions.
“In 2018, we decided to put together a modest film festival event here in Huntsville,” Shiver said. “At first, our thoughts about it were on a much smaller level. We figured we’d build it and see what happens – that maybe after putting the word out, we might receive 10, 15, maybe 20 films to show.”
But Shiver admits they just had no way of knowing how it would go, nor were they aware of what a massive surprise they were in for.
“Shortly after publishing PCFF on to www.FilmFreeway.com – the world’s premier submission platform – the submissions began coming in. In our inquiries, we found that it was the name ‘Prison City Film Festival’ that attracted filmmakers from all around the world to submit their films,” Shiver said.
The submissions rolled in – way past the anticipated 10 to 15, and ended up with 87 films to select from for in the first year.
“It soon became apparent that this was going to be much bigger than what we had ever imagined,” Shiver said.
There are many people who don’t really know what a film festival is, but here’s the huge, hidden secret – Film Festivals are more fun than one can imagine, and everyone is encourage to make time for a showing.
“In short, it’s a four-day party consisting of independent films, live music, and special events. The indie film industry is interesting,” Shiver said. “An indie filmmaker makes a film, usually a short film of say five to 40 minutes in length. After the film is produced and ready to go, the filmmaker submits it to a number of film festivals for their consideration.”
Put simply, a film festival is an indie filmmaker’s basic form of distribution.
“If the festival selects their film to screen, then suddenly that filmmaker has an audience for their film. Of course, being selected by multiple film festivals means that much more audience, and whenever possible, filmmakers will travel to represent and promote their film to festival audiences,” Shiver said. “They generally engage in open Q&A sessions after their film is screened. This gives the audience a chance to get in to the mind of the filmmaker.”
There are many special events including the PCFF Friday Night Pizza and a Movie – Sponsored by Double Dave’s Pizza. This event will feature two feature length movies and live entertainment enjoyed with all the pizza you can eat – including:
‘The Martini Shot’ – a film by Stephen Wallis, one of Canada’s fastest rising directors and screenwriters, starring Matthew Modine, Derek Jacobi, and John Cleese. DESCRIPTION – This existential drama follows an ailing movie director as he begins to shoot what he believes to be his final work of art. What starts out as a normal movie, ends up being an exploration of mortality and one’s profound effect on the world.
‘Carnage Radio’ – a film by James Fite, starring Brandon Johnson, Olivia Nice, Rachel DeRouen, Brandon Elonzae, Mike Ferguson, Zach Campbell, Ru Benjamin Revolver. DESCRIPTION – With the help of a late-night radio show DJ, a local police detective sets out to save her small, West Texas town from a deranged sociopath who is killing off the DJ’s radio show listeners, one by one.
‘Submit Thy Will’ and Friends – Acoustic Show. STW & Friends will entertain toward the end of the evening.
“We’re going in to our seventh year and PCFF is gaining a reputation throughout the world as one of the premier and well-reviewed film festivals in North America,” Shiver said.
Shiver added throughout this past year, PCFF has received submissions from United States, Canada, Netherlands, Guyana, India, Australia, United Kingdom, Russian Federation, Hong Kong, and France.
“Out of all the submissions we received through the past year, our festival programmers have selected 70 of these outstanding films to show at this year’s PCFF – and we are actively inviting everyone to attend and watch as many of these great films as possible,” Shiver said.
Tickets along with the complete 4-day festival schedule, and all of the films listed for screening with all their information and trailers can be found at www.PrisonCityFilmFestival.com
PREVIOUSES YEARS’S NEWS
& PRESS RELEASES
Prison City Film Festival to host local, international creatives
Kristie Stevens | The Item | Feb 15, 2023
For the sixth year, Paul Shiver and Jennifer Hull-Muniz are hosting the Prison City Film Festival, which is gaining recognition on the international stage as a worthy networking opportunity for independent filmmakers, producers, actors and composers. The public is invited to view screenings from Wednesday, Feb 22 to Saturday, Feb 25 at Old Town Theatre.
“This event is for anyone who appreciates film. I believe more people would appreciate independent films if they had more exposure to them, and we intentionally make each viewing block an eclectic mix to provide total variety,” said Shiver. Approximately 60 films from industry creatives around the world will be presented in hopes of capturing the spotlight.
Nine categories of submissions will be screened over four days, including shorts and feature films, narratives and documentaries, music videos and trailers. Wednesday will begin with introductions and a presentation by Event Host and special effects makeup artist Jennifer Hull-Muniz. Screenings begin at noon and are open to the public.
Thursday is all about students who are creating their first projects. One of Shiver’s main agendas is to build stronger relationships between the community and university through film. The festival purposely provides SHSU film students a platform to expose their work to professionals who might take part in producing their projects on a larger scale. He also offers qualified internships to SHSU students so they can gain experience in the industry.
The morning workshop will include a screening of a documentary by SHSU film professor Sachin Mudigonda. His work has been shown at 15 festivals, garnering five awards, selected for a nomination by the Academy Awards and qualified for an Oscar. The remainder of the day will feature 20 submissions from high school, undergraduate and graduate level filmmakers. The evening will culminate with a live concert by local metal band Submit Thy Will beginning at 10 p.m.
They are promoted by Shiver, who has been a music producer for 30 years. Their performance is the first step toward slowly and strategically incorporating music as a larger part of the festival. Formed by friends in Riverside, the band became known to the local community for performing original heavy, melodic and emotionally driven music. One of the members worked for the band as a sound technician at PCFF, and the trust built between Shiver and the members is now a professional friendship. He co-produced their debut album entitled “Time to Kill” which is gaining popularity on airwaves all over the world.
On Friday, filmmakers will attend a luncheon hosted by Friendsof the Wynne after their morning workshop and viewings will continue from noon to night. The final blocks of films will run from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday, followed by a VIP Reception and dinner hosted by Mayor Andy Brauninger at Sam’s Table.
The festival will conclude with an awards show at the theater, featuring a red carpet event and live music performance by R.L. Bell at 8 p.m. Bell was the 2010 winner of Huntsville Superstar, a talent show produced by Shiver at OTT. He is a Houston area performer who competed in Season 11 of America’s Got Talent and has been a featured musical guest at PCCF since its inception.
Shiver has been involved with productions at Old Town Theatre since 2000 and always thought that it would be a perfect place for a film festival. The historical buildings and their trompe l’oeil facades by Richard Hass and Patrick Richards make the location visually rich and intriguing.
“Looking down 12th street, the theater and its surroundings have an ‘Austinesque’ appearance. When I first began sharing my idea for the festival and its name, many people asked me not to use the word prison. I respected their reasoning and opinion, but the research I did told me it would set the event apart. Many first time attendees tell me the name was the first thing to grab their attention because it has an indie sound. Once they arrive, they are fascinated by the appearance and endeared by how they are treated,” said Shiver.
He felt that featuring what we are as a community, in part a prison town, would give credibility to the whole concept and this special environment. Aside from the name, the reputation the community has helped build over the last six years is creating a destination event. Some return specifically for networking opportunities even if they are not submitting their work.
The element that put the festival on the map is an online platform called Film Freeway. Shiver learned about it from an actor friend, and he says that their streamlined process for submissions along with positive reviews from guests has given PCFF a stellar reputation. Their site is known as the number one way to find and attend festivals and contests around the world.
Shiver’s high standards match their requirements, and his attention to detail in planning paired with unique locations around town provide the perfect backdrop for creatives to join forces. One of the VIP mixers will take place at Crazywood Gallery hosted by John Smither and another at the SHSU Natural Science Museum for a workshop on film restoration.
In the same way the theater is known by performers as an intimate venue where they can connect with the audience, the film festival is becoming known as a place where like minded talent can find collaborators for future projects.
To add another level of festivities for both visitors and area residents, the Downtown Business Alliance is hosting their 2nd Annual Crawfish Festival and Vendor Market with live music on 12th Street between University and Ave J from 10 am.m to 4 p.m. Tap Truck Outlaws will be selling cold beer and margaritas. Crawfish will be provided by The Big E-Z Crawfish and Oyster Bar.
“Having the DBA join the movement is allowing the festival to take on a life of its own,” said Shiver.
Activities will include ax throwing, a cornhole tournament, and pitching velocity cage. More than 50 vendors will offer art, jewelry, body care products, home decor and sweet treats. Live music will be presented by Gail & the Rough Ryders featuring the Fishin’ Musicians Shannon Maisel and Audy Armentor, plus Taylor Court and Michael Dutka.
Entry to the Crawfish Festival is free. Tickets to the Submit Thy Will concert and passes for viewing a two hour block of films are only $10 per person. Tickets to the Mayor’s Dinner and Red Carpet Awards Show are $25. Full day passes are $45, and All Access Passes are available for $140.
To purchase tickets and see the Prison City Film Festival schedule, visit their website at http://prisoncityfilmfestival.com. To read reviews or submit an entry for film, screenplay, music or photography at contests and festivals across the world, visit https://filmfreeway.com.
Prison City Film Festival gears up for fifth year
Michelle Wulfson | The Item | Feb 16, 2022
The fifth annual Prison City Film Festival is set to return on Wednesday, Feb. 23 at the Old Town Theater in Downtown Huntsville, TX.Courtesy photo | Prison City Film Festival
They’ve waited all year for this, and now, 58 filmmakers from around the world will be headed to Huntsville to celebrate their craft with the community.
Filmmakers were notified last Friday as to whether or not their film had been selected for the 2022 Prison City Film Festival and will make it to the big screen at Old Town Theater.
“Over the five years, that’s gotten to be kind of an exciting day because they get their notifications and then the chatter starts on social media,” said Paul Shiver, the founder and president of Prison City Film Festival.
New and returning filmmakers have already begun spinning their plans to make their way to Huntsville and walk the red carpet for the fifth annual Prison City Film Festival on Feb. 23.
“I feel like that’s really a mark of success for us when we have returning film makers who submit and leave reviews specifically about how much they enjoyed the environment, how welcoming the city has been and so forth,” festival director Corinne Attaya said. “We actually have a group of filmmakers that met at the film festival around three years ago and from that point, got together and have since collaborated on a film that was completed in time to submit to this festival and we will actually be their world premier for this film.”
Going into its fifth year, their continued trajectory is a testament to the PCFF organizers’ hard work, as they’ve reached a level of success in a harsh industry where only few festivals will typically make it to this point, especially through the pandemic, which has seen the demise of many of their peers. However, PCFF has not only managed to keep their heads above water, as they have continued to operate as a live festival, they’ve grown to maintain their Gold Film Festival status for the second year in a row.
“The word we’ve gotten from a lot of film makers and attendees is that virtual film festivals are okay, but they’re definitely not preferred, the preferred thing is a live festival,” Shiver said.
“It’s a whole experience and that really was the driving force behind the inception of this festival to begin with,” Attaya added. “The theater itself is designed to watch movies, the acoustics are amazing, you’ve got that enormous, beautiful screen, there’s really not a bad seat in the house, it really lends itself to screening these beautiful pieces of art that people create to be seen on the screen.”
Out of the 100 films that were submitted for this year’s festival, 58 entries ranging from documentaries, shorts and feature films made the cut, with films covering every genre – drama, comedy, action, romance, horror, suspense and animation.
“This year, we have been submitted some outstanding documentaries, it’s just beyond belief, beyond compare,” Shiver said. “If you’re into documentaries, Prison City Film Festival this year is going to be the place that you want to be.”
Shiver and Attaya also said a number of promising feature films have been selected for this year’s festival, an impressive feat for those in the small budget film world.
“It’s extremely difficult to put together a good feature length movie, unless you’ve got just a big budget to work with, but a lot of the independent film makers are limited in their budget. They have the talent and the know-how, but it takes time and money to put together a good full feature length movie, so the idea that we’ve gotten a handful of hose submitted this year is really saying something,” Shiver said.
The four-day festival will kick off Wednesday, Feb. 23 with a workshop on guerrilla film making from award winning filmmaker James Fite, providing tips for creating a film on a budget.
The following day will feature a workshop from Huntsville’s own Jennifer Hull-Muniz, diving into the complexities of creating convincing movie effects makeup, leading into the student film block of the festival. Students from Sam Houston State University will be showing their films alongside peers from around the globe, with local metal band Submit Thy Will set to close out the night with their second PCFF performance.
The four-day roster will also include special presentations, live entertainment, Q&A’s, and informative open discussions by special guest speakers. Sponsors around town will be providing spaces to hold receptions and mixers for the filmmakers to meet each other and the public during and after festival hours.
The excitement of the festival will all culminate down to the Saturday evening Mayor’s Dinner at Sam’s Table and a grand red-carpet awards ceremony at the Old Town Theater. The Huntsville Downtown Business Alliance will concurrently host a Crawfish, Beer & Music festival outside of the theater from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with food and beverages provided by Tap Truck Outlaws and Jack’s Seafood Shack.
Prison City Film Festival will take place from Feb. 23 to 26 at Old Town Theater in downtown Huntsville. To purchase tickets for the event, visit www.filmfreeway.com/PrisonCityFilmFestival.
Local student films will be highlighted at Prison City Film Festival
Christianhockless5 | Feb 25, 2021
Jennifer Fortenberry | Feb 25, 2021 
NEWS ARTICLE
Local teen’s films to be featured at Prison City Film Festival
Michelle Wulfson | The Item | Feb 16, 2021
A fan film about the two Hawkeyes, Kate Bishop and Clint Barton!
“I’m pretty much in shock, I didn’t really think that I would be accepted, I just thought it would be a good try just to get myself out there a little bit more, so I’m very excited and I’m very proud of everyone who worked with me to make it happen,” Mosser said. “I was already planning on going to the film festival just to check it out for the first time, but now I truly get the whole experience because my own film will be playing too.”
Mosser’s film, Hawkeye, focuses on Kate Bishop, Marvel Comics’ female counterpart to Clint Barton, who has taken the spotlight in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While both characters are known for their sharp archery skills, answer to the alias Hawkeye and share an intertwined storyline, Bishop has largely only existed in the comic book series until recently. The female Hawkeye will finally be making her debut alongside Barton later this year in a Disney+ streaming television series. However, Mosser’s own portrayal of the female hero will first hit the big screen at Old Town Theatre next weekend for the Prison City Film Festival.
“Before I knew that they were both going to appear (in the streaming series), I kind of made my own thing to make sure that they would both appear somewhere in the world,” Mosser said. “I figured out who (Bishop) was several years ago and I started buying some of the comics with her in it. I just fell in love with her personality and all of her stories, how creative they were and how adventurous and funny she was. I think I just saw a lot of myself in her and that’s how I fell in love with her.”
The idea for the storyline came to Mosser in 2018, though she didn’t begin work on it until 2020. Over the course of six months time, Mosser wore every hat to bring her vision to life. She began by writing the script based on what she felt best fit the characters that already existed in the MCU, casted her friends alongside herself to bring the film’s supporting heroes to life, directed and edited the film to completion.
Now, an aspiring actress and filmmaker, Mosser is looking forward to networking with industry professionals and getting a first-hand industry experience in the world of filmmaking.
“I would love to win, that would be great, but honestly, it’s just an honor to not only be in the film festival but to be nominated,” Mosser said. “I’m so excited to meet a bunch of people because I would love to be able to collaborate with other people and get their views, opinions and just to learn from them as well, because I know there is so much I could learn.”
Mosser’s first passion is to act, however, she loves all aspects of film making and plans on pursuing her interests at Sam Houston State University as a freshman in the fall.
Hawkeye is scheduled to show during the B4 block from 6-7:50 p.m. at the Old Town Theatre in downtown Huntsville on Thursday, Feb. 25.
News Article
Prison City Film Festival plans big return
Michelle Wulfson | The Item | Jan 24, 2021
In just four years of production, all eyes are on Huntsville’s Prison City Film Festival as one of the top festivals to watch for the 2021 film festival circuit.
Prison City Film Festival kicked off in 2018 and has doubled in size each year, rapidly becoming one of Texas’ premier film festivals. For 2021, PCFF has been recognized by industry festival leaders, Film Freeway, as not only a “Gold” ranking event, but out of 10,073 festivals in the world, it has been named one of the 21 “hottest” festivals. This is due to its glowing reviews from past participants, not only for the festival, but for the hospitality of the city of Huntsville itself.
“We’re going into our fourth year now, and the attendance just gets more exciting,” said Paul Shiver, the founder and president of Prison City Film Festival. “There’s some dust picking up about this, and there’s filmmakers that have submitted from all around the world, while a lot of other film festivals have shut down because they haven’t received any submissions.”
Throughout 2020 and even 2021, major festivals across the globe that typically draw in hundreds of thousands of visitors each year have been canceled due to coronavirus precautions, costing millions of dollars in lost tourism revenue. As a smaller festival, the organizers behind PCFF are preparing to move forward with the festival with confidence, since working diligently to create safe COVID-19 precautions for the event that will best accommodate the influx of submissions they’ve received since March.
Submitted — A crowd gathers in front of the Old Town Theatre during the first year’s Prison City Film Festival in 2018.
“We’ve been hearing from all over that people are just excited that we’re having the festival, I think they’re tired of having virtual film festivals. A live festival where you get to sit in a movie theater and watch it on the big screen with the good sound and everything like that is the more preferable way to go,” Shiver said.
The filmmakers can look around the theater, while their film is showing, and get real time reactionary feedback from the audience. It also serves as a networking opportunity for professionals in the industry and is a chance for the community to become more engaged.
“I look forward to getting to meet the people behind the films that are submitted to us throughout the year. We get this opportunity to see these amazing works of art. We really get that instant gratification of talking to these filmmakers, getting our questions answered and getting the opportunity to pick the mind of the filmmakers. That’s such a fun little part of the whole festival and it seems to make them feel really good to get to talk about this piece that they put their heart and soul into. It’s just a really gratifying experience all around,” Prison City Film Festival director Corinne Attaya added.
Films covering every genre – drama, comedy, action, romance, horror, suspense and animation – will be shown with entries from Huntsville High School and Sam Houston State University students, as well as independent local film makers.
The four-day roster will include special presentations, live entertainment, Q&A’s, and informative open discussions by special guest speakers. Sponsors around town will be providing spaces to hold receptions and mixers for the filmmakers to meet each other and the public during and after festival hours.
Festival goers will be required to wear masks and will have their temperatures taken at the door. Each film block will last two hours, with intermissions in-between for the theaters to be deep cleaned. The theater will operate at a 50 percent capacity.
Prison City Film Festival will take place February 24 -27 at Old Town Theatre in downtown Huntsville. Those accepted into the festival will be notified on Friday Jan 29, 2021.
Prison City Film Festival is a GO!!!
COMMING SOON — Starting February 24 through 27, 2021 at the Old Town Theatre! Filmmakers from around the world are set to descend on Huntsville for its annual flagship film festival!
Films currently under review for selection & screening have been submitted to PCFF from areas around the world, including:
- United States
- Canada
- France
- India
- China
- Middle East
- Netherlands
- Colombia
Prison City Film Festival is just around the corner
Featured Article in the news — Thursday February 13, 2020
by Trace Harris | The Huntsville Item
Film directors from around the world are set to descend on Huntsville for its flagship film festival.
The third annual Prison City Film Festival will take place from Feb. 26-29 at the Old Town Theatre and Downtown Huntsville.
Prison City Film Festival was launched in 2018 as a three-day event featuring 86 film submissions, but has grown to a four-day event with hundreds of submissions from around the planet. Students from Huntsville High School and Sam Houston State University have even submitted films for this year’s festival.
“For anyone who has ever dreamed of going to the Sundance Film Festival, South by Southwest, or the Cannes Film Festival, there’s no need to travel, they can experience it all right here in Huntsville,” Prison City Film Festival founder Paul Shiver said. “In addition to submissions from across the country, we have received submissions from Canada, Italy, Spain, France, The United Arab Emirates, The Netherlands, Switzerland and China as well.”
Among the categories of films set to premiere include drama, comedy, action, romance, horror, suspense/thriller and animation. In addition to films being played throughout the day, the festival now includes guest speakers, networking and mixers. Each year, the festival is kicked-off by speakers with past topics including cinematography and scriptwriting, but this year the Westmount Action Design team will speak about choreography.
“This team of stuntmen are absolutely incredible. People will not want to miss it,” Shiver added. “One of them recently returned from helping to choreograph fight scenes for the upcoming Mulan remake.”
On Thursday night of the festival, a night specifically for college students will be held, featuring local alternative metal band “Submit Thy Will,” along with films by student filmmakers
Friday night will feature entertainment provided by H-E-B, McNease Drugs and Wish Wash car wash. The entertainment will include former Huntsville Superstar winners R.L. Bell, Bethany Perez, James Sanderson, and Paris Taylor Patridge performing outside, with an encore presentation of selections from the festival playing inside the Theatre.
“We are grateful to these sponsors for making it all possible,” Shiver said. “The mainstreet program and City Hall Cafe have really come through for us and have supported us since the beginning.”
The event will conclude Saturday with a VIP mixer at City Hall Cafe, red carpet arrivals, and a world class awards show.
“I am really excited for the event to kick-off. We’re ready to show the filmmakers and guests a great time — and what hospitality is all about here in Huntsville,” Shiver added. “This will be our greatest festival yet.”
Passes and tickets to the event can be purchased at www.PrisonCityFilmFestival.com.
Prison City Film Festival expands for second year
By Josh Criswell | The Huntsville Item
An international film festival is set to return to Huntsville next month.
The second annual Prison City Film Festival will take place at the Old Town Theatre and the surrounding area along 12th Street from Feb. 27 to March 2.
What began in 2018 as a three-day event with 82 submissions has now expanded to four days, with more than 100 submissions having poured in from around the world. Students from Huntsville High School and Sam Houston State University have even submitted films for this year’s festival.
“We have received more than 100 submissions from the likes of Australia, Indonesia, Brazil, Morocco, Italy, Croatia, France, United Kingdom, Sweden, various areas of the Middle East and, of course, the US,” said Paul Shiver, founder of the Prison City Film Festival. “It will truly be an international film festival right here in Huntsville.”
In addition to playing films inside the theatre throughout the day, the festival is teaming up with the Main Street Program in “bringing film and music to the street.” There are currently plans for live music, as well as an outdoor screen playing some of the “more award-winning type of films” that are submitted.
“Staff is in the early planning stages of arranging the closure of a portion of 12th Street in front of the Old Town Theatre to provide the experience,” said Tammy Gann, City of Huntsville special projects/economic development director. “Attendees will be able to enjoy films and live music, not only in the theater, but on the street.”
Shiver notes that the festival will be collaborating with various local businesses and organizations that have expressed a desire to get involved.
This year, one of the main sponsors is local businessman Danny McNease, the owner of McNease Drugs and Market Creek, a new food truck park that is set to open diagonal to the Huntsville Public Library. McNease will provide funding for the awards, as well to help operate the theatre during the event.
H-E-B is also involved in this year’s event as a sponsor of the street fair, while Best Western and Hampton Inn are offering discounted hotel rates for visitors.
Shiver plans to continue looking to expand the festival’s scale and reach into the community, something that Huntsville High School theatre teacher Velvia Keithley believes could help generate interest in the arts from a young age.
“I definitely think so,” Keithley said. “With a town this small, if it is something large, especially if word got out and it was kind of like Fair on the Square but for film, I think that would capture interest.”
For Shiver, one of the most rewarding parts of founding the Prison City Film Festival has been the ability to spur interest in the arts. However, he is equally proud of having the opportunity to showcase Huntsville’s charm, something that won over filmmakers and festival goers last year.
“The filmmakers just totally enjoyed it,” Shiver said. “It made them feel really good to the point where they approached me and promised that they were going to tell all of their filmmaking friends about Prison City Film Festival, because they liked the way that Huntsville treated them.”
Passes and tickets to the event can be purchased at PrisonCityFilmFestival.com
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The Best Festivals in Texas
Prison City Film Festival
Named after the quirky factoid that the town of Huntsville is home to multiple prisons, this action-packed film festival features a diverse mix of screenings, including films, shorts, documentaries, music videos, and trailers, along with special presentations, Q&As, open discussions, receptions networking events, and more. The event’s finale comes in the form of a spectacular PCFF awards ceremony, where films across a variety of category submissions go head to head for the prestigious baubles that are up for grabs.
A crowd gathers outside the Old Theatre during Prison City Film Festival (Photo: Prison City Film Festival)
LOCATION Old Theatre, Huntsville DATES 27 February–2 March
NEWS FROM LAST YEAR (2018)
THE HUNTSVILLE ITEM
Prison City Film Festival coming in March to Old Town Theatre
By Marissa Nunez mnunez@itemonline.com
Marissa Nunez | Jan 23, 2018
Cinema lovers and aspiring filmmakers won’t have to travel far to see exclusive films from around the world.
More than 80 independent films, documentaries and shorts have been submitted for the three-day Prison City Film Festival, scheduled March 1-3 at Old Town Theatre.
“Being a filmmaker, and an independent film enthusiast myself, I’ve thought (for some years now) that the Old Town Theatre, being a beautiful vintage movie house, would be the perfect, classy place for such an event,” organizer Paul Shiver said. “And furthermore, what a way to draw out-of-towner’s in to our quaint and beautiful little downtown square.
“It just feels like something worth putting on and hosting, so here we are,” he added.
The festival kicks off March 1 at 8:30 a.m. with a continental breakfast followed by a special presentation and question-and-answer session on lighting and cinematography by cinematographer Billy MacTavish.
Film presentations will follow after the question-and-answer session with MacTavish, and feature submissions from all over the world for the purpose of being exclusively screened at the film festival.
Festivities continue into the night with a special red-carpet opening Thursday evening, followed by an evening filled with live entertainment and more screenings of submitted films. Each film has been carefully pre-screened and selected.
The festival’s three-day roster will be packed with films, receptions and more special presentations. There will be a Q&A session with award-winning actor Mark Allyn (“Roadies & Disconnect”), and writer and director Chuck Walker (“BorderCross” and “Return to Vengeance”). There will also be a closing festival awards show and gala.
“This event has already pushed the bounds of any expectation,” Shiver said. “We started out under the idea of basically putting on a small hometown film festival, with perhaps a modest amount of film submissions. That was all put to serious rest however when the festival became listed with Film Freeway, The Texas Film Commission, The Houston Film Commission and many other prominent entities — and we started receiving what seemed like an overwhelming amount of submissions. It has indeed grown in to something much bigger than anyone ever expected.
“Ultimately, I think that those who attend can expect to have a very unique and entertaining experience in arts and culture. Many talented filmmakers will be showcased at this three-day event, and I can assure you that some of it is extremely cutting edge to say the least.”
Tickets vary in price and can be purchased by visiting www.prisoncityfilmfestival.com or www.FilmFreeway.com/PrisonCityFilmFestival/Tickets.
Locally, Prison City Film Festival is sponsored in part by the City of Huntsville Tourism, The Huntsville Arts Commission, The Wynne Home Arts Center, The Old Town Theatre, Wish Wash Car Wash, Smither Co. Real Estate, and McNease Drugs.
Huntsville Goes Hollywood
Featured Article — Thursday January 17, 2019
Prison City Film Festival expands for second year
By Josh Criswell | The Huntsville Item
An international film festival is set to return to Huntsville next month.
The second annual Prison City Film Festival will take place at the Old Town Theatre and the surrounding area along 12th Street from Feb. 27 to March 2.
What began in 2018 as a three-day event with 82 submissions has now expanded to four days, with more than 100 submissions having poured in from around the world. Students from Huntsville High School and Sam Houston State University have even submitted films for this year’s festival.
“We have received more than 100 submissions from the likes of Australia, Indonesia, Brazil, Morocco, Italy, Croatia, France, United Kingdom, Sweden, various areas of the Middle East and, of course, the US,” said Paul Shiver, founder of the Prison City Film Festival. “It will truly be an international film festival right here in Huntsville.”
In addition to playing films inside the theatre throughout the day, the festival is teaming up with the Main Street Program in “bringing film and music to the street.” There are currently plans for live music, as well as an outdoor screen playing some of the “more award-winning type of films” that are submitted.
“Staff is in the early planning stages of arranging the closure of a portion of 12th Street in front of the Old Town Theatre to provide the experience,” said Tammy Gann, City of Huntsville special projects/economic development director. “Attendees will be able to enjoy films and live music, not only in the theater, but on the street.”
Shiver notes that the festival will be collaborating with various local businesses and organizations that have expressed a desire to get involved.
This year, one of the main sponsors is local businessman Danny McNease, the owner of McNease Drugs and Market Creek, a new food truck park that is set to open diagonal to the Huntsville Public Library. McNease will provide funding for the awards, as well to help operate the theatre during the event.
H-E-B is also involved in this year’s event as a sponsor of the street fair, while Best Western and Hampton Inn are offering discounted hotel rates for visitors.
Shiver plans to continue looking to expand the festival’s scale and reach into the community, something that Huntsville High School theatre teacher Velvia Keithley believes could help generate interest in the arts from a young age.
“I definitely think so,” Keithley said. “With a town this small, if it is something large, especially if word got out and it was kind of like Fair on the Square but for film, I think that would capture interest.”
For Shiver, one of the most rewarding parts of founding the Prison City Film Festival has been the ability to spur interest in the arts. However, he is equally proud of having the opportunity to showcase Huntsville’s charm, something that won over filmmakers and festival goers last year.
“The filmmakers just totally enjoyed it,” Shiver said. “It made them feel really good to the point where they approached me and promised that they were going to tell all of their filmmaking friends about Prison City Film Festival, because they liked the way that Huntsville treated them.”
Passes and tickets to the event can be purchased at PrisonCityFilmFestival.com