Allentown Film Festival unreels for fourth year – Lehigh Valley Press

The Allentown Film Festival is back for its fourth year.

“We had a little over 1,100 submissions. We have 112 official selections. That includes the selections for the local film competitions and the worldwide submissions,” says Allentown Film Festival Director Alan Younkin.

The fourth annual Allentown Film Festival is April 9 – 12, Civic Theatre of Allentown’s Nineteenth Street Theatre and Theatre514, and April 26, Allentown Art Museum.

The film festival gala is 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. April 12, Civic Theatre.

The gala is open to festival film-makers and ticket holders. “We call it Hollywood chic and Allentown casual. We wanted to be open to everyone. Some like to dress up for the red carpet and some come as they are,” says Younkin.

The film festival will have a step and repeat, one of those Instagram-able backdrops, in this case, with the festival logo, set up in Civic’s lobby. “They take pictures of themselves, with the festival director, and with their medals, and they really enjoy it,” Younkin says.

Each film screening block averages one hour and 15 minutes.

“After each screening and screening block, we have a panel discussion with the film-makers, and that’s what makes a film festival a lot of fun,” says Younkin.

Films are submitted for the festival via the FilmFreeway website. Allentown Film Festival entries were seen by 30 jurors. “Some jurors look at all of them. Some jurors look at different types of films,” says Younkin. The festival also has about 20 volunteers.

Younkin is co-founder of the film festival with Michael Schelp, President of the Allentown Film Festival.

The lineup of films is on the festival website. Says Younkin:

“Allentown Film Festival dot org has a listing and calendar and a time and location, and then it lists each block [of film screenings] separately with a title and each film in there. Many of the films have links to the trailer with the with audio and the video. And it really gives you a flavor of what the films are like.”

Younkin provided a festival preview:

Regional Competition Semi- Finalists (films are five minutes or less), 6 p.m. April 9, Nineteenth Street Theatre. “That’s part of our short films regional competition for film-makers within a 100-mile radius of Allentown.”

Feature-length drama (one hour and 30 minutes), “Pieces of Lilo,” 7 p.m. April 9, Theatre514. “Lilo is the name of a father. It’s centered around the father’s funeral. It’s a dysfunctional family.” The director is Nate Mathis, a United States film-maker.

“Homegrown films: Local Shorts,” 8 p.m. April 9, Nineteenth Street Theatre. “A collection of films from local film-makers and local topics. It’s a range of films. Different genres because we’re celebrating local film-makers and local topics.”

Regional Competition Finalists, 6 p.m. April 10, Nineteenth Street Theatre.

Feature-length documentary, “Dad Genes” (1 hour 3 minutes), 8 p.m. April. 10, Nineteenth Street Theatre. “That follows the story of a man who was a sperm donor, and with DNA registry sites, he matched up with 67 children. And he meets up with many of them, and the mothers. And some surprising developments result with the children and the mothers.” The producer is Matt Issaac of New York City. He is expected to attend the post-screening panel discussion.

“Better Together?: Shorts on Love and Connection,” 6 p.m. April 11, Nineteenth Street Theatre. “We added that question mark in there because not everybody is better together. There are some films where people are not together and admit they’re better off not together. And in some films they find their true love. Several of them are very cute animated films.”

Feature-length Art House Horror Thriller, “Dreamland Awaits,” 7 p.m. April 11, Theatre514. “It’s a psychological thriller about a man who thinks his wife and daughter are kidnapped and someone is calling in to force him into a deadly game in an abandoned house.” The film-maker is Demeter Lorant of Hungary. The film is in the English language.

“Quirky, Unhinged & Unfiltered Shorts,” 8 p.m. April 11, Nineteenth Street Theatre. “The title kind of says it all. It’s a collection of films with offbeat story lines.”

“Horror and Gory Shorts,” 9 p.m. April 11, Theater514. “It’s not for everybody, but we do have a following that likes the horror films. And last year, that was that was the best attended blocks.

“We intentionally scheduled the horror films back to back in Theatre514, and over in the Nineteenth Street Theatre we have the love and connection and the quirky films, totally opposite of the horror films.”

Psychological Thriller Shorts, noon April 12, Nineteenth Street Theatre

Surreal Shorts, 2 p.m. April 12, Nineteenth Street Theatre “That’s kind of eerie ‘Twilight Zone’ type of things.”

“Delightfully Unpredictable Shorts,” 4 p.m. April 12 Nineteenth Street Theatre “It’s a collection of films that are fun and have twists at the end.”

“What is Art?,” noon April 26, Allentown Art Museum. “Films about art and Spanish-language films with subtitles.”

After the April 12 gala, a very special feature film will be screened:

“Iowa Vet: Dogs, Cats, Corn & Murder,” 7 p.m. April 12. “It’s a biopic about veterinarian Dr. Alan Younkin,” says Younkin. It’s directed by Michael Schelp.

“It‘s a documentary about change. There’s the change in farming. The change in the veterinarian field. As the title implies, there were a few murders associated with an animal hospital.”

The film is not in competition. “It’s a preview for audience reaction. The final version will be shown in a theater in New York City in June,” Younkin says.

“We really appreciate the support of the community, and the support of the judges and volunteers,” says Younkin.

“There’s community pride to have a cultural event such as this.

“Michael and I make a good team. He does the technical work with the films, putting them together for the projections; the marketing, and the creative aspects. And I do the communication with the film-makers, coordinate volunteers and put the blocks together.

“As soon as the event is over, we start planning and taking submissions for the next year,” Younkin says.

Tickets and schedules: www.allentownfilmfestival.org

Theatrical Movies Domestic Weekend Box Office, March 27-29: “Project Hail Mary” continued at No. 1 two weeks in a row, with a still cosmic $54.5 million in 4,077 theaters, $164.3 million, two weeks.

2. “Hoppers” stayed in place, $12.2 million in 3,650 theaters, $138.5 million, four weeks. 3. “They Will Kill You,” starring Zazie Beetz, Tom Felton, Patricia Arquette and Heather Graham in the Action Comedy Horror film, $5 million in 2,778 theaters, opening. 4. “Dhurandhar The Revenge,” $4.7 million in 987 theaters, $22.7 million, two weeks. 5. “Reminders of Him” stayed in place, $4.7 million in 3,181 theaters, $41 million, three weeks. 6. “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come” dropped two places, $4 million in 3,010 theaters, $16.2 million, two weeks. 7. “Scream 7” dropped one place, $2.6 million in 2,345 theaters, $118.6 million, five weeks. 8. “GOAT” dropped one place, $2.2 million in 2,246 theaters, $100.8 million, seven weeks. 9. “Undertone” dropped one place, $1.6 million in 1,852 theaters, $18.4 million, three weeks. 10. “Forbidden Fruits,” starring Lili Reinhart, Lola Tung, Victoria Pedretti, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Chamberlain and Gabrielle Union in the Comedy Horror film, $1.1 million in 1,525 theaters.

Movie box office information from Box Office Mojo as of March 29 is subject to change.

Unreel, April 1:

“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” MPA Rated PG; 1 hour, 38 minutes. Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic and Pierre Leduc direct the voice talents of Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Pratt, Jack Black, Brie Larson, Donald Glover, Keegan-Michael Key and the animation in the Action Adventure film. Mario venture into space.

Unreel, April 3:

“The Drama,” No MPA rating; 1 hour, 46 minute. Kristoffer Borgli directs Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Alana Haim in the Romance Comedy. An engaged couple’s love is put to the test.

Movie opening date information from Internet Movie Database as of March 29 is subject to change.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOLeft to right: Allentown Film Festival Director Alan Younkin and Allentown Film Festival President Michael Schelp

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