Tom Berenger and Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa at the 2010 Big Island Film Festival at Mauna Lani Resort. (Photo courtesy of BIFF)

MEDIA RELEASE

The final deadline to submit films for the 6th annual Big Island Film Festival (BIFF 2011) at Mauna Lani Resort is Tuesday, Feb. 1.

One of MovieMaker Magazine’s “25 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee,” and “25 Coolest Film Festivals,” BIFF 2011 is May 11-15, on location at The Fairmont Orchid, Hawaii and The Shops at Mauna Lani.

Narrative short films (30 minutes or less) and feature length films (60 minutes or more) completed after Jan. 1, 2010 will be considered for “Golden Honu Awards” in various categories including Family, Animated, Foreign and others. Final Entry Fees are $70 Feature, $60 Short, $40 Student. All films shot in Hawaii or created by Hawaii filmmakers receive a 25 percent discount (verification required).

“Family films are always encouraged,” said executive director/founder Leo Sears of Waikoloa. “As a gift to the community from The Shops at Mauna Lani, Big Island Film Festival is happy to show family films for free at the center stage area again this year – and we would love to have a rich, full slate of great family movies to share.”

The Big Island “Talk Story” Film Festival is a celebration of narrative filmmaking, with free family films under the stars at The Shops at Mauna Lani, and nightly double features and shorts from Hawaii and around the world at The Fairmont Orchid, Hawaii. Other events include celebrity receptions, screenwriting and pitching workshops and much more, in the stellar Mauna Lani Resort location.

BIFF 2011 also offers a range of advertising rates for businesses who want to put their messaging in front of resort guests, residents and visiting filmmakers from around the world.

For more information, call 808-883-0394
or visit www.BigIslandFilmFestival.com