Livermore Valley Film Festival 2016

LIVERMORE, CA – (March 11, 2016) – Since its announcement four months ago, the Livermore Valley Film Festival (LVFF) has received film submissions from around the world and strong community support. With its May 13 premiere in sight, organizers have been hard at work seeking additional sponsorships, selecting judges, signing up volunteers, planning the red carpet and awards events, and much more, all to ensure a success for this inaugural annual event.

Thanks to a comprehensive campaign, led by Festival Director Lynn Monica, numerous organizations have joined as sponsors to help bring this festival to Livermore and ensure its success. Leading the way, The Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center (LVPAC) signed on at the outset as the Title Sponsor, due largely to the leadership of Executive Director, Scott Kenison. Major sponsors to date include AMOS Productions and KKIQ. And some of Livermore’s finest will be poured at events, the VIP lounge, and throughout the festival, thanks to Wente Vineyards, the Festival’s official Wine Sponsor.

“KKIQ is dedicated to being a part of the community on a local level. We’re excited anytime we have an opportunity to support a local event especially promoting the arts,” said Angela Ruffoni, Promotions Director.

Film Category and Silver Sponsors include Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, Fremont Bank, Sandia National Laboratories, Futures Films, and LVPAC Board members Jean King and Jean Shuler. Other sponsors include Visit Tri-Valley, Joan and Lynn Seppala, Las Positas College, R&R Stage & Screen, Jon Elfin Wealth Strategies, Cerro Vista Land & Development, Livermore Cultural Arts Council, Hawthorn Suites, Livermore Wine Trolley, and The Vine Cinema & Alehouse, Bay Commercial Bank, Black Tie Transportation, and i-GATE. Festival Media sponsors include Cinespots, Diablo Magazine, KKIQ, and The Independent, and the Livermore Valley Film Commission is sponsoring a 48-Hour Filmmakers Crush Competition May 6-8.

“It’s been incredibly gratifying to see how much support exists for this project,” says Monica. “Clearly there’s a level of passion and enthusiasm for independent films that we’re tapping into. I’m thrilled to bring this festival to a community that so values the arts.”

The new LVFF hosted in downtown Livermore will feature a diverse range of film-related events built around the theme of “Where Science Meets Art.” The three-day event will showcase independent and feature films, as well as two discussion panels and a workshop. Designed to inspire and engage filmmakers, storytellers, and film fans of all ages, the festival will offer the opportunity to explore how science and technology are both portrayed in films and used in the filmmaking process, as well as include narrative fiction and documentary feature films, social/health/disability issues and student short films.

Kenison thinks this is the right time and place for the film festival. “The Tri-Valley has such a deep connection with science and technology, what better place to bring innovation and the arts together. It seemed only natural for LVPAC to take the lead.”

Winners in all categories will be presented with monetary awards and honored at a ceremony held on the closing day of the festival, May 15, 2016. A San Francisco Bay Area Best Professional and Student Awards will also be announced.

Tickets and more information are available at www.livermorefilm.org. The LVFF committee continues to seek sponsors and volunteers for the Film Festival; contact Lynn Monica at film@lvpac.org if interested.

The Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center provides wide-ranging programs that give access to the arts for the Tri-Valley community and beyond. LVPAC Presents offers a diverse variety of exceptional music, dance and theatrical performances at the Bankhead Theater each year. The Bankhead Theater and the Bothwell Arts Center are home to nine resident performing arts companies and over 40 studio artists and cultural arts instructors. Between them, they have offered more than 500 public activities each year, from classes and workshops, to concerts, festivals and performances, as well as ArtWalk and extensive educational arts outreach. A list of upcoming performances at the Bankhead Theater, as well as activities scheduled at the Bothwell Arts Center, is available online at www.lvpac.org or via the LVPAC mobile app.