Waterfront Film Festival to screen 70 films, many Midwest premieres

If you're planning a trip to Saugatuck June 13 through June 16 for the Waterfront Film Festival you will want to first reprogram your GPS. The festival has relocated to South Haven for its 15th year of bringing indie films to southwest Michigan. 

 

“We are absolutely thrilled,” says South Haven Mayor Robert Burr. “South Haven has a long tradition of celebrating the arts and it will be a pleasure to showcase our town to the thousands of visitors the Waterfront Film Festival draws to West Michigan.”

 

To land the festival, South Haven pledged $50,000 in sponsorship and fundraising efforts. It promised to call on its strong ties to the Chicago market, committed local business organizations and volunteer groups.

 

The city also offered the nonprofit film festival shuttle service, office space, and many in-kind donations including some lodging for guests.

 

South Haven has a three-screen movie theater in town plus a 540-seat auditorium theater. Organizers say the need for makeshift theaters in Saugatuck was adding to the cost of the festival so such facilities in South Haven factored into the decision to relocate.

 

Michigan Theatre, Listiak Auditorium, the AV Auditorium at South Haven High School and the screening room at Foundry Hall all will be sites where films can be seen.

 

This year the film festival, which has become known for featuring films that have gone on to become Oscar favorites, will be screening the Midwest premiere of “Blood Brother." It won both the 2013 Sundance Grand Jury Prize as well as the Sundance Audience Award for being the favorite film. "Blood Brother" is the tale of a young man whose desire to find a family leads him   to a hostel in India.

 

Festival-goers also will be able to see “A River Changes Course,” director Kalyanee Mam's portrayal of a journey through Cambodia and two years spent with three young people attempting to overcome the challenges of deforestation, overfishing, and overwhelming debt. The film won the 2013 Sundance Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema.

 

A complete list of 70 films to be offered at the festival is available here.

 

Jazz/blues pianist Andy Frasco is the headline act for Waterfront Film Festival's annual Opening Night Concert and Movie, scheduled this year at 6 p.m. on June 13 on the South Beach. Frasco, a 24-year-old Southern California native, was recently named musician of the year at the Sundance Film Festival. 

 

And this year the Waterfront Film Festival debuts a Youth Showcase, which will screen five films made by area high school students followed by a collection of independent short films for kids. The event is free and is supported in part by a grant from the Michigan Council on Arts and Cultural Affairs. The event will be held Saturday June 15 at 9 a.m. in the Listiak Auditorium.

 

"This reinvention (of the festival) will benefit more people in West Michigan and will keep the non-profit organization functioning,” says Hopwood DePree, Waterfront Film Festival co-founder.