Cannelle Film Festival

In a dark, open garage with rain lashing down outside, a group of people got together to watch movies. The buttery glow of the popcorn machine and images flickering across the screen turned Chez Raviele into a cinema fit for the first ever Cannelle Film Festival.

With 12 excellent submissions and an enthusiastic cadre of cineastes, the festival was a roaring success. Joe Leonardo’s Band on the Run took home both the Best Film and People’s Choice awards, each represented by a magnum of mediocre champagne sparkling wine, which he magnanimously shared with the crowd. The after party featured an intimate and electrifying performance by local troubadour Jesse Stanford, which culminated in an all-inclusive jam with garden tools and cooking vessels. It couldn’t have been better.

The next Cannelle Film Festival is scheduled for May 15, 2010.

Here are this year’s films:

“Band on the Run” by Joe Leonardo

“My NY Kicks” by JT Russell

“Adam and Sean” by Mike Gans

“TN Company Ski Trip” by Brian Cook

“Vexed by Chagrin” by JT Russell

“Physical Therapy – Fire Inservice” by Mike Gans

“36 Hours in Paris” by Brian Cook

“I Don’t Want to Make My Bed” by Ray

“State Street Caper aka ‘The Bag’” by JT Russell

“Delhi” by Dan Russell

“Epic Journey Through China” by Dave Crespo

“Rock Paper Scissors Spock Lizard” by Brian Cook

“Kathmandu” by Dan Russell

The official Cannelle Film Festival soundtrack is available for download.

Cannelle Film Festival OST – Part 1

Cannelle Film Festival OST – Part 2

Part 1

Barry Louis Polisar – All I Want Is You
Paul McCartney – Dance Tonight
Buddy Holly – Dearest
BOAT – Topps
Beulah – Gravity’s Bringing Us Down
Band of Skulls – Friends
Bishop Allen – Busted Heart
Elvis Perkins in Dearland – I Heard Your Voice In Dresden
Glasvegas – Geraldine
Sam Means – Yeah Yeah
Wreckless Eric – Whole Wide World
Frightened Rabbit – Old, Old Fashioned
Neutral Milk Hotel – Naomi
Blur – Coffee & TV
Paul & Linda McCartney – Dear Boy
Ben Kweller – Penny On The Tracks
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Home
Spoon – The Way We Get By
Weezer – Tired of Sex
White Rabbits – While We Go Dancing
Smog – Cold Blooded Old Times
She & Him – Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
The Beatles – When I’m Sixty-Four
Lily Allen – He Wasn’t There
Tapes N Tapes – Insistor

Part2

Postal Service – Such Great Heights
Dirty Projectors – Temecula Sunrise
The Boy Least Likely To – Faith
Islands – Heartbeat
Teitur – Catherine The Waitress
New Pornographers – The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism
Department of Eagles – Romo-Goth
Magnetic Fields – Too Drunk To Dream
Beastie Boys – Sure Shot
Delta Spirit – Trashcan
Devo – Gut Feeling
Passion Pit – Sleepyhead
Discovery – Osaka Loop Line
Kaiser Chiefs – Never Miss A Beat
Discovery – So Insane
The Gray Kid – Oh My
Big B ft. Scott Russo – Sinner
The Killers – Human
MGMT – Time To Pretend
MGMT – Kids
Vulture Realty – The Joke
Phoenix – Second to None
Tapes N Tapes – Cowbell
Lily Allen ft. Mick Jones – Straight to Hell (The Clash Cover)
Middle Distance Runner – With Swords

Mark your calendars!

The tentative date for the Cannelle Film Festival is Saturday, October 24, 2009. That’s three weeks away, which should be plenty of time to clear out your schedule, shoot your film and get really excited.

The deadline for submissions will be Sunday, October 18 at 12 PM EDT.

The festival will take place right down the road from the UConn Health Center in Farmington, CT with the champagne-soaked Opening Gala starting at 6 PM and the films starting around 7 PM. This will be followed by the awards ceremony and after-party. The rain-out date will be the following evening. There are plenty of ways you can help if you wish.

See you there!

From a half-assed idea on an airplane to website, the Cannelle Film Festival now has a name, a backstory and an online presence. There are still lots of questions (when/where/who/how?) and a long way to go, but this thing is going to happen, even if it’s just going to be me watching my own movies outside on a laptop.

What can you do? Keep your early September weekends open, submit your film, explore the site (including ways you can help) and watch this space for more information about the Cannelle Film Festival.