 -Texas has long been known as the Third Coast of the film industry. The earliest documented and extant moving film shot in Texas is of the aftermath of the Galveston hurricane of 1900 when cameraman G. W. "Billy" Bitzer of the New York-based Biography Company arrived at Texas City on September 13 and shot eight scenes of the massive destruction.
According to the Texas Film Commission, more than 1,000 projects have been made in Texas since 1910.
Such major motion pictures as The Alamo, Miss Congeniality, The Rookie, Second Hand Lions, Armageddon, Spy Kids, Raising Arizona, Lonesome Dove, Heartbreak Hotel, Giant, Pearl Harbor, Best Little Whorehouse - and hundreds more were made in Texas.
But Texas is known for more than just its major films. Independent filmmakers have been putting the state on the "Hollywood" map in recent years, as demonstrated by indie filmmakers Robert Rodriguez and Richard Linklater.
It may be this increasing interest in independent films that is making Texas a hot bed for new motion pictures.
The South Padre Island Film Festival is the latest proof that film and the art of film making in Texas is getting bigger and better every year. Set to get under way Sept. 22 - 24, at the South Padre Island Convention Center, the festival will feature new and unreleased independent films and also features seminars and lectures about the art of film making.
Texas has had a long and illustrious role in the film industry from it's spectacular locations and it's incredible history, which has launched many a story line, to it's multitalented people branching into every field of the movie industry. Whether it's big budget blockbusters or impacting low budget films, Texas will continue to play an important role in the ever changing film industry.
It is to that end that SPIFF (South Padre Island Film Festival) organizers hope to inspire more independent filmmakers to hone their craft and entertain and educate the masses around the world. The festival will not only feature the traditional competition and viewing elements, but will also include a special seminar on how to develop low-budget film making. It is these type of seminars that are most helpful to up and coming filmmakers.
The festival competition has several nice corporate sponsors that are providing over $12,000 dollars in cash and prizes, very nice swag for a first time film festival. Thanks to companies and organizations like Sony, Avid, Gorilla Film Production Software, and Writers Boot Camp participants will have a chance to win some of the finest tools and software any independent filmmaker could use in their film making arsenal.
Also, sponsor Loose Change Productions will host a low budget film making seminar. The LA Indie Film Group will educate participants on the power of networking within the industry. Participants will walk away from this event with some nice prizes, important tools and indispensable knowledge and experience.
But the event is not just for filmmakers, it is a great chance for the community-at-large to experience independent film and it's budding talents. After all, this is where industry giants like George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg got their start. In fact, the power and potential of the independent film is so alluring that Lucas is now focusing his career on making Indies once again, getting back to the roots of his film making.
Independent Film Festival attendees get a chance to see films that embody the unique and distinctive voices that are found primarily in independent film, and even have discussions with the filmmakers. It makes the whole movie going experience more interactive, and certainly more enjoyable.
As of this writing, there are over 17 films entered in the competition with more entries expected covering a broad spectrum of film genres like short and feature-length films - including documentaries, animated films, dramas, comedies, and thrillers from places as far afield as Los Angeles, Madrid, Moscow, and, of course, Texas.
Plus daily events and a variety of parties and receptions add to the enjoyment of celebrating the art of cinema. Like the opening party at Island Inn (one of the only truly Texas beach hotels left on the coast) featuring the Bongo Dogs, the finest show band in the Rio Grande Valley. There is nothing like dancing the night away on the beach to the sounds of the Dogs, an incredibly talented group of musicians whose musical sound is hard to define, but is a mix of Jazz, Texas blues and Latin rhythms, a stellar way to have an opening party for the South Padre Island Film Festival.
SPIFF organizers hope to attract a loyal and enthusiastic band of filmmakers who will come back every year, regardless of whether or not they have a film in competition or not. They also want to attract film festival attendees annually, and should succeed with such a premiere venue location, easy-going atmosphere of camaraderie and good will fostered by Daniel & Laura Martone, Directors of the Festival, their staff, and a small army of local volunteers.
No fledgling film festival can get it's roots without corporate sponsors, but it is the local effort and local sponsors and volunteers who really plant the seeds and nurture the growth of such an event. Without their tender loving care, the roots of such an undertaking wouldn't hold.
SPIFF is fortunate to have this local support from friends like Steve Hathcock and Kay Lay of the Beachcomber's Museum, the official festival headquarters where tickets for the festival will go on sale after Labor Day. In fact, Steve and Kay are participants in the festival as well as organizers. The Martones, festival directors, have been working on a documentary featuring Steve & Kay and their unique insight into the island's history, historical sites and the natural treasures of the Laguna Madre region.
Steve & Kay are noted local historians and authors of several fine books about the region. Behind the Third Dune, authored by Hathcock, encompasses many historical tales and treasures. Kay's book, Don't Pass the Beans, is a guide to the sea beans of South Padre Island, a fascinating tale of oceanic nature. Both Hathcock and Lay are published newspaper and magazine columnists and recently were featured on National Public Radio.
Many other local sponsors have come to the forefront to help the event along including Massage Therapy & Healing Arts Center, Lynne Tate Real Estate, Realtor Frank Cole, the Port Isabel/South Padre Island Guide Association, the Zeste Gourmet Market & Cafe, and the Island Inn on the Beach -- the official festival hotel and site of the opening night party.
Best of all, the entire event happens on South Padre Island, the jewel of the Texas Coast. So forget Cannes and the French Riviera.
See you at the Movies!
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