Film fest fund raiser

It will be a night to remember: Live music, fire dancing and hula hoops.

Scott Ibex is bringing artists together this Friday night at Frankie D’s to raise money for the first Moab International Film Festival to be held in September.

“We got a lot of musical talent,” Ibex said. “We’ll have some musical surprises and invite people to come up.”

Ibex will be joined by Tory Davis on drums. The two have been working together for more than a year, experimenting with new rhythms.

“Mike Souza is playing is a trio,” Ibex said. “Kord Jackson and Andrew McMillan will be playing New Orleans bluegrass that they’ve been working on lately.”

The Moab International Film Festival will be held September 20-22.

“Our mission is to showcase stellar independent films with regard to quality of storytelling and cultural value for film-goers to enjoy,” Ibex said. “We aim to share uniquely powerful stories, concepts and ideas from around the world.”

The festival is making film submissions free this year. More than 500 films have been submitted in the following categories: experimental film; musically inclined; documentary; environmental landscapes; comedy and outdoor action.

“And they just keep coming in,” Ibex said. “We have so many quality films coming in.”

One of the outdoor films Ibex watched was about the second Sherpa to ascend Mount Everest.

“It was a really fascinating story about his life. He rejected monkhood because he was called by the mountain,” Ibex said. “This is the kind of film we want to showcase from an international perspective and has cultural value.”

While the cover charge is $5 to get into the fundraiser this Friday, a $20 donation will guarantee seats to one of the more popular screenings. One of those screenings include “Bidder 70”, a documentary that follows the story of Tim DeChristopher, who bid $1.8 million for 22,000 acres of BLM land near Arches and Canyonlands national parks in an oil and gas sale in 2008 with no intention to pay or drill.

“We have additional unseen footage of his release that will be shown along with the film,” Ibex said.

Another film to be featured at the festival is “KING: A filmed record… Montgomery to Memphis”. The two-part, three-hour documentary features archival footage of Dr. Martin Luther King’s civil rights movement. The film was nominated for an Academy Award.

Richard Kaplan, a producer of the film, will introduce the film for a special screening for Grand County schoolchildren.

The film festival held a volunteer barbecue in March to recruit volunteers. More are welcome.

“If people want to get involved, get in touch with us,” Ibex said.

Ibex said that film festival t-shirts will be on sale at Frankie D’s.

“T-shirts sales directly benefit the festival,” Ibex said. “Sponsorships or donations are welcome.

You can make a personal donation, and that can be qualified as a sponsorship.”

There will also be a small silent auction at Frankie D’s.

“Hopefully we will have a good showing. We’re hoping to get more talent. Keep things moving and keep things interesting,” Ibex said. “Just have some fun with everybody and raise some much needed funds for the festival.”

Author: Moab Sun News Staff Report

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