FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 6, 2005

Contact: Melissa Fowler, Festival Director
212/714-8375
reelvenus_press@reelvenus.com
www.reelvenus.com

3rd Annual Reel Venus Film Festival
celebrates short films and videos
directed by Women Filmmakers

July 20, 21, & 22, 2005, 6:30 PM
At Peter Norton Symphony Space, NYC

New York, NY (July 6, 2005) – Reel Venus Film Festival returns to Symphony Space, on July 20, 21 and 22 for it’s 3rd year to showcase, celebrate, and honor the outstanding creative cinematic accomplishments of emerging and established women filmmakers and video artists from the USA and abroad.

Three one-hour programs of short films and videos will screen each evening to highlight the work of many first time directors whose work has already received critical acclaim and won prestigious honors from various established festivals around the globe which include Sundance Film Festival, SXSW, Tribeca Film Festival and Rotterdam International Film Festival to name a few.

Reel Venus Film Festival was conceived and launched in July 2003 by film lover, producer, and aspiring writer/director, Melissa Fowler. The festival’s main objective is to celebrate the art of short filmmaking by showcasing contemporary works, 30 minutes or less in length, which have been conceived, directed and written by women filmmakers and video artists. All genres, topics and themes are considered for inclusion in the festival. Criteria for final selection are based on: compelling, up to date subject matter, originality in storytelling, overall production quality and level of sophistication in use of media and technology. Most importantly, the festival aims to promote and expose an eclectic body of work and topics to untapped audiences who may not otherwise have an opportunity to view these films in typical theatrical settings.

Notable filmmakers video artists whose work has been selected to screen to date are: Monika Bravo, Barbara Hammer, Marie Losier, Annie J. Howell, Eva Saks, Benita Raphan, Ruth Sergel, Dawn Westlake, Shari Frilot, Kyra Garrigue, Moira Tierney, Frances Nkara and Hima B.

This year’s festival will showcase 45 films with themes that run the gamut of: reflective, surreal, dark, honest, passionate, humorous to absurd. Highlights include: Rosario Garcia-Montero, Are You Feeling Lonely ? Tatia Rosenthal, A Buck’s Worth, Daria Price, Survival of the Fittest, Kimberlee Bassford, Cheerleader, Jamie Babbitt, A Memoir To My Former Self, Karen Sanders, Not Weird In The First Place, Jennifer Uihlein and Carol Stanger, Saying I Do, Sara Rashad, Tahara, Erika Tasini, Winter Sea, Yvonne Farrow, I’d Rather Be Dancing, Marie Losier, Electrocute Your Stars, Antonia March and Jacqueline Mckinley Oxtails, Inna Braude Flashback and Angel Brown, Desperate For Love

All screenings start at 6:30 pm and will take place at Symphony Space in the Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater located on Manhattan’s Upper Westside at 95th and Broadway.

Filmmaker Welcome reception will take place on Tuesday July 19th, 2005 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at 'Disiac Lounge in Midtown Manhattan at 402 West 54th St at 9th Ave. Complimentary drinks and light hors d’oeuvres will be available for filmmakers and invited guests.

Tickets are now available and can be purchased at Symphony Space online, over the phone or in person at the box office located in Manhattan at 95th and Broadway: 212-864-5400. For more info: 212-714-8375

Full Synopsis’s and Director Bios can be found at: www.reelvenus.com and www.symphonyspace.org

Reel Venus Film Festival is made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency.