The Seattle International Film Festival is hosting its Crash Cinema event in Renton on April 26.
Filmmakers of all ages are being invited to converge on Renton to film a three-minute movie to be screened at the Renton Civic Theatre that same day.
The Renton – SIFF Crash Cinema Challenge is held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., April 26. It is a free, eight-hour filmmaking challenge and there is no cost to watch the final screening.
“We were thrilled to expand SIFF to Renton in 2011 and reach a whole new audience,” said Mary Bacarella, SIFF managing director, in an email. “Renton is an incredibly diverse and engaged community, with a passionate appreciation for both the experience of filmgoing and the process of filmmaking.
“Of course, much of SIFF’s success in Renton is due to the fantastic support we receive from the City of Renton, and the Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center and its adjacent Pavilion Center have proved to be wonderful venues for showing films and hosting parties,” she added.
For Renton’s Crash Cinema, filmmakers are asked to provide all their own equipment and develop the script on the spot, in teams of usually three to six people. The team will design its story based on the team’s resources the Crash Cinema Challenge elements, which will be provided at the Renton History Museum, 235 Mill Ave. S., at 9 a.m.
Five “Crash elements” will be chosen randomly, which must be incorporated into the films. All the teams will have the same elements and all films are to be family friendly. Film teams will turn in their creations on a flash drive to event coordinators at 5 p.m., at Renton Civic Theatre, 507 S. Third St.
Last year, six Renton teams participated in the contest. The film, “The Princess and the Tank,” produced by Natalie Gress, Sarah Edmonds and Addison Haplin-Higman, was selected as the favorite in online voting at rentonreporter.com.
A Crash Cinema Wrap Party and Screening will take place from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Renton Civic Theatre. All the films will be screened and admission is free and open to the public.
The event is a prelude to SIFF-Renton, this May. To sign-up for the competition, visit www.RentonFilmFrenzy.com.
