Sundance's blog

Marc Lhormer, Chef Michael Chiarello and Susan Sarandon - Photo courtesy of NVFF

On Monday, January 24th, Napa Valley Film Festival (NVFF) Co-Founders and Directors Brenda and Marc Lhormer announce the first annual Nappa Valley Film Festival at their launch party at The St. Regis Deer Valley during The 2011 Sundance Film Festival. The NVFF is an official Sundance Institute Associate. "If the Napa Valley Film Festival's party at Sundance was an indication, my home town should get ready for a high quality treat,” said Gary Meyer, Co-Director of the Telluride Film Festival. “It was civilized, had great food and wine, was easy to move around and a fantastic crowd. I expect the movies and festival events will be equally special in November.”

Photo courtesy of NVFF

Amidst the fabulous food and wine events, Brenda and Marc Lhormer announced the Napa Valley Film Festival is now officially welcoming submissions of any theme and will be selecting more than 50 new films, including narrative features, foreign films (world cinema), documentaries, short films, and student works. Organizers are looking for films that best entertain, inspire, educate and intrigue audiences. Categories eligible for Juried and/or Audience Awards include: Best U.S. Dramatic Feature, Best U.S. Documentary Feature, Best World Cinema (Dramatic and Doc), Best Live Action Short, Best Animated Short, and Best Documentary Short Subject.

Filmmakers can submit films at Withoutabox.com. For early submission with discounted entry fees, deadline is February 28, 2011; regular submission deadline is April 15; late submission deadline is May 31; and the final extended submission deadline (for www.withoutabox.com members only) is June 30, 2011 . Visit www.napavalleyfilmfest.org for full details.

-Dianna Renée