For several months, and daily for the past week I have been fielding emails and telephone calls from around the world questioning who is in charge of the Clearwater Film Festival.

The answer is Mike Rembis.  It is solely owned by me and nobody else.

I was asked again today who sponsors The Clearwater Film Festival.  The answer is me - Mike Rembis.  I invented it and put my life savings into it and I have a few sponsors who have provided me with in-kind advertising and local support in exchange for recognition as sponsors.  Please look at our website to find links to our sponsors on every page and please buy their products or support them if you like our festival.

I have been repeatedly asked point blank if I am a Scientologist or if the Church of Scientology is a sponsor of The Clearwater Film Festival.  The answer is no.  I have nothing to do with the Church of Scientology and they have nothing to do with the Clearwater Film Festival.  It is coincidental that their business address neighbors my own.  We share the same postal code and that is all.

I have no concerns about the Church of Scientology.  I do not endorse them, nor do I shun them.

I run a film festival and advocate great filmmaking, the education of film and partying with people who like film.

I send this message to everyone who may have concerns or beliefs about the agenda of The Clearwater Film Festival and you must know one thing.  I created this film festival as an entrepreneurial enterprise to have a full time job in the entertainment industry doing what I want to do.  That is it.  There is no conspiracy, I am not a puppet and the only entity I answer to is the Internal Revenue Service.

On a personal note; it surprises me that this is such a wide scale concern for so many people.  When I lived in Salt Lake City I never heard people question the motives of the Sundance Film Festival or gossipy allusions of ties to the Church Of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints AKA the Mormons.  Such conversations never took place.  I witnessed no profound prejudice toward my neighbors in Salt Lake City as I do in Clearwater.

I do not like prejudice.

I am white.  My neighbors are black and Mexican.  My favorite local stores that I shop at are run by immigrants from Iran, India, Poland, Armenia and Guatemala.  I don't inquire to find out what your religion is before I decide whether or not to buy what you sell.  I base my purchase decisions on necessity, quality and price, not who I am buying from.

It is a shame that so much of the world chooses to take sides based on the way their neighbors worship, or who they might be.  Prejudice closes the mind and establishes what is not possible, instead of what is.  Those who allow themselves to fall into the trap of pre-judgement simply cut themselves off to live a lesser life.

I welcome filmmakers and enthusiasts from everywhere and invite you to take part in a truly international exhibition of film and music.  The Clearwater Film Festival is meant to be a destination for all to enjoy the finest entertainment I can bring you for the most reasonable price and to offer unsurpassed customer service.  There is no other film festival exactly like it, and as far as I know, the only one to honor the Actor/Writer/Director Triple Threat Filmmaker. 

I am sure you are surprised to find such personal candor in a blog, however, given the number of people wasting my time with this question, I feel this message is necessary.  Please broadcast it to the world.  Repeat what I say here by forwarding this message in tweets and what-have-you.  Film festivals should be about film.  This one certainly is.

I can't understand why anyone would think The Clearwater Film Festival would be about anything else.  (What part of The Clearwater Film Festival don't they get?  It is a festival for films in a place called Clearwater.  How hard is that?)  

It is obvious that this prejudice I have experienced is simply based on my geographic location.

If anyone would like to know more about me or The Clearwater Film Festival that can't be found in public record or on the internet they may certainly call.  I welcome relevant questions and forward communication.

Mike Rembis

727-599-5137