Gritty
crime dramas, quirky love stories, clay-mation sci-fi and stirring
documentaries are just some of the themes being offered from films by
Kentucky filmmakers at this year’s Derby City Film
Festival.

In all 20 films from Kentucky filmmakers and 10 from
Indiana & Ohio will be screened during the festival, which takes
place February 18th through the 20th at the Clifton Center. Two more
films are from filmmakers with ties to Kentucky, both documentaries.
One, “Figaro: Living in the Moment of a Character” by D.V. Schaefer,
focuses on a collaboration of the opera “Figaro” between the University
of Louisville School of Music and the Szymanowski Academy of Music in
Poland. The other, “Our House” from Greg King and David Teague, deals
with an illegal squat house designed to be an alternative to New York
City's impersonal homeless shelter system. Greg King is a native of
Louisville. Both films screen on Saturday February 19th.

The
festival opens with a group of short films from The Bob Rogers Group, a
Louisville based production company and features seven films from four
Kentucky filmmakers; Kristofer Rommel, Jacob
Goldberg, Jake Snider and Steven Matthews. The screening group is at
6:00 PM on February 18th and is free to attend. Two more Kentucky films
follow on Friday night; “The Very Worst Thing” from Georgetown
filmmakers Michael Crisp and Andrew Moore, and “Hell is Full” from
Dawson Springs filmmaker Steve Hudgens. “The Very Worst Thing” is a
documentary about a 1958 bus crash in Floyd County and “Hell is Full” is
narrative feature film about what happens...when Hell is full. Both
films are finalists in their respective categories.

Three more
Kentucky narrative feature films screen Saturday, two of which were shot
in downtown Louisville. “Mountain Mafia” from Lexington filmmaker
Cherokee Hall plays Saturday afternoon and “Almost Nothing Good Happens”
and “Queens of the Dead” screen Saturday night.

“Almost Nothing
Good Happens” is from New Albany filmmaker Tom Whitus, who’s last film
“Sam Steel and the Junior
Detective Agency” was a 2010 DCFF selection. “Queens of the Dead” is
from Louisville filmmaker Ray Cart. Both films were shot in Downtown
Louisville, feature a local cast and are World Premieres. Prior to the
screening of “Almost Nothing Good Happens” will be a special screening
of Louisville filmmaker Archie Borders latest film “Turnaround”.

On
Sunday at 1:00 PM there is a “Kentucky Short Film” program which
features six films from Kentucky filmmakers and one that was produced in
Owensboro by California filmmaker Lee Goldberg who has written numerous
television programs, including “Monk”. The other films being screened
come from Simpsonville, Louisville, Somerset and Lexington.

The
festival closes on Sunday February 20th with the film “Hitting the Nuts”
from Cincinnati filmmaker Joe Boyd, which is a mockumentary about the
“true” story of the 2009 Scott County, Indiana Poker Championship. Other
films from Ohio
and screening during the festival include the short films “<3
(Heart)”, “Bubbly” and “Meth”, all of which are from Cincinnati, and the
feature film “Demons Rising” from Columbus.

Additional films
from Indiana include the short films “The Mercy Seat” and “Crux” from
New Albany Filmmaker Jared Hardy, “Bots” from Mary Pollio of
Sellersburg, and the feature film “Tow” from Indianapolis filmmaker Adam
Newell. In all 68 films from five countries will be screened during the
2011 Derby City Film Festival.

Full film information on all the
films which  screen during the festival is available on the festival
website. The festival also includes panels, workshops, and filmmaker
Q&A’s, which take place throughout the weekend. Tickets and passes
are now on-sale on-line and start at $6.00.

The 2011 Derby City Film Festival runs February 18th - 20th at the Clifton Center in Louisville, Kentucky.
More information on the upcoming festival can be found at the festival website: www.derbycityfilmfest.com or by calling the DCFF office at 502-618-3192