Lights! Popcorn! Wildwoods Film Festival is back!

The Wildwood By the Sea Film Festival, sponsored by the Greater Wildwood Hotel and Motel Association, will return for an encore performance Sept. 25-28 at the Wildwoods Convention Center.
Ed Mebs, executive director of the GWHMA, said the organization was so pleased with last year’s initial effort, that it decided to do it again in 2008.
“Filmmakers enthusiastically endorsed the first festival and urged us to continue, so we are planning to make the festival bigger and better as we bring this cultural event back to the Wildwoods,” Mebs said,
The committee is seeking funding contributions to supplement the $10,000 it has been given by the Greater Wildwood Tourism Improvement and Development Authority.
“It is our goal to bring a big name Hollywood actor or actress to the festival this year, but that requires extra funding, so we welcome any support the business community and others can give us,” said Mebs.
The festival also is seeking volunteers to be a part of what Mebs calls “an exciting, Hollywood-like event.” Those wishing to contribute or volunteer may do so by calling 609-729-9453.
The 2008 festival also will include for the first time filmmaking and screenwriting workshops for high school and college students. The festival also includes special entertainment and a wine tasting.
Last year’s festival was attended by more than 2,000 film fans and movie-related personnel, Mebs said. Among those who participated in the programming were actor-musician Frank Stallone, brother of Sylvester Stallone; actor-director and producer Robert Davi whose film The Dukes made its east coast premiere here and will be nationally released this summer, and Simpsons animators and comedy writers Jon Gebhard and Mike Reiss.
One of the highlights of the festival is the showing of original films and the awarding of prizes for the best entries. This year’s event already has received more than 40 films from South Africa, Japan, Canada and England with many more expected to match, if not exceed, last year’s total of more than 100.