Ocoee CENFLO film festival to celebrate 10th anniversary

The Central Florida Film Festival, held at West Orange Cinema, is back this weekend to celebrate its 10th anniversary.

Executive Director Bob Cook, who founded CEN-FLO in 2005, has made many changes through the years, but the goal is always the same: to present a weekend-long program that is both informative and entertaining for all who attend. 

The first festival was four days long, and its 24 films were screened multiple times. Four were features; the rest were shorts. 

The festival grew and was eventually condensed to a three-day event. Cook attended a seminar about how to manage a film festival and made significant changes in 2012, which led to the festival being named one of the “Top 25 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee” by MovieMaker Magazine the following year.

This year, there will be about 60 films (including shorts), representing filmmakers from 16 states and 11 countries. There is also a competition among student filmmakers from around the world, for which the festival received entries from 19 film programs.

“We’ve grown into an international film festival where each year, filmmakers come from all parts to attend,” Cook said.

Moviewatcher Passes are $25 per day and include all screenings for that day. All-Access Passes are $125 and include admission to: all of the weekend’s films, networking mixers each night, Sunday morning brunch at the Sabal Hotel, Sunday night awards show and VIP events surrounding the featured films, “The Capture of Grizzly Adams” and “Feast.”

10:40 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, followed by QandA session with star Dan Haggerty

VIP Pass ($25) includes admission to 10 a.m. interview with Haggerty and Cook, red carpet photo with Haggerty and admission to the film, as well as all other Saturday films until 5 p.m.

Dan Haggerty is renowned for his starring role in the 1974 film “The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams,” which evolved into the TV series by the same name that ran from 1977 to 1978.

In 1982, Haggerty again appeared as Grizzly in the made-for-TV movie, “The Capture of Grizzly Adams,” in which the protagonist must clear himself of a wrongful murder charge and rescue his daughter from being sent to an orphanage.

“My kids grew up watching Grizzly Adams, and I’ve known Dan Haggerty for over 20 years,” Cook said. “I reached out to Dan … and I told him if he came out, we’d show a film of his and introduce him to a new generation of fans.”

Haggerty recently has been suffering from cancer in his spine and was in the hospital for treatment last weekend. But he still expects to be able to travel to Florida for the festival.

“His spirits are great; he’s still a crazy, funny guy,” said Terry Bomar, who wrote Haggerty’s 2013 biography and has been close friends with him for many years. “If at all possible, he’s going to make it. … The odds are in our favor, and we believe we’re gonna do it.”

The funds generated by this screening will be donated to Haggerty’s charity, Young Adventurers, which helps kids and teens use their talents to serve and inspire others. 

7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, followed by Q-and-A session with director John Gulager and cast members Clu Gulager and Diane Goldner.

VIP Pass ($50) includes admission to 5 p.m. buffet dinner at Sabal Hotel, red carpet photos, admission to the film and admission to the after-party mixer.

The “Feast” team earned its way to filmmaking on the TV series “Project Greenlight,” in which first-time filmmakers are given the chance to direct a feature film.

“As a horror filmmaker myself, I was riveted (by) this reality show and watched as the film came to life,” Cook said. “Ten years later, I am proud to screen the film at the festival. … We have the uncut version, and the Q-and-A afterwards should be a hoot.”

In “Feast,” customers at a remote bar get locked in and have to organize a strategy to defend themselves from hungry monsters that are set to attack. 

“It’s kind of a nasty little movie,” director John Gulager said. “We tried to change up what was expected from a horror film — the types of characters, who dies, how they live. It’s not necessarily for the overly sensitive or squeamish.”

Reflecting back on the filming and production process, Gulager said it had been somewhat stressful because while he was trying to make a movie, there were also Project Greenlight cameras following him around and tracking his words, actions and reactions. 

“Feast” did not use many digital effects. Actors were sprayed with actual fake blood, and real worms crawled on their faces. The monsters were real actors in costumes.

“One of the themes in ‘Feast’ is that nothing goes the way the characters plan, but they try with all theirs hearts to do something,” Gulager said. “Sometimes they live, and sometimes they die. That could sum up movie-making in general.”

Contact Catherine Sinclair at [email protected].

FEATURE-LENGTH FILMS AND DOCUMENTARIES

For a full schedule, including shorts and descriptions, go to centralfloridafilmfestival.com.

• “The Answer.” 2:25 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday. The relationship between an Indian guru and American disciple is portrayed. 

• “Blessid.” 11 a.m. Saturday and 2:45 p.m. Sunday. A depressed pregnant woman with a cursed past meets a man who claims to be immortal.

• “Boonville Redemption.” 6:40 p.m. Friday. A pioneer-era drama for family audiences.

• “Busted City.” 2:30 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. Social tension abounds when Chicago’s first black mayor is elected. 

• “The Capture of Grizzly Adams.” 10:40 a.m. Saturday. A wilderness-loving man must clear himself of a wrongful murder charge.

• “The Conspiracy Project.” 2:45 p.m. Friday and 1:50 p.m. Sunday. An artful documentary intended to make people think.

• “Driving While Black.” 7:40 p.m. Friday and 4:45 p.m. Sunday. A comedy about the extra layer of police hassle that a young black man faces while driving.

• “Dutch Book.” 4:10 p.m. Saturday. A Florida teen launches a scheme to pay off his father’s gambling debts.

• “Eating Saltines.” 5:05 p.m. Saturday. A fraudulent doctor leads an untrained medical staff to help patients overcome a nonexistent terminal illness. 

• “Feast.” 7 p.m. Saturday. Patrons locked in a bar must fight monsters. 

• “Hoovey.” 9:30 a.m. Friday and 7:35 p.m. Saturday. When a promising high-school basketball player collapses on the court, doctors discover a life-threatening brain tumor.

• “The Ibur Connection.” 12:55 p.m. Saturday and 10:50 a.m. Sunday. A documentary about a spiritual road trip to elevate the soul.

• “Peeled Faces of the Amazon.” 10:30 a.m. Friday. A documentary about the first expedition to paddle 4,200 miles on the Amazon River.

• “Show Business.” 8:15 p.m. Friday and 1:50 p.m. Sunday. Therapy won’t even scratch the surface for him. 

• “Watching in the Wings.” 8 p.m. Sunday. A musical comedy about two entertainers who are mismatched in a casting office.

• “Wildlike.” 3:30 p.m. Friday and 5:40 p.m. Saturday. A troubled teenage girl is sent to live with her uncle in Alaska but is then forced to run.

• “You Belong to Me.” 12:45 p.m. Friday and 12:15 p.m. Sunday. A documentary about a black woman who killed a white doctor in Florida in 1952.