The International Family Film Festival (IFFF) is presenting an impressive line up of events designed specifically to serve the needs of the independent filmmaker. A long list of industry decision-makers have joined the festival and volunteered to sit on panels and share their insight and knowledge with the participants. The following is a listing of the events. Watch your releases over the next two weeks as the Festival profiles the participants on the panels.

The Festival is especially excited about our restaurant and hotel partner. The legendary Yamashiro Restaurant sitting in the Hollywood Hills above the mythical Hollywood Blvd. is hosting the Opening Night and the Awards receptions and dinners. The location, the restaurant and the events conjur images of the "Red Carpet" with fabled stars from yesteryear. It is as good as it gets for Hollywood.

The Hollywood Holiday Inn Highland Avenue is offering a special discount rate for IFFF participants. Holiday Inn Hollywood, 2005 N. Highland Avenue, Hollywood, CA 90028. 1-800-972-2576 or 1-323-87-8600 for reservations

The panels are populated with representatives of some of Hollywood's largest agencies, family film distributors and film financiers. They are a "must attend" series for the festival goers.



Here is the 2007 IFFF schedule for Special Events:


Thursday, February 1
School Screenings 9 AM and 11 AM
Working with Beyond the Bell and the Los Angeles Unified School District, IFFF will be busing middle school students from local schools to the festival to see three short films with topics significant to young teens. The filmmakers will attend each of these sessions to lead a discussion and answer questions about their films.

2:00 PM Distribution and the Internet
Led by an award-winning screenwriter and entertainment attorney, Lola Martin, this panel discussion will feature a distinquished group of both domestic and international distributors who will discuss issues of importance to film makers, specifically in the family genre. These distributors have a long history with the festival and have successfully acquired a number of past festival films. Joining this panel are such accomplished distributors Bruce Johnson, President of Porchlight and Melvin Butters of Barnholtz Entertainment, Inc.

9 PM- 11 PM Opening Night Reception
The Yamashiro Restaurant provides a one-of-a-kind opportunity to experience the magic of Hollywood while celebrating the opening night of the film festival and networking with producers, actors, directors, writers and family-film cinephiles alike. A great way to start a festival!
Yamashiro Restaurant, (323) 466-5125
1999 N. Sycamore Avenue
Hollywood, California
www.yamashiurorestaurant.com

Friday, February 2
School Screenings 9 AM and 11 AM
Working with Beyond the Bell and the Los Angeles Unified School District, IFFF will be busing middle school students from local schools to the festival to see three short films with topics significant to young teens. The filmmakers will attend each of these sessions to lead a discussion and answer questions about their films.

1:00 PM Financing the Independent Family Film and the New Tax Laws
Led by an experienced studio executive, this panel brings together a group of film financing professionals who have developed the financing package for studio films, large budget films, small budget films and independent films. They will explore a variety of approaches to packaging a film and discuss the significance of the new tax legislation to the independent filmmaker.

Saturday, February 3
School Screenings 9 AM and 11 AM
Working with Beyond the Bell and the Los Angeles Unified School District, IFFF will be busing middle school students from local schools to the festival to see three short films with topics significant to young teens. The filmmakers will attend each of these sessions to lead a discussion and answer questions about their films.

10 AM- Noon Writer's Boot Camp Hosts Screenwriter's Panel
Hosted by the well-established Writer's Boot Camp and led by the Director of the Writer's Boot Camp, Jeffrey Gordon, and professional writers will discuss the film industry from their own experience in bringing their writing to the screen and establishing a career in screenwriting. The exciting panel participants include Evan Turner from Walden Media, Larry Guterman, director of Ants and Vicki Jenson, director of Shark Tale and Shrek.

1-2:15 PM Writer's Boot Camp
Led by Jeffrey Gordon, the participants will have the rare opportunity to be introduced to the methods used by the Writer's Boot Camp to help young writers realize their potential in the industry. This session will provide the participants with an overview of the Writer's Boot Camp. www.writersbootcamp.com

2:30-3:50 Pitch Me!
A panel of producers and acquisition professionals who will take pitch presentations for projects from the floor. Come to this session with your pitch prepared and be ready to take a maximum of five minutes to present your project to the panel. The panel will respond to each pitch made and give the participants honest feedback about the project presented from their professional point of view. Joining the exciting Review Panel is JP Evans of Creative Artists Agency. Space is limited so be sure to reserve your seat.

4:00-6:30 PM Screenwriter's Showcase and Awards
A group of professional actors will present excerpts chosen by the Finalists themselves of each of the screenplays in the last round of competition. Each of the screenwriters will be introduced and have an opportunity to take questions from the audience. The Screenwriters Showcase of the Finalist Screenplays will be followed by the Award Ceremony of the winners in each category for Feature and Short length screenplays.

6:45 PM- 8PM Networking & Screenwriter's Reception
The Networking and Screenwriter's Reception will be held in the Cantina of the Raleigh Studios directly after the Award presentation for the Screenwriting Competition. This is an excellent opportunity to network with screenwriters, agents, distributors, producers and directors. It is a celebration for every screenwriter who made the Finals- they are all winners!

9:00 PM- closing The Y2K7 Relaunch Party of Screenmancer.tv
Held in the Cantina with live music and FUN and Open to everyone!

Screenmancer.tv was designed specifically for entertainment industry insiders as well as budding screenwriters, actors, directors, and filmmakers worldwide who seek to "crack" a door in Hollywood by having an official space on www.screenmancer.tv to represent their work.

According to its CEO, "Screenmancer still steadfastly refuses to allow junk predatory advertising, respects privacy like no other site, and offers a world class venue for exhibiting great work. Ten years later we celebrate our Y2K7 Relaunch, going strong as 'a gathering place for people who make movies.'


Sunday, February 4
10 AM to Noon Festival Networking Brunch/Tour
Open to all festival participants, the Networking Brunch is set for Moviola Studios and School. This is an opportunity to meet the latest technology, most advanced post-production studios and state-of-the-art post-production schools in Hollywood. Have a cup of coffee, a bagel and tour the facilities with other filmmakers, producers, directors and editors and discuss the latest technology with the studio that leads the pack in their knowledge of cameras, editing systems and sound.

2 PM - 3:30 PM The Digital Frontier: New Technology for the Independent Filmmaker
Led by two of the most experienced filmmakers using the latest cameras from Panasonic, Kim Turney and Don Thiel will introduce the newest technology in a hands-on demonstration, answer questions about the application of the camera technology to a low budget film and discuss their personal experiences with the cameras, their strengths and weaknesses from a practical filmmaking point-of-view.

6:30 PM - 8 PM Awards Ceremony, Chaplin Theater
The culminating event for the festival is the Award Ceremony where all of the feature and short film winners will be announced and a special tribute to Friz Freleng's 100th anniversary to pay tribute to the brilliance and independent spirit of the father of Warner Bros. Animation.

8:30 PM-10:30 PM Awards Dinner
Immediately following the Awards Ceremony, the Yamashiro Restaurant of Hollywood will repeat their event hosting for the festival and provide both a spectacular closing dinner, as well as, a spectacular view of the Hollywood lights as the guests and filmmakers bring the 2007 festival to a close celebrating the accomplishments of the participating filmmakers, screenwriters and the fabled Friz Freleng.

The space for each of the panels is extremely limited. Seats are $15 each and will be sold on a "first come, first served basis." Be sure and make your reservations early either on-line at www.iffilmfest.org or all (661) 257-3131 or 1-661-993-3152 and pay with credit card.