Festival Fever: Ballston Spa Film Festival, 8/4-6/11

The lovely village of Ballston Spa becomes the rather unlikely headquarters for Nippertown film fans next week when the fourth annual Ballston Spa Film Festival takes over the town beginning on Thursday, August 4.

The festival is free and open to the public.

Each year, the festival accepts entries to be considered for awards in 11 different categories with separate divisions for amateurs, professionals and students. Taking on a decidedly international flavor, this year’s entries include short films from Mexico, Australia, Russia, Poland, Argentina, England, Germany, Spain and India, as well as from across the U.S. – including quite a few entries from local filmmakers. In all, 41 films will be screened this year throughout the three-day festival.

Here’s the schedule of events:

THURSDAY, AUGUST 4
8pm: Screening and Q&A at Ballston Spa High School Auditorium

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5
8pm: Fire dancers in Wiswall Park
9pm: Screenings in Wiswall Park, including 2011 Oscar-nominated short “The Gruffalo,” narrated by Helena Bonham Carter
11pm: After-party featuring live music by Patti Rothberg at Sunset Café

SATURDAY, AUGUST 6
1pm: Screenings at Ballston Spa High School Auditorium
9pm: Screenings in Wiswall Park
11pm: After-party and award ceremony with live music by Vesper at the Brickyard

Here’s the complete line-up of films to be screened during the fest:

THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 8pm, Ballston Spa High School
“By The Score” – Mikhail Kanaev
“Know Candy” – Jon Russell Cring
“Extinction II” – Fernando Uson
“Elephant Room” – Silvana Jakich
“Mineville” – Lori Bailey

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 9pm, Wiswall Park
“The Gruffalo” – Jakob Schuh, Max Lang
“Olivia Explorer” – Hayley Stuart, Francesca Sophia
“Montgomery” – Rob Fried, Chris Common
“Laybabb” – Mike Feurstein
“Frog and Buddha” – Ron Taylor
“The Astronaut on the Roof” – Sergi Portabella
“Grasshoppers” – Julian Gorski
“The Beauty Inside” – Kevin Craig West
“Woodstock” – Kerri Rubino
“Phenomena” – Shira Siegel, Max Gaba
“Salvacion” – Pedro Jaen
“Coming Home” – Aksel Stasny
“Oh Sister” – Susan Hippen

SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 1pm, Ballston Spa High School
“Serendipitous” – Anna Cardillo
“Chicken Feed” – Kathleen Carey, Kevin Craig West
“Fresas” – Jason Otenreath
“Mindset” – Katie Pyne, Carolyn Tan
“The Man with the Spying Glass” – Magda Olchawska
“Fly” – Alan Short
“Communication Revolution” – Chris Finn
“Terrible Parkour” – Mike Feurstein
“The Trampoline” – Dan Masucci
“The Tale of the Dog Chew Toy” – Jacob McAullife
“Resume” – Jack Durnin
“The Third Rail” – Darian Henry, Michael Mejia
“Blind Date” – Nigel Davies
“Phoenix Tears” – Alec Acevedo
“Men of Mamoni” – Amy Seidman
“Ven Dimensional” – Alex Burnstein, Matt Nicoletta
“El Cortejo” – Marina Seresesky
“Seeds of Hope” – Mohamed Gardne, Imani Peterkin
“Beyond Words” – Armand De Saint-Salvy

SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 9pm, Wiswall Park
“Mirror Image” – Emily Foreman
“Tale of the Dog Chew Toy” – Jacob McAuliffe
“Seeds of Hope” – Mohamed Gardne, Imani Peterkin
“The Man with the Spying Glass” (Clip) – Magda Olchawska
“Bad Conscience” – JP Whitehead, Matt Lingenfelter, Manu Berduc
“Chicken Feed” – Kathleen Carey, Kevin Craig West
“By The Score” (Clip)- Mikhail Kanaev
“Boom” – Manu Berduc, Matt Lingenfelter
“Azan a Call to Prayer” – Meena Bukhari

MORE FESTIVALS ON THE SUMMER 2011 CALENDAR:

The Big Up @ Sunnyview Farm, Ghent, July 28-30
Rensselaerville Festival of Writers @ Conkling Hall and other locations, Rensselaerville, July 28-31
Bluestock Music Festival @ Hunter Mountain, Hunter, August 26-28
Jazz at the Lake: Lake George Jazz Weekend @ Shepard Park, Lake George, September 17-18, FREE