The event will include an awards ceremony recognizing the best in acting, directing, screenwriting and cinematography among other special honors.
“You can see films made in Los Angeles or New York any given day and at any multiplex,” Catalano explains. “What you can’t see is a film coming from Middletown, Ohio. It’s all about the hidden gems. If we only went to see movies at the multiplex we’d be missing out on a lot of voices, personality and richness.”
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
In addition to noting the festival serves to encourage Midwestern filmmakers who are giving back to their communities, Catalano, 26, is proud of the artistic growth displayed within this year’s contenders.
“I want to build a reputation as somebody who brings together the film community around Dayton, Cincinnati and other stretches of Ohio and the Midwest,” Catalano says. “I want to annually display the art that’s being created in people’s backyards they may not even know is being made. I’m very excited by the skill level of the selections I had the pleasure of curating this year. There are skillful genre films and documentaries as well.”
He’s particularly thrilled to premiere the aforementioned “My Life with the Living Dead,” a documentary based on the career of John A. Russo who co-wrote George A. Romero’s 1968 horror classic “Night of the Living Dead.” Russo visited the Plaza Theatre last October to participate in a “Night of the Living Dead” Q&A moderated by Catalano. He will appear at the festival to receive the inaugural John A. Russo Lifetime Achievement Award, which will bestowed annually to a filmmaker who has devoted their career to independent cinema.
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
“I feel John A. Russo is a forefather of independent film and ‘Night of the Living Dead’ has stood the test of time,” Catalano says. “To honor him is an honor in itself. He’s completely underrated in the grand scheme of things as a prominent independent filmmaker in his own right outside of Romero’s (films). He’s always had a foundation of educating as well and values stewarding young, up and coming independent filmmakers. Everybody who has a film in the festival and everybody in the audience can take something from his experience.”
Catalano, who grew up in Liberty Township and recently received his master’s degree in film from Point Park University, is a Plaza Theatre manager who also spearheads the organization’s “Century of Cinema” series. He is grateful to showcase regional filmmakers in a venue worthy of their craft.
“It’s really been a dream,” he says. “I’m very happy to have brought new customers to the theatre. It’s such a wonderful venue with endless possibilities. I think this theatre is one of the last bastions for moviegoers who want to experience cinema the way it deserves to be seen. I don’t consider films to be any less significant than a great opera or painting and if you’re not presenting films in the best way humanly possible, I think you’re doing a disservice to film.”
Above all, he hopes audiences are receptive to the diversity of stories being told as this event continues to build more awareness for independent films.
“This festival is a labor of love,” Catalano says. “I don’t want to lose a passion for independent regional filmmaking.”
CATALANO FILM FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
Noon: Doors open
1 p.m.: Screening of short films
2:30 p.m. Intermission
3 p.m.: Screening of features
5:45 p.m. Q&A with filmmakers
7 p.m. Awards ceremony
9 p.m. Event concludes
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
HOW TO GO
What: Catalano Film Festival
When: Saturday, March 9
Where: Plaza Theatre, 33 S. Main St., Miamisburg
Cost: $10
More info: myplazatheatre.com
Credit: Russell Florence
Credit: Russell Florence
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