The Paterson Falls Film Festival will bring a weekend of films, art, and music to the Great Falls Historic District of Paterson on Saturday and Sunday, May 18th and 19th thanks to the support of several local businesses and community groups. The Paterson Museum, Dawn Treader Christian School, Ivanhoe Artists Mosaic and Fabian 8 Cinema have all agreed to lend space to the film festival for the weekend. The group has also received help from the online community. The festival used the internet funding platform, Kickstarter, to raise more than $1500 for "equipment rentals, printed resources, and promotional events".
The Paterson Falls Film Festival is excited about the help they are receiving. "We're really fortunate that the community has embraced us with open arms. The festival would not be possible without support from organizations like the Passaic County Film Festival, Ivanhoe, Grass Roots Arts Commission (GRAC), the North Jersey Federal Credit Union, and businesses like the Shepherd and the Knucklehead Pub and Fabian 8," said Frank Saya, the festival's director of marketing and advertising. "Working with the local groups will bring all different types of artists together, converging on Paterson at the same time."
The schedule of films has been released on the festival's website. All sixty-three nominees that will be screened at the Paterson Falls Film Festival have been officially announced. In addition to these films, there will be a student film category that will award a $1500 scholarship to the winner sponsored by the North Jersey Federal Credit Union. "We have films from all over the world premiering at the Paterson Falls Film Festival. Many of these film makers could have chosen other festivals to screen their films, but they felt Paterson was the right place," said Director of Operations, Hiram Ramos. "We are thrilled to present these works, with local student films thrown into the mix."
According to the festival's Creative Director, Tazio Ruffilo, "People are going to have a good time and be very impressed. We are working with local groups to show people from outside of Paterson what our city is all about. Paterson gets a lot of negative press, and we're not going to sit around while our hometown is badmouthed. We want to use that backdrop of the Great Falls Park to bring attention to other things that have happened and are happening here. Bring art to Paterson. That's the major objective."
"This program endorsed by the Grassroots Arts Commission (G.R.A.C.) City of Paterson, NJ adopted June 26th, 2012."
