NIAGARA — The 2017 Buffalo-Niagara International Film Festival starts on Wednesday September 20th and runs thru Sunday October 1st . The opening night red carpet festivities (Wednesday September 20th) will include an extravagant arrival, by helicopter, of actor, producer and director Robert Davi, (The Goonies, Die Hard, Licence to Kill, The Expendables 3).
Festival director, Bill Cowell, has an ambitious schedule of panels, workshops and seminars as an added attraction to the festival. “We strive for education to go hand-in-hand with the outstanding films that are being presented,” said Cowell. He added, “At the workshops, students and avid cinema watchers will be able to collaborate with the presenting filmmakers.
We have a wonderful selection of international films and will be presenting on two screens.”
AmericaJR.com sports and entertainment contributor, Raymond Rolak, will be featured Saturday, September 23, at 11:00 A.M. at the Four Seasons Cinema, 2429 Military Road, Niagara Falls, N.Y. 14304. He will speak on the HARMONY OF MUSIC AND CINEMA. Rolak, a veteran sports broadcaster said the enrichment will be very worthwhile for emerging filmmakers and music students. “They don’t cover this in film or music school,” said Rolak. He will also explain the intricacies of product placement for both full features and shorts. Rolak recently was a contributing producer with a full feature, Kuleana (2017) which is set to be released to theaters at Christmas time. He spent August in Poland doing site visits in the Krakow and Wrocław areas for an upcoming film on baseball.
Special guests of the BNIFF will be Nikki Moore and Holly Fain. Moore is a veteran actress and producer, known for Sorority Row (2009), The Babymakers (2012) and Crawlspace (2013). Likewise, Fain has numerous Hollywood credits and is especially noted for her role on Grey’s Anatomy (2011-12).
Catherine Oxenberg whose credits include Watch Over Me (2006-2007), The Lair of the White Worm (1988) and Dynasty (1984-1986) will also be appearing.
For more information, visit http://thebnff.com/workshops/