CineCause Acquires Hollywood Film Festival With Plans to Shift to Social Impact
CineCause has acquired The Hollywood Film Festival with plans to continue promoting socially conscious art with a wide selection of festival events that include screenings, panels, technology demos, and presentations. The CineCause Founder and CEO Jon Fitzgerald is no stranger to festivals as a co-founder of Slamdance in 1995 and director of various festivals, including AFI, Santa Barbara, Abu Dhabi, and Topanga. “We see this as a natural progression for the CineCause mission as well as a next phase opportunity to establish a new legacy,” said Fitzgerald with respect to the acquisition.
The Festival will host a Global Summit for Good to bring industry players, social change agents, and creative artists together to discuss the new directions of cause-based media. Fitzgerald talked to the L.A. Times of the importance of highlighting socially conscious media, saying, “It’s truly going to be anchored by social-impact cinema and the idea of film as a tool to create change.” The festival will offer prizes from such partner companies as Tugg (theatrical), Yekra (digital) and ShortsHD (broadcast), and will recognize the socially progressive achievements of industry professionals and talent.
The other major goal of the purchase is to connect emerging international independent filmmakers with Hollywood resources and industry members in Los Angeles. “The Hollywood Film Festival is a great opportunity to showcase the work of L.A.’s legendary entertainment industry. I support this festival and all efforts to help grow independent film production here in the film capital of the world,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti.
This year’s festival begins on October 16th at the historic Cinerama Dome and runs through October 19th, with events also taking place at ArcLight Cinemas.
