Santa Catalina Film Festival

Santa Catalina Film Festival to Debut on the United States' only West Coast Resort Island
Hollywood's elite will descend upon the city of Avalon for the 1st annual Santa Catalina Film Festival to take place on May 6-8th, 2011. Wayne Brady, Ed Begley, Jr and Grammy Award Winners All-4-One are scheduled to appear and/or perform for the inaugural event, with many other celebrity names soon to be released.

Santa Catalina is the only resort island on the West Coast of the United States and it is right in Los Angeles County. It is a perfect place for a film festival. Positioned twenty- six miles off the coast of California, for almost 100 years this beautiful sub-tropical paradise has been playground to the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Ronald Reagan, Robert Wagner, Natalie Wood, John Wayne, Cary Grant, Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Jayne Mansfield, and to some of Hollywood’s biggest stars today.

The Santa Catalina Film Festival, along with being a mainstream film festival celebrating independent film, is also proud to have as its beneficiary, the Catalina Island Conservancy. Joining in with a special “Conservation Series” of films, they will honor filmmakers that have a similar mission in protecting, educating and promoting the power of nature. The Conservancy is the protector of the island’s wildlife, plant life, marine life, and endangered species. The Catalina Island Fox almost faced extinction ten years ago; but through the efforts of the Conservancy they have become the fastest endangered species recovery in the world; now there are over one thousand on the island today! In the early 1920’s 15 American Buffalo were brought to the island for a film shoot and left behind, a heard of over 150 buffalo can be seen roaming the island today; they are also protected by the Conservancy.

Major celebrities will descend into Avalon this spring to kick off the inaugural Santa Catalina Film Festival. Actor and environmental advocate, ED BEGLEY, Jr. just signed on to join the many astute members of SCFF Board. Multi-platinum Grammy Award-winners ALL-4-ONE (I Swear, I Can Love You Like That), are confirmed for the opening night performance at the iconic Casino Building Theater. Emmy-winner and Grammy-nominated WAYNE BRADY, along with many other special guest celebrities, is scheduled to attend.

Visitors will find fine dining and casual restaurants, karaoke bars, nightclubs, zip lines, scenic golf courses, and crystal clear blue water 50 feet deep for their enjoyment.

Filmmakers from around the world will come to celebrate the art and entertainment of independent film within the Hollywood historic walls of the world’s first-ever built sound theater. This gorgeous 1,200-seat theater is where Cecil B. DeMille and Charlie Chaplin came to screen their very first talkie films. It is here where the Santa Catalina Film Festival’s Red Carpet arrivals, Opening Gala, and premiere film kicks-off.

Film submissions are currently being accepted at www.CatalinaFF.org.