2009 is our 10th season and we’re excited about the biggest and best Sacramento Film & Music Festival ever. The program has been selected and filmmakers have been notified, and the interactive schedule will be posted this week. In the meantime, here are some highlights for Festival #10:

Friday, July 24th: Opening night starts with a ticketed reception, catered by long-time sponsor Rubios. Opening remarks and the presentation of the 2009 Film Arts Service Award are followed by a special screening of the locally produced “Sensored” starring Robert Picardo. Cast and crew will be in attendance for both the film and the exclusive after-party at the Cosmo Café!

Saturday, July 25th: 12 hours of Festival programming start with another locally produced film, the wonderful documentary Rivers of a Lost Coast, narrated by Tom Skerritt, about the all but lost steelhead fishing culture of Northern California. The first Student Days program (family friendly) is followed by a gala, encore screening of Running the Sahara, and a biographical documentary about blues musician Floyd Lee. The evening sees the 6th annual Sac Music Seen music video program and then all-festival pass holders can join our colleagues at the 9th annual Trash Film orgy for Chopping Mall complete with a director Q&A.

Sunday, July 26th: 2 more student programs lead into an international afternoon, with an epic feature from India and a collection of world shorts. The evening feature, Friends (With Benefits), is wonderful love story set amongst the romantic rules and sexual misadventures of six close friends.

Monday, July 27th: A unique evening starts with a documentary, Inlaws and Outlaws, about relationships and marriages. Both straight and gay, with a hilarious short that addresses the gender gap. The film program is followed by a live musical review of songs produced for the Festival and performed on the Crest’s main stage.

Tuesday, July 28th: In association with a program of films focusing on stories of justice and injustice in California, we welcome an extraordinary woman who was one of many driven to kill their husbands after years of extreme abuse but before such domestic histories were allowed to be entered into defense testimony. Another locally produced documentary, Do As I Say, completes the evening by citing examples of politicians who preach one perspective but apparently practice another.

Wednesday, July 29th: As we did last year, we reserved an evening for films from Northern California, with both a shorts program and the feature Nightbeats. And, in conjunction with the Parlare Eurolounge, the evening acts as a fundraiser for the Capitol Film Arts Alliance.

Thursday, July 30th: A showcase evening for film students from the Art Institute of California, Sacramento.

Friday, July 31st: An exclusive sneak preview screening of Paper Heart stars Charlene Yi and Michael Cera, as Charlene travels in search of a love so elusive that she questions its very existence. The features continue with Boppin’ at the Glue Factory about a young man’s search for stimulation of another kind, and a program of late night short films.

Saturday, August 1st: Our 2nd weekend opens with another opportunity to catch the fishing (!) documentary, followed by dedicated programs of both documentary and animated shorts, including a neat animated short, The Mouse That Soared, from the studio that made Coraline. Another comedic feature, Route 30, has an interesting three chapter format with interrelated characters and themes. Saturday evening’s festival programming ends with the screening of the 6th 10x10 Filmmaker Challenge projects, in which filmmaking teams are given 10 days to make a 10 minute movie on a specific theme. But again, pass holders can join the Trash Film Orgy for a midnight screening of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in which audience participation isn’t just allowed, it’s encouraged.

Sunday, August 2nd: The Power of the Powerless is a documentary about the rise and fall of communism in eastern Europe, as witnessed through the experience of what was then Czechoslovakia. An extended program of live-action narrative short film is followed by highlight and favorite moments from the last 10 years of the Sacramento Film & Music Festival. The Festival after-party and awards evening finishes off the 10-days, with another evening of fun, great food, and music at Parlare.

SPECIAL SPONSORSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT: Throughout the 10 days of the Festival, if you mention us when placing any food or drink order at Cosmo Café, the Festival will receive a portion of your payment!

All-Festival Passes are $120 and cover $325 of individual entry events! Discounted Passes are available to members of the Capitol Film Arts Alliance and subscribers to Sactown Magazine, the Sacramento French Film Festival, the Sacramento International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, the Sacramento Jewish Film Festival, the Sacramento Horror Film Festival, participants in Access Sacramento's A Place Called Sacramento program, readers of Capitol Weekly and the Sacramento News & Review, and students. Discount All-Festival Passes are just $60 and available at the Crest box office. Tickets and passes are also available online at tickets.com. If you'd like to help sponsor the Festival or an individual screening, or if you'd like information about advertising opportunities, contact Festival Co-Director Tony Sheppard: tony@csus.edu

10 X 10 Meeting The Sacramento Film and Music Festival will kick off this year's 10 X 10 on July 9th. So get some rest and get ready for 10 days of filmmaking. If you are interested in participating as a 10 X 10 filmmaker in the 2009 event please contact nschemel@aol.com with your contact information.

DVD Store

2006 10X10 Filmmaker Challenge - $12.00

2006 Sac Music Seen - $12.00

2006 Creative Interpretations - $12.00

2005 Sac Music Seen - $12.00

2004 Sac Music Seen - $12.00

Sac Music Seen Collection - All three years of the Sac Music Seen on DVD - $25.00

2006 DVD Collection - All three interactive event of the 2006 event (10X10, Sac Music Seen, Creative Interpretations) - $25.00

e-mail: questions@sactofilmfest.com