Nut Bar becomes PIFF 2013 official sponsor of “Mixed Nuts”
The Nut Bar has assumed official sponsorship of the film version of “Mixed Nuts,” which will have its premiere screening this October during PIFF 2013.
In a joint statement released this morning, The Nut Bar and Lodgepole Productions confirmed that an agreement of sponsorship had been reached.
“We are delighted to announce the collaboration between The Nut Bar and Lodgepole Productions in bringing this wonderful film home to The Park this October. We look forward to having the opportunity to present the film and to interact with audience members during The Park Interspecial Film Festival,” the statement read in part.
This is the first time that the venerable Park shop has sponsored a film.
“We thought it was a perfect fit, so we approached them last year,” said the film’s producer, Victoria Sciurini.
“They didn’t need much convincing, though. It turns out they’re big fans of Millicent [Hayberry, the film’s star] and they’ve been terrific about the whole process. They are a very generous company,” she said.
“Mixed Nuts” will screen at The Park Cinema on Oct 2 and 3, 2013.
The Park Interspecial Film Festival Runs from October 1-5, 2013.
Douglas Cheetah to host “Cheetah Chat” during PIFF 2013
Renowned director Douglas Cheetah will host a chat and Q&A with film lovers during PIFF 2013.
Renowned director Douglas Cheetah will host a chat and Q&A with Park film lovers this October during PIFF 2013, it was announced today.
“We are pleased to announce that Douglas Cheetah has agreed to participate in a live chat and Q&A at the Park Cinema, following the debut screening of his new documentary,” PIFF Communications President Leola Ocelot said in a statement released this morning.
The chat, which has been dubbed the “Cheetah Chat” will be held live at the Park Cinema but will also be carried online, to allow those not able to attend to ask questions of The Park’s most celebrated director.
Cheetah, who is best known for his controversial 2007 (25 AZ) film, Black Cats Can’t Jump, has spent the last few years working on a documentary about the inner workings of the interspecial family, which he says he discovered exists both inside and outside The Park.
The film, entitled, Clutch, Flock, Litter, Pack: Relationships in the Age of the Interspecial Family, will screen October 2 and 4 at the Park Cinema during PIFF 2013.
The Cheetah Chat will be held on October 2.
The Park Interspecial Film Festival runs from October 1-5, 2013.
New rules: PIFF lays down the law before announcing films
Two days before announcing the roster of films that will screen at the 9th annual Park Interspecial Fllm Festival, PIFF Communications President Leola Ocelot convened an early morning press conference to announce what she calls “the new rules.”
Exhibiting a no-nonsense attitude, Ocelot read from a prepared statement and then took questions from the media.
In the statement, she confirmed that PIFF 2013 would include a number of items that were introduced last year. Most notable of these was “Noon Nuttiness,” the name given to the practice of screening comedies only between the hours of 12:00 and 2:00 pm at the Park Cinema.
The difference this year, Ocelot said, is that patrons will not be allowed to bring any technological devices into the cinema. Last year, a riot broke out during a Noon Nuttiness screening, when angry protesters stormed the cinema and demanded that patrons hand over their cackle-enabled devices. The devices had been lent to the patrons by cackle’s parent company, GooseBook, so that filmgoers could share their favourite moments with friends.
“We cannot allow the Festival to be overtaken by theft and violence,” Ocelot said this morning. “And as a result, we decided not to renew the device-lending agreement with GooseBook at this time. We will be reviewing this option every year and making our decisions on a year-to-year basis,” she said.
Also returning in 2013 are PIFF Pockets, or pocket films, which are films that do not exceed three minutes in length and that have been made specifically for the Festival. Both pocket documentary and pocket fiction films will be screened at this year’s event, Ocelot said.
“We were overwhelmed by the number of submissions of pocket films this year. The popularity of this category exceeded our wildest expectations,” she said.
Once again, documentaries will make up a significant portion of the Festival’s offerings and, as an aside, Ocelot mentioned that she thought the Hot Dogs documentary category this year was “spectacular.”
The full lineup of films for the 9th annual film festival will be announced on Friday, August 16. The Park Interspecial Film Festival runs from October 1-5, 2013.
“Shoot the Messenger” to open PIFF 2013
George Angus Doo’s controversial and arresting film Shoot the Messenger will open the 9th annual Park Interspecial Film Festival (PIFF) on October 1.
The announcement was made this morning in a statement released by PIFF Communications President Leola Ocelot.
“We are thrilled to announce that George Doo’s award-winning film Shoot the Messenger will open the 9th annual Park Interspecial Film Festival. The Festival is very grateful to him for giving us the chance to screen his great film,” the statement read.
The film, which received the 2013 Winkie Award, explores the relationship between Humans and Doo’s own species, the Pigeon.
This is the first film in which Doo has put his own species at the centre. His previous films dealt mostly with underwater crises and desert themes. In an interview last spring with film critic Hernando Gorrión of The Avian Messenger, Doo said he was at first reluctant to use his own species as the subject of a film because he thought the issues were too close for him to be able to see them clearly.
“There is so much conflict, so many emotions on both sides. In many ways, it is a relationship of mutual respect and dependence, yet we have seen too many misunderstandings and far too many deaths,” he said.
Shoot the Messenger will screen at The Park Cinema on the Festival’s opening night, and again on Oct 4.
The Park Interspecial Film Festival runs from October 1-5, 2013.
PIFF 2012: Festival frenzy grips Park
The Park is in a party mood, as anticipation mounts on the eve of the opening of the 8th annual Park Interspecial Film Festival (PIFF).
“It’s game on! We’re ready!” announced PIFF Communications President Leola Ocelot at the final pre-opening press conference this afternoon. “This is going to be the biggest and best film festival The Park has ever seen,” she said.
Festival goers appear to agree. Tickets were snapped up earlier than in previous years, with new events such as Noon Nuttiness and PIFF Pockets attracting a younger crowd.
“It [PIFF] is no longer an adults-only event,” said Ocelot, who confirmed that twenty-five percent of tickets were sold to those under five years of age.
“They bought up Noon Nuttiness and also went for the PIFF Pocket Films. We didn’t expect that at all,” she said.
Meanwhile, adult film fans were busy primping and preening in anticipation of five days of screenings, celebrity sightings and top-secret social events.
“We haven’t had an opening in days,” said Amoltrud’s Aesthetics’ groomer Elspeth Rinder. “We have a waiting list the size of a Python,” she said.
The Park’s other grooming houses reported the same situation.
“We had to lock our doors and pretend we were closed,” said stylist Tano Pagun of The Pluming Room. “We were afraid that, otherwise, we’d see fur and feathers fly.”
The festival will open tomorrow night with “I Love a Man in a Collar”, the much-anticipated documentary about Thisbe and the Barkettes. All eyes will be on the front row, as film goers attempt to catch a glimpse of The Park’s most famous singing group, who have confirmed they will attend the documentary’s debut. The five members have not been seen together for a number of years.
Other highly anticipated events include the opening night gala at Clowder and the Cackle-ary hosted by GooseBook.
The Mammalian Daily plans to publish full details of events in the coming days.
PIFF adds new film category to 2012 roster
The Park Interspecial Film Festival (PIFF) has announced the addition of a new category to festival judging: PIFF Pockets.
At a press conference held this morning, PIFF Communications President, Leola Ocelot, confirmed the long-awaited addition.
“The Park’s filmmakers have a proud history in the area of pocket films,” she said. “We are delighted to be adding that category to our roster this year and we look forward to awarding our first prize in the category of PIFF Pockets.”
Pocket films are generally defined as films that do not exceed three minutes in length. To qualify for the PIFF Pocket category, films must have been made specifically for the Festival and must have their first screening at the Festival. Both pocket documentary and pocket fiction films are eligible for submission, Ocelot said.
Submissions to the Festival will be accepted from 9:00 a.m. on Friday, July 20, 2012 until midnight on Friday, September 21, 2012.
The 8th annual Park Interspecial Film Festival will take place October 1-5, 2012.
PIFF Opening Gala sets scene for successful 7th Festival
PIFF organizers appeared jubilant last night, as they gathered outside The Park Cinema following the screening of the festival’s opening film, Naked, Toothless, and Blind. Alongside them, celebrities and reporters stood, dodging flashbulbs and waving to the adoring crowd.
“It’s been an uphill battle all year,” said PIFF Communications President, Leola Ocelot, referring not just to funding problems but to the fact that several films that were scheduled to debut here were still in the shooting stage when the 2011 list was announced.
“In the end, though, everything worked out perfectly and it looks as though this is going to be our most successful festival yet,” she concluded.
On the red carpet, flashing freshly-whitened teeth and swishing tails adorned with carefully-placed rhinestones , NT and B‘s twin stars Anders and Frederikke Egern answered reporters’ questions in between chatting with their film’s producers, Etienne Escurel and Mabbina Marmot.
The 7th Annual Park Interspecial Film Festival continues until October 5. A total of thirty films will be screened at venues across The Park.
PIFF organizers announce opening night film
With less than two weeks to go before the first red carpet affair, the organizers of The Park Interspecial Film Festival (PIFF) today confirmed the name of the work that will open this year’s event.
At a press conference held this morning at the Park Cinema, PIFF Communications President, Leola Ocelot, announced that the first film to be screened at the opening gala on October 1 will be Naked, Toothless, and Blind. The film, which was produced by Etienne Escurel and Mabbina Marmot, has been described as a “dark tale enveloping a bright interior.”
The Park Interspecial Film Festival is celebrating its 7th year this season. Before calendar harmonization, the Festival was known, affectionately, as “Five Days in Felis.” In its first year, the Festival screened six films; this year, organizers say, thirty films will grace screens across The Park and the list of celebrity attendants is the longest in the Festival’s history.
PIFF takes park by storm
After 11 months of rabid anticipation leading up to this year’s 21 film screenings, 4 free concerts, 2 charity auctions, 12 parties, 15 different Top 10 lists (selected by and published in as many different Park newspapers), 5 days of celebrity sightings, 10 prizes, and enough flashbulbs snapped to keep The Park alight through the next Winter, the 5th annual Park Interspecial Film Festival (PIFF) officially closed just after 3:00 a.m. on 6 Felis.
“It’s a wrap,” declared award-winning director, G.D. Zebra, as he and his entourage posed for one last picture before leaving The Park.
“How are you spelling that?” quipped S.L. Pomfret, a.k.a. Fish Rap, who hosted the first of four free concerts at The Park’s open-air theatre on 2 Felis.
The crowd of film fanatics ate up every moment and vowed to return next year in even greater numbers. As of today, that seems likely: according to PIFF organizers, the Festival has become such a popular Park event that it could, conceivably, become a week-long affair.
Tens of thousands of Animals attended the films at this year’s Festival, which ran the gamut from the controversial opening oeuvre, Stuffed Dogs Don’t Shed, to the poignant, Down Under tale, Joining Joey, which closed the event. In between, Animals were treated to some humour (Mum and Pup Shop, Willoughby Wallaby), some tragedy (Horse with No Mane), a bit of animation (Peter Popinjay), and some fantastic footage (best-documentary winner, Stag Nation).
In all, 21 films were introduced at the Festival, but, by no means, were they the only draw: the celebrity-studded parties brought fans out in droves and had photographers snapping pictures until the wee hours of the morning. The most notable (and outrageous) of these, of course, was the “InFESTation,” hosted at The Battering Ram Café by the producers of Fleas Ticked Off. That party is likely to be the talk of The Park for some time to come.
On the evening of 5 Felis, as the Festival drew to a close, PIFF organizers dealt with their last order of business: handing out the much-anticipated awards. As is usual for these events, the decisions were controversial, but well-received, particularly in the case of the Golden Cougar, the Festival’s highest honour, which was awarded to Hyenic Verses.
