New Detroit Film Festival Announced for March 2014

Detroit's getting a new film festival one in which the Motor City and Michigan will play the starring roles.

The Freep Film Festival, presented by the Detroit Free Press and Detroit Media Partnership, will debut March 20-23, 2014. The annual event will showcase documentary films about Detroit and our region. The festival will be held at two iconic venues: the Detroit Film Theatre at the Detroit Institute of Arts, and The Fillmore Detroit, in the heart of the city's downtown theater district.

The new film event has two primary goals, says Steve Byrne, the festival's executive director. "We want to engage people in our community in a discussion about the issues and challenges we face," he says. "And we also want to celebrate what makes our area so unique and special."

Details about the festival are being announced in the Entertainment + Travel section of today's Free Press, and can also be found online at freep.com and freepfilmfestival.com.

The festival will screen about a dozen films over its four-day run, and feature other community engagement activities. The films will be announced later this year. They are being selected by a committee that includes Kathy Kieliszewski, the Free Press' director of photo & video (and the festival's artistic director), Elliot Wilhelm, film curator of the DIA, and Josh Newman, talent buyer of Live Nation Michigan /The Fillmore Detroit.

A festival launch party will be held Thursday, Nov. 7, at the Fillmore Detroit. The party will feature the Detroit premiere of "The Michigan Beer Film," a movie that explores the explosive growth both economic and artistic of Michigan craft beer. Directed by Kevin Romeo of Rhino Media Productions, it delves into the entrepreneurial spirit that has fueled the state's flourishing beer scene. Attendees also will be able to sample some of the beers featured in the film.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m., with drink specials from 5:30-6:30 p.m. and a 7:30 p.m. screening. Tickets ($10 advance, $15 at the door) will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. Friday, Oct. 11, at ticketmaster.com and livenation.com.

For more information, follow the festival on Twitter, @freep_film_fest, and Facebook, facebook.com/freepfilmfestival.

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