Photo Flash: Houston Cinema Arts Society Announces a Stratospheric Screening Event

Houston Cinema Arts Society (HCAS) will host the seventh iteration of its hugely popular outdoor summer screening program JULYDOSCOPE on July 15 at Discovery Green® in downtown Houston. The screening program will consist of family-friendly selections from CineSpace competition, which has been held each of the past two years during Houston Cinema Arts Festival in partnership with NASA.

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Hosted by Ernie Manouse, JULYDOSCOPE 2017 will kick off in proper galactic fashion with trivia and giveaways at 7:00 PM. The poetry, live music, and cinema portion of the evening will feature and free poems upon request by the Inprint Poetry Buskers, a live saxophone quartet performance by the musical group MUSIQA, and family-friendly short films covering a wide array of genres, themes, and approaches to filmmaking that all revolve around the utilization of NASA imagery from its archives dating back 50 years. The program includes 2015 CineSpace winner Higher Ground and 2016 CineSpace winner 1950 DA.

As an adjunct component, the Houston Cinema Arts Society has created the Julydoscope Discovery Weekend package for out-of-town guests and Houstonians alike who are looking for a luxurious staycation opportunity. The weekend offerings include special packages at the Lancaster Hotel and Four Seasons Hotel in conjunction with discounted tours of Houston food and art scenes in collaboration with the Wave, a Houston jitney service.

"I am absolutely thrilled to showcase some of the most outstanding CineSpace entries from the past two years at JULYDOSCOPE 2017," commented HCAS Executive Director Patrick Kwiatkowski. He added, "Since its inception, CineSpace has generated a tremendous global response from filmmakers, and Houston Cinema Arts Society has been overwhelmed by the quality of the productions submitted for consideration. The selections for JULYDOSCOPE represent the absolute best of the best and have been arranged into an exciting visual program perfect for large-format outdoor viewing."

ABOUT HOUSTON CINEMA ARTS SOCIETY

Houston Cinema Arts Society (HCAS) is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization dedicated to presenting innovative films, media installations, and performances that celebrate the artistic process and enrich Houston's culture and urban vitality. Created in 2008 with the support of former Houston Mayor Bill White and philanthropist Franci Neely, it organizes and hosts the annual Houston Cinema Arts Festival, a groundbreaking and innovative festival featuring films and new media by and about artists in the visual, performing, and literary arts. The Festival celebrates the diversity of the arts in Houston and elevates the city's film and arts scene.

Houston Cinema Arts Society sponsors include premiere sponsor Houston First Corporation, signature sponsor Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, and featured sponsor Levantine Films. HCAS is also supported in part by the Franci Neely Foundation; the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance; an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, Art Works; the Brown Foundation; and a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts.

ABOUT CINESPACE

CineSpace is a collaboration between NASA and Houston Cinema Arts Society that offers filmmakers around the world a chance to share their works inspired by, and using, actual NASA imagery through a short film competition. Winners are announced and screened along with all finalists at the annual Houston Cinema Arts Festival. For more information on CineSpace, competition guidelines and the submission process, and to view previous winners and finalists, visit: http://www.cinespace.org.

ABOUT DISCOVERY GREEN

Discovery Green is a 12-acre park created by a public-private partnership between the City of Houston and the non-profit Discovery Green Conservancy. Since the park opened in April 2008, it has welcomed more than 12 million visitors and hosted more than 7,000 public and private events. The Discovery Green Conservancy works with hundreds of programming partners to present three dynamic programming seasons each year most of which are FREE and open to the public. As a non-profit organization, the Conservancy depends on the generosity of our visitors and other friends to maintain the park and fund the more than 700+ free events held here every year.