'Indies at The Colony' starts a new era at historic Colony Theatre
By
Brandy Chandler-brandychandler@gmail.com
To celebrate the history of an Uptown Hillsboro institution by showcasing the talents of tri-state filmmakers, the Hillsboro Colony Theatre is hosting its first independent film festival, Indies at The Colony.
"This is probably the first film festival in Hillsboro featuring only filmmakers from the Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana area," said Bob Lambert, a festival organizer. "John Riley from New Vienna is a featured filmmaker and actor based in New Vienna after spending many years in California guiding community theater groups. His film 'The Line Shack' is one of the feature films being shown. He also produced a film about a Model T convention in Tiffin Ohio with some local cars featured in the piece."
Tina Bradshaw, of the board of directors at the Colony Theatre, said that plans for the festival began after Riley approached her and asked if they would consider showing some of his work.
"I was approached by John Riley and asked if I would like to show his film as a fundraising event," Bradshaw said. "After finding out that John had starred in other films I asked if we could show some of those independent films as well. It started growing and then it became a two day film festival. It is the first Independent film festival that has been held at The Colony Theatre. If the film festival goes well it is something we are considering doing again."
Lambert said that this is an opportunity to celebrate the work of tri-state filmmakers, as well as Uptown Hillsboro.
"The Colony has been a fixture in uptown Hillsboro since 1938 so it only makes sense to have a film festival here," Lambert. "The film festival is part of the rebirth of the Colony as a cultural and music center for the area. We plan to feature select artists in a variety of music styles as well as theater projects, local bands and special events."
Bradshaw said the festival is an opportunity to make the Highland County community, and surrounding communities, aware of the talented people who live in and are associated with the area.
"There are some very talented local artists and this is a way for them to showcase their work to the community," Bradshaw said. "There are a lot of talented film makers in this area but residents are unaware of that fact. The theater is a not-for-profit organization and it is for the community. We want to provide programs that appeal to the community. We also want to have events that display the talent of our local residents. We want to offer programming that will appeal to the entire community and feature local artists. This is a trail run for an Independent film festival in Highland County and if we can get enough interest and support for the event then we will form a committee to organize another film festival."
The film festival is part of a new director the colony is moving in, with new events, new board members, and plans for restoration.
"We have six new board members joining us who bring a great variety of talents and interests with them," Lambert said. "The theater is a great candidate for updating and restoring some of the original Art Deco styling and the full stage lends itself to stage productions and music performances. The original projector is still in the projector booth but its functions have been replaced by a digital projector allowing us to show DVD based films and artwork behind performers. The festival is to showcase the talents of these local filmmakers and serves as an inspiration to young filmmakers to put their ideas on film or video. The festival will eventually be an open competition with audience voting on the winners selected from local talents. This is a great chance to see some wonderful, family friendly films and get a last look at the unrestored Colony Theatre before we start renovations."
Bradshaw said, "This is a new direction for the theater and you can expect some new programming for the upcoming season. We are working on a children’s series as well as some other options for programming.
Attendees can purchase tickets for each film or a pass good for all day either Friday, May 20 or Saturday, May 21. Friday night's films start at 6 p.m. with a short film and a feature film, followed by the second set of a short film and a feature film. At the end of the evening the audience will have an opportunity to meet some of the filmmakers and ask questions about the films. Saturday will feature multiple short films including some "zombie" short films for all ages. There will be a dinner break about 4-5 p.m. so film goers can patronize our uptown restaurant partners, including Wanda's Grill next door. Wanda's is the site of the former "Coffee Cup" restaurant that was owned by the manager of the Colony so it is the traditional first choice for theater patrons.
For more information on the festival or other events, contact The Colony Theatre at (937) 840-0500.
To celebrate the history of an Uptown Hillsboro institution by showcasing the talents of tri-state filmmakers, the Hillsboro Colony Theatre is hosting its first independent film festival, Indies at The Colony.
"This is probably the first film festival in Hillsboro featuring only filmmakers from the Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana area," said Bob Lambert, a festival organizer. "John Riley from New Vienna is a featured filmmaker and actor based in New Vienna after spending many years in California guiding community theater groups. His film 'The Line Shack' is one of the feature films being shown. He also produced a film about a Model T convention in Tiffin, Ohio with some local cars featured in the piece."
Tina Bradshaw, of the board of directors at the Colony Theatre, said that plans for the festival began after Riley approached her and asked if they would consider showing some of his work.
"I was approached by John Riley and asked if I would like to show his film as a fundraising event," Bradshaw said. "After finding out that John had starred in other films, I asked if we could show some of those independent films as well. It started growing, and then it became a two-day film festival. It is the first Independent film festival that has been held at The Colony Theatre. If the film festival goes well, it is something we are considering doing again."
Lambert said that this is an opportunity to celebrate the work of tri-state filmmakers, as well as Uptown Hillsboro.
"The Colony has been a fixture in uptown Hillsboro since 1938, so it only makes sense to have a film festival here," Lambert. "The film festival is part of the rebirth of the Colony as a cultural and music center for the area. We plan to feature select artists in a variety of music styles as well as theater projects, local bands and special events."
Bradshaw said the festival is an opportunity to make the Highland County community, and surrounding communities, aware of the talented people who live in and are associated with the area.
"There are some very talented local artists and this is a way for them to showcase their work to the community," Bradshaw said. "There are a lot of talented filmmakers in this area, but residents are unaware of that fact. The theater is a not-for-profit organization and it is for the community. We want to provide programs that appeal to the community. We also want to have events that display the talent of our local residents. We want to offer programming that will appeal to the entire community and feature local artists. This is a trial run for an Independent film festival in Highland County, and if we can get enough interest and support for the event, then we will form a committee to organize another film festival."
The film festival is part of a new director the Colony is moving in, with new events, new board members and plans for restoration.
"We have six new board members joining us who bring a great variety of talents and interests with them," Lambert said. "The theater is a great candidate for updating and restoring some of the original Art Deco styling, and the full stage lends itself to stage productions and music performances. The original projector is still in the projector booth, but its functions have been replaced by a digital projector allowing us to show DVD-based films and artwork behind performers. The festival is to showcase the talents of these local filmmakers and serves as an inspiration to young filmmakers to put their ideas on film or video. The festival will eventually be an open competition with audience voting on the winners selected from local talents. This is a great chance to see some wonderful, family-friendly films and get a last look at the unrestored Colony Theatre before we start renovations."
Bradshaw said, "This is a new direction for the theater, and you can expect some new programming for the upcoming season. We are working on a children’s series as well as some other options for programming."
Attendees can purchase tickets for each film or a pass good for all day either Friday, May 20 or Saturday, May 21. Friday night's films start at 6 p.m. with a short film and a feature film, followed by the second set of a short film and a feature film. At the end of the evening, the audience will have an opportunity to meet some of the filmmakers and ask questions about the films. Saturday will feature multiple short films, including some "zombie" short films for all ages. There will be a dinner break about 4-5 p.m. so filmgoers can patronize our uptown restaurant partners, including Wanda's Grill next door. Wanda's is the site of the former "Coffee Cup" restaurant that was owned by the manager of the Colony, so it is the traditional first choice for theater patrons.
For more information on the festival or other events, contact The Colony Theatre at (937) 840-0500.
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