Article: From the Tampa Tribune published November 29, 2002

Article: From the Weekly Planet published November 27, 2002

Article: From REwindVideo.com published August 16, 2002

Article: From Sterling Powell's Art of Living August 8, 2002

Article: From the Weekly Planet published August 7, 2002

Article: From Nolan's Pop Culture Review August 5, 2002

Article: From the St. Petersburg Times published August 1, 2002

Article: From Creature Corner.com published July 18, 2002

Contest To Rule Indie Films As Saints, Sinners

By KEVIN WALKER
Published: Mar 31, 2003


If there's one complaint among local indie filmmakers, it's their difficulty in finding outlets to showcase their work.

Well, here you go.

The third Saints & Sinners film festival has been scheduled for May 31 at the State Theatre in St. Petersburg. The competition welcomes all short and feature films that have a Florida connection - i.e., the director, producer, actor or screenwriter is from Florida or the movie was filmed in the state.

Awards are presented in the Saints category (nonhorror movies) and in the Sinners category (horror films).

``The purpose of the film festival will be to gain greater exposure for the local independent filmmaking scene and generate interest in the business of filmmaking in Florida,'' writes Rick Danford of Renegade Films, the event host.

The deadline for entries is April 16, and there is a $5 entry fee. Those interested can call (727) 821-9789, e- mail Danford at rick@renegadefilms.net or visit www.renegadefilms.net/festival.html

I'll probably go just to meet more local filmmaking types. I've met quite a few in recent months, and some of them are my kind of weird.

Others are just plain weird.

By the way, as part of the festival, the rough cut of Renegade Film's first feature, ``Web of Darkness,'' will be shown.

Source: Tampa Tribune - March 31, 2003

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Bay Area Filmmakers Find Worthy Showcase

The Tampa Tribune
11.29.02
by Bob Ross

The local independent film scene gained a showcase of strength Aug. 3 when Rick Danford, Kerry Hogan and Porl Denicolo staged the first Saints and Sinners Film Festival at the State Theater in St. Petersburg.

The event drew such an enthusiastic packed house that the three partners - working collectively as Renegade Films - decided to put on a sequel.

"We know a lot of local filmmakers, and we wanted some form of local outlet to show their works as well as our own,'' says Danford, Renegade's president.

The result surpassed expectations, with lines stretching around the block when the gates opened and fans responding eagerly to the assortment of "saints'' (non-horror, comedy and drama) and "sinners'' (horror), with winners in both categories chosen by a panel of judges (including The Tampa Tribune's film critic).

Saturday's event will feature 17 selections, presented in three groups.

The first assortment, scheduled for 3:30 to 7:30 p.m., is topped by a superior documentary, "We Believe,'' about devoted Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans, and "Raven 2,'' a surprisingly sophisticated (and provocatively risque) computer- animated fantasy about witchcraft and murder.

That batch also includes one of this judge's favorites, "Lightning Strikes Twice,'' a tightly written (10 minutes), professionally acted and assembled story about an obsessive woman and a fortune teller.

From 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., the schedule shows seven titles, including "When Shadows Lie Darkest,'' a 26-minute psycho-thriller about a man who has trouble distinguishing reality from nightmares. Like many movies on the festival program, it contains violence and profanity and is not for children.

"Orion's Cloud,'' also in this segment of the show, finds hilarity in the friendship of two mentally disturbed young men with rock-star aspirations. The humor is enhanced by Bay area locations and references.

The half-dozen offerings in the 9 p.m.-to-midnight section are highlighted by "Gibtown,'' an outstanding documentary about the people and past of Gibsonton in south Hillsborough County. The film entertains while showing us things we didn't know about that storied, carnival-connected community.

At midnight, after presenting awards, the hosts will show ``Shogun Assassin,'' the 1980 kung fu favorite that has long been unavailable to American fans. It's about a samurai warrior on a quest for revenge after his wife is ordered murdered by a powerful warlord.

Source: Tampa Tribune - November 29, 2002

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FILM | MOVIES FEATURE 11.27.02

It's been less than a year since a standing room only crowd packed St. Pete's State Theatre for the first Saints and Sinners Film Festival. The festival's promoters promised they'd be back and, lo and behold, SS2 is already upon us.On Saturday, Nov. 30, The State Theatre plays host to the second installment of Saints and Sinners, a festival whose declared goal is to generate interest for independent filmmaking in Florida. Local feature-length and short films will be screened in the categories of "Non-horror Comedy and Drama" (Saints) and "Horror" (Sinners), and awards will be presented to winners in each division.

Among the homegrown films screened at SS2 will be Pete Bauer's Justice , Jennifer Whitaker's Winter's End and the local documentaries We Believe and Gibtown . A slew of films with titles like Filthy ,The Uninvited and Wonder Boy 2 will also be showcased. Special guests will include scream queen Linne'a Quigley ( Return of the Living Dead ) and independent filmmaker Mike Fox, and don't be surprised if one or two other semi-famous mystery men and women also show up. Call 727-688-5756 or visit www.renegadefilms.net .

Source: http://www.weeklyplanet.com/2002-11-27/movies_feature.html

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Commentaries
Saints And Sinners

By Pete Bauer
Aug 16, 2002

While the rest of the REwind community was recuperating from the 2002 RMAs, I attended a similar festival in St. Petersburg, called the Saints and Sinners Film Festival. The festival was very well attended by a varied group of independent film fans... everyone from metal goths, to tan yuppies, to spike-haired punks, to parents and grand-parents... they were all there to support local micro-budget filmmakers. Held in downtown St. Pete at the State Theater, this usual haven of up and coming metal and rock bands was quickly transformed into an underground, indie-edge style showcase of aspiring filmmakers, with uncomfortable chairs, over-priced drinks and pizza and a great amount of enthusiasm and communal support... it was perfect.

The festival started at 4:00 p.m. and the line formed around the block. Though there were some kinks in actually getting people into the theater in a timely manner (after all, it's frickin' August in Florida! Open the doors early and let us get in the air conditioning!), no one seemed to mind. The festival, which separated the entries into non-horror (Saints) and horror (Sinners), showcased projects made by Florida filmmakers. Feature projects were interspersed with shorts and the festival concluded with the premiere of TOXIC AVENGER 4: CITIZEN TOXIE. As most of you know, I am not a fan of horror movies... at least the real bloody ones, but I really wanted to show my support to the fest so I sat quietly, hoping I wouldn't get grossed out. And, to my surprise, I wasn't at all. The Sinner projects were horror, but not gory, which I appreciated.

Now, I'm not sure if this was intended by the festival organizers at Renegage Films, but the best of the line-up came within the first four hours of this ten hour event. The fest opened with a local shot-on-video pseudo-documentary called BLEED, which was eerily like THE LAST BROADCAST. It was a nice project to start the festival and the audience was eager to show their support with appropriate hoops and yells. It was then followed by an effective film short called UNRAVELING AMELIA, about an old woman's trip into insanity as a result of being snowed in at a remote cabin. The highlight of the fest actually came from one of the guys at Renegade Films. He was home with the kids one day and threw together an absolutely hilarious and adorable short called WONDERBOY. It rocked! Other quality films were IT'S ONLY YOUR IMAGINATION and the very funny Clerks take-off called CLARKS, which ended with a hilarious homage to THE BREAKFAST CLUB.

Other projects were either not effective or just not that good. CHILD OF THE APOCALYPSE, about a Satanist having the Anti-Christ, though trying to be satircal look at tabloid media, was far too blasphemous for my tastes. And LOOKING IN THE FISHBOWL, a Crystal Reel Award winning short film, was very funny, but seemed to go out of it's way to bash Catholics. Being a card carrying Catholic, I couldn't help but ask the simple question... WHY? I'll never say Catholicism, or any other religion, is perfect. But, attacking any of them without it actually meaning something just seems lazy and a waste of a good story-telling opportunity. Falls into that oh-so-typical "rebelling against the institutions" thing that just isn't that original to me... so high-schoolish... rebellion-lite. But, that's just my opinion.

As all of you know, I have GREAT respect for anyone who can put a film together, not matter what the end quality. We've all been there and know that even unsuccessful projects take a hell of a lot of work. That being said, the worst short of the day was easily a mafia story called HIT & MISS... it was obviously their first effort. Shaky camera moves, bad audio, bad logic and bad framing all combined to make this one that will quickly fade from my long term memory. And one of the most memorable shorts was called GOOD GOLLY MISS DOLLY... it was so bad, it was charming. The story, about two hillbillies arguing over the love of Dolly (a peeing goat) was memorable because one of the guys kept his face down the entire time, obviously reading the script (which was visible on the table). It was hilarious. You end up loving those types of things even more because you know that these people have had no real training, yet are still driven to make movies. It was inspiring, in an odd sort of way.

Now, I'll admit, I must be getting old, because I could not make it through the entire festival. I ended up leaving after CLARKS at around 11:30 p.m. Unfortunately, there were some shorts I really wanted to see, but my eyes were starting to glaze over and I was struggling to pay attention. I didn't want to do the filmmakers an injustice by not paying attention, so after 7 1/2 hours I hit the road and headed home.

Major kudos go to the guys at Renegade Films for all the time and effort in pulling this whole thing together. I'm sure Jon and the Linns know what a Herculean task that can be. I was pleasantly surprised at the overflowing crowd that attended the event. There's obviously a larger mirco-budget film community in the area than I had expected. The only real down side was that I was hoping the event would have lended itself to being more conducive for networking with like-minded filmmakers. However, the nature of the venue and the tight schedule limited that opportunity. Perhaps, in future fests, there will be more of chances to just hang out and talk shop with other filmmakers.

From what I hear, the guys at Renegade are trying to get together another festival... perhaps as soon as November. So, any micro-budget filmmakers out there, especially those located in Florida, make sure to submit your stuff and plan to attend. If the upcoming fests are as successful as this first effort, it can easily become one of the top mirco-budget festivals in the country... second to the RMAs, of course!

Source: http://www.rewindvideo.com/artman/publish/printer_153.shtml

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SCENE: Saints and Sinners Film Festival

SCENESTERS :
Director Brad Hudson, Jeanie: actor Joe Makowski with director Sondra Overholster;  Bleed Director Chris Woods; No Name Productions Dave Huntley

SETTING:
The event was a smashing success, packing the historic State Theater in downtown St. Petersburg. Most of the films played to standing room only crowds!  The Festival's opening film, Bleed, was totally packed.  When I arrived, there was a line of fans up Central Avenue and wrapped around the corner across from the Art Center. The place was perfect for this kind of happening.

Talkin’ about happening, this is a bit of what happened: A festival jury presented awards to the winning film in each category. The winners were:

Saints (non-horror):
Looking in the Fishbowl - Tribalfilm Entertainment

Sinners (horror):
Bleed - Icon Studios

TIDBITS:   Actor Joe Makowski shared with me his plan that if his career in Troma films doesn't work out, he will go into porn films – and Sondra Overholster, the director of Joe’s film at the festival ( Good Gully Miss Molly ) said Joe “has what it takes” to be in porn. Al’righty now!

The festival featured premieres from two Tampa-based production companies, the Icon Studios feature-length film Bleed and the Present Day Productions short film Afterlife .

Troma Entertainment, the oldest and longest running truly independent film studio in the world, is participating in the festival as they present the area premiere of the new Toxic Avenger title Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger 4 . The Troma team, including the Tromettes, were on hand to hype the film, sign autographs, and talk about low-budget independent filmmaking. Troma also co-hosted "Club Troma" with Renegade Films and Ghostly Productions at the Masquerade in Ybor City on Sunday, August 4th in support of their appearance at the Vans Warped Tour.

Source: http://www.sterlingpowell.com/ts_sb_troma.htm

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NEWS | ORBITALS 08.07.02

Source: http://www.weeklyplanet.com/2002-08-07/orbitals.html

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The Renegade Film Festival

When I started The World of Nolan public access TV program a couple years ago, one of my main purposes was to bring to light as much local talent as I could, particularly in the way of filmmakers. I had to produce it on a shoestring budget--actually on a zero-budget--but I did what I could. Fast forward to 2002, and what has taken place just this year in Tampa is staggering. The coalescing and spirit of cooperation between heretofore disparate groups of artists has gained admirable momentum.

Sidestepping for the moment the "Tampa Bay Idol" talent search knock-off of American Idol (do your cities have versions of this too?), this is as good as it gets.

Personal boondoggle
Several issues ago, I published the whole kit 'n kaboodle about the Saints and Sinners Film Festival organized by Rick Danford and Renegade Productions . Not only were they spotlighting the work of several area filmmakers, Troma Entertainment was going to be onhand to debut "Toxic Avenger 4: Citizen Toxie"!  I was looking forward to attending this landmark event with other PCR staffers. Then, in one of those damnably timed things that always seems to happen to me, just days before the weekend, I suffered the personal setback of a job layoff that screwed my plans for the whole year. I was in no frame of mind to cover anything, Terence had already decided not to go, Drew was moving to an Orlando college that weekend, and Will, thinking I was going to go, made other plans. So, I sent old friend and local actor Gus Perez. Thank you, Gus.

"Really great films"
First off, Gus was tremendously impressed with the calibur of talent in the films, particularly the acting---very consistent. Re: the environment, according to Gus, there was a two-tier thing happening with the State Theater layout--two video projectors operating on two different floors, but both visible because one was on a balcony. They would play some films, long and short, then break for snacks (I figure you could basically just wander in and out, tho). Each film was introduced by its director and/or producer. There was also a competition for a top prize.

I was sent a list of all the films being shown, which I will get to in a minute, but what Gus remembered were these: "Bleed" (Icon Studios), "Unraveling Amelia", "Wonder Boy", "Don't worry it's only your imagination", and "Looking in the fishbowl". Of these, by far the one that made the biggest impression was the horror-thriller "Don't worry it's only your imagination" in which creatures attack you automatically if it's dark (even if it's only because your eyes are closed!). "Bleed" from Icon Studios took top honors for the festival, however, and friend Andy Lalino's trailer for his horror short, "Filthy", was evidently quite a hit (Gus didn't remember if he saw that or not--hey, it's his frst time out as a "journalist"!). Also, fellow webmeister and comics fan/writer/artist (WINTER) Noeland Collins' film "Afterlife" (Present Day Productions) were among those I wanted some feedback on, but Gus must've been out of the building when that came on. As far as "Citizen Toxie", that wasn't exhibited until after midnight, Gus bailed around 10:15pm. Since he'd been there off and on since 4:00pm, I can't hold that against him.

"More successful than we expected"
The complete list of films sent to me by Rick Danford were, in order: Bleed, Lunch Break, Unraveling Amelia, Wonder Boy, Tea Party, Child of the Apocalypse, Hit & Miss, Wool, Afterlife, Don't worry it's only your imagination, Looking in the Fishbowl, Good Golly Miss Molly, Fashion Statement, Clarks, Love's Relic, Punchbuggy, and Pay Phone . Some of these were not in the competition and a few were not completed in time, so only showed trailers. Somewhere in there was Andy Lalino's trailer for Filthy as well.

From Danford: "We here at Renegade Films want to give a special thanks to everyone who helped us put together this incredible Film Festival we had last night. It far exceeded our expectations and goes to show how strong the film community in central Florida really is. For those of you who couldn't make it out to the event, we had a line around the corner to get in when we opened the doors at 4pm. The first film went on to a packed house as every seat was taken on both floors and people stood in the aisles and sat on the stairs. The theater was filled to capacity the entire night with a great crowd who applauded and truly appreciated the films we brought them throughout the course of the show. We introduced each of the filmmakers and allowed them to introduce their works and they were warmly greeted by the crowd each time. Bob Ross of the Tampa Tribune, Steve Persall of the St. Pete Times and Peter D'Alessio of Yo Soy Irini were the judges."
The overall winners they selected were: Saints ( Non Thriller / Horror ) Winner: "Looking in the Fishbowl" by James Henshen & Jeremy Habig Sinners ( Thriller / Horror ) Winner: "Bleed" by Icon Studios

Rick has pledged another festival very soon (according to Andy, maybe as soon as three months), if for no other reason than there are several hours' worth more videos to show there wasn't time to before. Congratulations on a job well done and let's not let up now! Oh, and for the record, Christian Dumais of Legion Studios said I will attend the next one even if he has to come pick me up himself! LOL, that's the spirit.

Source: http://www.crazedfanboy.com/nolansnewsstand02/popculturereview124.html

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Film: hot ticket

By Times staff
© St. Petersburg Times
published August 1, 2002

Saints and Sinners Film Festival

Florida's ambitiously independent filmmakers will be showcased Saturday at the Saints and Sinners Film Festival at St. Petersburg's State Theater.

Fourteen entries are divided into two categories: Sinners (horror flicks, a popular theme among budding auteurs) and Saints (non-horror comedy and drama). A jury composed of filmmakers and journalists (including St. Petersburg Times film critic Steve Persall) will select a winner in each category.

The lineup includes two films produced in Tampa, Icon Studios' feature-length Bleed and Present Day Productions' short film, Afterlife. Works being shown out of competition include Unwrapping Amelia, Child of the Apocalypse and Wool.

Screenings begin at 4 p.m. and continue until around 11 p.m. at the theater, 687 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. Tickets are $7 at the door. They can be bought in advance at Ticketmaster outlets (a service charge will be added).

One film to be screened out of competition at midnight is a doozy for cult-film aficionados: Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger 4, produced by the infamously irreverent Troma Films, continuing the saga of a superhero created by radioactive waste. Several of the film's stars and Troma executives will attend, along with the Tromettes, likely making this the only movie studio with cheerleaders.

Troma is also co-hosting (with Renegade Films and Ghostly Productions) an event Sunday at Club Masquerade in Ybor City in connection with the Vans Warped concert tour.

Source: http://www.sptimes.com/2002/08/01/Weekend/Film__hot_ticket.shtml

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THE DAMNED AND THE SAVED