MEDIA CONTACT:
Vanessa Ormsby, RCA Communications Manager
(361) 729-5519 / vanessa@rockportartcenter.com
TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE FOR 2023 ROCKPORT FILM FESTIVAL
Festival features 42 U.S. and foreign films, including 24 Texas entries to date
ROCKPORT, Texas (October 13, 2023) — Always international in scope, but local in flavor, the 17th Annual Rockport Film Festival, presented by Salemi’s Ace Hardware, celebrates the power of storytelling in cinema with some of the best independent filmmaking from Texas and around the world.
A joint venture of Rockport Center for the Arts and the Rotary Club of Rockport, tickets are now available for the Nov. 9–12 festival, featuring special events and 42 independent films entered thus far — 38 from the U.S., 24 of which are from Texas, and 4 international. All screenings are held at The Rockport Conference Center (The ROCC), located at 106 S. Austin Street on the Rockport Center for the Arts campus in downtown Rockport.
The annual cinematic event draws more than 1,600 attendees each year to the Rockport community, known for its mix of art and environment, allowing patrons to enjoy films rarely seen elsewhere without having to wait in long lines or traveling to multiple theater venues. Endorsed by the Texas Film Commission, the Texas Commission on the Arts, Aransas County, and the City of Rockport, the Festival appeals to a local, regional, and statewide audience of filmmakers and enthusiasts during a time that is generally off-season for tourism.
"We are so excited to be hosting the Rockport Film Festival in its new home: The ROCC,” said Elena Rodriguez, managing director for the Rockport Film Festival. “This space is in the heart of downtown Rockport and features state-of-the-art audio and visual capabilities. In such a venue, the Rockport Film Festival can grow and be the best it can be.”
The Rockport Film Festival kicks off Thursday, Nov. 9, with the Red Carpet Party held at The ROCC. Considered the premiere social event of the fall season and limited to 240 guests, the ticketed event features cocktails and food, catered by Paradise Key Bar & Grill, beginning at 6 p.m. The evening’s entertainment includes live music with the SteelWater Band in the Patricia Bennett Moore Sculpture Garden, and a special screening of the documentary Runaway Radio (2023), reflecting upon a time when radio entertained, informed, and dictated what was cool through theater of the mind.
In the 1970s Houston's 101 KLOL played a big role in the lives of many Texans, starting as a progressive rock station where DJs played whatever they wanted, and evolving into one of many Album Oriented Rock (AOR) stations across the U.S. where on-air personalities were sometimes bigger than the music itself. Directed by Mike McGuff and produced by Jeffrey Brown, Runaway Radio includes acclaimed musicians such as Lyle Lovett, ZZ Top’s Dusty Hill, Melissa Etheridge and Sammy Hagar along with top radio DJs from across the country reflecting on how the medium changed their lives and the lives of devoted listeners, and how changes and pressures from Washington, the music industry and Silicon Valley led to the demise of KLOL and much of the format in the 2000s.
The Festival continues Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with film screenings at The ROCC. Five of the films will be full-length features; there will also be four short film blocks, each around 90 minutes in length, consisting of six to eight short films. All films are independently produced outside of the Hollywood studio system, meaning they are privately financed projects that tend to be smaller in scale and budget. This year’s categories are documentary feature, fiction feature, documentary short, fiction short, animated short, and student film.
The weekend also features an awards ceremony and brunch, hosted by the Rotary Club of Rockport, which will be held Sunday at The ROCC preceding the final screenings, with all Sunday events free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Festival also gives back to the community by funding many free and low-cost programs of the Rotary Club and Rockport Center for the Arts, including humanitarian aid, youth education and scholarships, and free and low-cost Arts and cultural programming.
Tickets for all events are now available online, including a limited number of Red Carpet Party tickets for $100, and a limited number of VIP Passes for $125 providing entry to all events and priority seating for screenings. Single-day tickets for screenings are $10 per day. Festival goers can take advantage of a specially priced block rate at Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott Rockport, the official hotel of the Rockport Film Festival, available through the festival website. Rooms are limited and must be booked by Nov. 1.
For tickets and more information, including a complete schedule, go to RockportFilmFestival.com.
2023 ROCKPORT FILM FESTIVAL SPONSORS
HEADLINING SPONSOR: Salemi’s Ace Hardware
PRODUCER LEVEL: The Rockport Group at Morgan Stanley; Bay Window of Rockport, Key Allegro Real Estate Company, GSM Insurors, Paradise Key Dockside Bar & Grill; Karen Mella, Realtor; Maddie Legner with Spears & Co. Real Estate
DIRECTOR LEVEL: Baker Law; Charter Bank; Moon Over Water Gallery; Angela Allen Ruddock CFP®, JD Debler, Windway Gallery
OFFICIAL HOTEL: Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Rockport
MEDIA PARTNER: Victoria Radio Works
GOVERNMENT SUPPORT: Aransas County; City of Rockport; Texas Commission on the Arts; Texas Film Commission; The Office of Governor Greg Abbott
About the Rockport Film Festival
The Rockport Film Festival is a collaboration between the Rockport Rotary Club and Rockport Center for the Arts. All proceeds from the event benefit Rockport Center for the Arts programming and local, regional, and international humanitarian and service projects supported by the Rotary Club of Rockport. The Rockport Film Festival receives government support from the City of Rockport, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and Aransas County. For more information, to purchase tickets and a complete screening schedule, please visit www.RockportFilmFestival.com.
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