SI DocFest Awards 2008 to be Held in Downtown San Jose

SI DocFest Awards 2008 to be Held in Downtown San Jose

Top Three Films to Share $20,000

SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- The First Annual Bay Area Social Issues Documentary Film Contest (SI DocFest) will hold its awards ceremony at the Camera 12 Cinemas in downtown San Jose on Sunday February 10, 2008. The SI DocFest is a unique new contest designed to draw upon the creativity and social concerns of high school students in the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

Last summer, participants were asked to create a short documentary (8-15 minutes) profiling individuals or organizations that are making or have made a significant difference in the Bay Area community through their work and dedication to social issues.

The SI DocFest is not a traditional film festival, but rather a contest narrowly focused on high school students, the documentary genre, social issues, and the greater Bay Area community. Schools from all over the Bay Area showed a significant amount of interest in the Si DocFest in its first year, with around 70 pre-registered teams at the start of the process. The teams that submitted completed films were judged by the organizing committee, which selected a group of 10 Semifinalists. These films are being evaluated by a team of independent judges, which will select and rank 6 Finalists.

The top three films will be announced at the awards ceremony, with first place winning $10,000, second place $6,000 and third place $4,000. Each award will be equally divided between designated non-profit organizations or individuals profiled in the winning documentaries, the schools represented by the winning filmmakers and the filmmakers themselves in the form of cash scholarships.

The SI DocFest has been sponsored, conceptualized and organized as a volunteer-based endeavor by Do Good Docs Corporation, a newly-formed non- profit organization co-founded by sisters Monica and Loreli Alba. Monica, 20, is a junior at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and a graduate of Presentation High School in San Jose, where Loreli, 17, is currently a senior.

The judges that have graciously supported this educational and awareness- raising project are: Blanche Araj-Shaheen, TV production professional and host of KTEH's "Video I", a weekly series featuring independent films from the Bay Area; Dr. Felix Gutierrez, Professor of Journalism and Communication in the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication, former Senior Vice President of the Freedom Forum and a Bay Area resident; Jan Krawitz, a distinguished documentary filmmaker and Director of the M.F.A Program in Documentary Film and Video at Stanford University; and Jack NyBlom, co-owner and co-founder of Camera Cinemas, the leading independent theater organization in the South Bay.

The awards ceremony will consist of two screening sessions and a reception. The first session will be held from 2:30pm to 4:00pm and will entail the screening of 4 Semifinalist films and excerpts from films that earned an Honorable Mention. The second session will be held from 4:00pm to 6:00pm and will consist of a video montage of submitted films, the screening of the 6 Finalist films and the presentation of awards. A reception at the theater complex will cap the evening.

The 10 Finalists have already been posted on the SI DocFest website (http://www.sidocfest.com/), and they encompass a rich variety of topics, including poverty, education, discrimination, senior citizen needs and homelessness.

Camera Cinemas, the leading independent movie theater company in the South Bay Area, is an official sponsor of the SI DocFest.

Do Good Docs Corporation is a new non-profit organization located in San Jose, California. Its first project is the sponsoring and organization of the Bay Area Social Issues Documentary Film Contest (SI DocFest), conceptualized and organized by two if its co-founders, Monica and Loreli Alba.

For over 30 years, the Camera Cinemas have presented a wide variety of well-made, intelligent films, from re-released classics to independents, international to mainstream. With three distinct locations, Camera Cinemas has become an important institution in the local film community, making vital contributions to the cultural life of San Jose and representing the best of what the South Bay has to offer. For more information visit http://www.cameracinemas.com/.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Do Good Docs Corporation

CONTACT: Monica Alba of Do Good Docs Corporation, +1-408-218-7799,
monica@dogooddocs.com

Web site:

http://www.sidocfest.com/
http://www.cameracinemas.com/

-------
Profile: intent