Dear Michael Attardi…On behalf of the Board of Directors and Executive Staff of the 40th Annual WorldFest-Houston International Film & Video Festival…Our sincere congratulations! Out of more than 4,500 international category entries in the 10 major Remi Award Competitions, you are a Remi Winner! This is a special group email to all Remi Winners, so you may have attended the remarkable Remi Awards Gala Dinner and already know what you have won, but many of our winners were not able to make it, so this is your first report.
More than 500 international filmmakers attended the 10-day Cinema Celebration that is WorldFest – 58 great new feature films, 68 international short films! The Remi Awards Gala Dinner was wonderful, with great gourmet food and wine, fantastic entertainment and wonderful networking! The Festival Club in The Renaissance Hotel Lobby Bar was crowded every night with filmmakers from all over the world. China, Australia, New Zealand, Nepal, Nigeria, England, Mexico, France, Germany, Spain, Russia, Bosnia, Croatia, Iraq and Iran, Canada, India, Pakistan, Italy, Taiwan, Israel, Japan, Germany, Scotland, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovania, Bermuda, Viet Nam, Serbia, Slovania, Poland, Greece, England, Poland, and even the good old USA!!!
All our screenings of 35mm and digital were held in the flagship AMC Studio 30 Theatres, with some holding more than 650 people. The WorldFest/Houston Yacht Club Sailing Regatta was wonderful in its 21st year… with more than 40 sail and motor yachts participating. There was a tour of NASA/Space Center Houston, great Texas BBQ, Shiner Bock Beer and Champagne.
It is very difficult to win a Remi in WorldFest… with so many entries, only about 15-20% are good enough to win the Remi Award for Creative Excellence. The Remi takes its name from the famous artist Frederick Remington, who captures the spirit of Texas and the West with his brilliant paintings and sculptures! In some categories there may be more than one winner at any level, due to ties in scoring. In other categories, no awards are made because the entries did not score high enough to earn a Remi Award. This is especially true in the Short and Student Categories. If you were not able to attend the WorldFest Week and Remi Awards Gala Dinner, we will be sending you your framed 11X14 Remi Plaque in a few days. You may obtain duplicate awards in many different versions for your associates, clients and fellow filmmakers. They can all be custom done, so you can credit anyone associated with your award winning production. You may have won more than one Remi Award, but this group email sends only the one notice, so please go to the main website — www.worldfest.org and click on 2007 Winners to see the winners list in Excel or a PDF File. We have attached the basic press release with general information about the festival and the major Remi Winners. You may get WorldFest Winners Logos, Statuettes and The WorldFest Winners Laurels from the Winners section of our website.
WorldFest did give first honors to Spielberg, Lucas, David Lynch, Ang Lee, Ridley Scott, The Coen Brothers, Brian De Palma and many more, so it is not only one of the longest-running film festivals in the world, it is also one of the most significant! We hope that we will be adding your name to that wonderful list of WorldFest Alumni very soon! My personal congratulations for a job very well done. If you were not lucky enough to attend WorldFest, we will be sending you the Remi Award in the next few days. For faster receipt of your Remi Award or Awards, your FedEx or DHL number works miracles! Thanks for being part of the 3rd oldest film festival in North America and we look forward to welcoming you back for the 2008 competition. Entries for the 41st Annual WorldFest open August 1st. Our 40th Annual WorldFest Commemorative Posters will be off the press this week and we will let you now how to order one for your wall to go with the Remi Award!
My personal thanks for making this such a great film & video festival. You honor us by entering such superb productions. And as Ridley Scott said some years ago when accepting his Grand Remi Award — “WorldFest is in the business of validating excellence!” — We thank you for your participation. Let me know if you need any more information.
Warmest regards from Texas ,
Hunter
TEAM WORLDFEST
