The work of area filmmakers will be celebrated at the first Catalano Film Festival this Saturday at the historic Plaza Theatre in Miamisburg.
The work of area filmmakers will be celebrated at the first Catalano Film Festival, on Saturday, February 18 at the historic Plaza Theatre in Miamisburg. The event will feature films from eight of Ohio’s best filmmakers, whose dreams of seeing the fruits of their labor on the big screen will be realized. Hosted by independent filmmaker, Johnny Catalano.
Indie filmmaker, Johnny Catalano, is hosting the event, out of a desire to expose some of the richness of Ohio’s regional cinema that currently exists. “Some may ask, ‘What exactly does regional cinema mean?’ And for me, it means pure independence. Film and cinema would be so incredibly dull if only the elites in Hollywood had the ability to make films. My heroes aren’t exactly the Spieldberg’s or Lucas’ of the world. Rather the George A Romero’s and John Waters’ of the cinema world. Those filmmakers were working way outside the system and making films there way. Hollywood would’ve never given those guys a chance. They made their own opportunities. And cinema history is so much richer for it. And I believe much of the same things Romero and Waters were doing are happening right here in Ohio. And I want to capture it,” said Catalano.
With genre’s including drama, thriller, dark comedy, and experimental; films from J.W Cox, Evan Maines, Ahmad Ghanim, Jackson C. Clark, Casey McCallister, Max Kaplan, Vaslav J. Rice and Darrin J. Friedman will be shown. The festival is scheduled for 6 hours, beginning at 4 p.m. A Q & A with the filmmakers will occur at 6:35 p.m. providing a rare opportunity to meet the people behind the movie that was just seen. The evening will conclude with an awards ceremony. Tickets are $10 and the first 50 people in attendance will receive a free cookie. Guests are welcome to come and go as they please throughout the festival, as downtown Miamisburg has a number of restaurants, coffee shops, and other places to visit.
For as long as Catalano can remember, he’s been passionate about the cinema, though it was scene of the final duel in the Spaghetti Western, ‘For A Few Dollars More,’ that left a lasting impression upon him. “The music and emotion in that one scene is ingrained in my soul. And I really think my life’s mission is to make one solitary scene as incredibly soulful as that one,” he said.
While this is the first Catalano Film Festival, Catalano has high hopes that it will become an annual event.
