Slater Brothers Entertainment’s Hamilton International Film Festival (HIFF), is returning for a 3rd year with an impressive all star line up of films, charity themed events and parties. The festival was founded by brothers Wade, Grant and Todd Slater, whose father, Terry Slater, was the head hockey coach at Colgate University for 15 years.
The Festival is set to take place August 4th – 7th, 2011. The brother’s efforts to bring back top international films, award winning directors, and academy nominated actors is based on their desire to expand the arts and film awareness in Central New York. This year’s festival also has screenings dedicated to organizations and charities close to the brother’s hearts, including Thursday night, August 4th screening at the Hamilton Movie Theater where 100% of proceeds will be dedicated by SBE to Hamilton Central School.
Through the Film Festival, the Slater brothers aim to bring a piece of Hollywood back to the area they proudly grew up in and provide a platform to recognize local area talent and advance the careers of aspiring filmmakers. Supported by the town of Hamilton, NY and Colgate University, this year’s festival will have some of the biggest filmmakers and entertainment companies in attendance. The first film will be screened at 7pm on Thursday night at the Hamilton theater and events will continue throughout the weekend, capped off with a festival closing night party and guest DJ at the newly renovated Colgate Inn in downtown Hamilton.
Todd Slater’s announcement of the line up and scheduled filmmakers set to appear came with great excitement, “This year we wanted to get the best films possible for our festival so we reached out to some of the world’s best international film festivals, including Cannes, Toronto and Tribeca, and we got an incredible response. We feel very fortunate to have award winning selections as well as many of the directors, producers and stars attending who are responsible for them. My brothers and I started this festival week to give back to the area we grew up in. We couldn’t think of a better way to promote the arts of Central New York than by hosting this annual event.”
Grant Slater, co founder of HIFF continued with his brother’s sentiments. “This year we have been able to secure not only great films and film makers who will all be in attendance and accessible to the people who attend the weekend events, but we are also lucky enough to have great sponsors who have made it possible for us to bring in all these incredibly talented people to Hamilton. We have stars from hit shows including HBO’s The Sopranos and The Wire attending, award winning films and directors, and even a great guest DJ appearing. We may even be fortunate to have one of this year’s Academy Award winners attend with her short film. It should be a fun weekend for everyone.”The Festival is set to take place August 4th – 7th, 2011. The brother’s efforts to bring back top international films, award winning directors, and academy nominated actors is based on their desire to expand the arts and film awareness in Central New York. This year’s festival also has screenings dedicated to organizations and charities close to the brother’s hearts, including Thursday night, August 4th screening at the Hamilton Movie Theater where 100% of proceeds will be dedicated by SBE to Hamilton Central School.
Through the Film Festival, the Slater brothers aim to bring a piece of Hollywood back to the area they proudly grew up in and provide a platform to recognize local area talent and advance the careers of aspiring filmmakers. Supported by the town of Hamilton, NY and Colgate University, this year’s festival will have some of the biggest filmmakers and entertainment companies in attendance. The first film will be screened at 7pm on Thursday night at the Hamilton theater and events will continue throughout the weekend, capped off with a festival closing night party and guest DJ at the newly renovated Colgate Inn in downtown Hamilton.
Todd Slater’s announcement of the line up and scheduled filmmakers set to appear came with great excitement, “This year we wanted to get the best films possible for our festival so we reached out to some of the world’s best international film festivals, including Cannes, Toronto and Tribeca, and we got an incredible response. We feel very fortunate to have award winning selections as well as many of the directors, producers and stars attending who are responsible for them. My brothers and I started this festival week to give back to the area we grew up in. We couldn’t think of a better way to promote the arts of Central New York than by hosting this annual event.”
Some of the confirmed names and films that are set to appear include Award winning director Charles Officerand his critically acclaimed film Mighty Jerome. Actor and director Benjamin Busch, whose father was the long time Colgate Professor Frederick Busch, will be playing his award winning film Bright. Director Jordan Bayne is set to show her award winning film, The Sea is All I Know, starring Academy Award Winner Melissa Leo, as part of a special charity screening. Director Dina Rosenmeier whose award winning film, A Journey In My Mother’s Footsteps, has received international applause will be attending, as will producer Richard Hanet and his Toronto Film Festival official selection Score - A Hockey Musical. American Express will present The Tribeca film festival official selection, Mr. Stache, starring Rich Sommer from AMC’s hit show Mad Men. Colgate University graduates Carrie Clifford and Gillian Vigman’s short film Baby Boss will screen as well as several local short film winners selected from this year’s Hamilton Film Camp. Al Sapienza of the HBO hit series, The Sopranos, will be on hand to present his film Spare. The festival rounds out with critically acclaimed films Patagonia Rising directed by Brian Lilla and Producer Greg Miller, official Cannes Film Festival short film Esha directed by Reza Dahya, as well as a special presentation of the animated short film Raccoon & Crawfish presented by Four Direction Productions and The Oneida Indian Nation. Several other guest and a special guest DJ invited for Saturday nights closing party, will also be on hand throughout the four day event.
Friday night, the brother’s and Purina’s Fancy Feast will host a special film makers reception at the Colgate bookstore. The event is open to the public and several of the directors, producers, and actors will be on hand to talk about their films. Drinks and refreshments will be served. The reception starts at 6:30PM with the night’s screenings will start at 8:15PM, just across the street at The Hamilton Theater.
The schedule for Saturday August 7th includes director and celebrity red carpet arrivals starting at 6:30pm at the Palace theater, two award winning film screenings, and the closing night party happening immediately after at the Colgate Inn. The Chobani sponsored closing night party, along with guest DJ, will start at 9:30 and will be open to all those attending the night’s screening.
Grant Slater said “the film makers and actors who have agreed to come back to Hamilton for this festival are truly first rate. Several have won awards at some of the largest and most prestigious film festivals in the world. They are now excited to come to Hamilton and show Central New York their work as well. We wanted to bring a fun event back to the area we grew-up in. Hamilton and Central New York is a special place. Hopefully we can bring some famous faces and some talented filmmakers back to Central New York for years to come.
The brothers acknowledged they could not produce the event if it wasn’t for their incredible sponsors and local support. Purina’s Fancy Feast, Nestle, The Colgate Inn, Anheuser Busch, Veev Spirits, Chobani, The Wendt Inn, NBT Bank, Oneida Saving Bank and many others have stepped up to support the arts and what we are doing stated Slater. The Slater Brothers wanted to add a special thanks to Chuck Fox of the Hamilton Theater. “Chuck has become like a fourth Slater brother to us all. In all honesty, his tireless work helping to promote this event and deal with the finest details has made it possible for us to put this on every year. His team at the theater along with several other key people in Hamilton and Colgate make it a special for us to keep doing this year after year. We really appreciate his and everyone else help that make the film festival happen.”
For ticket information and other details visit www.hamiltontheater.net. Festival Films will run throughout the week and a full schedule will be released soon.
The Slater Brothers launched their branded entertainment company, Slater Brothers Entertainment (SBE), as a follow-up to several sports and entertainment events they co-produced in the United States and Europe. They are also currently involved in the production of several films.
Grant Slater, a successful entrepreneur and former senior advisor to the Legendary Sports Entrepreneur Dennis Arthur Murphy, has worked at nearly every level of the sports industry and continues to consult on a variety of sports and entertainment ventures. His long relationships with corporate partners, has given The Festival an opportunity to see considerable growth in 2011.
Wade Slater is currently an art professor at the Tampa Art Institute and renowned Florida artist who routinely shows his work across Florida. He has a close working relationship with the Tampa Bay Museum of Art and has lectured at many cultural events throughout the state.
Todd Slater, who was the former Executive Vice President at Philip Anschutz's film company (Anschutz Film Group) and Paramount Pictures, is currently producing several films in Hollywood via his Slater Brother’s banner, including this summer’s production of House Of Dust to be directed by Alex Calvo.
More announcements on the Slater Brother’s Hamilton International Film Festival and Awareness Weekend are expected shortly. For more information on the festival and tickets visit www.slaterbrothersentertainment.com or www.hamiltontheater.net.
