Schedule:

Octber 26, 2023

StudentFEST 2023 with special guest, Madison Reyes - 5:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Venue: R/C Reading Movies 11 & IMAX
Cost: $10.00

We are dedicated to supporting the growth of young talent in film and media production. These emerging filmmakers have the potential to shape the future of cinema as today’s aspiring student filmmakers evolve into tomorrow’s award-winning directors, visionary producers, and skilled videographers. As part of our commitment, we proudly present International StudentFEST on Thursday, October 26th. Accepted student films of this season bring forth a treasure trove of creativity and fresh perspectives.  We take immense pride in spotlighting these filmmakers and amplifying their voices by exclusively dedicating this section within our festival to them.

Bringing star power to StudentFEST this year is special guest, Madison Reyes, best known for her leading role in Netflix’s hit musical series, “Julie and the Phantoms.”  Madison embodies multifaceted prowess as an actress, singer, and social media influencer, with a staggering following of over 1 million on Instagram and 600,000 on TikTok. Beginning on September 15th, leading up to StudentFEST, Madison will launch a collaborative social media challenge alongside selected students entitled, “One Minute Moment.” The challenge poses the question: “If you had one minute to save someone from opioids or to prevent violence, what would you do or say?” In these poignant one-minute videos, centered around the deeply contemplative themes of Opioid Crisis and Violence Prevention, participants can channel their heartfelt sentiments, personal stories, and perspectives while showcasing their unique artistic talents.

October 27, 2023

Reading FilmFEST Gala featuring jazz artist V. Shayne Frederick - 5:30 pm - 6:45 pm
Venue: WCR Center for the Arts

Welcome this years filmmakers, schmooze with VIP guests and friends, and walk the red carpet!

About the Artist:  V. Shayne Frederick is a vocalist, pianist, and film composer with performances spanning decades. DownBeat Magazine declared his vocals “soulful.” He’s electrified TEDx, NPR, and countless stages throughout the nation such as Minton’s Harlem, Con Alma, Long Beach Island Foundation, South Jazz Kitchen, Chris’ Jazz Café, The Annenberg Center of the University of Pennsylvania, The Barnes Foundation, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Piton International Film Festival, The Kimmel Center for Performing Arts, and World Café Live. The Philadelphia Inquirer notes his “silken baritone and elegant charm,” Metro Philadelphia salutes him as an “elastic vocalist,” while WXPN notes “his stunning baritone effortlessly soars,” and All About Jazz suggests he’s “one to watch […] a shining light.” Shayne’s fifth recording, The King Suite, has gained international media attention. His vocals have also been featured on projects released by Ropeadope Records and Outside In Music. He is a Board Governor of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Recording Academy, and an Adjunct Professor at The University of the Arts.

LatinX Block - 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Venue: R/C Reading Movies 11 & IMAX - Theater 1
Cost: $10.00

Created by Abby Torres, #SOMOSSOCIETY: I Am Danny Torres is part of a series of short documentaries, highlighting the everyday people of Philadelphia’s Puerto Rican community. I Am Danny Torres shows what it takes to keep our community beautiful while teaching Puerto Rico’s rich culture in Philadelphia.

Friday Night Shorts - 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Venue: R/C Reading Movies 11 & IMAX - Theater 2
Cost: $10.00

Split Ends
A bald girl and a young boy with long hair whose car has been confiscated due to lack of proper hijab are trying to solve their problem with the Tehran Morality Police without having to pay a fine. Police surveillance cameras have mistaken the boy for a woman because of his long hair, and the young girl, despite her shaved head, has to pay the fine simply because the hijab law only applies to women.   Feeling humiliated by the government official, the pair find a creative way to resist authority.

Ava - 7:30 PM - 10:00 PM
Venue: GoggleWorks Boscov Theatre
Cost: $10.00

After the death of her best friend, Ava is thrown into her senior year of high school alone.

Grease is the Word – Special Presentation - 10:00 PM
Venue: GoggleWorks Boscov Theatre
Join us for a fun-for-all-sing-a-long of the smash musical.

Good girl Sandy Olsson, (Oliva Newton-John) and greaser Danny Zuko, (John Travolta) fell in love over the summer.  When they unexpectedly discover they’re now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance?   (1978)

Friday Night Party - 10:00 PM - 11:55 PM
Venue: Reading Distilling Guild
We have special guest singer Elle Gyandoh performing!
Town and Country Living magazine describes Elle as having a “voice that hovers between the dramatic highs of Mariah Carey and the subtle shadings of Norah Jones. It’s rhythm-and-blues meets pop with a dash of sparkle. And that’s what her voice has—Sparkle”.

October 28, 2023

Workshop: How to Make a Monster - 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Venue: GoggleWorks Boscov Theatre
Cost: $10.00

Join us for a casual talk with Academy Award Winning Special Effect Designer, Tom Woodruff Jr. Woodruff Jr. will discussing the art of motion picture practical effects, make-up and creature design as one of one of Hollywood’s leading artists.
Tom Woodruff Jr worked under legendary SFX artist Stan Winston on The Terminator, Predator, Pumpkinhead and Alienmovies before partnering with fellow Winston designer/technician, Alec Gillis, and forming their own company, Amalgamated Dynamics (ADI). ADI quickly became one of the most successful effects companies in Hollywood with credits such as: Tremors, Starship Troopers, Alien 3, Alien vs. Predator, Demolition Man, Wolf, The X-Files, Cast Away, Spiderman, Zookeeper, It, Godzilla vs. Kong, Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, San Andreas, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Nun, Prey, Smile and many others.

Environmental Block - 12:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Venue: R/C Reading Movies 11 & IMAX - Theater 1
Cost: $10.00

Stewart Udall
Stewart Lee Udall was the most prominent and effective Secretary of the Interior in American history. Stewart Udall: The Politics of Beauty is a feature documentary that examines the trajectory of Udall’s life from his childhood through his Mormon mission, his World War II service, his student years at the University of Arizona, his time in Congress, and then, most significantly, his years as Secretary of the Interior and beyond.

Human Spirit Block - 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Venue: R/C Reading Movies 11 & IMAX - Theater 2
Cost: $10.00

The Creature
A couple goes to the forest to sacrifice an animal to the goblins in order for their child to be born healthy, but they are not alone in this forest. The woman considers this a superstition until she believes it herself.

Much Ado - 12:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Venue: GoggleWorks Boscov Theatre
Cost: $10.00

A fresh adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing is played out in a house of university students, whose party spins out of control.

When a university rugby team run into engine trouble deep in the English countryside they seek refuge with local businessman Leonato, his teeange daughter Hero and niece Beatrice. Beatrice is shocked to come face to face with her ex-boyfriend Benedick but she manages to keep up a strong front, swearing off all men. Hero, on the other hand, is smitten with Claudio, the team’s rising star. Winning Hero’s heart is treated like a competition between Claudio and the captain of the rugby team – and alpha male – Pedro. But things get really complicated when Claudio and Hero announce their engagement…

John, Pedro’s lesser brother, is sick of being ignored and determined to exact revenge on the lot of them. He convinces Claudio to jilt Hero, who then puts her own life in jeopardy, running away from home after her father blames her for the whole ordeal. Beatrice, disraught after her cousin’s downfall, finds comfort in Benedick. Feelings come rushing back and after confessing their love they spend night together. But things look different in the morning when Benedick is reluctant to stand up to his friends over their mistreatment of Hero. The family’s only hope is the wacky Friar Francis’ foolproof plan: pretend Hero is dead.

Using the original dialogue but with a modern twist this genre defying movie sees the young director duo revolutionise the way Shakespeare as been done. In mixing naturalism with Shakespearean dialogue they have created a new style, which they have dubbed ‘mumblecore Shakespeare’. It is Shakespeare for their generation.

The Wizard of Oz - 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Venue: Reading Movies 11
Cost: $10.00

John Fricke is regarded as the preeminent Oz and Judy Garland historian/author. He’s received two Emmy Awards as co-producer of Garland TV documentaries for the PBS “American Masters” and A&E “Biography” series, plus a Grammy Award nomination for ?best album notes? for the CD, JUDY GARLAND/25th ANNIVERSARY RETROSPECTIVE. His latest book — with Gabriel Gale — is THE ART OF OZ, which was published by Rizzoli in 2021. Additionally, John has written three books about Judy Garland, two books about MGM’s WIZARD OF OZ film, and two other books about the entire Oz phenomenon. His next book, WHITE CHRISTMAS: A PICTORIAL HISTORY OF THE CLASSIC HOLIDAY FILM, is due in autumn 2023. John has lectured at Hollywood’s Turner Classic Movies Film Festival and Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, New York’s Museum of Modern Art, France?s Deauville Film Festival, and London?s National Film Theatre. He delivers commentary tracks on eight Garland TV and movie DVDs and often appears on TCM, TODAY, CNN, and NPR.

Comedy Block - 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Venue: R/C Reading Movies 11 & IMAX - Theater 1
Cost: $10.00

Inspirational Sports Block - 6:00 PM - 9:15 PM
Venue: R/C Reading Movies 11 & IMAX - Theater 2
Cost: $10.00

A Long Way From Nowhere
What compels a person to run 150 miles through the desert at the height of summer? Is it the need for achievement, the competitive instinct, or something deeper—a spiritual need for hardship, for catharsis, and from it, healing? A LONG WAY FROM NOWHERE is a different sort of extreme sports film—one centered not around winning—but instead one focused upon the human spirit—on why individuals push themselves to, and sometimes beyond, the breaking point.

Intermedium - 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM
Venue: GoggleWorks Boscov Theatre
Cost: $10.00

An obsessive-compulsive teenager searches for a way to rid her home of the ghost that haunts it, but their unexpected connection makes it hard to let go.

Female Filmmakers - 7:30 PM - 9:45 PM
Venue: R/C Reading Movies 11 & IMAX - Theater 1
Cost: $10.00

Cover Up
In 1997 New York, amidst a 30-year tattoo ban, Bonnie, an underground tattoo artist, offers to help a woman wishing to cover a scar from her abusive partner. Through this act of healing, Bonnie confronts and begins to mend her own scarred past.

IT (2017) – Special Presentation - 10:00 PM
Venue: GoggleWorks Boscov Theatre
Cost: $10.00

In the summer of 1989, a group of bullied kids band together to destroy a shape-shifting monster, which disguises itself as a clown and preys on children of Derry, their small Maine town.  Based on the Stephen King novel.  Rated R.

Tom Woodruff Jr., an Academy Award-winning SFX designer, will provide a special introduction to “IT” and share fascinating details about the creation of Pennywise.

Saturday Night Party - 10:00 PM - 11:55 PM
Venue: Doubletree Hotel
Cost: $10.00

Come join the celebration at Cheers American Bistro located in the Doubletree Hotel .

October 29, 2023

SPECIAL PRESENTATION: Screen Play Table Read - 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Venue: GoggleWorks Center for the Arts
Cost: $5.00

A Mexican-American detention officer is torn between her Americanization and the unexpected bond she forms with a toddler separated from her father at the the height of the border crisis.*
The Writers:  Lily Malm, Laila Matuk
Lily Malm is a Los Angeles based writer.  She is a recipient of Anders Sandrew’s Art Scholarship, Diverse Women in Media Forum’s Emerging Content Creators Scholarship, as well as New York Film Academy’s Talent-Based Scholarship from which she graduated summa *** laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Screenwriting.
Laila Matuk is a New York based Mexico City native. She earned a Talent-Based Scholarship at the New York Film Academy where she will graduated in 2024 with a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts in Acting for Film.  She recently produced and stage-managed the off-Broadway production of Dracula by Kate Hamil, a feminist retelling of Bram Stroker’s classic tale.
Creative Direction by Cara Cotellese

Made In Reading Block - 12:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Venue: GoggleWorks Boscov Theatre
Cost: $10.00

Meatloaf and Pie at the Sunset Cafe
Two old nemesis, a cop and a crook, meet to determine if they can live with each other’s existence.

Art & Race Block - 12:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Venue: R/C Reading Movies 11 & IMAX - Theater 1
Cost: $10.00

Town Destroyer explores the ways we look at art and history at a time of racial reckoning. The story focuses on a dispute over historic murals depicting the life of George Washington: slaveowner, general, land speculator, President, and a man Seneca leaders called “Town Destroyer” after he ordered their villages destroyed during the Revolutionary War.

The murals, at San Francisco’s George Washington High School, were painted in 1936 by leftwing artist Victor Arnautoff, a student of Diego Rivera. The murals both praise Washington and rare for the time critically depict him overseeing his slaves and directing the bloody seizure of Native lands. Most controversial is a provocative image of a dead Indian life-size, eye-level, and at the center of the school.

Opponents of the murals, led by Native American parents, demand the School Board order them painted over. For them, the murals’ graphic depictions of slavery and genocide are racist and harm students, Native students in particular. Defenders of the murals warn of the dangers of censoring priceless works of art, and urge the Board to `teach the murals.’ Heated debates spill into the community and make national headlines. The fight—taking place in the wake of battles over Confederate monuments across the U.S.—becomes a catalyst for a national discussion about censorship, reparations, generational trauma, the ways in which America’s history of genocide and slavery is taught and memorialized.

Wrap Party - 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Venue: GoggleWorks Center for the Arts
Cost: $10.00

Join us as we close the 2023 ReadingFilmFEST! The Jumpin’ Punkins are performing!

Date: October 26 - 29, 2023

Location: Various Venues in Reading, PA 19601

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