Virtual festivals have been hit or miss in 2020, mostly to no fault of festival organizers. That being said, it's hard not to get behind a fest whose whole premise is solely to celebrate love on screen. That's adorable! Who doesn't need more love in their life right now?
Even better, the fest isn't just something slapped together by some folks seeing a strange year as their opportunity to break into the festival biz while it's forced to be held in a different format than usual. Veterans behind the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival and the North Bend Film Festival are teaming up to bring Reel Love Festival to life next Febraury. That means that folks who had a blast at the inaugural Nightstream festival have a whole lot to look forward to in the beginning of 2021!
Full press release:
(FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE) – The Reel Love Fest is a new event dedicated to honoring the future of love on screen and its profound cinematic legacy thus far. The film festival will be available virtually to screens across the United States, taking place February 10 through February 14, 2021. Founded by festival veterans of the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, North Bend Film Festival, and the virtual festival Nightstream, the five days of screenings and special events will aim at bringing the best new love stories to audiences looking to add more love to their lives this winter.
Reel Love Fest will enter as a unique new addition to the American film festival circuit, providing a prestigious international showcase of films across all genres that explore the varied and and sometimes complicated experiences of real love. This celebration of our strongest form of human connecting will include straight and queer romance, but also feature familial love, self-love, and the bonds of friendship.
“The original concept of the festival came to me a few years back, but after the tumultuous year that 2020 has been, we felt the need for an event that showcases love right now,” said Joseph Hernandez, Reel Love Fest Founder and Director of Programming. “Our goal is to establish Reel Love as the premier fest for love stories on the festival circuit and more than anything, we hope to bring people together through an annual celebration of what ties us all together — love.”
Joining Hernandez on the festival programming team are Vanessa Meyer (Programmer at Brooklyn Horror Film Festival), Melissa Lyde (Founder and Curator of Alfreda’s Cinema), and Haleigh Foutch (Senior Editor at Collider). North Bend Film Festival Co-Founder Jess Byers will serve as Reel Love Fest’s Festival Producer.
Feature and short film submissions for Reel Love Fest are now open on FilmFreeway. For more information, please visit www.filmfreeway.com/ReelLoveFest
