Deadline - BY Tom Grater - February 23, 2020 - Read article
Kate Maberly / Holger Carlsson HITFest
EXCLUSIVE: The debut edition of a new film festival in Los Angeles, the Hollywood International Talent Festival, or ‘HITFest’, will be held October 25-30.
The dates mean the festival will open three days after fellow LA event the AFI Fest closes its 2020 event.
HITFest will be focused on international filmmaking, with emphasis on diverse global content. It will consist of screenings, industry panels and events and will have four competitive strands: Drama, Documentary, Action and Short Films.
It is being run by CEO Marco Gomez, the theatre and film producer, with Holger Carlsson and Kate Maberly who are program director and creative director respectively. Gomez is providing funds for the event and also raising further finance.
The festival will be hosted by Raleigh Studios in Hollywood, with special screenings hosted elsewhere.
The event is partnering with Pavillon Afriques, a new platform aimed at providing African and diasporic film professionals with access to the industry. The festival and Pavillon Afriques say they will give Africans, Afro-descendants and African Americans another launchpad into the international market and Hollywood’s increasingly global film industry, as well as screening titles and inviting talent from the region to attend the event as part of a dedicated program.
“Cultural awareness rising from voices with different backgrounds, genres and unique experiences continue to enrich new films and we are determined to do everything we can to support and encourage more voices of every type and from all corners of the world. World audiences crave for more and we will do our part to provide it,” the HITFest team said in a joint statement. The organizers are in Berlin this week taking meetings.
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