Celebrating filmmaking by bringing student filmmakers together with some of the most prolific and respected professionals across the industry, Festival Chair Penny Ronning announced the first HatcH Audiovisual Arts Festival will be held in Bozeman, Montana, September 9-12, and also offered its debut slate of films and special events. Jeff Bridges will present Montana resident Peter Fonda with the Festival’s signature Gary Cooper award; HatcH will showcase Fonda’s work and his selected film, Ulee’s Gold, along with the premiere of director John Dahl’s The Great Raid from Miramax and Rick Schroder’s directorial debut Black Cloud; all four will serve as celebrity hosts for Festival events.
HatcH is conceived as a powerful mentorship event for new filmmakers, musicians and artisans, moving beyond the confines of a traditional festival to offer a total celebration of creativity. While anchored in film, HatcH will showcase many forms of visual and audio arts through workshops, panel discussions, exhibitions, small group peer and professional power sessions, music concerts, and film screenings. Along with the world’s best student filmmakers, selected industry leaders, celebrities, musicians and artists have been invited to attend and participate.
“In our premiere outing, we have aimed to deliver both excellence and unpredictability, free of the pressure, expectation and hype which pervades most festivals,” said Ronning. “Combine this celebration of all the cultural offerings in film, food and music with the rugged elegance and extraordinary beauty of Montana, and we think we’ve provided a perfect environment in which to experience the power of the arts and pure artistic energy.”
In addition to the four scheduled out-of-competition features, screening in competition are twenty finalist student films submitted by forty-four top film schools representing Asia, Europe, Australia, South America and North America. The Festival also plans surprise premieres of two or more additional feature films.
For a full schedule of events, visit the HatcH website.
