Jubilation in Kansas City

Whether you're a future filmmaker in the KC area or a failed one . . . Today is a cause for celebration because it's time for The Kansas City Jubilee Film Festival.

The festival is in it's 11th year and takes place at the Tivoli Cinemas and Westport Coffee House Theater, April 12-16, 2007.

The Jubilee has something for everyone:

• A Festival of film: Moviegoers of all ages will enjoy the wide range of films to be shown over the five-day period.

• A Competition: More than 450 films were submitted this year. Preliminary judging has identified 100 films to be shown during the festival. Professional filmmakers will come to Kansas City to judge these films during the festival and more than $15,000 in cash & prizes will be distributed at the Awards Gala.

• A Conversation: Meet and interact with filmmakers as they discuss their works after screenings, seminars and at the many public receptions that take place.

• A Learning Opportunity: Participate in workshops and listen to panels as they discuss the craft of filmmaking.

I believe that no career of a failed writer is complete without cranking out a few bad screenplays but sadly I've already had my tenure in KC's film circuit. I'm always surprised that Kansas City doesn't have a bigger or at least a closer knit film community but then again everybody's dream back when I was doing this kind of thing was to make it big and get the hell out of this town. I can't say I blame them.

Still, these efforts to highlight film IN THE KANSAS CITY AREA are truly awesome and if you want to get into a debate about how Martin Scorsese and Tarantino steal EVERYTHING from the Hong Kong filmmakers . . . This is the place to do it.