Mason Bendewald’s moving and revelatory documentary film Tunahaki has been chosen as one of only five documentaries to be shown at the 2010 Other Venice Film Festival, which runs October 15-17 in Venice and Marina Del Rey, California.
Tunahaki was selected for screening at the Other Venice Film Festival from out of over 2000 submissions. Venice impresario and OVFF co-founder Rueben De La Casas says of the selection of Tunahaki, “The mind-blowing acrobatics of the kids reminded me of [the artistic community of] Venice, we’re doing almost the same kinds of feats. That was the connection – their artistic goals, their joy, their freedom of expression.”
Tunahaki is also up for the prestigious Abbot Award, named in honor of Venice founder Abbot Kinney and presented to filmmakers who “exemplify maverick filmmaking.” Unlike many festivals, the Abbot Award winners are determined by audience votes. Regarding Tunahaki, De La Casas went on to say, “People don’t see actual footage like this on Discovery. Seeing the real lives of other people – the looks on the kids’ faces when they come here – that’s an exciting experience for the audience.”
OVFF, now in its seventh year, is much more than just another Los Angeles film festival or distant cousin to the Venice Festival in Italy. Each year OVFF presents a Maverick Spotlight Award to established filmmakers, which to date have included such giants of the industry as Catherine Hardwicke, Roger Corman, Werner Herzog and Oliver Stone.Mason will be on hand for a Q&A session following the screening of Tunahaki, which will be shown on Saturday, October 16th at 3:15 PM at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, 681 Venice Boulevard, Venice, California. Tickets can be purchased at the festival website www.othervenicefilmfestival.com, or by calling 877-725-8849.
