Pocono Mountains Film Festival
The Pocono Mountains Film Festival Celebrates its 12th Year in commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of Brown VS. Board 50th Anniversary of the Voters Registration Act and the 59th Anniversary of the Murder of Emmett Til
Screening some of the Best Independent Films & Workshops
Dedicated to the gift of creativity regardless of one’s Socio or economic status
Please R.S.V.P now for Media Interviews
The Pocono Mountains Film Festival is proud to bring this stellar event back to the Howard Johnson’s Hotel in Bartonsville Pa for the 6th year in a row.
October 17, 2014 : Opening Festival Film “A Dream Deferred” 5:00 p.m.
Opening Honorary Award Dinner tickets for the Advocates for a Better America are now on sale at $100.00/person. Call 570.982.5867 to R.S.V.P or visit our website: www.poconomountainsfilmfestival for additional information. Key Note Speaker: Judge Kevin Dougherty
Award Recipients: Norman Siegel, Civil Rights Attorney, Keith Beauchamp (Investigative Reporter for the Discovery Channel) , Alvina Alston, Media Matters/ Media LLC , Farrah Gray, Philanthropist & Author,
Simione Wright (Cousin of Emmett Till), Pastor Betty Grant, Steven Leitner,
Red carpet Media Interviews following opening documentary “A Dream Deferred”
October 18 2014 : Indie Film Screenings. Featured Documentary “Coming Clean “Brought to you by WBRE/WYOU Eye witness News Team with Director: Laurie Monteforte. No charges for the screening “Coming Clean.”
WBRE/WYOU Eyewitness News
Laurie Montiforte/Director of the documentary “Coming Clean”
R.S.V.P. your reservation by calling 570.982.5867 or visiting our website
October 18, 2014 Indie Film Awards Party : Red Carpet with Media Interviews 6:00 p.m. until Sponsored by Barefoot Wines, Natural Movement of Colors. Tickets now on sale $45.00 per person~~Includes wine and cheese.
“This is the best Networking Film Festival that I have ever attended” Jack Palance.
“I had a wonderful time at the Pocono Mountains Film Festival” Billy Dee Williams
October 19, 2014 “Calling all author’s” Florence Anthony signing copies of her bestselling novel “Deadly Stuff Players” Workshop with David Saperstein-Author of Cocoon 1 & 2′ Adaptation from novel to best selling screenplay, adaptation from a screenplay to Best selling novel.
Secure your space $25.00 per person to sign your books participate in workshop meet some of the best authors in the industry
Include wine & cheese. Sponsored by “Barefoot Wines”
Founder of the PMFF
Bridget was unable to shop her screenplay for film release & then founded the PMFF. Born & reared in Harlem, Produce documentary’s authored 3 published novels “Momma’s Purle, Henry’s Heart & RETSIS”E.R. Nurse and a Humanitarian. “It does not matter where your life begins, what matters is where you take it” Bridget Odessa Davis 570.982.5867
www.poconomountainsfilmfestival.com
Bridget Odessa Davis In January 1982,
I was walking home from the train station in Harlem on 145th Street after a long day working at Merrill Lynch. I was approached from behind by a man with a black ski mask on twisting my arm behind my back. He pressed the barrel of a gun to my head.
He instructed me to undress in whom I removed everything except my bra and slip. He forced me to my knees, taking my purse and told me to look up at the sky. I followed his instructions and began to pray aloud “Please God help me. My mother is dying from cancer. She will not be able to handle this. God please help me.”
The man pulled the trigger once and then pulled it again. It didn’t go off. It took me a minute to realize that I wasn’t dead. He began running and I heard car doors slamming. A police car was cruising down the same street at the same time. I never looked back. That was the first day of the beginning of my life. This day, I realized that this life was not about me.
The full story is told in my autobiography to be released later 2014 “The Second Epiphany.” I went to college after Mom passed away 2 months later and became a Registered Nurse. I was able to purchase a home in the Poconos. I founded the Pocono Mountains Film Festival in 2002, providing Indie Filmmakers and Musical Artists an opportunity to showcase their gift of creativity regardless of their economic, social and ethnic status.
We are able to say with great pride we live our mission. Each year our film festival draws approximately 75-90 Independent Filmmakers. Last year we had in attendance 65 future filmmakers from New York University and Columbia University. We are looking for participation from East Stroudsburg University.
It was when I completed my second published novel “Henry’s Heart” after “Momma’s Purle” that I realized that there was no place for me to shop this story here in the Poconos where I had purchased a home. Faced with great opposition from Local Political entity’s here in the Poconos, Davis, from the Projects in Harlem, thrived beyond all stereo types and stuck with her Motto that she has embraced during her rise to success. “It doesn’t Matter Where Your Life Begins, what matters is Where you take it.”
With the non-support due to Davis’ political views of equality, Twelve years later with the PMFF, Maya Angelou has said it the best “Still I Rise. The PMFF has managed to celebrate Indie Films at Davis’ Honorary awards Dinner with all cultures ranging from Christianity, to Judaism seated at the same tables engaging in positive conversations regarding the creativity and conception of films. “Through this forum we are able to decrease the fear of the unknown that I believe contributes to bigotry.”
Each year is a challenge due to the growth of diverse cultures relocating to the Poconos. This event adds to the economy by bringing people from New York and New Jersey to stay at local hotels and purchase items from community stores. Davis has been personally bankrolling the festival from working as a E.R. Nurse in Pennsylvania. It would be nice to receive a grant to assist with helping a growing audience of filmmakers and writers.
I believe in order to make a choice you must see something different. You must have options to choose from. “My Mission is to build positive options and eliminate the Prison Industrial Complex System.” What makes the Pocono Mountains Film Festival a stellar event? We provide a social network for filmmakers from all walks of life to introduce their screenplays or independent films directly to an audience of shoppers that share the same interests.
We are expanding and providing winners of all categories national media attention, from red carpet to live-streaming, cable network, magazine and newspaper outlets and additional industry resources. The Pocono Mountains Film Festival has become a major attraction for the Poconos with it Academy Award and ALMA winning honorees that attend each year.
The festival attracts guests from as far as Los Angeles and continues to grow each year in significant numbers. We average 1,000 attendees per annual event. With the growing Multi-cultural Community we anticipate the attendance to triple by 2014.
The 3 day event hosted at The Howard Johnson’s Hotel in Bartonsville, PA is primarily due to the embracement of the Diverse culture that has become a fast growing majority population of North Eastern Pennsylvania and its surrounding areas. Some of the best Films have been screened along with the most valuable workshops.
Demographically, the Pocono Mountain is a 5-region area with Tannersville being a part of the Municipalities and communities. It is well known as an outdoor recreation destination for visitors around the northeast, especially from New York City, New Jersey, and Philadelphia. We have a market area of over 45 million people from the New York and New Jersey area alone Come Celebrate the 12th Annual PMFF Opening with History Remembering the 50th Year of the Voters Registration Act. The 60th year of Brown vs. Board of Education and the 59th year of the Murder of Emmett Till. “As long as we never forget, history is less likely to repeat itself”
