Cinema at the Edge Film Festival is Coming to Santa Monica

Sandra Miska

Fans of independent films need to clear their calendars this weekend (April 9 – 12) and head to Santa Monica for the Cinema at the Edge Film Festival at the Edgemar Center for the Arts.  The festival kicks off Thursday evening with a cocktail party followed a viewing at 7 p.m. of the feature “All-Stars.”

Aspiring filmmakers should be sure not to miss Saturday’s panel, “A Conversation On How To Raise Financing And Distribution For Indie Films – How Do Filmmakers Get Creative In These Changing Times.”

Cinema at the Edge (CATE) is unique film festival, one of the few of its kind to take place on the Westside. Founder Michelle Danner recently spoke with “Entertainment Voice.”

Danner is not only the founder of Cinema at the Edge; she’s also the co-founder and artistic director of the Edgemar Center for the Arts. For those unfamiliar, this cultural arts center houses two theaters and an art gallery.  Renowned architect Frank Gehry designed the complex, which opened in 2003.

Entertainment Voice: What makes Cinema at the Edge different from other festivals?

Michelle Danner: A lot of festivals look for movies the names in them, the star names, and Cinema at the Edge is about celebrating the work, no matter who did it.  …We have over 50 premiers and [Cinema at the Edge] truly celebrates independent film.

EV: What is a highlight of Cinema at the Edge that festival goers should be sure not to miss this year?

MD: Definitely come to the panel. We’ll have some great people… It’s Saturday at [4:15 p.m.].  We’ll have an international distributor, Tyler Konney. He has his own company; he’s the president of the company. Steve Bernstein, he’s a filmmaker.  He’s done some wonderful films. And Deborah [Gilels], she’s savvy with distribution.  The theme of the panel is how to make films and distribute them. I’ll be moderating.

EV:  Can you tell us a little bit about how the festival got started?

MD: It got started because of the vision for the cultural arts center. We wanted all the disciplines to be under one roof – theater productions, music productions, visual arts, and this annual film festival.  And that’s how it came about.  It grew. It started as a short film festival, and then grew into this incarnation, which presents the narratives, the documentaries, and the shorts.

Cinema at the Edge (CATE) will take place April 9-12 at the Edgemar Center for the Arts in Santa Monica. Tickets can be purchased here.