Cloverdale, Calif. (April 12, 2021) – The Seventh Annual AVFest, presented by AVFilm, will be conducted virtually Friday, April 23 – Sunday, May 2. Actor Beau Bridges will join his daughter, Emily Bridges, director of ACTING: THE FIRST SIX LESSONS for the Opening Night panel discussion. Signature Film Society pop-up Drive-ins will anchor the event in Cloverdale and Healdsburg.
“This year, our theme is ‘connection,’” says Kathryn Hecht, Executive Director of AVFilm. “The pandemic forced all of us to re-evaluate what matters most. Our entire team of staff and volunteers used the year of lockdown to work through what it means to connect and belong. This year’s Festival is a direct reflection of those renewed values.”
AVFilm regularly showcases and hosts new and emerging talents from all over the world. Leveraging the AVF’s success with virtual programming, AVFest will create opportunities for the community – students and adults alike – to meet, interact with, and learn from visiting artists.
New for 2021, the Festival moves to a new springtime slot and features a collaboration with Film Fest Petaluma based out of Santa Rosa Junior College who provided four eclectic short film collections. All Festival ticket purchasers and pass holders will have access to the Film Festival’s Discord server for “Lobby Talks” throughout the week to meet virtually and discuss films. Mental Health Meetups are scheduled for each Sunday morning for patrons to gather virtually for complimentary yoga with Jenn Russo of Yoga on Center.
The Festival features a diverse array of films and filmmakers from around the world with 30 feature films, 38 short films, more than a dozen panels and Q&As, and 14 student works. Patrons will access the streaming portion of the Festival using a state-of-the-art viewing platform that can be viewed with Roku, AppleTV or screencast from computers to TVs.
Program highlights include:
This year’s festival is generously underwritten through significant contributions, notably Cartograph Wines, Big John’s Market, and Vanguard Properties.
All proceeds from the Festival and Red Carpet Evening benefit Sonoma County students and support year-round educational and cultural enrichment programs.
About True West Film Center
True West Film Center brings the transformative power of cinema to Northern California. With film screenings and events, educational programs offered year-round, and the True West Film Festival, we offer an inclusive space where everyone is welcome, everyone’s story is honored, and where we look to cinema to enrich our understanding of the human experience. Founded by a group of Cloverdale and Healdsburg film lovers in 2015, the non-profit organization continues to expand its audience and offerings each year. When it opens in the summer of 2025, True West Film Center’s James Redford Campus, located at 371 Healdsburg Ave., in Healdsburg, CA, will bring a three-screen complex and media arts education facilities to Sonoma County.
Stay up to date on upcoming events, educational programming and the new film center!
Stay up to date on upcoming events, education programming and the new film center!