“MOVIES FROM THE HILL” BRINGS FILM & ANIMATION BACK TO NORRISTOWN

Our friends at Project Twenty1 send us two bit of news today!  One: Project Twenty1 is currently in the middle of call-for-entries for the Philadelphia Film & Animation Festival, and is also recruiting teams for the annual 21-Day Filmmaking Competition. If you want to join, register on www.ProjectTwenty1.org or if you need help, contact Susie Filmmaker.

Two: Project Twenty1, a nonprofit arts organization, is working with the Norristown community and municipality to revitalize the city through film and animation programs. The group, founded in 2006 to help bring exposure to new and independent filmmakers, began as a once-a-year film festival promoting Philadelphia artists. Today, it is a full-time organization, hosting several film programs throughout the year.

Project Twenty1 is pleased to present their newest program, a free open-air film screening series, dubbed, “Movies from the Hill.” With screenings June 8th and July 13th (rain dates June 24 and July 22) starting at 8pm. Friday’s is family friendly and will be held on Dekalb & E. Airy Streets at the top of Norristown Arts Hill, furthering the initiative to bring back regular public film screenings to the city for the first time since the Norris Theater closed over 30 years ago.

This Friday, June 8th, “Movies from the Hill” will feature 21 short animations from Project Twenty1’s library of over 600 independent shorts and features. The event will be hosted by Norristown resident Stephanie Yuhas, known in the independent film world by her alternate persona “Susie Filmmaker”.  “In addition to showcasing the work, we will have brief question and answer sessions with some of the filmmakers and animators,” says Yuhas.

“If you’re an emerging artist without studio dollars or celebrities attached to your film, it’s very difficult to get your work seen by the public,” says Chris Barley, a Yardley-based animator of one of the award-winning shorts in the program entitled Little Dudes. “I’m thankful for this opportunity and I hope that is can lead to some partnerships that would allow me to do stop-motion animation in Norristown.”

“I really miss the Norristown theaters, so I’m excited that the arts seem to be returning to this town in a big way,” says David Lucidi, owner of Simco Sign Studios and sponsor of the event. Lucidi has pitched in with dozens of other volunteers, as well as donated monetarily and in-kind materials like signage and concessions to help jump start the series. Additional event partners and sponsors include Life Unchained, Portnoff Law Associates, LTD, State Street Advisors, and J. P. Mascaro & Sons.

For more information concerning Project Twenty1 and “Movies from the Hill,” visit ProjectTwenty1.org  or Click for a full List of Animations.

Project Twenty1 is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization with an EPIC mission to Exhibit, Promote, Inspire, and Connect through film and animation. Project Twenty1 is focused on helping aspiring media artists turn their passions into careers.