Macon Film Festival Opens February 18th

Actress Illeana Douglas will kick off the 5th Macon Film Festival (“MaGa”) on Thursday, February 18, 2010, with the special screening of “Easy to Assemble” at the Cox Capitol Theatre at 7:45 p.m. Earlier that day the Best In Show award will be renamed for Douglas’ grandfather, Academy Award-winning actor and Macon native Melvyn Douglas.

Her name is familiar to film buffs, but others will recognize Illeana Douglas from the numerous memorable roles in films like Message in a Bottle, Cape Fear, Goodfellas, To Die For, Grace of My Heart, Stir of Echoes, The Perfect Woman, and Happy, Texas; and recurring roles on television series including Ugly Betty, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Action, and Six Feet Under, for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award. In addition to acting she has written, directed and produced for film.

The Macon Film Festival’s Best In Show award will be renamed the Melvyn Douglas Award and dedicated at a ceremony with Illeana Douglas at 1:30 p.m. on February 18. This award is given to festival jurors’ pick of the best competition film each year. The dedication will be followed by a special “Melvyn Douglas Matinee” screening of The Candidate at 2 p.m. This is a rare screening of the 1972 archival film in which Douglas plays the father of Robert Redford, made possible by a special arrangement with Warner Brothers.

Actor and Macon native Jack McBrayer, who currently stars in NBC’s award-winning comedy “30 Rock,” will return to his hometown for the Macon Film Festival (“MaGa”) special screening of “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” followed by Q&A with Jack on Saturday, February 20, 2010, at the Cox Capitol Theatre at 8:15 p.m.

While he’s probably best known as Kenneth the Page from “30 Rock,” Jack McBrayer has turned in unforgettable performances in films including “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” Jack also had memorable guest starring roles in the television comedies “Arrested Development” and “Phineas and Ferb.” Music video fans will remember him as the “compu nerd” in the Mariah Carey “Touch My Body” music video.

The Macon Film Festival will close the 2010 festival with the Macon premiere of “That Evening Sun,” the award-winning film starring Macon-native Carrie Preston with Hal Holbrook, Dixie Carter, and Ray McKinnon, at 7:30 p.m., following the Festival awards ceremony at 7 p.m. on Sunday, February 21, 2010. Special guests for this screening will be announced next week.

Based on a short story by William Gay, “That Evening Sun” chronicles the late-in-life conflict of Abner Meecham, an elderly farmer who leaves his retirement home to return to his family farm in Tennessee only to realize his city slicker son has rented it to a couple and their daughter. He refuses to leave, instead taking up residence in a run-down building on the property and conflict with the renters ensues as Abner tries to reconcile himself to say goodbye to his beloved home. This is southern gothic at its very best.

Emmy and Tony Award-winning actor, Hal Holbrook, leads this outstanding cast of character actors with his real life wife, actress Dixie Carter, portraying his late wife in the film. Macon native actress, Carrie Preston, a 2009 Special Guest at the Macon Film Festival and star of HBO’s “True Blood,” along with Academy Award winning actor Ray McKinnon, plays the couple who rent the farm and butt heads with Meecham. Young rising star, actress Mia Wasikowski, known for her work on the HBO series “In Treatment,” plays their daughter, and Walton Goggins, known to tv audiences from “The Shield,” plays Meecham’s son.

Other “don’t miss” films include:

“An American Opera” by Tom McPhee – which details the tremendous dog recovery efforts that took place during and after Katrina. Thousands of people had to leave their pets behind. This film has been winning awards at film festivals around the country.

“Stuck,” directed by Steve Balderson, will have its Georgia premier Friday, February 19. The movie is about a woman who was wrongfully accused of murder.

The Macon Film Festival is a wonderful event with great films and lively after-parties each night of the festival. I’m very proud that both “Songs Inside The Box” and “Richard Johnston: Hill Country Troubadour” have been featured there in past years with Hill Country Troubadour winning the Best of Show (to be renamed in honor of Melvyn Douglas) award in 2007.

For more information, visit: http://www.maconfilmfestival.com

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