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St. Lawrence International Film Festival recruits founder of Austin, Texas film fest as its director of programming

Posted 6/24/15

CANTON -- The St. Lawrence International Film Festival has recruited the founder of an Austin, Texas film fest as its director of programming. Bears Fonte will be in charge of choosing the October …

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St. Lawrence International Film Festival recruits founder of Austin, Texas film fest as its director of programming

Posted

CANTON -- The St. Lawrence International Film Festival has recruited the founder of an Austin, Texas film fest as its director of programming.

Bears Fonte will be in charge of choosing the October event’s films, panels and special screenings.

The founder and executive director of Other Worlds Austin, a Science Fiction film festival in Texas, Fonte was director of programming for Austin Film Festival from 2012-2014, where he oversaw some 200 films selected to screen at eight venues over eight days.

Fonte also writes for AMFM Magazine, covering indie film and the festival circuit. Over 35 US Film Festivals have selected his most recent short film, “The Secret Keeper.” His feature thriller “iCRIME,” which he wrote and directed, was released on DVD, VOD and streaming by Vicious Circle Films in 2011. Fonte also self-produced two web-series which SLIFF says have been seen by a combined 10 million viewers.

"I’m really excited to be joining the St. Lawrence team to help build a singular event from the ground up,” said Fonte. “The cross-borders set up for screening will allow us fantastic programming opportunities and I can’t wait for filmmakers to see how beautiful it is up there. I look forward to creating an adventurous line-up of shorts, narrative features, docs, and genre pics, as well as quirky special screenings and refreshing panels that hopefully reinvent what a film festival can be.”

Programming categories for this year’s event include specialty programs Film Frontiére, highlighting international cinema adhering to the Festival’s “Beyond Borders” theme; Write/Rec, focusing on low budget independent cinema built on scripts; and Dark Borders, representing unique genre films from around the world. Awards will be presented for best feature, best short, best digital project and best student film.

"Bears brings a wealth of festival programming experience to St. Lawrence International Film Festival," said SLIFF Executive Director Adam Paul. "His sensibility, eye for talent and passion for cinema make him a tremendous addition to our growing team. I know I speak for all of us when I say that our lineup announcement in September will define this event as a bright new entry to the festival circuit.”