The 16th Annual Valencia Film Celebration is taking place April 1st and 2nd beginning at 7:30pm each night. The Celebration is a showcase of Valencia student-produced films. It includes features, shorts, pilots and trailers. Both nights screenings take place in the Performing Arts Center on Valencia's East Campus.
Highlighting this year's Celebration are two feature films. Friday night's film is coincidentally named Dead by Friday which was written and directed by Ric La Monte. It tells the story of four lifelong friends who are wannabe mobsters. When they finally get their chance at becoming made men, one small misstep turns their lives upside down and forces them into an impossible decision. The film stars Richard Hatch who played Apollo in the original Battlestar Galactica and Tom Zarek in the television remake. Also in the Dead by Friday is local actor Justin Smith who can be seen regularly in TV spots on WB18 and recently in The Vampire Diaries and Drop Dead Diva.
Also on Friday, there will be short films and a television pilot called "Last Stop."
Saturday's feature is
Red Tide directed by UCF's Dino Gallina.
Red Tide follows the life of Alex Nikoladis, a man who returns home from prison to find that his older brother is involved in a life of drugs and lies. Alex faces several obstacles while discovering that his only hope for redemption is to rescue his brother and the family trade of sponge diving. It stars
Michele Feren who has recently landed principal roles on
Burn Notice and
The Glades as well as a supporting role in
A Beautiful Belly by Andrew Kenneth Gay.
A Beautiful Belly will be screening at this year's Florida Film Festival.
Preceding Red Tide will be short films including a documentary about Central Care Mission, a drug and alcohol rehab program for homeless men, and "Star Knights," a TV pilot trailer.
Valencia Community College East Campus is located at 701 N. Econlockhatchee Trail south of Colonial Drive in east Orlando. Tickets are $5 per evening. Student admission is only $3 with a school ID. Valencia students will be admitted for free.