HOLLYWOOD, CA (September 5, 2001)  The City of the Angels Film Festival announces that horror master Wes Craven will lead off its eighth annual event, this year focusing on classic films examining the theme “Touches of Evil.” The festival is open to the general public and will be held Thursday - Sunday, October 25-28, 2001, at the Directors Guild of America, 7920 Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles.

In a special pre-festival event on Thursday night, two of Craven’s movies, “Dracula 2000” (Thu. 7:15 p.m.) and “Wes Craven’s New Nightmare” (Thu. 10:00 p.m.) will be screened. In between the two screenings, Craven, who has haunted audiences worldwide with such terror tales as “The Last House on the Left,” “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” and “Scream,” will discuss the spiritual influences that have driven his movies. 

The purpose of the City of the Angels Film Festival is to bring together filmmakers with a spiritual sensibility, theologians who are media competent, and movie viewers who desire to view and discuss films that raise vital religious and social questions.  “Our festival is about screening great films that stimulate imagination, and alter our thinking.  This year we will probe the manifestations and consequences of evil in society, in neighborhoods, in families, and individuals,” said festival chair Scott Young.  “Our pre-Halloween date is especially appropriate, as we look for flashes of light in the extremes of darkness.”

"From the mass horrors of war, genocide, and terrorism in places like New York City and Bosnia, to the more localized acts of terror inflicted by mass murderers such as Jeffrey Dahmer, evil dominates our headlines and our individual attention," said festival producer Craig Detweiler. "Horror films like Craven's challenge us to look more closely at these evils."

“We’ve put together a scary slate of classic films that ask timeless questions to better understand our world today. Where does evil come from?  What makes it so fascinating?  Are things getting worse? Do movies promote violence or offer a chance to purge our most destructive impulses?  This is what we hope to discuss during the festival,” Detweiler said.

On Friday night, the festival shifts its focus from horror films to examine the realities of institutionalized evil, in “The Manchurian Candidate” (Fri. 7:00 p.m.), and inner-city gang life, in “Menace II Society” (Fri. 9:45 p.m.). Other films during the weekend festival include the 1931 German film classic “M” (Sat. 1:30 p.m.), the early Dracula movie “Vampyr” (Sat. 4:10 p.m.), the Academy Award winning “Fargo” (Sat. 6:30 p.m.), the devilish “Rosemary’s Baby” (Sat. 9:00 p.m.), the updated Vietnam nightmare “Apocalypse Now Redux” (Sunday 1:00 p.m.), the timeless Japanese film by famed director Akira Kurosawa, “Throne of Blood” (Sun. 5:00 p.m.), and the closing night film, “Night of the Hunter” (Sun. 7:30 p.m.), a theologically loaded finale about hypocrisy. 

In addition, the festival organizers are planning a special day of documentaries focusing on the Holocaust. The films they hope to screen include “Night and Fog,” “Triumph of the Will,” “The Wanasee Conference,” and “The Trial of Adolph Eichmann.” Planners also hope to include a few Holocaust survivors in post-screening discussions.

Festival tickets go on sale September 5.  The cost of admission to each film screening is $7.50 for general admission and $6.50 for seniors and students with ID. Ticket costs for groups of 10 are discounted by $1 per ticket.  A limited number of all-festival passes are also available for $50.00. Admission is free to any or all of the short films and documentaries with the purchase of any ticket to a feature film. An all-festival pass for the shorts and documentaries is only $5.00.  Tickets are $10 for double-features, and for the opening and closing night receptions (with discounts for students, seniors, and groups).  

To order City of the Angels Film Festival tickets with a credit card, call (626) 584-5633. Tickets can also be purchased at one of the following festival box offices: Fuller Theological Seminary Bookstore at Los Robles and Union in Pasadena; and Central Ticket Agency at Loyola Marymount University, Malone 101, 7900 Loyola Blvd. in Los Angeles.  Additional festival information is available by telephone (626) 304-3775 or online at www.cityofangelsfilmfest.org.

The City of the Angels Film Festival draws participants and audiences from all over the country. In addition to having the opportunity to see these films on the big screen for perhaps the first time, audiences can stay after the films to listen to – and participate in – discussions led by expert panels of filmmakers and members of the religious and academic communities in Southern California.  

The coalition of groups responsible for this year's festival are: Fuller Theological Seminary, Catholics in Media Associates, Act One: Writing for Hollywood, BuyOLogic, Cine & Media, Focolare, Inter-Mission, Intervarsity, Loyola Marymount University, Open Call, Reel Spirituality, Sanctuary, Showtime Networks, Tribe, USCC Office of Film and Broadcasting, Water's Edge, Windhover Forum.