explore.org teams with HATCH to champion the selfless acts of others through a film competition at this year’s HATCHfest Asheville.

The explore/Hatch Award presented by explore.org will be given to a filmmaker whose short film shows a group or individual hero striving for a better world.

explore.org is a multimedia organization that documents leaders around the world who have devoted their lives to extraordinary causes. Both educational and inspirational, they creates a portal into the soul of humanity by championing the selfless acts of others. In line with explore.org’s mission, HATCH inspires others and makes a positive impact on people and the planet in a creative way through film, music, photography, journalism, fashion, architecture, design, technology and more.

Winner of the first explore/Hatch Award presented by explore.org will be flown to HATCHfest Asheville April 15 – 18th and be presented with a prize from explore.org founder and documentary filmmaker, Charles Annenberg Weingarten, and HATCH.  If you or someone you know has made a film highlighting a cause that inspires others to make a difference, submissions are now open.

Funding for the explore/Hatch Award is made possible through the efforts of explore and the Annenberg Foundation.

Withoutabox Submission Guidelines:

explore/Hatch Award presented by explore.org Submission Guidelines

• Submit a short documentary that has been completed in the last two years
• The short film will showcase an individual or organization that champions the selfless acts of others, creates a portal into the soul of humanity or inspires lifelong learning
• Submission length for explore/Hatch Award is 20 minutes or less
• DVD submission must labeled explore/Hatch Award
• Any accompanying paperwork and on the outside of the envelope must say explore/Hatch Award
• Deadline is March 25, 2010 - no exceptions will be made
• The final 5 nominees will be posted on explore.org for audience consideration
• The explore/Hatch Award panel will announce the winner on April 7, 2010
• Winner will receive a full expense paid trip to HATCHfest Asheville, and a prize from explore.org founder and documentary filmmaker, Charles Annenberg Weingarten

Hatchfest is proud to announce that the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus will be coming to Hatchfest Asheville. The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus is a non-profit 501(c)(3) mobile audio and HD video recording and production facility. Working together with some of the biggest names in music, the Lennon Bus encourages students to play music, write songs, engineer recording sessions and produce video projects using the latest audio, video, and live sound equipment. In the spirit of mentorship, two songwriters will be selected to work on the bus during the weekend.  During their session they will be filmed and recorded.

In addition, acclaimed singer / songwriter Matt Morris is coming to Hatchfest.  Matt will work with local songwriters on board the  bus. Matt Morris began his musical career at age seven when he joined his father, Broadway and country music star Gary Morris, onstage to perform “Blue Suede Shoes” to a crowd of 15,000. Stage-savvy since an early age, Matt was cast as a member of “The All New Mickey Mouse Club” from 1991-1995 and has written songs for Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Reba McEntire and Justin Timberlake. He signed to Timberlake’s Tennman Records label and went on to tour with Grammy award winners The Indigo Girls and Joan Osborne. Matt is a multi-talented artist and his versatility is evident on his 2010 release When Everything Breaks Open, co-produced by Timberlake and Charlie Sexton. The album of original songs contains elements of rock, soul, pop and folk music and displays Matt’s uncanny ability to connect with audiences, not only through passionate live performances, but also as a recording artist.

An Evening of Films and HATCH

March 11, 2010

6:30 PM- Blue Spiral 1 – 38 Biltmore Avenue

Films to screen following at Fine Arts Theatre 8 PM
Tickets $20.00 at the door and $15 online

HATCH Asheville will host an evening of films at the Fine Arts Theatre in the heart of downtown Asheville, along with a reception announcing upcoming events for this year’s HATCHfest. The March 11th fundraiser will begin at Blue Spiral Gallery at 6:30pm and then the audience will step next door to screen Oscar Nominated KAVI at 8 PM.

KAVI is in the running to win this year’s Oscar for best Short Film. The nineteen-minute film looks at the slave trade in India. Kavi is a boy in India who wants to play cricket and go to school, but instead is forced to work in a brick kiln as a modern-day slave. Unsatisfied with his fate, Kavi must either accept what he’s always been told, or fight for a different life even if he’s unsure of the ultimate outcome.

HATCH Asheville is screening KAVI and other award winning film selections from this past year’s HATCHfest in Bozeman. Asheville’s creative arts festival based in mentorship is slated to begin on April 15 with mentors, panels, films, exhibits and networking events that promise to once again engage and inspire the creative community of Asheville and Western Carolina.

Cupid

Throughout time Cupid has ignited the spark of desire in countless men and women. One evening, in an attempt to help the hapless Roman, Cupid is struck by his own weapon and unwittingly finds himself in pursuit of the same woman – the beautiful singer Lauren.

Over 50 cast and crew poured their energy and passion into the production of “Cupid”, which was shot in seven days both on location and a custom built set in the new AFTRS studios at the Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park.

Family Pieces
A drama set and shot in Bozeman, Montana in the 1930’s at the tail end of the Depression… A young mother, too young to care for anyone but herself, abandons her eight-year-old son, Ronnie, at an orphanage in Bozeman, Montana. Meanwhile, Warren Frame, the caretaker of the orphanage lives in sorrow as life passes him by. However, with the arrival of Ronnie a new hope is stirred within Warren… hope of a new family. But, in an unforeseen turn of events, the state takes Ronnie away, and Warren is left to be alone and wonder if Ronnie will ever return.

The Fighting Kind
Devin has been estranged from his family for five year. He finally returns home in desperate need of financial help from his sister, his only living family member. During what is supposed to be a quick visit, he learns that his sister may need more help from him than he needs from her.

Kavi
GROUNDBREAKER: GREGG HELVEY, USC, L.A., CA
OSCAR NOMINATED SHORT FILM
Did you know slavery still exists? There’s more slavery today than the entire 400 years of the transatlantic slave trade. Kavi is a boy in India who wants to play cricket and go to school, but instead he is forced to work in a brick kiln as a modern-day slave. Unsatisfied with his fate, Kavi must either accept what he’s always been told, or fight for a different life even if he’s unsure of the ultimate outcome.

GREGG HELVEY – WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER
Student Academy Award® Winner, Gregg Helvey, has traveled the world to film in countries such as El Salvador, China, Kenya and England on projects ranging from National Geographic and BBC1documentaries to independent fictional films. As a filmmaker, Helvey seeks to combine his passion for social justice with powerful story telling.

Helvey wrote, directed and produced “Kavi,” the winning film of the 2009 Student Academy Award® gold medal in the narrative category. “Kavi” was filmed entirely on location in India and tells the story of a young boy who wants to play cricket and go to school, but instead he is forced to work in a brick kiln as a modern-day slave. Kavi must either accept what he’s always been told, or fight for a different life even if he’s unsure of the ultimate outcome. More information is available atwww.KaviTheMovie.com

She’s a Fox
It’s 1987, and sixth grader, Cameron, wants desperately to make Talia his girlfriend, but three things stand in his way: Mitch Fallin, Jake Magnum, and a mullet.

For more information visit: http://www.hatchfest.org/groundbreakers/2009-groundbreakers/

HATCHfest prefers online entries submitted via Withoutabox.com, which provides cost-saving, paperless submission to film festivals around the world. Withoutabox’s internet-only submission platform features online applications via one master entry form, online fee payments, press kits, and the option to use Secure Online Screeners, an economical, eco-friendly, and secure alternative to traditional hard-copy DVD submissions. Click to submit your film today! Winners are flown in to Asheville, meet world renowned filmmakers and industry mentors, have their film screened with only a select few and are treated as VIPs.

HATCH Asheville is a totally volunteer run organization and we need the community’s support in order to keep bringing you world class events for FREE each year.

IMPORTANT FESTIVAL DATES

The festival runs Thursday April 15 – Sunday April 18, but there is much to do before and after.

• Tuesday April 13 – We will begin bringing our sets and venues to life.
• Wednesday April 14 – We begin!
• Sunday April 18 – Tear down.

VOLUNTEER PERKS

Volunteer perks this year include a T-Shirt, tickets to screenings at the FAT, preferred volunteering for next festival, and of course, opportunities to be up close and personal with the Mentors and Groundbreakers at special closed events!

Let us know you are ready to volunteer for 2010, please put VOLUNTEER in the subject line of your email:

1. Add your Contact Information

2. Categories of interest (technical, hospitality, transportation etc)

3. Any scheduling notes you’d like to share with organizers

Please send an email to joannaemalcolm@gmail.com

Thank you all very much!  You are the reason HATCH is happening!

HATCHfest Asheville is almost here! The Dates are April 15-18, 2010.  We will host our Innovator’s Lounge in a new location, On Broadway. This is the hub and heart of Hatchfest.  We will also have galleries downtown with exhibits and workshops, breakout sessions with mentors, receptions for disciplines.. and many of our local vendors will host networking parties and special performances.