“The Cinema at the Edge Independent Film Festival is a natural progression of the work we do at the Edgemar Center, bringing together industry experts, cultural and media taste makers and the most talented artists from across Los Angeles. My team and I are thrilled to invite you to experience what the West Side has to offer filmmakers and cinephiles, which is quite different from what you’ll find in Hollywood.” – Michelle Danner, Founder

The 2013 Cinema at the Edge Independent Film Festival is the expansion of previous events at the Edgemar Center for the Arts that paired film screenings and celebrity panels. Past iterations of the festival have welcomed Brett Ratner as an Honorary Chair, as well as a celebrity jury that included film veterans Susan Sarandon and John Singleton.

Yet the true emphasis of Cinema At The Edge remains the community, and the festival staff are working hard to devise a program that truly highlights life on the West Side, in the beautiful beach towns of Santa Monica and Venice, California. The festival is poised to focus the love of film that all Angelinos share on these gorgeous beach communities that serve as home to some of the most prolific filmmakers in the world. On any given day our coffee shops, bars, restaurants and shops are filled with Academy Award nominees and aspiring filmmakers alike. The Edgemar Center’s location in the heart of Santa Monica’s Main Street and a few short blocks from the Pacific Ocean makes it the ideal spot. A  community festival within a vibrant industry town.

Cinema at the Edge will present narrative feature, documentary and short film programs. Jury and audience awards will be given in each category. Each screening at the festival is followed by a Q&A as well, so our filmmakers have that all-important instant feedback that the theatrical experience permits. While the programmers are thrilled to give independent filmmakers a vehicle of expression, an additional commitment of the festival founders is to see that the standout titles at the festival have an opportunity to screen for distributors. Therefore the winners of the jury and audience awards in each category will be considered for acquisition by industry professionals working in international film distribution.

https://www.michelledanner.com/career-building-opportunities/