SI DocFest 2009 Awards to be Held in Downtown San Jose

Top Films Will Share More Than $20,000

SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 30 /PRNewswire/ — The Second Annual Bay Area Social Issues Documentary Film Contest (SI DocFest) will hold its screenings and award ceremony at the Camera 12 Cinemas in downtown San Jose on Sunday, February 8, 2009 from 2-6 pm.

The SI DocFest is not a traditional film festival, but rather a contest narrowly focused on high school students, the documentary genre, social issues, and the greater Bay Area community. Participants are asked to create a short documentary (8-12 minutes) profiling individuals or organizations that are making or have made a difference in the community through their work and dedication to social issues. At last year’s event, close to $25,000 was granted to participants.

Schools from all over the Bay Area showed a significant amount of interest in the SI DocFest in its second year, with around 100 registered teams at the start of the process. The teams that submitted completed films were judged by the organizing committee, which selected a group of 13 Semifinalists. These films are being evaluated by a team of independent judges, which will select and rank 6 Finalists.

The top three films will be announced at the awards ceremony, with first place receiving $10,000, second place $6,000 and third place $4,000. Each award will be equally divided between non-profit organizations or individuals profiled or designated in the winning documentaries, the schools represented by the winning filmmakers and the filmmakers themselves in the form of cash scholarships. Cash awards will also be presented to the non-profits designated by the other three Finalists.

The 13 Semifinalists have already been posted on the SI DocFest website (www.sidocfest.com), and they cover topics that include poverty, education, domestic violence, special needs, war veterans and youth activism.

All Semifinalist films will be screened at the February 8th event. Six more films will receive Honorable Mentions and montages will show highlights of all films submitted. A reception at the theater complex will cap the evening. Tickets are available to the public via the Camera 12 Cinemas box office or online at www.cameracinemas.com.

The SI DocFest has been conceptualized and organized as a volunteer-based endeavor by Do Good Docs Corporation, a recently formed non-profit organization co-founded by San Jose residents Monica and Loreli Alba. Monica, 21, is a senior at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication, while Loreli, 18, is a freshman at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Camera Cinemas, the leading independent movie theater company in the South Bay Area, is an official sponsor of the SI DocFest.

For more information please visit www.sidocfest.com, which includes a tab with Press materials.

Do Good Docs Corporation is a new non-profit organization located in San Jose, California. Its first project is the sponsoring and organizing of the Bay Area Social Issues Documentary Film Contest (SI DocFest).

For over 30 years, the Camera Cinemas have presented a wide variety of well-made, intelligent films, from re-released classics to independents, international to mainstream. With three distinct locations – Camera 7 Cinemas, the state-of-the-art multiplex in Campbell’s Pruneyard Shopping Center; Los Gatos Cinemas, in downtown Los Gatos, and Camera 12 Cinemas in downtown San Jose – Camera Cinemas has become an important institution in the local film community, making vital contributions to the cultural life of San Jose and representing the best of what the South Bay has to offer.

SOURCE Do Good Docs Corporation