The festival is one of the leading destination film festivals in the Midwest, regularly hosting Midwest premieres of Academy Award-winning and nominated documentaries. In 2007, SAGIndie recognized WFF as one of its top five film festivals.

The four-day festival, which will screen more than 70 films in five venues, has released an initial list of films that will be shown, including:

“Women in Trouble” (Midwest premiere) – A fun, campy modern-day take on the B-List “women in trouble” exploitation films of the 1970s, written and directed by “Snakes on a Plane’s” Sebastian Gutierrez. The intersecting stories of a flight attendant, a psychiatrist, a masseuse, a bartender, a pair of call girls, an adopted young girl and a porn star all weave together in the course of one serpentine day in Los Angeles. The amazing and talented ensemble cast is headed up by Carla Gugino (”Watchmen”) as porn start Electra Luxx, Connie Britton (”Spin City”), Adrianne Palicki (”Friday Night Lights”) and Marley Shelton (”Eleventh Hour”). Official selection, SXSW Festival.

“We are looking forward to another amazing festival,” said Hopwood DePree, co-founder of WFF. “With the increased awareness of the film industry in Michigan, we are anticipating a record number of attendees, and our current lineup offers something for everyone.”

Passes range in price from $70 to $75 for a day pass, which guarantees priority admission to all films and seminars for a single day, to $500 for a patron pass, which also offers entry to VIP mixers and includes a $200 tax-deductible contribution.

Filmgoers may also purchase a fast pass for $300 that gives priority admission to all films and seminars, as well as exclusive entry to Friday and Saturday VIP “meet and mingle” mixers. The $200 super pass option provides priority entry to all films and seminars for the festival.

Passes can be purchased online at www.waterfrontfilm.org and may be picked up at the WFF headquarters at 347 Water St. in Saugatuck, beginning Friday. Individual tickets will be available during the event and will go on sale when the full schedule is announced later this month.

The show will run one hour and is the first time the event will be broadcast. The awards were held at Austin Studios on March 12. It will also be re-broadcast on KLRU2 on June 3 at 9 PM.

This year’s honorees were Larry Hagman, Powers Boothe, Catherine Hardwicke, Billy Bob Thornton and Rushmore, the Wes Anderson movie filmed in the Houston area.

Presenters included Linda Gray, Keith Carradine, Brendan Fraser and Dennis Quaid. Luke Wilson accepted honors on behalf of the cast and crew of Rushmore, and Thomas Haden Church took a turn as this year’s emcee.

Other special guests included the cast of Friday Night Lights Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton, Brad Leland and Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Grammy Award-winning musician Ray Benson, 2003 Hall of Fame inductee Tobe Hooper, director of 1974’s Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Beastie Boy Adam Yauch and AFS Artistic Director and 2007 Hall of Fame inductee Richard Linklater, who honored the work of Horton Foote. Foote was inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame in 2003 and died at 92 earlier this year.

Located at Austin Film Society’s Austin Studios, the Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards recognize actors, directors, screenwriters, musicians, filmmakers and films from, influenced or inspired by the Lone Star State. The proceeds from the event benefit the educational and artistic programs of the Austin Film Society.

For more information on Austin Film Society, visit www.austinfilm.org

Join us on Friday, May 1st, 2009 to support the African Children’s Choir and listen to their Music for Life concert.

In conjunction with SBK Films and OCB, Das Films is sponsoring a fundraiser for the African Children’s Choir, hosted by NBC’s Friday Night Lights’s Connie Britton and world renowned actor and producer, Damien Wayans.