Inspire Film Festival Bring Films, Hope And Audiences To The Woodlands

inspire-picAs a Texas native I am excited to inform everyone of the Inspire Film Festival 2017 especially since it is right in my back yard, figuratively speaking. Everyone knows of Austin’s annual SXSW Festival and it is exciting to share the film festival love to our neighbors in Houston, the Woodlands to be exact.

The Inspire Film Festival is a four-day cinematic event dedicated to entertaining and inspiring audiences with films and stories that celebrate the human spirit. It is the first festival of it’s kind to feature exclusively films, filmmakers, special guests and performances that celebrate the human spirit.  Given what’s going on in the world I think all of us could use a festival that celebrates the human spirit.

The films for the Inspire Film Festival are selected based on their ability to enlighten as well as entertain audiences, and all are beautifully shot in fascinating locations around the world.  Each screening will be followed by a lively panel discussion with the filmmaker and/or subject of the film, and pass holders will be able to attend a number of informal meet and greet events around The Woodlands.

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The inaugural Inspire Film Festival will take place February 23-26, 2017 at four screening venues in the beautiful, walkable spaces between Hughes Landing and Waterway Square. Approximately twenty feature length and short films will be shown over the course of the festival, along with panel discussions, live performances, and social events.

Passes aren’t available online as of yet but they should be posting soon and will be available here to purchase. Currently 400 film festival passes will go on sale in December 2016. A standard weekend-long pass will cost $100, however there will also be a more expensive pass which will include special events, such as the filmmaker dinner and a less expensive pass which will include four feature-length films.

If I get a press pass for the Inspire Film Festival I will be on ground zero giving you all the 411 on what’s going on at the festival live via twitter, YouTube and Facebook. Below is the Official Press Release with more information about the Inspire Film Festival.

THE WOODLANDS, TX (December 13, 2016) – The Woodlands will soon be playing host to a new film festival with a twist. Starting February 23, the inaugural Inspire Film Festival will feature approximately 20 films over four days that illustrate the power of one person to make great change in the world.

“The sole purpose of the Inspire Film Festival is to live up to its name by presenting films that deliver messages of inspiration to their audiences,” said Jane Minarovic, who created the concept of the festival and is its executive director. “Whether it is a documentary or fiction, each film at this festival will touch the hearts of our attendees and uplift their spirits and lives.”

Minarovic is a filmmaker and self-described film festival addict. A Minnesota native who put down her roots in The Woodlands, she has taken her considerable experience in filmmaking and shaped an event that will bring artisans, audiences and accolades to the area.

“I wanted to create an event where we talk about positive things – stories about men, women and children overcoming adversity to achieve a goal, people giving strength and self-worth to the underprivileged and people who show us what it means to be human by what they do for others,” she said.

Minarovic started her filmmaking career on the Austin City Limits television show, and subsequently earned a reputation as a resourceful director of television ads. Using her desire to produce creative pieces that would draw larger audiences, she was soon winning awards for her work that included projects with music legends Waylon Jennings and Billy Joe Shaver.

The concept of a film festival whose sole purpose is to inspire its audiences has already caught the attention of leaders in both the film industry and the community itself. “What Jane is doing is exciting, and I’m confident the community will love the festival,” said Congressman Kevin Brady, who represents The Woodlands area in the United States House of Representatives. “The Inspire Film Festival is further testament to the arts explosion happening in The Woodlands and will continue to bring positive cultural and economic impact year after year.”

Minrovic hopes that the global message of inspiration will positively affect the festival’s audiences long after the closing credits have rolled. For more information, she encourages people to visit www.inspirefilmfest.com.